Target on Time (TOT)

[kilorocky]

Hi

I couldn't find any option that helps me to plan a target on time attack.

In land strike option, there is only an active time option, but it's hard to coordinate the arrival time of the A/C and cruise missile on the target.

Is there a way or should the develop team add an option for that?

[Rory Noonan]

I believe it's in the pipeline.

Best way to do this is manually by launching your aircraft and manipulating speed etc to have everything arrive simultaneously. It's complex and labour intensive, but that's very accurate to real life practice.

[Cik]

it's effectively impossible to do if you're mixing weapons though. trying to line up tomahawks, JASSM and a GBU run for instance is, well

not easy

good things come to those who wait

[Rory Noonan]

Use a spreadsheet.

Someone (sorry I can't remember who) actually posted a fantastic one to this forum a few months back.

[Maromak]

Spreadsheets by skorpio667.

[kevinkins]

Funny. I just mentioned in the "news" thread time on target as it related to the recent B2 strike in Libya. Not that Libya involved as many different types of weapons as kilorocky and you guys are discussing, but the the artillery concept was mentioned twice within 24 hrs.

Kevin

[stilesw]

Here is the TOT Excel planner that skorpio667 provided March-June 2016.

-Wayne Stiles

[Maromak]

ORIGINAL: stilesw

Here is the TOT Excel planner that skorpio667 provided March-June 2016.

-Wayne Stiles

Thanks! I tried searching for the original forum post..

[skorpio667]

I haven't played CMANO for a while, but will return to this masterful piece of software sooner or later. I see my planner is still used by others (though not to many [:-]). Good!
At the time of the last release I was working on an auto-update script and the incorporation of A2A refueling.
The auto update-script kept crashing so I stopped working on that.

The Refueling part could possibly still be incorporated. Would there be interest in that?
And how about a database update, is that necessary or could it wait till the next major update?

Skorpio667

[Ropedog]

Hello All! Just purchased this during the recent Steam sale for $27, plus all the DLC. In my short time here, it looks like the most wished-for update is for the TOT/ETA for mission planning which I was happy to see. I was quite surprised that this isn't implemented yet as I'm pretty sure IRL a flight won't even start it's engines without a very detailed flight plan (way points with speed, alt, formation, TOT, etc.).
What I have in mind is Falcon BMS's mission planning screen which is VERY detailed. (I can't post links yet, but just search "Falcon 4 BMS Tutorial Fraggin' (Planning) a Package" in you tube, by Krause)
Are there any plans in the pipeline to add this functionality? I very much hope so.
Thanks, Andy.

[kevinkins]

I was quite surprised that this isn't implemented yet as I'm pretty sure IRL a flight won't even start it's engines without a very detailed flight plan (way points with speed, alt, formation, TOT, etc.).

Few things to consider. A new/improved mission planner is on the short list, but the capabilities of each nation have to be considered. One size does not fit all. I am pretty sure the US and perhaps a few other nations have software to orchestrate a sophisticated joint mission. Can Iran or North Korea? Don't know. But certainly not to the extent NATO can. Additionally, many pre-planned missions will never survive unfolding events. So all the pre-work may turn out to be wasted when the sh*t hits the fan. It's a balancing act for the developers. Too much automation could make the sim less challenging as well.

Kevin

[bearhunter007]

Thanks for posting the spreadsheet Wayne.

J

[Cik]

there are plans for a strike planner, IIRC it will include TOT (confirmed in the feature request thread a while ago? correct me if i'm wrong) and probably some other things like manual steerpoint creation and initial point/push point creation

it's been in the works for a while now. there's a bunch of other cool stuff on the horizon like airplane system damage tracking too.

[obrien979]

skorpio667

I just downloaded this spreadsheet and noticed it is a few Version outdated..no issue! I was wondering if in order to bring this current, do I just need to Copy and paste the newest data into the relevant tabs? If so that I would be happy to do this for the good of he group.

Thank You

[SeaQueen]

I've done it in LUA for the computer controlled side. I've even randomized the TOT to fall within a certain window, which is cool.

Generally, for the man-in-the-loop side I'd suggest a spreadsheet. If you can plan it on a spreadsheet, then the logic transfers easily into LUA.

Also, after a while, though, you can figure out how to do it sufficiently accurately just by eyeballing it. There's some good tricks for how to remind yourself to "push the button." Sometimes I'll put reference points on the map, and rename them with an annotation about what I'm planning to do at that point. Planning them is simplified by the tendency of most aircraft and weapons to not do a lot of speed changes, so the average speed of the weapon is easy to estimate. That means you have draw easy "5min," "10min," "15min," etc. mark. Once you start do that for flight paths and flyout times, then you can eyeball it. Using reference points as sticky notes is a great trick for keeping track of what is going on when you have a lot of things happening. Also for coordination purposes, I'll add in push points and hold points which are basically just very small AAW missions, which I can then transfer to other missions. I'll also often have cruise missile carriers drive around in their launch baskets (also small AAW missions or in the case of submarines some other mission) until I want them to shoot, and then shoot them manually.

On the man-in-the-loop end, I think there's definitely a certain skill to working the buttonology and translating a plan into a set of missions and manual controls so that you can adequately get the game to execute that plan.

[AndrewJ]

I do much the same thing with Support missions. By the end of the game I usually have a bunch of "HARM Formup" and "F-15 Loiter" and "Fighter Hold" missions, etc., scattered around the map, which I had used to muster my strikes.

[pgatcomb]

skorpio667-

We could probably build a software solution to this issue if you wanted to collaborate. I started building one myself that can draw data right from the databases, but I don't see the need to reinvent the wheel.

[SeaQueen]

Honestly, at this point I'm skeptical of software based solutions. There's enough tactical variations that it's not like there's a "one size fits all" approach to strike planning. The best I can hope for is maybe something that spares me from having to do a little bit of the math, sometimes.