Really interesting thread, to which I've been meaning to contribute for days. Damn you, work and the bodily requirement for sleep. And you
too, W:EE.
Making CAS part of a mission
Incorporating CAS in a mission that's suited to FA's Tuesday/Sunday rotation is challenging, but not impossible. If you are new to mission making, I recommend that you avoid using CAS until you've successfully created some simpler missions, but if you're up to the challenge I'd suggest keeping these principles in mind:
- The infantry platoon should be able to complete the mission even if the CAS asset(s) is destroyed early on (or not used).
- The infantry platoon should not have to stand idle for long periods whilst the CAS asset(s) performs its mission (although the reverse is acceptable).
- The CAS asset(s) should not be employed to accomplish tasks best suited to infantry (e.g. clearing enemy troops from civilian structures, settlements).
- The CAS asset(s) should not be able to able to operate with impunity - some AA threat must be present.
- View distances for pilot roles should be set higher than infantry (use the Dynamic View Distance component in F2).
Of the missions I've made with CAS (for OFP, ArmA and ArmA 2), I can only say I've been really happy with one:
Arrival SE. In that mission the FA platoon is supported by a player-crewed Apache. Here's how that mission addresses the above principles:
- The Apache makes dealing with enemy tanks easier, but the platoon has enough man-portable AT to do the job if necessary - it'll just take longer.
- The platoon is not dependent upon the Apache completing its missions - it has plenty of EI to deal with independently.
- Special ROE (hello comrade x25killa!) prevent the Apache from engaging targets in settlements - so it'll always be our ground-pounders going house-to-house.
- The AO contains a handful of enemy MANPADs, ensuring that a stationary Apache quickly becomes a falling / exploding Apache.
- The view distance isn't set specially, but the AO is pretty small and this is less of a problem for this slower-moving, rotary-wing asset.
I'm not suggesting that the above principles, or how I have chosen to address them in
Arrival SE, are guaranteed to make CAS a successful component of a mission, but hope they will serve to illustrate that this is a topic that merits plenty of careful consideration by mission makers.
Tests for CAS pilots
Common sense, consideration and courtesy, rather than competence, have always characterised the players in FA sessions (and those of its antecedents, ARPS and Folk). I, and I believe all hosts, try very hard to ensure everyone has the opportunity to take on any role in our missions. Moreover, we've always striven to avoid the ranks, badges and similar accoutrements of the 'number' communities (MilSim). Creating a cadre of HS/LD pilot types within FA risks the kind of elitism and tribalism that some of us ArmAverse veterans have sought to escape. When I'm hosting a session, I like to see fresh faces taking on the challenge of piloting (and any form of leadership, for that matter), and openness remains paramount. By the same token, if you know yourself to be strongly attracted to mountainsides, please exercise common sense and avoid that Mi-8 pilot slot.
Training FACs
This is a fair point - we have certainly seen real benefits from the advent of the workshops, so if comrades Tigershark and Carson can work up a training opportunity I'm sure that would help. However, I'd also suggest that in terms of prioritisation, this topic lags behind our need to make more comrades comfortable taking CO and SL roles. Again, I'd love it if the slots people are jumping the gun for are element leadership ones
as well as the toys.