Helicopter Gunship DEX: Random Mission Generator Guide

The core feature of Helicopter Gunship D.E.X is its random mission generator. The generator gives you extremely fine control over the type of mission you’ll face. Alternatively you can hand everything over to RNG by pressing the RANDOMISE button to play an almost unlimited number of mission variations.

LOCATION

The Location option sets where the missions will take place. Each location will have 1 or more terrain areas which will be chosen at random when the mission is created.

In addition, the actual placement of “installations” such as towns & bases will be randomised for each mission. So, while the terrain may be familiar, the actual layout of each map will be different every time you play a mission so you’ll never know exactly where everything is!

MISSION TYPE

This option decides what type of mission will be created for your PRIMARY MISSION e.g. Strike, Close Air Support (CAS), Suppression of Enemy Air Defences (SEAD), Transport etc

Your SECONDARY MISSION (which is optional) will be chosen at random from the available mission types so even a Strike mission may include a C.A.S. secondary mission.

Each mission type will have 1 or more templates which will be chosen at random when the mission is generated. So, for example, a Strike mission may have a template to strike a factory while another template may be to strike a resupply column etc This allows a huge variation of missions to be available even for the same “type”.

MISSION POINTS

This option probably has the greatest effect on how a mission plays out. The number of points dictates how much “money” both sides will have available to spend on forces.

For the opposition the Mission Points will be spent on units such as Tanks, SAMs, AAA, Aircraft and other military forces. In basic terms this means the higher the available Mission Points the more enemy units you will face!

For the allied side this amount also directly dictates how many points you have available to spend on helicopters, weapons and mission support options e.g. Artillery, Other Aircraft, Drones etc.

For example, if you set the available Mission Points to 1,000 then you may opt to field 1 expensive but highly advanced helicopter at the expense of other support assets.

However, you could also opt to field a less advanced helicopters and add some mission support assets to overcome its lower capabilities.

Later in EARLY ACCESS you will be able to add A.I. wingmen to accompany you on the mission meaning you might want to deploy 4 Low Tech helicopters instead of 1 Advanced Tech.

Either way using higher tech weapons, helicopters or support units will cost more points than using lower tech varieties so think carefully about whether you want quantity or quality!

Any unused Mission Points will be added to your end of mission score which directly effects the experience your pilots gain. This gives you the choice to use less equipment for a bigger XP gain at the end – just don’t kill your pilot due to negligence!

TIME OF DAY

This is the general start time of the mission. Once the mission has started the time will advance in real-time so a DUSK mission will eventually turn into a night mission depending on the length of the mission.

WEATHER

Weather effects the cloud conditions. Heavy cloud cover can make night mission extremely dark!

ALLIED UNITS

This allows you to select which type of units (either BLUFOR or REDFOR) will be fielded by the allied A.I.

TECH LEVEL

The tech level effects which weapons & units the Allied A.I. forces have access to. It DOES NOT effect the weapons, helicopters or support units you have access to.

This option allows you to setup an asynchronous combat environment such as an Advanced Tech allied force for facing off a Low Tech enemy force or vice versa.

HELICOPTERS

This sets which helicopters will be available to you during the mission. Want to fight for BLUFOR but fly REDFOR helicopters? This setting allows you to do just that.

You can also choose to limit you helicopter to certain tech levels allowing you to test your mettle by choosing to fly a low tech helicopter against a high tech enemy.

SUPPLY LEVEL

This setting dictates how well supplied the allied team is and will effect the availability of weapons, helicopters and support units.

Setting this to LIMITED or EXTREMELY LIMITED may result in your favourite weapon, helicopter or support unit being unavailable for the mission.

You can also limit supply levels to certain tech levels. This means you may find your high tech helicopter only has access to low tech weapons such as TOWs or rockets hampering its overall capabilities.

SKILL LEVEL

This setting directly influences how skilled allied forces are effecting their aim, reaction times and ability to detect hostile units.

ENEMY UNITS

This setting dictates which forces will be hostile allow you to choose who you are fighting against. It is also possible to set BLUFOR vs BLUFOR or REDFOR vs REDFOR by setting both the ALLIED UNITS option and ENEMY UNITS option to the same value.

TECH LEVEL

The tech level effects which weapons & units the Enemy A.I. forces have access to.

This option allows you to setup an asynchronous combat environment such as an Advanced Tech enemy force for facing off a Low Tech allied force or vice versa.

SKILL LEVEL

This setting directly influences how skilled enemy forces are effecting their aim, reaction times and ability to detect hostile units. It DOES NOT effect Fire and Forget missile accuracy e.g. IR seeking missiles. However it does effect things like LASER/SACLOS guided weaponry.

To provide even more variation Helicopter Gunship D.E.X uses three different Tech Levels (or Eras) to group vehicles with similar capabilities together.

Using the Mission Generator you are free to mix and match these tech levels as you see fit allowing you to create futuristic battles against the very best of the best or asymmetric warfare where one side has a clear technological advantage over the other.

As Early Access progresses you can expect new flyable helicopters to be added that cover both BLUFOR and REDFOR sides as well as the various Tech Levels.

As a guide each Tech Level is roughly as follows but I may take liberties as needed for balance/gameplay….

LOW TECH

Expect to see vehicles & weapons from that were in service around 1975-1985

HIGH TECH

Expect to see vehicles & weapons from that were in service around 1990 – 2005

ADVANCED TECH

Expect to see vehicles & weapons from that were in service around 2010 – 2020+. This includes the possibility of prototypes not yet in service.

Helicopter Gunship D.E.X has two opposing factions – BLUFOR and REDFOR.

BLUFOR is based upon Western countries while REDFOR is based on Eastern countries.

They are not supposed to be any country in particular and as such you will see units from America, Europe, Britain etc working along side each other in fictional BLUFOR battalions. Like wise Russian & Chinese units will be working along side each other in fictional REDFOR battalions.

Vehicle & weapon capabilities, names and military designations are also purely fictional although I do try and stay close their source material.