Randomly, the AI doesn't physically appear in game, yet it can shoot at players.

[Maverick Su-35S]

Hello,

 

Yes, the ghost is here. It's an AI! After creating a server mission in which I used the "mist" script in order to make certain AI units (mostly aircraft) respawn according to triggers, it was proven to me by the clients who encountered those units that they do not physically appear in the game nor on their radar.

 

For example, I have created an AI fighter aircraft which respawns (dead or alive) using the "mist" script whenever a player selects a certain plane that appears in X zone on the map (that's the trigger for the script) and head to head with the spawning AI. Surprisingly, some clients are sometimes able to see AI both on radar and physically, as well as their fired missiles smoke, yet sometimes they don't have anything on radar nor any physical appearance of the existing AI nor the AI's weapon that comes towards them. They see nothing all around which would appear as missile, bullet or AI aircraft and only witness how their own plane blows up apparently for no reason (when the AI's weapon hits them). I don't believe that a track would be useful, because from the spectators I was able to always see both the respawned AI and the player against it, but the client player was only randomly (but somewhat rarely) able to see the enemy AI after they re-selected the according role plane which makes the AI respawn.

[Shahdoh]

I have seen this as well using MIST to respawn aircraft. What I also found out is if you experience the spawn as invisible, another client logging in at that time COULD see the aircraft. Then, on the next spawn, you can see it again but they can not.

 

Rather than fighting with it, I chose to utilize MOOSE for respawns while utilizing MIST for other functions.

[Pikey]

I'm not sure the root cause is either script I am afraid, they both use the ED API https://wiki.hoggitworld.com/view/DCS_func_addGroup. Scripting attracts a lot of these issues, but it's merely a layer of usability over what ED gives us.

 

 

I've heard of these types of issues but never seen it myself (on this version). I have seen this with Big Smoke activated at run time not being seen by connected clients if they were not in the server at the time it was activated. Best to supply a track file for proper investigation else these reports mainly get, erm, I won't say ignored, but "overlooked".

[Maverick Su-35S]

You know..., I wonder. Why the heck is ED so focused on money only (new products every now and then) than their reputation. Perhaps they don't care...! Why couldn't ED implement these simple things that we need to have in the Mission Editor, such as planes respawning and other non-complicated scripts rather than leaving us on our own and be forced to utilize these separate apps and stuff that create such a headache and more bad than good.

 

Someone asked me: "Why have you become so disappointed of DCS over time?" My answer was: "Because every day there's something new to add to the ever growing list".

[Maverick Su-35S]

...

I've heard of these types of issues but never seen it myself (on this version). I have seen this with Big Smoke activated at run time not being seen by connected clients if they were not in the server at the time it was activated...

 

Well, that isn't something that affects the gameplay, but what if you as server or another client have bombed an enemy runway or taxiway and you can clearly see the damage and be affected by the holes in the ground while the clients (the clients who connected later at least) aren't able to see any damage nor get affected by it while rolling over it to taxi or whatever, gives you nothing but a bad taste!

 

For myself, I have built a list of very important unsolved bugs and issues that greatly alter the player's experience and performance which haven't been fixed to this day since DCS A-10C came in. Forced ignorance seems to be a great rule for gaining success.

 

 

Regards!

[Maverick Su-35S]

Why can't they just make the "late activation" function be a respawn function of an X unit when Y trigger takes place, when X unit is made alive using the "Group activate" action (or any different action which fits to make that unit respawn forever when Y trigger takes place)?

[Grimes]

Need the mission so I can at least test it and see the parameters being passed to the function to spawn units.

[Maverick Su-35S]

Hello Grimes,

 

Here you have it:

Invisible AI shooting clients.part1.rar

Invisible AI shooting clients.part2.rar

 

Regards!

[Grimes]

Since you can easily replicate it, can you try it with an updated version of mist? The one from your mission is version 4.0, while current is 4.4.

[Maverick Su-35S]

Since you can easily replicate it, can you try it with an updated version of mist? The one from your mission is version 4.0, while current is 4.4.

 

 

I also thought about that lately but didn't get the time to update mist. I'll try and see what the clients will tell.

[Maverick Su-35S]

But, related to the same subject, when I also entered different servers (as client) and went near enemy sam defended areas I would also experience the same stuff myself now. I would get no warning and no missile trail but only saw my cockpit view bump (from the missile hit) and the subsequent loss of both engines and shrapnel clues on the plane (Su-25T), yet again, the same thing happened as my clients experienced. I have done a DCS files repair just to make sure something wasn't wrong in my DCS installation, but no, everything returned normal. So, no missile trail, just suddenly getting hit by something yet there was nothing around other than less harmful enemy ground units that had no surface to air capability (trucks, soldiers, etc.). I went to the enemy side now (switched coalition) just to see what a heck had hit me. Surprise..., whatever hit me was not visible on the map nor physically either in the area that I found those units, yet I could tell for sure it was a missile, as nothing could've hit my Su-25T and every time I retried going in the same area the same thing would happen over and over again. Very weird otherwise if this may not be related to scripts which respawn units that are not physically being shown to the clients, yet the server simulates their effect. I don't know what to say! I'll try to join the same server again and give you the track, cause this is very weird and annoying to everyone playing.

 

Regards!

Edited March 20, 2019 by Maverick Su-35S

[Maverick Su-35S]

Grimes, the last version seems to be 4.3 from your thread. Is there another link for 4.4?

 

 

Thanks!

[Maverick Su-35S]

I guess that even the latest "mist" gives the same issues. With version 4.3.7 (latest found on this forum) I get a similar issue of not completely simulating the aircraft that respawns using mist. For instance, each team's awacs respawns using a trigger plane with a trigger zone if it dies. The communications with the blue E-3 awacs work flawlessly when this awacs is at it's first life (haven't died yet). If it dies and then you respawn it (with the trigger aircraft) you may no longer communicate with it from certain aircraft. For example, you can still comm with it using the F-15, but using the A-10C, it no longer responds. It's not a mistake that I do or anything for this to happen. First time it works when the awacs first appears in the mission, but after it dies and you respawn it, you can no longer communicate with it using some aircraft (like the A-10C). I didn't have the opportunity anymore to check whether the earlier issue (regarding the fact that some respawned AI fighters are no longer physically existing for clients, but kill clients) still exists in this version too, but I consider that nothing changed even in this last version.

 

Here's the mission again (similar to the earlier one, but modified) with the awacs communication problems:

Awacs comm lost after it respawn.part1.rar

Awacs comm lost after it respawn.part2.rar

 

 

Regards!

Edited March 28, 2019 by Maverick Su-35S