The Lost Brothers Mod Official Release thread for ArmA2/OA

[galzohar 31]

Well, you can already get the soldiers and some of the vehicles (I think merkava and some aircraft) as part of the UO mod pack as they have been testing it for a long time now. However, it is still not available as an independent mod on Six Updater, but hopefully it will be soon, as all is really needed is someone uploading it somewhere public for Sickboy to put it on Six Updater so that we can all use it as part of our server mods and letting people download it automatically when they want to join the server.

Another note is that the UO IDF version requires ACRE as one of the config file includes so ACRE hpp files. Not sure why is that as the soldiers work fine without those definitions, though obviously if you don't have ACRE you will get a missing class error when you try use the ACRE radioman classes in a mission (since the radio doesn't exist).

[miles teg 1]

Here are a few screenshots:

Namer Mk2

Merkava Mk4

---------- Post added at 01:08 ---------- Previous post was at 00:39 ----------

Well, you can already get the soldiers and some of the vehicles (I think merkava and some aircraft) as part of the UO mod pack as they have been testing it for a long time now. However, it is still not available as an independent mod on Six Updater, but hopefully it will be soon, as all is really needed is someone uploading it somewhere public for Sickboy to put it on Six Updater so that we can all use it as part of our server mods and letting people download it automatically when they want to join the server.

Another note is that the UO IDF version requires ACRE as one of the config file includes so ACRE hpp files. Not sure why is that as the soldiers work fine without those definitions, though obviously if you don't have ACRE you will get a missing class error when you try use the ACRE radioman classes in a mission (since the radio doesn't exist).

Yeah, that's because the ACE versions are designed to be used with ACRE and for multiplayer only. The final version will have both BI configs (as default) and ACE configs which will be optional in a separate folder for users to overwrite the old config.pbo's for each vehicle. Right now I'm working on just a few minor bugs on the Namer APC as the commander view won't move up and down when turned in for some reason (only side to side) which is very annoying. I also need to adjust some of the armor value systems and see if I can fix a few model issues. I then still need to get to the issues with the F-16 which would be simple if I used Myke's missile box but I can't use that as it is not compatible with ACE. I may just release it with the bug on the F-16 (they're not game breaking, just wrong number of ordinance on the weapon pylons) until I get it updated with a custom missile/bomb pack that my mod actually has, but it just hasn't been converted yet from OFP (and many weapons need retexturing). So most likely I'm going to get TONS of messages, emails, and complaints here on the forum about how sucky this pack is due to minor bugs which they think is totally non-professional. But honestly I could give a rats ass about their opinions unless they put their money where their mouth is and help me fix model and config issues. My goal is not surpass other mods in how amazing our models/textures are. My goal is just to create stuff that is decent looking, that doesn't kill your CPU, and that is unique in terms of weapons, equipment, and features. Minor bugs will be fixed in updates (which will also include new addons as well most likely).

[Raafatah64 0]

miles we all thank the lobo team for what u guys did soo far and after i tested the beta mod everything works great and the mod is amazing soo if anyone wants to bitch about the mod let them deal with it on their own so far after testing everything from infantry to tanks u guys did great and soon in the future by adding new stuff to it it will be greater and everyone are dying to play this mod thanx lobo team and thank you miles

[galzohar 31]

What kind of problems does missilebox cause when used with ACE? I haven't noticed any (and searching only showed the MOAB failing to lock onto lasers), but then again I haven't used the missilebox weapons much. In the end, isn't the missilebox just more weapon models, weapons? Even the config tweaks for improving the realism of default Arma air weapons was placed in a separate addon (GLT_RealAirWeapons).

If you know of any specific ACE compatibility issues with the missilebox it would be good if you post about them in the appropriate threads. After all, we've been running ACE along with missilebox for a long time now and don't want any unpleasant surprise issues during an actual game.

Additionally, if you don't want to force people to download the missilebox to use the IDF soliders, you could separate the air units into a separate mod folder, so people downloading from Six Updater can choose just the soliders without missilebox or have both soldiers and air units but require the missilebox. Six Updater does a good job handling dependencies, so if you try to use a mod that requires another it will automatically download both and run them correctly.

As for the ACRE dependency, I don't really understand why it is needed. The units seem to work even with ACRE-related stuff deleted from the config file, with the only error being when you try to actually select a unit that is supposed to have an ACRE radio (obviously, as ACRE is not running). Since the only real difference between ACRE and non-ACRE soldiers are the addition of some classes that have radios by default, why not separate those? Heck, even ACRE-specific soldiers aren't really needed, as any community that makes any kind of ACRE-based missions already has scripts ready to equip soldiers with whatever radios they're supposed to have. Besides, when you play with ACRE, the ACE radios also function as ACRE radios anyway so you could use those too and just have one ACE config that will work with ACRE. In any case, I think flat-out requiring ACRE if you want ACE-compatible units is a bad idea, since lots of people use ACE without ACRE.

[miles teg 1]

@Galzohar: Regarding the Missile-Box I only know that UO tried it with ACE and it created a lot of errors when they tried to use the F-14 in the mod although I'm not familiar with the particulars. However, I'd rather not require even more stuff for people to download and I don't want the mod to be only available on Six updater (which is extremely difficult for many players to set up properly as it is FAR from intuitive. I had enormous problems with it and only the computer geeks in UO were able to figure the problems I had getting it to work properly. So while I wouldn't mind having the mod on SIX, the primary download areas will still be traditional websites as I don't want to cater only to players who use SIX updater. I'm also not keen on making separate models just for Myke's missilebox. However I will look a bit more into it and talk to Myke about it, but I'd prefer to get my mod's own bomb/missile pack working properly as it included Israeli air-weapons that no other air-weapons pack had.

Regarding the ACRE dependency, our radios are not ACRE models and as such have their own config designed to work with ACRE while also working as an ACE backpack. I can however make a 2nd ACE config that will just make them into another ACE backpack. That should remove any dependency issues for those who don't want to install ACRE and but who want to use ACE. So anyways, yeah I'll fix that issue.

@Raafatah64: Thanks bud.

[DanWelch 10]

Awesome!!!!!!!!

[dontpKaniC 1]

Looks really good, great job!

I've got a question though, will there be Merkava Mk. II, III and Magachs in the mod?

[GD Mast 0]

Looking great Miles Teg! :cool: dontpKaniC... check page 30 of this thread for your answer.

Edited December 14, 2012 by GD Mast

[dontpKaniC 1]

Looking great Miles Teg! :cool: dontpKaniC... check page 30 of this thread for your answer.

On page 30 there are only pictures of III's and IV's. It says nothing of II's and Magachs. So could you please answer the question and not send me looking for the answers?

[galzohar 31]

I guess asking Myke for help is not a bad idea at all. However, if you can't figure out how to make the F16 not depend on the missilebox, you can always make 2 separate mod folders, 1 for non-missilebox-dependent units and vehicles, and one for missilebox-dependent vehicles. That way those who don't want missilebox stuff can live without the F16. Those who are real aircraft fans most likely wouldn't mind downloading the missilebox to get it (and they probably have it already). Those using Six Updater will even get it automatically. So either way it shouldn't be a big problem IMO.

As for F-14 problems, might be more about bugs with the F-14 rather than problems with the missilebox itself? You might want to look into that again.

You might want to look at the configs for the ACE radios, then. Those work as just normal backpacks with a different name/model when you run ACE, but work as ACRE radios when you run also run ACRE. You might have to ask the ACE/ACRE guys how to actually make it work though.

A little note about the backpacks - The standard vest backpack (or "back pouch" as we call them) definitely can't carry 20liters worth of equipment... More like 2-5 at the most. If you could tweak that number that would be a nice improvement. People who want bigger backpacks can always switch them up.

Edited December 14, 2012 by galzohar

[miles teg 1]

@galzohar: I'm not sure if I can make the backpacks not be dependent on ACRE but still work with ACRE. It depends on what they inherit from. Either way, ACE and ACRE have a long history of changing class names and ruining dependent addons and missions. I'd rather stick to what I know is working and to date has not been changed. Otherwise I'm never going to get this pack released. I can't please everyone. At any rate, the solution I made will work perfectly fine as the config change for non-ACRE radios will be a simple solution that will have clear instructions for replacing the ACRE radio backpack config. The config pbo files are separate from the pbo files that contain the models, textures, and model.cfg files. I made them this way so that they could be easily swapped out (between ACE and non-ACE configs) and so config bugs could be easily fixed with updates. So there's not a problem once I do the ACE/non-ACRE config for the backpacks. It's just a matter of swapping out pbo files.

As for the F-16, as I said, the missile box thing is not high priority. Priority now is just getting the pack released. Also while I could tweak the backpacks carrying weight, nobody would use them if I did as they'd be next to useless. As such I prefer to sacrifice realism for gameplay for so that users aren't forced to use massive backpacks not normally used by the IDF anyways (aside for long road marches). Unlike ACE devs I am NOT a reality freak and in fact since I began making everything with ACE features I have grown more and more upset with the ACE mod devs and their insistence on absolute realism even if it comes at the expense of gameplay. They do this by making things needlessly frustrating and tedious to use (like their mortar system). That is another reason why I'm currently making BI configs for everything as default. Even though I'm ex-military, there are certain crappy realistic things in the military that I'd rather NOT relive or simulate. A lot of people disagree with me on this viewpoint, but my limits on "realism" are set in stone no matter how much people complain about them unless they can make an extremely persuasive argument about how it would improve gameplay. That's one reason why I've been careful in accepting anyone new (aside from Andrei and Namman2) as full partners in this mod as some individuals immediately want to redo everything in my mod to suit what they believe is more realistic.

But anyways, regarding those backpacks, mission makers can limit items put into those backpacks if they want realism for say an IDF clan server. So really it's a non-issue.

---------- Post added at 18:45 ---------- Previous post was at 18:35 ----------

On page 30 there are only pictures of III's and IV's. It says nothing of II's and Magachs. So could you please answer the question and not send me looking for the answers?

As of right now the pack will only have the Merkava Mk2, Merkava Mk4, Namer APC, Nakpadon APC, and M113. We had a D-9 bulldozer that was working but then that suddenly stopped working (really bizarre). At any rate it was a very low-poly model and was more just for background eye-candy then any actual useful purpose in a mission. Still it sucks that we can't get it working as it's a total mystery. Hopefully later we'll find a better model and use that. Aside from that we have a Merkava mk2 and a Puma APC but they need a lot of work. I think I'll leave those for updates as we have enough now for a solid comprehensive pack that covers all the main stuff with the exception of trucks. We have no IDF trucks... only humvees. But I do have some 2 1/2 ton trucks and 5-ton trucks used in my mod's Gulf War pack that I'll probably again add as an update later on. Likewise we have a good M60 model, but it needs modifying and a new texture job to make it into a true Magach 6 with ERA as used during the first Lebanon Invasion. The Magach7C I have a model for, but it needs retexturing and some updating to the model.

[goldenfiver 11]

Wow, those units look really well made, Thank you for posting those screens Miles :)

Hope that helps, but I got a few reskins of the uh60 blackhawk and ah64d I am not using - I can send them over if you are interested.

Edited December 14, 2012 by goldenfiver

[dontpKaniC 1]

"As of right now the pack will only have the Merkava Mk2, Merkava Mk4...", "Aside from that we have a Merkava mk2 and a Puma APC but they need a lot of work."

Wait, you mean the 3 and 4 are ready, and the 2 needs work? You've got me confused...

[Raafatah64 0]

yes dontpkanic miles means the mk3 the mk4 they are in the mod u dont have to be confused :)

[miles teg 1]

@goldfiver I have one skin by a UO member for the AH-64D while the UH-60 might be your skin (but maybe an older version) if it was in the old IDF clan pack with all the reskins. But, I can take a look at them and see if they're better. I can't guarantee that I'll use them or not, but it wouldn't hurt to take a look at them as I'd like to use the most detailed skins.

@dontpKaniC: Sorry yeah Raafatah64 was correct, that was a typo on my part. Sorry. I meant the Mk3 and Mk4 will be in the pack while the Merkava Mk2, Puma APC, and (I forgot to mention) the Achzarit APC (a new model) are still being worked on.

[DanWelch 10]

Another handy vehicle would be the AIL Storm 3 (Jeep Wrangler 4 door) in IDF Green. This would be awesome. Just an idea for the future, I am more than happy and excited about the work you've done already, thx for this IDF addon and great job! I cant wait to see these addons on my map.

[goldenfiver 11]

@goldfiver I have one skin by a UO member for the AH-64D while the UH-60 might be your skin (but maybe an older version) if it was in the old IDF clan pack with all the reskins. But, I can take a look at them and see if they're better. I can't guarantee that I'll use them or not, but it wouldn't hurt to take a look at them as I'd like to use the most detailed skins.

@dontpKaniC: Sorry yeah Raafatah64 was correct, that was a typo on my part. Sorry. I meant the Mk3 and Mk4 will be in the pack while the Merkava Mk2, Puma APC, and (I forgot to mention) the Achzarit APC (a new model) are still being worked on.

http://www.upf.co.il/file/521725426.html

This is the latest version we made for OA , which also includes loading screens, and the mod logo at the lower left corner of the screen.

[GD Mast 0]

So could you please answer the question and not send me looking for the answers?

and if you look through the pages of this thread, you would've gotten your answer and on that, I was pointing you in the right direction. :rolleyes: Typical... but glad you finally got you're answer.

[dontpKaniC 1]

and if you look through the pages of this thread, you would've gotten your answer and on that, I was pointing you in the right direction. :rolleyes: Typical... but glad you finally got you're answer.

Why point me in the right direction if you could just tell me? There are 45 pages in this thread, do you seriously expect me to read through all of that to get a simple answer?

All I'm saying is, since you bothered to answer, you could just answer me straight away, and not send me on a "hunt" for the answers.

[namman2 0]

dontpKanic yes they will be in the mod , right now we have the MK3D Baz and the MK4 in game , we have an MK3 model ready just need some config work , and the MK2,MK1, and the Magach with all it's variants are still in the making

[GD Mast 0]

Why point me in the right direction if you could just tell me?

Simple... forum rule #7 You did read the forum rules when you joined?

[katipo66 94]

Those units looking great, nice surprise... great to have IDF units available for Arma.

[IDFSpecOps 1]

This Lost Brothers MOD is looking better and better!!!! I'm hoping we get to play it very soon. It will be very interesting to see how the IDF fares against Iranian MOD units. This might be the greatest addon ever made for Arma II

[miles teg 1]

Yeah... right now I'm adjusting the damage values on the armored vehicles as they were a bit too high. Most likely however the Merkava tanks will obliterate the Iranian tanks on a one on one battle, however a Konkurs or Metis should make the crew bail out most of the time (and on rare occasion cause it to explode catastrophically. What sucks is that the damage values are very different for ACE so I have to test both battle damage on BI configs and battle damage using ACE configs. All of the armor however (with the exception of the M113) will take multiple RPG hits. Right along with the damage values I'm also fixing up the damage textures for the Namer2 (and I finally got them working on the Merkava Mk4).

[Raafatah64 0]

great news miles keep it up hope we will play the mod on xmas vacation and blow up some tanks :)