STW CombatLight Helipads — Online Manual

For players

CombatLight Helipads provide autonomous armed helicopters. Their player-facing request is close air support (CAS), not transport. Only the leader of the requesting player group may call CAS.

Open the map as your group leader.
Open Combat Support → Request CAS.
Select the requested strike area on the map.
Wait for the assignment notification and the faction-visible CAS marker.

Automatic dispatch: you do not choose a helicopter. The server assigns the nearest eligible same-faction CombatLight helicopter within 8 km. A helicopter serving a player-owned route, landing, returning in an emergency, crashing, or under maintenance is not diverted.

Close air support

You may also place a case-insensitive map marker named HCAS, HELICOPTER CAS, or HELO CAS at the requested area. Do not use H CAS: it remains available to STWTransportHelipads and is not a CAS alias.

The server validates the requester, faction, aircraft state, distance, and request rate. Client markers never directly command AI. The active CAS marker is shown only to the requesting faction and is removed when the order completes, fails, or is cancelled.

CAS is a finite strike, not an unlimited hunt. At the area, the helicopter searches for eligible hostile ground targets, fires a short rocket salvo, then makes another pass for a different unengaged target if one is available. The default limit is three target passes. Aircraft and helicopters are excluded. When targets are exhausted, the pass limit is reached, or the aircraft breaks off for safety, it returns to its pad. A later ordinary autonomous patrol may be generated after its normal ground turnaround.

Availability: if no eligible same-faction helicopter is ready, the request is rejected; wait for one to land, complete maintenance, or finish its current protected task.

Automatic combat sorties

When not serving a CAS task, each ready CombatLight helicopter plans a finite autonomous patrol. It visits a configurable number of route points, avoids known hostile-armour danger zones where enabled, then returns to its owning pad. Completed sorties remain on the ground for a varied turnaround before the next launch.

With ground engagement enabled, the helicopter may stop at a stand-off hover near a hostile target and use its native weapons for the configured time. Repeated damage makes it reposition; it breaks off and returns for maintenance at the configured health threshold. A destroyed aircraft can be replaced after its cooldown, and recent losses become temporary danger zones for future route planning.

Capacity: maxConcurrentSorties limits how many automatic CombatLight sorties can be airborne at once. A group-leader CAS request is the deliberate way to redirect an eligible aircraft.

For Game Masters and scenario authors

Place STW CombatLight Helipad from the Game Master asset browser. In STW CombatLight Helipad Properties, choose its faction, installed helicopter model, and 0–4 defending patrols. STW owns the pad’s aircraft, AI crew, patrols, map marker, and removal handle.

Choose level, unobstructed ground with room for an approach and landing footprint.
Place the CombatLight Helipad.
Select US, USSR, RHS USAF, or RHS AFRF, then an installed model or RANDOM.
Set the defending-patrol count and apply.

Configured pads can show faction-coloured, faction-only map markers. Remove a pad with STW Remove CombatLight Helipad or its STW Game Master removal handle. Removal is cancelled while a player is inside or controls its helicopter.

Automatic placement is enabled by default. After its initial delay, the server searches shuffled map tiles for clear, level, separated sites—including runway locations—and creates pads for the explicit enabledFactionKeys roster. Disable Automatic CombatLight Helipads Enabled in Scenario Properties to remove only automatic pads. STW CombatLight Helipads Enabled controls the whole subsystem.

Server configuration

The configuration file is created on first server start:

$profile:STW/CombatHelipadsLight/STWCombatHelipadsLightConfig.json

Stop the server before editing it; values are validated when loaded.

Setting	Purpose
`enabled` `diagnosticsEnabled`	Enables the subsystem and diagnostic logging.
`enableChatMessages` `enableNotificationMessages`	Independently controls CombatLight status messages in radio chat and as on-screen hints. Chat defaults to `true`; on-screen notifications default to `false`.
`defaultUSHelicopterModel` `defaultUSSRHelicopterModel`	Default models for future pads. `RANDOM` selects from installed eligible models.
`maxActiveHelicopters` `maxActiveHelicoptersPerFaction` `maxConcurrentSorties`	Global, faction, and simultaneous automatic-sortie limits.
`automaticSortieTurnaroundMinimumMinutes` `automaticSortieTurnaroundMaximumMinutes` `automaticRoutePointCount`	Controls ground turnaround and automatic-route length.
`automaticGroundEngagementEnabled` `automaticGroundEngagementRadiusMeters` `automaticGroundEngagementHoverSeconds` `maximumGroundEngagementsPerSortie`	Controls bounded ground-target acquisition, hover timing, and the default CAS target-pass limit.
`returnToBaseHealthPercent` `combatHoverRepositionDamagePercent` `combatHoverMaximumRepositions`	Damage response, combat repositioning, and maintenance break-off.
`dangerZoneAvoidanceEnabled` `dangerZoneRadiusMeters` `dangerZoneExpiryMinutes`	Controls avoidance of known hostile-armour danger zones.
`refuelBeforeTakeoff` `rearmBeforeTakeoff` `repairBeforeTakeoff`	Pad servicing before departure.
`repairDelayBaseSeconds` `repairDelaySecondsPerDamagePercent` `repairDelayMaximumSeconds`	Timed maintenance after a damaged return.
`automaticGenerationEnabled` `enabledFactionKeys` `maximumAutomaticHelipads`	Automatic-pad generation, explicit faction roster, and maximum pad count.
`automaticHelipadQuotas`	Optional per-faction automatic-pad quotas. Each entry uses `factionKey` and `automaticHelipadCount`. An empty array keeps round-robin distribution. The quota total remains bounded by `maximumAutomaticHelipads` and `maxActiveHelicopters`; raise `maxConcurrentSorties` if all aircraft should fly simultaneously.
`showCombatHelipadLightMarkers`	Shows or hides faction-only helipad markers.

Models and soft dependencies

The selector shows only helicopter prefabs available to the running server. Optional aircraft are soft dependencies: missing content is omitted, allowing the addon to run with the models that are installed. For multiplayer, the server and every client must load the selected aircraft’s source mod and all its dependencies.

Vanilla UH-1H Armed Gunship HEDP and Mi-8MT Armed Gunship HEDP need no optional aircraft mod. Optional US profiles include MH-6M/AH-6M, NH90, CH-46, H-47/CH-47, and UH-60 variants; optional USSR profiles include Mi-8MT Black, SW-4, Mi-35P-M, and Mi-24V. Test each selected profile in the intended scenario before publication.

Soft dependencies

These optional source mods are included in the CombatLight Helipads development dependency list. They are probed at runtime: an unavailable aircraft simply does not appear in the model selector or RANDOM pool. Install a selected mod through its Workshop page so its own required dependencies are resolved.

Optional mod	MODID	Workshop page
WCS_Mi-24V	`628933A0D3A0D700`	Open workshop page
WCS_KA-52	`64CB35D07BAEE60F`	Open workshop page
Mi-28	`609E138FE9005877`	Open workshop page
UH-60	`688D66CBCE3CFA42`	Open workshop page
WCS_AH-1S	`64CB39E57377C861`	Open workshop page
WCS_AH-64D	`6303360DA719E832`	Open workshop page
WCS_AH-64D_Upgrade	`6326F0C7E748AB8A`	Open workshop page
WCS_AH-6M	`6273146ADFE8241D`	Open workshop page
WCS_AH-6M_Upgrade	`62AE96D92179F7A0`	Open workshop page
Sikorsky H60 Project	`60ED3CC6E7E40221`	Open workshop page

Operational notes

Choose open ground for pads; the terrain footprint must be level enough and the aircraft needs a clear approach.
Each defending patrol is a small same-faction two-person group that patrols around its helipad.
Changing a pad’s faction or model reconfigures its server-owned assets. Do so before players interact with the aircraft.
Enable diagnostics while tuning a scenario to record placement, route acceptance, automatic combat, maintenance, and replacement events.

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