[SP/A2CO] Whole Lotta War - Dynamic Mission (Updated 19th February)

[SaOk]

Title: Whole Lotta War
Author: SaOk
Type:   Arma2 CO + (optional but suggested BAF + PMC)/ Single PLayer
Version: 1.62
Mission version: 0.89

Latest Youtube video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o9dTKgi6QBU

Installation: Put WholeLottaWar.Takistan.pbo to missions folder in arma2 main folder

Optional Addons (You can use none, some or all, any combination):
http://forums.bistudio.com/showthread.php?145394-Takistani-Armed-Forces-2035-v0-6b
http://forums.bistudio.com/showthread.php?121207-US-Marines

MOD/ADDON Notes:
-Else very awesome Blastcore may cause heavy suddent FPS loss after 1-1,5h playing. Avoid playing the mission with the current version of the mod.


Download:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/eycx6m2h7we9o2e/SPWholeLottaWar_v0_89.7z

Change Log:

Code: [Select]

SB1.1:
 -Added 5 ambientcamps
 -Other tweaks
SB 1.2:
 -ACR DLC now fully optional (you can play without the lite version too)
 -Friendly infantry now arrive to AO with car transport, more often
 -Added Camp Searchlights for night time
 -Player can skip nigthtime by sleeping at the tent in US camp (Optional)
 -Added civilian/soldier talking system
 -Added reinforcements function for player group
 -AI function now working
 -Other tweaks&Fixes
SB 1.3:
 -5 new camps (2 hostile + friendly tank/supply depot & fieldhospital)
 -4 tasks added (hostile camps can be captured)
 -new gear in briefing
 -other tweaks/fixes
SB 1.4:
 -3 new camps (+some tweaks in old ones)
 -2 new tasks
 -Added tanks guarding/patrolling certain locations (new ambient base function feature)
 -Added optional high commanding
 -Small friendly camps spawn also now when player is in vehicle
 -Other tweaks/fixes
SB 1.4h:
 -Much spawning location corrections for when player is in vehicle
 -High command Fixes
 -Other tweaks/fixes
SB 1.5:
 -Much important tweaking/fixes in scripts
 -2 new "heavy enemy movement"-areas
 -Removed some forgotten ACR DLC classes
0.7:
-Added random music for certain events
-Briefing updates
-Mission can end now
-Other tweaks/fixes
0.75:
 -Heavy changes/improvements for better overall performance
 -3 New Camps (British, German and Local HQ (now with life))
0.76:
 -Mando Missile Scripts disabled
 -One core script converted from fsm to sqf
0.8:
 -New sleeping/waiting cutscenes/feature
 -Choppers now commit land insertions and may fly patrol around their "cargo"
 -"Takistani Armed Forces 2035"-content added as optional addon.
 -Max amount of different things changes randomly at random times during playing
 -Some features accessibility changes randomly at random times during playing
 -Random time added for reinforcements
 -Mando Missile Script added in dialog (set disabled as default)
 -Dialog text made more clear
 -Performance tweaks
 -Other fixes/tweaks
0.81:
 -"United States Marines v1.2 by Binkowski"-content added as optional addon
 -Added setting to set off enemy artillery strikes and car bombs
0.82:
 -Added AI pick chopper function for player. Call it with 0-0-9
0.83:
 -Added Intro Cinema
0.85:
 -Each around 500 custom voices have now two new copies with different amount of Echo
 -Played amount of Echo depends of speaker´s surrounding
 -3 new tasks with dialog
 -Fixes in AI chopper pick up system
 -Added "Israeli Air Raid Sirens"-sound by DarkXess (played in Rasman airfield)
 -Added mosque voices for Bastam
 -Much fixes and tweaks
0.87:
 -Added random positioned invisible capture-able tank zones
 -New US camp with fighter choppers for optional use
 -Other small tweaks, fixes and additions
0.89:
 -New enemy supply line task
 -Near 10 new hidden capture-able zones (camps, roadblocks, hidden mg´s...)
 -Many small tweaks and fixes
 -Important fixes in chopper transport script for player team
 -As new gameplay tweak, player cant get reinforcements while in vehicle


Description: Possible prequel for Chasing Grim Reaper campaign.

Key Features (WIP):
-Dynamic mission using whole Takistan map
-Different ways to play (as basic infanry group, tank squad, mechanized group, transport choppers...)
-Dynamic life generator for enemy/friendly units (patrols, scouts, camps, towers, slow/fast-reinforcements, support vehicles)
-Enemy groups communicate to track player's position, offering still change to flee unnoticed
-Random positioned dynamic tasks to give different feeling for the mission every time
-Much optional, but meaningful tasks included
-All tasks have effect on generating scripts or/and bigger tasks
-Optional HighCommanding (AI groups can handle by themselves too)
-Difficulty level goes slowly higher during progress
-Random events
-Much improved heavy dynamic civilian/animal ambient life
-Many Custom gameplay elements (Smoke signals, dynamic reinforcements, minefield truck, medic packs...)
-Cutscenes
-Friendly AI groups fighting with player depending on relationship values
-Many factions involved
-Made with Perfomance Friendly Methods

3rd Party Scripts:
-Dynamic weather script by Engima (+ folumetric fog effect by BIS)
-Mando Missiles Script by Mandoble
-Surrendering script borrowed partly from USPMON (by Mondasa & Kronzky)
-OilFire script from CE5A_Sandstorm.Takistan (by sxp2high or BIS?) - modified
 
Thanks:
 -SavedByGrace (Ideas and US battleshouting/AI function voice-overs)
 -Rejenorst (US battleshouting and mortar idea)
 -Bardosy (hungarian battleshouting)
 -Tslava (czech battleshouting)
 -Poacher (british battleshouting)
 -Nettrucker (german battleshouting)
 -OFPEC for feedback

Note: Working on this new dynamic mission, made with modified Zub scripts. I have been tweaking much and adding new functions to fit the concept in Takistan map. If you are interested, I have the "sandbox"-part ready for testing. There isnt yet any tasks, you can just explore the map and try to stay alive. Let me know if you have any feedback or any new feature ideas. I continue working on this, tweaking the core scripts and slowly creating tasks/cutscenes/story into it.

Note2: I added more village names to populate the houses more easily, there is also green "F"'s around the map marking fortress positions that are populated too. I will remove the F's later.

Notes (31th January):
I created the AI chopper pick up function. When the arriving chopper can be heard, if player uses smoke it may land much closer. While in cargo you can click new positions for it on map, until it starts to land. After getting out, the chopper circles sometime around your team, giving close support. Since there is so much smallfire going the chopper and crew is currently immortal and also player team is when in the chopper. I will add exceptions for that later - if the chopper goes too close of bigger enemy camps with AA-launcher then all get mortal again. I may also add other detections e.g. the chopper wouldnt land if there is hostile armor nearby. Let me know if you find any issues. For me, once the map clicking command didnt work until I restarted the mission.

[SaOk]

Mission have been suffering for suddent FPS loss after 1-1,5 hours of playing. As experiment, I disabled now mando scripts (that gave today first time an error in early game that have similar FPS drop). Let me know if you get suddent heavy FPS drop that never gets back to better, with this version 0.76 too. Ultra annoying issue that have been teasing me now almost a year.

Edit: Looks like the Blastcore had conflict with the mission. I havent got slowdown now when playing without it.

[SaOk]

New version 0.8 is here. Mission is finally working smooth for me. While updating many functions for this, found out how broken the Zub mission still is. Going to update that too at some point with the latest improvements. But now I am starting to build more proper tasks/cutscenes into this mission.

[SaOk]

New 0.83 version is here. I added new intro cinema and earlier I added AI pick up chopper system for player.

Edit: Re-uploaded 0.83. I fixed one serious bug that I found finally. There was rarely massive amount of enemy vehicles spawned. Not sure yet did it cause the suddent slowdowns (didnt spot those times any nore vehicles, but were those spawned far away from another bug?). And why I spotted in early game only with latest game betas. Mysterious issue. I hope things work now good always. The same old link.

[SaOk]

New version 0.85 is here with new echo voices. Took only 3-4 hours to convert those. You can spot them especially on streets in villages, smaller echo is played when in vehicle, houses and other in narrow spaces. All voices didnt catche the echo as good. I may tweak those some more, some day.

[mathias_eichinger]

Hey SaOk,

I tried your mission but I am stuck due to a few critical bugs/design quirks.

-My AT soldier is stuck in a building, not being able to move
-Frequent encounters with tanks at long distance (and possibly attack choppers) left the Stryker I chose as a burning scrap heap (with no real option to counter the tanks - they fire from way longer distances than my AT missiles would fly)
-The chopper transport would not lift off since one of my soldiers is stuck, far away and therefore unable to get in
-I can not be motivated to cross the whole map on foot.

Solutions
-Add the team switch option for each squadmember
-Delete the "powerful" weapons like tanks and attack choppers (I don't believe that the US would drive lone tanks across the whole terrain with such an opposition still intact anyway)
-Add markers to the village names - finding them is really not that easy.

Criticism aside, it is a great project since you really made me participate in a whole war that is apparent where ever I go on the map.

[SaOk]

Thanks for feedback,

you can delete the stucked team-member with radio command 0-0-X. You get replacements once there you are low on team-mates. I thought the mission was too easy without the tanks zones. You can capture those with vehicles from chopper/tank camps (near insertion) or leave it for random friendly units. Its harder now to drive around, but not impossible. I may add option to disable/lower tank zones (or add marker over them for lower difficulty levels). The chopper takes off once you use that delete function for the stucked member. If the chopper get stucked. You can reset the pick up system by moving 400m away from the chopper.

Adding team-switch would require to changed code for tasks, but I may add it at some point.

Currently I am converting the A2 missions to ArmA3, using AiA-mod. This mission was crashing when I tried it few weeks ago, but if I get it run stable I may continue working on this mission only on A3. Only downsite mostly is the tanks that currently roll over really easily in A3.

[Undeceived]

Hey Sa0k,

I played the mission for a short time (approx. 1,5 hours ) and noted one thing:

When you play it with a tank, one thing which is quite confusing is the spawning of enemy troops just around you. Especially in Takistan, where you have a vast viewing range, it's a bit unfair when you scouted an area, then drive on and look elsewhere and suddenly a tank or infantry group is spawned right where no one should be at all.

I didn't play much as an infantry man but I think that while on foot, it's ok as it is, but being in a tank it is not optimized as the ranges vary from normal infantry view up to kilometers.

Is it possible to let enemys spawn further away when the player is in a tank? Should help a lot!
Another point is that at the moment tank fights occour only in the range of approx. 1 km at maximum, because you don't spawn stuff further away. Having some firefights with enemy tanks 2 kilometers away would be pretty exciting too!

Other than that great work so far! I didn't finish it, but one can see the amount of hard work put in it!

[SaOk]

Thanks for testing, I could try to add blacklisting (saving player position after each ~20 seconds in blacklist-array and delete the position after slow ~10 minute timeout). Increasing spawn distances (when player is in vehicle) would be possible too, but quite big task to edit all the scripts. I may leave it for ArmA3 missions.