how to get people really p*ssed

[Comrade Joe]

Mission makers, lend me your ears -
 
I dont know how other people are, but when i scan through the missions depot and i read an interesting overview i smile to myself thinking that ive found a winner and open the mission's page. Everything's fine until my eyes fall on a 10 line list of addon URLs. That really ruins my mood! For Christ's sake, cant you put all of those addons in a single .zip file? I found myself downloading 5 seperate addons from 5 diffrent URLs for just one mission! Then i discover that the mission was utterly bad. Im not going to give any names. Whats even more perverted is that sometimes one has to download a bunch of addons only to discover that the author seldom uses them in his mission. For the love of God or Allah or whoever you belive in, refrain yourselves from using so many addons or, if you really cant help yourselves, put them in a single .zip or folder or paper bag or something accompanying the mission file!
I'll go take my pills now.

:moon:

[Sophion]

The limit for attachments is 50 KB. Thats why they don't put addons in them.

But, there is no sense in using so many addons in a mission. This got me p*ssed a couple of times, because... THE ADDONS DEPOT IS OUT OF ORDER!

So yeah, I agree. It ticks people off.

[macguba]

It would be madness to distribute addons with missions.    You would have to d/l the same addon time and time again, every time you want to play a mission that uses it.    However, I totally agree - it is very frustrating when a mission designer makes poor use of an addon. and it is much too common.  

My favourite example was a motorbike, which I had a lot of trouble finding and downloading:  motorbike addons were rare in those days so I was looking forward to it.    Didn't spot it during the mission so I unpbo'd the thing and looked for it in the mission editor.  Found it hidden between two buildings.   Admittedly you did visit that village, but with a whole squad so what use a motorbike was was open to question.  Fortunately, that didn't matter, because it was locked.....

As you say, the Missions Depot lists all the addons that are required for a mission, so at least you know what's needed before you start.   If you find a mistake, or if you would like to congratulate the author on good addon use/warn other people against it, post a [constructive] Comment on the mission.

It is worth reading the review and checking the score before d/l a mission.    Mission reviewers aren't perfect, and in any case there is frequently scope for genuine disagreement, but in my experience the reviews are always fair and usually there or thereabouts when it comes to score.     5 and above are definitely worth playing, 4 and below it depends if you like whatever sort of mission it is/owe the author money.

The usual size limit for the Missions depot is 6meg (I think, don't quote me):   50k is the limit for attaching files to forum posts.  

For news on the return of the Addons depot click the link in my signature line.

[Comrade Joe]

Oh, yeah - the donation thing . Sadly, i cant donate because i dont have a credit card yet and even if i had it would be murder to transfer money from Romania to any western country. Taxes are a pain in my pelvis.

Now, as i was saying, ppl should refrain themselves from using 100 addons just for the sake of it (the motorcylce thing, for instance) and start using the original BIS Resistance vehicles ( i mean, what the hell is wrong with them?).

[Tomasz]

Hey all,

I agree, right now if I want to download missions, I only download the addonfree ones. In the old days of my OFPEC existance, I downloaded loads of addons for the different missions, mods, capaigns, etc... and now I find myself not using them at all. :tomato: This is the reason why my team's campaign, which is in the works, will be as much addonfree as possible, and any addons needed ( which will be about 2 or 3 ) will come with the zip file.

cheers

Tomasz

[Ade]

I would say, use addons, but only if they are going to be a major feature of your mission.  Maybe include a link to one of the other ofp sites that carry them (but which aren't as good as OFPEC  ).

If the mission looks good I am happy to do half an hour of downloads and have a cup of tea while I wait, but Comrade Joe is dead right, check the BIS units and vehicles before even thinking 'addon'.

However, remember that the openness of the game and the fact that it allows third party addons is a big part of the fun...

Ade

[Artak]

The matter discussed here has driven me to a state where even the smell of addons disgusts me. 99% of the missions that I play are for multiplayer, and do you know what poor use of addons does to multiplayer missions? It kills them. In multiplayer EVERYONE has to have the addons! g'daem I'm so sick if it..    ;D

Anyway, not giving any names, this is a list of addons (note no url's) from a mission we got in the Missions Depot a few months back. It's for multiplayer and I'm posting this as a very warning example

6G30.
AADSpetsnazVer1.
ABOX.
apac.
ASF_Speznas.
ASF_Commando.
Auslnf.
BIBGreenBeret.
BIBMarineDress.
bibusmcwd.
BIBWoodLandMarines.
BIZON.
BMP2.
BRMD.
c130v1a.
ch47.
drgsas.
DWR_PlantsBamboo.
DWR2NVA.
DWRGeneral.
DWRGhillieSniper.
DWRGrass1.
DWRGrass2.
DWRGrass3.
DWRGrass4.
DWRGrass5.
DWRGrass6.
DWRGrass7.
DWRJungleM21.
DWRNamMP1.
DWRNamSoldier1.
DWRNVA.
DWRVietCong.
DWRVietCong2.
ebe1.
EditorUpgrade1.
editorupdate102.
EJARMMGUN.
evi_planes.
EVI_UH1HUEY.
F16.
FLAGS.
G36A.
Huey.
humr.
HUNTER.
island1.
kegkiowa.
kozi.
LAZERGUIDED.
LT1SealTeam.
M101A1.
m16scope.
M2A2.
M2F.
M2ss.
M60e3.
M4A1Suppr.
MDXVietkong.
MFR.
MM-1.
Mp_Field.
mpm1.
MpTp.
MTY4.
objects1.
objects2.
OH58.
Operation Grasshopper.
PKmg.
psg.
psgs.
rafch47.
RCON.
rpd.
S70.
SCMM4SOP.
SEBDeltaWpns
SEB_VietCong.
sebnam_1a.
sebnam_a.
sebnam_ci.
sebnam_ia_trang
sebnam_nv.
sebnam_obj.
sebnam_us.
sebnam_vc.
sebnam_vh.
sebnam_wp.
sebsfuh1h.
sebsfuh1hresfix.
SEBVCCivil.
STElrrps.
Steyr.
STTScopedWpns.
sttvietnamsoldiersw.
su25.
SVc.
trab.
USMCsymbols.
VoiceRH.
vulcan.
XMS.
zu23.

[Comrade Joe]

My GOD! Ive heard of MODs with less customs.

[Planck]

That is a ridiculously long list, mind you, at least 19 of them are official addons.


Planck

[Cpt. Red Nain]

One thing possible would be to have a list of the more frequently used addons. For example, i always use (since they're out  ) the BAS and JAM addons...
I know: how could one tell which addon is best? why? who decides?

Maybe a new section on the OFPEC where members would post the name of their best addons, why and where can they be dled (while waitting for the addon depot to reopen  :'()........


Good or bad idea??

[Comrade Joe]

Well, i think that the defunct addons depot could be revived but without any direct download links.

"Friendly fire - isn't"
"If you are short of everything but the enemy, you ARE in the combat zone."

*notices sig - eyes fall on own sig*
Murphy's combat laws! Gotta love em.

[General Barron]

Ah, the classic OFP paradox....

The majority of the OFP community seems to be just in love with addons. Everyone wants to make addons, or wants them to be made. However, very few missions seem to be made that use those addons, or so the complaint goes. However, when people do make missions that use a million addons, no one wants to download it. See... a paradox. :O

You know what I think the solution is? People shouldn't make addons just for the sake of making addons. They should say, "hey, I want to make a mission like this", and then they decide they need to make an addon for that mission. Or, addon makers with no editing skills should always find a mission maker to make a mission featuring their addon. That way, every addon has a mission with it.

The way it is now, people just download addons, play with them in the mission editor for a while, then forget about it. Yay! Everyone is so excited when a new addon comes out, but that isn't really a good use of an addon that takes so much time to make, IMO. If the addon came with a complete mission featuring the addon, then you would be able to see the thing "in action", which means you not only get a good mission, but it also gives other mission editors ideas on how to use that addon.

Anyway, just my two cents. OFP's addon-crazy community has always confused me. By that I'm referring mainly to the inhabitants of the Official Forums, not OFPEC, btw.

[Cpt. Red Nain]

. *notices sig - eyes fall on own sig*
Murphy's combat laws! Gotta love em.

http://www.murphys-laws.com/murphy/murphy-war.html
Check 'em out there (if u don't already know this website)

[BronzeEagle]

Erbody and they momma knows, if you gonna make a mission using addons you betta make it worth it.  I'm talking good.  

[Kammak]

I have to preface my statements by saying I've never downloaded a mission, ever.  I've only played my own and the BIS/Red Hammer missions.

However, I think addons really make a mission.  I haven't made a mission without a 3d party addon in fact.  I can't stand most of the BIS models.  So bad in fact that I can't get past them and enjoy a mission (obviously I don't play the canned missions much!    ).

There are so many weapons not included in the BIS stuff, that any realistic treatment of modern combat has to include some addons that provide the missing pieces.  (Ex: SAWs, M240s, Combat Optics, RPKs, radios, USMC vehicles, etc....)

I can honestly say that without the many quality addons for OFP, I would have zippo interest in OFP.  The Marine Assault Pack units & weapons, BAS helos, Tales of War's AAV, Laser and ORC Russian units, Vit's APC pack, all these make the game playable for me.

And while I agree with General Barron that most people download a new addon, drop in the editor, say "OOOOO", then never use it again.  But I actually enjoy making missions with the good ones.  They give OFP a more realistic and contemporary feeling that makes it enjoyable for me.

So I would definitely encourage mission makers to use addons, but use them smartly.  If I ever do download some else's mission, the first thing I would look for is which addons it uses.  If its just plain BIS stuff, I'll pass.

Not that its a bad mission because of that, but I can't get past the really bad models to enjoy a mission using those.  As I posted on another forum, no US soldier/Marine has worn a bedroll on his shoulders since the War of 1812    what in the world were they thinking?