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[TercioNapoli]

Hi guys

I am trying to find out how to place and set up airfield icons on land and water. Maps come with pre-set airfield icons and landing patterns, but wondering if I can manually place these. If so, how do I do this in the editor?

Any thoughts or suggestions would help.

Cheers 

P.S. using B.A.T Red Core WAW mod 👍

[WxTech]

You can do this only through the unlocked FMB (Full Mission Builder). You have to obtain a couple of .ini files to temporarily replace those in your game, which opens up the ability to exert full control over all map objects that go into the map's actors.static file. Or you can have a dedicated game version installed for just map building. But it's a very minor thing to swap out a couple of. Ini files whenever you want to play with maps.

[vonofterdingen]

As an alternative to map making, you can use the so-called Test Runways, available to mission builders in the Stationary ships object list. There are several types and styles. Their disadvantage is that they are essentially stationary aircraft carriers, so you must make some accommodations such as pulling chocks when taking off. Lars and I created an entire base at Thorney Island for one of the Beaufort campaigns, since there is no base there on the Canon Channel map. No map making required to use this approach, just some slightly complex mission building. I can most such a mission here if you want to see how we did it. I based much of the Thorney Island airfield on a template that Kurfurst did on M4T.

[Atoka220]

As an alternative to map making, you can use the so-called Test Runways, available to mission builders in the Stationary ships object list. Their disadvantage is that they are essentially stationary aircraft carriers

Yes and keep in mind that if you try to roll off the runway with that, your plane will just fall into the ground and blow the eff up

[vonofterdingen]

The "falling off" effect can be mitigated to a large degree using a bit of trickery with larger runways and blank plates. You will feel a bump however if crossing over. This is the Thorney Island field:



The runway on the left we use for landings. It is a Test Runway object. The runway parallel to it simply uses blank plates and runway plate objects. It can be used for taxi-to-takeoff, unlike the test runways. You can taxi between the two, though I have used visual cues to separate the two and avoid the bumping sensation when doing the cross-over.

BTW the angular runway to the far right is strictly for show and cannot actually be used.

[TercioNapoli]

Thanks guys for your input, much appreciated 👍

I had a go at the Test-Runway option and it worked. For water landings you will have to use Test-Runway 4 or 5. The icon once placed will also need a second waypoint otherwise it gives you an error. Then just connect your last waypoint to it as landing. I tried it with an H6K on auto-pilot and no issues taking off or landing on the water, I added an AI wingman and this plane too landed without issue on the water. Didn't even need to use chocks! 👍

[vonofterdingen]

Well done TercioNapoli.

[Wing Walker]

There is also the landing wires that create a airfield icon to use on a runway build.

I've used this in creating an airfield in a no so flat area where I had problems with the invisible test strips where a/c would "float" over where the terrain was low, and then sink into it where it was higher.

The wires work great, accept they show the wires (which really are not that visible at a distance), and they make AI a/c act like they are landing on, or taking off from a carrier.

[WxTech]

If uneven ground is an issue, you could determine where the strip is on map_h.tga, then paint all the pixels under the strip with the same greyscale value. GIMP or PhotoShop to the rescue, if you aren't set up to play in the unlocked FMB. This is how I did all kinds of terrain adjustments in my early days.

[Wing Walker]

map_h.tga, then paint all the pixels under the strip with the same greyscale value. GIMP or PhotoShop to the rescue,

How do you do that?

I've never edited maps, I have photoshop though.  Not sure how you would find "map_h.tga"? 

You would just open the file in photoshop and paint a grey area?

Was trying to make a Op Torch map based around Port Lyautey airfield, but there is no Port Lyautey airfield on the Operation Torch map.  Had to half ass it.

[WxTech]

You'll have to extract the file from the SFS archive containing it, unless it's already part of a mod map that you have in your MAPMODS folder. If you must extract files yourself, you'll need an SFS Extractor utility, and an up-to-date file list that contains the path names for at least the scores or hundreds of maps, and ideally all game files, which number in the hundreds of thousands (could be surpassing a million now.)