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Author Topic: (Review Completed) [SP/QG] Sabotage  (Read 12852 times)

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Offline CH

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Re: [SP/QG] Sabotage
« Reply #30 on: 16 Jul 2009, 14:35:52 »
Yes I know, it's hardly an update...
I was pretty satisfied with v0.95 but I wanted some time to pass so that I could replay it and get an experience similar to the one I would get if I played it for the first time.

Offline savedbygrace

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Re: [SP/QG] Sabotage
« Reply #31 on: 16 Jul 2009, 14:44:56 »
Ha, sorry. I didn't mean for it to be read in that way. I was only asking to be sure that I was not looking for any other new bugs introduced. My apologies pal.

Offline schuler

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Re: [SP/QG] Sabotage
« Reply #32 on: 16 Jul 2009, 18:11:52 »
CH you really have a super mission here, :good: but the random AI kills the gaming,,, NightJay and Savedby got thought the last mission but I got a random mission that was a nightmare, after replaying I seen the prob. ,,, [balance it out more so every play is a good one]
Note players should never have to ask for hints also note downloaded new ver.
Cheers schuler
Semper Fi

Offline savedbygrace

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Re: [SP/QG] Sabotage
« Reply #33 on: 19 Jul 2009, 03:42:43 »
PLayed your latest version today. Not sure what you changed exactly but it seemed way easy. I hit the beach headed straight to where I found the fuel dump before, bypassing the highground. Discovered that you had relocated it closer to the town. Brilliant, I think. I got within 200 meters, picked off the guards which seemed to alert those in town, it gave off a flare but a chopper never showed up. I picked off several others in town including the pilots which ran right out in the open to the fuel dump where I killed them.

Sprinted in to plant the satchels and backtrack over the hill and flee. I touched off the bombs and made my way back to the boat. Thought I heard a chopper and I waited around to engage it from the ground rather than get caught in the boat but it never showed itself. I slipped on out and the mission ended. I think it was more difficult to tackle the objectives when they were kept apart.

You may want to reconsider that relocation of the fuel depot. If you really want to make it cool, you could randomize the fuel dump to setpos at a random gamelogic at mission start. Say you make the camo tent random as you would a unit. You then wait 5 seconds and setpos everything else in relation to the cover. You could do the same with the pilots at different locations around town.

It's hard to get the level of difficulty right. You were closer it seemed with the last version but then I was going for all three objectives. This time, had the pilots not ran right out into the open, It would have been more difficult to infiltrate the city and get out again. The briefing looks different slightly and better. Markers are nice intel.

Offline CH

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Re: [SP/QG] Sabotage
« Reply #34 on: 20 Jul 2009, 02:21:39 »
Thanks for playing this mission once more. I've made a little map which I think explains what I'm trying to accomplish. One could describe it as a very simple dynamic mission generator with a linear story. Of course it will generate slightly unbalanced missions from time to time, but since I've given the player the ability to counter balance game play by letting him or her decide how many and which targets to attack, I had hoped that it would be challenging for both the experienced and the inexperienced player.

Not sure what you changed exactly but it seemed way easy.
...
You were closer it seemed with the last version but then I was going for all three objectives.

Exactly! Your choice, to only go after two targets, combined with the random target placements made for an easy mission. Some people, like me, like it that way. You could have made it tougher by going after all three.

If you really want to make it cool, you could randomize the fuel dump

This feature where implemented in v.092. It works fine when I play it.

...random AI kills the gaming...

Random AI is one of the main ideas behind this mission. I'm trying to create a mission which is balanced enough so that it is unpredictable and challenging, without being too hard or too easy. Is this comment referring to the latest version (v0.96)? I'm asking because I've made some changes in response to your earlier posts.
« Last Edit: 18 Aug 2010, 20:00:38 by CH »

Offline savedbygrace

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Re: [SP/QG] Sabotage
« Reply #35 on: 20 Jul 2009, 04:55:49 »
The gameplay is actually near perfect then. Because of that randomness with all facets of the game, you boost the replayability up tremendously. All that is really missing are 4 different endings.
  • Choppers and pilots removed
  • Chopper and fuel dump removed
  • Fuel dump and pilots removed
  • All three removed
And if you could add an explosive outro, that could be the icing.
I must also say this. Though it is not necessary to have a complete mission, cinematics and immersion would go far to make this a memorable project.

Offline CH

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Re: [SP/QG] Sabotage
« Reply #36 on: 22 Jul 2009, 20:41:31 »
Just uploaded v0.97...

@savedbygrace
I've merged your two suggestions into one and created an outro that serves as a debriefing. It is not the "explosive outro" that you wanted but I hope you like it anyway.

@everyone
Ready for review?
« Last Edit: 24 Jul 2009, 00:26:15 by CH »

Offline CH

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Re: [SP/QG] Sabotage [Please Review]
« Reply #37 on: 01 Aug 2009, 01:16:55 »
Just uploaded v1.00...

It's just a few minor changes. See changelog for details.

The gameplay is actually near perfect then.

Since I'm more into gameplay than cinematics, it made me glad to see that I've been able to explain what this mission is all about. Thank you very much! :)

By the way what did you think of the outro?

Offline savedbygrace

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Re: [SP/QG] Sabotage [Please Review]
« Reply #38 on: 01 Aug 2009, 01:26:05 »
Sorry, haven't played that version yet. I'll put on my list as second for this weekend.

Offline savedbygrace

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Re: [SP/QG] Sabotage [Please Review]
« Reply #39 on: 02 Aug 2009, 10:44:22 »
Made a run through this one again. Everything is outstanding with the exception of some nitpickiness on my part. I'll mention those first...

The whip around camera in the opening cutscene still throws me off a bit but thats really nothing to be concerned with. Since I have taken the time to thoroughly test this one and I see the attention to detail It would be a shame for you to not smooth that first camera out...I would suggest having the camera target the shore the whole time as it backed away and without it ever turning around, the boat comes into view by passing the camera up on the way to the shore. Or if you prefer to keep it simple....just remove the first target position in the water and allow it to focus on shore until its ready to pivot and face the boat.

The only other thing I discovered was the objective to get to high ground never ticked off. It could be that I never reached the exact point that you intended but since I did get to high ground and observed the surroundings before determining my path, I find that you may be too precise with that trigger. Perhaps just have it so that once he crosses a trigger it ticks anyway. You could also remove the X which identifies a particular position as some may choose to take a different route.

I played it several times and noticed the randomness in all things.

I noticed that if I didnt hide the bodies of the guys near the fuel dump as the uaz passed, he triggered the alarm(not sure if you intended that)

The light script that you used defintely increased the immersion and difficulty by restricting the footcandle power of the light cones. The insect scripts were cool too except that the insects were down low away from the light source rather than up high.

I realized why I missed the runway lights last time.....You can barely tell that they are illuminated with your nightvision on except for a pin point source from the object. But once you remove the NVG's, it's a sight to behold.

I didnt notice the truck placement on the runway before either and was happy to see it since it provided cover and concealment as I picked off troops across the tarmac.

I heard too a chicken clucking in the village, nice detail.

The spacing of the lights were great, the amount of guards were good, the tents and port a jon good detail.
I also liked the outro as simple as it was. Especially the fact that you put Unconfirmed kills on the pilot objective. Nice.

Great work pal. Would you like to correct either of those two things before review?

Offline CH

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Re: [SP/QG] Sabotage [Please Review]
« Reply #40 on: 04 Aug 2009, 01:01:50 »
Let me first thank you for your patience and the thorough test report. :good:

I've uploaded v1.01 and I think it's ready for review. I know that there are many similar missions (Rahmadi / SF) out there, but I didn't knew that when I first started to work on this mission. Next time I will try to do something that hasn‘t been done a hundred times before (hopefully).

The whip around camera in the opening cutscene still throws me off a bit ...

Many of your ideas have definitely improved this mission, and for that, I'm very grateful. However, since I'm pretty satisfied with the intro myself, and since no one else (schuler, NightJay0044) have expressed any concerns, I have decided to leave it as it is. I guess it's just a matter of personal taste.

The only other thing I discovered was the objective to get to high ground never ticked off. It could be that I never reached the exact point that you intended but since I did get to high ground and observed the surroundings before determining my path, I find that you may be too precise with that trigger.

The trigger area is now (v1.01) bigger and harder to miss.

You could also remove the X which identifies a particular position as some may choose to take a different route.

Since the player isn't guided by waypoints, I figured he or she would appreciate some hints of where to go. When I play the mission myself, I use the X to remember roughly where I parked the boat.

I noticed that if I didnt hide the bodies of the guys near the fuel dump as the uaz passed, he triggered the alarm(not sure if you intended that)

I've noticed that too. Maybe all aspects of the AI aren't bad.
(and no, I didn't foresee that)

I've also noted that if you manage to kill the pilot that is bringing in reinforcements, all squads will unload eventually. This is also the AI acting on its own.

The insect scripts were cool too except that the insects were down low away from the light source rather than up high.

For some reason, the butterflies have a service ceiling of 2-3 feet. Didn't manage to work around that. I could create them at higher altitudes but after a while, they just flew down again.

...the amount of guards were good...

That's good to know and impossible to find out on your own.