**Ibishu Defense 'Phoulkon' Close-In Weapons System
By Diamondback (software) and Stoat Muldoon (Jbeam, model)
with thanks to
Nadeox1 (video)
Blijo (testing, feedback)
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Introduction Developed in the 1980s by Ibishu's military arms subsidiary Ibishu Defense, the 'Phoulkon' (Named after a Roman shield wall tactic) Close-In Weapons System is a family of point-defense weapons focused on destroying incoming ordnance and aircraft. Early models use a 20mm M61 Vulcan autocannon, saturating the air around the target with explosive projectiles whilst more recent developments introduced the Viper missile module, packing 11 agile guided missiles that can track and destroy enemy missiles and aircraft much more effectively. In BeamNG, you can use these machines to wreak havoc upon any vehicular threats you might encounter, manually or automatically. Challenge yourself to fly into its airspace and escape in one piece, or simply spawn vehicles in mid air and watch the fireworks!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ZzFHb3zNWA
(Video by Nadeox1, also featuring the new update for the Me262 https://www.beamng.com/resources/me262.2598/)
Usage The Phoulkon features two models, a cannon and a missile launcher variant. They both operate in much the same way, cycling between automatic, semi automatic and manual with the "T" key by default.
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"Automatic" will set the weapon to its defensive mode, automatically detecting approaching threads and dispatching them without you needing to lift a finger
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"Semi-automatic" will aim at a target automatically, and targets are cycled by pressing the "O" key. It will cycle through any available target vehicles. Spacebar will fire the weapon at the selected target.
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"Manual" gives you full control of the turret's aim, controlled with the arrow keys and fired with the spacebar.
Additionally, with the MkII you can activate the missile camera in manual and semi-automatic modes by holding the fire button down. This will bring up the last fired missiles camera feed giving you a close look at your target as the missile approaches it. Releasing the fire button will return to the previous camera mode.
Both turrets feature a target indicator displayed over all potential targets, including vehicles and incoming munitions. Each of its symbols mean this:
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[ O ] Target available
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[ X ] Target locked and selected
Technical Stats Phoulkon MkI
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20mm M61 Vulcan
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Caliber: 20x102mm Airburst Tracer rounds
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Ammo Capacity: 1000 rounds
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Muzzle Velocity: 1000m/s
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Rate of Fire: 4500RPM
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Detection Range: 3000m
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Attack Range: 1500m
Phoulkon MkII
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11x Counter-Rocket, Aircraft, Artillery and Mortar Viper MkIV Missiles
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Speed: 500m/s (~Mach 1.5)
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Range: ~15km
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Multi-purpose, high explosive fragmentation warhead
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Detection Range: 20,000m
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Attack Range: 3000m
IMPORTANT INFORMATION - PLEASE READ
Performance The Phoulkon's missiles are seriously expensive to simulate. During flight, they reach speeds in excess of 1800km/h (~Mach 1.5), keeping the missile agile and on target requires very fast response to environmental influences and changes in target position. To achieve that, the - unfortunately very math heavy - control logic needs to be simulated at very high rates, meaning there are a lot of things to calculate at 2000hz. In addition to that, the particles emitted by the missiles are also quite expensive to render. Despite trying our best to optimize the cost of the missile as much as possible, weaker computers can take a significant performance hit when firing multiple at once or in rapid succession. If you notice the missiles beginning to weave or wobble significantly as they launch, your FPS may be too low. Try shooting fewer missiles at any one time or lowering your graphical settings in the game menu.
A Note About Cameras & Couplers The Phoulkon makes use of as of yet unreleased game features to hide certain cameras and to lock certain couplers; until this functionality is release, you will be able to select the missile cameras as if they were normal cameras as well as release all couplers, breaking the turret. The next game update will fix these, so please bear with us!