- Separate generic "pilot" kit into helicopter and jet pilot kits.
- Remove helicopter pilot's chute, give him realistic armaments (carbine, pistol, w/e).
- Give jet pilot's kit chute, and add a pistol and w/e else might be realistic.
- Make it so jet pilots, who are now the only ones with chutes, can't board helicopters, making HALO drops impossible (unless you like going "splat")
- Implement Torufkeymeister's realistic helicopter crash: https://www.realitymod.com/forum/f254-v ... video.html
- Implement Mary.au's "third tier" menu system: https://www.realitymod.com/forum/f18-pr ... -menu.html
The bulk explanation of how and why:
My suggestion is to separate the Helicopter Pilot from the Fixed-wing Aircraft Pilot. While I don't know the exact kit layout each has IRL per faction, I understand that Helicopter pilots don't actually have parachutes, but can carry weapons such as carbines even. The Jet Pilot doesn't have enough room for an assault rifle, but is able to carry at least a pistol and has a parachute. I don't actually have specifics, and those facts may be different overall/per faction, so if there any inaccuracies, please post them. Though I'm pretty sure I nailed down the best of it.
How would this solve Pilot-kit HALOs? Well, first of all, the helicopter pilot wouldn't be able to parachute down at all. Second of all, we can implement a kit restriction of passenger seats so that people can board a chopper with any kit, BUT the jet aircraft kit, effectively taking out any possibility of HALO drops, unrealistic in PR's battlefields.
A possible argument against differentiating the helicopter's pilot kit would be that without the parachute, helicopter pilots wouldn't be able to bail out and survive, which while unrealistic anyways, could be somehow warped into a "gameplay" element. That's true, but in most cases when helicopters are hit to the point that pilot's need to bail out, they are usually at an altitude where cutting would kill them or at least severely injure them. There are exceptions, of course, when in pr battles helicopter pilots have had the option to bail and touch the ground safely with their parachutes, but it is extremely rare.
Another suggestion that would be incorporated to combat that argument would be the implementing of realistic helicopter crashing :https://www.realitymod.com/forum/f254-v ... video.html. Tofurkeymeister discusses in this thread how a realistic helicopter crash scenario can easily be made by a simple change in HitPoint attributes to the helicopters. The thread received unanimous positive comments, with many cases affirming it to be realistic.
Finally, this could be implemented along side as a revamp with the Request kit menu, making it more customizable: https://www.realitymod.com/forum/f18-pr ... -menu.html. THis thread, supported by myself, goes into detail about making a "third tier" menu, so upon selecting the "mother" kit, you get an extra menu with any kit variations you might want. In this case, you would select the Pilot "mother" kit, then be able to select either the Jet Pilot kit or the Helicopter Pilot kit.
Possible drawbacks, with their solution:
As of yet, the only foreseen problem is that if a Jet pilot bails and needs a helicopter evac, he would have to request a new kit before entering, since jet pilots wouldn't be able to even sit in a seat. This can be solved by the work-around of simply allowing them to request a helicopter pilot's kit off the helicopter, then hopping in, OR allowing them in the front passenger/co-pilot's seat, in which case there would be the possibility of a single HALO dropper, which I don't think would happen, since they're mostly squad-things.
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