Diversifying Helicopter Crash Sites!

[streakthefox 28]

So I was playing some arma 3, and in the game I saw this helicopter get shot down and crash into the side of a hill.  When I took a closer look at it, I noticed that it had its own unique sort of crash style aside from the other crashes I've seen, but I got to thinking to myself, can we diversify the existing heli crashes on DayZ...?

 

-Suggestion: Diversifying Helicopter Crash Sites!

 

Now, you may be wondering "well how would we go about adding diverse crashsites?"  And you probably already started to formulate your ideas, but I believe that the ideas I came up with would have the best result.  I thought up this idea when I thought about how ragdolls work in the game, and what helicopter ragdolls would be like.  So, I expanded on that for the crash sites that start out in the game, and this is how they would be generated!

 

Adding The Elements.

In order to get different crash sites each time, we should add in some variation in how they actually crash, not just in the model or where they spawn.  Here are the elements in how it would work.

1.  Choose a Location:  In order to start, we would need to determine where the helicopter would appear at.  Instead of a set number of points (which anyone can navigate through using DayZdb) I propose a sort of algorithm to be implemented.  Essentially, to determine the spawn location, the server would randomly generate any set of coordinates from the large area of the map that helicopters can already crash, and then use those coordinates to spawn the helicopter.  That way, while it may still localize helicopters to the western half of the map, there will be no set location for them to possibly spawn.  It will always be random.
2.  Choose Elevation:  You may be thinking "Elevation, what?" but this is where the ragdoll I mentioned earlier comes into play.  Instead of auto-spawning on the ground, I believe the helicopter crash sites should actually happen, at the very start of the server during the first few seconds of its creation.  Just like with location, a randomly selected elevation from a set field of numbers would be implemented for the helicopter spawn.  Why would elevation be so important if it will just fall down on the same spot, you may wonder?  We'll get back to that later, though I will mention right now that if there are obstructions in the way (i.e. trees, buildings, large boulders) then the minimum elevation cap will be increased so that it doesn't randomly spawn the damn chopper inside a rock or something.  Also, no spawning them in the middle of Green Mountain's antenna!  That area should be kept off limits for heli spawns!
3.  Choosing Direction:  This is pretty simple, it's the direction the helicopter is facing when it spawns in and eventually crashes.  Just like before, a simple random number between 0 and 360 degrees for the helicopter to be facing.  Nothing fancy here.
4.  Choosing Speed:  This is where elements such as elevation, direction, and a few other factors will really come into play.  As mentioned at the start of this, I want the heli crashes to be just that, actual crashes!  This means that most of the time they should be moving, most likely the direction they are facing at that, though we'll get more into that later.  The higher the elevation the helicopter, the further it moves before it crashes.  And like before, the speed it's moving is a random number between 0 and... I dunno, let's just say 80 kph just to throw a number out there.
5.  Choosing Orientation:  Essentially, this is how much the helicopter is tilted or rolled when it spawns, affecting how it crashes primarily by when it hits the ground or some terrestrial-borne surface.  Since the helicopters are actively falling, their orientation won't really matter too much, though that really depends on how fast it's going.  If the damn thing is falling like a rock straight down it will continue to do so, even if it's upside down.  But if it's going that 80 kph and it's pretty haphazardly tilted, it should definitely turn and swerve some before it crashes.  The pitch, yaw, and roll values will also be, once again, randomly generated.  And yes, I do love the chaos of random values!

NOTE: I don't think elements such as how damages the helicopter spawns as, how much smoke is coming off of it, how fast its rotor blades are spinning, and stuff of the sort really matters.  That stuff will happen on its own when it crashes, so leave that to the game logic.

 

 

Performing The Crash.

So, now that we have the elements added in, it's time to look at the actual crash itself.  The helicopter should be heavily effected by its terrain, and not just immediately sticking to whatever it touches (Helicopter doing a nose-stand on top of a tree, anyone?).  So, game physics would take part in determining this.  Whenever it hits something, it immediately reacts how the physics engine says it should react depending on its speed, direction, the object it's hitting, ect.  For instance, if it lands on a flat field while moving at moderate speeds, it should skid a bit off the ground before coming to a stop.  If it runs into a forest, it should swing around and hit against some trees before finally tumbling to its final resting spot (and knocking down some trees on its own while it's at it!).  If it flies straight into the side of the hill, impacting perfectly perpendicular with the surface, the physics should also react to that!  By now you should get what I'm trying to say, but there's still more to it than that.

 

So the crash happens, but lets add some indication to the player on how it happened!  For instance, every surface it comes in contact with would leave its own sort of mark.  Take A look at the following pictures for an example...

Picture 1:

As you can see, it's a very simple picture of suicide rock near kamyshovo.  But that's not the point.  Compare this picture, to the next picture where I simulated how a crash would look like if a helicopter rammed into the rockface.

Picture 2:

As you can see, there's actually a bit of story you can tell from this image!  Since there's some obvious charring of rock higher up and the helicopter is, and the distinct lack of a trail digging through the dirt, a player can essentially look at this and go "man... that helicopter just crashed right into the rock and fell down!  Musta' killed the pilots instantly...".  Heck, this may even spawn some stones of varying quality just laying around the site as a result.

 

Another example.  This one is where a helicopter crashed into a field.

Picture 1:

Just a normal field, nothing special and all that.  But then the crash happens, and...

Picture 2:

...The field is a mess!  From an outside look, it's obvious that he helicopter was going at some pretty fast speeds in order to skid along the ground like it did, and one might even dare to speculate that the nose was pitched upwards so that it didn't nose dive into the ground, but allowed the belly of the craft to slide as it did and kick up such a long trail.

 

Some more examples of evidence of how the crash played out would be fallen trees, perhaps some fires, a cracked/scorched road, a building with some flames/crack textures put on the impact area, and perhaps even some destroyed fences.

 

 

The last thing I want to touch up on is the loot itself.  Now, obviously if the loot was inside the helicopter when it crashed, it would most definitely get ruined when the whole thing goes up in flames.  However, since this is supposed to spawn quality loot, it would do so only after the crash has finished.  When the ragdoll is finished and the model locks in place on the ground wherever the game decides it is going to rest, the loot should then spawn and sort of just be ejected from around the helicopter and land on the ground.  This way, we still get the good loot, and it still looks like the stuff just fell out when it crashed.

 

 

In Conclusion, adding more elements to diversify how the crash occurs would, in my opinion, be a great investment for when the game is really solid on all the mechanics, and the devs are looking to spruce the place up a bunch.  It would add to the immersion factor, provide a mystery each time a player comes upon a crash site, and be a great addition to the game.

Please feel free to leave comments and questions below.  Thanks everyone, and have a swell day!

 

-StreakTheFox

[pale1776 375]

Helicopter Crash Caught On Camera - Top Gear Kore…:

And this is a pretty lucky/ relatively non serious crash.

Nice details though, well thought out. Dem photo skills tho XD

[streakthefox 28]

Nice details though, well thought out. Dem photo skills tho XD

 

I am not the best when it comes to photoshop :[

In fact I don't even have photoshop...

Edited October 27, 2014 by StreakTheFox

[pale1776 375]

Dont worry man, I sell fraphics for 5-30 dollars, and I use Microsoft Paint (Not that windows 8 fresh paint BS)

It come out allright, I can merge pictures and such. Takes forever, but at least you backed up your idea with depictions

[streakthefox 28]

at least you backed up your idea with depictions

I hope they help get the point across more than they do confuse the readers!

[Roshi (DayZ) 397]

Good ideas. Well worked out. Beans.

[snwh 24]

a little late but...

 

Great idea ^^ or rather, I think this is how it should be in the first place.

 

 

and I don't just think that because it goes along so well with my radio and helicopter mayday ideas.

[Rowdy (DayZ) 28]

 

OMG HAHAHAHAHHA!

 

this actually made my day....great idea too. my beans,sir. You have them.