GAM Clockfacing Report

[gammadust 12]

GAM Clockfacing Report

v1.0RC2

UPDATED: compatibility with Combined Operations

by Gamma

DESCRIPTION:

This addon adds clockfacing target calling to the units, and gives you the possibility to ask for more information on the target.

In order to avoid redundancy this addon disables original Arma 2 target reporting from the base Radio messages,

in fact those lead to some confusion since they were either too general or ambigous.

Information was given in relation to what position? The emmiter of the message? The receiver? The formation core?

This addon makes those clock directions always in relation to the player.

As an extra it adds a menu option to ask for a more detailed report on a target

(the one under your cursor or current inquired unit main threat).

Unit inquired counts the number of close together enemies and estimates the range of the main target in 10's of meters,

it ultimately gives the compass bearing in unit degrees (in this case relative to itself),

this with a delay of 2 seconds to simulate the time to estimate results.

FEATURES:

• Units in your group call enemies a la Operation Arrowhead
  

Clock Directions

Visual signaling (red circle, don't worry it is dependent on difficulty settings)

• Units give you extra information on demand:
  

Number of elements

Distance (10s meters)

Exact Bearing (degrees)

Visual signaling (red circle)

REQUIREMENTS:

• Arma 2 or Combined Operations
  

NOTES/TODO/COMPATIBILITY:

• Version compatible with base Arma 2 / Combined Operations AI only
  
• In the future support for addon AIs such as SLX_AI might be released
  
• Optional signature files included for multiplayer
  

(This is my first public addon, I am also getting used to the publishing logistics.

Some bugs might turn up, if you bump into one just post your finding.

This and other suggestions are very welcome.

Still Release Candidate I am collecting all the stuff to include in the Final)

DOWNLOAD:

GAM_ClockfacingReport_v1.0RC2.zip

GAM_ClockfacingReport_v1.0RC2.zip (Armaholic - thanks Foxhound)

Edited May 31, 2011 by gammadust

[mrcash2009 0]

This sounds interesting, any videos of it in action to check out and see how it runs?

The mother of all limits = Arma2 only.

I would be very interested in this but OA/CO support would be a bonus :)

[gammadust 12]

Haven't done any videos so far. It is not out of the question though.

Regarding the Arma 2 limitation is only because originaly this was to bring A2 something only available in OA/CO. No point in porting there, in fact the BIS target calling seams much more consistent now from what I have experienced, much less ambiguous.

Along the way I added the bonus features (on-demand target calling), it's totally possible to add those to OA. It is planned, but is part of a bigger project I have for OA.

Since it will be a more complex one I will probable announce it first in the WIP projects thread. Keep an eye there for GAM Full Target Report.

[.kju 3245]

Thanks gammadust!

Both from the gameplay side and the technical side a very interesting addon. :bounce3:

Some notes:

When running CO units one gets:

> Warning Message: Radio message SentEnemyReportNoTarget not found

To fix this add to class RadioProtocolBase this directly

class SentEnemyReportNoTarget
{
	versions[] = {"Version1",1};
	class Version1
	{
		text = "NO TARGET";
		speech[] = {"NoTarget"};
	};
};

You forgot to the mention the CBA requirement in your readme I think.

Would it be possible to make a visual indicator at the position an unit is

called out? For debugging and lower difficulty?

Where were your changes to the danger.fsm?

[gammadust 12]

When running CO units one gets:

> Warning Message: Radio message SentEnemyReportNoTarget not found

Expected! (Arma 2 only)

your fix works, of course, it was the sentence that had been added to the protocol.

You forgot to the mention the CBA requirement in your readme I think.

Forgot that, nice catch, thank you. Updating first post.

Would it be possible to make a visual indicator at the position an unit is

called out? For debugging and lower difficulty?

Never thought of that, added to my list, I would try to follow Arma conventional signaling. That red interrupted line circle. Don't know if that would come easy. Have to check how that is invoked (if not automatically).

Where were your changes to the danger.fsm?

I just added:

if(isnil "GAM_notify")then{GAM_notify=(compile preProcessFileLineNumbers 'GAM\GAM_ClockfacingReport_A2\scripts\GAM_notify.sqf');};

[_this,_dangerCausedBy] call GAM_notify;

in initial "Reacting on Danger" state.

you can inspect the implementation in respective script. unpbo it ;)

Edited May 8, 2011 by gammadust

[gammadust 12]

Never thought of that, added to my list, I would try to follow Arma conventional signaling. That red interrupted line circle. Don't know if that would come easy. Have to check how that is invoked (if not automatically).

Easyer then I thought. Just need to invoke it with "doTarget".

I'll try to expedite more stuff into it in order to make an update release RC2.

-----

What do you think should I add it for both automatic target calling and on-demand, or just one of them? It is starting to look like "userconfig" options for such a simple addon :/

Edited May 8, 2011 by gammadust

[Guest]

Release frontpaged on the Armaholic homepage.

GAM Clockfacing Report v1.0RC2



Community Base Addons

Edited May 9, 2011 by Guest
mirror updated with CBA free version

[gammadust 12]

I was holding a bit before going "Armaholic" but I knew you would just track me down... thank you for posting Foxhound.

Combined Operations compatible version almost ready, and with no CBA requirements. :)

I'll update soon.

[twirly 11]

Using this...it's very nice. Thank you gammadust!

[gammadust 12]

Glad you're enjoying, any critique is welcome by the way, I am sure there's room for improvement and polishing. :)

[katipo66 94]

Hey bro, sounds good except GAM_CO\ADDONS is empty ?

[old_painless 182]

Regarding the Arma 2 limitation is only because originaly this was to bring A2 something only available in OA/CO. No point in porting there, in fact the BIS target calling seams much more consistent now from what I have experienced, much less ambiguous.

Hi gammadust, very interesting addon in the works here. Having it as a Combined Ops addon too would be very relevant, since BIS's implementation from OA does not work. So if you had actually come up with a good implementation, all OA/CO players would be very happy!

Best regards,

OP

[gammadust 12]

Hey bro, sounds good except GAM_CO\ADDONS is empty ?

Unfortunate this mishap, corrected now... check it out ;)

new file here and updated in first post.

Hi gammadust, very interesting addon in the works here. Having it as a Combined Ops addon too would be very relevant, since BIS's implementation from OA does not work. So if you had actually come up with a good implementation, all OA/CO players would be very happy!

Best regards,

OP

In fact I believe present OA/CO target calling is not that confusing as it was in A2, it certainly improved (only a pool of two sentences). Remember that the usage of the addon subtracts that target calling such as "Enemy at grid 032083", useful if it is detected at a very long distance.

Edited May 9, 2011 by gammadust

[old_painless 182]

Unfortunate this mishap, corrected now... check it out ;)

new file here and updated in first post.

In fact I believe present OA/CO target calling is not that confusing as it was in A2, it certainly improved (only a pool of two sentences). Remember that the usage of the addon subtracts that target calling such as "Enemy at grid 032083", useful if it is detected at a very long distance.

Hi gammadust, here are a few threads concluding that the OA callouts with the clock being displayed is not useful, however well thought out:

http://forums.bistudio.com/showthread.php?t=96802&highlight=clock+direction

http://forums.bistudio.com/showthread.php?t=117105&highlight=clock+direction

Basically, your statement "This addon makes those clock directions always in relation to the player" is just what the OA implementation fails to do.

So it would be very nice if your addon could work in OA as well, I hope that you could eventually make it work, but of course it is your call :)

Best regards,

OP

[gammadust 12]

I skimmed through those threads, had no idea ppl had that of an issue with the system, maybe they played more then myself...

"I have figured this out now!

You're supossed to look at the map. Use the compas and take a heading for every one in your squad. Add them together. Divide that with the number of AI plus you. Take the squareroot and ad som Pi, just for fun. Then you have the average heading of the squad and hence the "direct ahead" direction! Easy and simple, not to mention made in a blink of the eye! Hmm... "

/sarcasm lol

^^ is almost exacly what is scripted in my addon - minus the the hours separation of 30 degrees, and speech generation.

In regards to OA (only) addon, it is possible, in fact if you try out the CO version (included in latest zip - check 1st post) the functionality is there including for BAF/PMC common units. I noticed so called "special characters" don't benefit, "Reynolds", "Poet", etc fail to use the right protocol, haven't figured a way circunvent that yet. Anyway you can try using the current CO in your OA install, you might get some .rpt errors but nothing game breaking hopefuly. It might justify branching out an OA specific version, I was avoiding it, but you can be sure a Final version would include that.

Another thing is... while in Arma 2 there is no clock representation, the addon as-is is no problem, but for OA/CO there might be a disconnect between the exact orientation of the player and the 12 o'clock position shown. You have to remember where you were looking-at at the moment the report came in instead of looking down the clock if you get confused (maybe disable it totaly in your difficulty settings), anyway, in easier modes you now have a visual cue marked over the called target (as per PvPscene suggestion).

Edited May 10, 2011 by gammadust

[old_painless 182]

Hi gammadust, I'll give it a try. Also, I would be using it in Combined Ops mode, not OA only. And the problem from those threads apply to CO as well. So no problems there

Thanks,

OP

[old_painless 182]

Allright, I tried it last night, running a A2 scenario under Combined Ops (A2+OA). I got enemy calls that seemed to match the green clock symbol in the lower right corner of the screen.

I was just wondering a few things, while testing: Does your addon display a clock as well, graphically, similar to OA? Or do you use the OA clock?

I did not try out the extended querying of targets, will look into that soon. But I was very pleased that the clock calling seemed to be accurate, by that I mean matching the clock symbol I had on my screen

-OP

[gammadust 12]

I was just wondering a few things, while testing: Does your addon display a clock as well, graphically, similar to OA? Or do you use the OA clock?

It does but do not 100% rely on it, only by chance Player's direction (12 o'clock) coincides with that of the graphic.

The clock graphic pops-up without the script specificaly asking for it. It appears to be tied to the engines calling target event (which the script just mutes, leaving underlying occurences intact).

I did not try out the extended querying of targets, will look into that soon. But I was very pleased that the clock calling seemed to be accurate, by that I mean matching the clock symbol I had on my screen

As accurate as 360 / 12 = 30 degrees >> margin of error which is why there seems to be no difference, but in extreme cases that won't be the case.

Specifically the o'clock readings are calculated based on the exact direction the player is facing at the moment of reporting. Only by chance it may coincide with the arma engine's calculation which drives the graphic clock.

In BIS original implementation the orientation of the clock is more obscure: current formation direction/movement, individual units orientation, formation core position, even time seems to influence although indirectly. If leader suddenly makes a 180 degrees turn, formation direction takes some steps/time to update to current leader direction.

[old_painless 182]

It does but do not 100% rely on it, only by chance Player's direction (12 o'clock) coincides with that of the graphic.

The clock graphic pops-up without the script specificaly asking for it. It appears to be tied to the engines calling target event (which the script just mutes, leaving underlying occurences intact).

As accurate as 360 / 12 = 30 degrees >> margin of error which is why there seems to be no difference, but in extreme cases that won't be the case.

Specifically the o'clock readings are calculated based on the exact direction the player is facing at the moment of reporting. Only by chance it may coincide with the arma engine's calculation which drives the graphic clock.

In BIS original implementation the orientation of the clock is more obscure: current formation direction/movement, individual units orientation, formation core position, even time seems to influence although indirectly. If leader suddenly makes a 180 degrees turn, formation direction takes some steps/time to update to current leader direction.

Ok, so if I may sum up?

Disregard any clock displayed. In stead, use the direction player is facing as 12 o'clock. Ie. a contact reported at 6'o clock will be behind me, 9'o clock to my left and so on.

Thanks,

OP

[gammadust 12]

Ok, so if I may sum up?

Disregard any clock displayed. In stead, use the direction player is facing as 12 o'clock. Ie. a contact reported at 6'o clock will be behind me, 9'o clock to my left and so on.

Thanks,

OP

You got it right.

Just seamed to me you wanted a look in the inner workings. But thats a good summation.

[old_painless 182]

Oh, but that explanation helped me, so thanks. I was just not sure if you were improving on the OA clock display, the one that pops up whenever a contact is called out. Or if you didn't rely on it at all.

Out of curiousity, if you play Arma2 (no OA) with your addon, do you get a clock display?

Edit: I guess not, just read your first post once more

Edited May 13, 2011 by Old_Painless

[kremator 1065]

Hey there,

I have this installed and it is working well, but what WOULD be great is for the troops to 'highlight' the enemy without being asked F2-5-9 etc. They seem to be a little slow on highlighting too, so can that be made faster?

It is one of my KEY addons now and needs to be installed on everyone's machine, as it make life SO much easier!

One final thing - although I admit I havent tried it yet - will this work serverside (ie not needed as an addon for clients)?

Thanks once again. Looking forward to an update.

EDIT: I'm using your mute addon as well, and my troops don't seem to be saying their contacts when asked.... bug ?

[gammadust 12]

It is possible to automate that "highlighting" of enemy target on contact, but only one target can be highlighted at one time. I'll look for the best implementation game-play wise (in order not to make the main feature redundant)

The report is indeed artificially delayed by 2 seconds. The point being to simulate estimation time. Can be customized manually, I've considered including an addon userconfig file to allow easier customization of that parameter.

I'll work on those features since there is interest :) (I am just a bit busy atm, I will surely include it though)

Regarding that server side considerations, I tried to have those in mind but very superficially, and haven't done any testing. It wasn't a priority. Despite having generated server keys.

Hopefully there isn't much SP exclusive code there if any. Do your tests and report back, I'll also take a look at your findings in that front.

[kremator 1065]

Glad you are still actively working on them mate! As I said I think this SHOULD be on everyone's addonlist !

Finding a way to highlight multiple enemies would be HEAVEN !

[Jak170 10]

Yes, this mod works great. and as above stated, having multiple enemies highlighted would also be great but that may be a little too cheap.