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Author Topic: (Review Completed) [SP] Tour de Force  (Read 9444 times)

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Offline Kronzky

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(Review Completed) [SP] Tour de Force
« on: 26 Aug 2003, 21:36:45 »
This is a mission that was pretty much completed over a year ago, but then I never got around to releasing it.

I've done some more fine-tuning to it now, added a few little bells & whistles, and this time it'll definitely get submitted (that is, once the testing is done).

The missions consists of three objectives, all of them having to do with releasing some POWs.
The first two targets are stationary camps, the third one is a convoy that has to be ambushed. (If you screw up the ambush you have a second chance of taking over their final camp.)

My main target in this mission was to make it as unpredictable as possible, so that no two plays are alike. Lots of random units, locations & paths, just to keep you on your toes.
Also, since you have lots of friendlies mixed up with the opponent, you will have to be pretty exact with your attacks. No Rambo-go-in-and-kill-em-all methods here. You need surgical precision (especially in the convoy attack), otherwise you're out...
I would say it is on the difficult end of the scale, but then again, perhaps there are some players who will just fly through this one.

The missions has an extensive briefing, and features an intro,cutscene and custom sounds.

It requires Resistance, and has been tested under V1.91.
The only unique add-on that is needed (apart from a couple of standard BIS ones), is 'Reallights', and it is included in the zip file.


To download the mission go to: http://www.contrex-us.com/games/ofp
Pick 'Single Player' - 'Tour de Force', and check the version occasionally. I may have posted an update since you lasted looked
.

Edit: This mission has been reviewed and is available from the Missions Depot.
« Last Edit: 13 May 2009, 00:44:56 by Walter_E_Kurtz »

Offline Kronzky

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Re:Tour de Force (SP for Nogova)
« Reply #1 on: 27 Aug 2003, 18:31:30 »
There was a minor bug in the last objective, in that if too many of the POWs were killed they wouldn't flee at the end.
That has been fixed now (V 1.31)

Also, I activated the debug mode that gives you lots of little goodies, if you just want to fool around with the mission (captive mode, teleport around, etc). Details on how to start and use it are in the readme file.

zsa_zsa_rasputin

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Re:Tour de Force (SP for Nogova)
« Reply #2 on: 29 Aug 2003, 15:07:02 »
Sounds good - just downloading it now...
Will come back shortly and let you know :)

Just read through the readme - debug options sound handy...
Just about to load it up... Give it a few plays.
Back soon :)
Dan ;D
« Last Edit: 29 Aug 2003, 15:11:15 by zsa_zsa_rasputin »

zsa_zsa_rasputin

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Re:Tour de Force (SP for Nogova)
« Reply #3 on: 29 Aug 2003, 15:29:33 »
OK - just watched the intro :)
I liked it up to the point where they had to get out of the truck :)

Good atmospheric choice of music - dynamic camera use (I think the view of them getting into the truck from the window could be better but it's still good)

The only problem is once the get out of the truck and start to flee in the forest, the camera goes mental! :/
You start hearing the heavy breathing as if it was 1st person, and the camera starts shaking and flicking form target to target - it's very disorienting...
The only other thing is I dont think we need to see all those civvies being shot...
I mean they're unarmed... I think after one or two go down?

Good so far though - just going into the breifing now :)

Dan ;D

(PS. I can record some voice for you if you like rather than the current ones you have for the civvies?)

Offline Kronzky

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Re:Tour de Force (SP for Nogova)
« Reply #4 on: 29 Aug 2003, 17:33:12 »
The only problem is once the get out of the truck and start to flee in the forest, the camera goes mental! :/
You start hearing the heavy breathing as if it was 1st person, and the camera starts shaking and flicking form target to target - it's very disorienting...

Well, actually, that's what it's supposed to be...
It is like some reporter following them with a hand-held camera, shaking and panting and getting confused. A bit different from the regular OFP camera views, that are always big and slow, and look like we're still stuck in 1950's cinema...  

But keep on playing - perhaps you'll like the rest better ;)

The Avon Lady

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Re:Tour de Force (SP for Nogova)
« Reply #5 on: 01 Sep 2003, 14:56:34 »
So last year's 2.5 outta 3 stars MOM review did let you sleep at night, Kronzky? :D

zsa_zsa_rasputin

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Re:Tour de Force (SP for Nogova)
« Reply #6 on: 01 Sep 2003, 18:14:48 »
OK...
Finished :) Well - it's a nice long(ish) mission at least! :D

Well now for all the things I wrote down during play (I will continue to play it over a couple more times and may edit this post as I notice things) :)

The first couple of things I noticed were in the briefing;

a1> HQ allows you to choose whether to exectute the mission at night, but wont allow you choice of weapons?? Seems a little harsh :( And Why have some your men got binoculars, but not all of them?

a2> But asides from that - the breifing, though a little brief :D (Sorry) was ok - could've been MUCH more detailed though :) (ie. "You will dropped close" to the camp - how close? What direction?)

a3> I think you should explain the "Crew disembarkation code" in the breifing - it's not clear how to go about getting the crew to disembark, etc.  :-\

OK The briefing over - time to go into the game :)

b1> I notice there is a wierd mix of special forces and regular GIs in the group - I think it would be better if you chose all the group from either regulars or special units and armed them accordingly

b2> I don't like the computer generated voices - but fair enough :)

b3> As soon as we ejected one of my group immediately called in "wounded"... But I couldn't heal ANYONE throughout the WHOLE mission... Either myself or other group members - either by using the medic or MASH tents or anything...  :-\

b4> Sometimes the enemy patrols I came across on the way to the PoW camp were completely unresponsive - I would snipe a nearby colleague and they would just saunter past... La dee da dee da... Tum tee tum...!  :P Maybe a few more switch triggers or guard waypoints called for...? :)

b5> There seems to little to NO cover on the western side of the PoW camp in the forest or it's borders... Unfortunately - this is a handy sniping area - having a PERFECT view of the camp below. From here I was able to pick off almost ALL enemy forces - including those at the castle and church...  ::)

b6> I liked the positioning of your snipers - but they seemed to out in the open - once you'd spotted them they were dead  :-\ But the best sniper (killed me a coupla times) was on the Northern side of the camp ina spot of bushes and trees... I know you're trying for re-playability by placing your patrols somewhat randomly - but you could tell your snipers to seek out the nearest cover to hide behind :)

b7> There also seems to be a bug where the player is killed; He stays standing at you can keep firing and looking around until the (You are dead) screen - where it shows the player standing upright :D

b8> I was pleased to see some of the enemy using the buildings - but most of them seemed to facing away from the windows - so I could walk up to them and kill 'em :)

b9> I liked the rescuing of the PoWs cutscene - but the voice seemed extremely echoey - maybe something to do with EAX...? But good - I liked it - not too long or short  - to the point :)

b10> I especially like the satellite tracking of the convoy on the map :)

b11> I thought any remaining units in the convoy might start firing on the escaping prisoners...? I mean they were killing unarmed civilians in the intro  :-\

b12> Shame there was no ending outro yet :)

I will continue playing and will gladly volunteer any help you want with it :)
Overall I like this mission though :)
(Maybe 6/7-10)

Dan ;D

Offline Kronzky

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Re:Tour de Force (SP for Nogova)
« Reply #7 on: 01 Sep 2003, 22:17:30 »
So last year's 2.5 outta 3 stars MOM review did let you sleep at night, Kronzky? :D

Hey - I didn't even know it was ever submitted to your site!
I thought I had to submit it myself, and since I never really finished it up I never even thought about doing it.
But I guess 2.5 for a beta mission isn't too bad...

Perhaps I'l reach the 3 with the final version!

Offline Kronzky

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Re:Tour de Force (SP for Nogova)
« Reply #8 on: 01 Sep 2003, 22:54:55 »
Hi rasputin,

thanks for the detailed feedback.
I'll try to reply to all the issues you brought up...

Quote
HQ allows you to choose whether to exectute the mission at night, but wont allow you choice of weapons?? Seems a little harsh :( And Why have some your men got binoculars, but not all of them?
Since the weapons issued cover pretty much anything you'd want, you'd have to switch them around between your troop if you personally want a different one.
I didn't give you a big stockpile of weapons, because just equipping everyone with a sniper rifle for example would make it a bit too easy. (Is there any particular weapon you're looking for?)

Quote
But asides from that - the breifing, though a little brief :D (Sorry) was ok - could've been MUCH more detailed though :) (ie. "You will dropped close" to the camp - how close? What direction?)
I could give you those instructions, but since the drop-off is happening unexpectedly early (because of the Shilka fire), it would only be misleading. I am trying to simulate the chaos of unexpected fire and an emergency drop-off in the entry phase.

Quote
I think you should explain the "Crew disembarkation code" in the breifing - it's not clear how to go about getting the crew to disembark, etc.
You shouldn't have to issue a disembarkation order for the crew. They bail themselves. If you do want to eject earlier, it's the standard OFP order via the command menu.

Quote
I notice there is a wierd mix of special forces and regular GIs in the group - I think it would be better if you chose all the group from either regulars or special units and armed them accordingly.
The reason for that is on one hand to force you to use different tactics, depending who's left standing, and, on the other hand, to give you the opportunity to try different methods of attack (stealthy silent, from a distance via snipers, brute force via RPGs, etd.).

Quote
As soon as we ejected one of my group immediately called in "wounded"... But I couldn't heal ANYONE throughout the WHOLE mission... Either myself or other group members - either by using the medic or MASH tents or anything...
That, unfortunately, is an issue I haven't been able to solve so far. The men are ok actually, even if they claim at one point they're injured. In the entry scene (helicopter drop), they used to get injured too often during the ejection, so I kept resetting their health. But, for some reason, the visible status of them is never updated. If you ask them all to report their status, it'll show up ok. But if you (or someone else) knows how to do this via a script I might be able to circumvent this problem somehow.

Quote
Sometimes the enemy patrols I came across on the way to the PoW camp were completely unresponsive - I would snipe a nearby colleague and they would just saunter past... La dee da dee da... Tum tee tum...! Maybe a few more switch triggers or guard waypoints called for...?
I leave that kind of behaviour to the OFP engine. ;)
Yes, sometimes, if you're very stealthy neighboring troops aren't alerted if someone next to them gets killed. But that can happen in any mission, and is part of OFP.

Quote
There seems to little to NO cover on the western side of the PoW camp in the forest or it's borders... Unfortunately - this is a handy sniping area - having a PERFECT view of the camp below. From here I was able to pick off almost ALL enemy forces - including those at the castle and church...
Well, I gotta give you some chance of winning, no?
And don't forget, this is just the first phase of the mission. You'll still need plenty of troops to finish the next objective...

Quote
I liked the positioning of your snipers - but they seemed to out in the open - once you'd spotted them they were dead  But the best sniper (killed me a coupla times) was on the Northern side of the camp ina spot of bushes and trees... I know you're trying for re-playability by placing your patrols somewhat randomly - but you could tell your snipers to seek out the nearest cover to hide behind
I could hide them better, but do you really think the first objective is too easy the way it is? Even I, knowing all the possible positions, get killed on a regular basis playing it. (But then again, perhaps I just suck...)

Quote
There also seems to be a bug where the player is killed; He stays standing at you can keep firing and looking around until the (You are dead) screen - where it shows the player standing upright
That problem seemed to have gone for a while, and now it  pops up again occasionally. Do you remember, when and where this happened? (Which objectives were completed, and in which area did you get killed?)

Quote
I was pleased to see some of the enemy using the buildings - but most of them seemed to facing away from the windows - so I could walk up to them and kill 'em
If they'd face the window,you could just enter the house, and then shoot'em in the back...
But that goes back to my previous question - do you think OBJ1 is too easy?

Quote
I liked the rescuing of the PoWs cutscene - but the voice seemed extremely echoey - maybe something to do with EAX...? But good - I liked it - not too long or short  - to the point
It sounds ok on my machine. Anybody else have this problem?

Quote
I thought any remaining units in the convoy might start firing on the escaping prisoners...? I mean they were killing unarmed civilians in the intro
Yes, that would've been more realistic; but I had to find a balance between realism and playability here.
I didn't want to make to hunt for the very last soldier in order to complete the objective (I hate that in a lot of other missions), but, on the other hand, if there are still remaining soldiers, they might still shoot the POWS. (But then again, they might not, as at that point there will only be a couple of guys left on their side, and their main concern would be their own survival). But perhaps I'll just make'em run away (or surrender) when you reached this point. That would make the whole situation a bit more realistic.

Quote
Shame there was no ending outro yet
I doubt there ever will be one...
To make it continuous with the mission, I'd need so many different ones (as there can be a lot of different endings) that I'd spend as much time on the outro as on the whole mission.
And if I'd just take some standard outro (chopper comes in, picks'em up, flies away, blah, blah, blah) I don't really see the added value in that...

Quote
I will continue playing and will gladly volunteer any help you want with it
The two things I have a problem with are the troops' health status and you're own 'living death' scenes. If you have any ideas regarding that, that would be great. (If you want the source code to the mission, just let me know, and I'll email it to you.)

Thanks again for the feedback!

zsa_zsa_rasputin

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Re:Tour de Force (SP for Nogova)
« Reply #9 on: 02 Sep 2003, 00:34:56 »
a> Particular weapon (I like the XMS ;))

b> Yeah - I get the fact about the shilka fire bein unexpected, and the entry phase going wrong, but I still think the briefing could be better... I mean - think "City of the dead" - INCREDIBLY detailed breifing, but realism means most of it is wrong :D

c> The disembarkation code is something that is mentioned in your briefing - I found it one of the buildings - (Right in front of the shilka I'd just destroyed (Quite unlikely you'd get it, but then as the shilka is placed randomly I guess maybe another time you played you might get there...)) But I just think you should explain whether you need to call it from the radio console or it's automatica or whatever :)

d> Good point, but I completed the mission without losing a single man* - I think you could either have a lot of men but not much flexibility or not many but a choice
*(Besides the odd time when the OFP engine went wierd - like the time one of my men was boarding the chopper near the end, when he suddenly teleported a hundred feet in the air and fell to his death??? :D)

e> I'm afriad my scripting prowess is somewhat limited... I will think about it though... You have any idea WHY it does this? How are you getting the men to eject? (I cant remember if I had to order an eject or they followed me out or I got kicked out or what)

f> Fair enough. Shame though :)

g> I think at least maybe one or two roving patrols though :/

h> I think if I had really not bothered about my men and just stormed the place and wasnt playing it so slowly to review it properly... Yeah I think it wouldve been fairly easy (Objective-wise... I doubt I'd have killed every enemy though)

i> as far as I can remember whenever I died and no matter what objectives had been completed I died standing up LIKE A MAN :D

j> see h

k> Ill try it again with EAX switched off

l> yeah I getcha... I think surrendering would be best... Maybe returning with reinforcements if you don't get to the choppers quick enough :) I think you should escort them home though (those reinforcements breathing down your necks... ;))

Also - Why IS there a (rather handy for the choppers! ;)) US repair truck in the town??

Dan ;D

Knut Erik

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Re:Tour de Force (SP for Nogova)
« Reply #10 on: 02 Sep 2003, 20:00:35 »
About the die bug...

Sounds like you have a trigger that makes the player alive once he has been killed...

getDammage Player > 0
Player setDammage 0

That doesn't work with the player unit. The game does not react fast enough, and the game fuckes itself up untill the "You are dead" screen show up...

To make the player invincible, try this  ;)

Player addEventHandler ["Hit" , "Player setDammage 0"] ;
Player addEventHandler ["Killed" , "Player setDammage 0"]


See ??  :D

Offline Kronzky

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Re:Tour de Force (SP for Nogova)
« Reply #11 on: 02 Sep 2003, 21:20:15 »
To make the player invincible, try this
Player addEventHandler ["Hit" , "Player setDammage 0"] ;
Player addEventHandler ["Killed" , "Player setDammage 0"]

Thanks, I'll give it a shot.
Perhaps it'll even take care of the other units' status bug.

Offline Kronzky

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Re:Tour de Force (SP for Nogova)
« Reply #12 on: 03 Sep 2003, 03:41:44 »
Well, I finally found a solution to those two pesky bugs (the incorrect health status and those 'living death' scenes).

The health status I was able to fix (with toadlife's) help, by first unjoining and then rejoining the group. Somehow that sets the health icon to the correct status.

The 'living death' scenes were caused by one lonely 'player setdammage 0' that was issued in the beginning of the mission. (That was the only one - no other health resets anywhere - but for some reason it caused the death scenes to be screwed up.)

I'm still not sure about the difficulty level of the mission though. I personally find it rather hard, and so did a few other people that played it. Rasputin OTOH says he finished it with all men alive (but he also said that, 'whenever he died, he died standing up', so there must've been a few casualties even for him ;)...)

Offline raistlin_kell

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Re:Tour de Force (SP for Nogova)
« Reply #13 on: 03 Sep 2003, 07:38:21 »
Kronzky
I'll give the MP version a good going over this weekend for you. Let you know how the MP version plays. Should be 7 players this weekend so we'll give it a good thrashing for you.

RK :D
Rimmer: "You don't think there's anything amiss? I'm sitting here wearing a red and white checked gingham dress and army boots and you think that's un-amiss?"

zsa_zsa_rasputin

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Re:Tour de Force (SP for Nogova)
« Reply #14 on: 03 Sep 2003, 14:43:15 »
I mean that whnever anyone died it was me! :P
I'm not the kind of officer who sends his men forward to cover his own ass! ;D
Anyway - I didn't find it easy - I just did it very slowly and carefully in order to review it as best I could for you :)
I think overall it's medium-hard difficulty :)

Dan ;D