How to build your own helicopter?

Game Talk The Bunker
1

I saw a video on YouTube where a player built a flying base. I would like to do the same, but when I disassemble the rotor, I get steel, not the rotor itself. And basically, when I disassemble any part of the helicopter, it tells me that it will not be able to fly. And here is the main question: how to build or modify a helicopter so that it can fly?

2

If the modifications are too significant, it will make the vehicle no longer airworthy, this is working as intended for the CDDA project. Your youtuber might have been playing Cataclysm: Bright Nights, a separate version of the game that forked off a few years back due to directional differences. I believe they have much more liberal vehicle construction rules.

Bright Nights is a fine branch off of the game, just keep in mind that its fairly different structurally from CDDA at this point, as it branched off years ago, somewhere around the timeline and inventory changes if I remember right. So you’ll best be served using whatever resources and references their community has, as most of the CDDA stuff like Hitchhikers Guide to the Cataclysm and these forums will be referencing mechanics and changes that Bright Nights chose to not include in their fork. I believe they have a discord, which should be a good place to ask for more details.

3

If you want to fly a helicopter, you need to have:

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To obtain this proficiency:

  1. You need to start playing as a pilot (for example: helicopter crash challenge / military pilot)
  2. Find an NPC with this proficiency (not sure if it’s possible, I’ve never met one) and learn it
  3. Use the debug menu (add yourself directly or add an NPC and train “more honestly”).

If you want to build your own flying house, however, you’ll have to edit the game files.

  1. You need to locate this file:
  1. Make the following changes:
--"flags": [ "ROTOR", "NO_INSTALL_PLAYER", "NO_REPAIR", "SMASH_REMOVE" ],
++"flags": [ "ROTOR" ],
  1. You can remove the string if you wish:
--    "control_requirements": { "air": { "proficiencies": [ "prof_helicopter_pilot" ] } }

NO_INSTALL_PLAYER - flag that prohibits the player from installing the part
NO_REPAIR - flag that prohibits repair
SMASH_REMOVE - flag that breaks the part into pieces when disassembling it
"control_requirements": { "air": { "proficiencies": [ "prof_helicopter_pilot" ] } - This indicates that you need to have the proficiency to drive a vehicle in the air. If you remove the line, you do not need to learn this proficiency.

  1. You will need to find the code that prevents the helicopter from being able to fly, after installing the new part. I don’t know where that code is. But I do know a workaround.

  2. You will need to finish building the transport and use the debug menu. More specifically, you will need to export the transport to an external file, then copy that file to the data/json folder and spawn your transport back into the game.

Then the game will consider it as a transport without any changes. And will allow you to fly it.

For simplification: debug menu = F1

Exports the vehicle to a file: F1 - vehicle… - export vehicle as prototype

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Enter any character set and confirm the input. Then open the folder: export_dir. It is created in the folder with the game. Inside will be a file with the name you entered. In my case, it’s 123.json

You open this file in any text editor (notepad). The inside is a mess. You need to find the following lines (use search):

..."id":"/TO_BE_REPLACED/","type":"vehicle","name":"/TO_BE_REPLACED/",...

And replace TO_BE_REPLACED with the new name of your vehicle. I used the word test. Important, you need a unique word and use _ instead of spaces.

"id":"test",
"type":"vehicle",
"name":"test",

Second point, it is desirable to have a rectangular shaped transport. Either you will have to edit this file additionally. This is due to the process of generating the vehicle. The game swears if it comes across protrusions from the car. They hang in the air. Even though the next element is an element that connects them to the main part. Example: mirrors on trucks.

Solution: find this element and move it to the end of the file (or after the element that connects it to the main part).

If you need a more detailed explanation, you can ping me. I’ll break it down with an example of your vehicle or some existing one.

Once you have finished editing the file, copy it to the data/json folder or format it as a separate mod.

Perform a spawning of your vehicle: F1 - vehicle… - spawn a vehicle

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Now you can fly on it. The old version can be deleted through the debug menu too.

P.S. By editing game files you agree that your bug reports may be rejected. :grinning: