(Review Completed) [SP] Last Hope

[mathias_eichinger]

Right, I just shot the gunners from the other 3 cannons. If I remember correctly, this worked to end the mission in the previous version.

Greetings

Mathias

[Cheetah]

v0.97 released.

Savegame bug seems fixed. Could someone verify that?

[Denz]

Didn't have time to test it thoroughly chief but the saveGame issue appears to have been solved. Loading fine now.
I did notice that the enemy trucks unload then drive right into the outpost. Well, unless you cap the driver first 
Are they supposed to do that?

[Cheetah]

Damn AI has get out waypoints 20 metres outside the city 

[Cheetah]

Version 0.98 released. See first post for details and download.

Hopefully one more test and she's ready for review.

[wcrvieira]

Last Hope v0.98 by Cheetah
a beta-test by NBSVieiraPT

Information
Armed Assault v1.09.5208, Veteran difficulty, AI expert. Using Truemods and Chammy's Sound Mod.


Package
Fine. Promo pic is present and the screenshot is very intriguing. Readme has more info (better!) than the previous ones from the last missions.

Overview: A good pic and a fine text. No problems here.

Intro: Very good. Some dialogues overlapsed each other though, nothing serious but could be fixed.

Briefing
Plan: I guess it is fine.
Notes: Again, perfect.
Gear: Hooah! A nice selection of weaponry!
Map: Liked it, clean and fully working as it is supposed to.

Mission:
The first artillery strike instantly killed me when I took refuge inside a barn. [Retry]

[Retry#1]
This time I sent my troops to wait in the starting point scanning horizon proned and engaging at will in stealth mode hoping they would last for a while. That's when an enemy tank started to income the base. I retreated and went to the West side of town where I shot him and an UAZ with my AT weapon. A fierce firefight broke in and I lost all men in my command, my ammo for the G36 ran out so I fetched a SAW weapon. We were sucessful in making the enemy retreat after reinforcements arrived. Oh and their arrival was much much welcomed!
Don't know if it was your intention as I didn't play the other versions nor I read the other beta-tests or it would spoil my play, but I couldn't figure the waves, looked like an only wave with two phases, infantry and armour and then Urals.
However, after enemy was destroyed I proceeded to the next objective.
AI kept losing themselves in the middle of the desert but I managed to kill everyone in the enemy positions and AI from far destroyed the artillery guns with AT weapons. Some BLUFOR AI were still there near the SLA outpost but weren't engaging the enemy (BLUFOR was from who goes to the outpost, left near the hills).
All objectives ticked. Mission accomplished.

Outro: No glitches here. It was cool.

Debriefing: All objectives ticked, had a nice score but I don't care about it, can't remember the time it lasted.


Closing comments:
Another good mission coming from you! The enemy skill was just right killing you everytime you stood or ran around like a loon. The first artillery barrage was also nice. I would say the mission is perfect, no glitches apart from that one in the intro. Enjoyed a lot this play, was really a fierce firefight...
Nice job!

[johnnyboy]

Hi Cheetah,

Hope this Beta Test Report finds you well, and not too cold.  Spring is coming!

Played on Beta Patch 1.09 and XAM mod 1.45.

Briefing:  Told me all I needed to know.  Nice and short, which is just fine for this defend mission.

Intro  Good intro set the stage well for what is too come.  The fog (which looked like dust in the desert) was good for the atmosphere and immersion.

Mission

1. Artillery was cool.  But it all fell outside of town.  I think the sense of fear in the player could be amplified if you bombed the town.  It would seem less scripted if you picked 4 to 8 zones in the town to bomb, and then randomly pick one where the player is NOT.  You might have to add more defenders to keep the balance right (since the arty would kill some).

2. Speaking of balance, that seemed just right to me.  I chose the SPR, so it would have been nice to have a pistol for backup for CQB.  I defended south side of town, from behind a wall.  Got crippled, so stayed prone.  Roll out, shoot a few targets, roll back.  Repeat.  This worked pretty well, but was surprised by some CQB in town a few times.   AFter the attack was over, got healed by a medic.

3. Voices were good, helps immersion, and move the story along.

4. The UAZ with MGs bother me when their gunner is killed, and then the driver acts stupidly.  I know this is an AI issue, and not your fault.  But with a little scripting, it could be improved.  Maybe a simple script with a few different random outcomes:  Driver moves to gunner, or driver dismounts and fights, or driver retreats fast (and maybe finds a gunner and returns).

5. Cannon fight was interesting tactical challenge.  I could not beat this without controlling my squad.  Like Uaz MG drivers, the cannon soldiers bother me when they user their cannons for CQB.  Maybe a trigger should fire for cannon dudes to dismount and fight if an enemy comes within X meters, and the cannon gunner knowsabout that enemy.  I used XAM smoke and low rise to approach within 15 meters of one cannon, then he shot me with the cannon!

6.  After killing all the cannon defenders, some AI were shooting constantly at the empty  MGs.  Maybe destroy these if all defenders dead, so player doesn't notice stupid AI.

Outro:  Wrapped up the story nicely, but nothing too exciting.  Maybe instead of forcing player to blow up the guns, the mission can end after he kills all the gun defenders.  The Outro could then have player ordering "set the charges men", and watch a few guys plant charges and run back, and then blow the guns for a nice little show for the outro.  Just an idea.

Overall:  A very well made combined arms mission.  Good atmosphere in the intro.  Exciting town defense.  No bugs encountered.  The only negatives were AI problems that are not your doing.   I enjoyed this mission.  Keep up the good work.

[Cheetah]

Thanks for the beta reports vieira and johnny - I'll try to squize out another version of Last Hope pretty soon. 

Luckily it feels as if this one is almost ready .

[Cheetah]

Updated to v1.00. Should be ready for review.

[wcrvieira]

Reviewing this one

[wcrvieira]

Review completed. It can be found here.

Want to share your opinion? Feel free to do so in the after-review discussion.