(Review Completed) [SP] 'Nam: Mau Lat

[Hawkins]

Mau Lat
Version 1.0 Release Candidate
By Hawkins

What you need to play:
Jungle Fever mod - http://hawknam.net/forum/index.php?topic=44.0 (I link to this thread because the mod might get updated)

CSJ's Hueys & Medevac - http://hawknam.ofptf.net/Bunker/CSJuh1.rar
or: http://ofpnam.com/download.php?view.113

Editor Upgrade - http://hawknam.ofptf.net/Bunker/EditorUpgrade102.zip

OFP Res v.1.96
Game from the store and the update from:
http://www.flashpoint1985.com

Overview:
A recon team has gone missing in the highlands, in a valley called Mau Lat. Your team is sent in to find out what happened. On top of that, there is a rumour that the valley is haunted...

Includes:

• Intro
• Outro Win/Lose
• Briefing
• Overview
• Voices (Now with FULL VOICE ACTING!)
• Music

To be included in later versions:

• None

Other comments:
This mission isn't your usual walk in the boonies. It includes insipiration and ideas taken from Apocalypse. Now and R-Point, both good 'Nam movies.
Originally made for the Unsung mod Demo II, this mission was never released for it. It was originally tested by the Unsung team members. Many changes have been made to the mission since then, and I feel a new betatest is in order.
You can check my other 'Nam mission by going to my website, http://hawknam.ofptf.net
If the above link doesn't work, send me an e-mail, if you want, to see if the site is still up.

Here's the download link:
http://hawknam.ofptf.net/Missions/Mau_Lat.rar
~6.20mb
Mission updated 12/16/07, 2127 hours
Finnish time, GMT +2

All suggestions/comments will be appriciated!

Hawkins


Edit: This mission has been reviewed and is available, with links to required addons, from the Missions Depot.

[MrN]

Good to see you still working on JF 

The link to the mission isn't working mate, I'll have a pop at this over the weekend if I have a chance and you sort the link out.

Cheers

[Hawkins]

Damn, wrong file extentsion, should've been rar. Link should work now.

Yep, I just can't drop this project. I'm trying to pull myself together and make the next update really be the last, and finish off the campaign I've been making for it, and which originally started the mod.
Eagerly waiting for your review mate!

[MrN]

[Hawkins]

Sorry for the late reply mate, been away on entry exams for uni.

Thanks for the review! Glad to hear I got you back from the guts of the arma monster! Getting sucked that way a bit myself, but still coming back for OFP because of the 'Nam. But, just you wait what we have in store for you in the new arma scene.

I think the cutscene blackout might just be the thing that's needed. At first I had the rest of the team detach from the player, and go on about their own business, but I was adviced that some players want to have control over their men, so I removed that. I could place them along the wall, and still have them on the players team. I wonder if they would stay in place, and the player has to didi the area pretty quick once he is told to, and it makes me wonder  if the poor bastards can get off the wall without too much damage. Might be worth the shot though.

Thanks for testing mate! Be on the lookout for the sequel.

[Hawkins]

Just to keep you guys posted, I haven't stopped working on this mission. Been busy finishing the mod up. I've done some updating on the mission and will post a new version for downloading within the next couple of days.

[Hawkins]

Well took myself from the neck and did the small updates to the mission. New version uploaded, same link as before.

I added some more music into the mission, and removed the gooktalk soundfiles as they are now included in the Jungle Fever mod. There's some music that should add to te jungle athmosphere and eerie feeling. They came out rather well I think, but let me know what you think.
The players squad should now be placed on top of the ruin walls when "certain things happen."

As always, comments and feedback are welcome!

 

[Denz]

Finally got around to trying this mission.

Intro
That was an Intro! I was nearly off to the kitchen to microwave some popcorn.
It set the spooky atmosphere for the mission nicely.

Mission (just notes)
By the time I got to the ruins the eerie environment had me really tense, I was jumping at every shadow and cloud of mist and I'd only killed two Vietnamese I'd come across on the trail. Then I found Edwards... my heart was in my mouth and I was riveted. I am partial to missions with a good story and planty of atmosphere.

Typo> in the sentence where one of your men talks about the "skeletons with the new AKs" you need a space between "how" and "come"

Hit a bug> When given the order to head West to the LZ by the Marines the 3 remaining members of my squad were stuck.
After trying for a couple of minutes to bash the AI loons out, I gave up and preceeded to the LZ on my own. Where I promptly died in a hail of bullets.
So I didn't complete it, but man I enjoyed it.

[Hawkins]

Thanks for playig Denz! I'll check that bug with the AI. I tried to place them on the walls but it seems that wasn't such a good idea. I'll fix that ASAP.
Glad to hear you like the athmosphere. I've worked extensively to make the mission very enjoyable for the player.

Thanks again! Will fix that typo and the problem with the AI as soon as possible.

[Tyger]

Hey Hawkins, mate! How's life? Been quite a while!

I've been meaning to give this a try but the wireless is slow, so DLing addons has been a pain! But I plan to give it a wack tonight!

[Tyger]

A fantastic mission, Hawkins! I really enjoyed this one!

Just a few things:

• I could hardly see the overview links because of their color.
• At the temple, my chaps on the wall wouldn't fire. Period. Got two or three of them killed because of that too.
• I was setPosed onto the wall before the black out and it didn't actually black out. Just blacked in so it seemed to skip.

I have to say that this was great atnosphere. All of the hairs (quite litterally - i looked like a porcupine) were sticking up at the temple, and when the VC attacked us I was pretty well worried! I ran like hell when they told us to go. At the LZ all of my men got cut down, and I got a mission failed because my RTO died.

I retried the ending about 10 or 20 times () and I could never kill all of the VC... Can you actually win the end?

Great mission!

[Hawkins]

Hey Tyger! Life's good, starting uni this fall, and still trying to mod and play OFP (and ArmA sometimes) as much as I can.

I could hardly see the overview links because of their color.

I'll fix the overview link colours. Dunno of a way but I'll dig deep to find one.

At the temple, my chaps on the wall wouldn't fire. Period. Got two or three of them killed because of that too.

Yea I noticed that bug too after MrN's test. Has been fixed.

I was setPosed onto the wall before the black out and it didn't actually black out. Just blacked in so it seemed to skip.

Fixed. Good spot!

I retried the ending about 10 or 20 times  and I could never kill all of the VC... Can you actually win the end? 

Some people have said the ending is way too easy to win. I really don't know, since for me it has been ups and downs while testing. I was thinking of adding some more cover for the player in the LZ for him to duck in at. So yes, it can be won, end the outro win is a pretty mysterious one.

[Tyger]

I'll fix the overview link colours. Dunno of a way but I'll dig deep to find one.

If not, don't worry too much. My LCD monitor's colors are much different from my CRT's, and I just switched recently, so maybe it's just it'll take some getting used to.

Is the next version up?

[Hawkins]

Not yet, gonna update it today and upload the new version this evening or sometime tomorrow. I'll post again when the new version is up for grabs.

The link colours in the overview can also be because of dxdll. I've had some problems with it in the past, since it makes the game more bright at palces.

[Tyger]

The transparent water thing and all that stuff? If so, I don't run that.  I really just need to sit down and tweak the LCD colors sometime.

And looking forward to the next version then! JF is a great mod! 

[Hawkins]

Mission updated. I gave the player full control over his squad when they reach the ruins and have to defend it. Also gave the player some more cover at the extraction LZ.

Now head in there grunts!

[Tyger]

Hooah! Looking forward to it! 

EDIT: Did you update the mission itself? I played it and at the ruins the mission seemed the same; I didn't command my squad? :\

[Hawkins]

Did they join you? It seems I forgot to remove the "stop true" command I used on the blokes from the scripts. If they didn't join you, then there must be something else wrong too.

EDIT: Seems that I forgot to upload the new mission. Sorry, my bad. Now it should be uploaded.

[Tyger]

Okay good! That's what I mean to say, just said it wrong
I'll test it and get back to you!

[Tyger]

Package: A proper package with a readme that was well written and the proper mission .pbo.

Overview: An excellent overview. I tweaked the colors of my LCD monitor and the links were showing up better - so it was just my end.

Intro: The intro was fabulous, as I said above. The camera angles were beautiful and it set the atnosphere very well. And extremely creepy.

Briefing: It was well done, providing enough intel to fit the story line. Also the gear selection was good. I could not find any spelling/grammar mistakes.

Mission: I was expecting myself to be ready this time since I've been through the mission before, but I have to say, the walk/run to the ruins was still creepy. Those NVA voices give you the chills because they seem like they're all around you. Everything ran all fine and dandy until we reached the ruins.
Showstopper: At the ruins, I was placed propperly, but the VC and NVA didn't ever attack. I restarted and they still didn't. I don't know if a variable didn't trip, but I couldn't get the NVA/VC to ever come.

Outro: It was very mysterious and well done, leaving me to want to see the next mission.

Overall:  Unfortunately, another error. But still looking good. 

Project Beta Approved

[Hawkins]

Ah damn, I think I know what went wrong there. I added a small condition for the trigger which activates the attack. The skeleteons and their AK's are deleted from the scene after the thunderstrom hits the temple, and I added a condition for this trigger so that the player has to activate it. I'll add the incoming attack to some other section of the events.sqs and still have the trigger of the skeletons to be launched by the player. I'll upload a new version too, should be up in about 10 mins.
Thanks again for testing Tyger!

[Tyger]

Alright maybe I'm cursed, Hawkins.

I restarted, and this time the VC attack on the east wall went off without a hitch, but when I reached the LZ, my chaps just sat there, and I didn't get a dialog about incoming VC. Is the attack initiated when the VC are ready as well as my unit? I ran into a sh*t load of VC on some ridge on my wild hump into the LZ, and we shot the hell out of them, so might that have been my problem?

[Hawkins]

The attack on the EZ should be initiated after every team member from the players squad has reached the LZ... Gotta check that. Weird stuff, has worked before. Was your whole team at the LZ? Can you remember what ridge was it where you ran into the NVA? I think they were a team that was supposed to be tracking/ambushing you.

EDIT: Christ this is a persistent little bugger. Fix one and another pops up. Just need to get it run smoothly for a few times and I could mark this done...

[Tyger]

Hmm. I don't really have an idea which ridge because I didn't know where the hell I was... 
Finally ordered all of my chaps to the LZ and followed them through the brush till we got there...

I'll replay it and see if it was just a one time happening. 

[Hawkins]

I'll play it again and see if it works. Dunno what went wrong there.

Thanks for bearing with me mate!

[Tyger]

Hmm. I think it is my computer. I dePBOed the mission, and checked and everything SHOULD work.
Maybe the problem is that I keep on losing most of my team before we reach the LZ...

[Denz]

My second foray into the Mau Lat valley...

Package
In the zip file is a detailed readme and the mission itself

Overview
The overview contains three pages, one of which is some history of the Mau Lat valley. The picture is very interesting and very creepy, two of the squad members heads have been replaced by skulls.

Intro
The intro is very well made, it sets up the story for the mission aswell as reminding you of every 'Nam film you ever saw.

Briefing
The briefing is very detailed, containg three sections; Situation, Intelligence and Execution.
The gear selection, while not extensive contains the typical equipment used by the real LRRP teams of the period.

Mission
After insertion I set off down the trail, which for the most part is pretty uneventful but it's the atmosphere that is important here. There is such an eerie feel to this mission. I get an error message just after Panther 4's last known pos.
ERROR SOUND HAW_JF_aware1 not found
Anyway, make it to those creepy ruins and wait for the marine squad to show. They do and bring a whole heap of Vietnamese with them. A brief firefight ensues during which I'm injured. I call the medic to me and wouldn't you know, he only goes and falls down dead at my feet - I don't seem to have much luck with medics. Luckily, the marines seem to think they can handle the situation at the ruins and tell me to take off. I called my guys and then hammered the run button down and took off in completely the wrong direction. After a couple of minutes working my way back to the trail we come under fire from the rear which accounts for my Grenadier. A short fight ensues but I keep the squad moving towards the extraction zone every so often turning to make sure my rear is safe. Brief contacts occur as we close on the EZ. Once there, I position my last three men around the EZ trying to cover every direction. The first I know of the VC attack however, is when one of the little blighters gets to within 2 maybe 3 meters of me. He goes down then all hell breaks loose. A minute or so later I get the word that my Radio Operator has copped it so Mission Fail.

Outro
Well, I only saw the outro/lose which was very well made but it just left me with questions. I really hope there is a follow up mission as I'm really intrigued now.

Summary
I've played this mission a couple of times now and it's still as creepy as the first time and as enjoyable. The part with the VC attack at the ruins now works properly and apart from the missing sound file (not sure if this is my end of not. I did download the extra sound files) no bugs were triggered.

Project Beta Approved

[Hawkins]

I checked the scripts in the mission and also the config of the mod, and the sound should be there. Might just be that I've been updating this mod so many times that the players haven't kept up.
If there's still people out there who are/want to test this, not is your chance. I'll upload this mission as "final" for the next version, hopefully with full voice acting.

[Denz]

Hey Hawkins,
It was my mistake. I hadn't grabbed all the hotfixes you released.
Mission works fine now - no errors encountered

[Hawkins]

Excellent! Glad to hear that.

I'll be needing some voice actors for the mission to finish it up. I'll post the fine details into the recruitment area of OFPEC.

[Hawkins]

G'day all, came in to post some updated on the progress of the mission. I've been getting some VERY good voice acting from people, and have begun the slow process of adding the voices into the mission. There's still some parts that are open (check the recruitment thread here) so do not hesitate to volunteer. I know I haven't replied to all voice actors yet (very busy with RL at the moment), but so far every voice sent to me has been great.
You DON'T have to be a native english speaker, I will accept people who have moderate english speaking abilities and even slight accents don't hurt. I've read and seen stories about foreigners fighting in 'Nam (finns, germans... you name it) so variation is not a bad thing.

I hope to post a new version up sometime during this week for final testing.

[Hawkins]

Ok, after a very long wait, here is the new version. Got bogged up with uni work and exams, but here we are. Should be free of bugs, and is with full voice acting. This will be the release version if nothing comes up. Thanks to all!

[Denz]

The link doesn't give me the new version

[Hawkins]

Hey Denz and thanks for reporting that. I've updated the pack on the server, so it's now the new version.

[Hawkins]

I think that the mission has reached a state which is good for a review. I've uploaded the latest version to the server and it now has a pic in the zip also.

Review please.

[schuler]

hey Hawkins ,,,,,, cool 

[schuler]

got it Hawkins , very much looking forward to this 
cheers Schuler ,,,,,,
mark it please, hoz   

[Cheetah]

Review Completed.