OFPEC Forum
Missions Depot => Mission Discussion => Arma2 - Reviewed Missions => Topic started by: Arkon on 12 Mar 2010, 16:57:59
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The Chernarus Run:
Author: Starlight Productions
Version: 1.2
Required Addons: None
Required version: ArmA2 v1.05 (not varified as v1.07 compatible)
Installation: Copy the PBO from the "The_Chernarus_Run_V1.2.zip" file into the "ArmA2\Missions" folder.
Island: Chernarus
Weather: Mixed
View Distance: 4000-4300
Spec Required: Quite a high spec as there is lots of things going on.
REVIEWERS: Please keep in mind that this mission is an adventure and not a simulation.
IF YOU PLAY THIS MISSION PLEASE GIVE FEEBACK TO IMPROVE THIS MISSION AND CONVINCE US TO DO MORE MISSIONS IN THIS STYLE!
Please state version number when reporting bugs.
Known Bugs:
Problem with encounter at Skalisky
ACE users: if you intend to try this mission then please find out how to disable ACE.
Features:
Long story driven mission.
Health checks and Healing packs.
Player can recall conversations.
Many ways to complete the mission.
Several hours playing time.
Sound effects and Music.
Sprinkling of humour!
The Chernarus Run is a long, story-driven mission using elements of RPG and Adventure. It differs somewhat from the "normal" ArmA2 missions and is probably not suitable for purists. You will need stealth, patience, tenacity and the ability to act on your own initiative. Strong-arm tactics will not work here. Be prepared for plenty of reconnaissance work. There is also a fair amount of travelling and in-game reading to be done.
The Chernarus Run is a single player scenario designed for players who prefer stealth missions. You are Major Gary T. Wolinski, brought in to do a very special job for the Western Alliance in Chernarus. Wolinski's knowledge of Russian will be an important asset in this "deep behind enemy lines" scenario.
Please give us feedback so we can improve the mission and correct bugs.
This mission is loosely based on the ArmA mission The Sahrani Run. The scenario does not relate to the current BIS Arma 2 story.
Hints and Tips:
1) Best played on the "Regular" option.
2) We would encourage players to NOT use the time acceleration "-" and "=" keys as this tends to screw the A.I.
3) When talking to characters you will need to approach them until you are close enough to make contact (just edge forward a little at a time until they engage you).
4) Take notice of what characters say as there are clues in the text that could help with the success of the mission.
5) In the early stages of the mission try playing without NV goggles for added atmosphere whenever possible.
6) Remember that ArmA2 sometimes "loses the plot" especially with civilians and a certain amount of tolerance may be neccessary at times re A.I. behaviour.
7) Check your health level through your action menu - If you are damaged you may use a Healing pack to heal yourself - healing packs are obtained at first aid tents and at few other places - you may carry 2 healing packs at any one time.
8) When using the "Hide Body" Action you probably need to wait at least 30 seconds after the kill for it to funtion.
9) Please use the savegame option in the radio rather than the menu one. This is to try to avoid the BIS savegame bug that "forgets" some AI settings when reloading a saved game (click once).
ChangeLog:
V 1.1
Fixed loadout problem whereby some players were missing equipment/weapons.
Shortened journey to 1st objective.
Fix to stop mission ending prematurely.
Fixed healpacks to allow 2 to be carried.
Changed Player's Character to Demolitions Specialist (thanks to Electricleash)
Other small fixes.
V 1.2
Added cut-scene ending.
Added Steerable Parachute (can land on buildings).
Added more music to ending.
Changed 1st encounter events.
Tweaked Ambulance Base encounter.
Added fix for BIS savegame bug.
Fixed Loadout problem.
Problem with encounter at Skalisky.
Many other tweaks.
DISCLAIMER: Bohemia Interactive Studios or any of their affiliated publishers, are in no way affiliated with the creation and release of this mission.
You download and use this mission at your own risk.
Edit: This mission has been reviewed and is available from the Missions Depot (http://www.ofpec.com/missions_depot/index.php?action=details&id=265).
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Nice one. Saw this released on the BI Forums, thought I'd check it out now that you've posted it here.
However, the briefing is incredibly under-detailed, there are no actual tasks, and no starting position marker. Then, I start out at night in a parachute, land, and have no idea where I am. I also have no night vision goggles and it's pitch black out, plus there was no option to take them in the gear selection before the start.
So I have no idea where I am, and therefore can't find my way to the first objective. Surely the USMC, or the "Western Alliance" as you depict them, would have given me night vision goggles for such an important mission? Any tips on what I have to do?
I've also gotten an error at the start saying the following:
'off2 |#|doWatch [getpos guy4r select 0, getpos g...'
Error Type Any, expected NumberI'd recommend putting -showScriptErrors into your ArmA II shortcut's target line when testing/making missions. That way you can see these error messages.
Edit: So I turned Extended map info on, and worked with that. Just kept running south. Still couldn't see a thing for a long time, but now I had the rather unrealistic map to look at. However, I was eventually shot by an AK that I couldn't see and die.
Really need some advice on how you plan for people to play this.
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Hi Zipper5,
Thanks for the feedback.
As stated in the 1st thread above there has been a problem with the loadout, that's why you did not have your goggles. The workaround is to just restart the mission until you get your gear, but I guess you started playing before the post was amended. Anyways, I am putting Version 1.1 up today (Mon 15th) hopefullly fixing the problem.
As for the Briefing, I thought there was plenty of information keeping in mind that this is a secret mission that unravels as you play through the game (its all part of the story). All you need to intially know is what you are told in the Briefing and your initial task, which is to meet your first contact. But, are you saying that your first objective (meet your contact) is was not shown on your map?
The error you reported has been fixed in V1.1
Thanks but I am aware of -showScriptErrors but I usually use the Arma Report.
Well, sorry things were so disappointing for you first time round - other people had reported the loadout bug - it only affects some people. Hopefully sorted in V1.1
Please give it another try but keep in mind this mission is a bit different in substance than the "norm" ArMa stuff.
Arkon
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I could see the first objective marker, but I could not see a marker indicating where the player starts, therefore I could not get my orientation.
I wasn't really disappointed with it so much as I knew something had broken. Glad to hear you fixed it. Looking forward to the update. :D
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Hi Zipper5,
Were you playing on Regular option? don't understand why your player icon was not shown on the map unless you was using Veteran Difficulty or above.
Update by about 9pm tonight (GMT)
Let us know how things go please.
thanks
Arkon
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I was indeed playing it in Regular, but I've modified it myself as I don't like certain unrealistic things like the player icon being tracked. Most actually play without that. You should still add a start position rather than relying on people to play it in Regular, as most play on the harder difficulties in ArmA II.
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Hi Zipper5,
Ok, thanks that explains it.
Please let us know if you have another try with V1.1
Arkon
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Hi Arkon,
I like the style of your mission, which leads me to follow every bit of information. However, at Chernogorsk, I encounter a save game bug. The game ignores any savegames past a certain point (I would say: inside the Chernogorsk City limits). I need further save games, especially ones, where I have managed to crawl up a building while being shot at (I only achieve this due to sheer luck).
Is that intentional or a real bug?
Cheers
Mathias
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Hi mathias,
Sorry to hear of your problem.
Which Version please?
Do you mean the game will not allow you to save (through the Menu or Radio) or will not load save games?
Either way it is NOT intentional and I have not had this reported before (almost 1000 downloads).
BTW. Would be good to hear any feedback you may have re the mission.
Regards
Arkon
(version 1.2 next week)
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Sorry to have been unclear in my previous post.
The game does not save any games past that "city limits" point. I am not convinced that it has anything to do with the geographical location, I just state this to describe the situation.
What happens is that you save the game and it looks like it is ok, yet when trying to load one, there are just then bunch of older savegames, not the later ones.
I have downloaded version 1.1 today and tried it with the above mentioned result.
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Hi mathias,
1) Can you do a search of your computer to be sure that the save files are somehow not being saved in another place.
2) Could you temporarely move the old save games out of the folder and see if you can save then.
3) What happens if move back outside the "city limits" can you save then.
4) Can supply grid ref of your last successful save outside the city + grid ref of where the last save failed so I can try to repeat this problem.
5) Can you check the Arma2.rpt file for any errors that may be related to this.
Any other info would helpful
Arkon
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Hi,
Version 1.2 is now available for Review.
See 1st post for details.
Regards
Arkon
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I will review this. I havent played this throught yet, but I let you know if I find some issues. I may update this post later.
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Hi SaOk,
Thanks, was begining to think it would never get a review :good:
Where have the reviewers gone?
Regards
Arkon
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This is a ultra challening mission with long playtime which makes the testing also quite difficult. I am currently trying to shoot down the chopper with high ranked enemy commander. I have shot it down nearly 10 times, but it impossible to find the target if he manages to drop to forest without dieing. On my last try he dropped quite near of the tree line, but I havent found him. Nearby enemy camp makes the searching really hard. I will try it more tommorrow, but do you have any tips for the hunting? Is the commander standing still after parachuteing or does he move somewhere?
Overally I have liked the mission much. The performance is quite low on my computer and I´ve spend much time travelling trought the map without getting far with one vehicle. There has been constantly much fighting, but at the end, it just increase the nice atmosphere in the mission. Hopefully I will success in that current task too.
There has been many error-messages trought the playtime. Seems to be small bugs but I attached a "errors"-textfile with the errormessages just in case.
Edit: Have you thougth to add custom identity for player? I think it would fit much better in mission than the player username. Also, there isnt insertion marker which can make start difficult if player dosent have map updates enabled. Briefing could also allow player to choose his gear/weapon, but its optional since there is much stuff already in crates.
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Hi SaOk,
Thanks for sticking with the challenge :)
Yes, The Colonel does move when he lands - he will try to meet-up with a rescue group and then make an escape inland. Have you tried to bring the heli down in different positions so as to get a better chance of getting him? It can be done.
If this fails, are many many other ways to carry out the assassination. Have you tried other ways?
What errors messages have you had whilst playing? I have not had reports of onscreen errors so far.
Thanks for the attachment - I'll take a look at these.
And thanks for your EDIT suggestions.
Good luck with the rest of the mission - looking forward to reading your review.
And thanks for the effort - makes the 6 months work putting the mission together worthwhile :good:
Regards
Arkon
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Began a test run of this yesterday. Attempted in recruit mode first with no mods. I've only just begun but have a few things to mention before I continue.
Overview
An overview image would have been a nice addition to that mission summary.
Intro
It's disappointing to play a story driven mission without some sort of cinema to improve it's immersion.
Briefing
You're sending in an operative who is committing his life to the operation and you refuse to inform him of potential details that would certainly aid his efforts in successfully accomplishing the tasks ahead? I understand the withholding of info but you don't have to tell the operative these things, it makes the player feel expendable. Just say you don't much with the exception that the resistance has something they need to share and it must be done in secret.
A link to Balota would be nice. I couldn't find it. :D
Mission
The approach to the first objective was shrouded in suspense, mainly due to the lack of intel regarding area movement and numbers. Most of the immersion was created by the Arma2 engine (we've come a long way), while your patrols seemed appropriate and inducing the proper amount of maneuvering challenge.
The wolf howl near the objective sounded first like a tripped alarm. It also seemed to be cut short. It would help immersion if rather than play the sound, you created a logic, set it somewhere around the player and had it say the sound. Then follow that up with repeats of it by setting the logic somewhere else to represent other wolves answering their pack mate. That way it seems less like an alarm and more like a natural pack call.
The flare seems to be spawned around the player regardless of how much distance is placed between him and any incoming patrols capable of firing a flare. This ruins immersion some. The flare should be spawned around the responding troops to provide a better sense of realism. This will allow the player to determine his path better by steering clear of flares.
I couldn't tell for sure but if you have the helo flying to the player's position without actually detecting him first, it is unfair and unreal. Again, not certain but it seemed to fly over me regardless of which direction I took.
I attempted to recall the information from the meeting and when the dialogue appeared, it froze everything. I had to close the game through the task manager and restart. This happened twice. It worked fine on my third attempt.
I decided to avoid urban areas altogether which included roads. I adhered to forests and steep slopes as much as possible and approached the second objective(Light House) on foot. It took some time but I wanted to remain unknown for as long as possible. I spotted an apc setting quietly and was able to flank it. I then spotted a motorcycle with two civilians sitting on it but going no where...they were near a forest edge away from the road at 078 102 (South west of Polana). I then spotted a foot patrol (10 men) moving northeast. Later I spotted a ural, stuck off the edge of the road at 106 098(southwest of Staroye).
Lighthouse worked out good but when I arrived to Skalista Island, I could not get anyone to talk to me. I stood right in each units' face, checked the action menus got into the pleasure craft but nothing happened.
Care to share what I must do?
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Hi savedbygrace,
Thanks for the feedback...
Did you read the included Readme file as this gives an insight to the kind of mission you are about to play.
An overview image would have been a nice addition to that mission summary
Ok, noted - btw, there was in image included in the .zip
It's disappointing to play a story driven mission without some sort of cinema to improve it's immersion
Well, as you say it is story driven - and I guess this is a matter of subjetive taste.
You're sending in an operative who is committing his life to the operation and you refuse to inform him of potential details... etc
The whole story evolves round the plot that develops as the mission unravels and the player discovers what is going on - even the officer sending the player on the mission knows very little himself! You need to wait until the mission is nearing its climax before commenting on this aspect.
The wolf howl near the objective sounded first like a tripped alarm. It also seemed to be cut short.
You are the first to comment on this so I'm not sure if it is a local issue or not.
The flare seems to be spawned around the player regardless of how much distance is placed between him and any incoming patrols capable of firing a flare.
Good point. Although it is somewhat random and is only initially close to the player.
I couldn't tell for sure but if you have the helo flying to the player's position without actually detecting him first, it is unfair and unreal. Again, not certain but it seemed to fly over me regardless of which direction I took.
The Heli's manouvers are random.
I attempted to recall the information from the meeting and when the dialogue appeared, it froze everything.
Again as this is the first instance I am not sure if this is a local issue or not (there have been 1600 downloads from various sites and quite a lot of feedback).
Lighthouse worked out good but when I arrived to Skalista Island, I could not get anyone to talk to me
Yes, this is a problem that has been reported and needs sorting - unfortunately occasionally, a variable is not set at the lighthouse ( do not know why as it is set in the script that gives you the text message) - and this means that the guys on Skalista will not respond and your contact will not arrive.
I have built in a few fail-safes (remembering Arma's buggyness from the past) If you go to the S/E tip of Skalista island you should find a red bucket hidden under a bush - approach the bucket and you will trigger some text that gives you the info that your contact had for you.
Please let me know how you get on.
You are approaching one third of the way through the mission so you have some way to go yet.
Thank you very much for the feedback - I have uploaded a new version which fixes the lighthouse variable problem.
Regards
Arkon
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subjetive taste.
Yes, I am a cinema freak. I enjoy watching how creative folks can be with their ideas and consider it a valuable portion of the mission since it is just as challenging to create cinema as it is the mission itself. No worries, There are many great projects out there without cinema.
You need to wait until the mission is nearing its climax before commenting on this aspect.
I only meant that this......"Details of this mission are highly classified, so I can't say much" sounds as if the officer is withholding information on the basis that the operative doesn't need to know or is too low on the pay grade scale to know more. I wasn't challenging your motives.
The wolf sound was not cut short in game....but the sound file itself sounded incomplete. I've attached 4 different sounding wolf howls provided to our community by THobson in his infamous Abandoned Armies project for OFP. Try em out and see if you like any. All credit to him if used.
I found the red bucket. Genius! Plenty left to do....sounds challenging to my stealth skills. Although the image never displayed in my briefing area or on screen. Was it suppose to?
Playtime....let you know more later.
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Hi savedbygrace,
Yes, I am a cinema freak...
There is a shortish cutscene at the end.
Although the image never displayed in my briefing area or on screen. Was it suppose to?
The image should appear onscreen when you select it from the Action Menu.
Thanks for the Wolf's sounds.
Hope you enjoy the rest of the mission.
Regards
Arkon
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I had to restart the mission with new 1.07 patch. I managed to kill the Krudicz this time in sun light, but I have no idea where to go now. I returned to heli wreck but noone is there. What I am missing?
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Hi SaOk,
I had to restart the mission with new 1.07 patch
I guess you mean the 1.2 Version?
I managed to kill the Krudicz this time in sun light
Sun light?
but I have no idea where to go now
when you restarted the mission you needed to first go to the lighthouse and then go to see Colonel Dubrovka on Skalisky island. As you did not meet the Colonel he could not have told you where the extraction point was - so that is why it is not marked on your map.
I'm sorry but you will have to redo these things.
When you reach the extration point use your radio to call for the Heli.
(Redoing the mission gives you some other options like going to the Airport near Krasnostav to try to steal a Heli - or to the Boatyard near Nizhnoye to steal a boat - assumming you have not tried these already - also taking different routes will give different encounters and scenarios)
Hope this helps.
Regards
Arkon
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I downloaded the new ArmA2 version 1.07 which was released two days ago. It broke the savegames so I started a new game also with your latest version 1.2. I got that sun light after following the lady in that other big town with medic-chopper camp (elektrogorsk?). It said I slept only few hours, but the sun offers a great light already.
Somehow I thought the extraction point was to finish the whole mission if player give up. I head there next then.
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Hi SaOk,
I downloaded the new ArmA2 version 1.07
I see what you mean now about 1.07 - I have not tested The Chernarus Run V1.2 with that Arma version yet.
but the sun offers a great light already
Sorry but i still do not understand this.
Let us know your thoughts when you have finished please.
Regards
Arkon
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I meant to write "sunlight" - After meeting the lady, time is skipped ahead so much that there is full sun (the star near earth ;) ) on sky, offering so good lighting that the mission becomes basically a day-mission where you dont need NVgoggles.
I will update this post for better review of the mission later.
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Hi SaOk,
I meant to write "sunlight" - After meeting the lady, time is skipped ahead so much that there is full sun
Ok, I see what you are saying now :)
But, keep in mind that you only lose one hour for this little indiscretion :) - and the colonel will leave the city well before it would get dark - the NV Goggles are for the early part of the mission.
Thanks
Regards
Arkon
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I found a possible gamestopper - At extraction point I call the chopper in (via radio), but everytime it crashes at 042125. It first flies slowly, then suddently drop much altitude to gain speed before hitting to nearby yellow-orange trees (or something invisible) after that nothing happens.
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Hi SaOk,
I found a possible gamestopper
This must be due to you using the very latest Arma2 Version 1.07 as this has not happened before with Version 1.05.
(1500 downloads before with no similar reports)
I guess something has been changed in the new version which is a real pain.
I will add a note telling people that the mission is not V1.7 compatible.
Thanks
Regards
Arkon
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Perhaps it would be worth your while to correct things that would prevent your mission from ending when using BIS released content?
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Okay, I will try the mission again with Operation Arrowhead if the problem comes with that too. Before that here is my suggestions what to improve in the mission:
-Overview needs a picture
-Briefing could have a insertion marker and those additions for text (that savedbygrace mentioned)
-The current "action-hint"-storage is clumsy. The conversation are fine in that form, but the information could be saved in briefing and having the task in briefing would help too.
-There is much those error messages to fix. When closing the chernogorsk I am always getting this:
Error in expression <__waituntil = _time+(;60)>
Error position: <;60)>
Error Missing )
Soon after that the alarm is raised and chopper lift off to air even when the enemy havent spotted me.
-Perfomance improvements would be welcome. You already seem to delete units, but is there much units placed on map from start? If there is then those could be spawned instead. I have created a good way to spawn random infantry patrols. Here is a instructions for it if you like to try it:
AmbientPatrol.fsm&RemoveAmbientPatrol.sqf:
-Fuctions module needs to be placed on map
-Script is activated when player enters a wanted area (center position and range)
-Spawns a new infantry squad with "bis_fnc_taskPatrol" every 40+(random 40) second. (can easily be edited in fsm file)
-Patrols are never spawned under 350m from player (can be edited in fsm)
-All created patrols are automatically deleted when player leaves the area and is far enought (over 500m) from patrols
-You can set how many units a patrol squad have (min and max).
-You can set the array of unit classes that are spawned randomly in fsm (attached file have only insurgent units)
-Example (2-3 men patrols are spawned when player is less that 500m away from array position):
activation: repeatedly
condition: player distance [5527.3,2624.22,0] < 500
on activation: nul = [[5527.3,2624.22,0],500,[2,3]] execFSM "ambientpatrol.fsm";
I also have almost similar script to spawn civilians and animals. Those are spawned immediately when player is in wanted area (with entity number you give as parameter). Civilians are taken from class array with all civilian unit classes. Animal array are set as parameter (e.g. so you can have boars in forest and cows/chickens in farms)
For dead units you could use a global body removal (if you dont have it already) in init.sqf. Also empty group removal could increase the performance:
Example
while {true} do {
{if (alive _x) then {} else {if (_x distance player > 500) then {deletevehicle _x;
};
};
} forEach allUnits;
{if (count units _x == 0) then {deleteGroup _x;};} forEach allGroups;
sleep 30;
};
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Hi SaOk,
Okay, I will try the mission again with Operation Arrowhead if the problem comes with that too
I thought Operation Arrowhead was using new maps etc - I do not think my mission will be compatible.
Overview needs a picture
I'll sort this one.
Error in expression <__waituntil = _time+(;60)>
Is this coming up in-game (remove -showScriptErrors) or from the arma2.RPT file?
Soon after that the alarm is raised and chopper lift off to air even when the enemy havent spotted me
Do you mean at the Ambulance Base? if so, then when the alarm goes off you have been seen - what version was you using when this happened?
Briefing could have a insertion marker
If you read the ReadMe included you will see that the mission's recommended playing Difficulty is "Regular". This means that the player marker will be visible on the map - for those who choose "Veteran" GPS is provided.
I'll get back to you on the rest of the points in your last post soon.
Thanks
Regards
Arkon
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You can play orginal ArmA2 trought Operation Arrowhead with all new features, but I think the AI flying is still the same as in 1.07. The all error messages that I attached earlier in txt and that "Error in expression <__waituntil = _time+(;60)>" are displayed with (-showScriptErrors). Its good to show the small errors in scripts. I think almost all erros from your mission are easily fixed and maybe those also bring little better FPS. Sometimes the script errors could even cause extra slow down that continues trought the mission.
That "Error in expression <__waituntil = _time+(;60)>" came when I enter Chernogorsk to hunt the colonel. Soon after the message, he boards the chopper and tries to fly away. The alarm there seems to be launched when player is near, not when he is spotted.
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Hi SaOk,
That "Error in expression <__waituntil = _time+(;60)>"
Hmmmm... I cannot find that error in either the SQM or any of the scripts. But I can see that the double underscore before the waituntil command and the ; before 60 would both cause errors.
1) Are you using V1.05 or not?
2) Did you go meet Colonel Dubrovka on Skalisty Island
3) Ok, You should get a message when you enter Chernogorsk telling you the approximate depature time of Colonel Krudicz - the Colonel will leave roughly when the message predicts (20-45 minutes) - did you get a message?
4) Colonel Krudicz will leave in anycase after a few hours after your meeting with Colonel Dubrovka - Colonel Dubrovka gives you an idea when this will be (partly randomized)
5) If you kill a certain number of Russians in Chernogorsk then Colonel Krudicz will leave prematurely. As predicted by Colonel Dubrovka.
6) Also if you kill any of his close Officers (standing outside the Hotel) or any of his personal Pilots Colonel Krudicz will leave immediately.
The alarm will always go off when he leaves.
BTW. Thanks for all the time and help :good:
Regards
Arkon
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Script helioruaz.sqs, line 10 ;)
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Hi h-
Well spotted :good:
So, I can see that ";60" is an error but that is just one part of the line?
: (__waituntil = _time+(;60)>)
I think this is another error... I cannot find the whole line with the underscore/; errors
Regards
Arkon
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1)Error come with 1.05(with late beta) and 1.07
2)Yes
3)I havent got close enought the get that message. I met the farmer and walked right side about 150m from road until that error came and about half minute later the chopper lift off and I shot it down when it came outside of the chernogorsk.
4)It tooks less than 20min for me to shot down the colonel chopper after meeting Dubrovka.
5)First time, I killed quite many in military boatbase and second playtime in Elekrogorks medic camp. Maybe that caused then the chopper lift off with alarm without them detecting me.
6)I havent got that near without getting killed.
And nope. I have enjoyed to play this. Hope to see a new mission version for this with fixed extraction chopper, so I can play this trought. :)
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Hi SaOk,
Error come with 1.05(with late beta) and 1.07
As said before not optimised for 1.07 but i am unsure wether a 1.05 beta would be different from final 1.05.
I havent got close enought the get that message. I met the farmer...
Ok, well there is a big problem here as Colonel Krudicz would not leave the Chernogorsk before you entered it unless you had taken several hours after meeting Colonel Dubrovka.
First time, I killed quite many in military boatbase...
Colonel Krudicz's decision to leave based on Russian deaths only applies to the Russians in Chernogorsk itself.
What happened at the ambulance base did you try to take the ambulance or get a ride in the Heli?
And nope. I have enjoyed to play this
I know its a pain but I think the best solution for you might be to start the mission again and use (V1.05 final)
Redoing the mission gives you some other options like going to the Airport near Krasnostav to try to steal a Heli. Also there are several other senarios and encounters that you may have missed before (Look out for the traitor Draco at the castle where you meet your first contact - he is the one who fires the initial flare at the ambush). You would also still need to go to the lighthouse and see Colonel Dubrovka again. Perhaps you could visit the Hunter too if you have not done so before.
Doing the assassination is the most difficult but exciting part of the mission, so its sad that you have missed out so far.
Hope this helps, sorry, but I just don't know what else to suggest :(
Regards
Arkon
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You may have some extra work, but it would be important to have that extraction chopper part compatible with 1.07 version. Most players are already using it and its difficult to go back since also the Operation Arrowhead force to patch the vanilla game to 1.07. I cant write a full mission review, give good points and say that the mission works only with some old arma2 version (that also brings back the much worse FPS and other game bugs). At the end you probably only need to change the speedmode for that crashsite waypoint from "limited" to "normal" and maybe increase the flyingheight little just for sure.
Edit: At that Ambulance base, I tried to board the medic chopper but it seemed to be locked. Then I jumped in medic bmp and drive to beach where I found some nice quicker rubber boats to use when heading to islands.
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So, I can see that ";60" is an error but that is just one part of the line?
: (__waituntil = _time+(;60)>)
The error message is coming from the game "internals", ~ means waitUntil for the game engine (the double underscore means it's a reserved variable used by the game engine scripting interpreter or what ever the fancy name for it is), it's probably something like __waitUntil = _time + the amount you set in the script but as you had the typo there the syntax fails causing the error.
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Hi, SaOk, h-
h- thanks for clearing that up :)
You may have some extra work, but it would be important to have that extraction chopper part compatible with 1.07 version...
Ok, I can see where you are coming from here - problem is this mission took 6 months of non-stop hard labour to put together and going by past experiece you can bet if there is one thing that has changed and caused a problem (with 1.07) then there is probably 100 - I finished this mission nealry 2 months before 1.07 and have been waiting ages for a review. I guess I could try and fix the Heli problem with 1.07 but I'm pretty sure it would mean a tremedous amout of re-testing as this is a very complicted and involved mission. Anyways I'll give it a try I guess - I will let you know how it goes.
At that Ambulance base, I tried to board the medic chopper but it seemed to be locked
Did you call the Heli with your radio message first to get the pilot to unlock the heli when he flies off?
Thaks again
Regards
Arkon
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ArmA mission editing can be really frustrating sometimes. I have also created two massive missions what took both almost (or even more than) a year to finish. There have been endless moments when my hair started to fall off after figthing against AI, other weird bugs and unexplained incidents. Part of succesfull mission creating is to make the scripts easy to test with "true"-condition trigger(s) without playing the full mission trought everytime after small changes.
Reviewing this mission have taken much time, because the high difficulty level and massive playtime. There is also much other missions to test so sometimes there is a unwanted pauses in testing. But if you get a fix for extraction chopper, I will test it as soon as possible. I´ve decided to focus fully on this mission now with possible full review before testing the other projects.
Edit: I didnt know there was a radio message to unlock that medic heli. For things like that, it would be good to have a simple small hint to guide the player. Many small details can easily be missed in big island like this.
Edit2: Actually, now I remember seeing a dead pilot in that medic base. Maybe thats why I missed the radio message?
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Hi SaOk,
I just installed 1.07 and the Heli worked fine at the extraction point... ???
Tried 5 times...
Immediate oddity - in the Radio I now have "**** TD TRANSLATE *" in each of my 8 empty slots - this is an example of what I meant about lots of differences between versions...
I didnt know there was a radio message to unlock that medic heli
Yes, The Hunter tells you when you meet him and he explains how to get aboard the Heli etc... its also stored in your recallable conversations in the Actions Menu... But of-coarse if you killed the pilot then that would explain it to...
BTW... You are not using ACE or any add-ons i take it?
Regards
Arkon
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I play without any mods and addons. I will test that heli part more (tested already 4 times). I still have a savegame for that. There was an enemy attack chopper flying over the chernarus, but I didnt see the extract chopper getting any hit from it. I try to move closer to the crashsite before calling the chopper to see what really happens.
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Arkon,
I thoroughly tested this mission off and on all weekend for you as I have read the threads in the other forums and don't see much feedback that gets past the first meeting with the exception of one or two guys. Those guys focused primarily on weapon weight and distance to travel being issues among a few others nit pick stuff but none have given you the feedback that is needed to find the errors and problems that are unknowingly induced into your mission while editing. That's why we test missions the way we do, to help you improve your project to a point of offering a solid playable mission for years to come.
In any case, I have played in recruit and veteran and restarted and retried many times, trying to test every area that you built up. I have yet to update to 1.07, so I'll give you feedback based on 1.05 right now.
Overview
Glad you plan on adding an image.
Mission
Skipping the insertion and meeting at the castle...
Travel idea(just an idea mind you)
I refuse to travel by vehicle in a stealth mission simply because it ruins the purpose of the stealth. If you had implemented some traveling civilians in big trucks that I could have secretly hitched a ride in the cargo area (while they were stopped at a stop sign) from one area to another without them knowing, I would have immediately taken advantage of it. (It provides an excellent way to recon under cover).
Draco?
I avoided the chopper at the castle ruin and ran like heck toward the southwest. I was resting, prone between a tree and bushes when a lone officer ran by me on the road (near a town). I wondered what that was about till I read some of the other posts in the other forum threads. (I knew I should have put a bullet in that guy...he looked suspicious...why must I have a conscious?!! :D)
Ahem, anyway. I make my way south, avoiding all towns and roads until I reach the edge of the woods at Electrozavodsk. I hear an explosion near the road @ 101123. One truck is on its side in flames with dead men spilled into the street while another is 50 meters southwest of the road upside down in a ditch but not damaged. After I have replayed this mission dozens of times and approaching from different areas, that same wreck occurs and there are always a couple of soldiers left alive. Was this your plan?
Electrozavodsk
After my many plays, I have sniped that lone soldier on the pier southeast of Electrozavodsk without ever being detected, with the island waking, M107. But on my current playtest, I stopped at the Rog castle and re-equipped with a M4A1HOLOSD, HE grenades and a Strella. I made my way to Electrozavodsk again using my usual observe and move tactics, making sure there were no additional troops in town. I sneak up on the guy and am about 100 meters away before popping him in the head with a bullet from the silenced M4. A few seconds later (to my very surprise) the alarm at the Medical facility began to sound off. I thought..."What? Are you serious?! Surely that rooftop guard could not see me from across the city. Surely the dead guy did not hear that muffled muzzle and radio in before it made mush of his brain." A few minutes after that, I hear a truck arriving and stopping somewhere in the city. "Wait that never happened before, I've set that alarm off a few times and no one ever responded."(They must have been passing through when the alarm sounded because I have seen a transport full of troops pass through before) So, as a starving dog drawn to scraps, I was drawn toward that direction. When I reach the first house, I can see the troops running from that direction and they move toward the docks where I shot fast fingers Fred (who made the call as the bullet passed through his skull :dry:). They checked it out and returned to the medical facility where I am now going to allow my curiosity to kill me. More on that later I suppose.
Medical facility
I know I am going out of order but I have played so many times that I am just sticking to areas.
The guards are good but they're two guys sitting on a motorcycle in the field west of the facility, trying to start it occasionally with no success. I was able to locate the missing fence section, infiltrate undetected, make my way around the east side(away from helo) shutting doors along the way and take out the front gate guard with no other eyes on me with my silenced M9. I attempted to hide his body but obviously the concrete was hard to dig up ;) . It still put the other guards in aware mode, though none spotted me. I call for medic and it takes about 3 minutes for the pilot to board the chopper. He exits the facility through the east wall I presume(since I had shut the door on that wall), runs around the north side of the structure before dashing across the yard and getting in on the opposite side of the helo. (Maybe rotating the chopper 180 would prevent this? I don't know). Anyhow, as he dashes across the compound yard toward the helo, I shut the double doors, obscuring the view of the other guard inside and am able to get on board while he is starting the engines. All this before the perimeter guard reaches the front gate again.(FREE RIDE!)More on this later...
Lighthouse
Worked right every time.
Skalisty island
Was bugged the first test through but has worked fine ever since.
The Hunter
Same here.
The Farmer
I remember reading about how he likes his animals so I shot a few of them to see if there would be a penalty. There wasn't. :(
Boatyard
I watched a 12 man squad walk right through the town and on north toward the next city. I took out the 4 men guarding the area and decided against getting in a boat at that point.
Airfield
This one was more difficult than it looked. I used complete stealth in my approach, popped the guard in the linekeepers box at the entrance when he walked away from the tarmac and out into the field(away from all eyes and ears) Yet, the alarm still sounded immediately. Same thing for the sniper and spotlight on the roof at another retry. And also for the dog inside the door of the traffic control tower. The guy on the top floor spoke to me and then surrendered while I was on the second floor and he was on the top floor with he and the sniper outside were still armed. Perhaps you could make it so if the sniper is not dead, he won't surrender so easily? Also, once the alarm sounds, the spotlight shines on the players position regardless of whether or not he was actually spotted.
Chenogorsk
I was disappointed when the time remaining, suddenly leaped from hours to less than one when I got close to the city. That completely ruins the players planned attempts to infiltrate the city and get close enough by using stealth (AND PATIENCE).
Back to the FREE RIDE... When the helo from the medical facility landed (with me in cargo), I was skeptical of getting out. I just knew that I would disembark on the south side and that gate guard would empty his clip into my behind. If I happened to get out on the opposite side, I was sure he would spot my feet and open fire as well. I was surprised and relieved to discover that none of that happened. Once I was out, I hit the dirt and hoped that he nor the pilot would not spot me as I crawled toward the nearby building. It was nice to make it safely. BUT, I now had a shorter time frame to deal with. This was annoying since you completely loaded the city with objects, guards and patrols ready to shoot anyone that farted and the FPS dropped to a stutter. All those objects actually do lower FPS btw. I ended up making it through a portion of the city and having to kill only one corner guard with my M9(which did not set off an alarm, amazingly :D) I made my way to a building south west of the heliport which had a sniper on one of the upper floors. I took him out with my M9 but not before he got a shot off with his rifle. That didn't alert anyone either. Whew. I was set and in place and was trying to locate where the dude was (this was my very first test...after the bug incident...and I never made it to the farmer to know about the antenna tower when I jumped onto the outgoing medical helo). Anyway, I heard the chopper start up, spotted the dust above the roof tops and sighted in the ridge line but the helo was too fast and I know I got a few shots on the fuselage but didn't even dent it. I hated the M107 at that point because even had I taken that pilot out, I would never had made it out alive with that big hammer in tow. Restart.
After that, I decided to avoid the medical facility altogether and try different approaches. The next one being by boat. I went far out to sea, and then used the ship to conceal my approach. Once I rounded the stern, MGs opened up. I was able to get away and to the next city where troop transport caught up to me and we had it out....I lost. Retry from last save.
I approached by foot from the farmers home and crawled to an abandoned construction site on the east side, took out a lone over watchman and attempted to crawl in through a gate on the southeastern road but was drilled by a tank. Retry from last save. I attempted a tower assassination but the helo again, was too fast for the recoil of that M107.
Overall
I truly love missions that challenge my tactics and patience but I hate it when timers are applied to those missions. The two just don't go together. My suggestion is to never change the leave time of the colonel. Make it a set time(reliable intel), and allow the player to use his mind to adapt. If the player does not make it in time, its his fault, not yours.
Having the target leave early when the player is detected is completely reasonable but how can the player be successful when the death of any lone unit sets off the alarm? My suggestion for this is to have a delay for smaller bases, camps and compounds that symbolizes the other soldiers missing the dead soldiers radio report. For larger cities like Chernogorsk, not every unit will carry a radio and not every unit will be accounted for every hour of the night. They have to sleep with whores and gamble their wages away somehow, right? Place detection triggers only in certain areas, where communication is likely to be tight.
MG's, over watchmen, patrols, corner guards and lite vehicles with gunners are good, challenging defenses against a lone operative trying to practice stealth. Parking all that armor at gates is overkill, I think.
Your object placement is appreciated but I think you're going to have to rethink the way you've built things. Everything seems to be placed from the start, which slows all other areas down. Spawn scripts should be used to separate the population of each AO to prevent so much lag. That way if the player never makes it to a place, it never populates. The objects(trucks, fencing, and everything else) in Chernogorsk is pretty but does remove from the appreciation factor of your mission since it becomes frustrating to even be close to that beauty. I would advise removing the fencing and lessen the amount of objects that you have decorating the place. Also, I noticed at the boatyard and airfield that your barrel pallets were dubbed (two of each placed together). I'm not sure yet if this is the same in Chernogorsk. You may want to think about going through there and deleting the extras at the least.
Closing
I'm still testing it(right now at the medical facility again) and will figure out a way to infiltrate that city undetected aside from the chopper. I may have to lower my settings to get it to where it is enjoyable but I shouldn't have to do that. I'll update you on that later.
6 months or more is not such a long time on a project if your willing to make it the best it can be. And though you have had over 1500 downloads, you have had very little feedback. This is not something that you should use to dismiss the findings of others.
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HI savedbygrace,
Let me first say thank you very much for the time and effort you have spent :dry:
I refuse to travel by vehicle in a stealth mission
Yes, a good idea but as i had the player hitching a ride in the back of a Heli later on... and I have found that a lot of players complain when having to walk more than a few hundred yards. Lazy gits!
Draco
Draco has a part to play whether or not the player sees him (he does carry a bit of interesting info though)
After I have replayed this mission dozens of times and approaching from different areas, that same wreck occurs and there are always a couple of soldiers left alive. Was this your plan?
Yes, I'm afraid so. Its a staged scene and I guess if you pass that way repeatedly it may go a bit stale. I don't mind staged events here and there as oposed to dynamically spawned events in which accuracy and detail are lost.
I stopped at the Rog castle and re-equipped
Did you have a look upstairs there?
Surely the dead guy did not hear that muffled muzzle and radio in before it made mush of his brain...
This is the old problem with knowsabout.
He exits the facility through the east wall I presume(since I had shut the door on that wall), runs around the north side of the structure before dashing across the yard and getting in on the opposite side of the helo...
Tried all sorts here the Pilot has a mind of his own and insists on going the longest way to the Heli.
I remember reading about how he likes his animals so I shot a few of them to see if there would be a penalty . There wasn't.
Occasionally the Farmer will get out of his tractor halfway on his journey back to the farm and refuse to come any closer.
Also, once the alarm sounds, the spotlight shines on the players position regardless of whether or not he was actually spotted
The knowsabout sez that you was spotted.
I was disappointed when the time remaining, suddenly leaped from hours to less than one when I got close to the city
Ok, I can see that this may seem out of order at first glance (the time left varies depending on how far you are away from the Colonel's location when you arrive) with a small random element - but after 100s of tests I found that there is ample time as just about all players have to refine there attempts to complete the task (although it can be done on the first attempt) Also the are many ways to complete. I have actually seen the task completed in less than 10 minutes using a certain tactic - and of course you do not even have to enter the city to complete. But stealth is mostly essential anyway.
Anyway, I heard the chopper start up, spotted the dust above the roof tops and sighted in the ridge line but the helo was too fast and I know I got a few shots on the fuselage but didn't even dent it
If you visited the Farmer, he offered more suitable options for taking out Heli's.
I approached by foot from the farmers home and crawled to an abandoned construction site on the east side
Again, a good option but you needed the correct weapons see above ;)
I truly love missions that challenge my tactics and patience but I hate it when timers are applied to those missions. The two just don't go together. My suggestion is to never change the leave time of the colonel. Make it a set time(reliable intel), and allow the player to use his mind to adapt. If the player does not make it in time, its his fault, not yours
You have my sympathy, but this is one of those subjective things, a matter of personal taste - for my part I could not string a player along and then say "em your out of time start again" save games notwithstanding.
Having the target leave early when the player is detected is completely reasonable but how can the player be successful when the death of any lone unit sets off the alarm?
This sounds like a bug if you are reffering to Chenogorsk - this city has a different system to the other places with alarms. Colonel Krudicz will only leave in certain circumstances: If a number of troops are killed within the city, if you kill any of his close Officers (standing outside the Hotel) or any of his personal Pilots Colonel Krudicz will leave immediately, If time is up etc. The alarm should only go off when he leaves.
They have to sleep with whores
Did you have an encounter with a lady at Electrozavodsk?
Parking all that armor at gates is overkill, I think
Not many people are going to try to get in through them gates unless they steal the ambulance. But I think it is sensible to guard the main entrances to the city in this way in anycase.
You may want to think about going through there and deleting the extras at the least
Most groups and vehicles that are not relocatted are deleted.
I'm still testing it(right now at the medical facility again) and will figure out a way to infiltrate that city undetected aside from the chopper
You could try the ambulance run - or I guess you know that you have a parachute when you take a ride in the Heli ;)
6 months or more is not such a long time on a project if your willing to make it the best it can be. And though you have had over 1500 downloads, you have had very little feedback. This is not something that you should use to dismiss the findings of others
I appreciate what you are saying here: 1) that's 6 months x 8 hours x 7 days a week: 2) 1500 downloads and feedback from a few other sites + I had 3 guys testing locally for weeks on end before posting here. I got a guy to basically write a story too, as its fundimental to the mission. What I have learnt over the years (this is the 3rd incarnation of this mission which started with Flashpoint, Arma, ArMa 2) is that the engine is finicky, 40 times it will run a script and all will work fine, and then out of the blue with nothing changed it fails to do what it did before. This can happen with the simplist of things and there is no logical explanation, its very frustrating and at least doubles the sweat, tears and time consumption with mission creation. This is nothing to do with propper mission testing. So, I'm not dismissing what happens to people, more often than not is is a local issue. Although sometimes the combination of events encountered can catch one out. But, to this end I have built in fail-safe systems of the meetings where the player receives important information enroute incase of a failed variable etc.
I'm not sure where I am going with this mission as I have put so much thought, time and energy into it and I do sometimes question whether its worth it.
Anyways, thanks again for your thorough post, I have learnt a lot from your thoughts an suggestions.
Please keep on with the feedback,
Regards
Arkon
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Did you have a look upstairs there?
I did partake for a few minutes but I began to feel intimidating with such a big gun among the unarmed.(For the record: I did NOT inhale)
If you visited the Farmer, he offered more suitable options for taking out Heli's.
Yes, I grabbed one from Rog before I ever checked out the farmers pickup. Way ahead of you on that one.
Occasionally the Farmer will get out of his tractor halfway on his journey back to the farm and refuse to come any closer.
That happened the first time I killed Betsy the cow and her guard sheep. The next time (to make sure that that was indeed the penalty), I waited until I made contact with him. As he was headed toward the farm house, I shot up the barnyard and made plenty of work for the butcher the next morning but he didn't seem to notice. I didn't test any further and considered the first instance an AI glitch.
Did you have an encounter with a lady at Electrozavodsk?
Yes and I want my money back! At first I thought she was inside a window at the building diagonally across the street from her corner because thats where I was when she spoke to me. It wasn't until I poked my head out of the fence that I spotted (and almost shot her) on the corner.
I guess you know that you have a parachute when you take a ride in the Heli
I didn't know until I read one of your replies in another forum. That's what I may try next to see if there is a way to safely land inside the fence.
You could try the ambulance run
This I'll try after the para drop.
Most groups and vehicles that are not relocatted are deleted.
The lines of barrels could use your attention at least.
I'll keep you posted on my current and future play tests. Just because I know how authors love to hear feedback about how players interacted with their missions.
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I tested the extract chopper again. You are right, it dosent hit trees. It flies over those, but right after the chopper just explodes. It seems like a Ka-52 that patrols sky over Chernagorks, shots it down everytime at the same position. UH60 dives down first when I think they spot each others and then it just takes some seconds until a missile hits the target. I cant see the missile, but I dont have much other ideas why the chopper explodes unless you set damage for it via some script.
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Hi SaOk,
Did you call the Heli when you reached the extraction point or earlier?
Did you actually see the Ka-52 and if so did it follow you from the City?
The Ka-52 patrols over the city after the assassination and is not supposed to go near the airport - I do not know whether its possible that it did see you and follow you using its own Ai. If it did then it seems as though circumstances have conspired once again against you.
Perhaps it could be looked at as just bad luck - a 1 in 100 chance that could occur.
But this kind of thing seems to happen to often to you. :(
Did you manage to go to the city this time to carry out the assassination?
Have you a saved game a bit further back before the kill to see if this odd combination (with the Ka-52) happens again.
About the V1.07 business - by rights the update should really make no difference to V1.05 missions - if it does then all missions would be affected - I will try the major senarios in the mission anyway to see.
Thanks for the reply and info.
Regards
Arkon
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I called the Heli from different places (before extration point, at extration point and at crash scene). There is no sight of Ka-52 and I cant even hear it, but maybe the 1.07 patch have increased the distance how long the AI pilots can see - They may just spot the enemy chopper from miles away and fire a missile. The easiest way to fix this, would be to make the chopper and crew captive and also maybe immortal.
{_x setcaptive true; _x allowdamage false;} foreach crew choppername; choppername allowdamage false;
This was the old game, I havent started a new game yet, but I could try this mission also with Operation Arrowhead (as Combined Operations with ArmA2 content) which have version 1.52. At the end I dont think that there is much new bugs coming with different game versions. Only the detection distances and AI flying/driving can change slightly. I have been testing my own missions with different game versions and all seems to work like before.
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Hi SaOk,
I do not think its the Ka-52 that is doing the damage - would it be possible to e-mail me the .SQM file?
There are no scripts involved with the Heli at this point, just Triggers and Waypoints. So if there is any setdamage it must be in the SQM. I cannot find it in my SQM, but the only way to be sure is to look at yours.
Or, you could search the SQM yourself - the Heli's name is "pickupheli" you should find 1 "setdamage 0".
Regards
Arkon
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I found it - Pickupheli have damage set to 0 when player is in, but there is no other setdamage commands before that.
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SaOk,
Ok, that rules out the setdamage option. Is the Heli, well clear of the ground (how far up) and trees when it explodes?
Arkon
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Chopper flies only about 0.5-1m higher than one big orange tree is tall. After going over the tree, the chopper still flies about 2-5 meters before it explodes on air.
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SaOk,
I found the orange tree and watched what happened - I saw that The Heli only just cleared the tree so I have made the FlyInHeight 60 - but, cannot see why your Heli is exploding - you could change the FlyInHeight to 60 in the waypoint near the tree to be sure its not the tree causing the problem, but, of course your save game would not reflect this - I guess you must be getting a bit tired of all this messing around :(
So I understand if you want to pass at this point...
Not sure where we can go from here as I cannot seem to replicate what is happening to you.
Regards
Arkon
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The easiest way would be to make the chopper behaviour careless and crew captive. And also use that FlyInHeight 60. Then nothing will attack the chopper ever (even in theory) and the chopper pilot would just transport the player without careing about any hostiles. The UH60 gunners will still shoot even with "careless"-behaviour, so they wouldnt be too unresponsive when spotting possible enemy infantry.
I will halt the testing now and wait for next mission version.
Edit: Btw. I will be on vacation trip from 6.7 to 14.7. Testing more after that if not before.
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Hi SaOk,
Ok, have updated mission with your suggestions - FlyInHeight and set captive.
Regards
Arkon
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There is no download link (yet) on first post. I could start a new game tommorrow but the feedback will delay to sometime after 14.7.
Edit: k, now there is the link.
Btw. It could be better to change the version number everytime there is a new version to avoid possible mix ups with older files on testers side.
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In closing,
This mission has potential but In my opinion as a tester needs some serious adjustments to lower the FPS in Chernogorsk. Perhaps it runs on your machine and that of your own personal testing team but if the masses are experiencing problems with the FPS, you should do something to correct that. Otherwise, why even submit it to the community?
Your story has a good flow so far but the action is limited at the main objective by frame rate. Regardless of what I try and how many times I try it, my FPS makes this a very frustrating part of the mission. I also keep having to restart Arma2 because of the amount of game freezes that are occurring. I am forced to stay on the outer limits of the city and attack with a strela which takes out the chopper but the officer is parachuting out into the middle of that massive stockpile of frame rate punishment. I have attempted many times to complete this mission in many ways but because of the FPS spike and game freezes, I have decided to halt anymore testing until (if you decide to) remove many of those beautiful but very unnecessary objects from the city. I found several ways into the city beyond the barbed wire but was unable to get past the game freezes to enjoy the potential challenge. Anyway, sorry for such a poor report but I could never recommend this mission to anyone in it's current state. Good luck in the future pal.
P.S.
The original objective was to discover who the American spy was, if that is reserved for a sequel I'm thinking you may have given away a valuable twist too early.
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I agree with savedbygrace. The performance should be better in Chernagorsk to be enjoyable. Reducing enemy squad sizes could be a good start. 3-5 men patrol teams can already be deadly enought. I will enter the city in next try and see if I´ll have more detailed ideas for FPS improvements.
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Hi savedbygrace and SaOk,
if the masses are experiencing problems with the FPS
Very few people have said that the game is unplayable on the Forums beacause of FPS maybe 4 or 5 out of 1600. (in fact we have had many commendations about this mission on various forums without any mention of FPS).
Ok, that may be somewhat misleading but one has to remember that different people have different specs and different configs/options - I would be interested to know what yours are. I have just done a test at Chernogorsk without anything being deleted as it is by the time that one reaches the city. Yes, a fairly lousy 15-20 FPS (low settings) but not completely unplayable and I guess my config could be judged as just below average. Using V 1.07 (has 1.07 been tweaked for performance etc?) (have you tried lowering your setings?)
I also keep having to restart Arma2 because of the amount of game freezes that are occurring
Again this is similar to the above situation. (V1.07 is supposed to fix some of the more common crashes I believe)
I am forced to stay on the outer limits of the city and attack with a strela which takes out the chopper but the officer is parachuting out into the middle of that massive stockpile of frame rate punishment
I would have thought that if you shoot the Heli down away from the city it would have helped the FPS?
The original objective was to discover who the American spy was, if that is reserved for a sequel I'm thinking you may have given away a valuable twist too early
If one follows the storyline then all will be resolved on completion of this mission.
Thanks again to both of you gents for all the time and effort that you have given - please feel free to make objective suggestions as I will implement suggestions where i can.
Regards
Arkon
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You forget that only very small percent of players comment on mission. And most likely they comment if they have liked it. Majority could test the start and change to next mission if they dont like something. In armaholic, there seems to be two people mentioning FPS problems which is a clear sign of common performance problem.
There is a massive difference in FPS between Chernagorks and rest of the mission (that I´ve seen yet). It would be ideal to keep the FPS quite steady trought the mission. Not to increase suddently the computer spec requirements after hours of playtime.
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SaOk
You forget that only very small percent of players comment on mission. And most likely they comment if they have liked it
Yes, I agree a small percentage of commenters - on armaholic 2 people mentioning FPS problems, but 13 did not, I think its guesswork to say more people who like a mission comment - Iv'e had plenty more people moaning when something has not worked in past missions, may epends on various factors - (also 9.5 on the score).
It would be ideal to keep the FPS quite steady trought the mission. Not to increase suddently the computer spec requirements after hours of playtime
Well, in an ideal world... there is no intention to increase FPS... that is just the nature of the mission.
I will look at the ways suggested by yourself and others to increase FPS - but as I said earlier after deleating vitually all units outside of the city and reducing the size of groups in the city I have not seen any great improvement - as for objects, as they are static how do they influence FPS?
In any case if one can finish the mission does that not merit a review as the review can point out that fps "MAY" be an issue and warn players beforehand. If not it means that by far greater percentage of players (like those who have finished without mentioning the FPS problem) will be excluded!
And btw, all version going back to Flashpoint have been bug-ridden and caused instability/crashes/freezes for all sorts of combinations of PC's and settings etc. The forums have been full of these for years and BIS has done little to put things right - the engine warranted a complete rewrite years ago to sort things out - only hoping V1.07 has corrected some of the defects - Ok, sorry about that, rant over :)
Regards
Arkon
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Just because someone doesn't mention FPS drop, does not mean that they didn't experience it. Some of those guys may have to deal with low FPS in all missions and just get use to it.
I think its guesswork to say more people who like a mission comment
We comment whether we like it or not. That's not the case here though. We see potential in this project and then see it stripped away at the end. Something that can be easily adjusted (granted you'll have to sacrifice eye candy) is still plaguing the mission.
Please don't think we are trying to force your hand here. If it is completable, we will review it but problem areas will be reflected in the overall scoring.
Iv'e had plenty more people moaning when something has not worked in past missions
I would hope you think better of us than moaning. We don't get paid for this and we are expending our own time to help find the weak areas of your project, areas that we feel are easily fixable without effecting the structure of your mission (eye candy).
Well, in an ideal world... there is no intention to increase FPS
I'll give you that pal, but the fact remains, yours plays nicely through the majority of the mission and then decreases tremendously around Chernogorsk. How can you ignore that?
but as I said earlier after deleating vitually all units outside of the city and reducing the size of groups in the city I have not seen any great improvement
Thanks for the efforts. Those combined with 1.07 may help but in the end, I feel you will still be overloading the processor with too many objects inside the city.
as for objects, as they are static how do they influence FPS?
I'm no professional modeler but I presume this...Every object has various detail models which must be loaded at certain distances along with their textures. Every time the player moves, rotates or zooms, the processor must load the specific model and texture of every model in view. When you combine that with user and BIS scripts that are running, it takes its toll. Suggestion, try removing the ships that have nothing to do with the overall mission.
Just keep in mind, we're not trying to hold your mission back at all because quite frankly we don't care either way. We are here to help you improve your mission and if you're not willing to, then we can't make you. But we will not review anything that contains bugs and errors.
Oh and BTW, my specs are...
i7 920 intel quad core 2.6ghz
3gb of memory
ATI Radeon HD4880
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Oh and BTW, my specs are...
i7 920 intel quad core 2.6ghz
3gb of memory
ATI Radeon HD4880
Interesting, what is your motherboard.
I find the city is unplayable for me because I get a lot of CTD. Symptoms tend to be similar to others where ARMA is still running as a process but no way to bring it back.
I found a thread that pointed to some possible problems that may be either the radeon card or Asus p6 mbd or the two together.
The difference in my spec is 2GB memory and an Asus Radeon 4850 - 512 with the p6 motherboard.
I do agree the fps is a problem although the problem mentioned earlier can happen in other places for me but much more in the city.
Just interested if this mission causes similar symptoms on your rig.
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Hi savedbygrace,
I would hope you think better of us than moaning
Sorry, but you misunderstand, SaOk and I were comparing feedback re complainers/commenders and I was referring to people who had conplained about my missions in the past - not yourselves :)
yours plays nicely through the majority of the mission and then decreases tremendously around Chernogorsk. How can you ignore that?
I can't - but I did some tests today - and on a completely blank map FPS was around 130-150 in the city it was 70-80. I think this has a large effect on what has been happening. Anyone who loses almost 50% of FPS is going to suffer... I just think this needs now to be taken into account.
I feel you will still be overloading the processor with too many objects inside the city
My tests (deleting all the objects) show that objects seem to make very little difference to FPS. Groups do seem to have some affect. I am investigating further...it seems something else may be at work here.
BTW What is your FPS inside and outside of the city and what settings/operating system you are using?
Regards
Arkon
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I finally managed to play this trought. The extraction cutscene looked great, the story text was little slow after it, but fine. After I got "Please Wait...", the screen stayed black forever and I didnt get debriefing when there was no other solution but to abort mission. Still, I could be ready write the review if you dont want to upgrade the mission anymore as suggested on earlier posts. That stucked black screen, would need a fix if possible. But at the end, it dosent affect on the mission if only debriefing is meant to display after it. Does the mission end right on ArmA 2 1.05 or 1.07? I played with Combined Operations so that could broke it.
EDIT: Okay, I have started to write review of this mission. Should be ready in 1-3weeks.
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Hi SaOk,
Just thought I'd reply although I got your PM.
story text was little slow
Actually, i was trying to find a way of making it a bit longer so people had enough time to read it all :)
The "please wait" is right at the end before, about 10 seconds left. There is no de-breifing as everything is explained in the preceeding text. As you say, I think "Combined Operation" may be the culprit as it has not been reported before and we have not ever seen it happen (both ArmA 2 1.05 or 1.07 as far as I know) and perhaps explains why you had to wait so long as it should be about 14 seconds between pages.
Look forward to your review.
Regards
Arkon
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It took long but the review is finally ready and readable here:
http://www.ofpec.com/missions_depot/index.php?action=details&id=265