Shemar
Posts: 205
Joined: 1/25/2008 Status: offline
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quote:
ORIGINAL: hermanhum Currently, the engine continuously tracks the direct path back to the base. As this is a simple direct path calculation, it is probably relatively simple. Once the plane has reached RTB state, it automatically goes into RTB mode and no further calculations are required since it is just a straight flight home after one computation. Requiring planes to observe Nav Zone rules inbound and outbound would mean that they need to be tracked continuously all the way back to the base in case new Nav Zones appear. While this might not double the CPU usage, I think that it would be far from insignificant because it affects not only planes returning, but planes still on active missions. They need to constantly calculate a path around all the Nav Zones instead of a simple direct path to the base. The example previously presented was for a simple strike mission to and from the target. However, the RTB behaviour needs to apply to ALL missions (recon and area patrols, too). So, missions that have a fighter on a distant CAP mission or a recon plane searching for the enemy need to also have a continuous track of the fuel required to return to base around all the Nav Zones. If something changes that would require them to make a big long detour in order to make it back safely (i.e. a large new Nav Zone created around a newly detected CVBG/SAM), they need to calculate right away and navigator calculations are very slow. (If you don't believe me, just compare how long it takes for a ship to calculate a path through the Philippine Islands as opposed to a direct path through open water.) Not only that, they need to constantly update it i.e. a CAP/Recon mission could conceivably fly far enough that the shortest return path is now via the *other* side of the Nav Zone. The large new Nav Zone might/should even force them to abort their initial mission if they don't have the new fuel requirements to fly to the target and return. Also, this sets up one of the many aforementioned quandries. What if the new Nav Zone is so large that the planes simply cannot return to base safely? Do they continue on a suicidal mission to the target? Turn around and make their best efforts to RTB? Sit and loiter and do nothing? I don't think you understand what I was talking about in my latest paragraph. There is no need to continuously track anything more than the game is already tracking. The engine is already tracking if a plane is in bingo fuel (a state that requires the plane to return to base immediately, in a straight line and flying optimum fuel consumption parameters). When that is the reason the plane is ordered to RTB, then nothing changes from the existing behavior. Additionally, the engine does not attempt to calculate fuel consumption around nav zones and define bingo fuel that way. Bingo fuel is still only calculated for a straight line RTB. But, when the plane is ordered to RTB because its mission is over, or because it is out of ammo, or because the player ordered it to (so it has not yet reached bingo fuel), instead of putting it on an RTB mission, the engine could simply put it in a transit mission to base (therefore automatically observing nav zones and altitude/speed orders just like every other transit mission, without adding any functionality or calculations at all), and only changing to a true RTB mission if it goes into a bingo fuel situation, in which case it goes into the standard straight RTB. There is actually zero, absolutely zero calculations that this functionality would add, beyond those of a standard transit mission. So, in case it is still not clear, with the method I propose the game does not attempt to calculate fuel consumption for observing nav zones at all, ever. The only fuel calculation is still the one for a straight line return to base. However, by putting it on a transit mission, it will still observe the nav zones for as long as it has extra fuel, and revert to straight line to base flight when/if it reaches bingo fuel, just like it would do if it was patrolling or loitering.
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