[MP coop 1-10] The Broadcast Tower V8

[fleepee]

Hi, beta testers!  

I've got some new stuff for you!
(future campain mission 5)

Another episode of my future campain!

Here's the context:
At the time russian tanks crossed our border, special forces were
paradropped over the national broadcast tower. Operators didn't even have time to announce the invasion, they just had time to load the first CD under their hand: it was the french partisan's song. Enemy propaganda is now spread over all our country. If we want to stop our people disinformation, we MUST take back the control of that tower until regular forces based south come to secure the zone...

mission author: FleePee

mission type: COOP

Number of players: 1 to 10

Game version: ARMA2 patch 1.5

Addons: none

English and french versions!  (future english voices)

Duration: 30mn

Specifications:
- 10 playable slots
- revive by all units

Lobby Options:
- number of revives
- grass layer
- view distance
- Time before respawn location choice

External Scripts used:
- revive script V0.42 by Norrin

I'm waiting for your feedback, enjoy!

[Ebden]

So...I'm dying to try but can't until this evening.  Do you play as Igor and his neighbors again?

[hoz]

We had a quick run at it last night. I thought it could use some flares to help light up the areas maybe a continous flare shooting off every minute or something. You pictures are in daylight but the mission was in the night for us. The grass option didn't seem to work for us but i wasn't a 100% i selected no grass. We'll give it another attempt soon.

[fleepee]

You pictures are in daylight but the mission was in the night for us.

it's because paratroops arrived the day before...
there's an optional action at mission start to wait for sunrise, did you have it?
the flare use is a good idea.

Do you play as Igor and his neighbors again?

Not in that one in which you're allready a member of the resistance, but in another mission i'm editing (ambushing convoy after mission "once uppon a time"), it will be the case...
Sorry for the lack of chronology!!

[Ebden]

Sorry for the lack of chronology

No trouble, as long as it all links up in the final product.  Also, I don't think you'll have a problem in a campaign if each mission isn't the exact same characters.  It'll be fun to play different roles of the bigger story.  The part to remember though, once you organize the missions, is to keep the timeline of the overall story correct.  (eg, 1. Once upon a time, 2. The Broadcast tower, 3. Kill Colonel Kronsky...)

[fleepee]

V2 uploaded!
I Added Ebden english corections, campain identities on playable slots, and flares fired while approaching the tower.

[hoz]

The version wasn't updated so I don't know if we were playing the newer version.

We found that the switch to daylight only happened on 1 pc. Which of course made it very frustrating

thats all for now.

[fleepee]

V3 uploaded!!
The switch to daylight should work for every player now, I won't write about some changes...

[hoz]

Played this one last night and it didn't end properly.  The helo never came in. Everything else seemed to work.

[fleepee]

it ends when regular forces are present at the tower and no ennemies are present in a small perimeter around it...
did you have no ending?
the helo may have crashed on his way...

[Ebden]

If the helo does go down, is there a way to have a radio command come to the players, relaying something along the lines of lost communication with their evac, and that they need to find their way to a secondary extraction point (which would be something accessed by driving or hiking, not too terribly far?)

[fleepee]

it's not an evac helo we're talking about, it's an helo dropping spetsnaz near the tower...

[Ebden]

Oh-got it. 

I haven't tried this one yet.  My compu is frizzlin'g and I can't figure out why, so ARMA2 time is cut back.

[fleepee]

V4 uploaded!!
Lot of new stuff, the mission is tougher!!
enjoy!!

[hoz]

We played this one last night no issues to report other then the ending takes a while. I would maybe go for a cut scene or something after the last man is down.

[fleepee]

I realized playing it on your server that flares weren't shot and east reinforcements didn't come...
I think it's ok now with V5 uploaded!

[hoz]

Ran version 5 tonight 2 of us, took us 1h 7m.

We weren't able to stow the tent, which was weird I never saw this issue before. We'll try it again soon to see if it happens again.

The lull that happens after you clear the tower area, you should cut to a cutscene to the bmp coming in or the helo about to drop para troopers. previously we weren't waiting long enough and just assuming the mission was ending.

The US reinforcements that come in.. I don't think they are needed. you should bring in a helo for evac over near the road when there are like maybe 10 opposing units left and make the players rush to the helo for evac. then you could do alternate endings to mission.

Anyways this is a pretty good mission.

[fleepee]

you should cut to a cutscene to the bmp coming in or the helo about to drop para troopers.

good idea...

The US reinforcements that come in.. I don't think they are needed. you should bring in a helo for evac over near the road

actually, the mission ends when regular forces come to secure the radio tower...
the evac could be another way to end the mission...
I've just played it on my dedi to try to stow the tent, there was no problem with it, and regular forces that came did a great job helping me to end the mission as all my AI troops were down, but they came too soon! (they were too far previously, they're too near in that version, I'll place them half way in the next one...)

EDIT: V6 uploaded!
The ending is the same, i added respawning for vehicles at base camp and cutscene of east reinforcements.

[hoz]

Ok sounds like good updates. Hope to give it a whirl tonight.

[fleepee]

V7 uploaded

[hoz]

Play this one through last night 3 players. The new cut seen is pretty good its fitting and helps pass the lull in time.

Some notes though

The grass option isn't working.
The mission could use a few more laws.  Like perhaps adding them to some of the units might be enough. Other then that it worked great.

[fleepee]

grass option now working.
new mp lobby parameter for the revive script: time before respawn location choice
one more RPG man in the team
V7 uploaded!

[Ironman]

I believe I chose 7-normal for the revive and when inside mission it said I had 20 lives  . There was no excitement to this mission. Nothing that really got our blood pumping. We block the entrance to the compound with a truck and it was easy pickins from there on out.

[fleepee]

I believe I chose 7-normal for the revive and when inside mission it said I had 20 lives 

I checked it: I did change the stringtable but not the values in description.ext file...

There was no excitement to this mission.

really?
I experienced that it wasn't easy getting inside the radio tower then keeping it...
did you play it to the end?

[hoz]

Just as an fyi our strategy was to break through the fence at the back of the tower. Which made it not easy but it didn't take long to clear the area. One thing you have to keep in mind is mission is part of a campaign and you don't have to have all the missions really tough.  Although sometimes I would like it to be less attackers and have a more difficult task like limiting the # of respawns or the mission failing becuase someone in particular got away.

[Ironman]

We made a hole in the back wall but plugged it with the V35 truck then with the car that starts at base we used that to seal the front gate hole and we had time to set out 2 satchels.... One thing I didn't like was how long the cutscene lasted.... I was like, ENOUGH! let me lay some satchels.... and yes we played it all the way through during the night time. Like I said, kinda easy. Lot more of a rest than the "Rest in Vishnoy" lol..

[fleepee]

If I understand (not sure I do...), you destroyed the radio tower, didn't you?!
I never thought somebody would do it, as chernarusians, you just have to get back control of YOUR OWN NATIONAL broadcast tower!
Interesting, I'll had the mission failure if you destroy it!!

[Ironman]

No we didn't destroy it. I think that it is indestructable....

the satchels were laid on the road before the counter attack...

[fleepee]

I tried to destroy it in the editor and couldn't, so I read again your post and understood you didn't want to destroy the tower...

I'll check if I can reduce the cutscene before counterattack...

[fleepee]

V8 uploaded!