# Known Limitations

HelicopterOptions does a lot, but a few frequently requested things are not
included. In every case that is because the game itself does not make them
possible to do reliably, and adding them anyway would cause glitches or
crashes. This page explains what is missing and why, in plain terms.

Importantly: every setting that appears in the configuration files actually
does something. Nothing here is a hidden or fake switch.

## Helicopter can sometimes fly high in stock flight

In some situations the base game commands the helicopter to fly quite high
above you, which can make it feel distant. `Navigation.ini` includes an
optional height limit (`EnableSafeOverride` with `MaxHeightAboveTarget`) that
brings it back down in many of these cases while still keeping it from diving
into buildings. It improves the common cases but cannot completely override the
game's own flight height in every situation, so you may still occasionally see
the helicopter climb higher than you would like.

## Multiple helicopters at once

The game is built around a single police helicopter and only keeps track of one
at a time. Forcing extra helicopters to appear leaves the game confused about
them, which causes glitches when they disappear. There are experimental options
in `Debug.ini` for people who want to tinker, but reliable multi-helicopter
support is not something this mod can safely provide.

## Helicopters colliding with each other

Even if two helicopters are present, the game has no physical collision between
them, so they pass through one another. This mod does not change that.

## Individual helicopter minimap icons

The game does not expose a reliable way to give extra helicopters their own
minimap icons, so this is not included.

## Avoiding buildings and terrain

The game does not provide the helicopter AI with a way to see the road network
or query obstacles, so the helicopter cannot actively steer around specific
buildings or follow the road layout. It relies on the game's own built-in
minimum-height handling (which the height limit above tunes) to avoid diving
into the ground.

## Tunnels

The game does not mark where tunnels are in a way the mod can read, so there is
no special tunnel behavior (such as holding back or waiting at the exit).

## Damage-aware behavior

The game does not expose the helicopter's health in a way the mod can safely
read, so behavior that reacts to the helicopter taking damage is not included.

## Different attack styles (from the left, right, rear, fake passes)

Which side the helicopter attacks from is decided by the game, and there is no
safe way to force a specific approach without risking instability, so directed
attack variants are not included.

## On-screen debug overlay

Diagnostic information is written to the log file rather than drawn on screen.
An on-screen overlay would risk conflicting with other overlay mods, so the log
is used instead.

## Stability recovery

The built-in stability protection helps the helicopter recover from rolling,
pitching, or spinning by easing its speed, holding a little extra height, and
steadying its motion. It does this without forcibly snapping the helicopter
upright, because doing that safely is not possible in this game. In the vast
majority of cases the gentler recovery is enough.

## Minor cosmetic notes

- With "never run out of fuel" enabled, the internal fuel value keeps counting
  down past empty. This is harmless and only visible in detailed logging.
- Adjusting how often the helicopter attacks can also slightly shift the height
  it chooses during a chase, because the game ties those two together.
