Better online "Replay Mission" infrastructure

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Now that active development of LAC is paused, I have turned my attention to the server and its companion GunCamera player. Most of the resulting changes are administrative in nature and so they are not directly seen by players. But I just completed a significant enhancement to the GunCamera player that WILL help everybody.

As a consequence of this enhancement, the old convention that had been limiting prerecorded "strike" missions to situations in which the RedTeam attacked the BlueTeam but prerecorded BlueTeam players never struck back, is no longer necessary. I am now able to load and process extremely sophisticated GunCamera films, even if the recorded activity involves all ten possible players in an online mission, and even if those recorded players combat and damage one another without any restraints. Whenever any Sentient player joins in the associated activity, his actions replace those of the corresponding prerecorded player exactly as one would reasonably expect, and any damage he inflicts upon airfield facilities or prerecorded aircraft is retained for as long as the GunCamera player is active, giving every Sentient player persistent influence upon both current and future players. This significantly enhances the online experience of every player and supports creation of imaginitive, powerful, rich, violent, unrestrained, unpredictable guncamera film scenarios. Sentient players can significantly alter outcomes by destroying Replay bots that would otherwise impact the scenario, resulting in almost infinite variety even if only one or two Sentients are participating among Replay bots.

Network jitter and latency associated with GunCamera films have also been improved a bit, because the GunCamera player is now more tightly associated with the LAC Server.

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I created some additional new replay missions this week and I am getting better and better at it. With experience, I am learning what's fun and effective (and what is not). The current crop of replay missions, running in MissionNetworkBattle02 and MissionNetworkBattle03 from Realm "0", are the best yet. To observe them, I simply land my aircraft on my own HQ airfield and watch the action, which continues on and on for hours, with the ebb and flow of damage and repair ranging from complete airfield functionality down to 20% or so before being rebuilt by friendly replay bots. Strikes come and go, and replayed fighter aircraft shoot down most of the bombers (unless they, in turn, are shot down by Sentient human players). When "parked" on my own runway, it's important that I select a spot off to the side so replay aircraft don't smash into me as they take off or land.

Bomber escort missions are now a lot more fun and interesting: When my allied replay bombers launch a heavy strike against the opposition, most of them get shot down by enemy replay fighters. But if I am escorting those bombers, I can see the opposing fighters rising to intercept them, and if I can shoot down those interceptors, then my bombers survive to damage the enemy HQ airfield.

Conversely, intercept missions are also fun, since at least one heavy bomber generally survives the replay interceptors, leaving the human player a really useful role in finishing off the bombers that get through.

I find I prefer the replay missions that commence with normal takeoff instead of those that spawn aircraft at altitude.... it's more realistic and gives the opposition a fun opportunity to strike those replay aircraft while they are low and vulnerable. The current mix of replay missions don't all benefit from this knowledge, but I am adding more and more little replay missions that DO.

[bbosen]

I've continued to enhance our library of replay missions. The replay server is now active about 99% of the time in Realm0's Mission #2 and Mission #3, but I've left Mission #1 alone. If you ever see Router Panel activity in that mission, you can be sure it is another human ("Sentient") player.

The replay missions are becoming FANTASTIC. The server is smart about replaying amazing pre-recorded missions in upredictable sequences that are appropriate to the current strength of airfields and prior activity. Every time you join you will find a different experience, and whatever you do in a given mission will have an appropriate effect on subsequent activity. And at any time while you are flying among these "replay" aircraft, one or more of them may be replaced by another Sentient player. You just never know....

In an effort to illustrate all of this in a fun and absorbing way, I've appended links to two related YouTube video clips. The second of those two links will show a recent online mission in which I flew with moderate success, all alone, among a sophisticated replay mission as described above, using bomber escort tactics.

While watching that clip, pay lots of attention to the RADAR display and to the selection of "targets". As you will see, it is commonplace for LAC pilots to switch targets frequently, since selection of any single target reveals its relative position, altitude, and CommunityHandle. By rapidly switching targets while paying close attention to the changing target data, LAC pilots can quickly get an overview of the current tactical situation. Armed with that information, a skilled pilot knows which ally needs the most protection, or which threat needs to be deterred most urgently.

Clip 1 of 2: If you are not familiar with the commands and principles involved in LAC's target selection, watch this clip:

Clip 2 of 2: A recent, online mission illustrating intense activity while flying alone in a "Replay Mission environment: