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Simple autopilot for planes that doesn't have any.


Kongamato

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It would be great if there were a general key for all the modules that would eneble a simple cheat for and autopilot, as there is a key for "Pause". That AP could just maintain altitud and course. After pressing the key again, the plane would recover the previous trim settings. Some kind of small label in the screen like "AP engaged" would be great too.

 

This simple autopilot would be a great help if you have to consult the manual or the checklist, shearch for some knob or switch in the cockpit that you don't remember exactly were is, rest your hands for some minutes during a long flight or just go to the fridge to get a drink, or to the WC. Right now, with some modules without AP, you have to pause the flight for that.

 

Pobably there are people that could think "If the real plane doesn't have AP, I don't want it". Well, kudos for you love for realism, but you are not obligued to use or even map it in your keyboard or HOTAS, as any other of the helps that don't exist in real life and are totally unrealistic (unlike the AP that indeed exists in real life), but exist in DCS, like the "pause" button, the external views, the views or the enemy or target, etc. It would be just another help for the virtual pilot. :thumbup:

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No.

 

Not another arcade feature. We already have too many which partly cannot even be forced off by the server, or the server admins do not care to turn them off. If you fly offline and need a brake, use the pause key. If your online and need a brake, go land somewhere.

[sIGPIC][/sIGPIC]

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We have a lot of issues and bugs and ED has limited resources. I certainly hope that ED will focus on fixing issues nd bugs (and new modules of course), and not waste effort on toy features.

LeCuvier

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When DCS is modeling themselves as the best simulator in the business, dedicated to realism, why would you add features that are not real?

 

You are asking for something that is not real, then telling people that want to keep the realism that you need it so it should be implemented. Why should the communities desires for realism, and DCS' goal of making a realistic simulation be changed. As much as you say we should accept your desires, there are many other games out there that have your feature if you do not respect the realism that DCS and this community are looking for in a game.

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I said that ED should focus on fixing bugs and issues, and that's stupid? Interesting...

LeCuvier

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This would be just a help during cruise flight to allow you to be hands of of the joystick if you arms are tired, have to get up from the chair to look for a manual or checklist in your bookshelves or pick up the phone if someone calls you while you are playing.

So why doesn’t the Pause command work for these situations? If I want a break I actually don’t want the plane to keep flying while I’m not attending to it. Especially in multiplayer.

There is also an “Active Pause” command in DCS which lets you pause but continue to operate the plane, useful for training etc.

So I don’t see the need for a “game” autopilot. All the DCS aircraft have AP anyways except WWII

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I don't.care either way, as mentioned it doesn't actually hurt anytging, nor would it consume much resources to have an autoleveler. It's basically turning on the ai to fly straight. *scary voice* soooo hard to do will delay modules for years /scary voice Stop with the kneejerk and infantile ''arcaaaaade noooo'' bs.

 

That said, I believe Sharpe is correct, the ''active pause'' is probably well suited for your needs as you can still interact with the aircraft while not worrying about it crashing. Only difference is you're not moving while doing so.

 

In theory, if you trim your plane out properly for cruise speed you shouldn't need an autopilot just to 'fly straight' for you. You should be able to do that hands free in nearly any aircraft anyway!

Де вороги, знайдуться козаки їх перемогти.

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I don't.care either way, as mentioned it doesn't actually hurt anytging, nor would it consume much resources to have an autoleveler. It's basically turning on the ai to fly straight. *scary voice* soooo hard to do will delay modules for years /scary voice Stop with the kneejerk and infantile ''arcaaaaade noooo'' bs.

 

:thumbup::thumbup::thumbup:

I´m SOOO tired of the "arcade nooo" bs... in this forum. :doh::doh::doh:

 

That said, I believe Sharpe is correct, the ''active pause'' is probably well suited for your needs as you can still interact with the aircraft while not worrying about it crashing. Only difference is you're not moving while doing so.

 

Well, AP is a device that exists in real life, it's not actually a "cheat", just a help. Active pause is a cheat, since there is no plane in the world with a device for stopping the time... As far as I know, at least... :smilewink:

 

And moving can be important. Imagine this: after a long flight with the F-5 or the C-101, you have killed all the bad guys and you return to base. You have in front of you 10, 20, 30 or 40 minutes of boring straight line flight and you want to rest your eyes, your arms, grab a beer, go to the WC, whatever, before landing.

 

Also, in virtual flight, you don't have the sensations of the real pilots. In real life, if the pilot have to stop looking at the horizont or the gauges to read a checklist or something, he feels in his bottom if the plane changes the attitude. We, virtual pilots, don't. So, if not so unrealistic to have a help for maintaining the plane leveled even if the real plane don't have it, if we have to stop looking the horizont or the gauges for a moment.

 

In theory, if you trim your plane out properly for cruise speed you shouldn't need an autopilot just to 'fly straight' for you. You should be able to do that hands free in nearly any aircraft anyway!

 

Well, if are able can trim your plane so well, kudos for you :thumbup: I´m not so good virtual pilot.

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Not going to debate for or against. Just going to chime in from a development POV.

 

Coding in an autopilot when an aircraft doesn’t have one is not a straightforward affair. There’s no on/off or fly straight command as the flight model calculates a large number of forces then updates the next frame.

 

Coding an autopilot will require using something like a PID controller and you’ll probably need to tune it for each aircraft to avoid oscillations. Especially for aircraft that are less aerodynamically stable.

 

In short, it does take some dev time.

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Imagine this: after a long flight with the F-5 or the C-101, you have killed all the bad guys and you return to base. You have in front of you 10, 20, 30 or 40 minutes of boring straight line flight and you want to rest your eyes, your arms, grab a beer, go to the WC, whatever, before landing.

There is also a time acceleration feature too. I think the “game” autopilot isn’t in DCS, not because of “realism” since of course accelerating time isn’t realistic. It’s just because it’s not needed. I still don’t understand why pausing or speeding up time isn’t an alternative.

 

The other flight sim I’m aware of having a “game” autpilot has this because the WWI planes cannot be trimmed and extended flying is fatiguing. That situation doesn’t happen in DCS.

 

Also, in virtual flight, you don't have the sensations of the real pilots. In real life, if the pilot have to stop looking at the horizont or the gauges to read a checklist or something, he feels in his bottom if the plane changes the attitude.

Actually not. There are many instances where a pilot cannot trust what they feel in a plane. Without instruments you can become completely disoriented. You would not trust the “feel” of the plane to know it’s attitude.

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There is also a time acceleration feature too. I think the “game” autopilot isn’t in DCS, not because of “realism” since of course accelerating time isn’t realistic. It’s just because it’s not needed. I still don’t understand why pausing or speeding up time isn’t an alternative.

 

The other flight sim I’m aware of having a “game” autpilot has this because the WWI planes cannot be trimmed and extended flying is fatiguing. That situation doesn’t happen in DCS.

 

 

Actually not. There are many instances where a pilot cannot trust what they feel in a plane. Without instruments you can become completely disoriented. You would not trust the “feel” of the plane to know it’s attitude.

 

So, to avoid a realistic feature (an autopilot), you suggest to use two unrealistic features, stopping and accelerating time... :huh:

 

Indeed, I know what instrumental vertigo is. But in a normal situation, if a pilot has to look down inside the cockpit for some reason and lose sight of the horizont and the attitude gauges, he will feel if a wing or the nose of the plane falls. In a home simulator, you don't.

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So, to avoid a realistic feature (an autopilot), you suggest to use two unrealistic features, stopping and accelerating time... :huh:

 

It is not a realistic feature if the plane does not have one.

[sIGPIC][/sIGPIC]

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So, to avoid a realistic feature (an autopilot), you suggest to use two unrealistic features, stopping and accelerating time... :huh:

I don’t necessarily disagree with your request, I just don’t understand the urgent need for it. Why is pausing the game unrealistic? It’s a game after all.

 

There’s another solution for your dilemma. Just learn to fly one of the planes that has an autopilot. Most of them do.

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I don’t necessarily disagree with your request, I just don’t understand the urgent need for it. Why is pausing the game unrealistic? It’s a game after all.

 

There’s another solution for your dilemma. Just learn to fly one of the planes that has an autopilot. Most of them do.

 

This conversation has entered in a loop. I think it's time to finish it.

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All the DCS aircraft have AP anyways except WWII

 

That's not true: f-5, huey or l-39 do not have AP. But I agree with you: no AP is needed if the real counterpart does not have it. If you have to unload the washing machine, someone is ringing at the door or your home is getting on fire, you can simply pause the game.

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That's not true: f-5, huey or l-39 do not have AP. But I agree with you: no AP is needed if the real counterpart does not have it. If you have to unload the washing machine, someone is ringing at the door or your home is getting on fire, you can simply pause the game.

 

It seems to me that if we can not be allowed to “customize” our F-5 by adding an autopilot, we should not be allowed to use customized liveries. I don’t know if anyone else has noticed, but some of the liveries people are using aren’t very realistic.

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That's not true: f-5, huey or l-39 do not have AP. But I agree with you: no AP is needed if the real counterpart does not have it. If you have to unload the washing machine, someone is ringing at the door or your home is getting on fire, you can simply pause the game.

The F-86 doesn’t have one now that I think about it

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@Kongamato

 

Trim will never be stable if your speed, attitude, and altitude are changing, thus the 1st step to trimming properly is to stop changing the variables! Set a throttle position, leave it alone, wait for the speed to stabilise (or find a throttle position that appears to match the speed you're already doing) THEN trim.

 

It's not rocket science, nor a 'skill intensive' action, inexperienced pilots tend to overthink it =) Trim starts with ''do nothing'' (so your variables don't change) then ''do very little'' (turn a knob etc until the aircraft stabilises level) and ends with ''go get a beer'' =D

 

Formation flying is the same way. It's about everyone involved agreeing to ''do nothing'' at a given speed and course ;)

 

 

Coding in an autopilot when an aircraft doesn’t have one is not a straightforward affair. There’s no on/off or fly straight command as the flight model calculates a large number of forces then updates the next frame.

 

Coding an autopilot will require using something like a PID controller and you’ll probably need to tune it for each aircraft to avoid oscillations. Especially for aircraft that are less aerodynamically stable.

 

I can virtually guarantee the simple flight models the AI aircraft use to fly in a straight line are not complex dynamic calculations. That is supported by their frequently quirky behavior. Flicking the AI on with their associated flight model would require a hot key and a bit of coding to link the key to an AI on/off switch. Possibly a bit more complicated, but no, it would not inherently require a complex process.


Edited by zhukov032186

Де вороги, знайдуться козаки їх перемогти.

5800x3d * 3090 * 64gb * Reverb G2

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