Ok being the proud owner of the UKF BETA DPM pack, i am trying to churn out a decent mission that i can release with or soon after the pack. I will talk about it here so you can make suggestions, and that i can clear things up in my own mind. Oh and so i can get help on things i dont know how to do
Concept: Pilot of a recon aircraft shot down and captured over a Soviet occupied Everon. Its known he ejected on to the island, but further details arent known. Your 4 man Royal Marine Commando patrol (its a boat insertion, so....) are inserted with the mission to find out what happened to the pilot, if he is still alive, where he is, and if you find where he is, possibly attempt a rescue.
Type of mission aims to be realistic, hard......hard enough that its really really worth avoiding contact where you can (you dont want to waste your ammo too soon eh?), but yet at the same time, i dont want it so hard that its almost impossible to move.....the mission is going to be over a 2 hour job.....and is probably going to include a lot of walking....although there will be truck depots you could raid ect......but you have to weight up the risks (ie, running into a tank).....Basically, i'm after realism and freedom of choice for the player....in the nature of realism i will also think things through so that the player can use his common sense.....ie, you see a UAZ parked in an isolated area, there wont be 2 squads of infantry around (as 2 squads cant fit in a UAZ
), there will be a maximum of 4 soldiers.....so logic and reasoning will work.
As you may have guessed the overall aim is to create a mission where the player has to think for himself, yet isnt too vague on what to do......
The objectives themselves are like clues along the trail. You can miss one out and still complete the mission, there are hard routes, easy routes....decisions you must make.
1st problem: In game brief......how shall i conduct this? There isnt alot known at the start, should i use a cutscene, with the map, or verbally through sidechat?
2nd problem: Interrogation.
You have an option to interrogate a base commander for information. I want to make this a tough decision.....do you have time for the interogation, or do you just want to go on your gut feelings (there are other clues in the base)?
I need some way of making the interrogation take enough time that its going to be a close run thing before enemy reinforcements arrive.....but not making it a dull process of standing around......maybe cutscenes should be avoided....maybe they should be used here?
3rd Problem: Airport. If your initiative takes you, nip to the airport and check the records.....see if there were any prisoner transports, and if so to where......how best to conduct this? An interrogation with the airport commander? An office with files in it? The trouble with the last option....if i was going to do this, i would use a building with several floors as the office.....how do i set up a trigger to only activate at a certain height?
Thats the problems ive encountered as far as i have got.