JTD Hide

[verde13 0]

Oh, one other thing, you do realise that the Hide action will disappear for at least 20 seconds once you've used it right? While the Hide exists, you won't see the action at all, and once it's destroyed, you won't see it until a random amount of time (20 to 40 seconds) has elapsed.

And a happy new year to you too :)

I know, the thing is that there isn't a hide option in the action menu. If i paste the mentioned code in the init field, i get the option and everything then seems to work fine.

[-)rStrangelove 0]

Hey DMarkwick, HNYear & all that.

What a great addon, really comes in handy for an undercover mission. :)

Is there a way to make this addon only accessible by scripts in a mission? What i want is that the player only gets the hide option when near a certain position (like in a shed, between boxes, in a dark room etc etc).

[xxbbcc 6]

Seems like I'm getting multiple "Hide" items in the action menu.

And I still vote for you not hiding the "Hide" menu after use :) - just leave it in place (show a brief ambigous message to indicate the action was attempted) and then internally ignore further uses until your time limit expires. This woud make it behave very much like in real life - the player can attempt to hide but there's no guarantee, especially after shooting.

[ArmAddict 10]

Does this mean AI can't see/hack-shot you through patches of grass?

[Spartan 163 0]

Does this mean AI can't see/hack-shot you through patches of grass?

I guess reading first post didn't give you idea of what it does?:confused:

[dmarkwick 261]

Does this mean AI can't see/hack-shot you through patches of grass?

You can still be shot, there is no protection from fire, but if you remain prone and still, you should be hidden from view. If you fire, you should remain hidden from view but only if you use single, widely spaced shots. That isn't to say though that AI won't use other methods to find you, like searching or using sound. It isn't meant to hide you while you pick off enemy with impunity, although careful use will help you do that, but it will hide you if you stay quiet & still :)

[l mandrake 9]

What an ingenious idea - thanks!

[katipo66 94]

Hey DMarkwick,

I've finally got around to trying this, very cool... are you still developing this? would there be a script version? also i understand you not wanting to make it auto but im curious as to whether it could be made auto as soon as you go prone? it kind of feels unnatural or disjointed to go prone and then think about selecting hide and in the same stroke im also wondering if terrain effects it? i.e. does it work on a road as it does in grass? sorry i didnt test that far, just thought of it now.

The way i used it was in night mission with a silenced unscoped weapon, i felt that i had some safety in clutter, i think i understand that this would have no bearing on it? but would be great if it did, because it would have significance on how you moved through the world.

Anyway this surprisingly brings another new (very cool) dimension to the game, Cheers :D

[mrcash2009 0]

It would be good (seeing as this got bumped) for it to be auto and also a config to assign to class type. For example you could then have it auto running and only have it set to Sniper Ghillie suit class, for which it would be perfectly suited.

As with the latest sniper mission campaign in the user missions sections, that would work a treat.

"Sniper Ghillie Hide" :)

[froggyluv 2136]

Hide eh? Never heard of this but sounds fun, thanks!

Still waiting for JTD Pray tho. When the fear is too much and hiding just didnt work, soldier on knee and clasped hands invokes The Lord's Prayer in final desperation:

" Dear God, please make me a bird so I can fly far, far away..."

Edited March 26, 2011 by froggyluv

[dmarkwick 261]

Hey DMarkwick,

I've finally got around to trying this, very cool... are you still developing this? would there be a script version? also i understand you not wanting to make it auto but im curious as to whether it could be made auto as soon as you go prone? it kind of feels unnatural or disjointed to go prone and then think about selecting hide and in the same stroke im also wondering if terrain effects it? i.e. does it work on a road as it does in grass? sorry i didnt test that far, just thought of it now.

The way i used it was in night mission with a silenced unscoped weapon, i felt that i had some safety in clutter, i think i understand that this would have no bearing on it? but would be great if it did, because it would have significance on how you moved through the world.

Anyway this surprisingly brings another new (very cool) dimension to the game, Cheers :D

Hi Katipo66, thanks for your interest in this :)

One reason that I would be reluctant to make it auto is that there is in my mind the conscious effort needed to hide, one problem with the addon is that it will hide you in plain sight, so making it a conscious effort will make you consider that you should also be looking for *actual* concealment too, an auto hide functionality would add something to the gameplay that, personally speaking, I wouldn't like.

Also, the practical reason is that the hide disappears upon movement, and an auto hide for a player who is tring to find a suitable position would be subject to random hide functionality :) Although it's not outside the possibility of having a positional monitor script running to constantly look for this movement and only apply the hide when a certain level of stillness is achieved, it takes away the conscious effort of deliberately concealing yourself when you are happy with your position.

That said, the hide is really only an invisible viewblock object, and my views on addon usage are open and free, so if you wish to make a different use of it you are most welcome to :)

Edited March 28, 2011 by DMarkwick

[dmarkwick 261]

It would be good (seeing as this got bumped) for it to be auto and also a config to assign to class type. For example you could then have it auto running and only have it set to Sniper Ghillie suit class, for which it would be perfectly suited.

As with the latest sniper mission campaign in the user missions sections, that would work a treat.

"Sniper Ghillie Hide" :)

Yes I agree that Ghillie useage is a perfect application for this :) having said all the above previous reply, an auto-hide functionality specifically for any unit wearing a ghillie suit is a good idea. :) but it would require a monitoring script to do this.

Edited March 28, 2011 by DMarkwick

[katipo66 94]

Hi Katipo66, thanks for your interest in this :)

One reason that I would be reluctant to make it auto is that there is in my mind the conscious effort needed to hide, one problem with the addon is that it will hide you in plain sight, so making it a conscious effort will make you consider that you should also be looking for *actual* concealment too, an auto hide functionality would add something to the gameplay that, personally speaking, I wouldn't like.

Also, the practical reason is that the hide disappears upon movement, and an auto hide for a player who is tring to find a suitable position would be subject to random hide functionality :) Although it's not outside the possibility of having a positional monitor script running to constantly look for this movement and only apply the hide when a certain level of stillness is achieved, it takes away the conscious effort of deliberately concealing yourself when you are happy with your position.

That said, the hide is really only an invisible viewblock object, and my views on addon usage are open and free, so if you wish to make a different use of it you are most welcome to :)

Ok i understand what you mean, good point...

I guess when i tried it out i wasn't playing as a sniper, i tried it in an infiltration type scenario, which doesn't work so well in vanilla arma, but with this mod i felt i could be evasive hiding and moving between patrols etc, so unlike a sniper role where movement is limited and deliberate its for more of a quick session of running from cover to cover, going prone and hiding...

I vote auto-hide for specops also :p

[twirly 11]

@DMarkwick...What a great idea mate!

I wrote this alternative script that uses the mod and makes it automatic for the player. It's got a lot of configuration options. They are however...all optional.

I've been having loads of fun with the script and your mod so thought I'd clean it up and post a link to it here. From reading the thread I know there are people that will find it useful. Which would be great!

The script can be found in a demo mission here.

Edited September 30, 2011 by twirly
Fixed an error an removed some script that should really be in the editing section

[dmarkwick 261]

Nice work Twirly :) good to see there is enough interest to generate new functionality :)

[twirly 11]

Nice work Twirly :) good to see there is enough interest to generate new functionality :)

Thanks man :).... but credit really goes to you for producing it in the first place :ok:

[runforrest 10]

hi

im using ur addon for quite some time now (imho with ASR AI its a must) and i got some ideas, that maybe could improve it a little bit more/ make it more realistic.

Would it be possible/reasonable to have the hide function only when the player is on grass or/and with small objects/rocks around? This would make the function more realistic, because it shouldnt be possilbe to hide on plain ground with nothing around (simply because theres nothing around that could help u to conceal urself)

And as others already mentioned the unit should maybe be something like a special forces soldier/sniper(without ghillie) (sniper with ghillie suit should have it no matter what) to simulate that the unit is trained in hiding and using the environment to its advantage.

Maybe it also makes sense to also change the knowsabout value instead of using only an invisible donut shaped object?

The best would be, to have a visual feedback how well hidden ur charakter is. Something like an improvised ghillie suit(if it is not already wearing one), that slowly is created on top of the player model (more and more branches,leaves,straws attached to the player model the longer the player is able to hide - and this goes along either with the knows about value that drops over time or with the rising/dropping of the invisble donut shaped object)

Thats just ideas, this addon is already really helpful, thank u :)

Edited January 27, 2013 by RunForrest
clarification

[dmarkwick 261]

Hi RunForrest, thanks for the interest :) I also still use this addon, it's somewhat of a gamechanger for me.

I have considered expanding this addon to be more functional as you suggested, but unfortunately I ran into some minor issues with ArmA2 that turn into major issues for this addon. In particular:

I cannot return clutter objects so I cannot grab whatever the immediately local vegetation is, this would have been great to gradually add more & more objects to the player model as he hides. However I may look into he possibility of returning the surface the player is currently on & seeing if I can return the configged clutter for that surface, and try attaching random selections from the returned list.

Fiddling with the knowsAbout values means basically constantly monitoring & changing enemy units, which I don't really want/need to do when a simple viewblock performs the required behavior in-engine. Plus, the doughnut-shape automatically gives a good reason & method for the AI to "find" you when they get close enough. The only downside I've noticed from using the viewblock is that it interferes with reporting of enemy units & returning distances etc. I was considering adding a user action for leaders what would drop all subordinates to the ground, get them to take cover then apply the hide object to them, the downside I mentioned would have the effect of not allowing the AI to fire when they get too nervous of close enemy :)

[mrcash2009 0]

Hi DM, its apt how this thread was hidden for so long and now appears once more :)

As you were back on replying to this, I always wanted to see a version that was a hide that only attached itself to sniper class or anything that was blatantly set under cammo, or gullie suit type of cover (whether that be a vehicle under cammo to hide in or around and so on). So its a more strict version adapted to a realistic class or type only.

Or to make it simpler (ish) to have a config external with an array list so it covers basic units and object cammo's but can be configures and removed as you wish per mission.

EDIT: I just realised I requested the same thing back in march 2011 on page 2 :o

[dmarkwick 261]

Hi DM, its apt how this thread was hidden for so long and now appears once more :)

Well the thread was here all the time but it was only when RunForrest got close to it that he saw it :)

[medusacadenza 6]

Does this addon work for all members of the players group or just for the player?

[runforrest 10]

Thanks for the insight information :)

I cannot return clutter objects so I cannot grab whatever the immediately local vegetation is, this would have been great to gradually add more & more objects to the player model as he hides. However I may look into he possibility of returning the surface the player is currently on & seeing if I can return the configged clutter for that surface, and try attaching random selections from the returned list.

If i understand that right what u wrote there, i think u shouldnt go to much into detail there. It should be enough to have just some general leaves,straws,gras,branches in no-matter-what-colour attached to the player armor. Even the default ghillie suit just comes in 2 colours and i think the green one is really enough in all situations

[das attorney 858]

I cannot return clutter objects so I cannot grab whatever the immediately local vegetation is, this would have been great to gradually add more & more objects to the player model as he hides. However I may look into he possibility of returning the surface the player is currently on & seeing if I can return the configged clutter for that surface, and try attaching random selections from the returned list.

I may have something to help you here. Let me check through my scripts as there is a way to return objects with no class. Is it just the clutter used on Chernarus you would need to find?

[dmarkwick 261]

I may have something to help you here. Let me check through my scripts as there is a way to return objects with no class. Is it just the clutter used on Chernarus you would need to find?

Whatever clutter is close to the player yes. I have a method of returning objects with no class (eg trees) but clutter seems to be more like a particle than an actual object.

[das attorney 858]

I'll have a look as I was using it for trees too, but I'll see if I can bodge it for clutter :)