[TvT/FFA/CO-40] Dynamic Zombie Sandbox

[ErikPutz 1]

Sweet :D

If you fix/add the weapon rack thing x)

Ah okay, well yea I think they cause lag when the players are spread out all over the map.

A server host told me it would reduce the lag (in general, not only caused by hordes) if you made it so that each player only loads/update stuff that's within a 1km, or so, area around them rather than the whole map.

Not even sure if that's possible, but better to mention it than not I guess xD

I really think it would both look and be nicer if you made 1 - 5 smaller weapon cache spawns in the military areas (airfields, military camps, barracks etc) with 2 - 5 weapons inside of them rather than multiple weapons laying on the ground.

Well it's up to you, but that's what I believe :D

It will be epic no matter what anyway ^^

Can hardly wait haha.

[Tijai 1]

Just a couple of ideas...

How about a different bent on the horde thing...

Would it be possible to have the usual Zombies in cities etc but smaller hordes of zombies spawn only at night randomly

Give players a reason to band together and barricade before nightfall (sound familiar? ;) )

Also missions - how about spawning more of them but no markers, just radio messages giving the vicinity (town, city etc) - might increase the immersion.

[Craig_VG 20]

Sweet :D

If you fix/add the weapon rack thing x)

Ah okay, well yea I think they cause lag when the players are spread out all over the map.

A server host told me it would reduce the lag (in general, not only caused by hordes) if you made it so that each player only loads/update stuff that's within a 1km, or so, area around them rather than the whole map.

Not even sure if that's possible, but better to mention it than not I guess xD

I really think it would both look and be nicer if you made 1 - 5 smaller weapon cache spawns in the military areas (airfields, military camps, barracks etc) with 2 - 5 weapons inside of them rather than multiple weapons laying on the ground.

Well it's up to you, but that's what I believe :D

It will be epic no matter what anyway ^^

Can hardly wait haha.

No, that isn't possible. The zombies do only spawn around players though.

I could add that eventually. Right now it just spawns more in military buildings, which is basically the same thing. The logic I'm going off of is that in an apocalypse, the soldiers would have taken the guns for themselves out of caches, and then when they died they would leave them where they died, in and around the military buildings they fought in.

Just a couple of ideas...

How about a different bent on the horde thing...

Would it be possible to have the usual Zombies in cities etc but smaller hordes of zombies spawn only at night randomly

Give players a reason to band together and barricade before nightfall (sound familiar? ;) )

Also missions - how about spawning more of them but no markers, just radio messages giving the vicinity (town, city etc) - might increase the immersion.

I added the sidemisison part to Dev heaven: https://dev-heaven.net/issues/32628

As to the zombie part, I am planning on making a new system. It may include this, it may not. No promises yet.

[stk2008 14]

please do not make the zombies spawn infront of the player though.

One other zombie mission I played did that and it was terrible and stupid.

I would walk and suddenly a zombie would spawn right on my ass.

Please make a minimum distance the zombies can spawn from the player make it large because say I am on a hill 1km away from a town and I am scoping it out to see if its safe I dont want to spend 20 mins spotting the area to find when I move in zombies have spawned when I get to like 800meters or so.

[ErikPutz 1]

Alright.

And hmm yea that sounds more realistic. Tho I guess there would still be some untouched armory (maybe a chance to spawn only 1 weapon cache in military bases, for those who do not wish to have caches in each town or the side mission cache, tho nothing over powered, about 5 - 10 weapons maybe?)

Oh, and you should definitely add EMPTY caches at places (not too rare and not too common) so the players can bring them along and fill them up with weapons as they go.

[Craig_VG 20]

please do not make the zombies spawn infront of the player though.

One other zombie mission I played did that and it was terrible and stupid.

I would walk and suddenly a zombie would spawn right on my ass.

Please make a minimum distance the zombies can spawn from the player make it large because say I am on a hill 1km away from a town and I am scoping it out to see if its safe I dont want to spend 20 mins spotting the area to find when I move in zombies have spawned when I get to like 800meters or so.

The zombies have a minimum spawning distance that is determined by the server host, so unless the host sets the number to a ridiculously small distance you have no worries.

They also have a maximum spawning distance. That means that they can't spawn too far away from the player. Spawning too far away could lead to more performance issues.

@the guy who was having issues with desert.

Okay. To fix your issues I put the following safeguards into the mission:

First the mission tries to find towns, if it finds some it sets the player to a random one.

If there are no towns it searches for all buildings, if it finds one it sets the player to a random one.

If there are no buildings it searches for all objects, if it finds some it sets the player to a random one.

If there are no objects on the map at all, it will pick a random position.

So now you can play on a map with absolutely nothing on it. At all. :D

Here's the code that does it:

    if (CVG_Playerstart == 50) then {        if (count _towns != 0) then {
           _townnumber = random floor (count _towns);
           _town = _towns select _townnumber;
           _townpos = (position _town);
           _group = createGroup sideLogic;
           _logic = _group createUnit ["Logic",_townpos, [], 100, "NONE"];   
           _newPos = position _logic;
           player setpos _newPos;
           if (CVG_debug == 2) then {
               player sidechat format ["location chosen, %1",_town]
           };
       }
       else
       {
           if ((count buildings) != 0) then {
               _building = (round(random(count buildings)));
               _newpos = position (buildings select _building);
               _newpos = [_newPos,0,50,1,0,20,0] call BIS_fnc_findSafePos;
               player setpos _newpos;
           }
           else
           {
               _things = nearestObjects [player, [], 200000];
               if ((count _things) != 0) then {
                   _thing = (round(random(count _things)));
                   _newpos = position (_things select _thing);
                   player setpos _newpos;
               }
               else
               {
                   _newpos = [(random 1000),(random 1000)];
                   player setpos _newpos;
               };
           };
       };
   };

[stk2008 14]

Hi again

Yeah I know the current version has an optoin to set where the zombies spawn...well how far was just making sure you did not remove that optoin and hard code it in this time LOL.

Thanks again matey thanks for your comitment to this great mission

[ErikPutz 1]

@the guy who was having issues with desert.

-snip-

Is it added right now in the downloadable v95 or will it be in v1.0?

Or do I have to add it myself? lol cus idk where that would be :D

Okay I've made an edited version with working logistics now. Made it only civilians where a bunch of them wear black suits and another bunch brown suits (for mafia vs mafia or something idk)

I would add your weapon holder script but I cannot figure out how to trigger it correctly.

Edited June 12, 2012 by ErikPutz

[Craig_VG 20]

Haha, no that is for version 1.0.

Ive implemented a new way of keeping zombie numbers under control, its being tested now. If anyone else has a dedicated and would like to host/test 1.0 as it is so far, just shoot me an email or PM.

Email is: craigvandergalien@gmail.com

[ErikPutz 1]

Oh I see ^^ Hmm could you tell me how I would add your weapon holder script to the v95? :D

Tried to add [] execVM = "scriptname.sqf" to startup.sqf somewhere but didnt work :P

[Tijai 1]

Couple of things I dont know if bugs or not.

I find sometimes I can load stuff into cars and then for no reason at all the menu item doesnt appear.

I do play Wasteland and dont seem to have a problem with it on there (I believe that is based that on your mission).

Anything I can do to make sure this works on the server? or is it a known bug?

Also is there some kind of 'give up' distance with the Zeds?

Sometimes I can drive for ages, stop and wait and they come over the hill .

Is this how the 'horde' works?

And finally (sorry) .. vehicle damage - parameter to turn it down maybe?

sometimes all you can find is a damaged car and a sneaky swipe from one zombie on the way past blows you to high heaven lol.

I can imagine 4 or 5 destroying a vehicle but 1 zombir with a couple of hits seems abit - well... unrealistic (lol unrealistic zombies :) the irony)

[blizzardwolf 1]

hello craig

ive been messing around with this for a lil while (the last 2 months or so) and i have a server running over the weekends that im attempting to make into somewhat of a role play server, we use the utes map (even tho re spawn dosnt work it work best in terms of lag).

well ive ran into an issue while editing the map (placing certain buildings and a heli and such) that it kinda breaks the zombie spawns. a good deal of the time when i start a server no zombies will spawn ( i also noticed it isnt ever the time i set when it does this too) but it says it all loaded up via the debug mode. i think its either the amount of stuff i placed in the map or something more specific, is there anything i could have done to mess it up?

if i load up arma 2 and go strait for multiplayer and load up the game it works fine the first time but after i restart it it bugs out( or if i go from editing the map to multiplayer it dosnt work either)

hopefully someone may know what i did wrong and i hope its a simple fix i can handle

[Craig_VG 20]

Hey boys and girls (I know at least one girl that plays this),

I have a little treat in store for you people. On one condition, you accept my treat. I've decided to release 1.0 to all to test. I don't want this link mirrored yet (ARMAHOLIC READ HERE, I'll let you guys know when it's done). I've played a few rounds of the latest version of 1.0 with no issues so far, and it's about time we got some more dedicated testing in.

Please report any, and all bugs in this thread or directly to craigvandergalien@gmail.com I'll fix them as fast as I can, and update the link with the fixes as they are made.

Let it begin:

http://bit.ly/DZStesting

Changelog: https://dev-heaven.net/projects/dyna...andbox/roadmap

Edited June 14, 2012 by bobtom

[blizzardwolf 1]

well i was gonna test it till i realized it wasnt the arma 2 version (i dont have the addons).

ill need to buy the addons someday

[Tijai 1]

Awesome Craig.

Hosted on our dedi for testing

[OAP]OA 1.6 Zombtards]

109.70.148.73:2314

Will get on after work

[stk2008 14]

Wow this is great news I will get this up ASAP.

Thanks

P.S

This version is not currently supporting ACE2 correct?.

[Craig_VG 20]

@stk2008

This is just testing for stability. Remember what I said in this post?

http://forums.bistudio.com/showthread.php?128781-TvT-FFA-CO-40-Dynamic-Zombie-Sandbox&p=2169056&viewfull=1#post2169056

[ErikPutz 1]

Hmm so what's really new except for the new parameters?

Logistics are still not fixed even tho it's quite an easy fix (or well the fix Tonic posted on page 15, idk if there are any other bugs but that fixes the placement, I've already tried it on the test version as well)

I assume that weapons in buildings and the new spawn system is not in the test version right?

Would not mind a list of what's new in the test version so we can look for glitches and bugs more accurate or something ^^

Oh and yea, what's up with the 200 seconds respawn? lmao

Uhm all of a sudden weapons on the ground and spawning on Utes works? Im confused... This time I left most of the parameters at default, does changing some of them break weapons on ground and spawning on Utes?

Rofl it appared only I could see the weapons on the ground, not my mate who I was trying it with so that's a glitch / bug there I guess? We both died a couple of time as well before he told me he could not see them.

Edited June 14, 2012 by ErikPutz

[stk2008 14]

Yep I know matey :).

Gonna test tonight and like said any chance of whats been fixed please and/or added :).

I assume the time sync is fixed in this one as that was a real game breaker on the last version.

[Craig_VG 20]

Oh crap, I forgot to add the change list, I knew I was forgetting something, just not what.

https://dev-heaven.net/projects/dynamic-zombie-sandbox/roadmap

All the changes listed under the 1.0 section as complete are for this version.

@erikputz

The issue with the objects being placed floating has been fixed:

https://dev-heaven.net/issues/32855

Edited June 14, 2012 by bobtom

[stk2008 14]

This would have been an awesome one to see fixed in this release

https://dev-heaven.net/issues/30296

I assume its proving harder than expected as I do think its an ARMA2 engine fault.

Any ways testing 1.0 tonight will report back

Thanks so so much for your great work

[Craig_VG 20]

Hmm so what's really new except for the new parameters?

Logistics are still not fixed even tho it's quite an easy fix (or well the fix Tonic posted on page 15, idk if there are any other bugs but that fixes the placement, I've already tried it on the test version as well)

I assume that weapons in buildings and the new spawn system is not in the test version right?

Would not mind a list of what's new in the test version so we can look for glitches and bugs more accurate or something ^^

Oh and yea, what's up with the 200 seconds respawn? lmao

Uhm all of a sudden weapons on the ground and spawning on Utes works? Im confused... This time I left most of the parameters at default, does changing some of them break weapons on ground and spawning on Utes?

Rofl it appared only I could see the weapons on the ground, not my mate who I was trying it with so that's a glitch / bug there I guess? We both died a couple of time as well before he told me he could not see them.

Okay couple things:

1) The issue with the weapons only showing up on the server is fixed, I used addWeaponCargo instead of addWeaponCargoGlobal.

2) Please elaborate on your issues with Utes. When you change parameters things break? What parameters?

3) I have implemented tonic's suggested fix. https://dev-heaven.net/issues/32855

4) 10 seconds was way to easy. It makes death not a big deal. Death should be a big deal.

5) I'm confused why these issues are funny to you? Are you laughing at my mistakes? I don't seem to understand your humor on the subject, but do enlighten me if you feel inclined.

[ErikPutz 1]

Okay couple things:

1) The issue with the weapons only showing up on the server is fixed, I used addWeaponCargo instead of addWeaponCargoGlobal.

2) Please elaborate on your issues with Utes. When you change parameters things break? What parameters?

3) I have implemented tonic's suggested fix. https://dev-heaven.net/issues/32855

4) 10 seconds was way to easy. It makes death not a big deal. Death should be a big deal.

5) I'm confused why these issues are funny to you? Are you laughing at my mistakes? I don't seem to understand your humor on the subject, but do enlighten me if you feel inclined.

1. Sweet!

2. Well first I tried Chernarus on another server, and I could not find any weapons (because of the only shown on the server I guess) then I tried it on Utes on my own server but spawned in the water like on v95, then I didnt wanna wait for 200 seconds so I aborted and went in again, suddenly I spawned on the island and when I died and waited 200 seconds I respawned in the water. After that I tried Utes with a friend and spawning / respawning worked, no more spawning in the water. And I found weapons on the ground, which he could not see cus of that bug. But the part where I tried it solo I changed the parameters after my liking, the time I tried it with my friend I left most of it at default, so I was just speculating if changing some of the parameters would cause glitches, I will look into it more.

3. Nice :D sorry for mentioning it the whole time but since its an small and easy fix I wanted the glitch/bug gone!

4. Yes, death should not be taken lightly, you should value your life and others, but this will not stop RDMers / thiefs / griefers from griefing cus they will only find it more amusing letting ppl wait 200 seconds. And I believe people will find it annoying if they die time after time from zombies even before they find a weapon. The lmao part here was mostly cus I found it funny to put 200 seconds respawn on a testing version :P

5. Sorry man, I was on skype with a friend and I was in a hurry when adding that part and when we talk to eachother we are not serious one bit, so it kinda got rubbed off in my hurry. I do not find the issues or any mistakes made by anyone funny at all, I apologize for making it look that way so do not feel offended. I greatly appreciate your hard work, really man. This is my favorite mission in arma 2, so yea really sorry if I made it look like I was laughing at the issues / mistakes etc, cus I know scripting / programing over all is not that easy and mistakes is part of the learning process.

Great work so far man, I love it.

As I'm very pleased with the test version I decided to try it out on Desert, and it was kinda cool as I spawned somewhat in the center of the map, found a weapon on the floor of a open container, there was also a logistic (barbed wire) :D

Tho the respawn system seems to need some fine tuning, as I kept respawning in the south west corner of the map, anyway it's effin epic :D really enjoy this mission more and more!

Edited June 14, 2012 by ErikPutz

[Emberwolf 0]

I haven't seen this on the roadmap, so I'd like to suggest it: A paramater to start with a moonless/newmoon night, a parameter where players can spawn with just G17s (or only weapons with flashlights), and a paramater to toggle whether all or some ammo boxes contain weapons with flashlights (even if they're just US guns and appear in Russian ammo crates). Recently I tried to set the paramaters up for a night crawl where players had to find weapons with flashlights before it got too dark, but never spawned in a town whose ammo boxes weapons with flashlights. Even if I were to get one occasionally, it's not the consistency I would have wanted setting the mission up specifically for flashlight hiking.

Outside of that, the mission has been an absolute blast. I love how incredilby desolate Chernarus feels with volumetric fog turned on and the weather set to wintry mix. My favorite setup is no cars, ammo boxes in towns, zombies everywhere, helicopter finding with the marker on, and expert mode (partially to force proper map navigation).

[stk2008 14]

with out ACE

wow tested and love it the new weapons on floor is awseome.

One thing though I found a rocket launcher and I had to drop me pistol to be able to use it.

With ACE

I am trying with ACE now as I cant help my self sorry will report back