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[savedbygrace]

Does anyone feel like testing version 1.3? Wasn't sure if anyone knew 1.3 was up.

EDIT: Link has been fixed.

[savedbygrace]

Could some one give this one a test and be critical with it. Tell me the pros and cons of it and let men know what should be done differently. Please? I spent several years off and on with it and I'd hate to send it to the Boneyard with no feedback for 1.3. 

[Gruntage]

Thought I'd may as well give this one a go  I played an earlier version of this quite frequently, so it was interesting to see what changes were made.

Tested on OFP v1.96

Overview

Looks just like how an overview should look; good image, informative without giving too much of the plot away, and of course the current mission version to avoid confusion.

Intro

Wow is all I can say to this  Great camera work and use of custom text. I did find that sometimes the camera lingered on one angle for more time than what's needed, and that the jeep sometimes avoided the barrier as it went to pick up Mordecai. I probably come across as though I'm nit-picking  Anyway, good voice acting and sound effects. All in all I thought it was a great intro which sets the scene well.

Briefing

Very informative, laid out very neatly. I knew the mission plot already so I didn't spend much time reading the briefing.

Mission

I noticed that you added some nice new features to the underground bunker, such as the ability to wait until dawn. I think I had a similar feature in my vantage point mission ages ago. I like the camera animation when the player chooses to wait until dawn. So, I grabbed the weapons I needed (I like the psg dialog, though personally I preferred the SSG51) and headed out. Great atmosphere (the sound of the hounds in the distance made me think twice about standing still for too long  ) and good placing of patrols. I actually ran into the middle of a patrol and had to defend myself with my sniper rifle  .  The logging of coordinates has been improved I see, and I like the changes. Unfortunately I didn't get to finish the mission ( I only had about 50 minutes), so when I get chance I'll go back and finish it. I thought I'd may as well give some feedback on what I have played so far.

Outro

Quite possibly one of the best outros I've ever seen (if not the best). I can see you spent a long time on this one, and it's quite clear that it was all worth it  Great usage of particle effects and custom text. I don't think there's criticism to make on the outro to be perfectly honest. So, is there going to be a sequel? 

Overall

Great mission for those who love lone-wolf style missions. Personally I have mixed opinions about missions of that genre. Definately worth downloading and playing. I know you said you wanted criticism, but wow, it's hard to critique something like this without sounding like a nit-picker  When I get some spare time I'll try and finish this one. From what I saw, it's a very well-thought out mission with a good plot.

[savedbygrace]

Thanks for the feedback Gruntage.
The critique I was looking for was whether it was just too long of a mission or too difficult within the bases. If everything works as it should, etc.

I have changed this one several times due to my own personal distaste for not achieving what I set out to do. I was trying to bring every area to life that the player could possibly visit behind the lines. I think I may have gone too far, but then I feel that there are some areas that just feel dead.

I've had problems with too many global variables, and so had to work to cut those back and the result was me using the same groups repeatedly. This made for some pretty messed up looking scripts but in the end seemed to work fine.

There are many subtle things that most folks may never discover but just that one time it is noticed by the player makes the immersion that much better.

The primary plot now was actually a side task in previous versions but has since changed the dialogue and objectives order as well as other items. It may be worth reading it through one more time.

The SSG51 seemed to have been giving me problems when I used the dual weapon script and so I swapped back to my original choice which was the PSG-1. Shortly after, I stopped using the dual rifle script. The PSG-1 offered a silenced and non-silenced version anyways, and it was another way for me to incorporate another replay factor and reduce the difficulty for those having to assault those bases deep behind enemy lines. They can be quite overwhelming if you're not stealthy enough. Aside form that, I liked the big boom sound from the PSG-1 non-silenced version that Anmac chose.

I have fought and fought with AI path finding for the intro and probably 9 times out of 10 the jeep follows the correct path. The camera angles have been adjusted so many times because of my dialogue changes that it became a halfhearted investment on this latest version. Primarily because I didn't expect it to be seen much with the following of CWA dwindling. So, sorry for my laziness.

Sequel? I debated this but am losing faith in CWA demand. The story with the Russian presence there goes much deeper than this mission but I am unsure if I will do anything with CWA. I do have several other projects that I have been tinkering with for years in CWA but have been slow moving since much of my time is taken by beta testing and other duties. I've been spreading myself out between other BIS titles as well. If you have Arma, download and play Fly Like An Eagle. SaOk and I worked on that one together and the cinema and game play in it, is just as good if not better than this one.

I look forward to reading the results of the rest of your play test. Thanks again for trying it out.

[Gruntage]

Well, if what you set out to do was to create a highly atmospheric challenging mission with a decent plot then I would say you've accomplished that.

I decided to start the mission again and use a different strategy. Just one thing I forgot to mention the last time around: a 'cfgvehicles' error message appeared in the briefing. I wasn't sure what it was but I came to conclusion that it must be something at my end. Anyway, it didn't stop the mission from playing (at least when playing the mission from the single player notebook menu).

Unfortunately for me the chopper was located at the base on the far side of the island  , which meant I had a lot of ground to cover. Whilst this may annoy some players, I actually found it very enjoyable. I was lucky enough not to encounter a single patrol on my way to the base. So, perhaps it would be a good idea to place a few patrols near the routes you would expect the player to take. I think that would make the mission more challenging and keep the player on his toes.

So I got to the base after about 20 minutes running (I only stopped to save once). I was quite amazed at the quick reaction time of those in the base. I had barely gotten within sight of the base and I heard the alarm going off lol  . This was a little frustrating initially but, I managed to clear the base and locate the chopper. I decided to stop playing at this point and calm down a bit lol. I personally wouldn't say that the base was too difficult to clear. I wouldn't go so far as to say that it was as hard as the opening stages of THobson's mission Abandoned Armies. It was a challenge, and that's fine.

So once again when I get some more time I'll pick up from where I left off. From what I can see the scripts are running exactly as they should be. I have no idea what caused that 'cfgvehicles' error at the start but I'm fairly sure it's nothing to do with the mission.

If I was to voice any improvements then I would say a slight increase in the amount of patrols would be good. I think the reason I liked the SSG51 was simply the appearance and the sound lol.

I do have Arma, but to be honest I don't like it that much. I just find making missions for it very difficult indeed (hard to think of a decent plot). That's why I like CWA so much; plenty of background to use in missions.

Anyway, that's my test so far lol. When I get some more time I'll try completing those other objectives.

[ofp addict]

I will test this later today and give some feedback a.s.ap. If the wife doesnt interfere and find me a fence to paint.  

Got all the addons no problem, downloaded the mission no problem but...........

Cannot load mission: missing addon: jarsniper

[savedbygrace]

Read the addon list in the first post carefully. The last addon is not a working link but one that you have to copy and paste into a url to access. That is the jarsniper.

[mrmoon]

Really liking this mission so far 

[ofp addict]

Mission testing results on 1.96 GOTY

Intro: Excellent introduction with artistic attention to detail.  The history story behind the mission is well designed creating mood and scenario for the mission ahead. I was Just wondering... Did the commander have his vocal chords ripped out by a lead-hot. 5.56?

Overview: Typical. Its there. It does what it does.

Briefing Feels military authentic which is always nice. good layout, well punctuated explains clearly what must be done with good background info on the equipment.

Preference:

*particles = on
*Veteran \ Super AI
*Enquisitor NVG \ llaumax skypack

Mission

This really is an excellent scenario. There's plenty of objectives, Lots to do. Lots of randomness making this mission very replayable. The mission uses the whole island, some juicy addons.. (Not too many) and some extremely competitive scripting. Ive never seen the snow particle's before so I was mightly impressed..
The additional equipment, tracking device, camo-netted-sniper-rifle, SMG, sat-uplink, laptop. And ruck-sack offer a cool refreshing change. It makes one feel special........ On a special operation.

The sound effects are just awesome.. From the screaming wounded to the laptop blips.

Im not going to add a mission recap because it would take many pages of where I went and what I did. But I will offer a short summary.. I did two outings in this mission, the first time I took the silenced option and did some exploring. And second time I took the unsilenced...
In my main outing (2nd). Firstly I found my bearings from the tracking device and headed in the direction best indicated. I took the jeep along the coast SW where I encountered the bell-ringing watch tower guards. After several attempts of hit and runs in the jeep, and two watch-towers further in. I decided this wasnt working and inpenetrable. So tried a different approach. I made a mad dash with the jeep inbetween the 1st tower & checkpoint then onto the main road. I managed to cover a couple of kilometers under heavy fire before troops disabled my jeep..

In my first outing I had explored several enemy bases but to my dismay there was no vehicles available to steal....

I also discovered a bug in the base at grid ref: GC39.. It seems if you alert the guards here whilst inside the wall perimeter. You suddenly teleport into a small barracks along with the respawning soviets.. Spooky.

Anyway in my main outing I didnt bother trying to steal any vehicles from under the enemies nose's.. After playing ofp for 10 years the simulation of a recce through scenic forests, hills & meadows had long lost its appeal for me. I found myself abusing the time x 4.000 button much too often..

I very rarely encountered any patrols enroute to my primary obective.. When I did reach the pilots It was not a difficult task rescuing them and detroying the UH60. Or even getting to their location. Also the pilots seemed to be in no great danger of execution in detection of my presence.

The key's script on the sentry and the enclosed area for P.O.W.s was impressive. And nice interacting with them too  

Once the pilots was safely evacuated, for me the fun began. Though also I'd like to add getting to the evac was easily done too.. No opposition... So anyhow after this objective was ticked off then the real action began.
In the next objectives I found it extremely difficult destroying the artillery pieces without detection by tough opposition. I  made countless attempts  K.I.A. (Thank goodness for the logging coordinates option..) But the scripted explosions on those big guns was well worth my efforts in the end. (Nice fireworks). I had also took out some scuds & radar earlier... Using up my pipe-bombs in haste of these objectives come back to bite me on the ass..
On my final target. AA site.  I was stuck between a rock and a hard place. I'd no c4 left and my closest choice to scavenge ammo was the N.W. Checkpoint.. Here I tripped smoke\ flares. Encountered T80's, Bell-ringing-alarms. Nine-man patrols on foot And in urals and M2's.. Also in consideration to this, I had the unsilenced rifle so It was a bloodbath and I was KIA many times over before I finally liberated an RPG.. Once all my obectives was completed I detoured the last enemy base and made it home to juneks place.
I liked the rescue objective but not as much as i enjoyed sabotaging targets. Its been a pleasure testing this mission... 

Outro:

Unquestionably astounding. A real treat to get the results of my mission accomplisment's. worthy of the ofp directors award if there is such a thing

Bugs \ Issues \ suggestions:

*Somthing odd about the enemy base at GC39

*Constant cfgvehicles error message after each coordinates log that saves the game, Note, I save alot

*Needs more vehicles. Either implement resistance outposts offering transport modes, motorcycles\bicycles\ jeeps etc, Or unclock a vehicle at each enemy base. Then one could possibly want to steal vehicles...... (Theres nothing like the thrill of coming under fire while in transit. This could also bring the enemy choppers into play, as the player would need to keep an ear out for that fearful sound of gunship rotar blades)

*Needs more opposition enroute to the objectives but not entirely sure about this because the enemy on the ground would only really populate built up areas and traffic lanes.. Would they??
My idea would be to add random detection triggers for the patrolling gunship to seek and destroy resistance vehicles...

*I discovered a crashed Mi24 in my first outing right next to the base where the pilots was being held. This happens alot in ofp and could have unpredictable consequences for the mission. I suggest the more nimble v-80 with flyinheight 85 or 95, in alternative to the big clumsy hind. see the screenshot

*After I evacuated the pilots I advanced for the scuds.. Half way there I was distracted by a ten minute phone call. I left my game running while hidden in some bushes.. When I returned to the game two t-80s had turned up with a group of spetznatz..  I dont know what the deal is here... Do they come searching for me after I cause a nuisance e.g destroying the UH-60..? If so they need to respond quicker than 10 minutes...

Overall:

This mission has the potential to score a 10 out of 10 easy, I hope you still have enough enthuasiasm left to carry on with this great mission. I clearly see your efforts and time put into this creation and envy your scripting talent. In a good way.. So keep up the great work. Happy editing SBG

Long live OFP...!

[savedbygrace]

Tremendous gratitude to both of you for the feedback. Believe it or not, I would have loved to read your play test in it's entirety just to see from a different perspective, but I know well enough how long it takes to provide thorough feedback without recanting your experience, so the multiple play tests by both of you are very much appreciated. VERY MUCH. I have already begun the modifications to improve the mission and hopefully, we can get it a bit more enjoyable.Until I can't get that config error worked out, I can't edit the mission.

The purpose behind the low encounters between objectives was to adhere to the reality that it is suppose to be very cold outside and with the exception of the beach defenses, checkpoints and sparse foot mobiles walking the dark roads, everyone else is tucked warmly into their bases and camps. I'll look into increasing the encounters and providing some unlocked vehicles in certain places as well address some of the other issues.

Thank you guys again, for your valued time and efforts.



Well, I'm stumped on that config error. The searches that I have brought up on it declare that it is a file associated with addons, not missions. I've been using these same addons for a while now and have never had anything like this happen. I can't even get the mission to preview in the editor. My RPT does not reveal anything about it. And as far as I can see, commas are where they should be in the sqm. I really don't know where to even begin since it doesn't clue me in on what vehicle class is kicking back the error. If any of you guys could help, I'd be grateful.

[Gruntage]

The error I get is:

Code:

no entry 'config.bin/CfgVehicles.'.

So, am I right in thinking that there's a fullstop where there shouldn't be one?

I would try using a process of elimination; removing each addon until the problem disappears, the last addon you remove in theory should be where the error is located.

Hope that helps

Gruntage

[savedbygrace]

I found the problem, finally. If anyone cares to see what was wrong, I posted my findings at the BIS forums, here.

I have also been experiencing problems with the 1.99 version messing up object placement, addactions and I'm sure I will find many other things after testing inside of 1.99 for a while. If the problems prove consistent, I'll be forced to restrict version compatibility to 1.96. I hope it doesn't come to this though. Back to the improvements.

[mathias_eichinger]

Here's another playtest of version 1.3 (well, part of)

Overview

Picture is fitting for the mission and the text is just right for an overview - a brief description of the task at hand.

Intro

Very well done. It is long, the camera angles work, and there are custom voices. Storytelling is also good and makes me look forward to the mission.

Briefing

Very impressing as well... this is one of the more detailed briefings I have seen to date and it leaves nothing to be desired with its detailed descriptions.

Mission

At the start of the mission I encountered an error message: "Noentry/ConfigVehicle.hpp" - or something similar.

In the basement of the house, I selected the silenced sniper rifle, grabbed all the gear that was available from the box downstairs and simply got my rucksack. Now I was ready to go on the mission.
A UAZ was parking conveniently outside, so I took this one to venture into occupied territory.
Due to a stroke of bad luck, I crashed into a tree pretty early in the mission and I went on foot towards my objective.

This was not the worst fact anyway, since the tracking device requires you to maintain a rather precise heading, no matter of trees or rocks in the way, and I had more time to appreciate the beautiful snow particle effect.
Due to your description, I expected heavy patrolling, but then only patrols I encountered were a lone BMP on a road and a lone officer in some wood grove. Additionally, I passed by an unguarded Shilka under some camo nets.
Now what I just said sounds a bit negative, but I was glad not to be distracted, because it spared me the issue of finding my bearing again.

I am now on a hill, just above the hangar with the Blackhawk and will tackle this objective when I find some more time and motivation.

[savedbygrace]

The config error will be fixed in the update and the patrols are being revamped. You may wish to discontinue your play test until the next version. Thanks for your attention so far though.

[Gruntage]

Glad to see you've put this one up for review SBG   I'll take this one   Will give this one a thorough test, and hopefully it should be up in just over a week.