For Game Masters
Place STW Combat Helipad from the Game Master asset browser. When its properties dialog opens, select the faction, helicopter model, and number of defending patrols. The server then creates and owns the helicopter, flight crew, patrols, map marker, and removal handle for that pad.
- Choose level, clear terrain with room for the helipad and its approach.
- Place STW Combat Helipad.
- In STW Combat Helipad Properties, choose a supported faction: US, USSR, RHS USAF, or RHS AFRF.
- Select an available helicopter model, or use
RANDOM. - Set 0–4 defending patrols and apply the settings.
Configured pads create a faction-coloured, faction-only combat-helipad marker. The marker and Game Master handle are removed with the pad.
Automatic combat helipads
Automatic placement is enabled by default. After the configured initial delay, the server scans shuffled map tiles for clear, level, suitably separated locations and places eligible pads up to the configured limit. Runways and airfields are valid locations.
Use Automatic Combat Helipads Enabled in Scenario Properties to enable or disable automatic generation for the current session. Disabling it removes only automatically generated pads; manually placed Combat Helipads remain available. The STW Combat Helipads Enabled switch controls the complete subsystem.
enabledFactionKeys. An empty list creates no automatic helipads. This prevents installed faction mods from changing a server’s force composition unexpectedly.Flight lifecycle
After a short ground hold, STW hands the helicopter to DarcChopper for a finite combat sortie. It visits up to five military points of interest, may engage enemies during the combat window, then disables combat search, returns to its owning helipad, and lands.
- The helicopter remains the same physical entity after a normal return and landing. Its crew and defending patrols are also retained.
- Fuel and weapons can be refilled immediately after confirmed takeoff; repair can be applied before departure.
- If it crashes away from the pad, STW leaves the destroyed aircraft as a wreck and can schedule a replacement after the configured cooldown.
- A two-minute launch watchdog replaces only an aircraft that genuinely never takes off. A returning or landing helicopter is not reset.
- Players may enter the helicopter. Player-occupied aircraft are preserved from automatic replacement and cleanup.
SDRC_ChopperComp. If that component is unavailable, the helicopter remains present but no Darc flight is started.Server configuration
The configuration file is created on first server start:
$profile:STW/CombatHelipads/STWCombatHelipadsConfig.jsonStop the server before editing it. Values are validated when loaded.
| Setting | Purpose |
|---|---|
enabled | Enables the Combat Helipads subsystem. |
defaultUSHelicopterModeldefaultUSSRHelicopterModel | Default model for future pads. Use RANDOM to select from available models. |
maxActiveHelicoptersmaxActiveHelicoptersPerFaction | Global and per-faction limits for active Combat Helipad helicopters. |
refuelBeforeTakeoffrearmBeforeTakeoffrepairBeforeTakeoff | Pad servicing controls for each sortie. |
enableDestroyedHelicopterReplacementdestroyedHelicopterRespawnCooldownMinutes | Controls replacement only after a genuine crash away from the pad. |
automaticGenerationEnabledenabledFactionKeysmaximumAutomaticHelipads | Controls automatic placement, its factions, and its maximum number of pads. |
automaticMinimumDefendingPatrolsautomaticMaximumDefendingPatrols | Random patrol-count range used for automatic pads. |
automaticMinimumPadSeparationMeters | Minimum distance between automatic pad locations. |
scriptedFlightGroundHoldSecondsscriptedFlightOutboundSecondsscriptedFlightCruiseAltitudeAGLscriptedFlightCruiseSpeed | DarcChopper sortie timing and cruise profile. |
Helicopter models and multiplayer
The model selector shows only helicopter prefabs available to the running server. Optional model mods are soft dependencies: Combat Helipads itself can run without them. For multiplayer, the server and every client must load the selected model’s source mod and its dependencies.
Use the Scenario Properties defaults to set the US and USSR models used by future automatic pads. Existing pads keep their current chosen model unless they are reconfigured.
Soft dependencies
Combat Helipads checks optional helicopter resources at runtime. Missing content is omitted from the model selector and RANDOM pool, so the mod can still run with the aircraft that are available. Install a selected aircraft’s Workshop dependencies as well as its source mod.
Aircraft and supporting mods
| Mod | Workshop ID |
|---|---|
| WCS_Mi-24V | 628933A0D3A0D700 |
| WCS_KA-52 | 64CB35D07BAEE60F |
| WCS_Armaments | 629B2BA37EFFD577 |
| Sikorsky H60 Project | 60ED3CC6E7E40221 |
| WCS_AH-1S | 64CB39E57377C861 |
| WCS_AH-6M | 6273146ADFE8241D |
| RHS - Status Quo | 595F2BF2F44836FB |
| RHS - Content Pack 01 | 1337C0DE5DABBEEF |
| RHS - Content Pack 02 | BADC0DEDABBEDA5E |
| Mi-28 | 609E138FE9005877 |
| WCS_AH-64D | 6303360DA719E832 |
DarcChopper flight framework and adapters
| Mod | Workshop ID |
|---|---|
| DarcCore | 631EE12D448D7FCC |
| DarcChopper | 689EDED542F881AF |
| KA-52 for DarcChopper | 684F3C94BD457F85 |
| Mi24 and 28 for DarcChopper | 6720D3B2BEBC691E |
| MH-6M for DarcChopper | 68D2D498670F201F |
| MH-60 to Darc Chopper | 68F0F3113FA4C82E |
| EOH HUH1H AH1S for DarcChopper | 6922AEDC7D2CC9EA |
| AH64-D variant DarcChopper | 69276B080A76CADD |
Operational notes
- Choose open terrain. The pad checks a nine-point footprint for terrain suitability, and the helicopter needs an unobstructed approach.
- Each requested defending patrol is a small same-faction two-person group that patrols around the helipad.
- Changing a pad’s faction or model reconfigures its server-owned assets. Do this before nearby players begin interacting with the helicopter.
- Enable diagnostics when tuning a scenario; messages report placement, launch, return, crash, and replacement events.
