tip from Icebrain, via p.moks msg board
Well, I have figured out how (kinda. Right now I can only get ships to do it;
if anyone can do it with tanks or scuds, please let me know). Anyway, to make
ships that will fight, you need to use the profile of the Sarancha hovercraft.
First, start by finding a missile suitable for conversion into a ship-launched
version (if you need one. Be realistic here). Under missile Info, make sure
its ignition delay is set to zero, that it is an anti-ship weapon, and that
it is IR, active radar, or visually guided (I'll explain later.) This is to
create an anti-ship wep, change the type to air-to-air for SAMs, or a/g for
land-attack cruise missiles. Give it an initial speed about one fourth to two-thirds
that of its final speed. Then, under the ordnance button, make sure that it
does not drop when unpowered, that it does not start with a gravity drop, and
that it is not loadable to a hardpoint. Set the rest of the settings like you
would any other missile. Save the weapon with a different name.
Next, open up the data
for the ship you want to make fightable (don't try it with carriers, though.).
Note its hit points, movement data, resource name, and shape file. Close the
box, and open the sarancha data. Change the data of the Sarancha to that of
the desired ship. Now close the box, and open up any laser designator under
the seeker button. Change its range to somwhere around 200 miles, change the
name to ship200.see, and increase the weight to around 90000 lbs. Hit OK. Go
back to the modified ship, and go under hardpoints. Add the laser seeker as
its only sensor. Now, add any weapons you need, including the one(s) you made
earlier. However, for this to work, make sure that no hardpoints are autoslew,
that the slew pitch angle is less than forty degrees, and that the weapon is
a required load. Save the ship, and build the lib. ALSO MAKE SURE THAT
THE DEFAULT PITCH IS SET TO 0 FOR TANKS AND SUCH.
(Note: This will only work if the sensor fitted is of a different type than
all the weapons fitted to the ship. In other words, you cant fit a radar and
a bunch of harpoons.)
Thanks to P.Mok and Vark for help on this tip.
icebrain