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adding a few moving vehicles to an airfield

The Tutorials forum section is the place where you can learn the various techniques that go into the creation of AI traffic packages.
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Trevytt2004
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Posts: 165
Joined: 30 Nov 2006, 22:31
Version: P3D

adding a few moving vehicles to an airfield

Post by Trevytt2004 »

Hi there all...

Ive been playing with lakenheath and mildenhall and i have created vehicle paths in AFX.
I want to try and get a few vehicles like what drive around the perimeter roads at lakenheath active to add some more realism, does anyone know how to do this seeing AFX can add vehicle paths.

Trev
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John Young
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Re: adding a few moving vehicles to an airfield

Post by John Young »

I normally make "AI" vehicles to follow an AFX path Trev. They are made like AI aircraft in Gmax or FSDS with animated wheels and an .air file/aircraft.cfg, but optimised for a vehicle.

The AFX taxi paths are in a separate AFX and linked to a very small runway that's hidden somewhere - I usually use a large open hangar, or in some trees. The runway is closed for take-off in both directions to prevent the vehicles from ever getting airborne. They "taxi" around your AFX path, but when they reach the hold point inside the hangar or trees, they wait there for a few minutes and then disappear. I never used the vehicle paths, just normal very thin apron paths.

If you schedule the vehicles every half hour, or use multiple ones, you can get an almost continuous movement of vehicles around your airfield depending on how long the "taxi" path is. Just avoid taxiways or the vehicles are likely to collide with aircraft on the main AFX network.

The only AI vehicles I've made are a period RAF fuel tanker (not sure I still have it) and lately, a Wiley's Jeep. I don't know if there are any modern USAF AI vehicles available on any of the web sites, but it might be worth a hunt.

You can also set up the vehicle path to operate with stock animated vehicles - like motorway cars. I think that's through the Terrain SDK, but I've never done that because the vehicles are not realistic for a modern military airfield. I know someone who does that though, but I can ask him for the process if you want to go that way.

John
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clickclickdoh
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Re: adding a few moving vehicles to an airfield

Post by clickclickdoh »

I believe there was an animated HMMWV in the nellis pack.
Trevytt2004
First Lieutenant
First Lieutenant
Posts: 165
Joined: 30 Nov 2006, 22:31
Version: P3D

Re: adding a few moving vehicles to an airfield

Post by Trevytt2004 »

John Young wrote:I normally make "AI" vehicles to follow an AFX path Trev. They are made like AI aircraft in Gmax or FSDS with animated wheels and an .air file/aircraft.cfg, but optimised for a vehicle.

The AFX taxi paths are in a separate AFX and linked to a very small runway that's hidden somewhere - I usually use a large open hangar, or in some trees. The runway is closed for take-off in both directions to prevent the vehicles from ever getting airborne. They "taxi" around your AFX path, but when they reach the hold point inside the hangar or trees, they wait there for a few minutes and then disappear. I never used the vehicle paths, just normal very thin apron paths.

If you schedule the vehicles every half hour, or use multiple ones, you can get an almost continuous movement of vehicles around your airfield depending on how long the "taxi" path is. Just avoid taxiways or the vehicles are likely to collide with aircraft on the main AFX network.

The only AI vehicles I've made are a period RAF fuel tanker (not sure I still have it) and lately, a Wiley's Jeep. I don't know if there are any modern USAF AI vehicles available on any of the web sites, but it might be worth a hunt.

You can also set up the vehicle path to operate with stock animated vehicles - like motorway cars. I think that's through the Terrain SDK, but I've never done that because the vehicles are not realistic for a modern military airfield. I know someone who does that though, but I can ask him for the process if you want to go that way.

John
John,

Thanks for that info. That seems like a really good way to go forward....Ill create the taxi paths around the base and hide the runway somewhere.....will look for a open hanger or more likely some trees. Ill have a dig round for some USAF style vehicles too....tho most are just like big gmc vans and a few tugs etc...

cheers


Trev
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