Helicopter Gunship DEX News

This update also signals the end of the infantry beta for the moment. I will return to infantry but I think it is more important to get the A.I. updated for the fixed wings and then port that over to the rotor craft ːsteamhappyː

If you were still using the infantry beta then you will need to opt into the "FixedWing" beta as this now contrains all the updates from the infantry beta as well as further improvements and fixes.

1. Fixed the loading of infantry into A.I. wingmen helicopters. Now the A.I. will open their doors correctly and call out "Touch Down" once landed.

2. Fixed wing pilots have now successfully completed their low level smooth terrain training and are certified for combat duties in "Lush Desert" & "Central Libya" theatres. Deploying them to Norway is done at your own risk!

3. Updated Su-25 unit so that it carries 4 x Kh-23 long range anti-tank missiles as well as 128 x 55mm rockets and 250 rounds for their 30mm Gsh-30K gun.

4. Added in SU-25T support unit (callsign "Raven"). They are armed with 2 x long range Kh-23 missiles, 16(!!) x 9K121 Vikhr anti-tank missiles, 128 unguided 55mm rockets and 250 rounds for their 30mm Gsh-30K gun.

5. Fixed wing A.I. has been updated so that they can now engage multiple targets in a single pass. It's not uncommon for the SU-25T to take out 4 or more targets at a time!

6. Updated the waypoint system so the CAS sequence is more compact and can also cope with rougher terrain.

7. Updated the "Altitude Hold Up" & "Altitude Hold Down" buttons so that the input now repeats when they are held down allowing to change altitude more rapidly. Single presses are still possible for fine altitude control.

8. Moved the keybinds for "Modifier 1" & "Modifier 2" from SHIFT and CTRL to "*" and "/" on the keypad. This is because other MFD commands are asssigned to "Keypad 1", "Keypad 2" etc but holding SHIFT will actually change "Keypad 1" to "END" etc messing up the MFD controls. Thanks to Darloth for spotting that one!

I have now setup a secondary beta which you can opt into if you wish to help test the fixed wing A.I. systems.

The infantry beta will remain as a separate beta just in case I break anything critical ːsteamhappyː However, the Fixed Wing A.I. beta does include everything from the infantry beta.

1. Added Su-25 Frogfoot support unit. This is a fully autonomous unit and will make its own decisions on what targets to attack. To call in lock your targeting pod on the point that you would like the aircraft to perform its Close Air Support mission and then call it in from the support menu as usual.

The aircraft will attack any units in a 3km radius around the selected area until it either runs out of weapons or runs out of targets.

If you want to reposition the aircrafts fire zone then you can simply designate a new position and then call it in again from the support menu. You will here a radio call confirming the repositioning of the fire zone.

The Su-25 is petty tough and can operate in areas with air defences, but it can also be shot down. Keep that in mind when using it.

At the moment it costs a whole "10 DP" to deploy this unit and you can have a maximum of 4 Su-25s active at anyone time. This price is purely for testing purposes so that you can take it on pretty much any mission.

I haven't fully tested on the Norway map yet so it is possible it may struggle with the extreme elevation changes on that map.

2. Updated the support unit selection page so that support units are represented by "trump style" cards.

3. Fixed the Sierra Hotel area so you can update pilots correctly.

4. Rebuilt the pilot radio system to make it easier for none flight aircraft to communicate with the player

5. Fixed the Sidearm missile so you can once again fire it blind and it will home in on whatever radar source it encounters

6. Updated the detector system so it is a little easier to control via code.

7. Updated the damage control system so that a "Fuselage" failure actually kills the helicopter properly. Before the A.I. was able to continue flying. A fusilage failure is deemed to be a break up of the helicopters body so engines, rotor blades etc are all now destroyed correctly. I will be adding in the ability for the aircraft 3D model to break apart for a more visual representation.

8. Harrier, Su-25 and Reaper Drone now use a new vector radar icon.

KNOWN ISSUES

When calling in the Su-25 you will experience a stutter in the game as the assets are loaded in. In future the fixed wings will start pre-deployed so this stutter will not happen.

A quick update before tomorrow's SU-25 CAS update ːsteamhappyː

1. Map is now shown correctly on the debrief screen in Central Libya.

2. You no longer get charged 10 DP for the 25mm canon on the Harrier.

3. Added in dispersion for rockets

4. Various other behind the scenes updates for the fixed wing A.I. systems.

5. Removed SU-25 from the flyable aircraft list

This is a quick update before the main SU-25 update next week to fix a few bugs etc...

1. Added in the new skins for the AH-1Z Viper. These skins are available for both the AH-1Z and AH-1Z CRS helicopters.

The files for each texture can be found in....

#GameInstallLocation#\Helicopter Gunship DEX_Data\StreamingAssets\Helicopter Skins\#HelicopterName#

and that is the same place to drop your own textures in.

2. Fixed the pricing for the Hind helicopters so it now matches the drop down menu values.

3. Fixed infantry and cargo loading into the Mi-24VP

4. Updated the player bubble system so you should see a bit of a performance increase.

5. Refactored and updated the "Standard Detector" system that controls radar, visual and various other detectors. It should also be a little more performant but the main advantage is it is extremely scalable.

6. Map no longer disappears from the debrief screen on the "Central Libya" map.

7. Re-balanced some of the bomb damage is it was varying too much resulting in Mk-82s not always getting a kill when it should have.

Here some preview renders of the Viper's camo variations.

I'm aiming to have 6-8 camo variations for each helicopter. You'll also notice that there are no military lettering on the aircraft, this is so you can add your own as all the camo variations will be editable in your favourite image editor! ːsteamhappyː