[SP/COOP/ADDON-FREE] 1-5 Team Recon v092 (BETA)

[laggy]

Mission "1-5 Team Recon" by Laggy.

Public 0.92 Beta version.

Description: You are a team of Special Forces operating behind enemy lines on North Sahrani.

ArmA version: 1.14

Needed Addons: None.

Known bugs: None.

NOTE: This mission has been tested several times in MP, but feedback would really be appreciated since it probably needs some improvements.

EDIT: According to some beta testers the insertion flight into the mountains is a really bad AI flying experience. For me on my server it has ALWAYS worked perfect, so I'm confused. If you get this problem, simply start the mission without intro. Would be grateful for feedback on this topic.

Thanks to: Mandoble for his stunning "Air Support" script, Seven for his "sniper" script, Hoz for his "DoFollowUnit" script, Nominesine and Manbane for playtesting plus all of you at the OFPEC forum.

Important changes in:

Version 0.92

Fixed a small ACE v.s mando_missiles issue, which didn't matter... unless you used ACEmod 
Initiated Spectating script properly... sorry, hope the "seagull" was OK for a while.

Version 0.91

Added Kegety's spectating script.
"Bug" concerning chopper not leaving after insertion should now be solved. Thanks to Worldeater for that.
To avoid confusion when AI refuses to disembark I made everyone eject automatically at insertion point.
Players pulling the ammo boxes should now be seen by other players as well.

EDIT: The ammo box pulling animation is quite stuttering for players NOT local to the ammo box.
According to master MP scripters this is unavoidable without addons and at least it looks good for the "puller". You'll just have to live with that I'm afraid.

Reduced the total amount of Air Supports available, to force careful planning by players.
Added some #lightpoint vehicles and sounds to make some missions more atmospheric.
Added just a few more enemy groups, that can surprise you.
Added some more radio commands to clearify situations and instruct players when needed.

Missiontype: Multiplayer COOP, but SP is possible.
Players: 1-5
Mission Time: Several hours (a "whole evening" mission)
Island: Sahrani
Mission Version: 0.92 Beta
Intro: Yes (intergrated with the mission)
Parameters: Yes (Intro option)
Time: Varies
Weather: Okay to good

Missionwork: This is a very long MP mission that actually consists of several shorter missions. You play "Team Recon" that are flown in behind enemy lines on North Sahrani. Your team will operate from a small Base Camp in the mountains and perform intense raids, that are ordered by HQ. You are a small outnumbered group that needs to stay out of sight, but have the advantage of calling in Air Support (Mandobles script). The Air Support has many functions, ranging from CAS missions and carpetbombings to vehicle and ammo supplies for your team. The mission is quite free in tactics and choices, which should make it replayable. The different objectives will include sabotage, assassination, kidnapping and the saving of POWs. I also made an effort to include some roleplaying elements in this mission which leads to next section.

Special: Many things are interactive in this mission. First you will have to choose a good spot for your Base Camp. After calling in an "ammo supply" you can actually move the ammo boxes around (pulling them) and build the camp wherever you want. The Base camp has the function of healing major injuries and also acts as a "return spot" for some missions. Smaller injuries can be healed by a "First Aid Kit" action. For some missions you might prefer a different time of day, which is why you can wait X number of hours whenever you want (number of hours chosen and activation done by radio menu). All team members also have their own special ability. One is the leader (calls for Air Support), one is a mechanic (can repair vehicles), one is a medic (works as a field surgeon), one is a pilot (can fly choppers) and the last member is a sniper specialist (Sevens "Sniper-Spotter" script). All this as well as custom sound, music, voice acting and scripts should hopefully make it enjoyable.

Like I said, this is a loooong mission and if you only like action you might find it slow, but if you prefer teamwork, variety, freedom of choice, planning, interactivity and atmosphere you should love it.

Contact: tolaggy@hotmail.com

Hope you enjoy it. My wish is that I've created a fun mission.

Laggy

[hoz]

Have given this a go a couple of times now.

Cut scene, nice job, and I love the camera view on the ride over to base camp. Although the path you take is pretty steep and makes the ai fly terribly. you could fix this with adding some additional wps and changing the flyinheight gradually before you hit the mountains.

So far we haven't gotten very far. we killed the mi17 and have been trying to order in some vehicles to get to one of the next objectives.

more later...

[laggy]

Thanks Hoz,

Will look at the WPs for the Littlebird.

Look forward to feedback after your next session, however I'm just about to update the mission a little, so you probably want to wait until the next version, should be done sometime today.

Cheers,

Laggy

EDIT: Mission updated to version 0.91

[hoz]

Gave this mission ago a bunch of times tonight. We found that the base camp location was hard to land a chopper in there. It took several tries and became mostly frustrating. The first couple of times the chopper landed on the side of the hill and toppled over, unfixable. Once we finally got to Masbete we enjoyed the the mission more but we weren't able to get into the chemical factory. It would be really nice to have more respawn position. Each time we called in for RE they just ended up dying on the eject. With the shear number of units your faced to fight you might want to consider revive or something. We'll give it some more goes over the next few trys.

We notice a couple more issues.

Airsupport console was not available after respawn to the leader who had it. So if you call in RE and you have those other units to respawn to you don't have the same abilities as when you started.(maybe by deisgn?)
The helo insertion(radio call) is available even if you skip the intro and probably should be disabled.

[laggy]

Thanks for the feedback Hoz, constructive and demanding as usual   

The helo insertion (radio call) is available even if you skip the intro

Weird, thought I had fixed that... will fix more 

The first couple of times the chopper landed on the side of the hill and toppled over, unfixable

That never ever happened to me or my buddies when playing/testing the mission many times. That is very annoying and I'm sorry for that. Will of course look into it, but wonder if it could be an AI behaviour/PC overload bug. The mission is quite demanding and if I recall things right, the AI gets worse the harder your PC works. Did the chopper land at the insertion marker location at all? What are your specs if you don't mind?

If it works that bad, I'll probably just setpos the group at the location after the intro and delete the chopper 

Airsupport console was not available after respawn to the leader who had it

Since vanilla ArmA doesn't have a "radio weapon", I chose to use the Laser Designator as a substitute.
It is clearly written in the briefing that ONLY a leader WITH a Laser Designator can use the Air Support Console. If you loose it, you better find it. This can easily be changed if players think it is annoying. I hoped it would add realism and potential desperation.

So if you call in RE and you have those other units to respawn to you don't have the same abilities as when you started.(maybe by deisgn?)

Yes and no. The leader (respawned or not) always has the Air Support option IF carrying a Laser Designator. The other units abilities are unique for THAT unit only. If that unit dies = NO ability after respawn.

Once we finally got to Masbete we enjoyed the the mission more but we weren't able to get into the chemical factory

The Air Support Console is the best way to blast that place. Make sure to use it effectively and stay out of sight. You won't need to engage the enemy directly in this mission part if you do this well.

NOTES:

-You only have to complete ONE of the objective parts (Chemical Plant OR Tank Camp), I hope that is clear to the players. This is to create freedom and variety. Could just make ALL mission parts necessary for mission completion, but then Team Recon would be extremely long...

-Make sure to know how to use the Air Support Console properly, it is a vital key for some mission parts.
For example you can choose JUMP or DISEMBARK for reinforcements. Depending on location AND situation it can be crucial to choose the right option.

Thanks again and please keep it coming, but make sure you play the 0.91 version.

Laggy

[laggy]

Note: If this mission is played with ACEmod you get an error message when using Air Support. This is (I believe) because spawned planes are not covered in ACEmod's mando_missiles. The Air Support script works as it should though and I found the solution, so this minor issue will be fixed in next release.

Laggy

[laggy]

Mission updated,

[NightJay0044]

 Laggy~

  Your mission was really cool. It had a nice beginning with the officer talking to all the guys. This is just my rough very first draft of this beta test here. So I'll give you more once I play through the mission all the way which I haven't totally finished it yet but it looks good.

  Breifing:
  Well put, all I really needed to know there, the spell check was good too.

  Scripting/Camera:
  Very good here, not to much camera scripting but the ride in was good.

  Mission:
  It's a long hike to the objective. I beg it's about 1 click 1/2 there. Although nothing wrong to report here.
  Looks all in all good.

  Overview:
  From beginning to when I finished it, the mission was decent and playable. Very nice work here.

  The Bug:
   The one bug I got was when yoru at the player selection screen, the multiplayer selection screen and say if  I don't want any AI to play with me and I just want to play the mission solo. I disabled the AI and when the mission started I got an error because of that and it was stuck on the screen the whole time. I'm not sure what the error was but I'll have to get a screen shot..

  The End:
But I'll get your updated version I think I saw. Thanks..

[laggy]

Thanks NightJay0044,

Hope your kind words remain after playing the rest  

The AI MP screen bug... I haven't disabled the AI (or tampered with that at all -never do- it's just playable units in your group with no weird scripts or inits or .ext commands) so I don't know if this is a bug by me or BIS  
You also need all the guys to survive, unless you really "rock" at ArmA  

Just some notes:
-This is a long mission and best enjoyed with some RPG/gameplay/planmaking loving friends  
-You can use the Air Support to call in vehicles (and more), if you don't like "exercise"  
-You can (by moving the ammo boxes) build your base camp wherever you want  
-Try to stay out of sight as much as possible and take advantage of the Air Support  
-Read the "Setup and Info" part in the Air Support Console 

Cheers,

Laggy