# VTOL AIRCRAFT PROJECT
### Project Coordinator: Thwomper
#### Contributors: Nivrak, xslayer300 (SFX), Forest2001, SpyPig23, TommyLeonard (SFX), Thwomper

## Design Motivation

Vehicles are a big part of any large-scale military operation, used in a variety of roles. CM has long experimented with the inclusion of ground vehicles to varying degrees of success. The APC feature dealt with a number of issues, primarily stemming from its ability to be used in combat. Unlike the APC, the tank is still around, but in limited availability.

In conjunction with other dependent projects (See: Multi-Z Initative), the opportunity to include airborne vehicles becomes available for exploration. Additionally, the ability to traverse Z-levels and large portions of the map clearly is more desirable in maps that include significant verticality.

Finally, we want to scratch the itch that a lot of players have for vehicles and the roleplay therein. The trick will be developing it in a way that lends itself to utility, and not combat.

## Project Goals

* Develop a VTOL aircraft that can be flown by a Marine pilot and support a small crew for transport.

* A small aircraft lends itself to rescue operations and strategic insertions of small teams. Additionally, we can limit its range by the inclusion of resource management features, such as power, health, and fuel.

* Allow for direct counterplay to the vehicle from Xeno players.

* Xenomorphs, ideally Runners and Lurkers should be the primary counterplay to the VTOL, specifically in landing and hover, being able to use the pounce ability to instantly enter the aircraft and attack the pilot within.

* Running out of fuel in flight, overextending the aircraft, or being attacked should cause the aircraft to crash.

* Once its done, its done. Xenos need incentive to take it out of the round permanently, as they can Marines themselves. This will force pilots to be careful and not take on overly risky behaviors in practice.

* Combat related features should be extremely minimal if any, and lend itself to the intended mission envelope of the VTOL aircraft.

* To avoid powergaming, being annoying, and generally a problem like APC has been, any capabilities granted to the VTOL will be done for the sake of utility within the specific missions it will be designed for. Think search & rescue, insertions, reconnaissance, etc. Not strafing runs.

## Aircraft Features

* AD-71E VTOL Aircraft

A relatively small tilt-jet aircraft designed to carry up to 4 passengers along with a pilot in its interior hold. The aircraft is capable of taking off and landing in any area that is exposed to the sky. It can also enter a stowed mode in order to fit inside the Alamo Dropship for initial deployment. It can then enter VTOL mode to take off, land, and hover, and enter a flight mode from there for continuous forward movement.

 

The pilot will be able to control all the mechanisms of the aircraft from the cockpit in the interior of the aircraft, featuring a unique HUD element view that includes monitoring icons for aircraft integrity, power, and fuel. Integrity is a measure of damage sustained from a variety of sources that can be implemented, such as boiler gas, crashing into buildings, slash damage, etc.

Power is a resource that does not readily deplete in flight, but can be extended to use additional functions of the aircraft, such as a localized radar, floodlight, or flare launcher.

Finally, fuel is a resource that is constantly consumed while in forward flight at a steady rate, and an increased rate while in hover. Running out of fuel while in flight will result in the aircraft crashing, permanently damaging the aircraft, forcing everyone out, and injuring them significantly.

* AD-71E VTOL Interior

The interior of the aircraft can be accessed from the rear and sides of the vehicle when landed. By default, it will have four seats inside for passengers, and a seat for the pilot to control the aircraft up front. The rear door can be opened in flight to see out, but jumping out in flight will cause you to fall and probably die. The side doors act like typical vehicle interior doors, requiring a second or two to access before activating, while the rear door will move you instantly outside, useful for seamless deployment. Any unsecured persons or items left in the vehicle when in flight will become mobile hazards to themselves and everyone else on board. Don't over load the vehicle with people or items.


The cockpit will have access points along the walls to load and unload the external Chimera Launch Systems on either side of the aircraft. These can deploy volleys of starshells at the expense of power, or HIDP grenades at significant expense. As another power-draining feature, a Radar system will be incorporated as an active ability of the aircraft, functionally similar to the ARC's local sensor system, allowing the aircraft to do flyovers of the battlefield and provide realtime tactical data of the enemy positions, and finally a power expenditure for Night-vision, or FLIR optics for the pilot to get enhanced vision of ground conditions.

* Deployable Landing Pad

The landing pad is a large item that can be deployed manually, or faster with a powerloader. The previously mentioned fuel and power resources required for the VTOL to function are replenished at landing pads, and only at landing pads. Having multiple around the map can extend the aircraft's range of operation. The fuel pump and maintenance computer are two additional items that can be attached to any existing landing pad to increase its refueling and recharging efficiency. Repairs to integrity can also be done here with a welding tool.

* Aerospace-Vehicle Transport Tug
 

The transport tug is a means of allowing the aircraft to achieve taxiing motion on the ground. This will be outlined further in the next section of this document. The tug itself is semi-autonomous. It can be manually dragged into place at the front of the aircraft and attached, where the the pilot can then use it to move the aircraft around from the cockpit, and detach it from where when positioned at a takeoff zone.

## Vehicle Deployment & Accessibility

The aircraft will spawn round-start in the hangar bay of the Almayer, along with the tug and landing pad item. The aircraft starts unfueled, for safety reasons, and must be deployed to the area of operations by loading it into the rear of the Alamo Dropship, which can be done by using the Cargo Tug. Once deployed, the landing pad must be deployed and used to refuel the aircraft before any flights can take place, which will do good to counteract any deliberate rushing using the aircraft.


The pump and maintenance computer are additions that can be purchased through requisitions budget to speed up the refeuling, recharging, and repair process.

The aircraft will be operated by a single pilot, with the help of a DCC as needed. A new pilot, the Operations Pilot, will fill this role, and receive a significant time lock in relevant piloting and engineering abilities. Any and all groundside Marines will be able to utilize the aircraft at the discretion of the pilot, but if the pilot disappears, nobody will be able to fly it, even DP or GP.

## Balance Considerations

The key balance notes can be reductively viewed as keeping the aircraft away from combat, or attempting to use it in combat, or generally powergaming with it.

In flight, the vtol will need to be able to traverse z-levels fluidly, and have its own "sky" z-level that is a step above the highest rooftop. In this, however, boiler gas clouds will project upwards, into a column of gas. Near the front, where clouds are constantly being deployed, these columns will create obstacles to fly around, introducing danger to operating near the front. Hitting a cloud will incur damage to the aircraft. Landing in an exposed area also risks attacks from lurkers and runners. The airframe itself is relatively fragile.

The range and ability to stay airborne and make decisions is really all dependent on the pilot's ability to maintain full accountability of their fuel reserves. So far, this is able to achieve most of the important aspects of APC, such as relatively secure transport and vehicle utility, without the downsides of mobile surgery, moving barricade, and having to design maps around it.

## Modularity

The vtol will be represented by 3 core modules, and a fourth special modules (limited availability); Transport, Pararescue, Support, and Recon. A module provides two things, an interior map change for the VTOL and an external base sprite change that is applied like any other hardpoint initially. The modules should be vended through a special vehicle vendor similar to a spec loadout or otherwise, where the choices are exclusive to each other. When dispensed, the module specific hardpoints are also vended for attachment to the VTOL.

# Transport

Transport is the most basic module, essentially being most effective at both troop and cargo transport, where the rear interior is supplanted with extra seats (or maybe special crate storage in the long term), this version comes with the AQ-Radar, the Chimera system, and the engines.


# Pararescue

The Pararescue module is geared towards recovery and stabilization of wounded Marines. It features the same hardpoints as the transport module, but has two cots in the rear interior, along with a wall-mounted IV system.


# Support

The support module features the rear-doorgun, which is an automatic belt-fed grenade launcher that can be fired out of the rear door in flight. The grenades emit hornet shrapnel which causes targets to temporarily take increased damage, meaning it will not be successful in eliminating targets on its own, but it can provide fire support for friendlies on the ground.


# Recon

The recon variant is the most different and intensive of the models. Aside from the engines, the hardpoints are different (by necessity) and the base VTOL sprite is much different


The main feature is the Reaper Target Acquisition system, which is an active radar component that can be used to not only track non-IFF signatures within a significant range, but actively target them while a flyover is being performed. The radar should provide unique pings for signal flares.

Along with this, the Recon module is capable of loading two X9E-ATG Laser-Guided Missiles that can be fired from high-altitude and directly tracked to impact the ground and detonate through the radar interface. Updating the laser target location for both a moving target and the VTOL moving relative to the ground should be sufficiently challenging. The Missiles themselves should provide an electroshock-type explosion, which slows enemies hit and disables abilities for a brief moment.

The interior of the Recon VTOL should have a station for the OCC to operate the radar and weapons system, and less seats than the other module.

##