Cratered Runways?

[eszyman]

Can anyone expand on our options for cratered runways, especially in multiplayer?
I am wondering if it's possible to either repair the damage... Or even detect it?

Might make an interesting dynamic in which the field shuts down for repairs, or even simply making a mission objective to put a runway out of commission.

This could question can even be expanded to a general question on how to detect map crater damage, such as a bombed roadway or rail road track, or even bombed out tunnel.
Thanks!

[Sketch]

As far as I am aware, right now, there is no way to repair a runway on an airfield or remove craters created by players in a mission. I agree, that in multiplayer environments, it would be nice to have an MCU similar to Command Damage, that would 'clean up' craters similar to how Command Damage can full repair an entity.

[eszyman]

@Sketch I watched some of your tutorials yesterday, and I *think* a fake_field could be used to at least detect the damage, much like you did for the bridges.
It's not clear to me how the damage profile works with the fake objects though, we obviously don't care about MG or cannon fire.

[Sketch]

Sure, but a crater created by a player is dynamic. How can we 'get' those craters to clean them up? It's not possible right now. 

[eszyman]

Looking at some old threads, maybe the fake_blocks can't be used this way...
https://forum.il2sturmovik.com/topic/39145-why-fake-blocks-are-no-more-fake/

It looks like there IS actually a collision model.

I would really like a method that can at least detect these dynamic craters, but maybe I just let the AI crash into them which will also be cool to watch! 😃

How neat would it be to script in some bulldozers to fixum the runway for a multiplayer server?  🫡
I saw on some servers there were rules against cratering runways.  Not the best way to do it, I agree some type of repair mechanic would be nice to have.

[Jaegermeister]

@Sketch is correct, you cannot do anything about craters caused from in game aircraft attacks. There is no way to interact with them. They used to have a timer, but I don’t know if that is still true. I don’t think so.

@eszyman, fake_field is what airfield runway entities have always been called. A fake_block has nothing to do with that. A fake_block is an invisible vehicle that you can use as a target when an object in game does not allow targeting, like a bridge, or a specific unit in a group instead of targeting the whole group. 

Yes, fake_blocks have a damage model, but that would not have anything to do with craters.

As far as detecting damage to an airfield, I would guess you could use a complex trigger directly over the runway with “on dropped bombs” triggering a warning message. It would not be very precise, but if the message said something non specific like “Runway has been targeted by enemy, watch for damage before landing” in might work. You could trigger further events like tractors or trucks or whatever on the runway from that, but the damage will stay where it is.

[Barnacles]

On 8/12/2026 at 2:04 AM, Jaegermeister said:

@Sketch is correct, you cannot do anything about craters caused from in game aircraft attacks. There is no way to interact with them. They used to have a timer, but I don’t know if that is still true. I don’t think so.

 

Is there anyway of getting the command Damage MCU to target an area? I've looked through and can only seem to target objects but I thought I'd ask and see if I missed something.

image.png

 

[AEthelraedUnraed]

6 hours ago, Barnacles said:

Is there anyway of getting the command Damage MCU to target an area?

Unfortunately not.

[Jaegermeister]

15 hours ago, Barnacles said:

Is there anyway of getting the command Damage MCU to target an area? I've looked through and can only seem to target objects but I thought I'd ask and see if I missed something.

image.png

Spoiler

 

 

The Translator Tiled Blocks MCU does that. You set a radius area and it creates damage to the city building structures at the level set in the dialogue box. For example, .5 would correspond to 50% damage, and 1 would be 100% damage.

The Command Damage MCU works by targeting blocks and vehicles.

Neither one of them damages trees.

 

Edited August 27 by Jaegermeister