Survival [v1.2] addon - Vector Thrust

It's me with another ridiculously-difficult battle scenario. This time I bring you Survival, which is... well, survival.

Known issues
- [Severe] Random crashes when switching to SPW after changing SPW loadout mid-mission. This is currently under investigation but I suspect something outside my control. It is also unknown at the moment if it affects anything else than the F-15Z.
- [Moderate] Performance issues in scenario C when the player is flying the F-15Z. Just avoid the F-15Z or anything similar if you're running VT on a potato.
- [Minor] Missiles do not rearm properly if you run completely dry before rearming. Do not use all of your missiles. SPW is not affected.
- [Minor] Due to the game's current limitations, the included F-22A+ aircraft's special weapons do not have functional RCS mechanics for the weapon pod doors, nor can the AMRAAMs lock onto more than 2 targets even though you have six.

Notes to players
You start with the default amount of ammunition, because I have implemented a resupply system for you to rearm. You can even change your special weapon choice, which may be very important depending on your aircraft choice (or completely useless, if you're crazy enough to choose something without any SPW). Chaffs and flares start at 10x default because those can't be resupplied.

There are 21 waves in total, and only wave 1, 2 and 21 have a fixed configuration. The rest draws randomly from a pool of four scenarios. Every time you complete a wave, your aircraft will be automatically repaired by 10% of its maximum HP.

Scenario A - Naval fleet
Defeat a naval fleet composed of one Nimitz-class carrier, four Arleigh Burke-class AEGIS destroyers and two F-35C fighters.

All of the ships are customized by me and are stronger than their vanilla counterparts. The Nimitz currently only has increased health, but I plan to at least give it some CIWS in the future (RAM with 10km range and very low damage added in v1.2). The Arleigh Burkes on the other hand are brutal - they fire missiles at you from 30km 55km away, spam fire missiles within 20km, start throwing flak shells at you at 12km, and will shred you with CIWS fire if you are foolish enough to get too close.

You are advised to stay as far away as possible when you complete this scenario, because the RNG god can and often will decide that it wants to load it again. And you REALLY don't want to sit right in the middle of four flak cannons.

Scenario B - Ace squadron
Just your standard run-of-the-mill Berkut formation. They do quite a lot of AoA-mode spinning, but since I chose XLAA instead of QAAM as their special weapon, they shouldn't be too difficult.

Scenario C - Ziz Phantasia
Self-explanatory. For those familiar with my Ziz Pursuit battle scenario, this is basically a lite version of the EOS-01F3 Ziz Ignis, maintaining its formidable firepower but with its armor weakened to EOS-01F Ziz Bellum levels.

For those who are not, let me introduce you to the beast that is my EOS-01F-series aerial fortress. If you've came here expecting an easy vanilla EOS-01T kill, turn back now. This monster is equipped with 56 proximity-fused AA guns, 20 missile launchers, a pair of flak guns and strengthened armor.

There are slight differences from the Zizs from Ziz Pursuit, which I will include in a later update for that addon. The AAMs are now affected by flares (vanilla Tan-SAM is invulnerable to countermeasures for some reason), and the main guns are no longer completely worthless. (in v1.1, it is completely identical mechanically to the v1.5 Ziz Pursuit III boss except having lower HP and rewards)

Unlike the proper EOS-01Fs which are always escorted by a pair of EOS-01EW jammers, this one flies alone, meaning you can pound the hell out of it with long-range weapons before attempting to get close.

Scenario D - Bomber interception
Standard SBA-21 and standard Su-30. Nothing really special here, the Flankers aren't nearly as annoying as the Berkuts even though the AI pilots are slightly better.

Surprises
There are some surprises that I've thrown in that will appear along with the scenario units at select waves. If you're particularly unlucky they might work very well with the random scenario that was selected.

Wave 21 can also be considered a surprise on its own. There is something I can say - If you think you're going to win easily just because you've beaten an armada of AEGIS destroyers, massive aerial fortresses and spinning Berkuts, think again. And if you can't find them, they spawn at the northern end of the map.

Aircraft recommendations
Unlike Ziz Pursuit, stealth is not forcibly disabled with a mutator and is a perfectly viable option. The included F-22A+ makes everything but scenario A and C a breeze since you regularly break contact and render the enemies blind. The downside of the Raptor Plus is the lack of long-range anti-surface capability, making scenario A stupidly dangerous, but it is at least better than a stock F-22A when equipped with GPB pods.

The Su-47 Berkut, the poster-child of Vector Thrust, is a more balanced option, with excellent mobility and QAAM to deal with dogfights, XLAA to snipe the bombers, wear down the Ziz or hope for something lucky against the ace planes, and more importantly LASM to wipe the floor with the scenario A fleet. The F-35E and F-35X should also be decent choices if you're going along this route.

The F-15Z made its way onto the recommendation list again for its ability to make the AI do stupid things. The HARM missile is also fairly useful against the scenario A fleet. The AI has a fascination of chasing your ghosts rather than you, so it is again the only vanilla aircraft that make things much easier than it probably should. I can almost say I had more trouble doing this with an ADFX-01. The F-15Z seems to make the game itself behave stupidly, causing performance issues and crashes for absolutely no reason, you might want to avoid it.

Additional notes for modders
The conditions for using my stuff is still the same: Feel free to take anything you like as long as you credit me for my work. No need to waste everyone's time asking and waiting for answers.

For the flak however you should ask IbizenThoth or otherwise follow his own rules for using his stuff.

Change log

v1.2: (20 Feb 2022)
- FIXED: Arleigh Burke not actually doing active projectile interception, because I accidentally removed the necessary "DetectSmallProjectiles" flag. (I decided against fixing the Ziz, because it'd waste its long-cooldown missile barrages on missile interception)
- NEW: Added air defense missile to the Nimitz. They are highly-agile but deals minimal damage to aircraft, and easily defeated by flares.
- NEW: Optional unofficial patch for missing AMRAAM reactors (engine glow, smoke trail). Affects the included F-22A+ which uses AIM-120D.
- MISC: Arleigh Burke VLS SAM will only target aircraft. Anti-surface missiles added as a separate weapon with their own unique behavior. (Irrelevant to Survival since they only shoot at you)
- MISC: Nimitz speed increased so it can keep up with the Arleigh Burke. (Irrelevant to Survival since it doesn't move)
- MISC: Interception missiles (RIM-7, RIM-116, RIM-156) are no longer targetable by other interception weapons, to prevent resource-intensive, useless and counterproductive "I intercept your intercept" 4D chess (Irrelevant to Survival)

v1.1.3: (19 Feb 2022)
- CHANGED: Reverted Arleigh Burke VLS changes (i.e. indestructible again), as upon further testing this is found to cause issues with VLS launches.
- CHANGED: Increased Arleigh Burke directional damage modifiers (1.0 bow/stern, 1.1 sides). Boss version remains unchanged (0.5 bow/stern, 1.0 sides).

v1.1.2: (18 Feb 2022)
- CHANGED: Decreased Arleigh Burke HP (from 4000 to 2500), you can now destroy the front/rear VLS (though they're not lockable objects).
- CHANGED: Wave 15 boss Arleigh Burke separated into its own entity and does NOT have the survivability nerf.

v1.1.1: (18 Feb 2022)
- FIXED: Wrong Ziz being included leading to unplayable mission.
- FIXED: Custom Nimitz having leftover weapon config from a test calling for a test weapon (M_FIM-92_SAM), leading to unplayable mission.

v1.1: (18 Feb 2022) (Yep, another 6-year gap like Ziz Pursuit) (If you have this version, you must update to a newer version)
- CHANGED: Removed anti-ground lock speed/range/angle penalty for the F-22A+.
- CHANGED: EOS-01F3-S updated to Ziz Pursit v1.5 specs. You must destroy its subsystems to deal damage.
- CHANGED: EOS-01F3-S destruction score changed to 0, its original value (24000) is awarded via script instead. (Same change as Ziz Pursuit)
- CHANGED: Arleigh Burke VLS behavior updated. More consistent, more accurate missiles, but deals less damage and more susceptible to chaff.
- CHANGED: Arleigh Burke flak changed to hyper-velocity rounds (same ballistic performance as EOS-01F3-S).
- CHANGED: Applied US Navy logic to the NAM-16 wave 15 boss (i.e. "If I can just upgrade an Arleigh Burke to do the job, why make a new ship?")
- CHANGED: Added extra destruction score to wave 15 boss since it's just a buffed up Arleigh Burke.
- CHANGED: Final boss QAAM type changed from AAM-5B to AIM-9X Block II. It's harder.
- NEW: Wave 15 boss moves. No evasive maneuvers but she's already a monster moving in straight lines.
- NEW: Added MSL pods as an SPW option for the F-22A+. Main-linked firing is enabled but not very useful due to bay door delay.

v1.0: (27th Dec 2015)
- Initial release