Question about Python/Suggestion on fastropes?

[Action Jackson]

Hi guys,

I hope the title doesn't predispose me to judgement before my post is read.

I know this has been talked to death, I simply had an inspiration and wanted to check how far it was from reality or implementation.

I was reading the 0.8 Improvement Compilation and was thinking about the point made how bugging out of an aircraft from the pilot position tends to be fatal when moving, and how the vehcle entry points should be changed. I was thinking about a realistic way to apply this, when I realized my knowledge of how the python engine works was too limited. Unfortunately, my idea is based on the iffyness of two mutually dependent factors:

Since this whole thing depends on it, I need to clear these up before I can call this a suggestion. I was wondering whether it was possible to have functioning ladders attached to vehicles. And if so, is it possible to remove collision for mentioned? Also, I'm not sure if it's coding difficulties that are actually the reason for the "hardcoded" stamp or EA license ****. If the latter is the case, I suppose that makes this whole thing moot.

IF this ladder/vehicle thing was possible, this spawned two interesting applications for it in my brain:
1. It would then be possible to change the pilot entry point to the top of the cockpit and add an invisible ladder (without collision) to the end of the wing of the aircraft. This way, the pilot could climb onto the aircraft (including a climbing animation!) and enter the cockpit from the top.

2. A similar concept would apply to fastropes from helicopters. One or several invisible collisionless ladders of a predifined length would be attached to the vehicle (for instance, at the loading ramp of the merlin, which has an interior). Once the ramp is lowered, these become visible and look like a rope. Since movement on ladders is variable, it could be made to resemble climbing or sliding.

However, while writing all this, it seems ever more unlikely to me that ladders could be attached to a non-static object, since it's not even possible to stand on a moving vehicle. What though, if a certain position (such as, again, at the back hatch of the merlin) had such a ladder as part of it's "loadout", i.e. you activate the ladder like a mounted weapon, and upon activation your view changes to an external one, namely sliding down a rope. You would still be in your seat in the chopper, but once you arrive at the bottom, when you press "e" to get out the exit/entry point is at the bottom of the "rope". I suppose you could enter the vehicle from the bottom too, but only if the position in the heli was not occupied. The most difficult thing would be implementing an external animation for the whole song and dance, I guess. I hope I'm not describing this too abstractly (or un-python-y)...

It would greatly boost my ego if I happened to have stumbled on a possible workaround, but I'm not expecting too much. I thought I might at least get an answer that will keep me from eternally wondering whether such things are possible with python.

So, feel free to discuss, dismiss, lock or anything else this post.
Thanks for reading
Action Jackson

[Pariel]

Unless I'm misunderstanding, I don't think it's possible to create collisionless models. It's one of the reasons vehicles can't deploy other vehicles (like in Desert Combat, the BF1942 mod). That said, I don't actually have working knowledge of this, I'm just repeating what I've heard.

[VoXiNaTiOn]

AFAIK the rotor blades of most helicopters (I think one or two might be an exception) have collision-less meshes and what about the telephone wires?

As for actually staying in the seat as your repel down, that would cause great annoyances as an enemy sees you and decides to empty a few rounds in your direction, only to be informed that he cannot hit you. To cure this, hitboxes would have to be added, and as it is an animation I'm sure that they would have to be put all of the way down the path, and also would be active when flying normally (unless changeable through the weapon load out bit) so that would mean low flight=dead crew.

Also there is no current need for this in PR due to no collision meshes on rotor blades, allowing pilots to fly between buildings in maps, such as Muttrah City v2 (done by me many a time) and fastropes are only used in these situations. Noob pilots would also feel the need to use these constantly with the excuse being "It looks 1337."

I like the idea, but I feel it is currently unnecessary and would be overused and too bugy to be implemented into PR, and after all, this is Reality is it not?


Good luck, however as you say, this has been killed to death so expect a slightly hostile response.

[Salah ad Din]

Unless I'm misunderstanding, I don't think it's possible to create collisionless models. It's one of the reasons vehicles can't deploy other vehicles (like in Desert Combat, the BF1942 mod). That said, I don't actually have working knowledge of this, I'm just repeating what I've heard.

I thought the main cannon from some tank was missing a collision mesh and the blades from choppers don't collide with objects.

@AJ: I highly doubt that seat exit points are controllable by player action (like "firing" the fast rope seat weapon). Even if, you probably could not reverse the process, so once you hit the fire button, you will always exit below the chopper. What happens though, if the chopper is flying too low? Will you glitch into the ground?

Interesting approach, though.

[Psyko]

Unless I'm misunderstanding, I don't think it's possible to create collisionless models. It's one of the reasons vehicles can't deploy other vehicles (like in Desert Combat, the BF1942 mod). That said, I don't actually have working knowledge of this, I'm just repeating what I've heard.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_9__YyOm ... re=related

[Salah ad Din]

failpost

[frrankosuave]

just make the grapple hook stick to helicopters and the problem is solved... : )

[CodeRedFox]

Yeah not really Salah ad Din while it was a post about fastropes he wrote out a long and thought out response. Unlike the majority of fastrope threads. So easy up a bit on you one line responces

[Smegburt_funkledink]

Hi Action Jackson, welcome to the forums.

Do you really think this hasn't been thought of?

It would take around 3 months to read through all of the threads suggesting fastropes, I highly doubt you have done this.

Even if what you've suggested worked, it'd look like ****.

Commence palming of faces.

[Rhino]

he wrote out a long and thought out response.

ye, you dont see many of them. Most suggestions are just "1 th1nk this gun w0uld be c00l cos 1 lik3 1t 4nd 1m 1337!!!11!!111!!"

[Smegburt_funkledink]

ye, you dont see many of them. Most suggestions are just "1 th1nk this gun w0uld be c00l cos 1 lik3 1t 4nd 1m 1337!!!11!!111!!"

Yeah but still, I think you really need to read all of the discussions on fastropes before suggesting them again.

[Rhino]

Yeah but still, I think you really need to read all of the discussions on fastropes before suggesting them again.

I aint saying his suggestion is any good, just its thought out which is something

[vilhelm123]

I like the idea but i have to ask, anyone else hear keys jangling?

[Smegburt_funkledink]

[quote=""'[R-DEV"]Rhino;827112']I aint saying his suggestion is any good, just its thought out which is something [/quote]

Maybe but not really thought out enough...

Even if a ladder could be attatched to a vehicle or an enter/exit system as has been suggested, how would this look wilst the chopper was moving. What'd happen when the 'rope' passed by another static?

[quote="frrankosuave""]just make the grapple hook stick to helicopters and the problem is solved... : )[/quote]

[sarcasm]Oh, yeah! Sweet, do it now Devs! Why hadn't you thought of this earlier.[/sarcasm]

I guess we'll just have to keep saving up cash for EA's source code and the ability to edit the .exe

[DeltaFart]

I say ea needs to make an open source game with like BF2 but doing add anything to it otehr than tutorials and dev tools

[OkitaMakoto]

so lyke lol r we gun git ropez?





Seriously though, Im not for the idea of fastropes, but I dont mind leaving it open til he gets a good answer from some modellers/coders.

Im off to bed,
Sweet dreams
Okita

[DeltaFart]

I honestly think that it needs to be done, all things considered noones going to want to sit on the ground idling just for 8 guys. Fast rope would help tremendously. ANd if he can get it to somehow work it would be sweet.

[CodeRedFox]

ok guys, if you dont have any input on how to do this (we have hundreds of threads about "IT would be cool") you don't need to up your post count.

[DeltaFart]

this probably is more of a behind the forums discussion

[LithiumFox]

Actually i would like to see something like that vehicle carrier or something... o.o I just thought of something else now too....

So you get this big plane right?

Make a "cargo bay" and all that, then make "vehicles" that fit in there, that fit 8 people. Make like... 3 maybe?

THEN You place them so that they load WITH the carrier, inside the carrier... somehow.

And then you have more than 8 seats in a plane *laughs*

problem would be syncing the vehicles to spawn with the "carrier"