The Day Before Midnight

[SEAL84]

Anyone who's been around long enough to remember this idea the first time I proposed it (oh, call it last October), raise your hand.

This mission/mission pack takes its inspiration from the book of the same name by Stephen L. Hunter.

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1987...

Situation:

Terrorists of unknown origin have siezed the Peacekeeper missile silo at the South Mountain Missile Complex near Durras, Maryland.  The South Mountain Complex was designed as an experiment in MX missile basing, boasting some of the highest security and utmost secrecy of any US ICBM site.  The terrorists have eliminated the base security personnell and bypassed the security measures with uncanny precision and skill.  Their intentions are unknown.

To make matters worse, the South Mountain silo is the only independantly launch-capable silo in the United States.  This means that its crew can launch their missile without Presidential authorization, theoretically enabling it to launch a retailatory strike on the Soviet Union should Washington and Omaha be destroyed.  The "key vault", a top-secret means to secure the launch keys in the event of a hostile takeover, has been activated.  This means that the terrorists have accessed the launch control "bubble" and one or both of the Air Force personnell dropped his launch key into the vault.  It was then sealed off by a 10-ton titanium block.  Cutting through the block is impossible without the proper tools, but we must assume that terrorists this efficient have those tools.

You are a Lieutenant in the US 10th Mountain Divison, recently on maneuvers in Maryland.  Pulled from the field, you have been breifed on the situation.  Your mission is to lead the assault on this silo.  Supporting you will be units of the Maryland National Guard and the Army's elite "Delta Force".  

Your 10th Mountain troopers will be responsible for penetrating the enemy's defenses and allowing Delta to get inside the complex to eliminate the terrorists before they get hold of the keys and launch the nuke.

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I've started work on the mission, but I wanted to post here to get some feedback on the idea.  Don't worry, it's not anything one could call "alpha" yet.  

I'm really looking into making this a mission pack in which there are several massive assaults on the silo complex and the plot details become clearer.  

Any thoughts on where I can go with this idea?

Anybody out there read this book?

Due to some obvious techincal limitations, I really can't sim the whole book in OFP...so...I'd like to hear any ideas on how to develop a different climax than the one Hunter wrote.

What would you say regarding the whole idea of a series of missions based on a one or two day event?

Whaddya think?  Cool idea or what?

[Batdog]

I know I'm a little late to reply but it sound pretty good. I'v never heard of the book. So I'll be waiting for this mission/ mission's to come out.

[Bosniarat]

Sounds like a Great mission! I hope to play it when you release it for beta testing, and I'm going to read the book as well

HOOOAAH!

[@cero]

Can I ask a question about the author of this boock, is irrelevant but it's eaching on me, is that S.L.Hunter related to the former SAS call Gaz Hunter, cos I just read the book call "The Shooting Gallery" from Gaz Hunter and is the main inspiration I got for the missions and the campaign I'm working on. For the loock of what you had righted in here loocks like this S.L.Hunter is American, but Gaz Hunter is English... so I don't know, you may don't know the same way that I don't know, I never heard about Gaz Hunter before I read the book.
By the way, you mission/mission pack idea sound great mate.
Later.
@CERO.

[LCD]

cool idea seal :thumbsup:  ;D

just a Q how much do u intend 2 keep it close 2 da book (i didnt read it  ;D) ?

I think its cool dat u wanna make a series of missions dat will hapen in 2 days  ;D

btw is dere goin 2 b only massive assults or also som spec ops jobs ?

LCD OUT

[SEAL84]

AFAIK there is no relation between this Hunter and and SAS guy.

So far I think it will be mainly just assaulting.  In the book (which I plan to keep as close to as I can), the first engagement between the terrorists and US troops comes when the Maryland National Guard tries a "probing" maneuver up the side of the hill the silo is located on.  They get cut to ribbons.  

The main action is a massive infantry assault, led by Rangers, 3rd Infantry Troops, and what was left of the MNG units.  Their job is to cut their way through the defenses, and that's where Delta Force would come in.  They would somehow open the doors to the underground control facility and clear it.

Obviously I can't make any underground bunkers, so I'm sort of at a loss as to how to end the mission.  At this point it's just straight grunt work, but Delta plays a much bigger role in the book than is possible to show in OFP.

Maybe that can be part of the multi-mission format....you can call for various tactics to be used, and then the next mission could take place 30 minutes after the last one ends until either the missile is launched or you retake it.

Dunno, most of this is conceptual at this point.

[LCD]

* thinks

i think u can do da indoor fightin n 2 ways - u can make it a cutscene or u can simulate indoors by puting walls nd thing like dat - like setpos walls nd objects 2 make it look like a indoor nd setdammage wall (make em fall) to make it look like da roof  ;D

LCD OUT

[SEAL84]

Now that I think about it, I could do that....

Like when the player gets to the "door", I can have a nice titlecut and then setpos him to the part of the map where all the walls and such are set up.  The book made it sound like the bunker's total area wasn't that big, and it was mostly a long hallway connecting the control capsule to the elevator.

It's just a matter of making sure that the walls are nice and tight together, and then telling the AI to stand up.  Should be doable though...I'll see if I can come up with something soon.

[LCD]

update us bout how it progress  ;D

LCD OUT

[Kaliyuga]

  You could always make a really small island for your silo... if you made some really steep cliffs.. and built in trench type things it might make it easier for you to accomplish the underground feel

[SEAL84]

Well I think making an island for the silo is out, mainly because the bunker is the only structual thing I have a problem with.  Just doesn't make much sense to me to make an island just for this one silo, especially since I've never used wrpedit.  Plus I'd want to model the surrounding terrain anyway, because there's a town nearby that you base out of during the mission.    

But I think the number one hangup with that is that even if I made these really deep trenches as hallways, I'd have to cover them with objects, which you'd see on the surface....unless I made 'em indestructible ground-colored objects.....hmmmmm....

We'll see...I have to find out how to save all these variables from mission to mission anyhow...I've talked previously with some of the OFP elite and they said it would be very very difficult to get a system like that working properly.

If it turns out to be a major headache I may just work in some cutscenes to break up one mission into many parts.

I have some school/college application stuff I'm tied up with for the next few weeks so it may be some time before I have anything tangible to show anyone.

But stay tuned...

[SEAL84]

Hey look!  It's me, one year ago!

But there is a good reason for this post.

Since we have Resistance, Oxygen, wrpedit and all this cool stuff, maybe there's a chance that some enterprising soul could take this up and try it!

I hear there are islands with tunnels now, Code Blue I think made one.  If so, then this could work!

So basically you'd need a small-sized island with a huge mountain on it, and on top you'd need a made-from-scratch missile complex complete with tunnels, trenches, and so on.

If you bundled all this stuff up into one download, it could work!  It would be a new idea at least.  The island wouldn't have to have anything else on it but maybe a town and a sort of makeshift command center at the bottom of the road that leads up the mountain.

Think about it