COOP 10 Chernarus Apocalypse, part one

[celery 8]

part one

Map: Chernarus

Players: 1-10

Description:

This is a zombie coop mission with specific objectives and one life per character. Equipment and munitions are scarce and the enemy is dangerous and numerous, which promotes tactics, teamwork and good shooting. The zombies are resistant to bullets, and only a headshot is a reliable way to kill them. This part requires you to focus on tactics and fire discipline.

Story:

Most of Chernarus has been overrun by zombies. Shortly after the outbreak began, the world was alerted with an emergency transmission and a quarantine was attempted by the CDF, Russia, NATO and hired professionals. The quarantine failed after 22 hours and all surviving units retreated to protect the capital region except for the Russians who have a long border with Chernarus to the north.

You are one of the few survivors left in South Zagoria, the ground zero of the outbreak, and have been waiting for a passing ship or other form of help on the eastern shore in vain. Just a moment ago, you picked up a plea for help over the radio requesting assistance at the Olsha hill radio tower. You must go northwest and investigate.

Chernarus Apocalypse series:

Dawn of the Apocalypse - SP: http://www.armaholic.com/page.php?id=12135

Dawn of the Apocalypse - Coop: http://www.armaholic.com/page.php?id=15523

Chernarus Apocalypse, part one: http://www.armaholic.com/page.php?id=14211

Chernarus Apocalypse, part two: http://www.armaholic.com/page.php?id=14632

Chernarus Apocalypse, part three: http://www.armaholic.com/page.php?id=15372

Features:

• Addon-free but convincing zombies
  
• Several zombie behavior types
  
• Player characters have unique equipment and diaries
  
• Custom healing script with shareable bandages
  
• Zombies may drop bandages and magazines
  
• Pistols are accurate
  
• Selectable friendly fire damage rate
  
• JIP players start close to the group
  
• Character gear, bandages and damage are saved in case a player disconnects
  
• Spectator mode after death
  
• You can continue the game after dying by picking a new unit slot
  
• Pacifist or partial stealth run is very hard but possible

Credits:

Mission and scripts: Celery

Apocalypse series concept: Celery and Zipper5

Voice acting: Rejenorst (www.rejenorst.com)

Music: Thief: Deadly Shadows soundtrack composed by Eric Brosius

Noises and screams: Thief II: The Metal Age and Operation Flashpoint: Cold War Crisis

Fog script: Rockhount (original by Yac)

Requirements:

• Arma 2
  
• Operation Arrowhead
  
• Army of the Czech Republic DLC: http://www.armaholic.com/page.php?id=17321

Mod compatibility:

• The mission has been designed to run without mods but should work fine with most mods
  
• ACE is accommodated with the removal of its stamina feature
  
• WARNING: DayZ makes you spawn as a bird because it erases classes used by the rest of the game!

Installation:

Put the pbo file into your ArmA 2\MPMissions folder.

>Download version 1.5<

Changelog:

v1.5

• Renovated the scripts
  
• Optimized bandwidth and CPU usage
  
• Added line of sight condition to zombie attack when either party is inside a building
  
• Improved HUD
  
• Improved loot sparkle
  
• Fixed visible respawn marker
  
• Fixed outro
  
• Changed hit reaction sounds
  
• Fixed absent fog
  
• Fixed buggy healing script
  
• Added a countermeasure for a certain DayZ-related behavior in players
  
• Slightly improved the spectator script
  
• Added camera shake as a hit effect
  
• Simplified the incredibly difficult terrain detail selection feature
  
• Rebalanced .45 magazine counts
  
• Partially fixed the problem of zombies sinking inside the floor in Krasnostav
  
• Radio and ammo box relocate if tower is destroyed

v1.4

• Updated scripts to match part 3 v1.4
  
• Zombies have slightly less aggro range in urban areas
  
• Added window lights
  
• Improved loot sparkle functionality
  
• Made mission end before the last player enters spectating mode
  
• Improved addWeapon script compatibility with vanilla Arma 2
  
• Explicitly specified all magazines for crate and addweapon scripts to avoid unexpected bugs with mods

v1.3 Free

• Fixed erroneous character description
  
• Fixed script error in init.sqf
  
• Removed magazine dropping due to network issues

v1.3

• Fixed wrong crate loadouts
  
• Fixed accuracy script
  
• Added hint for the doctor and reporter

v1.2 Free

• Removed or changed all OA-dependent units, objects, weapons, features and scripts

v1.2

• Updated script base
  
• Added more zombie models - server needs to run at least 1.59 beta
  
• Added spoken lines
  
• Added possibility to ignore objectives 1 and 3
  
• Added new objective for clarity
  
• Added new weapon and more magazines to geocache
  
• Fixed radio conversation triggering twice
  
• Fixed JIP issues
  
• Fixed spectating issues
  
• Removed ability to take a bandage from a live zombie
  
• Removed unused sound file
  
• Removed some exploitable positions
  
• Compressed sound files
  
• Made tower horde a little smaller
  
• Changed weapon holder to ammo crate in tower to prevent it from disappearing
  
• Tweaked crate loadouts
  
• Changed M60 to PKM
  
• Moved some units
  
• Made zombies more resistant to leg damage
  
• Take bandage action now stays indefinitely on players' bodies
  
• You are notified when you receive a bandage or a friend heals you
  
• Zombies may now drop ammunition (separate from their bodies)

v1.1a

• Fixed players being removed from zombie victim list when player joins in progress
  
• Fixed player unintendedly going straight to spectating mode when joining in progress
  
• Switched heal action priorities

v1.1

• Added 4 extra player slots
  
• Added new zombie type
  
• Added new zombie classes
  
• Added rare instances of zombies carrying bandages (action instead of gear pops up)
  
• Added damage feedback to spectator mode
  
• Improved network performance by decreasing setVehicleInit commands
  
• Improved zombie generator script
  
• Improved CLY Heal script
  
• Improved JIP friendliness
  
• Improved trigger conditions
  
• Improved task clarity
  
• Improved Krasnostav store
  
• Improved attack groans by making them instantaneous
  
• Fixed spectating bugs
  
• Fixed zombie behavior bug when switching to target in vehicle
  
• Fixed random instances of non-reporters getting GPS at start
  
• Fixed zombies firing shots before their weapons are removed
  
• Fixed nil spawn handle
  
• Fixed typos
  
• Made last battle bigger
  
• Disabled ACE stamina
  
• Tweaked various things

OFFICIAL STRATEGY GUIDE

Characters:

• The Doctor is the lifeline of any party with his 8 bandages. He's the best solo class if the player has a good aim.
  
• The Reporter can lead the party to a geocache that contains magazines and fairly good weapons, giving an excellent start to the mission. He's also a natural choice for leaders because of his omniscient GPS.
  
• The Writer has the most ammunition at start, making him great for those of us who have trouble keeping their cool around zombies.
  
• The Mercenary is a more functional version of the Writer with his flashlight but less ammo. He can take and use M9 magazines provided the Writer isn't in the party.
  
• The Colonel starts with the worst gun in the game but his satchel charge is a huge benefit near the end if he can herd a lot of zombies near it.
  
• The Marine is a one-shot killer suited for players who can use the shotgun in a precise and conserving manner. Using more than one shell per zombie can be his downfall due to limited ammo at start.
  
• The rest of the characters are extra slots and shouldn't be picked unless the above slots are taken. From what I've seen, people who tend to act only for their own benefit usually choose the Russian pilot even over the main characters, thinking that the goggles will help them immensely, as opposed to the cop who can shoot flares to everyone's benefit.

General tips:

• Zombies are vulnerable to headshots. The vulnerability extends to the neck and upper chest area, at least with more powerful weapons.
  
• Practice fire discipline by using a single shooter per zombie to avoid wasting ammunition. The rest should open fire only if the designated shooter fails to kill the target at a safe distance.
  
• Move fast but without leaving anyone behind. Advancing at a walking pace is a waste of time and ultimately exposes you to more zombies.
  
• When you're on the move, stop for every zombie that attacks you. If you keep running, you'll soon end up with a self-made horde on your heels.
  
• Heal only when you have two strikes unless you have extra bandages and you're clearly heading into harm's way.
  
• Closing doors behind you won't help you: it will only make it difficult for you to escape.
  
• The flashlight is not a liability. The zombies are likely to see you regardless, or they already know about you after hearing your shots and are just waiting for you to step into their aggro range.
  
• If you have space, take with you magazines for weapons belonging to an unused slot or extra ones that your party hasn't encountered yet. JIP players will be much better off and you will have extra ammunition for weapons you will find later on.
  
• You can kite pursuing zombies by running backwards and bringing up the sights on the move for a very short duration to fire potshots. Requires good timing but is very useful.
  
• Zombies sometimes drop bandages or magazines. In such cases, there will be red or yellow sparkles issuing from their bodies, respectively.
  
• Vehicles generate noise that attracts zombies from double their normal aggro range.
  
• Being unarmed reduces a zombie's aggro range to you by 80%, enabling you to go past them just by leaving a 30 meter gap in between.
  
• If you die, you can go back to slot selection and choose another character provided you're not the host of a listen server and there are unused characters.

Objective tips:

• The best tactical positions in the air control tower are the SE and NW corners of the balcony, the west balcony overlooking the stairs and the first landing of the stairs. Don't stack up anywhere, especially in the stairs which are very prone to being overrun. If it's too crowded for the guys in the tactical positions to operate, the rest should stay on the roof or west balcony.
  
• Approach Krasnostav's center gradually. That way the flow of zombies from around the town is more manageable, and then you can rush to the store and take out incoming zombies in bottlenecks. Note that due to a model bug the front door has a glass force field even when open, so pistols and shotguns are useless if you want to shoot through.
  
• Advance slowly to the former HQ: lots of zombies will be running your way. When you're there, take some time to kill any remaining zombies that you've aggroed and heal up before taking the photos.
  
• Run at full speed all the way to the hill. Don't slow down for anything unless you know how to kite zombies or your buddy is in trouble.
  
• If Krasnostav or the horde is just too hard for you, you can choose to go straight to Klen without the photos.
  
• When you reach the top of the hill, one or two guys with an AR or MG should stand ground and kill off the first trail of zombies that's been following you to give others time to rearm.
  
• Agree on lax sectors of fire for each member on the hill. The car is prone to attacks from the flanks or during reloading, and although the zombies generally come from the north, they can also surprise you from another direction if no-one's looking.

Edited November 20, 2012 by Celery

[sweep 10]

thanks for sharing! looks great so far, and obviously the simple plug and play format is always an achievement in itself.

a bit too scary to play on my own, looks like I'll need to find some buddies to help out.

[Pudd'n 10]

Does this mission not require any other addons (zombie mods or anything)?

If not I will definately be 2-player CoOp-ing this for my youtube channel in the very near future:

www.youtube.com/neddle69

[celery 8]

Does this mission not require any other addons (zombie mods or anything)?

If not I will definately be 2-player CoOp-ing this for my youtube channel in the very near future:

www.youtube.com/neddle69

No addons whatsoever.

[Muecke 114]

Very nice mission.

Thanks for the good work.

:alien:

[celery 8]

Forgot to mention that the mission is quite JIP friendly. Players joining in progress will be teleported close to the others, and if you die with someone still living, you can select a new slot if that character hasn't died yet. :)

[grub 10]

This looks great man. Looks like you've been busy lately.

[CameronMcDonald 146]

Awesome - I intend to tackle this presently.

In other news, word on the street was that CWR2 was in need of an awesome FFG port. How goes that?

[j rock 10]

excellent fun, tried ur SP Apocalypse and MP version yesterday, great fun all my friend r getting bored of arma.... but when they play ur MP version of Apocalypse, they were like kid again, they were so into it which i haven't seen for a long long time...

don't know what was the reason, was it the low ammo that keep u on ur toe or the no rambo team work require game design (if u wonder off on ur own u gonna be lost forever) or just zombie.

excellent mission i too enjoy it heaps. big big ty for ur time and effort, Zipper5, Celery and Rockhount,, and every 1 work on it

[SmartGun 10]

Hi there,

This is a outstanding Mission!

Good Work, thanks Zipper5 and Celery!

We tried it yesterday and it was so immersive that i couldnt go to bed until 2am.

Have to work today :p

As mentioned by j rock

-You need to do teamwork

-every bullet counts

-if you get lost youre most likely dead

-sometimes you try to run away, but running makes it even worse :D

no addons, JIP, great custom music and fearsome Zombies: definatly worth the ~7MB DL :)

Ever startet 'laughing in panic' while gaming?

This is your chance!

[runforrest 10]

jea the session yesterday was one of the best we had in our arma history

excellent mission, definitely under the top 5 of my all time favorites

a small issue: the music is a bit to silent, even when u max out the slider

[grub 10]

Hi there,

This is a outstanding Mission!

Good Work, thanks Zipper5 and Celery!

We tried it yesterday and it was so immersive that i couldnt go to bed until 2am.

Have to work today :p

As mentioned by j rock

-You need to do teamwork

-every bullet counts

-if you get lost youre most likely dead

-sometimes you try to run away, but running makes it even worse :D

no addons, JIP, great custom music and fearsome Zombies: definatly worth the ~7MB DL :)

Ever startet 'laughing in panic' while gaming?

This is your chance!

Yeah ok. Just came here to say pretty much exactly that!

We had the same thing, "justf***ingrun!!" when I looked over my shoulder? Well...

Great Mission guys.

[gossamersolid 155]

My name is Gossamer and I approve this mission :p

[icebreakr 3157]

Mission. My team. Absolute fun & adventure while having hilarious moments over teamspeak :) I highly recommend it for coop with buddies. Tnx, one of the best missions played in a long long time.

[Craig_VG 20]

Played this with some friends, it was a blast! Thanks Celery and ZP5, great work. I'm looking forward to more.

[Spartan 163 0]

Any chance for an 8 player version and with ACE wounds?

[Telson_VBAU 10]

What a hoot!!! I have not laughed so much in ages.

Great work Zipper5 and Celery.

I do have one question

In the init file it states:

;At what range from a player zombies can spawn and despawn

CLY_minspawndist=CLY_maxaggroradius+10

CLY_maxspawndist=500

CLY_despawndist=CLY_maxspawndist+50

CLY_chasegiveupdist=CLY_despawndist+100

unless i am having a dumb moment ( whitch is entirely possible )

CLY_despawndist=CLY_maxspawndist+50 which is 550m from player.

CLY_chasegiveupdist=CLY_despawndist+100 which is 650m from player

So zombies will despawn before they give up the chase?

altering the last line to:

CLY_chasegiveupdist=CLY_despawndist-50

would this make zombies give up chasing you at 500m and if altered would this effect the running of the mission?

[celery 8]

Any chance for an 8 player version and with ACE wounds?

What are ACE wounds and how are they implemented in a non-ACE mission? Regarding player count, my goal was to make a small coop with different but balanced characters that couldn't enjoy the magazine benefits of unused slots if possible.

I will consider the possibility of adding a couple of unarmed extras to whom the main cast can give their sidearms.

So zombies will despawn before they give up the chase?

The despawn variable doesn't affect zombies that are pursuing someone.

Edited May 13, 2011 by Celery

[Telson_VBAU 10]

Thanks for the quick reply?

If the despawn does not effect persuing zombies does that mean they follow you accross the map if you are in a vehicle and not despawn no matter how far you get from them?

I was thinking of editing a new mission with your very good scripts, and wanted random vehicles with random amount of fuel in them.

Would this work with your scripts or as you drive would you pick up a train of Zombies as you drove threw each zone that would eventualy catch up with you?

[celery 8]

Thanks for the quick reply?

If the despawn does not effect persuing zombies does that mean they follow you accross the map if you are in a vehicle and not despawn no matter how far you get from them?

I was thinking of editing a new mission with your very good scripts, and wanted random vehicles with random amount of fuel in them.

Would this work with your scripts or as you drive would you pick up a train of Zombies as you drove threw each zone that would eventualy catch up with you?

When zombies give up the chase, they will be affected by the despawn range.

You can try different concepts with the script base but in the end it's very easy to clog up your cpu when the zombie count for one reason or another reaches the hundreds. For open-ended missions with various modes of travel I suggest cranking up the fog and decreasing the spawn distances.

Edited May 13, 2011 by Celery

[the.d 0]

Celery, Zipper5 - this is the best zombie-themed scenario I ever played in any multiplayer game / multiplayer game mode.

The setting, as well as the layout and design as a whole, immerse the player in a fiendish, gritty atmosphere.

The flawless briefing, the cunning usage of scripts, not to mention the "game rules" (weapon & equipment load-out and available characters and your decision on zombie damage and "hit points") and, last but not least, the implemented custom sounds really pull you into the story.

I wish games like Left4Dead would have been half as immersive. Above all it is free of any add-on requirements. Pure genius!

By the way, we did not finish this mission once so far - always died. I know it's not meant to be played with it but we are running the mission with ACE; the stamina system is literally killing us. You can't imagine the thrill of realizing you are about to black out while running from scores of undead on your heels! :-P I really love the advanced difficulty!

I'm hoping for a follow-up, to say the least! Thanks for letting us test the mission and many thanks for bringing us this gem!

[jimgun 3]

Was looking forward to this since apocolypse bud. Nice work :) .

[Spartan 163 0]

Trying to figure out how the player takes damage from the zombies. I know they take damage but it does not show wound textures. It is three strikes your out. If I can fig this out I can add the Ace wound stuff and the normal bis first aid. I like the bandage stuff but would love more options.

[Syphous 10]

I pretty much signed up for these forums just to come here and tell you how much fun this mission is. It's by far the most atmospheric mission I've ever played. Amazing work. *****

[icebreakr 3157]

I think models that he uses for the characters don't have working wound textures, BIS made them that way... same as pilots, crewmen...