(Review Completed) [SP] Red Tide

[Pilot]

@bedges

firstly - rename your file, as the space is creating a bug. i needed to rightclick and 'save as'. use an underscore.

Ok, I didn't know this caused trouble, I will rename the file.

typo - 'Politbure'

Darn!  I thought I fixed all those!

the border on the pic is still pretty rough. the text is better, although the 'central attack group' bit sort of begs for an explanation... perhaps use 'main attack group'?

I'll see what I can do about the border.  I will consider changing "central attack group" to "main attack group"

i have attempted it before, but i couldn't get the text to fade out. want to share how you did it?

It was very tedious.  To make the text fade out, adjust the "duration" value.  A low value will show the text for a limited time, a high value will show it longer.  Ex: I used a value of 1.6 for a 5 second text

because you stressed the reinforcement locations of entre deux and chotain, i decided to tackle them first.

I was hoping someone would do this.  Did the men from chotain come to Entre Duex?  Or did they stay on Chotain?  I scripted it so that if the player attacks Entre Duex or Chotain, the counter-attack would attack the player in the proper town instead of going straight to the base.

slow. very slow. a lot more shots needed here, all that's really required is different/dynamic views of the same stuff.

Yeah, you're right.  I'm saving the camera work for last

great mission. as i can see from posts above, the player can approach this the direct way, attacking the base first and then dealing with whatever rolls down the hill afterwards, or the way i did things, slowly and exploring. it is a lot of fun to play, reminds me a great deal of the feeling i got playing the original flashpoint missions, trying various tactics, setting things up, rearming... all good stuff. i may try the latest version again, with a different tactic this time. it's a good romp. nice work

Thanks!

@THobson
I'll be looking forward to your test!

Just because you have changed to resistance does not mean you are limited the resistance vehicles. What I think you are trying to simulate here is some non-US but western friendly army.  In that case they would not have BMPs but would have M113s

Good point, I'll change the BMP to an M113

[bedges]

as far as i could tell, there was no counter attack from chotain. we went pretty much in a straight line from entre deux and met no-one. it might help if i give a run-down of what (i can remember) was in chotain:

machine gun emplacements at three points on the edge of the town, each with the gunner and 2 loons
a first-aid tent with 3 loons on guard outside it
aaaand, actually i think that was it. no armour, no circling squads on patrol that we saw.

as for the pic border - i've tried searching for the one i saw in a thread not too long ago, but without success. i've attached one of mine, should work.

just had a wee try of the latest version. you had to make them resistance didn't you... no more US weapons to play with... boohoo

[Pilot]

as far as i could tell, there was no counter attack from chotain. we went pretty much in a straight line from entre deux and met no-one. it might help if i give a run-down of what (i can remember) was in chotain

What was the resistance at the base like?

as for the pic border - i've tried searching for the one i saw in a thread not too long ago, but without success. i've attached one of mine, should work.

I did use a template for my pic, but I will try yours as it might be better.  Thanks!

just had a wee try of the latest version. you had to make them resistance didn't you... no more US weapons to play with... boohoo

Yeah, sorry.  Macguba made a good argument.

[bedges]

base resistance... looked like a single 12-man squad with a few extra loons - tower guards, couple of loons hidden in bushes, the m2 gunner, the loons at the jetty...

[THobson]

Can I repeart my plea for an early morning start?  It will feel more realistic (to me anyway).

[Pilot]

That's strange.  Maybe while you were in Entre Duex, the squad from Chotain arrived and you took them out without realizing it.  You had to kill them somewhere along the way, as the mission won't end until you do.

Thanks for the reply!

EDIT:
@THobson

Can I repeart my plea for an early morning start?  It will feel more realistic (to me anyway).

What time do you feel would be best? Sometime between 0600 and 0700?

[THobson]

My guess is that somewhere around there.   I am not familar with sunrise times in April.  I imagine it light, but still pink.  Certainly not NVG type of darkness, but not fully daylight eaither.  Just a suggestion, experiement a bit.

[yankme]

sorry havent been abel to download this ,,,,,jeff 2nd page is not working for me!!??

[THobson]

Red Tide: (I am back from my trip)
(bye the way it was a bugger to download)
I had hoped you would have a pink dawn, M113 version ready by the time I got back.

Overview:
‘The Soviet Politbure in Moscow has decided to place missiles on Everon'
Three points:
-Spelling of: Politburo
-Where else would you find it?
-The wording is far too passive.

How about:
‘The Soviet Politburo is determined to place nuclear missiles on Everon'

You talk about resistance forces - resistance to what?  I thought you were trying to simulate a non-US but pro-western army.  Just because you select resistance units in the mission editor doesn't mean you need to call them resistance in the game.  In fact it would be interesting to have a few US ‘advisors' mixed in with your western army - just a thought.

Have you changed the picture?  I am a bit pissed but they look like US soldiers to me.

Why the exclamation mark after coast?

During beta testing it is helpful to put the version number somewhere around here.

more later.....

[Pilot]

Red Tide: (I am back from my trip)
(bye the way it was a bugger to download)
I had hoped you would have a pink dawn, M113 version ready by the time I got back.

Welcome back!
I'm using freewebs to host my mission, so that may explain the problem downloading.  Also, I use a download manager to download files, and the manager I use doesn't recognise my files.  So if you use a download manager, you may want to disable it before downloading.
I'm sorry for the seeming lack of progress, but I have been busy behind the scenes.  I am making a German translation for my mission (I'm learning German right now), and it is taking awhile, as my German skills are not that great! :-\  I hope to have my translating done soon.  I have also changed the time of the mission, and adjusted the intro a little bit.

The Soviet Politbure in Moscow has decided to place missiles on Everon'
Three points:
-Spelling of: Politburo

That mistake is embarassing , I have already corrected it.

-Where else would you find it?
-The wording is far too passive.

How about:
‘The Soviet Politburo is determined to place nuclear missiles on Everon'

I'm not too sure if it fits too well into the intro.  The line before it says, "After 20 years, the Soviets still desired to place nuclear missiles close to the United States", to say "The Soviet Politburo is determined to place nuclear missiles on Everon" in my opinion, destroys the flow of the intro, what do you think?

You talk about resistance forces - resistance to what?  I thought you were trying to simulate a non-US but pro-western army.  Just because you select resistance units in the mission editor doesn't mean you need to call them resistance in the game.  In fact it would be interesting to have a few US ‘advisors' mixed in with your western army - just a thought.

Interesting idea.  I might do that.  What should I call the resistance forces, the Everon National Guard?

Have you changed the picture?  I am a bit pissed but they look like US soldiers to me.

My most recent picture does show resistance units, although I may have updated the picture after I posted V1.1

Why the exclamation mark after coast?

I thought it would sound to boring without an exclamation point.  Would you type "Destroy the base!" or "Destroy the base."?  This is an overview, after all, and it is meant to portray the mission as an awesome, exciting mission.  Putting a period might defeat that purpose.  What do you think?

During beta testing it is helpful to put the version number somewhere around here.

I put the version number in the readme.  Should I also put it in the overview?

Once again, sorry for the lack of progress!

[THobson]

No problem on the rate of progress - Who am I to talk anyway, I am still on v1.00 of my mission!

I'm not too sure if it fits too well into the intro.  The line before it says, "After 20 years, the Soviets still desired to place nuclear missiles close to the United States", to say "The Soviet Politburo is determined to place nuclear missiles on Everon" in my opinion, destroys the flow of the intro, what do you think?

My comment relates to the overview not the intro.  I had had a couple of glasses of wine too many by the time I looked at the intro.  Also as the intro started I was pulled away for a domestic chore.  All I remember is:  I like that font, I used it in Defensive Strike, but the review did not like it.

I put the version number in the readme.  Should I also put it in the overview?

I don't have strong feelings either way, but it does give the tester confidence they are testing the correct version.

I will pick up from the Overview later.

[THobson]

Red Tide (Cont.)
Intro:
I mentioned I like that font, but others don't.  You refer to an American Base on the East Coast.  I though you had dropped the idea of attacking Americans.  

The Soviet base has no buildings.  The target base is flying an American flag.

I do not get a feeling of a large invasion force.  You might wish to select the forces and then do a <Ctrl> C followed by multiple <Ctrl> V to replicate them into the distance.

The attack in on the east coast and you have the northern armoured attack group on the south side of the ship and the southern attack group on the north side of the ship.  I would change them round.

Briefing:
Same comments about putting in some paragraphs as before.

I armed my guys as follows:
Me, 6 & 7: AK74 + prg
2, 3 & 4: PKs
5 & 8: AK74  (do I have two medics?)
9: AK74 + 3x Grenades
10:  AK74 + AT4
11:  AK74, 8 mags and one mine
12:  AK74, 4 mags, 4 grenades and one mine


Mission:

Went WNW and put the two mines down on the road at Eh45 where the trees on either side should cause the armour to stick to the road.

Approached the target base from the west.  Dropped two guys on patrol before they knew what had happened.  I am now over looking the base.  It still has an American flag.

I did my usual, all weapons free and an rpg into the M2.  Much better!!  Very neat the way guys appear out of the barracks and even start to climb the watch towers.  I lost 2 of my 3 PK loons quite quickly.

A BMP and a tank turn up behind me and to my left and are destroyed without firing a shot, so much for my mines.

Soldiers are reported at 3 o'clock.  Fortunately I have an all-round defence.

Later two squads of soldiers appear behind and to my left heading for the base following the route of the BMP and tank. I put my squad on all hold fire until they reach the base, then all weapons free.  More carnage amongst the imperialist running-dog lackeys.  Unfortunately I am taking a few casualties as well, 5 so far.

Nothing has moved for quite some time now.  I go down into the base and crawl around, there is none there.  I go to the flagpole.  The US flag remains in place.  I run around the outside of the base, still nothing alive.  I climb into one of the towers - still nothing.  I am beginning to suspect a total group present trigger.

I am wrong.  All my squad is now in the base and still nothing is happening.  Then I find a single soldier in a bush just outside the base, kill him and the mission ends.  This last bit was a bit of a pain.  I thought you had them run away when they squad size was small.  If so something didn't work quite as planned here.

Outro:
Fine.  I think the bodies could do with being closer together and the barrels should be tidier.

Summary:
A great campaign mission.  I still think it feels odd doing a mission like this with anything other than elite troops.  These are the first ashore to establish a beach head.  I don't think I should have rookies and recruits in the squad.

[Pilot]

My comment relates to the overview not the intro.  I had had a couple of glasses of wine too many by the time I looked at the intro.  Also as the intro started I was pulled away for a domestic chore.  All I remember is:  I like that font, I used it in Defensive Strike, but the review did not like it.

Ohhh!  Ok, I'm sorry!  I changed the text in the overview, and it sounds much better, thanks!

I don't have strong feelings either way, but it does give the tester confidence they are testing the correct version.

Ok, I will probably add it somewhere in the overview.

I mentioned I like that font, but others don't.  You refer to an American Base on the East Coast.  I though you had dropped the idea of attacking Americans.

Darn!  I thought I removed all the references to America!  I will double check.  As for the font, I think I'll stick with the font.  I like it, and the red matches the Soviets Army very well.

I do not get a feeling of a large invasion force.  You might wish to select the forces and then do a <Ctrl> C followed by multiple <Ctrl> V to replicate them into the distance.

Good idea, I will do that.

The attack in on the east coast and you have the northern armoured attack group on the south side of the ship and the southern attack group on the north side of the ship.  I would change them round.

Now that's an embarassing mistake!  I will change it immediately!

Same comments about putting in some paragraphs as before.

I thought I did this, or does it need to be divided even more?

It still has an American flag.

I could use some suggestions, here.  What flag should I use for the resistance forces?

I did my usual, all weapons free and an rpg into the M2.  Much better!!  Very neat the way guys appear out of the barracks and even start to climb the watch towers.

Thanks!  I thought it would be more realistic to have guys running out of the buildings, like they were just awakened.  I'm glad you liked it!

This last bit was a bit of a pain.  I thought you had them run away when they squad size was small.  If so something didn't work quite as planned here.

I think I am having a problem with that script, it has caused me some problems.  Was it the bush in front of the base?

Fine.  I think the bodies could do with being closer together and the barrels should be tidier.

Ok

I still think it feels odd doing a mission like this with anything other than elite troops.  These are the first ashore to establish a beach head.  I don't think I should have rookies and recruits in the squad.

Ok, you've convinced me, I will remove all other recruits, and make them veterans, and I'll add an expert or two.

Thanks for the beta-test, THobson!

[THobson]

Was it the bush in front of the base?

Yes.

A couple more thoughts:

I suggest you lose the second medic

To make the behaviour of the armour more realistic and more difficult to deal with I suggest:
Tank as group leader
APC grouped with the tank
6 infantry soldiers also grouped with the tank and their 'Special' field set to In Cargo
in the init field of each of the 6 infantry put:
this moveInCargo nameOfAPC

Put the whole lot on guard.  (Don't worry about having waypoints that take them to the base or about having waypoints to get the infantry out of the APC.  They will do both on their own)

I think you will be stunned.

I could use some suggestions, here.  What flag should I use for the resistance forces?

I suggest you de-pbo flags.pbo in your addon folder and pick one.  Guernsey is what I have in mind for the civis in my mission.  Or you could just use a NATO flag.  If you want to annoy macguba you could use Scotland.  Botswana and Austria look fairly non-descript - apologies to any nationals of those countries reading this.  Other possibilities are Czech and Chad.  I thought this was to be a western sovereign country - not resistance.

[Pilot]

Was it the bush in front of the base?
Yes.

I believe the man is the one who runs up from the docks.  The men guarding the base aren't told to flee when the counter-attack is almost destroyed.  My reasoning behind this is they should already be dead.  I will look into it, however, and change this.

I suggest you lose the second medic

In my latest version, I have reduced the player's squad to 9.  Should I bring it back up to 12 and lose one of the medics, or keep it at nine where there is only 1 medic?

To make the behaviour of the armour more realistic and more difficult to deal with I suggest:
Tank as group leader
APC grouped with the tank
6 infantry soldiers also grouped with the tank and their 'Special' field set to In Cargo
in the init field of each of the 6 infantry put:
this moveInCargo nameOfAPC

Put the whole lot on guard.  (Don't worry about having waypoints that take them to the base or about having waypoints to get the infantry out of the APC.  They will do both on their own)

I think you will be stunned.

Ok, I'll try this and see what I get.

I suggest you de-pbo flags.pbo in your addon folder and pick one.  Guernsey is what I have in mind for the civis in my mission.  Or you could just use a NATO flag.  If you want to annoy macguba you could use Scotland.  Botswana and Austria look fairly non-descript - apologies to any nationals of those countries reading this.  Other possibilities are Czech and Chad.  I thought this was to be a western sovereign country - not resistance.

I decided to make a flag of my own.  I took the english flag (white with a red cross), changed the red cross to green (resistance vehicles have a green cross on them), and added a dark green silhoette of Everon on it (I think there may be too much green, )

Thanks for your replies, THobson!

EDIT:
@THobson
I changed the armor, and what a difference it makes!  Your change really increases the difficulty!
Also, because of the added difficulty, I made the player's squad a twelve man squad, again.  Nine men aren't enough to complete the objectives.