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Author Topic: (Review Completed) [SP] Abandoned Armies  (Read 216774 times)

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Offline THobson

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Re:Abandoned Armies
« Reply #345 on: 28 Feb 2005, 20:58:32 »
GI-YO
Thanks for all the effort.  I hope the noext version works better for you.  

Offline Pilot

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Re:Abandoned Armies
« Reply #346 on: 28 Feb 2005, 21:10:34 »
Here is my progress for the past few days.

I decide to put my plans about the T80 on the back burner.  I keep hearing sporadic weapon fire from somewhere in the distance.  I head to La Trinite to see if this is where it is centered.  

There is no one alive in La Trinite.  There are remnants of two convoys here, apparently one convoy from each side.  I trade my AK74 for a bizon, and head back out.  I search the mountains west of La Trinite, and around the lodge, but find nothing.  At this point I am unsure of exactly where the battle took place ???.  While I'm at the lodge, I bring the T80 down the mountain and repair it.  I then "hide" it with my men.  It is getting dark, and the rain has started up again.  

I decide to head northwest and recon the airport.  I go into the airport, and get shot by a sniper.  Retry  Instead of going into the base, I decide to observe it at different points along the hill to the west.  I run into a bush, and find I'm sharing it with a sniper :o.  I kill him with my Bizon.  I observe the fuel station, and crawl back out.  I see another sniper two feet away from me.  It seems I was sharing the bush with two snipers, well no more, three shots and he's dead (the bizon doesn't kill a good as other guns).  I head back to my men.  I stop in Larche to retrieve the fuel truck, and I fill the T80 with fuel.  When day comes around again, I intend to use the T80 to destroy the fuel station.

I have decided to check out La Pessagne, so I head back up the mountain and get in the jeep.  I drive south to just about Arudy, when suddenly a shell hits my jeep.  You are Dead  I don't know how, but that T72 gunner hit me in the fog and rain from over 500 meters, and on the first shot! :wow:  I'd say he deserves a medal! :P  Anyway, retry, I decide to head to La Pessagne on foot.  I hear a vehicle coming, and hide in a bush.  Three tanks go by, the same tanks that killed me earlier.  At least 2 of them appear to be damaged in some way, and they are heading north.  I'm not sure if they are northern tanks that are retreating, or southern tanks on the offensive.  I wait for them to pass, then head back out.  I eventually reach La Pessagne.  It is empty.  I heal myself at the field hospital (I don't know how I got injured), and head south to Stamenov's base.  I am going to wait for it to get dark, then I'll try to sneak in and kill him.  

As I sneak in, I come across several dead soldiers and a destroyed Vulcan.  I crawl into the town, and do a quick recon.  Many bodies and destroyed vehicles.   I have only seen one living soldier, and he is in the area I expect Stamenov to be.  I find one more soldier alive, a black-op.  I dispatch the blackop, and kill Stamenov.  The objective is completed.  Apparently, all that was left of Stamenov's army was him and a guard.  I guess the armoured vehicles I destroyed at the lodge were Stamenov's :P.  I shoot down the orbiting hind, and start back north.  I decide to take the abrams back, just so I don't have to walk.  About halfway there my men report seeing two tanks and a vulcan.  I hop out of the Abrams, and start out on foot.  My guess is the tanks are going south to investigate what happened to the hind.  My men report the tanks are heading south.  I start to hear the tanks, so I duck into a nearby bush.  After I hear them pass(I can't see very far in the fog), I start out again.  The rain starts up again.  I stop at the lodge.  I hope to ambush the three tanks when they come back north, if the weather clears in time. :gunman:
« Last Edit: 28 Feb 2005, 21:12:32 by Student Pilot »

Offline THobson

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Re:Abandoned Armies
« Reply #347 on: 28 Feb 2005, 23:03:34 »
Thank you.  Very impressive.  It seems the northron attack on Stamenov's base is a bit too powerful.  

In the next version each vehicle group will carry a flag so you will nowwhich side they belong to.  They already do of course.

Keep going you are nearly there.

Dubieman

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Re:Abandoned Armies
« Reply #348 on: 28 Feb 2005, 23:51:03 »
Soz Thobson...
After uploading my OFP files to my new computer, it didn't take the saves with it... :P Looks like all my saves are gone. But I'll prolly start over just because the mission is fun to play once you get to your lodge. ;)

Anyways, looking forward to the new version with surrendering ppl and all.  :)

Offline THobson

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Re:Abandoned Armies
« Reply #349 on: 01 Mar 2005, 08:43:33 »
@ Student Pilot:
Just a few things I have been thinking about over night:
You saw dead convoys at La Trinite - did you do anything that might have caused anything to happen there (Like putting a mine down. killing someone or even just being seen by someone)?

You had two snipers in the same bush!  If one was east and one was west they might have been discussing politics, or they might have been talking about their mutual friend Dorothy, or perhasp they were just lonely - But I did not put them both there!

You mentioned taking down the first two and the last chopper.  If that is it you might just find an empty undamaged Cobra somewhere (it is a long shot but it is just possible - and it literally could be anywhere with a slightly increased probability in the vicinity of Chapoi)

@GRK:
Well that's life.  Thanks for all your comments so far.

I have done a tonne of work on the internals of the mission, added three cutscenes etc. etc.  Actually when I say added cutscenes I have the triggers, the animation and the scenery - not yet the voices.  
Still to do:
- improve the Intro
- re-do the end scene
- re-do all the voices and get the scenes working
Then I will post the next version.  Realisitcally I will be happy if I can get that done by the end of the month.  I am slow - remember the woman walking towards the barn in the intro? and macguba's comment about her being too calm?  He is right of course.  It took me the best part of a day to do somethign that looks halfway plausible about that.  As I said - I am slow at this.

For the version after that I will be looking at things like:
- adding an Outro
- getting more activity at the lodge
etc.  In other words mostly eye candy stuff.  These last few weeks have required a lot of detailed re-working of some of the internals - especially around the behaviour of the loons when they are on their last legs, and changing the weather model.

I thought the mission was quite good when I put it on here - I am now a bit embarrassed about crappy a lot of it is.  Scripts working in the wrong order, people dieing for no reason (I am beginning to think that Malden is haunted), loons not turning up at the end etc.

Just shows the benefits of beta testing.
« Last Edit: 01 Mar 2005, 08:48:26 by THobson »

Offline Pilot

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Re:Abandoned Armies
« Reply #350 on: 01 Mar 2005, 13:23:26 »
Quote
You saw dead convoys at La Trinite - did you do anything that might have caused anything to happen there (Like putting a mine down. killing someone or even just being seen by someone)?
I didn't try to make my presence known.  I laid no mines there, and killed no one.  I can't tell you if I was seen or not, but I would be really surprised if I was, as I took many precautions against being seen.

Quote
You had two snipers in the same bush!  If one was east and one was west they might have been discussing politics, or they might have been talking about their mutual friend Dorothy, or perhasp they were just lonely - But I did not put them both there!
lol, I didn't actually see the second one in the bush.  When I went in the bush, I only saw the one I was laying next to.  I quickly observed the base, and crawled out of the bush.  As soon as I crawled out, I saw the other sniper in the open to the south-east, about 5 feet from me.  He was crawling away, and I assumed he was in the same bush.  He could have climbed up the hill to my right, and I probably wouldn't have seen him.  If you say you didn't place two in the same bush, then you are probably right, and it was a coincedence I saw two in the same vicinity.

Quote
You mentioned taking down the first two and the last chopper.  If that is it you might just find an empty undamaged Cobra somewhere (it is a long shot but it is just possible - and it literally could be anywhere with a slightly increased probability in the vicinity of Chapoi)
Now that would be cool! :D  I think I'll forget about ambushing the tanks as they come north, and try to find that helicopter (ambushing an M1, a T72, and a Vulcan might not be a good idea, anyway :P)

Hopefully I'll find that chopper, so I'll have the advantage of airpower when I defeat the northern tanks :joystick:

Offline macguba

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Re:Abandoned Armies
« Reply #351 on: 01 Mar 2005, 13:36:52 »
Quote
I thought the mission was quite good when I put it on here - I am now a bit embarrassed about crappy a lot of it is.
;D  That's why I wrote in the sticky topic, choosing my words carefully, "When you are convinced the mission is perfect, and have the results to prove it, it is ready for beta testing."   I thought was in pretty good nick for a first beta of a mission of that complexity - simply getting no error messages or debug hints shows it was in quite a tidy state.

Best part of a day to make the calm woman not calm?   Sounds about right.   Cutscene making is slow and very painful work.

Somewhere along the line, can't remember exactly where, I found two snipers not quite in the same bush but very adjacent to each other.  Overlooking the airfield from the west, not very far up from the main gate.  

Plenty of reviewed ArmA missions for you to play

Offline THobson

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Re:Abandoned Armies
« Reply #352 on: 01 Mar 2005, 14:08:45 »
Quote
Hopefully I'll find that chopper, so I'll have the advantage of airpower when I defeat the northern tanks  
I deliberately designed the mission so the player would not get his hands on a live chopper.  But having recently been testing the end game code for each side I realised it is just possible in very rare circumstances.  Please don't take too long looking it is a very long shot, and as I said it could be anywhere

Quote
I found two snipers not quite in the same bush but very adjacent to each other.  
Near each other is okay.

Another progress report.  I have now coded an additional means of getting the two sides fighting.  If one side has a significant numerical superiority, and knows it (defined by does it have a live chopper in the air), and if it still has a significant force of its own then it might launch an all out attack on the other base.  All parameters are randomised and the condition is checked repeatedly at intervals - so the longer the conditions apply the more likely such an attack becomes.  So that now makes four ways of getting them fighting:
- do anything at La Trinite
- kill a convoy anywhere (depends on what else you have killed)
- get the units from one side to chase you and lead them to the otherside's forces
- just battle away at one side until they are very weak, making sure you don't bring down any choppers.

I have just been looking at some of my early design notes.  One comment is:
Make sure there is not a trivial way of geting them fighting like for example, just going to La Trinite and laying a few mines.  It seems I failed on that one.


« Last Edit: 02 Mar 2005, 08:32:59 by THobson »

Dubieman

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Re:Abandoned Armies
« Reply #353 on: 02 Mar 2005, 02:11:04 »
I'm alive! Good things do happen to bad people! :D ;D

Went scouring through my old HD and found the saves. After so sketchy copy/pasting I finally retrieved your mission's save. :)

Now I can get to the end...

Story cont.:

Turns out the save put me back before defeating Andropov's army so off to search & destroy. Find one sniper hanging out on the runway and one medic staring at a tree. They are killed and now its time to attack Stamenovs guys...

Go down south and find nothing. I blow up some M2s and move towards Sainte Marie. On a hilltop my abrams comes under RPG fire. We get damaged but blow the rpg guy and the infantry accompanying him to smithereens. But my abrams is hurting right now. I head back to the lodge and repair it and leave 6 as gunner to fend off any idiots who try to check my lodge again. BTW I've found that the lodge has shifted once more and the vehicles are either up 2 meters or underground up to their windshields. Doesn't matter, I can just jump in as driver and they go back to normal. So I journey to the west to take a JeepMG and right now I'm making my rounds down south trying to find more of Stameovs men. Its hard to find infantry in a tank because they won't shoot. In a jeep its faster and they are much more aware of your presence. Especially when I fire the M2 to get their attention. Found one dude near La Pessagne and killed him after quickly dodging behid a building...

Saved right there for now. ;)

And since I'm close to completion, I remembered that you wanted  ppl to fulfill certain conditions when they win like group members in vehicles and such... Any requests or have you solved that?

Offline THobson

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Re:Abandoned Armies
« Reply #354 on: 02 Mar 2005, 08:40:32 »
Excellent

Quote
BTW I've found that the lodge has shifted once more and the vehicles are either up 2 meters or underground up to their windshields. Doesn't matter
If you have not been changing the terrain detail settings then it matters to me.  Have you been making any changes to it?

On the end conditions:  I think I have pretty much tested each option, but basically I was looking for comments on the end scene where you have a mix of: team mates alive, and dead.  In vehicles and not in vehicles.

Let me get this right.  You have wiped out Andropov and his army and have a green tick for it.  You have also killed Stamenov and you are finding loons some distance from Chapoi.  Is that correct?  If so:  do the loons seem to be heading for Chapoi?

Dubieman

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Re:Abandoned Armies
« Reply #355 on: 02 Mar 2005, 22:26:58 »
I think I have changed the terrain settings... ::)
With the new graphics card I'm able to stick to the norm to high range. Though I found using high in this mission causes a fair amount of lag... :P

And for ending conditions...
I'm got no dead squaddies in vehicles. Most if not all died at the lodge and I'll prolly win this by having me and "6" in the abrams and "3" & "2" in the T80.

And on my current status...
Andropov's army is gone and I've gotten the check for it.

And right now I'm headed for Chapoi by jeep to find any lonely souls near the road. Then I'll prolly go back to my tank and search & destroy offroad... :)

But I've learned from Andropov's last few troops that they tend to stick to places where I last engaged them. Like I killed that medic's whole team near the main airport buildings and moved on, later when I found him, he was near where the battle (if you can call it that ;D) occured.

So I went back to the hill west of Sainte Marie where I destroyed an abrams and BMP2 and found some lingering infantry.

So to sum it up, I haven't found any southerons moving towards home (even after letting it soak for an hour in Chapoi) and any that I find are generally on their "half" of the island.

I'll have to take a look at the shrubbery forest north of Chapoi because I have a feeling ppl are hiding in there. They were prolly drawn there after my failed assualt on their town, when I took my T80 madly into the mountians with RPGs landing near me... :) :P

« Last Edit: 02 Mar 2005, 22:27:20 by GuiltyRoachKillar »

Offline THobson

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Re:Abandoned Armies
« Reply #356 on: 02 Mar 2005, 23:23:04 »
In the version you are playing the last 5 loons could be anywhere within 500m of the centre of Chapoi (sorry).  You might usefully try the courtyard just across the road west of Stamenov's tent.

Some dead team members and some live team members in a vehcile would be good.

Best of luck.  You have earned it.


Dubieman

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Re:Abandoned Armies
« Reply #357 on: 03 Mar 2005, 03:48:38 »
Well I'll try that courtyard, but I have a feeling nothing is there. There have been lots of HEAT shells thrown in there, along with grenades, roaming tanks, and a few satchels that I used to "make sure" no one was still hiding in the wreckage...

500m? Time to do some searching....

And for dead mates...
Maybe I could pay my T80  a visit and pop the gunner and leave him even though my score might go down, but if it helps beta testing, why not? ;)

Offline THobson

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Re:Abandoned Armies
« Reply #358 on: 03 Mar 2005, 08:25:52 »
No friendly fire on my behalf please ;)

It might still be worth checking that courtyard occassionally.

EDIT:

When I say anywhere within 500m I should also have said that they are each given a doMove to the centre of Chapoi every few minutes or so, but that seems not always to be reliable.
« Last Edit: 03 Mar 2005, 13:55:57 by THobson »

Henderson

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Re:Abandoned Armies
« Reply #359 on: 03 Mar 2005, 23:48:35 »
I was lurking for a while, and I decided to start the mission again.

I discovered a bug, or maybe just a quirk in the OFP AI. After I escaped Vigny, and got the civvies,(I didn't engage anything yet), I decided to attack Vigny to get supplies. So I loaded up my men and drove there. After dismounting and getting killed a few times just for kicks I said, "I'm going to run them over." So I went straight through the town, running them over. Now here's the wierd part, I didn't get shot at not once, so it was too easy to just wipe everyone out, take their weapons, and drive away laughing. But wierdness didn't effect the two tanks who came to check on things. ;)

I don't know what caused it.