SlowdownDistance

Flag:	SlowdownDistance
File(s):	rules(md).ini
Values:	Unsigned integers: All non-negative whole numbers from 0 to either 32767, 2147483647 or 4294967295.
Applicable to:	AircraftTypes, VehicleTypes, InfantryTypes

Over-ride which specifies the distance, in leptons, that this object must be from its intended target location before it applies de-acceleration.

• Using really high numbers here (presumably in the 10,000s) will give an aircraft a behaviour similar to the Aurora Bomber from Generals: the aircraft will approach its target at full speed, unload its weapon, then return to base, and as it does the latter, it will fly very slow, as the base it intends to land is within the very large SlowdownDistance, thus it deccelerates.
  • This only works if the aircraft fires its weapon in a strafing pattern (projectile with a ROT of 1 or smaller), thus counting the acctual attack as part of its move. If the weapon is fired in a "helicopter" fashion (like the ORCA in Tiberian Sun), the attack is performed at the end of a movement assignment, and thus the aircraft will slow down when approaching the target it was ordered to attack. Therefore, the Aurora-like behaviour can only be replicated with strafing weapons.
  • It remains to be seen wether Fighter and FlyBy have any influence on this.
  • Projectiles that are rendered invisible (Image=none and/or Inviso=yes) seem to present special cases. Research is required.

• Using a value of 0 results in:
  • either an aircraft that never lands, but instead hovers above its landing location, as if it was a BalloonHovering VehicleType (This works in TS; presumably it works in RA2 as well, but this needs to be verified)
  • or in an aircraft that circles in the air above the location it is intended to fly to. This effect is observable in RA2, but unconfirmed for TS. It is not known what factor causes the aircraft to decide for one of these two behaviours, but it could be related to the Fighter= tag or the weapon it carries.
    • The radius of the circle the aircraft flies around its destination is determined by the ROT and the Speed of the aircraft - a higher ratio of ROT:Speed means a smaller circle, while low ratio of ROT:Speed increases the circle.
    • If an aircraft has a large circle, it will not return to its airport but circle the area indefinitely, propably because it is unable to ever fly directly above its destination and so never gets to complete its movement command.