HELICOPTERS FLYING TOO HIGH ?

[Zakalwe101]

On the topic of helicopters why are they considered at 1 altitude level higher than the surrounding terrain when flying NAPE OF THE EARTH, given the extremely hostile AAA/SAM environment should they not be considered at the same altitude as ground units when flying NOE ?

At present it is very difficult to try to sneak down a valley,use a piece of dead ground, hide behind a wood or town.

I've seen film of helicopters flying lower than surrounding woods and buildings, and where hi tension cables are a real hazard if they fly too high ?

Given technolgy at the time wasn't up to seeing through dense trees and buildings and with helicopters considered the same altitude as ground units then plotting skillful approach paths for helicopters would become another immersive element for the game.

[WildCatNL]

Good question!

I just checked the code; Flashpoint Campaigns: Red Storms models Nap-of-the-Earth (NOE) flying using the unit's posture while keeping it at the same altitude; what you saw is correct. When flying NOE, the helicopters will be harder to spot, but line-of-fires to (and from!) the heli units are computed from normal altitude. Note that when re-supplying, the heli units are at ground level though.

Myself, I find combat helicopters fascinating. Both helicopters and AAA/SAM (radar) systems developed tremendously during the Cold War years, with gunships being introduced and some radar systems in the late '80s being able to pick up hovering helicopter rotor echoes from background clutter. Also the variation between western nimble hovering helicopters and fast large Warsaw Pact Hind gunships is interesting; I'm not sure the Hinds would fly be able NOE over undulating terrain as easily as, for example, the Alouettes, Gazelles, BO-105s and Cobras.

For Southern Storm, we're having a look at the terrain representation (modeling feature height per hex in more detail) and helicopter path-finding.

William

[Zakalwe101]

W1II14m

thanks for your reply, so as I understand from what you are saying, though helicopters are shown as 1 altitude level above the surrounding terrain, if they are flying NOE they get some defensive benefit in the coding.

As an aside I note that Helicopters fly back to the highest level HQ to resupply ? surely they should fly back to their immediate HQ (if shown on map) to simulate a forward POL/AMMO resupply point ?

[CapnDarwin]

Yes, we give units the benefit of using sound tactics. As noted above, we are looking at adding more details in Southern Storm to make helos perform more realistic and also give the player some say in how exposed the platforms should be while performing orders.

We use the HiHQ to be the general FARP in Red Storm. We are looking at adding a more realistic FARP setup for Southern Storm.

[Zakalwe101]

ok thanks

Z