HelicopterOptions V1.0
Need for Speed: Most Wanted (2005) - PC

Created by eatincrispies


About
-----
HelicopterOptions is a ASI mod that gives the police helicopter more configurable behavior in Need for Speed: Most Wanted (2005).

The mod focuses on letting the helicopter feel more active during pursuits while still keeping the settings easy to adjust through an INI file.


What It Does
------------
- Adds extra helicopter behavior options through HelicopterOptions.ini.
- Lets the helicopter use stronger pursuit movement tuning.
- Lets you adjust helicopter turning, acceleration, lead distance, height behavior, and exit behavior.
- Includes optional vision settings so the helicopter can stay more aware during pursuits.
- Keeps risky/experimental features separated in the INI so users can leave them off unless they know what they are testing.


Installation
------------
1. Make sure you have an ASI loader installed for Need for Speed: Most Wanted (2005).
2. Open your NFSMW game folder.
3. Open the scripts folder.
   - If you do not have a scripts folder, create one.
4. Copy these files into the scripts folder:

   HelicopterOptions.asi
   HelicopterOptions.ini

5. Launch the game.

Your folder should look like this:

   Need for Speed Most Wanted/
     scripts/
       HelicopterOptions.asi
       HelicopterOptions.ini


Configuration
-------------
All settings are inside HelicopterOptions.ini.

Most users can leave the INI as-is. The default release setup is meant to be a safe starting point.

If you want to tweak the helicopter, open the INI in Notepad or another text editor. Each section explains what the settings do.

Recommended sections to edit first:

- [Chopper::Movement]
  Main helicopter movement behavior. This controls things like acceleration, turn response, and how strongly the heli follows the player.

- [Chopper::LeadHeight]
  Controls where the helicopter tries to position itself around the player.

- [Chopper::Exit]
  Controls helicopter exit behavior during pursuits.

- [Chopper::Vision]
  Controls optional helicopter vision behavior.

Leave risky sections off unless you are testing.


Important Notes
---------------
- This mod is made for the PC version of Need for Speed: Most Wanted (2005).
- This mod is intended for the 1.3 executable.
- The ASI and INI must have the same name.
- Do not rename only one file.

Correct:

   HelicopterOptions.asi
   HelicopterOptions.ini

Wrong:

   HelicopterOptions.asi
   CopHeliAggression.ini


Known Limitations
-----------------
- Multiple helicopters are not officially supported.
- Extra helicopters may phase through each other.
- Some experimental settings can cause strange behavior if pushed too far.
- If the game crashes after changing settings, revert your last INI edits first.


Troubleshooting
---------------
The mod does not load:
- Make sure you installed an ASI loader.
- Make sure both files are inside the scripts folder.
- Make sure the files are named HelicopterOptions.asi and HelicopterOptions.ini.

The helicopter feels unchanged:
- Make sure the INI is in the same folder as the ASI.
- Make sure the mod is not being blocked by antivirus.
- Make sure to change the values on the INI to you're liking, as it has been set to Vanilla values.

The game crashes after editing the INI:
- Undo your last changes.
- Turn off experimental/risky sections.
- Try using the original release INI again.

A log file appears:
- The mod can create a log file if logging is enabled in the INI.
- You can disable file logging in the [HelicopterOptions] section.


Uninstall
---------
Delete these files from your scripts folder:

   HelicopterOptions.asi
   HelicopterOptions.ini


Credits
-------
Mod created by eatincrispies.

Special thanks to the Need for Speed modding community for keeping MW2005 modding alive.


Source Code
-----------
Source code is available separately on GitHub.
