New features:

• preliminary support for ASC C-130J (load crates, troops and vehicles through CTLD or through the ASC load interface); no drop-and-build capability yet.
• work by Fullgas on multiple issues

Issues Fixed Since v1.5.2

Issue #164 - 12 o'clock Message Issue

Details: Corrected the bearing calculation display for 12 o'clock position
Related to: Relative bearing calculations for JTAC targeting

Issue #163 - Nearby Units Detection Code

Details: Improved the code that searches for nearby units
Impact: Better unit detection and proximity calculations

This release tentatively fixes the bug that duplicated the CTLD menu in the F10 radio menu.

Stop autosmoke being the default for JTAC and drones

By default, recon is disabled

Added checks to avoind nil errors in ctld.adjustRoute

This release introduces new features:

Unpacked crates can be repacked and transported again

The F10 menu allows you to repack units having associated crate types in the "ctld.spawnableCrates" table.

Simply land near the unit you wish to repack and select it from the list presented by the "CTLD//Vehicle/FOB transport...//Repack Vehicles" menu.

The defined radius of vehicles detection is specified by the parameter ctld.maximumDistanceRepackableUnitsSearch (default 200 meters).

WARNING: Due to technical reasons related to the refresh time of the F10 menus, there may be inconsistencies between the type of vehicles requested and those provided. It is recommended to wait 5 to 10 seconds without moving after landing and opening the F10 menu for a packaging order.

JTAC dones can automatically follow and orbit over lased targets

By setting parameter ctld.enableAutoOrbitingFlyingJtacOnTarget = true, a script dedicated script puts in orbit each flying JTAC over his detected target.

Associated with CTLD/JTAC functions, you can assign a fly route to the JTAC drone, this one follow it, and start orbiting when he detects a target.

As soon as it don't detect a target, it restart following its initial route at the nearest waypoint

Limit infantry units number

The number of Infantries units in mission can be limited by setting the table below :

ctld.nbLimitSpawnedTroops = {0, 0} -- {redLimitInfantryCount, blueLimitInfantryCount}

When this cumulative number of troops is reached for a coalition, no more troops can be loaded onboard, and a message is sent to player.

If set to ctld.nbLimitSpawnedTroops = {0, 0} (both values at 0) the limit control is disabled. This is the default.

If either value is non-zero, limit control becomes active for both coalitions.

Release notes

This new release is mainly bug fixes:

• bug with multi-crates AA systems fixed (#140)
• crates are now spawned and dropped in a zone (not in a pile anymore) (#143)
• default language is now english (#141)
• legacy missions (without the load trigger for ctld-i18n.lua) will now work correctly (#142)
• JTAC gives the target altitude information (#101)

We also introduced new features:

• Recon mode is available in a new menu (aptly named RECON); this allow for any human-piloted unit to automatically mark on the map all enemies that are in its line of sight (#136)
• Multi-crates system enhancement: now there are options in the menu to spawn all the crates required for a multicrate system, either systems composed of multiple instances of the same crate (e.g. Humvee TOW) or of different crates (e.g. Hawk); this feature can be disabled by setting ctld.enableAllCrate to false. The "Load" and "Drop" menu items now also load and drop all the crates at once.
• Reaper drone: a Reaper drone can now be spawned, transported and deployed in the field. It'll work as an AFAC. (#86)
• I18N system enhancement: we added version control to the linguistic versions (so that when we introduce new texts or change existing ones in the English version, translators know that they have something to do) and a new function ctld.i18n_check() to make these checks easier; simply add a call to this function at the end of the CTLD.lua file (there already is a commented-out example) and it'll report (in the dcs.log file) all the things missing from a specific linguistic version.

Changelog:

• FR & ES dictionaries update (@FullGas1)
• Inversion of the unload/unpack submenus (@FullGas1)
• KO translation added (rising_star)
• Moved the translations in an additional script called CTLD-i18n.lua.

Please note that, from now on, you'll have to load this script before CTLD in an additional trigger.
Failure to do so will result in an english-language-only CTLD.

This is a bugfix release.

Changelog:

• removed unneeded tracing in ctld.i18n_translate()
• bug: corrected listNearbyCrates() method not returning anything
• bug: corrected ctld.dropSlingCrate() method crashing before unloading a crate
• bug: corrected the way we handle dynamic slots; it used to cause random CTDs

Please report any problem or bug report in Ciribob's Discord (https://discord.com/channels/298054423656005632/860859100056256523).

Bugfix

The initialization should proceed when called directly, and when the ctld.dontInitialize parameter is set to true.

Unfortunately I'm a dumbass and the check was done in the ctld.initialize() function, meaning that it failed to init even when called from your code.

Should have tested more ^^

New features

Internationalization

CTLD is now translated in French and Spanish, in addition to the base English language.

To change the language, simply set the ctld.i18n_lang parameter to something else than "en" ("fr" or "es").

Dynamic slots support

The dynamic slots introduced by a recent DCS update (see https://forum.dcs.world/topic/352814-dynamic-spawn-guide) are now compatible with CTLD, thanks to a small modification in MiST.

New initialization

CTLD initialization is now immediate (instead of waiting 2 seconds).

Caution: this breaks the way the forward configuration worked before, you'll have to change your code and set the ctld.dontInitialize parameter to true in your copy of CTLD, and then call ctld.initialize() in your code.

What's Changed

Pulled some code from @atcz, @marcos2221, and @Queton1-1.

Added some features developped internally by the Virtual European Air Force (VEAF) team.

Changelog:

• VEAF: multipart AA Systems / AA crates stacking features
• VEAF: hardened legacy code to make it more resilient (less errors)
• Queton1-1: Allow units to CTLD by aircraft type and not by pilot name
• atcz: Use crate headings to spawn units
• marcos2221: multiple crate capability for mi8 and ch-47
• atcz: added pagination to the radio menus
• atcz: smartly used decimals to facilitate having a lot of units to load in our crates
• atcz: added lots of vehicles to transport
• VEAF: use DCS events to register pilots with CTLD
• VEAF: it's now possible to allow both sling, conventional (DCS, CH-47 only for now) and simulated sling (CTLD) loading at the same time, letting players choose
• VEAF: units capable of conventional loading (CH-47) now have the crates spawned at their 6-o'clock
• moved smoke marker randomly away from the JTAC target
• atcz: updated the soldier type for troops transport
• updated the cargo + troops load report (details the weight)

New Contributors

• @atcz made their first contribution in #109
• @marcos2221 made their first contribution in #113

Full Changelog: 2024.01.01...202412.01RC1