Hi, Everybody
Thanks to all the beta testers that have given us valuable feedback for the campaign. We now feel that the time has come to invite reviews.
A Couple of points : 1) When played as a campaign there are issues that are beyond our control. These are documented below.
Preferably read all the notes or if you wish to skip them, make sure you at least read the following section :
++ Armed Assault bug - commonly known as SAVE GAME BUG? ++Alternatively you can play the campaign as two separate missions. (Just download the two mission filies and the ReadMe file)
RECOMMENDED2) Reviewers please note that the Campaign is quite long and will take some time to complete.
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UPDATES - THIS SECTION IS RESERVED FOR UPDATES AND NEW INFORMATION LINKS********************************************************************************
In order to keep this first post from growing too much or getting too confusing we'll be using this top section to point to discussions on problems and solutions as they are found or fixed. Once you've read the main text below you just need to check the top of the thread for anything new.
IMPORTANT: Please make sure you've read and understood all the Save / restore and beta notes on this page first!!
*********************BEGIN UPDATE SECTION***************************************1) The SAVE RESUME question is really a problem that seems to be something that BIS need to look into. We are now going to try to get them to look at this problem. Watch this space.
2) Cleaned up the text below to include generic information. This update section now will contain anything new.
3) WORKAROUND for Part2 load bug
Ok, we have done this workaround for anyone that may have a problem when trying to load a savegame in Part 2 which isn't fixed by the usual RESUME/REVERT in the workaround suggestions below. Of course you can restart the mission or go back to one of your part 1 saves.
4)
NEW!! An alternative - A MISSION VERSION!
We've also provided a way to run the whole Campaign as 2 separate missions.
You won't have what you had when you crossed over between the 2 Parts (we don't know that
), some weapons and some sandwiches will be provided.
*********************END UPDATE SECTION*****************************************THE SAHRANI RUNThe Sahrani Run - this is a very long mission, so long it has been split into 2 parts and made into campaign format:
Its been running for a while now so reviews are welcome...
Please report any Bugs/Suggestions etc...
OverviewThe Sahrani Run V2.0 (single player) gives players a chance to try their hand at a stealth mission (sniper with M24). You are Major Mark Fullagar, a British special operations officer, brought in to do an important job for the Western Alliance on the island of Sahrani. The mission is long and involving, featuring a well-developed storyline that includes elements of RPG and Adventure. This is not the usual run-of-the-mill mission and offers something a bit different for players - give it a try and see! And let us know what you think.
Please read "IMPORTANT PLEASE READ" and "SAVING, RESTARTING & BETA TESTING NOTES" BEFORE starting the Campaign.
No addons required
Armed Assault 1.08
Features:
Dynamic gameplay and Storyline
Healthpacks and Healthchecks
INSTALLATIONAlthough this mission isn't a Campaign as such it needs to be run as one, therefore to install it you need to unzip the files into the campaign folder. Ie. drive:\Bohemia Interactive\ArmA\Campaigns
++++++++++++++IMPORTANT PLEASE READ+++++++++++++++++++++ Armed Assault bug - commonly known as SAVE GAME BUG?This has caused countless problems for players in the past and for us when trying to debug our Campaign!
Firstly this should be referred to as a "LOAD" bug and not a "SAVE" bug because we've established that there is nothing wrong with the saved files in most cases (although the SAVE bug is also known to happen occasionally), in our tests at least. That includes all three types of saved files : the autosave, the exit save and the manual save.
There are two scenarios that appear to happen when resuming the campaign after starting the game;
1) Corruption of Variables, states, AI state etc (who knows what else)
2) Crash to the desktop on resume
The culprit turns out to be some kind of bug that affects a RESUME after the game is fired up. Although one may initially think that the SAVEGAME file itself is corrupted, this is not the case. In our tests the problem does not happen once the saved game is loaded in a particular way:
WORKAROUND for 1)Run the game, select the campaign, then RESUME. Immediately after it's loaded (error or not) you can either back out to where you will be offered a RESUME again or a RETRY or simply hit escape and choose LOAD (if you made a manual save).
WORKAROUND for 2)Crashing to the desktop (particularly in Part 2) when using the RESUME after running ArmA for the first time is a big pain because you won't be able to do anything about it other than use the technique we've outlined below for beta testers. (we are trying to get some answers from BIS on what is going on and how to fix this problem).
OK, we reckon the best thing for now is to use this workaround...
Fire up the game, (you will need a saved game of some sort to make Part2 available on the menu) - load the mission (part 2 - REVERT NOT resume). That will take you to the beginning of part 2. Press ESC once - Then Alt-Tab to windows, copy the save files in, go back to the game and hit ESC 2 times more - Then use LOAD. This should work 95% of the time. A bit long winded but the best solution for now - Remember to make multiple save points as you go along and put them into separate folders.
THE BOTTOM LINE !!To Sum up: Never play a resumed campaign after starting Armed Assault. Always get into the habit of reloading after the resume using any one of the 3 saved files. Autosave.ArmASave, continue.ArmASave or save.ArmASave
(We believe that following the above advice is relevant for all misions/campaign's)
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SAVING, RESTARTINGParticularly for beta testing we've found that it's a good idea to follow a few rules to save having to
replay the whole mission or part. Here are a few suggestions :
Get into the habit of making putting your saved files into separate folders after you save at key points in the campaign. This way you'll have a saved game at many intervals during the game. This will allow you to go back if necessary to any part of the campaign without having to to restart.
Replaying Part 1: from a saved game after having started part 2.
Either start the campagn again or select part 1 and REVERT. Once it has loaded, pause the game (ESC) then ALT-TAB to windows, copy the saved files from your save folder. ALT-TAB back into the game and press ESC twice. You should then select the LOAD.
Replaying part 2:Part 2 is more simple but as a precaution you can do exactly as above, it's best to Save part 2 as soon as it starts.
However, restarting will work ok but do not use ESC / RETRY. ABORT the campaign first then select part 2 and REVERT.
This will read the object.sav and the player vehicle state and should put you in exactly the same position as you were
when you crossed the border.
Restarting the Mission from the beginning (god forbid)
There is one thing that does need to be done. The Object.sav file may cause problems in part 2 so it must be manually
deleted from the save folder. Better still if you are restarting delete everything in that folder. This is an ArmA oddity which only causes a problem when transferring vehicles and states from one mission to another.
Also don't forget to observe THE BOTTOM LINE !! (see above) when starting up Armed Assault.
Sahrani Run - Changelog V 1.01 :
Corrected spelling mistakes
Fixed bug where heli pilot got out of heli when the player got in
Fixed various small bugs
V 1.02 :
Fixed sqs error "Actionarray.sqs"
Fixed ambulance sometimes not arriving
Fixed Health pack problem
Fixed problem with Drako's picture
Tweaked sound/music volumes
V 1.03 :
Fixed gear problem moving from Part 1 to Part 2
Fixed various small bugs
V 1.04 :
Fixed view staying black until the camera starts at begining of mission
Added new cutscene in Part two
Added new action in Part two
V 1.05 :
extended trigger size around ambulance base
added auto save games
Fixed bug with taking gear into Part two
Fixed various small bugs
V 1.06 :
Fixed various small bugs
Added new Actions to Part two
Fixed major bugs at Ambulance Depot
Fixed bug with taking vehicles into Part two
Tweaked Part two to improve FPS
V 1.07 :
Fixed various bugs
fixed heli pick-up
Fixed bugs at Ambulance Depot
Fixed some objectives
Added weather variation
Fixed car bomb text
Improved AI of some groups
Grammar corrections
V 1.08 Hotfix for getting stuck on Map at the start
V 1.09 Added vital information regarding SAVE GAME BUG (how to avoid)
V 2.0 Fixed loads of bugs: including heli pick-up at end
Added some more sounds
Added extra way to get to Part2 of mission
NOTEDo not use old saved games with new versions
Arkon
OFPEC Review