Mando Missile ArmA (ACCEPTED)

[Blanco]

OMG! This is simply brilliant.
I've seen lots of scripts in OFP but this works better than ever could dream of.
The interface (I like the blinking display btw), the way the missile flies, the missile effects... all top notch.

I think we gonna have lots of fun with your scripts in the future, Mandoble

[Mandoble]

Mando Missile Laboratory is a bit example of what is comming in Mando Missile 2.2. It is ready to be used from the editor.

You may play with any present missile parameter, fire from land/air/sea units against land/sea/air/buildings and copy/paste the resulting missile parameter array. Check all the present tooltips as they explain clearly what each parameter affects.

Enjoy 

EDIT: Important note, edit the mission and add somewhere one soldier of each side, else the spawn scripts will fail to create units.

[ViperMaul]

Excellent!
I am back on task!
And look what we have here when I come back. New play toys 

So this Mando Missile Laboratory is a SinglePlayer mission and should be added accordingly?
Or is this .pbo something we should place in our Profile mission folder for our editor?

[ViperMaul]

I moved my tests of my project from single player to multiplayer on a dedicated server with 2 pilots and 2 AA shooters. The mando system worked flawlessly. It really *looks* like the missiles has accepted the flares as the new target.

Next I need to review your scripts for enabling the Ammo Trucks to re-arm the helicopters with new counter-measure packs. Then I can start really adding multiple players on both sides and figuring out a way to look at the server load or impact as a result of the constant loops for every chopper.

I keep wondering if we put a line in there to make sure that the client is the only machine that runs the script missileecm script if it would take the load off the server. But then what happens if the chopper switches pilots. Or perhaps is it better to have the server run all the many different missileecm scripts per vehicle object?

This is going to be cool to learn.

Any thoughts?

[h-]

ViperMaul, do not double post.
If your post is the last one in a thread and you have something to add edit your existing post instead of posting consecutively..

[ViperMaul]

Those posts were almost 5 hours apart. I really wasn't looking.
I will try next time. 

[ViperMaul]

Mando,

So I used your missile reload script as a template to create a chaff/flare reload script and its working.
However, our mission has the ability to spawn in new helos. And those helos are not apart of the array of unit that are allowed to be rearmed with missiles or  chaff/flares. 

I suspect I need to use a global array variable and each time I had a spawn a helo that should have chaff/flares and missiles, I need to also add that vehicle object ID or name to the arrary.

How do I do this? Add a name to an existing global array variable?
Or is there a better way to do this? Or does your next version support this already?

[Mandoble]

The template is just an example you may modify at will, for example, using a global array. In this case you may have a global array per side, that array would be checked by all units running the template instead of passing the array as an argument. So you pass side instead of array or vehicles, depending on side, the reloading vehicles check that player is in one vehicle of an array or another array. You should take care of eliminating destroyed vehicles of these arrays, else you may end will an array with 100 vehicles and 90% of them not existing any more in your game.

[Mandoble]

Before releasing V2.2 I'm planning to include a much simplified missile version, which would be the prototype for a potentially 100% MP compatible version.

This simplified version would lack fancy light and smoke exhaust effects, detonation effects, launch effects, sounds, ground avoidance capability, ability to be intercepted by other missiles and all the code for the interception point calculations and inertial guidance. If this simplified version works well in MP, I'll try to add more and more of the original missile functionality.

What I'm lacking is the ability to setup any real MP test environment, so any help here will be warmly welcome. If you have a dedicated server and want to collaborate with this beta-test, please PM me 

[Mandoble]

Small update, laser designator demo with friendly choppers firing hidden behind hills against enemy tanks. Use your laser designator and kill them all.

Enjoy

[KaRRiLLioN]

The easiest way to beta test on a dedicated server is to start one on your own machine and connect to it with your client.  Simply create an Arma shortcut with -server after the .exe, then run it.  Start your ArmA client in windowed mode -window.  Now if you go to multiplayer and select LAN, you can see your own dedicated server.  Any tests you run connecting to it would be valid for other dedicated servers.

BTW, I was looking at adding this to RTS-IV, but you say there are some limitations in MP ATM?

[Mandoble]

Well, what I'm trying to find out are just these limitations. Some of them (chaff and flares in MP) are already being addressed but still need to be tested in MP. Another known MP limitation is missile vs missile interception.

In current beta version there are things that runs only on the server but other ones that run on the client, for example, missile control runs on the client owner of the missile (who fired it), it is because that that a dedi server vs 1 client is not enough, similar goes for chaff and flares, you fire a missile against some one, that one notices it and drop flares or chaff. A server, dedicated or not and two or more clients are needed to test all these.

EDIT:
Did some tests with a dedicated server and a client running on same machine with surprising effects. Missiles, chaff and flares and automatic missile launching units did work ok, but spawning scripts were spawning two vehicles every time a target was destroyed. General speaking this is the code in init.sqs

Code: [Select]

...
...
?local server: [blah blah blah]execVm"spawntanks.sqf"
...
...

That should mean that spawntanks.sqf (it keeps an eye to current tank target, if destroyed spawns another) is ran only in the dedicated server. But it seems it executes in both, dedicated server and first client to start the game. Every time the tank was destroyed, two were spawned and running it in a single machine only one was spawned in same conditions.

Now may be dedicated servers needs to take something else into consideration?

[KaRRiLLioN]

If you run it on a dedicated and you have a gamelogic named Server, then that script should run only on the server.

Since many missions already use the gamelogic named "server" what you may want to do is have whatever your init file is check to see if "Server" is defined or not, and if not, then create the gamelogic locally with:

?!Local Player : createVehicle "Logic"

Now, if the server is hosted, then it gets trickier, because the local server also has a local player.

BTW when I tried the test mission with the Strykers on the island and the ship with the cruise missiles, if I got in the Stryker and started the radar, then stayed in the vehicle until the cruise missile hit me, I would die, and seconds later ArmA would crash.  I wonder if there's not some exception in a loop for the death of the player while the radar is running or something.  Anyway, thought I'd mention that.

I read the instructions for adding the missiles, but couldn't find the exact scenario I wanted.  In RTS-IV, when someone builds a Vulcan/Shilka, I'd like that vehicle to have the ability to fire missiles.  So I copied over the mando_missiles folder.  Do the vehicles then need to exec a specific script in order to have the missile work?  I don't want to use the menu interface or anything.  I just want the blasted Vulcans and Shilkas to be able to actually shoot down aircraft.  From what I understand, your scripts add some automation to that, right?  Or am I misinformed?

[Mandoble]

KaRRiLLioN, you are using v2.1 which had not a single test in MP. There is new beta which is what I'm testing in MP. If you are interested into these tests, you may locate my in Messenger (check my messenger icon).

[Mandoble]

Good news and bad news.

I finally have a 100% MP friendly Mando Missile version. chaff, flares, AI firing units, reloading vehicles, custom smoke trail, explosions and launch FX and MCC working correctly and causing no noticeable lag (thanks very much to ViperMaul for participating in the tests).

I also found the problem described by KaRRiLLioN, game crashing after player being hit by a missile. This is a CRITICAL bug of ArmA (hopefully fixed in next patch). ArmA will crash in MP when any player is killed by any createdVehicle ammo.

And now the bad news, my PC was ruined during a storm and now it refuses to boot. So ATM I cannot access to the last version of MMissile