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

[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.