Ideas on how to make automated cargo aircraft?

[Galacticruler]

So I'm unsure of where to post this, so if it is in the wrong spot please let me know.

I'm currently thinking of how to make a set of aircraft designed with cargo transport over gargantuan (or hostile) distances...my few ideas are as follows:
1. A special kind of "rail" and locomotive with a huge storage, make it have no collision boxes when in flight and only (un)load/fuel up at airport buildings.
2. something like the Satellite Uplink mod that would let you place infinite numbers of the invisible Flight Path "Rails"
3. allow for complex custom airports via the use of a different rail that functions similar, but adds collisions back to the aircraft in a "landed" state(thus posing a risk to your health when they land)

Anyone have any ideas on how to do this?

[S0ulstr34m]

Hi! I'm new to the forums but I think you have posted at the right place

Also, I would like to add that this would be a great idea! I love to think about the idea of having remote base (maybe 1 or 2 fueling distance away - to add some extra fun) to bring me some goods to my main base. I imagine you would kinda need to setup some defenses around your airports too which would be fun I think.

[dewast]

For start ther is an AIRPLANE MOD
http://www.factoriomods.com/mods/aircraft
http://www.factoriomods.com/mods/aircraft,
the rest would have to copy from Trains (travwling betwen stations LUA and train stations LUA)

[Galacticruler]

For start ther is an AIRPLANE MOD
http://www.factoriomods.com/mods/aircraft
http://www.factoriomods.com/mods/aircraft,
the rest would have to copy from Trains (travwling betwen stations LUA and train stations LUA)

I am aware of the Aircraft mod. I was wondering more about the infinite free flight-path rails and ATC tower to deploy them from.
another issue, is if I use the code from the vanilla trains I'd run into problems with multiple planes on one flight path being...weird. they would also have to render 100% above everything else and not collide only when in flight. so its a bit more challengint than that. then theres the art hurdle.

[Adil]

I believe I've seen somewhere that traffic lights don't differentiate rails of different kind and while not colliding or able to follow them, locomotives would be hindered by planes flying around.

Adding a realistic airplanes is not a simple thing to do.

I'm actually currently working on custom flying paths that can be traversed automatically. But rl presses me so hard that I'd be willing to participate in collaboration project, despite deriving most pleasure from doing things myself and being very protective of my designs.
I'd estimate that finished state aircraft mod would be thousands lines of code.
How far are you actually willing to go?

All the way through

I won't disclose the implementation for now, but when stuff is in the air it is actually simple part. (Minus the gui for path creation, which I've almost hobbled through by now.)
But real airplanes are not only about air, the mechanics on the ground also need implementation.
I think that cars are better representation for grounded planes, after I release current mod I plan to take up selfdriving cars, which then will be reused as ground autopilot for planes. This grounded plane will go to the runway, accelerate, when certain speed reached, it's inventory will be memorized and car entity will be replaced with other, one which will represent flying plane.

One important thing for plane simulation is the takeoff and landing animation. I believe it is possible to implement those by using entities of type "explosion", which run animation unconditionall
So, a plane accelerates, then it is destroyed, and explosion displaying the liftoff is created, then flying state is created.

If you want to take part in this, do the challenge described below and we'll have a github project together. (With a pair of conditions below.)

I can do it - Programming challenge

Implement the liftoff stage. For example, complete the following code so that when a car hits 88 km/h mark the explosion is created, player and inventory contents are transported to the plane from Aircraft mod.

Code: Select all

script.on_event(defines.events.on_player_created,function(event)
    p=game.players[event.player_index]; s=p.surface; c=p.character;
    car=s.create_entity{name="car", position=p.position, force=p.force}
    car.passenger=c
    car.insert("coal")
    script.on_event(defines.events.on_tick, function(event) c.riding_state={direction=1, acceleration=defines.riding.acceleration.accelerating}; end )

Feel free to equivalently rephrase the conditions as in this most basic form trees really get in the way

bonus:
Add invisible vehicle to hide the player in while the liftoff animation is played and it is actually too soon to spawn flying plane.
Spawn different explosions depending on the direction of liftoff.

20% cooler (very cool actually):
You know, you could go and implement that liftoff and landing for already existing planes. With base pictures already there all needed is the coordinate shifting on spritesheet. Or maybe pester Youkitani so he makes animations with shadows.

Still interested - Coworking conditions

Licensing
(I do realize I may sound like an arrogant moron by this point, but whatever.)

I agree to any free licence with an additional condition: no modpacks. At least until mod gets 500 downloads.

I case of conflict any member of party is free to branch off his own project, in the thread of initial mod release all such versions have the right to be presented in the beginning of the thread.

Graphics needed

There actually is quite a lot of free blender models for vehicles.
For example I've found these two in a quick search.
http://www.blendswap.com/blends/view/83983
http://www.blendswap.com/blends/view/67155
I believe CC BY 3.0 allows their use for purposes like this.

[Galacticruler]

I believe I've seen somewhere that traffic lights don't differentiate rails of different kind and while not colliding or able to follow them, locomotives would be hindered by planes flying around.

Adding a realistic airplanes is not a simple thing to do.

I'm actually currently working on custom flying paths that can be traversed automatically. But rl presses me so hard that I'd be willing to participate in collaboration project, despite deriving most pleasure from doing things myself and being very protective of my designs.
I'd estimate that finished state aircraft mod would be thousands lines of code.
How far are you actually willing to go?

All the way through

I won't disclose the implementation for now, but when stuff is in the air it is actually simple part. (Minus the gui for path creation, which I've almost hobbled through by now.)
But real airplanes are not only about air, the mechanics on the ground also need implementation.
I think that cars are better representation for grounded planes, after I release current mod I plan to take up selfdriving cars, which then will be reused as ground autopilot for planes. This grounded plane will go to the runway, accelerate, when certain speed reached, it's inventory will be memorized and car entity will be replaced with other, one which will represent flying plane.

One important thing for plane simulation is the takeoff and landing animation. I believe it is possible to implement those by using entities of type "explosion", which run animation unconditionall
So, a plane accelerates, then it is destroyed, and explosion displaying the liftoff is created, then flying state is created.

If you want to take part in this, do the challenge described below and we'll have a github project together. (With a pair of conditions below.)

I can do it - Programming challenge

Implement the liftoff stage. For example, complete the following code so that when a car hits 88 km/h mark the explosion is created, player and inventory contents are transported to the plane from Aircraft mod.

Code: Select all

script.on_event(defines.events.on_player_created,function(event)
    p=game.players[event.player_index]; s=p.surface; c=p.character;
    car=s.create_entity{name="car", position=p.position, force=p.force}
    car.passenger=c
    car.insert("coal")
    script.on_event(defines.events.on_tick, function(event) c.riding_state={direction=1, acceleration=defines.riding.acceleration.accelerating}; end )

Feel free to equivalently rephrase the conditions as in this most basic form trees really get in the way

bonus:
Add invisible vehicle to hide the player in while the liftoff animation is played and it is actually too soon to spawn flying plane.
Spawn different explosions depending on the direction of liftoff.

20% cooler (very cool actually):
You know, you could go and implement that liftoff and landing for already existing planes. With base pictures already there all needed is the coordinate shifting on spritesheet. Or maybe pester Youkitani so he makes animations with shadows.

Still interested - Coworking conditions

Licensing
(I do realize I may sound like an arrogant moron by this point, but whatever.)

I agree to any free licence with an additional condition: no modpacks. At least until mod gets 500 downloads.

I case of conflict any member of party is free to branch off his own project, in the thread of initial mod release all such versions have the right to be presented in the beginning of the thread.

Graphics needed

There actually is quite a lot of free blender models for vehicles.
For example I've found these two in a quick search.
http://www.blendswap.com/blends/view/83983
http://www.blendswap.com/blends/view/67155
I believe CC BY 3.0 allows their use for purposes like this.

I can probably do this, and I'll probably try soon. My knowledge of LUA is quite basic, and while growing I do sometimes get stuck on things so if you don't hear back its probably something that's got me stuck.

[Adil]

Well, feel free to ask for help. There's a few people around here giving advices.

[The_Destroyer]

I've always wanted an Aircraft mod. This sounds promising. While I normally code in C# I might dig around some resources to help

[Wyrframe]

To completely dodge the flightpathing and takeoff/landing cycles entirely... I'm making Cargo Zeppelins. Basically planning on them being loaded and unloaded by Logistics robots, having them fly between specified points and turn themselves into Passive Provider or Requester chests during specified sections of their patrol and contributing to whatever logistic network they are overflying at that time.

[Supercheese]

To completely dodge the flightpathing and takeoff/landing cycles entirely... I'm making Cargo Zeppelins. Basically planning on them being loaded and unloaded by Logistics robots, having them fly between specified points and turn themselves into Passive Provider or Requester chests during specified sections of their patrol and contributing to whatever logistic network they are overflying at that time.

Yessssss that sounds very good!

[kyranzor]

I have already mentioned/discussed this idea with those on the IRC channel a few weeks back.

My general idea was to make a "drop zone" building which has inventory, and when you build a second "drop zone" building and they can be linked with a simple GUI. Once linked, they auto-spawn a cute little cargo hovership thing that is a non-collision entity (a "Unit" type entity btw) that is commanded to move to the location of the other drop zone building. Once there, the inventory that exists in the drop zone just reached is saved as a temporary object in LUA (to the global table for persistence), and the inventory that existed at the time the craft left the original drop zone is instantly inserted into the destination drop zone. This allows for simultaneous pick-up and drop off of the current state of each drop zone allowing bi-directional transportation of cargo between two locations.

The ideas I was throwing around on the IRC channel also covered having this cargo ship armed with machinegun or tank cannon style turrets so that if it encounters enemies it can deal with them on the way.