ARR with flexible units

  • Hi all - sorry for the long post!


    Looking for a bit of set up advice with ARR. I started with Missionchief a while ago on the Australian version and have now completed it (by that I mean unlocked all of the calls, there are far fewer than on the US version). I got bored of just churning through the same jobs watching the credits stack up into the millions so I thought I would start again on the US version (but based in Australia with an AU based alliance). So glad I did it's a much more involved game! Although the Aussie alliances on this version are very quiet in comparison obviously because it's the US version.


    Anyway.. one thing that is different on this one compared to the AU version is that there are "flexible units". i.e.. some calls can have utility OR heavy rescue and the Heavy Engine covers a fire truck & a rescue.. or the Quint covering a platform & fire truck - there are a few more too. Not to mention the ambulance combinations too: Fly-car, BLS & ALS with some calls being able to be attended by any of those. Whilst I love the unit flexibility, because it resembles real life after all, what I am really struggling with is how to best set that up using ARRs. Looking for any advice if you have found a way that works.


    For example, for a call that I know I can use a fly-car for I have that set on the ARRs but often there will be an ALS ambulance sitting much closer that could easily have just done the job. The same scenario happens a lot with the utility/heavy rescue combination. I have tried setting both units on the ARRs but then I end up with both units arriving or I have to remember to cancel the one further away. It seems like what we need is for the ARRs to have an "OR" option. That way we could set 1 utility OR 1 heavy rescue (or fly-car OR BLS OR ALS) and it would just dispatch the closest.


    I suspect what a lot of people are doing, which is what I am considering is just not bothering with the different units and just having a fleet of only ALS ambulances (or heavy rescues) - they're the same price anyway and you don't have to worry about it. It's a shame through because I like the realism of the flexible units.


    Has anyone found a neat way around it all?

  • I've probably over complicated things, but that would be me all over.


    I only have ALS ambulances so that was easy, however, as I have tried to recreate my fire stations as close as possible to real life, some have full size engines (currently all rescue engines) and some also have type 2 engines which are normally just a 4x4 or equivalent.


    As i'm using rescue engines throughout, I don't have to worry about the firetruck/heavy rescue issue but to allow me to send a type 2 whenever I didn't need the heavy rescue capability, brush fire, wildfire, etc. I gave the type 2 engines their own type of 'Light' and created a separate AAR for them.


    This way, if I just need a fire truck, I can send one, but if I need a heavy rescue I can send a full size engine.


    I have done the same with K9 and patrols.


    It adds extra to the AAR but using the time to incident option, I can also see what is closest.


    Hope this helps.

  • I gave the type 2 engines their own type of 'Light' and created a separate AAR for them.

    Hi Wispa, thank you for the reply


    I understand what you are saying, but my point is what if, to use your scenario, there was an available rescue engine closer than the type 2 fire truck when you dispatched to the brush fire/wildfire? Your ARR wouldn't pick it up because I'm assuming you have type 2 fire trucks (or your new "Light" category) set instead?


    Or are you saying that you have created 2 ARRs for each call that doesn't require rescue? One set for the rescue engine and one set for the type 2 and you just click whichever is closest at the time? That is a possible solution although it would make an already cluttered ARR screen even worse.
    Much easier if the game allowed for OR selections in the ARR settings.

  • My ARR for major calls will send whatever is the nearest as even though I’ve created a custom type, my ‘light’ pumps can still be sent as a fire engine in the ARR. the only split is for a separate list I have for initial dispatch which separates them out so that I can make sure a call that needs, two heavy rescue units and two fire engines, gets two rescue engines, not a rescue engine and a light pump.


    Hope this helps.


    The screenshot below shows my initial screen, the letters apply to my three fire brigades.


  • My ARR for major calls will send whatever is the nearest as even though I’ve created a custom type, my ‘light’ pumps can still be sent as a fire engine in the ARR. the only split is for a separate list I have for initial dispatch which separates them out so that I can make sure a call that needs, two heavy rescue units and two fire engines, gets two rescue engines, not a rescue engine and a light pump.

    Ok so it looks like you are dispatching units in two stages.. the "initial dispatch" as you put it which is to determine the closest of 'light pumps' or heavy rescues then dispatching the appropriate one, and then you have other ARRs set up for calls that have everything else like chiefs, police, hazmat, etc. Is that right?


    I have an ARR set up for each call that requires more than just one unit, so I just hit that button for "Basement fire", "Stuck climber", etc.. Hence why I'm having this issue with the flexible units.


    I think i'll just use a fleet of ALS ambulances only and Heavy Rescues only, then I don't have to worry about any of it. I don't really want to be checking the requirements for each call and then looking at the closest units like it seems you are doing.

  • I have been thinking about this and I believe a good way to solve it would be to allow each vehicle to be assigned to multiple custom categories instead of just one.


    @TACRfan Perhaps this is something that could be suggested?


    Allowing multiple categories would mean that a Quint, for example, could be assigned to both "Ladder" and "Fire truck" so that way if a call came up nearby the Quint that just requires a fire truck it would still get picked using an ARR. As it works now it wouldn't because the Quint would be locked on a separate category and wouldn't respond to "fire truck" with an ARR.


    Same with Rescue Engine.. if that were set to "Heavy Rescue" and "Fire Truck" it could respond to all possible calls.


    This would also fix the problem for ambulances. Fly-cars could be given just the category "A". BLS ambulances could be given "A" and "B" and ALS ambulances could be given "A", "B" & "CDE" - so if an ALS ambulance was closer than a fly-car it would still get picked for a cat A call.

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