Team Shadow - Sniper Campaign

[igneous01 19]

hey all :D

after many sleepless nights and lots of rockstars i have finally managed to finish part of my campaign. I am deciding to release it now so that people will have a chance to play through the missions and provide some feedback for more missions, while i work on the other ones.

I know some people have been asking and waiting for something like this, but fear no more! snipers are here and missions are galore! (well not really galore, but its getting there ;))

This campaign tries to focus on realism, so its not a sniper kill a hundred guys kind of thing. I used various ideas for the missions and made it challenging enough to keep it interesting. While some missions dont look or have a realistic setting, i tried it keep it as fair and balenced as possible between some fun and some real. feedback and suggestions appreciated, also report any bugs you find. Single Player Only, i may incorporate it as coop in the future.

====TEAM SHADOW (0.93)====

created by: DZ (Igneous01)

Description:

Team Shadow is a realistic campaign that focuses on a sniper team call sign shadow. It takes you through the

war in Chernarus where Russians have invaded and progresses through the war with ops in all different

areas. The missions are quite diverse, considering its just a two man team, ranging from target

elimination to reconnaisance, counter sniper operations, ordering support and surgical strikes on

high value areas. Also features training missions to help prepare you for whats expected in the field.

Features:

- precise control of your ai team mate - use the radio commands to make the ai never fire, even if you

team switch, as well as disabling their movement when you want them to be still in a tight situation.

- Diverse missions ranging from about everything a sniper team can do in real life

- Realistic presentation of a sniper team

- Task hints, sound effects, briefings, and all the other good stuff polished

- Range Me script, use the scroll action to get your ai to give you a quick range reading, if your

spotter dies you will no longer be able to use this function

- gear selection - choose the right weapons and equipment for the job

- 3 training missions to help you on your way

- Spotting Mode (**NEW) watch your own follow through when you take a shot, useful for longe range shots where you cant see the dust

Notes:

- Currently there are 8 missions in this campaign, but i plan to expand on this with many more missions

in many different parts of the map, the more people request missions, the quicker it will be done!!!

- The missions are fairly long, so saving is advised

- This campaign focuses on the real aspects of being a sniper - that means that for a majority of the time -

youll be on your belly crawling around from bush to bush to get around. Stealth is key in all these missions.

- Be Patient, rushing and getting ahead of yourself will just cause bad things to happen, like getting spotted

and gunned down

- Accuracy is extremely important in this campaign - In most of these missions you will only be allowed to carry

one magazine for your weapon, that means you really need to think about who you shoot, wasting ammo on grunts

will only cause bad things to happen, like getting spotted and gun down, as well as having no way of taking out

your real target

- Sidearm is your friend - Learn how to use a pistol in those times when things get heated up

- Position is everything - While it might seem like fun challenge trying to kill someone 1000 metres away, if the

weather doesnt permit it, and theres better options in getting closer, its better to take the safe route and make

sure that what you kill is on the first (or second) time around

- Notice theres alot of smoke grenades available when you select your gear - its your best friend when you gotta

make a fast escape from certain death

Feedback:

All feedback is highly appreciated, if you spot any bugs let me know, if you can repro any serious ones

that would help me out alot as well.

Also suggestions on mission types would be very helpful to me, those that have more knowledge about real

snipers should definitly voice their opinions on some missions and material to work with.

Installation:

Extract and move to your arma 2/campaigns folder

Known Bugs:

- Some missions dont have a picture to show - paint can be quite limiting at times

Future Features:

- More Missions

- Implement BIS Range Call function to replace the range me action

- Different Ghillie suits to better match the mission environments

- Weapon addon compatibility

- More gear to choose from

- Spotter smoke screen action

Requirements:

- Arma 2 Combined Operations

- CBA

- ACE, ACEX, ACEX_RU

- MAP_EU

Included Files:

TeamShadow_Campaign.pbo

readme.txt

SniperFAQ.txt

Credits:

Monsada - UPSMON Script

GLT Myke for his help - without him alot of this wouldnt be possible

Draper - Air Support Script

SHK - For his move objects script

ACE team - for the wonderful features

And everyone else that I forgot to mention

Changelog:

0.92

General:

- Added Spotting scope to gear pool (was missing because of USNavy)

"Invisible Man"

- Fixed timer on GIVER's arrival, it is now at the appropriate time (45 minutes)

0.93

"Becoming a HOG"

- Removed scripting hints from mission

"Guardian Angel"

- Removed Ace_Wounds to fix problem with gear selection

- Adjusted enemy numbers to better balance forces

- Repositioned helicopter crash and removed excess smoke to allow better visibility and places to fire.

General:

- Added new mission "Patrol"

- player will now return to stealth behaviour when using radio trigger never fire

- Fixed range me script condition - if the spotter dies it will become unusable

- Added missing radio trigger options in some missions

LINK TO FILE

link1 (7z):

http://www.4shared.com/file/gfoPj7hO/TeamShadow_Campaign.html?

link2 (rar):

http://www.mediafire.com/?pvm0ncdxjeyrzhc

armaholic:

http://www.armaholic.com/page.php?id=13779

Edited July 9, 2011 by Igneous01

[Speedle 10]

Ok, played the first two mission. My comments:

- first of all, good job ;-)

- loved the firing range qualification, flawless mission, very nice. I suggest everyone reading the "Sharpshooting guide" on ACE website;

- about the "sneaking qualification", I'm sorry, but I've to say that it's quite boring and not so realistic; no sniper goes alone and no sniper gets "50 meters from the target" moving on a plane surface with lots of men wandering in such a small area (basically, it's just a corridor full of patrols, over-covering an area). I understand that you wanted to focus on the stealthy aspect of being a sniper, but the point is that a sniper would think alternative ways: I've got a rifle that can put an 8 mm piece of metal at thousands of meters per second in the precise spot I want from hundeds of meters away: why the hell should I get closer than this? Just find a good, high, concealed place and blow that f***er's head up.. Also, I think no enemy would put so many patrols in a so small area, because there will be empty areas not covered by patrols. I'll replay the mission, trying to see the thing from your pov: I'm not used to judge at first sight ;-)

Anyway, good job. I've got a similar idea for a campaign and I really appreciate the way in which you have managed to represent the sniper training (I know the Army's way of sniper training, you're mentioning HOGs that are Marine's snipers, but I think the matter is the same XD).

Edited March 23, 2011 by Speedle

[kage74 10]

Maybe he wants us to play it something like

(watch the video) It'd too bad the AIs in ArmA 2 have eagle eyes and ears like a jackrabbit. :p

Sergeant Major: Soldier, how did you get so close to me?

Chavez: Sniper approached the instructor by being a sneaky bastard, Sergeant Major!

=^.^=,,,

Edited March 23, 2011 by kage74

[Speedle 10]

Just finished playing 3rd mission: TOP QUALITY, I really felt the atmosphere. Very good job ;-)

Can't wait to play the next mission, the "real" ones (the last mission was a training op)... but tomorrow I have to go to work, so maybe it's better if I end it here XD

[mortyfero99 10]

Features:

- precise control of your ai team mate - use the radio commands to make the ai never fire, even if you

team switch, as well as disabling their movement when you want them to be still in a tight situation.

Sorry but, what does this mean ?? Did you use an improved (different from arma2) team control mode ??

[dale0404 5]

Play the mission and find out buddy!

[maturin 12]

Awesome, a campaign that I know I will be able to run and enjoy. You don't need performance to be that great when you only take one shot.

Any reports on how it handles with ACE 2?

[igneous01 19]

Ok, played the first two mission. My comments:

- first of all, good job ;-)

- loved the firing range qualification, flawless mission, very nice. I suggest everyone reading the "Sharpshooting guide" on ACE website;

- about the "sneaking qualification", I'm sorry, but I've to say that it's quite boring and not so realistic; no sniper goes alone and no sniper gets "50 meters from the target" moving on a plane surface with lots of men wandering in such a small area (basically, it's just a corridor full of patrols, over-covering an area). I understand that you wanted to focus on the stealthy aspect of being a sniper, but the point is that a sniper would think alternative ways: I've got a rifle that can put an 8 mm piece of metal at thousands of meters per second in the precise spot I want from hundeds of meters away: why the hell should I get closer than this? Just find a good, high, concealed place and blow that f***er's head up.. Also, I think no enemy would put so many patrols in a so small area, because there will be empty areas not covered by patrols. I'll replay the mission, trying to see the thing from your pov: I'm not used to judge at first sight ;-)

Anyway, good job. I've got a similar idea for a campaign and I really appreciate the way in which you have managed to represent the sniper training (I know the Army's way of sniper training, you're mentioning HOGs that are Marine's snipers, but I think the matter is the same XD).

thanks for the feedback, i know it turns alot of people off just crawling for 40 minutes in some bush, but i didnt really know of any other way to get the point across, i suppose i could do something similar to that movie, but then the ai would know right away.

thats why i gave an option on which one you wanted to complete, i remember actually doing the 1200m with the random patrols and it took me about an hour and a half to actually complete that (i know i was bored xd)

ill see if i can come up with an alternative training mission thats a little more fun ;)

Sorry but, what does this mean ?? Did you use an improved (different from arma2) team control mode ??

i added some basic radio commands (0-0-) that let you modify how your ai behaves.

from my experience playing with the ai spotter, when you want to teamswitch to him (maybe he got stuck in pathing, or you want to get the spotting scope or whatever) any ai the player ai sees, hell automatically engage, ruining the stealth and position. so turning on ai never fire (ON) will make them never fire, no matter what, even if you teamswitch and all that good stuff.

the second one is there incase (for ex) enemies are maybe 50 feet from you and your hiding under a tree and safe, suddenly your spotter starts tripping out and doing 360s and bicycle kicks in the air, letting the enemy spot you (which is frustrating).

ill try to work on some more basic features between the spotter and the sniper, so that he has more of a purpose, once i get the spotting mode working, the spotter will be much more useful for checking out your own shots through his spotting scope.

Awesome, a campaign that I know I will be able to run and enjoy. You don't need performance to be that great when you only take one shot.

Any reports on how it handles with ACE 2?

i did these missions with a 2.2 ghz dualcore, 4 gigs of ram (i think 2 is only used on xp) and nvidia 8500 gs (1 gig of ram) so most of my settings are on fairly low, so alot of these missions should run very smooth for the most part.

the only mission that might cause problems is the 5th mission in chernarus where you have to escape the city (and it looks like shit with alot of close quarter fighting between the two ai sides) it hiccups for a few seconds when you first get into it because of the upsmon script and the ACM thats running, plus the artillery fire and the burning buildings. but eventually it smoothens out on performance, and once u leave the city its pretty much consistent again.

working on adding two more missions and hopefully the spotting mode as well. so stay tuned :)

Edited March 24, 2011 by Igneous01

[sig 10]

Can you give us the option of a non ACE campaign?

[igneous01 19]

Can you give us the option of a non ACE campaign?

I dont think this is possible for me right now, since the entire premise of this campaign is focused on the features in ACE, such as the more accurate sight adjustment, windage, and the spotting scope. It would take alot of time to unwind it so that its compatible with vanilla - I may do this once the campaign itself becomes finished.

[JSj 12]

This looks awesome, can't wait to try it out! Just what I've been waiting for. Sniping is a lot more fun and realistic in ACE, so I'd rather see you make more missions in ACE than wasting time with a non ACE version.

[Zipper5 74]

I dont think this is possible for me right now, since the entire premise of this campaign is focused on the features in ACE, such as the more accurate sight adjustment, windage, and the spotting scope. It would take alot of time to unwind it so that its compatible with vanilla - I may do this once the campaign itself becomes finished.

I do hope you consider it, because I am actually quite intrigued by such a campaign premise. It sounds like there are some real opportunities for rather unique gameplay when it comes to Arma 2 here. :)

[Kommiekat 11]

For some reason, my leader in FINAL MISSION, to become a HOG, was not issued any weapons, though my Spotter was. Not sure why.

[igneous01 19]

For some reason, my leader in FINAL MISSION, to become a HOG, was not issued any weapons, though my Spotter was. Not sure why.

yea you need to pick your gear in the briefing screen, all the missions work this way, theres no ammo crate that you pick up from except in the first mission. for all the rest you select your gear in the briefing screen.

---------- Post added at 12:27 ---------- Previous post was at 12:13 ----------

UPDATE (WIP)

currently in development, just finished one of the two missions, and almost done tweaking the second. some screenies of them.

i wont spoil any details about them, but lets just say ones alot of killing and the other more professional kind of killin ;)

also Spotting Mode function is complete, so that will be implemented into all missions as well.

Will release sometime today once im done.

[maturin 12]

I'm inclined to agree with the earlier poster about the stalker training. The lack of the ability to save, coupled with the terrible performance BIS somehow managed to achieve in such a tiny map, makes me want to open up the .pbo and skip training.

[igneous01 19]

i suppose if anyones got good suggestions to give on the second training mission, im all ears.

i suppose a good compromise would be to increase the range you need to reach the person, less work for me, gets the point across, and shouldnt be frustrating to complete (ive played it a few times as well, usually failing when i get 3/4 the way there.

however if you wait until night falls (like 30 mins or so) the ai will be blind as bats (no nv goggles) which makes it easier to finish (which is why i set it to near sunset time, because midday would be impossible to complete)

then again i never tested it with zeus, so it might be easier with that.

ill see what i can do.

---------- Post added at 18:29 ---------- Previous post was at 17:00 ----------

Campaign updated to 0.8, see first post for links and features

[maturin 12]

The thing is, no one is going to be in the mood for restarting a 1000m crawl more than once.

I'd suggest a scripted death (like in Bitter Chill) to allow for reverting saves. In the meantime I will wait for darkness.

[igneous01 19]

The thing is, no one is going to be in the mood for restarting a 1000m crawl more than once.

I'd suggest a scripted death (like in Bitter Chill) to allow for reverting saves. In the meantime I will wait for darkness.

i see what you mean, but the 1000m crawl is an optional, its not required, if you feel macho enough to do it then go for it, you only need to complete 1 of them to pass the mission.

anyways the newer version i removed half of the patrols and also scaled down the size of the teams. It should be alot easier now to complete the stalking mission.

the 500m is the easiest now by far. the 1200m one is still quite challenging, but like i said, if you feel gutsy enough to do it, then prepare to face the consequences.

and i believe this shouldnt effect your savegames. im gonna check to see that the name matches the old pbo, as the saves will be transferred to the new campaign.

[maturin 12]

Oh. There isn't a 500m option in my version of the campaign, so that should improve things.

[-RFP-CHykis 11]

I cant complete Skalisty mission. only killed 2 snipers: first in right target area and second in boat service. spend much time with trying found more but no result

[igneous01 19]

Oh. There isn't a 500m option in my version of the campaign, so that should improve things.

interesting.. ill check back on that mission again, but as i recall, the action would show up in your scroll menu for the option of 1200m and 500m. taking you to that specified course.

I cant complete Skalisty mission. only killed 2 snipers: first in right target area and second in boat service. spend much time with trying found more but no result 

the other snipers are there, but there hiding in places where the ghillie suit really works for them. id recommend checking the small islands again, as well as the shore line of the main island. when you finally do spot them, they look very obvious.

edit**

bah your right, i forgot they were 1400m and 1000. i see what you mean now, sorry that was my bad, i forgot that i made them so large.

Next update the second mission will be scaled down to about 650m or so. that should make things easier for people, my bad for being oblivious to it.

next update coming soon, a small one this time.

- fixed 1000m stalk to 600m in area

- add marker hint for the location of the two other snipers on skalisty island - if the sniper on the boat house is killed. otherwise no hint will show. (the boathouse sniper is optional)

Edited March 26, 2011 by Igneous01

[karatekid 10]

I can say only 2 words...:Fckin AWESOME!!

Edit: U could use maybe the Ghillies for a changesuit addon.:)

Edited March 26, 2011 by Karatekid

[mrcash2009 0]

Great mission, starting on it now.

Edit: U could use maybe the Ghillies for a changesuit addon.:)

I agree with this.

BTW you might want to add in your readme and first post about the >> TAW Sniper Operations Manual for OA << PDF, perfect for MIL descriptions, weapons in OA etc etc, and perfect in this mission. And more links to ACE instructions with Sniper features.

Also maybe you could speak to Dmarwick about incorporating his "hide" addon as a script for snipers? http://forums.bistudio.com/showthread.php?t=112259

Also I agree that Proving Grounds might not be the best for training, mainly becuase its a map for DLC owners, the tree performance when zoomed are pretty poor on that map too. Maybe use Chernarus or Takistan on some open hill areas or something? As much as ACE dependency is ok, DLC dependency might make it less favourable (I own all DLC's BTW but im thinking about others). Plus I didn't see any mention of the use of this in requirements.

... but, having said all of that, I realy like the approach on this, getting specific for a certain role. I gravitate towards sniper allot, but haven't realy tried the role more seriously, and this is perfect timing. I will feed back more once I get through it :)

EDIT:

Heres a good example of sniper role using ACE2 features (maybe first post links to some good ones and in readme?)

TQny-ehnXHc

Also ACE instructions : http://ace.dev-heaven.net/search/kestrel#Introduction (Select Marksmanship drop-down).

Edited March 26, 2011 by mrcash2009

[igneous01 19]

Great mission, starting on it now.

I agree with this.

BTW you might want to add in your readme and first post about the >> TAW Sniper Operations Manual for OA << PDF, perfect for MIL descriptions, weapons in OA etc etc, and perfect in this mission. And more links to ACE instructions with Sniper features.

Also maybe you could speak to Dmarwick about incorporating his "hide" addon as a script for snipers? http://forums.bistudio.com/showthread.php?t=112259

Also I agree that Proving Grounds might not be the best for training, mainly becuase its a map for DLC owners, the tree performance when zoomed are pretty poor on that map too. Maybe use Chernarus or Takistan on some open hill areas or something? As much as ACE dependency is ok, DLC dependency might make it less favourable (I own all DLC's BTW but im thinking about others). Plus I didn't see any mention of the use of this in requirements.

... but, having said all of that, I realy like the approach on this, getting specific for a certain role. I gravitate towards sniper allot, but haven't realy tried the role more seriously, and this is perfect timing. I will feed back more once I get through it :)

EDIT:

Heres a good example of sniper role using ACE2 features (maybe first post links to some good ones and in readme?)

TQny-ehnXHc

thats a very good idea, however myself personally could never really find alot of links towards sniping in ace. Especially when it came to wind calls, since it seemed like a secret practice, that is until i watched that video (in your post)

i will try to get some links together and put them in the read me.

about the DLC packs,

im currently using the lite versions, and as i believe it they are part of the standard update 1.57 (or 1.58) so as long as your arma combined ops is updated, then it shouldnt be a problem.

The reason for proving grounds as the training area was because:

a) if it was in chernarus - it wouldnt make sense training there, then fighting in the area you were training in (since the story starts with the US having no foothold) so just wanted to keep it coherant to some sort of story.

b) If it was takistan, for some reason i just personally dont like that map, its alot of open ground and narrow canyons and it just doesnt really appeal to me as a training area, as compared to proving grounds, where it was open but still alot of vegetation and a small box to work in.

it sucks that there is lag with the trees there, but thankfully for the range test your zooming in on the open field to the north east, and the second mission requires no ammo, and in the third one i blew up the trees blocking los to the area, even tho they are still there, they dont cause lag (which i find kind of funny)

However, I will most likely be working on another campaign for shadow but in a new region (once this campaign ends) and will incorporate different ideas towards the training in those ones.

If anything im currently thinking about a minicampaign in Thirsk winter, where the ghillies_for_a_change will be put to good use with alot of nifty side missions and what not. Ive already figured out the basics of using the FSM, so it should be pretty easy to make a dynamic mission on that island.

and yes, ive asked Dmarkwick about his hide addon, but i dont know if he has released it for A2 yet? (i was modifying his original, but it didnt work out to well since i couldnt make an invisible viewblock :S)

all in all its great to see alot of interest for the campaign and for the role in arma 2. Its inspired me to make alot more missions.

The next update should be coming soon, I currently started working on a mission and will add it as well to the list of fixes, using Twirlys virtual sniper script :D. should be great once its finished.

[mrcash2009 0]

Thanks for reply.

Yes no problem on training, for me I have the full version and yes DLC light is fine but, anyway if its working ok then just a thought.

The hide link I posted is for Arma2 that's DM's conversion version :) So it can be used right now, but I was thinking maybe mission use and just the sniper class.

I had a small few things to report,

On mission training one, would be nice to have an auto save trigger happen as you reach the flag area to start shooting on the range, so you have a auto revert if you fail (instead of stopping and having to go through the briefing again). I know you can save yourself but its a bit of spoon feeding for those who then realise they have to go back through all the chatter again if they failed. Wither that or you get an option to restart and it just starts the main test again without a fail mission screen?

On mission training 2 I cant complete it. I finished the shorter 1000 meter version by getting it from the officer in the building. It completes successfully (I get within range undetected) and then got spawned back at the original location, I went back to the officer and still got the 2 course options, went to the second officer and got nothing, so I have completed at least one of them but cant, ummm, end and complete it for next mission?

I know I can use the endmission cheat but I wondered if that's a bug, or something im missing?

Any hints?

Some ideas:

You mention dynamic, would you consider a open mission style like some ive seen where you get your missions from a command post / officer at base (of which you can then gear up whats needed / with briefing) and then get dropped into the zone with a random placement and creation for the mission. So you have say 6 mission types that get randomly called and spawned on the map with a random LZ (each time you request a mission from base), you then gear up and go out and complete, then RTB for full completion. Rinse and repeat.

There was a "kind of random" mission in Arma1 based on snipers, but I would love to see a full open random sniper based free roam style mission done in A2. You kind of have allot of the elements already present, mind you I haven't got much farther so maybe you have this covered.

Edited March 26, 2011 by mrcash2009