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Missions Depot => Mission Discussion => ArmA - Reviewed Missions => Topic started by: Cheetah on 12 Mar 2007, 17:35:07

Title: (Review Completed) [SP] Last Hope
Post by: Cheetah on 12 Mar 2007, 17:35:07

Information
Version: 1.00
Author: Cheetah
Type: SP
Size: ~1 MB
Length: 25 minutes
Addons: none
Requirements: ArmA

Mission Summary
Rahmadi has been overrun, your platoon has no other option than to put up a fight. Will reinforcements arrive? Or do the
SLA forces pack enough power to spell disaster.

(http://home.hccnet.nl/m.grutters/img_lasthope.jpg)

Download
Location 1 (http://home.hccnet.nl/m.grutters/LastHope.zip)

Comments
Note that the mission is still in a working though beta phase of development. Several things can and will be improved with your help.
I'd like to get feedback on the mission, intro, overview and briefing parts of the mission to improve it and iron out any bugs.

Thanks for your attention, hopefully you'll enjoy the mission.

Title: Re: [SP] Last Hope
Post by: bardosy on 21 Mar 2007, 07:36:31

22 minute, score: 28000

Sorry to say this, but I didn't enjoy it.
The placement was fine, but the action started slowly. A few minutes nothing happened and then come a lot of SLA. I work with the SAW, it was fun. Oh, and in the begining - before the first SLA wave I saw a friendly officer far west from the village. I saw him only in the map (cadet mode). Who was him?

Then they come from everywhere and I killed a lot. Later I must run into the hangar back of me. But AK could fire through the walls (it's realistic, but how can they see me?). I saw a lot of dead friendly. I got and order: fall back to the center. I ran to the little fortress, but didn't go inside, but hide near a wall. I went to one corner and kill about 5-8 enemy, then went to the other corner and kill also a lot. I got a radio message choppers come, but who speaks to me? Everybody was dead. I heard the choppers and I tried to survive. They came from the two sides and I shoot there and the other side. The choppers arrived, but they wasn't effective. They killed nothing. Sometimes they shooted, but without effect. I have no brothers in arms, I was alone.
Finally I ran into a garden(?) and the stupid AI couldn't follow me. I killed a lot of SLA from close distance, but nothing happened. The choppers flyed around but didn't shoot, just flyed. The enemy ran around my garden. I must retry a few times, because they droped me grenade. It was very boring: alone with useless apaches (or cobras)...
Finally mission ended.

My suggestions:
1., a little cheat with revive some friendly soldier. It's too unrealistic defend a village alone. And a living friednly could give some hope. Maybe the officer could undieable...
2., I didn't find first aid tent... Is there?
3., More valuable choppers, please!!! Maybe a script share the information of player about enemy with AI choppers? (what player see, the choppers know) (Oh, and congratulation, the choppers didn't crashed with each others. Do you use some script?)
4., More effective friendly riflemen! (share they the info?)
5., More dreadful thing for the enemy at the end. Now I was alone and the useless choppers and SLA soldiers started run away... It was unbelievable for me. Maybe a Harrier airstrike with huge bombs? Or comeing BlackHawks with infantry...?
6., It's not vital, but something could be interesting in the begining...(maybe a cutscene) But it's not important... Now the player have time to discover the village and the possiblilities.

Title: Re: [SP] Last Hope
Post by: Cheetah on 21 Mar 2007, 08:51:46

Yeah, already thought that this mission was lacking. It does indeed a better ending, probably a more defendable center in the town with more guys who stay alive and infantry reinforcements. Those choppers are indeed a bit clumsy when it comes to clearing large infantry groups - or individual soldiers.

Thanks for the test and the tips on how to improve it. However, did you get the artillery strike at the beginning? I'd have to fix the officer, so that he stays in his bunker and will survive.

I never saw any officer moving away, will look into it. Can't see any soldiers on the map though, have disabled that.

1. I'll make sure that you have some soldiers with you in the later defense. Must have deleted too many friendlies, in an earlier version you would start with twice the amount of friendlies, it was too easy.
2. No first aid tent, only medics (two of them). Because the artillery strike is likely to destroy the tent, will include one. Better to have more support.
3. Next version will have an info share script and infantry coming to help.
4. Will do my best. Infoshare is the best I can do probably.
5. They will feel our presence next time.
6. There should be an artillery barrage (enemy) forcing you to take cover.

About the enemies knowing you're in the hangar, it's true and very unrealistic. My conclusion, you liked the beginning of the enemy assault, and hated the end.

Title: Re: [SP] Last Hope
Post by: bardosy on 21 Mar 2007, 09:07:30

Sorry! I forgot the arty strike... Yes, it happened, but I thought you don't want kill me in the begining, so I didn't worry about it... ;)

And you're right: I enjoy the shooting to the half of the mission. But when I got the order to retreat to the center, I was alone almost alone. A few friendly try to retreat, but killed and only I could retreat. The officer was inside the fortress in the center of the village? The SLA soldiers could walk through this fortress (it's not your fault, I know), but how my officer could survive it? When the SLA soldiers are inside the fortress?

I think no need more friendly, but from the half of the mission they need some scripted cheat to survive... If I could see 4 of my men I will happy. (one must be a medic!)

For the end phase, when friendly infantry reinforcements come, it could be nice if they come by BlackHawks (BHs can use their miniguns!) and the all scene looks like the air-cavalery attack in the movie: Apocalips Now (with Wagner music :D )

Title: Re: [SP] Last Hope
Post by: Cheetah on 21 Mar 2007, 11:50:26

Thanks for the additional feedback on feedback bardosy. Yes, the massive BH (well in the movie probably Huey) action, would be very cool. Maybe with LB with rockets if I can get them to fire their missiles. I'll see what I can do to solve the problem of the friendly soldiers.

If you've survived the artillery strike, you're bloody damn lucky. Those are normal HE rounds from the D30 and won't hesitate to kill male, female or animal - or whatever they get threwn upon. ;)

Title: Re: [SP] Last Hope
Post by: bardosy on 21 Mar 2007, 12:17:49

Quote from: Cheetah on 21 Mar 2007, 11:50:26

Thanks for the additional feedback on feedback bardosy. Yes, the massive BH (well in the movie probably Huey) action, would be very cool. Maybe with LB with rockets if I can get them to fire their missiles. I'll see what I can do to solve the problem of the friendly soldiers.

You must be careful with rockets and bombs to don't kill the player at the end... :D

Quote

If you've survived the artillery strike, you're bloody damn lucky. Those are normal HE rounds from the D30 and won't hesitate to kill male, female or animal - or whatever they get threwn upon. ;)

Ooops! I thought this is a script to blow up some shellt in predefined positions and these positions are far enough from player... :)
This arty strike didn't harm me.

But if it's a real arty srike script, how did you think it? :D The player killed in the begining and try again. And then killed again... And when he retried 20 times he will enjoy the mission? :D

Title: Re: [SP] Last Hope
Post by: Cheetah on 21 Mar 2007, 12:48:02

I just don't want the player to play like he's invincible ;). And if the player is still walking through the base, not finding any cover, after being killed 19 times by the artillery - he deserves the 20th death don't you think? At the starting position there is a fortified shed the player can use to take cover. Only to be killed by a direct hit and those are rare. I played the mission numerous times and haven't died when inside - so players who use their mind will survive by going inside a bunker.

See it as a filter - if people report that they got killed 15 times and stopped playing. I know how to judge their qualities in ArmA ;) thus how to judge further reports. Just kiddin' by the way.

About the rockets, I hope that the LB pilots know what to do ;). I won't randomly create them that's too dangerous for the player.

Title: Re: [SP] Last Hope
Post by: BensTooCool on 28 Mar 2007, 20:49:58

I've just been playing your mission but I haven't finished it yet.

Overview
Nothing really to say hear it seemed fine

Intro
A good intro only thing I can suggest to improve on here was that at one point I couldn't hear the voice due to the noise from the trucks moving.

Briefing
A good briefing in general, no weapon selection available though and maybe some extra intelligence could be useful.

Mission
I thought the artillery went on a bit too long and it wounded me the first 2 attempts and killed me once but the 4th go I managed to survive, I could have gone to the medic but I figured by the time I crawled to him the town would be swamped in enemy soldiers  :) anyway my 4th attempt I got down and started to let my SAW go and killed as many as I could.

I was ordered to move back to the center of town which I did but I ended up moving to (damn can't remember which side, think was to the other end of town from where I started) as it seemed they had overrun the defenses, I held them off until the choppers arrived but they didn't help and by then I was on my own and had no protection from my rear which is how I ended up dying, shot in the back by some coward SLA  :P

Suggestions

• I don't think you did this but I recommend you give a break in the incoming waves of enemy, enough time for you to rearm get healed and generally get an idea on the defenses.
• Radio messages throughout the attack giving the player information on which side the attacks are coming or if a side is overrun.
• Add a Medic Tent

Bugs
I think this is a bug? I kept getting a hint message thing with stuff like "enemy ratio 1"

Title: Re: [SP] Last Hope
Post by: bardosy on 29 Mar 2007, 08:39:59

I don't want suggest you the first one (delay in tha attackin waves), but the sencond one suggestion is GREAT! Radio messages...

And the 3rd one: I also suggested the filed hospital tent, but you said the arty destroy it. What's about a medic M113/Stryker?

Title: Re: [SP] Last Hope
Post by: Denz on 01 Apr 2007, 10:10:49

There isn't alot to add that hasn't already been said by Bardosy and Ben. I did like the first part of the mission - even if the first time I played it I received a direct hit from the artillery barrage :D
I don't think there should be a delay between waves either- it keeps the pressure up. In real life they don't call half time do they.
Medic/ambulance support is a must though, three times now I've been wounded and reduced to crawling to the centre of the position as the medics along with virtually everyone else have already been killed. Trying to cover a 360 degree arc is fun occasionally but it gets old real quick.
Maybe make an aid post inside the shed behind the starting point (or some other fairly covered position) so there is a chance to heal before heading to the "last redoubt."

I like the background story and so to tie in with it, maybe have an artillery strike around the village perimeter to simulate the Navy's "big guns" positioned off-shore and/or a harrier strike as the SLA's final assault advances instead of having reinforcements coming in- as long as a couple of AI soldiers make it that far the player should be in a good enough position to see it through - perhaps the Platoon HQ would have been holed up somewhere and come out for the last stand.

Title: Re: [SP] Last Hope
Post by: mathias_eichinger on 12 Apr 2007, 18:20:18

Hi Cheetah!

Here are my experiences with the mission:

Overview and Briefing are just fine, but the Briefing could need a weapons selection (I will explain later why).

Intro

I liked the voiceovers and the soldiers coming out of the mist. Maybe if you find time you can put the SLA soldiers in a marching formation as well - having them standing in no order in the mist would not be out of place in a zombie mission as well  :D


Mission

Terribly accurate barrage at the start - I was slightly injured and then realized to use the makeshift bunker. It is interesting to watch the counter, but I have no idea what the i=1 etc. means.
I also like the layout of the fortification you put me in.
But I have to say that it is a bit a contradiction with weapon I got. What do I mean by that? There are plenty of sandbags to crouch behind but with the SAW I can't hit a barn door firing it from a crouched position, hence I did not take advantage of the sandbags and was forced to lie prone in front of them or well within the village to obtain a good firing position.
Here, a weapons selection would come in handy and it would add a bit of replay value.

The mission itself is very tense, and seeing the enemy finally at the wire and in the base gives me the creeps! Good job here. I was able to survive, but I think I was pretty much alone in the final minutes.  Also, I did not notice any effect from the chopper, but maybe it made them running without firing or I was too preoccupied with warding off the attack.

Suggestion:

*Add weapons selection to the Briefing
*Add a medic tent to the village

Bottom line

I did like the mission very much, just a piece of hectic action as opposed to the long treks and stealthy maneouvers we all came to know in OFP/ArmA. It is not complicated but a nice change to usual missions.

Cheers

Mathias

Title: Re: [SP] Last Hope
Post by: Cheetah on 12 Apr 2007, 23:27:23

Mathias, bardosy, BensTooCool and Denz. Thanks for the comments they will be implemented in a future version of a mission, but that could take a lot of time as Royal Security has priority and RL has been and will be busy.

Title: Re: [SP] Last Hope
Post by: bardosy on 13 Apr 2007, 08:57:27

Good news, Cheetah! Long live the Royal Security!!!

Title: Re: [SP] Last Hope
Post by: Novusordo on 17 Apr 2007, 23:13:43

hey man i tested this mission. i played this months ago but i played again to refresh.

the first part with the arty was well done. the wait was boring, you should make it more atmospheric. maybe use NIM weather mod or something?

the SLA attack was as good as it could be. can't say I get joy out of killing wave after wave of enemy, really not my thing atall but I can bear a considerable amount but you made far too many enemies. it became very boring after about 3-4 mins of shooting enemies. i suggest a far smaller SLA force. about 3 minutes worth to shoot at...

ok so I fell back when I recieved the order to get to the center of the town and I went into the bunker, I lay down and then after 1-2 mins my comrade thought it would be a good idea to fire the m203 out the bunker slit. needless to say everyone inside was blown to bits including myself. this happend 3 times.

on my forth try I fell back into a building roof to the west side of the town and spent about 6 mins picking off SLA with an m4 M203. that was quite fun but it never ended and I got bored after the 4th minute or so.

then i heard the helicoptors and hoped they would give us support but all they did was fly around. i never heard any of them fire but then again i was indoors looking out from the roof so I can't say for sure.

so my suggestions are...

build atmosphere between the arty strike and the SLA attack. the tension was very much there, though :good:

reduce the SLA attacking force to 3 minutes worth

fix the AI firing the m203 in that bunker.

get the support choppers to give fire support.

have an optional objective to search and destroy the enemy FO's (forward observers) to stop the arty pound.

maybe have a little flanking mission where one of your sergeants orders a few men to rally on him and flank the SLA attacking force.

Title: Re: [SP] Last Hope
Post by: LCD on 05 Jun 2007, 01:34:42

is dis still alive ?

if yes ill test it :D

LCD OUT

Title: Re: [SP] Last Hope
Post by: rhysduk on 05 Jun 2007, 02:22:45

Every mission is technically still "alive" within the BETA boards.

They just need "reviving". Go ahead and bring some threads back to life LCD. :good: #

Rhys

Title: Re: [SP] Last Hope
Post by: LCD on 05 Jun 2007, 11:07:18

i guess i can play medic on dis mision ;) :D

i run thro it and its nice till da retreat... after dat jus boring... i get in da bunker and wait (w/ X4 time acc on) till choppers come nd help me... i think it cud b beter idea 2 really prepeare a position (sandbags... M2s... etc) nd have da soldiers return nd fight dere...

nyways notes....

intro
1) da intro starts w/ zoom on da soldiers nd den a black in... u shud start it in black den black in 2 soldiers

mision
1) wen da arty strikes it cud b nice 2 see some of da other soldiers crouchin or laying low.. not only standin still
2) u forgot da enemy ratio hint turned on
3) change da last part from standin in bunker 2 actually fightin
4) some of da soldiers dont retreat (dey keep fightin around da village)

outro : none

btw da 1st d/l link doesnt work

LCD OUT

Title: Re: [SP] Last Hope
Post by: Cheetah on 08 Jun 2007, 23:12:24

Thanks LCD for testing Last Hope, it's a pretty buggy mission right now. Forgot to turn off the hints and there are a few errors in the waypoints of the choppers and others friendlies.

Hopefully I'll find the time to correct all of these sometime.

Title: Re: [SP] Last Hope
Post by: Gielovic on 10 Jul 2007, 13:15:02

Hi Cheetah, don't know if you still want this to be tested, i see a red warning on top...hasn't been posted in for 30 days
Anyway...a short review

Overview
Good enough...pic could be some higher resolution

Briefing
Clear..the purpose of the mission is clear, text is good, i would have liked to see weapons-choice because you say there is enough ammo in the intro.

Intro
Nice intro, except the SLA-shot. It would be better to see a temporary-base, some artillery, some tents, walking soldiers etc.

Mission
I liked the Artillery-barrage only it takes a bit long and i got hurt even sitting in the shed:( So i had to crawl the rest of the mission, which wasn't nice. Almost all my teammates were killed, but the one who weren't didn't defend ::(. They just stood there waiting for the bullet. Also i saw a ratio-counter in left-top corner. I guess you forgot to remove it?
When the choppers came they killed some infantry, but not all. I was doomed to die with my MG. The SLA nicely moves around the village trying to enter it. I would have loved to have some MG-teammates guarding the entrance-roads.
Also some critical-point. I couldn't enter the MG2-guns:(.

Outro
Haven't seen...i died too early:(

Conclusion
I liked the radio-messages and voices. The scenery is great, the village is the perfect place to bomb:D. Also there were no bugs and the mission feels to be without any errors or problems. There were however some points i didn't like that much...so here are some hints:
- I got wounded during the artillery, which is realistic but no fun. So a medic/medictent or immunity for the artillery is a              good idead
- I would like to have some teammates fighting with me.
- The enemy-ratio counter wasn't that obvious, if i have to kill all SLA-units i would love to see some kind of indication how many i have still too kill (unrealistic, but searching for them while crawling all the time isn't that much fun)
- Artillery could be in a cutscene, so you can see the explosions and stuff as you only can wait till it's over. Then when it's finished a nice shot of the player with an angry face:D and the assault.

Title: Re: [SP] Last Hope
Post by: Cheetah on 26 Jul 2007, 19:58:16

Thanks for beta testing so far. New version uploaded, for download links check the first post.

From the readme:
v0.95
-added reinforcements
-added review image / screenshot
-removed hints
-removed numerous soldiers
... & more!

Title: Re: [SP] Last Hope
Post by: sharkattack on 26 Jul 2007, 20:38:13

looking  forward to  playing  new  version
will post  comments  ...
 :)

Title: Re: [SP] Last Hope
Post by: Gizzy on 26 Jul 2007, 21:15:42

My hat off to Cheetah for his warm welcome here at OFPEC.

I played your mission two times.
You already told that in the intro something is to fix.
The intro starts for a second, black screen for a second and then allright.
Good intro and the explanation is good even for me that I fight everyday with english language.
I like the voices too.
Briefing: clear (defend and stay alive).
Mission:
Good voices speaking to take position and warning for artillery strike. (I hit num pad "." to see the effect from the artillery hoping not to be killed).
The attack begins.
I have to say that the defenders are much more effective than the assaulters.
At first try could not go North to see the landing as I followed the message in yellow "Defend the base".
Two new men joined my squad after a while.
Advanced to the artillery positions and after a little fight I took 5 satchel charges from the ural and BOOOM!!. No more artillery.
Mission complete.
The briefing in the map was always updated correctly.
Second try I went to the beach and saw the landing troops from zodiacs and the M113. All seems ok the only thing was the yellow message "Defend the base" that never changed
This time three men joined my sqaud and then all we went to destroy the artillery.
The yellow message never changed. Always "Defend the base".
The mission is good (at the end one in daylight for me) but a little short because of the strong defence that easely kills many enemies.
The sentation is that the defenders are a lot more than the attackers.
Could be that I don't understand well english, but a yellow description different from "Defend the base" never happened.

P.S: when I destroy the artillery there are always friendly forces that I kill too near the cannons.
So the mission ends with red XXX (do not misinterpret)  :whistle:.

Thank you for let me enjoy this test.
See you
S!
G.

Title: Re: [SP] Last Hope
Post by: Igor Drukov on 26 Jul 2007, 23:32:19

Haven't posted in this site in years, and I'm so glad to see it keeps running, especially the beta-testing section. Hats off to you all  :good:


Ok, now for my review:


I played it in Vet mode, with standard settings in my profile (skillFriendly=0.750000;skillEnemy=0.750000;precisionFriendly=0.750000;precisionEnemy=0.750000;).


Overview
Good idea, I'd say the pic' itself could be worked a little bit more.


Intro

My gripe is that the custom voices fail to create a real atmosphere. I suggest some music in the background, close shots on faces, and I'd remove the shot on enemy forces, as there's no reason why BLUFOR should get that sort of information (unless there's an FO hidden somewhere). I think the idea is to get the player to identify with someone in the platoon, and the camera should help by adopting their point of view.


Briefing

There's a "Notes Section" feel to the first two paragraphs. I'd inject some impersonal military data into it.
No weapons selection, no typos. I lead three men, an expert, a vet, and  rookie.


Mission

I position my men hidden in a small yard, a voice tells me about incoming arty, and indeed arty's incoming. I see explosions not too far away and decide to make a move around the village anyway. Find a spot scan horizon and oops? What do I see? A 30-odd flock of enemy loons 300m. South of the village, standing there in this unique way BIS loons have.
Then there's the voice message, the savegame, and obviously, the loons start to run towards the village. Smells like sinch'ed WP a little bit too much for me, tbh.
Then there's the fighting, which is real fun, I focus on the Southern and Eastern fronts, trying to mount MGs but to no avail, I get the message about them sending another comapny, us needing to hold fast because there's backup on the way, but eh! i know better, it's the army, so I keep on fighting, huge explosion behind me up North, but I stay hidden behind my sandbags, killing enemies, then I make a move to that soldier with a PK 25m. away, go back to my previous hiding position and then the shredding starts... but not for long, because the enemy is announced to be retreating. I don't know where the CO got that info from, though, because at that precise moment, an enemy soldier (walks through) jumps over the sandbags, tries to flank me...


The next part of the mission was a walk in the park, with occasional stray infantries in the open, two unreactive machine guns and the four arty guns.

Duration: 19 minutes
Score: 22120 (five stars), 45 infantries and three D-30s.


My opinion

I found the difficulty of the mission overall well-balanced. If you are cautious, you can survive and put up a great firefight. I'd say the strength of the "Last Hope" formula is in its simplicity and efficiency. If you're up for some quick hold-your-position mission, then 'Last Hope' is for you.



Good job, Cheetah! :good:

Title: Re: [SP] Last Hope
Post by: DarkAngel on 27 Jul 2007, 11:09:36

Hey Cheetah, really enjoyed the defend the base element of the mission but was a little confused by some of the radio messages. While I was defending the base, a radio message came from the officer saying "Corporal, escort the reinforcements from the port" or words to that effect - but my waypoint still pointed to the original defend objective. I ran down to the port to see what was happening (on my own, my team members didn't follow me for some reason) and saw the boats and M113 come in, then headed back to my objective. The action was fast and furious - not my usual kind of mission but I actually liked it even more for that. Then the officer came on the radio again telling me to go south and take out some artillery. I thought, this is a bit harsh, I've only got one other guy in my team, the savegame came on and ArmA crashed to desktop about ten seconds later. I've only had time to retry a couple of times since but occasionally it's crashed again, about 10 seconds after reloading from the saveGame. No idea why - doesn't display any error messages or anything like that.

Up to this point, though, a really enjoyable mission. I think Igor makes some good points about the intro, and obviously you don't have radio sound yet for the orders within the mission. I think you need to clarify the player's objectives during the mission - the radio messages and waypoints contradict one another - and my only other concern was that the radio message saying well done, we'd defended the base came as we were still surrounded by SLA. Maybe use a script to pull them back and have the LT say something like well done, they're retreating? Might be a good oportunity for the player to rack up some kills.

Anyway, will retry later from the beginning and hopefully avoid the CTD. Lots of fun so far though.

Title: Re: [SP] Last Hope
Post by: Cheetah on 27 Jul 2007, 12:06:59

Thanks for all the comments so far, good to hear them!  :clap:

Anyway, I'll take a look at all the bugs / stuff mentioned. What I hate, there is a retreating loop with doMove and "disengage" for the enemy. Sadly, they don't listen too well as everyone has noticed :(.

Will look into it. Glad to hear that there are no real showstoppers (apart from the CTD).

Title: Re: [SP] Last Hope
Post by: LCD on 27 Jul 2007, 12:08:46

u cud try 2 put some of em on never fire... dey shud b more happy 2 disengage dat way ;)

LCD OUT

Title: Re: [SP] Last Hope
Post by: firecontrol on 29 Jul 2007, 01:57:00

Hello! Nice little mission here! It's nice to have a defend mission every once in a while.
v1.08, Normal (cadet) mode.

Overview

Nice enough. :)


Intro

I liked it. Kinda like a plan of action. Only part I didn't like were all the SLA guys standing around in that random bunch... looked kinda wierd to me. Some minor bugs: It flashes in and out a couple times right at the start. The second voice file stepped on the first one.. maybe add a little longer delay? The officer near the end had no weapon, but his hands were holding an invisible rifle.


Briefing

It does its job! Informative, to the point.
In the notes section: "then" -> "than"
I have some crazy waypoint line on the map, and all friendlies are shown. Odd. See pic below. (That pic is from later in the mission, but it was like this in the briefing, too.)
No weapons selection. :(


Mission

Arty barrage didn't seem to bother anything, all seems well. Me and my guys took cover in that metal building.
The lack of voices for the radio made it easy to miss, since I was focused on shooting at the enemy. That's already been addressed tho.

We fought off all the incoming SLA, I spent most of the time trying to organize my men the way I wanted, so I didn't do a lot of killing myself.  All the bullet dodging made it pretty intense though! Running from cover to cover, good stuff. I wish the enemy would attack a bit smarter, but the AI is really hard to get to do that, if even possible.

The arty objective popped up at the end of that funny line on the map. My waypoint never changed from "Defend the base" though. Even though I stepped right through it.

Easy enough, I sent half my team head on up the little hill to shoot down on things, and the other half came with me to flank around the right side of them. Along with all the other AI friendlies, they went down quite easily. Took four satchels from the ammo truck, and put the guns out of commission. End!

Outro

None.


Summary

I liked it! A fun little action packed mission. Given some polish, maybe a little new content, and a few fixes here and there, and it could be really fun! Nice work so far Cheetah.

Title: Re: [SP] Last Hope
Post by: Cheetah on 29 Jul 2007, 02:05:38

Thanks for your report firecontrol! Will address as much of the stuff mentioned in the next version. I see that you've posted a new version of your mission, will give you a report soon - to repay the favour ;).

Title: Re: [SP] Last Hope
Post by: sharkattack on 29 Jul 2007, 14:57:05

Intro
======
Sets the story nicely.A good narrative by the author.
My  only  concern  is the enemy attack force.
Maybe have them doing something or show the actual landings
60 + static soldiers standing looking at each other is not very entertaining.
Oh  and the music volume towards the end  overwhelms the voice ...

Briefing
=========
Well  laid  out.
Objective is easy to understand,however no weapon selection will in my opinion affect replayability.

Mission
========
First thing i notice is squad of static AI. Just as i am about to engage the enemy arty  stike begins.I decide to keep my head  down.Maybe hide them over the brow of the hill ?

(http://img517.imageshack.us/img517/2376/staticgy4.jpg)

Any way i survive the arty barrage and after a quick dammage assesment to my amazement i find  not  one single american casualty  (a few  token  dead  guys  please and some screaming would be nice or that  would be the most inaffective arty strike in history)
The attack begins and  the static  troops  begin to move.The action when it arrives is  thick and fast and  fun to play.spend  my time between  the  M2s.
Take  care of the  first  company  easily  and  am advised  that a second  is on the way.Am also  advised  to  move to the port and  assist  with reinforcments.
Waypoint  remains  at the village centre.I decide  not to risk it  and opt to remain in the  village  for better  cover bullets  are  flying everywhere.
I can see  reinforcments  moving  in  via  the  map.Weyhey  the enemy  has  had enough and  begins  to retreat am told  that  we have  defeated  them  despite suffering numerous casualties this prompts me to search the dead for a more effective weapon again i find not one casualty .

Mission plans update

A new objective and some fresh meat joins my team however the waypoint remains at defend village.
Still a lot of skirmishes so i decide to let the reinforcements establish themselves.re equip with satchels in order to destroy the arty .
finally there is a lull in the fighting . Re group my team and  head  for the arty.Soon realize  my  selection of satchels is a mistake  take a direct hit  from enemy arty ..
RELOAD
=======
re equip with rockets  head of to arty - killed by direct hit
 
RELOAD2
=======
re equip with rockets  head of to arty - killed by direct hit

RELOAD3
=======
re equip with rockets  head of to arty - killed by direct hit

RELOAD 4
========
Send in the  ai memebrs of my team i take up a position  overlooking  arty  and  quickly  pick of the crew ..
Find some satchels in one of the trucks Bingo

(http://img411.imageshack.us/img411/8647/doneqe3.jpg)


SUMMARY
=======
A well made map nicely presented no bugs to report other than the waypoint for second objective.Really misses a choice of weapons player will soon get bored.Also consider opening up the rooftops maybe adding more defenses.

(http://img517.imageshack.us/img517/7919/ladderlz1.jpg)


Sadly  an almost sudden ending no outro

  

Title: Re: [SP] Last Hope
Post by: mathias_eichinger on 02 Aug 2007, 00:25:27

Hi Cheetah!

I was just courious what this updated version contains...
Intro is still good with the guys (BLUFOR and OPFOR) standing in the mist, the briefing is not very detailed, but so is the mission.  :D
Now I head off for some frantic defense, it was as good as the last time.
New was the task to look for the artillery. I liked it alot and it was well balanced. Took the artillery head on on my belly and my squad managed to take it out with the artillery just dropping short  ;).

Still a nice mission with a nice addition. Keep up the good work.

Cheers

Mathias

Title: Re: [SP] Last Hope
Post by: Cheetah on 02 Aug 2007, 00:30:56

Shark, mathias, thanks for your comments! I'll take a look at the bugs shark, thanks for mentioning them here.

So you didn't run into any new bugs mathias (other than those mentioned)?  :blink:

Glad that guys enjoyed it!

Title: Re: [SP] Last Hope
Post by: MrN on 03 Aug 2007, 01:27:03

Regular, V1.08 FDFSounds, Trueview Mod

Overview:
Good but the picture is a bit too compressed.

Intro:
It’s good and informative. The SLA units look a bit too randomly scattered and the end animation of the west officer is a bit odd (his right hand) though.

Briefing:
Good

Map is simple and clear. No weapon choice which is fine given the situation.

Mission:
First go- Had a quick run around the base, stood near the outer sandbags while the artillery hit, mostly around the outside. Also, spotted a static group on the horizon.  I scattered my men around the base and stood around for a few minutes waiting for the action to start. Waited a bit more.

The west loons started firing at the enemy in the distance, so I joined in for a bit but the SLA weren’t coming anywhere near us. So I ran up the road quite a distance, knelt down and sniped away, got caught by a lucky bullet. Not so lucky for me.

Second go- same as first paragraph.

Mooched around for a bit while the Blufor AI made mincemeat of the attackers.

Get 4 loons join my group and a new objective.

Ran up the hill, got my loons to target a MG, took out 1 d30 while my and other loons took out the other 3. No guards on the artillery.

Kills:
Ural
D30
Rifleman

Outro:
None


Conclusion.
Sorry mate but my honest opinion is it’s a bit limp. All the mechanics are there but the attack, after the build up in the intro, feels like a couple of groups that seem to have a fairly low skill level slowly making their way to the base.

Now that I’ve played it I’ve read the thread to see what previous versions are about and it may be you’ve dumbed it down a bit too much. Personally I like my defend missions to be desperate attempts and should induce panic with the amount of loons swarming in.

May I suggest a few things:
Cut and paste the mission to Sahrani, it feels too cramped on the little island.

The artillery is mainly redundant after the first volley, make it continue but not as many rounds as there is at the beginning. Maybe every 60 seconds or so, a volley for example.

Ramp up the skill level of the attackers, set their speed to full and formation to line, make it a formidable attack. But, have them in waves and dependant on the preceding wave getting to 50% of their numbers to prevent the player getting completely over-run. Maybe, rather than the last wave getting blatted you could get them to retreat to the artillery position?

Quote

Sadly an almost sudden ending no outro

Indeed, needs Blufor reinforcements coming into save the day? Or transport coming in to take the player out. Just something other than a sudden end.


All completely my opinion, feel free to ignore.  :P


Cheers

Title: Re: [SP] Last Hope
Post by: Cheetah on 03 Aug 2007, 01:35:20

Thanks for the test MrN. Hehe, the mission isn't one of high quality. Hope to improve it, however I'm starting to get a bit tired of the damn AI. They refuse to listen to my scripting commands in this mission.

Anyway, bugs noted, will try to improve the mission.

Title: Re: [SP] Last Hope
Post by: MrN on 03 Aug 2007, 01:39:38

Quote

the mission isn't one of high quality.

I disagree with that, the feel, setup, briefing, mechanics (triggers) were all fine. It "felt" like a good mission, it just didn't quite play right. Maybe you're overscripting the loons.  ???

I know I came across a bit grumpy but that's the nature of beta tests and me really. ;)

Title: Re: [SP] Last Hope
Post by: Cheetah on 03 Aug 2007, 01:49:52

Nothing wrong with your report. To be honest, I feel that the current version of Last Hope beats the previous one, but still, it's lacking. However, I can't add the magical ingredient to make the mission feel good.

Overscripting? I script their retreat, loop containing a doMove and setCombatMode (hold fire, personal defense only). Guess that's not really overscripting. But the problem is that the AI can't make a decent strike on their own. Guess I'll have to add some magical stuff which throws the balance off and tips the scales in favor of the SLA. Have a few ideas on how to achieve that.

I find it hard to determine the right defenses for the artillery. Sandbags can't be used close to the artillery as they make the guns shoot at them thus killing the gunners. Stationary MGs are already there, but can be eliminated too. Guess my only option will be to play a bit with some infantry squads and limited the backup the player gets.

Anyway, I want to improve the intro and add an outro to add to the atmosphere of the mission. However, the search for the magical ingredient used in the mission will be continued ;).

Again, thanks for the test MrN! I appreciate your feedback.

Title: Re: [SP] Last Hope
Post by: Nixer6 on 04 Aug 2007, 23:39:27

Just finished it today


Nice intro.

Took me two times....the arty got me when I tried to take em out the first time. Got smarter and flanked em the second time.

Was fun and a very target rich environment.  :o

Good briefing, short and to the point.

As MrN says, the Ai did a crappy job of defending the guns. Maybe a squad or two using Kronsky's UPS???, guarding the guns.

Nice mission.

Title: Re: [SP] Last Hope
Post by: Cheetah on 05 Aug 2007, 02:23:54

Thanks for the gentle comments nixer. Thinking about what to do in order to improve the mission, the biggest problem is getting the AI to do something smart ;).

Anyway, I'll try to produce a new version soon. Before the beta testing party ;).

Title: Re: [SP] Last Hope
Post by: Cheetah on 31 Aug 2007, 19:35:13

Version 0.96 released!

The mission should be more difficult as 0.95 was too easy. The final four voices will be added in a future version.

Title: Re: [SP] Last Hope
Post by: Cheetah on 04 Sep 2007, 20:08:22

Version 0.96b released. Should be ready for a, hopefully, final test.

Changes:
0.96 -> 0.96b
- full voiceover
- tweaked assault

Title: Re: [SP] Last Hope
Post by: Cheetah on 15 Sep 2007, 11:28:48

Could anyone run a last check to see if things work?

Title: Re: [SP] Last Hope
Post by: LCD on 15 Sep 2007, 11:54:22

sometime dis week :D

LCD OUT

Title: Re: [SP] Last Hope
Post by: LCD on 18 Sep 2007, 11:44:39

ok i beta tested most of it 8-) but i have a prob... it seems every time i save (twice, both hapened after rienforcment arrived, when i was in hiding, didnt try @ oder timez...) da savegame becomes curropted... even dat savegame trick thingy doesnt help (export da save restart nd import it....)

but heres da rest of beta

package

1) u need 2 thank da beta testers :P

overview

 :good:

Intro

1) @ da start da cam passes thro a soldier

Brief

1) my soldiers r privates but r expert skilled....
2) i sugest addin callsigns 4 da groups.... 4 da lil radio chater da hapens around :P

Mision

1) da AGS UAZ is a real killer... makes mision hard... but i did manage 2 deal w/ it in da end
2) it cud b nice if u add a shel shock effect 4 da arty part (in case a shell explodes near da player...) i know dere was 1 made 4 OFP mebe u cud import it...
3) make da UAZ driver go out of da vehicle when his gunner dies... else he stays driving around nd looks st00pid :P
4) both my soldiers r ineffective :P donno cant seem 2 find a post were deyll shot da enemy nd not get killed str8 from da start...
5) it cud b nice 2 have a medic or medtent somwere near da start... in case of getin hit by a arty shell
6) i donno y da rienforcments needed help, dere was nothing botherin em dere  :confused:
7) how do i make da help rienfocments tick ? dey all landed nd nothing hapened...
8) now dat i had som time 2 look @ da lay-out i wanna ask y my group is da only pl on da frontier of da camp ? :P
9) also deres 1 radio dat is only half voiced.... when da comander tels me 2 help da rienforcments everything after from corporal 2 da end is mute...

mebe som1 can tel me y da mision keeps on crashin... but right now dats wat i can give u :P

LCD OUT

Title: Re: [SP] Last Hope
Post by: LCD on 22 Sep 2007, 02:31:23

ok i replied it some more... saves still wont work so i havnt finish it... but i got further (into da enemy pos that is...)

ill start from da rienforcments part

1) some of da rienforcment soldiers dont carry guns... they r probably unloaded inside the water by the boats... u shud fix that (ill send u a function if u want :P
2) the rienforcments advance really slow... give them an aware move WP into town and have them slowing down there...
3) the saves still wont work :P (even tho retries do work... mebe u cud make a check 4 da players name and if he is called nur bar give me a couple of retries over radio ? :P)
4) i just noticed that da captain is called captain 1... u can change it 2 just captain ;) :P
5) it cud b realy nice 2 have a medic availble after thee rienforcments arrive (or actualy thro da whole mision :P mebe a med tent or somin...) cuz when the 1st objective ticked off i already got shot 3 times... hit by arty 1ce and a friendly M113 run over me  ::)
6) have da f00kin enemy all retreat... most of em went away  :good: but there was still a squad i had 2 clear off (da squad included a UAZ ags... it was hell....)
7) when da cpt sens me 2 disable arty it cud b nice 2 have couple oif soldiers from the rienforcments joinin me :D
8) actualy i think dat in da radio msg i was promised choper suport :P were is it ?
9) when i assaulted the arty i used the UAZ ags... made it alot easier :D i did get shot by a crewman from the BMP (i destroyed it w/ my ags) but most of tha soldiers were static... remember 2 fix tdat (a reveal command shud work)
10) i realy needed a medic :P

LCD OUT

Title: Re: [SP] Last Hope
Post by: mathias_eichinger on 30 Sep 2007, 16:51:13

Hi Cheetah! My opinion on v0.96:

Intro, Overview and Briefing are still good.

The mission is even a bit more intense I think. Looks like the first wave has even more soldiers and the tank is also new, right? I found out that the only way to survive was to hide in a sandbag bunker and to snipe most of the enemies from there. It was still interesting and intense tough. Then I headed out for the additional artillery objective (completely missed the optional objective in the chaos). The arty was way more difficult than in the last version and that was not such a good thing, because I resorted to trial-and-error search of the right spot in the landscape where I would have just enough cover from cannons, MGs and UAZ-MGs while warding off enemy infantry. In the end, I managed to kill the guarding tank from the completely flat ground as I crawled to the western hills from the eastern hills in order to shoot the last cannon. That caused a massive secondary explosion, killing the remaining enemies at the base.

However, the mission would not end, and the cannon objective would not tick off. The only different thing I did was to kill the last cannon with an RPG, whereas I shot the gunner of the other three with my sniper rifle.

Hope this helps,

Mathias

Title: Re: [SP] Last Hope
Post by: Cheetah on 01 Oct 2007, 00:01:18

So you didn't actually destroy the other three guns?

Title: Re: [SP] Last Hope
Post by: mathias_eichinger on 01 Oct 2007, 14:04:40

Right, I just shot the gunners from the other 3 cannons. If I remember correctly, this worked to end the mission in the previous version.

Greetings

Mathias

Title: Re: [SP] Last Hope
Post by: Cheetah on 09 Oct 2007, 21:46:58

v0.97 released.

Savegame bug seems fixed. Could someone verify that?

Title: Re: [SP] Last Hope
Post by: Denz on 24 Oct 2007, 17:30:38

Didn't have time to test it thoroughly chief but the saveGame issue appears to have been solved. Loading fine now.
I did notice that the enemy trucks unload then drive right into the outpost. Well, unless you cap the driver first  ;)
Are they supposed to do that?

Title: Re: [SP] Last Hope
Post by: Cheetah on 24 Oct 2007, 22:17:26

Damn AI has get out waypoints 20 metres outside the city  :weeping:

Title: Re: [SP] Last Hope
Post by: Cheetah on 23 Feb 2008, 12:26:10

Version 0.98 released. See first post for details and download.

Hopefully one more test and she's ready for review.

Title: Re: [SP] Last Hope
Post by: wcrvieira on 24 Feb 2008, 21:35:47

Last Hope v0.98 by Cheetah
a beta-test by NBSVieiraPT

Information
Armed Assault v1.09.5208, Veteran difficulty, AI expert. Using Truemods and Chammy's Sound Mod.


Package
Fine. Promo pic is present and the screenshot is very intriguing. Readme has more info (better!) than the previous ones from the last missions.

Overview: A good pic and a fine text. No problems here.

Intro: Very good. Some dialogues overlapsed each other though, nothing serious but could be fixed.

Briefing
Plan: I guess it is fine.
Notes: Again, perfect.
Gear: Hooah! A nice selection of weaponry!
Map: Liked it, clean and fully working as it is supposed to.

Mission:
The first artillery strike instantly killed me when I took refuge inside a barn. [Retry]

[Retry#1]
This time I sent my troops to wait in the starting point scanning horizon proned and engaging at will in stealth mode hoping they would last for a while. That's when an enemy tank started to income the base. I retreated and went to the West side of town where I shot him and an UAZ with my AT weapon. A fierce firefight broke in and I lost all men in my command, my ammo for the G36 ran out so I fetched a SAW weapon. We were sucessful in making the enemy retreat after reinforcements arrived. Oh and their arrival was much much welcomed! :D
Don't know if it was your intention as I didn't play the other versions nor I read the other beta-tests or it would spoil my play, but I couldn't figure the waves, looked like an only wave with two phases, infantry and armour and then Urals.
However, after enemy was destroyed I proceeded to the next objective.
AI kept losing themselves in the middle of the desert ??? but I managed to kill everyone in the enemy positions and AI from far destroyed the artillery guns with AT weapons. Some BLUFOR AI were still there near the SLA outpost but weren't engaging the enemy (BLUFOR was from who goes to the outpost, left near the hills).
All objectives ticked. Mission accomplished.

Outro: No glitches here. It was cool.

Debriefing: All objectives ticked, had a nice score but I don't care about it, can't remember the time it lasted.


Closing comments:
Another good mission coming from you! The enemy skill was just right killing you everytime you stood or ran around like a loon. The first artillery barrage was also nice. I would say the mission is perfect, no glitches apart from that one in the intro. Enjoyed a lot this play, was really a fierce firefight...
Nice job! :good:

Title: Re: [SP] Last Hope
Post by: johnnyboy on 01 Mar 2008, 08:21:05

Hi Cheetah,

Hope this Beta Test Report finds you well, and not too cold.  Spring is coming!

Played on Beta Patch 1.09 and XAM mod 1.45.

Briefing:  Told me all I needed to know.  Nice and short, which is just fine for this defend mission.

Intro  Good intro set the stage well for what is too come.  The fog (which looked like dust in the desert) was good for the atmosphere and immersion.

Mission

1. Artillery was cool.  But it all fell outside of town.  I think the sense of fear in the player could be amplified if you bombed the town.  It would seem less scripted if you picked 4 to 8 zones in the town to bomb, and then randomly pick one where the player is NOT.  You might have to add more defenders to keep the balance right (since the arty would kill some).

2. Speaking of balance, that seemed just right to me.  I chose the SPR, so it would have been nice to have a pistol for backup for CQB.  I defended south side of town, from behind a wall.  Got crippled, so stayed prone.  Roll out, shoot a few targets, roll back.  Repeat.  This worked pretty well, but was surprised by some CQB in town a few times.   AFter the attack was over, got healed by a medic.

3. Voices were good, helps immersion, and move the story along.

4. The UAZ with MGs bother me when their gunner is killed, and then the driver acts stupidly.  I know this is an AI issue, and not your fault.  But with a little scripting, it could be improved.  Maybe a simple script with a few different random outcomes:  Driver moves to gunner, or driver dismounts and fights, or driver retreats fast (and maybe finds a gunner and returns).

5. Cannon fight was interesting tactical challenge.  I could not beat this without controlling my squad.  Like Uaz MG drivers, the cannon soldiers bother me when they user their cannons for CQB.  Maybe a trigger should fire for cannon dudes to dismount and fight if an enemy comes within X meters, and the cannon gunner knowsabout that enemy.  I used XAM smoke and low rise to approach within 15 meters of one cannon, then he shot me with the cannon!

6.  After killing all the cannon defenders, some AI were shooting constantly at the empty  MGs.  Maybe destroy these if all defenders dead, so player doesn't notice stupid AI.

Outro:  Wrapped up the story nicely, but nothing too exciting.  Maybe instead of forcing player to blow up the guns, the mission can end after he kills all the gun defenders.  The Outro could then have player ordering "set the charges men", and watch a few guys plant charges and run back, and then blow the guns for a nice little show for the outro.  Just an idea.

Overall:  A very well made combined arms mission.  Good atmosphere in the intro.  Exciting town defense.  No bugs encountered.  The only negatives were AI problems that are not your doing.   I enjoyed this mission.  Keep up the good work.

Title: Re: [SP] Last Hope
Post by: Cheetah on 01 Mar 2008, 14:21:52

Thanks for the beta reports vieira and johnny - I'll try to squize out another version of Last Hope pretty soon.  :good:

Luckily it feels as if this one is almost ready :).

Title: Re: [SP] Last Hope
Post by: Cheetah on 21 Mar 2008, 11:52:23

Updated to v1.00. Should be ready for review.

Title: Re: [SP] Last Hope (under review)
Post by: wcrvieira on 01 Apr 2008, 17:26:26

Reviewing this one :)

Title: Re: (review completed) [SP] Last Hope
Post by: wcrvieira on 12 Apr 2008, 02:40:42

Review completed. It can be found here (http://www.ofpec.com/missions_depot/index.php?action=details&id=152).

Want to share your opinion? Feel free to do so in the after-review discussion.