ECHO fire director

[Nephris1 10]

Nephris1:

Something is wrong with the initialization of at least one of your batteries. Be sure you are not using virtual artillery, have to place the real thing. Otherwise, did you sync the module to the actual gun group?

I run ArmA CO with the latest beta.

The pack was downloaded by the link provided by Foxhound 1 or 2 pages before this post.

I was using the demo mission, without editing it.

Didnt check it with ArmA2 vanilla so far.

@Das Attorney

Could u pls post your expirience with the beta and its error in the arty module also to the beta thread?

I tested it now with a simple call and received the same error with the beta but not on vanilla.

Edited October 5, 2010 by Nephris1

[snoops_213 75]

Still can't get it from the ftp site foxhound, its asking me to logon. Anyone else got a link to download?

All good now, site back up, YAY!!!!

Edited October 5, 2010 by snoops_213
things change

[das attorney 858]

I'll post a ticket in the CIT when I get in from work tonight. Just got a few hours to go...

[Evil_Echo 11]

Thanks all for the info and bug reports to BIS. Great team effort.

In case you missed it, I did file a report about the ammo issue on CIT. Feel free to add info or vote.

With luck, these issues will be cleared up quickly. Now that Armaholic is back online, further work can continue.

[das attorney 858]

I've posted a ticket on the CIT. Please feel free to comment or amend as you see fit. I haven't posted a ticket before, so if this isn't the right way to highlight the issue, then please let me know and I'll amend it.

I would have done it last night but got tied up with other stuff. :)

[Evil_Echo 11]

We both got our tickets nerfed.

http://forums.bistudio.com/showpost.php?p=1764541&postcount=60

[gunterlund21 10]

better look at the responses Echo.

[Evil_Echo 11]

Not going to say anything about that here, it'd be off-topic to discuss CIT on this thread.

----

Additional, OA new patch out as of 8 Oct. And someone else mentioning seeing the same error messages in that patch as well. So it's not just ECHO users. Hoping BIS finds and corrects the issue quickly.

Edited October 9, 2010 by Evil_Echo

[Evil_Echo 11]

Waiting to see how the BI issues pan out. My personal guess is that the error messages coming from the new betas will be cleaned up quickly, but the problem with reloading will not. So moving on to plan-B - coding a kludge of some sort.

The other things on my to-do list for the next release are extensions to allow for data exchange between clients. This would be the gateway to opening up access for player-submitted fire mission requests as well as providing specialty support like smoke screens, rolling barrages, etc. It's a big chore and one that needs extra planning to do correctly. Have been doing a lot of digging to see what techniques will work best for what is planned.

The gist of it is that these matters will take some time. Could roll up the kludge first, depending on how urgent you folks believe the reload issue is. Trust your viewpoint more, I'm just a coder.

Juggling a number of tasks right now. Now and then a document update for the FreeACE wiki. Spent some time working with Mando on our nuke collaboration. Plus helping some friends going through rough times, a brother recouperating from surgery, and occasionally wearing the clan uniform leading my guys and girls on a mission....

Feel the need for some Zen time. For me, that's either cooking or designing missions. I'm out of portabella mushrooms. :(

So futzing around with a mission tenatively titled "Red Dawn". It starts on 17 Oct 2017 at 0940 and uses both my scripts and Mando's. Not sure if it'll be a full MP mission yet. The intro component looks scary/awesome according to my spouse, the literature/political-science scholar. :)

Anyway, it helps - more calm and rested. Will get back to creating more artillery features for you all soon.

[Evil_Echo 11]

ECHO Version 2.0 is just about ready...

• Cleaner layout of directories and files.
  
• Ability to register routines that will be invoked for events like shot fired, splash, etc.
  
• IPC system. A new way to exchange data between routines. It allows for better use of multiple cores and reduces lag.
  
• Tuning the targeting selection system further.
  
• Eliminated a couple code situations that could cause a stall in the FSM, making some to believe their batteries had run out of ammunition.
  

A closed beta should be available shortly - if you want to try it out then contact me soon. Only the first couple people will get a chance.

[gnarly_rider 0]

Can't wait to see it Echo, keep up the great work!

[gunterlund21 10]

ECHO Version 2.0 is just about ready...

• Cleaner layout of directories and files.
  
• Ability to register routines that will be invoked for events like shot fired, splash, etc.
  
• IPC system. A new way to exchange data between routines. It allows for better use of multiple cores and reduces lag.
  
• Tuning the targeting selection system further.
  
• Eliminated a couple code situations that could cause a stall in the FSM, making some to believe their batteries had run out of ammunition.
  

A closed beta should be available shortly - if you want to try it out then contact me soon. Only the first couple people will get a chance.

This is great news Echo. For some reason my previous version just decided not to work anymore. the only change I did is add DAC into the mission. Now my barrages arent firing. Look forward to seeing this.

[Evil_Echo 11]

DAC does cause the current version to stall. It's due to how it adds terrain details like plants to the map - causes confusion in the targeting.

The 2.0 version adds work-arounds for that aspect of DAC. DMarkwick gave me a sandbox test mission that had been showing pauses and eventually a stall. Last night with the new code there were no stalls nor any noticable stutter anymore. As a player, having artillery support come to rescue for my squad when we got pinned down by a enemy patrol and subsquent helo reinforcement was awesome.

[gunterlund21 10]

Cant wait baby bring it on.

[Evil_Echo 11]

Just some info for 2.0 testers and eventually all users....

Note in the documentation the new folder structure for the scripted version means that you do have to adjust the #include commands in your description.ext and whatever script is used to fire up the FSM. The example missions have the correct lines if you prefer to look there.

Also, the new FireDirector2.fsm is much more robust, if you are using DAC you should switch to using that. I kept the older FireDirector.fsm file around for backward compatiblity.

[Evil_Echo 11]

Version 2.0 is now available. Posting at http://www.armaholic.com/page.php?id=11755

Changes include.

• Cleaner layout of directories and files. Users will need to make minor adjustments to #include directives to reflect new paths.
  
• Ability to register routines that will be invoked for events like shot fired, splash, etc.
  
• IPC system. A new way to exchange data between routines. It allows for better use of multiple cores and reduces lag.
  
• Tuning the targeting selection system further.
  
• Released a 2nd Finite State Machine. Code in that version eliminates a couple of situations that could cause a stall, making some to believe their batteries had run out of ammunition.
  

The IPC system is a big deal. The tech allows a coder to use spawn instead of call and still exhange information between the routines. That ability allows for huge improvements, more use of multiple cores or even between different computers. Long-term, it opens the door to player interfaces, management of spotters, resupply, etc.

The registration system allows for mission makers to create their own routines to notify players of artillery activity and then have the BI ARTY system invoke them automatically at the correct time. The scripted version of the demo mission shows off this new feature. While my example uses chat commands, a more sophisticated routine using the kb routines to provide voice dialog is quite straightforward.

Extra thanks to the beta testers who helped verify the new code - very much appreciated.

Edited October 25, 2010 by Evil_Echo

[manzilla 1]

Thank you!

[Evil_Echo 11]

You're welcome, Manzilla. Sorry for the slow response.

Have tested the package with the new 1.55 patch update - seemed to work fine. Good to see that after the grief some had with the betas leading up to this.

How is the 2.0 package working for the rest of you folk? Hoping there are no major issues since it's been kind of quiet here. If there are no big problems then I can start planning for the next set of improvements and features.

Edited November 13, 2010 by Evil_Echo

[BigMorgan 11]

A little noob help please? :confused:

private ["_us_spotters", "_us_batteries"];

if ( isServer ) then {

// Start Fire Director.
_us_batteries = ABatt;
_us_spotters = OB1;

waituntil { not isnil "bis_fnc_init"};
waitUntil { not isNil "BIS_ARTY_LOADED"};

FD_US = [_us_spotters, _us_batteries, 60, 20, 1] execFSM ECHO_FD_FSMDIR+"FireDirector2.fsm";
};

Is giving .rpt error:

Error in expression <ters, _us_batteries, 60, 20, 1] execFSM ECHO_FD_FSMDIR+"FireDirector2.fsm";
};>
 Error position: <ECHO_FD_FSMDIR+"FireDirector2.fsm";
};>
 Error Undefined variable in expression: echo_fd_fsmdir
File C:\...\missions\testefd.Celle\init.sqf, line 12

Sorry for my ignorance but what did I do wrong?

Edit: so after some more testing I managed to trim down the included example mission's init.sqf into something that works but I'm still not clear on where I went wrong.

Edited November 14, 2010 by BigMorgan

[Evil_Echo 11]

Did you have the line

 
#include "ECHO\Includes\Paths.hpp"

in that script? That is where the variable that is being complained about is defined.

[BigMorgan 11]

Thanks... I'm sure that's what it was.

Is it mandatory to have 2 batteries? I thought they may have been it.

[Evil_Echo 11]

There is no requirement for 2 batteries. Have as few or as many as you need. The only real requirements are a given battery has to be composed of identical units and you should ensure the placement on the map is such that they are in range and no likely to have a shot obstructed ( hitting a nearby tree with a mortar round == own goal ). Otherwise feel free to mix and match. I like mortars and howitzers, with the howitzers way in back where they belong. Ideally you go for the interlocking firebase concept, where batteries can provide protection for each other.

Spotters, you need at least one for a given battery. More eyes will increase the odds of spotting more bad guys. You can share spotters across batteries, but generally it's best to not do that. Your spotter units should be cautious in where they hide out, you don't want them killed too easily.

[Evil_Echo 11]

Beginning work on 2.1, now have ability to create an artillery battery dynamically. Should offer a number of new uses, not the least being mobile units.

[das attorney 858]

Looking forward to that one! :)

[BigMorgan 11]

Nice one Echo. Can't wait.