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[spdr109]

I believe I may be able to offer some assistance in regards to airfield construction.

Let me begin by saying that I do not want to seem like I know everything about this
subject but having spent MANY hours building and testing I can say that I do have an
understanding of AI behavior on the airfields.

Feel free to question or correct anything I may say and together let us advance our
collective knowledge in this area.

To be able to use this tutorial successfully you must have a basic understanding of map
editing and mission building. Information about these procedures are more thoroughly
covered  in other websites and forums.

To begin with let me say that the AI is easily confused. Objects too near a taxiway or
a stay point will affect AI aircraft depending on the size of the object and the size of the aircraft.
Aircraft will jump over to the runway points on adjacent runways if points are not aligned
correctly. Depending on the length of an aircraft's landing roll, it may be going too fast and
pass by the taxi points altogether. Also, where the runway ground points are placed will
determine where the aircraft spawn and they may not have enough distance to get airborne.

Please forgive me Mixx but I will use the Baieitai Miao airfield from your Khalkhin Gol
map because this is what I am currently working on. Let me say that this airfield does
function correctly when tested but minor details can cause major problems when different
aircraft are used or additional objects are added when mission building.

Please check these screenshots and allow me to make some observations.









1. Runway ground points may cause aircraft to spawn without an adequate take-off roll.
2. Runway points connected to taxi points should be aligned perpendicular to the ones
on adjacent runways to prevent aircraft from jumping over.





1.   Why are these points here?
2.   Aircraft have not slowed down enough and pass these points altogether.
3.   Points should be as far down the runway as is possible to allow the maximum landing roll.   





1.   Only have one stay point per taxi point to minimize bot confusion.
2.   This is correct.

                         
                                                                             
So to begin to construct an airfield I choose an aircraft that has a long take off and
landing roll. The KI-21 is what I am using now. To test taxi/stay points I use the TB-3.
I have found that if these aircraft can use the airfield as designed then the others
can as well.

[spdr109]

Let us begin by aligning and lengthening the two runways. Move all connected  taxi points
to the side. Move the runway ground points (red arrows) out of the way and delete all but two
runway points. Now temporarily make both runways very long. This will help in the alignment
process and is easily adjusted later.





1. Runway points
2. Taxi points
3. Stay points
4. Runway ground points.

[spdr109]

Now place one runway close to where you want it to be. Place a concrete runway
plate near the end where your runway ground point will be. Now move the runway
point EXACTLY onto a grid intersection.

[spdr109]

Using the runway point opposite from the concrete plate, move the entire runway until
it is perfectly aligned with the edge of the plate. Then place another plate at the far end to
fine tune the alignment even further. When satisfied that the runway is as good as it can be,
make sure that the opposite runway point also is EXACTLY on a grid intersection.

[spdr109]

Now we will use the concrete plates to place and align the second runway with the first.
Go to the end of the runway opposite of the runway ground points and place a plate so that
the line of the runway is centered in it. This plate will represent where the aircraft will leave
the runway. Now align and place another plate next to the first and another plate next to that one.
This provides more than adequate spacing for the largest aircraft in IL-2. Go down to the other         
end of the runway and repeat the process.

[spdr109]

Now take the first runway point from the second runway and align it with the center
of the concrete plate. Do the same at the opposite end. No need to be precise yet. Just
get it close. Now  place the runway points on the same horizontal grid lines as the
runway points of the first runway. Make sure they are EXACTLY at grid intersections
and EXACTLY the same number of grid squares apart. If you followed along
with these directions you should have two perfectly parallel runways! This goes
a long way toward  predicting and controlling AI runway behavior as we move ahead.

[spdr109]

Now we can determine where the aircraft will spawn on the airfield texture.
Choose a place near the end of the runway that looks good and place a runway
ground point(red arrow) EXACTLY ON A GRID INTERSECTION THAT
MEETS THE LINE OF THE RUNWAY. This is very important. If you kept
the runway lines aligned to the concrete plates and parallel to each other there
should be many spots to choose from.

Let us multitask now. Go to the opposite end of the runway and place a runway
point on each runway where they intersect the line of  three concrete plates that we
placed earlier. Do this by clicking on the runway point that is a lower number
than the one you want to create. In our example the runway points are numbered
zero and one. Left clicking on point zero will make the entire runway blink.
Place the runway points for both runways EXACTLY where the runway lines
intersect the edge of the concrete plates. Ignore the grid lines in this case. This will
ensure that these points are aligned perpendicular to the line of the runways.
This prevents the AI from sensing one runway point before it senses the one
that it should and turning onto the other runway.

Go back and check that all the runway points that should be on grid intersections
are still on grid intersections. Sometimes just clicking on them will cause them to move.

[spdr109]

Now we need to create a test mission to see if our work has brought the desired results.
Save the work and exit Unlocked Full Mission Builder. To create the test mission we need
to be in regular Full Mission Builder.

Make a simple mission using the runway ground point we are testing for both take
off and landing. Don't forget to add a static camera right in the center of the airfield.

Run the mission to see where the aircraft spawn.

[spdr109]

Well... not quite. Let us move the Runway Ground Point a little further in the direction
we need. Remember to choose a point where the runway line meets a grid  intersection.

Also remember to move the takeoff and landing waypoints to the new location of
the Runway Ground Point.


 

[spdr109]

That looks good to me. The aircraft spawn to allow maximum take off roll and
not so far off the edge to seem implausible. Now thanks to our careful work at
the start the rest will go very quickly!

First we will drag the second runway's Runway Ground Point into alignment                                     
with the first's. Remember to place it on the same horizontal line as the first one's
where the runway line meets a grid intersection. Remember how many grid squares
the points were separated by? Keep it the same.

Whenever multiple parallel runways are used it is CRITICAL that  the Runway
Ground Points MUST be aligned along the same grid line. Depending on the
orientation of the airfield texture this may be a horizontal or a vertical line but
the Runway Ground Points must be placed on the same line.

Next we will drag the two Runway Points numbered zero directly onto the newly
located Runway Ground Points.

Next delete the two Runway Points that we left way out there when we added the points
at the edge of the concrete.

This should leave only two Runway Points per runway.

Next delete all those concrete plates and that just about does it!

[spdr109]

Now we can expand our test mission to examine the other runway. Try to set the
waypoints so that most of the aircraft of each flight can land before the next flight
arrives at the airfield and enters the holding pattern. This becomes critical as
more flights are added. Too many aircraft in the holding pattern is sure to cause
collisions.

[spdr109]

Now we can add a couple of Taxi Points and a couple of Stay Points at the
end of each runway. This is simply to assure us that we have a runway long
enough to accommodate the landing roll of a KI-21.













Success! Don't you love it when a plan comes together!

Next time we will expand the parking areas to accommodate as many aircraft
as the airfield can launch.

Until next time.