"Road Trip" is an 80 Minute "low & slow training" mission. No shooting involved, just white-knuckled precision low and slow flying to improve your Hind handling habits. Your performance is scored over the entire duration of your flight for a final rating. This mission is MP-capable; all players are rated individually.
Description:
The Hind is a mighty beast that is difficult to tame. But being able to fully control the awesome power is not only rewarding, it is essential for more advanced operation. Like with fixed-wing airplanes, anyone can bank'n'yank a helicopter. Rotorheads show their mettle in slow and low flights, when helicopters are most dangerous - not just to the enemy.
'Road Trip' is a more leisure attempt at teaching you how to do that. "All" you need to do is escort a convoy on its journey fr om Batumi Harbor to Kobuleti. Here's the catch: you need to stay as close to the convoy as you can. Make no mistake - at the end of the mission, you will be sweating, and your hands are probably cramping. Put differently: make one mistake, and you are dead.
You see, Road Trip constantly, and visibly (in the upper right corner), rates your performance by measuring your distance to the nearest vehicle in the convoy. The closer you are, the better your score.
Arrive at Kobuleti with a total score of 200'000, and you pass the test.
Initially, this seems easy, as the convoy proceeds over open terrain. The further you progress, however, the more difficult your decisions become: am I good enough to descend between the trees? Should I go over the bridge, or attempt going under and improve my rating? The further you progress, the more unwilling you will be to take risk, and your rating plummets, pushing you to your limits. And of course, that frigging commander up front has just reduced speed...
No matter what: if you make it to the end, some things are certain:
- your command over the Hind will have improved significantly
- you will positively loath streetlights and power pylons
- your perseverance is exemplary
- you will have newfound appreciation for the beauty of the Caucasus map
Hot / Cold Starting positions
You can choose to start the mission either with a hot or cold/dark Hind. Note that multiplayer cannot mix/match hot and cold: all players must use a hot or cold Hind.
Hot
You start in a hot Hind, and the mission commences in one minute.
Cold
You start at Batumi in a cold Hind. Once you have started all Hinds, proceed to Batumi Harbor, at the NE edge of town to meet up with the convoy. The convoy starts getting rolling when your first Hind reaches the LZ (visually marked with orange smoke, a yellow circle with the caption "Rendez-vous" on the F10 map)
Observer Helicopters
There are observer Hueys and Sharks available for people who would either
- want to fly the mission solo in a Huey/Shark to get acquainted with it before they run with The Beast (and see how high they can score). To start the mission, fly the Observer to the watchtowers at the Harbor. When staring solo cold, simply follow the instructions, when starting solo hot, it's a 50m hop into the yellow ring. As soon as the convoy appears, the mission starts.
- Provide feedback for friends who are transitioning in the Hind. Make sure to follow the Hinds until the mission has started in earnest (convoy has appeared) lest you inadvertently start the mission before everyone has arrived.
There is one Huey and one Shark at Batumi Harbor (hot start), and one each at Batumi airfield (cold start). Hueys and Sharks are scored exactly like a Hind. Be advised that due to their advanced avionics, soundly beating this mission in a Shark is a much smaller achievement than in a Hind.
Multiplayer
You can fly this mission alone and with up to three of your friends (or more if you add more helicopters in ME, they all will be automatically recognized and handled correctly), plus Huey/Shark observer(s) (a total of six out-of-the-box). Each player unit (pilot only) is rated individually. If you multicrew, the Unit's performance is rated, not the individual pilot's.
When playing multiplayer, all Hinds must be either Hot or all Cold. If you mix hot and cold, the cold Hinds will be at a serious disadvantage, as the convoy starts on its way immediately.
Pass / Fail score
Arriving at the end is a great achievement in its own. But here you don't get an award just for participating. In order to pass the exercise, your total score must be 200'000 or more. Anything less: let's try that again, soldier!
Miscellaneous Notes:
crashing your helicopter will reset your score to zero. You can still try to catch up with the convoy and finish, but it is unlikely that you'll get a passing grade
Hints:
- Use the first minute to establish hover and trim, gear up.
- Mind the Hind's inertia
- Cross tracks carefully, else you catch a train.
- Try to have at least three vehicles in front of you to help you anticipate wh ere they are going or their speed changes
- If you lose sight of the convoy (there will be at least two locations where this is very likely to happen): don't panic, gain some height to clear the trees, and try to find the road)
- Whenever you see a conflux of buildings, lamp posts and trees, go up.
- Sharks and Hueys handle much better; it's still a challenge to beat, though.
- Have fun. Actively straining to beat the score will end you in a tree
Enjoy,
-ch
