[SP] Flashpoint: - Instant Action - Dynamic Missions - Release Thread

[thomsonb 3]

Hello guys

I am happy to release an updated version 1.20 of Flashpoint: Takistan.

please download it from here: Flashpoint: Takistan v1.20 download page.

Changes:

v1.20

- Changed: New Infantry Group Behavior. Infantry Groups now move towards nearby towns (only towns in range of player). They randomly have GUARD, HOLD, or PATROL behavior when at destination. When moving they prefer valleys and low terrain, when possible.

- Added: Taliban Weapons Caches. Randomly spawned, mainly in walled compounds. Contain Taliban weapons, ammo, IEDs and sometimes equipment like binoculars, maps, compasses etc.

- Changed: When adding units to your group, the units now stop and wait at their current position instead of strange behaviors (thanks to Orcinus for reporting bug).

- Changed: US Army faction, reduced the probability of Spawning Delta Force teams vs. regular US Army teams (they were too common before. Thanks to Sektor for reporting bug).

- Fixed: Dynamic Weather. The Clouds were not changing correctly (fog was overriding clouds). Now the forecast will be accurate, and the change happens over 1 hour.

- Fixed: Spawn positions script error. When player is traveling fast, the infantry groups now properly spawn ahead of the player.

- Zargabad and Shapur versions: Will be updated and released as soon as possible! :)

*EDIT* I have added some screenshots of me getting blown up in the latest version here

regards

B

Edited July 7, 2012 by thomsonb

[orcinus 121]

Great, thank you thomsonb - downloading now.

[anelaidlives 10]

As a question, is there any way to run a spectator-like mode, where I can take a bird's eye view of the battle?

Spawning as a rabbit is fun, but if there was some way I could get a better view, that would be great.

[thomsonb 3]

is there any way to run a spectator-like mode, where I can take a bird's eye view of the battle?

Thats a good idea anelaidlives, Does anybody know a good Spectator Camera script? I could try and include this in the next update...

[pd3 25]

JetlinerX, thats a bit spooky because I was just working on the basics of an MP version today. I cant promise anything really soon, as I am not familiar with MP mission making, and such a dynamic mission runs into some problems... I plan to release a very basic test version first, on Chernarus where you play as a Force Recon team...

B

Co-op would be godlike at this point.

I'm actually in the midst of a game right now, and all I can say is WOW WOW WOW.

Holy crap.

Every battle is different, I've had crazy experiences in so many beautiful locations throughout Sahrani and yet I don't believe I've even begun to completely experience all there is to offer with this mission.

I've had gunfights end with my desperately trying to dodge a helicopter with a pilot shot dead as it was climbing across a mountain ridge, where I was fighting a platoon of enemy soldiers, only for it to narrowly miss hitting me, only to slam into the peak of the mountain a few meters away.

Insane, crazy battles, even if you're blown up or killed, you're left in silent wonder at the carnage unfolding around you.

There are scant few things that I would like to see, but their absence does not in any way detract from the experience thus far.

One would be to allow for some kind of config file to allow custom specification of addon units for the player to use possibly?

The other pertains to the overall duration of the battle itself, I'm not sure if it continues indefinitely, or whether there's a set limit, but in the case that there is, it would be cool if you could set the total battle or sides to replenish in user specified waves.

And possibly the ability to repair certain types of vehicles if they've been damaged? I know you can do this already, but the system is not as relevant to the unpredictable pace of these missions.

Aside from that, it runs flawlessly for me, the battles do not ever show signs of being contrived or pre-generated, everything blends seamlessly giving the impression of being one small unit at the heart of a very large military operation.

Additionally, if in fact you're having difficulty figuring out an efficient method of implementing cooperative, if you are in fact planning to, I would suggest that an easy way to do that would be to give a lead player the SP abilities, and have every other player serve as squad mates.

I would also highly recommend using a revive system in the event of a co-op version.

Anyhow, some people might say that having a lot of similarly dynamic missions are redundant, but I would argue otherwise.

We're spoiled for options, which is very much a good thing, as I think I've found my personal favorite of the lot at this point.

[Alpha-Kilo 36]

Thank you for this new version, thomsonb.

I tested the new group management and it worked much better than the old one. Now freshly recruited soldiers stand still waiting for new orders. The standard behaviour for new recruits in most missions is that they automatically receive a "All: Follow me!" order when they join the player's group. I am not complaining, just noticing.

Do you think you could populate your world with civilian life? To know that there might be non-combattants on the battlefield provides another element of gameplay because you have to play more careful if you choose to avoid collateral damage.

You said you are currently working on a MP-version. Could you make it possible for human players to choose 2 sides? This mission could optionally be played in normal COOP style (Players vs AI) if all players are on the same side or it could be played as three-sided PvP (Players vs players vs AI).

[Zorg_DK 10]

Thanks for keeping on improving these fun scenarios. I just had a blast playing as BAF infantry just now. After I died I ran around as a rabbit, I laughed my a** off when I had my rabbit commit suicide with the interaction menu by blowing it up. HAHA!

I don't know how much fps ambient life and civilian vehicles drain, but I would reduce them in numbers to gain some fps. There are quite a lot of cars, I don't think there need to be so many.

Also a tip for others if you have low fps, go back to the menu and reduce the AI numbers a little bit, it makes a big difference.

Some objective would be nice, sort of like the ones in BIS's vanilla instant action scenarios.

[thomsonb 3]

Hi

I have released an early testing MP Coop version of Flashpoint Chernarus!

please download it from here: Flashpoint Chernarus MP download page

Please remember this is not a full featured mission yet, definitely a work in progress.

I decided to release this early as I know many people have asked about an MP version, and it is very helpful when people send me bug reports and ideas!

Please send any feedback to me via PM. When the mission is more finished I will start its own forum thread for release.

Cheers

B

---------- Post added at 18:07 ---------- Previous post was at 17:59 ----------

...if you have low fps, go back to the menu and reduce the AI numbers a little bit, it makes a big difference....

Hi Zorg_DK,

Thanks for the feedback! That is true, users who have low performance should set up manually and reduce groups to 5 per side or something... In the last update I increased the default AI group numbers a bit, there have been a couple of complaints, I am working on an automatic script that detects low fps and reduces group counts, remove ambient animals etc, this should help! Regarding cars, they are not very hard on framerates or cpu, but you are maybe right, there may be more than needed!

Regards

B

[orcinus 121]

Hi thomsonb

Had some fun with the new release already. Thanks very much for fixing the walkabout syndrome of recruited units :)

two points: sometimes- much more often than in previous versions - I get killed off almost immediately (<1 minute) after spawning on an open hillside or plain with groups of bad guys in three or four directions; sometimes they are a lot closer then 400m, more like 1-200m. A couple of times I didn't even have time to go prone (my first action, normally).

Secondly - re Pd3's comment "One would be to allow for some kind of config file to allow custom specification of addon units for the player to use possibly?" - I agree. I like to play as a delta or SF medic sometimes, if the unit list could be an external cpp or hpp in User Config it would be fairly simple to change.

On new maps - one of my favourites is Podagorsk. I would be happy to make a port there for you if you would like one (I'll probably be making one for myself anyway; or more likely two - Podagorsk N & Podagorsk S - to avoid too many groups losing all their gear crossing the river that runs E - W from Berezino.

[thomsonb 3]

more often than in previous versions - I get killed off almost immediately... sometimes they are a lot closer then 400m, more like 1-200m.

On that point you are correct, at mission start the spawnMin distance is set down to just 100m for the initial wave of infantry groups (of course most dont spawn as close as 100). I changed this after some complaints that the mission was always "slow at the begining" and players felt they "had to run around looking for the battle"....

So its not a bug! But you may have a point that it can make the mission too difficult sometimes. It is of course worse in open areas with no cover...

if the unit list could be an external cpp or hpp in User Config it would be fairly simple to change.

Thats a really good suggestion, I have never looked into these external files and the code needed to access them, just plain lazy on my part ;) That will go high up on the list for the next update!

one of my favourites is Podagorsk. I would be happy to make a port

Re: Podagorsk thats a good idea, great map, I had my own personal Flashpoint: Podagorsk (With the default A2 units) ages ago but never released it after Arrowhead arrived... About the river and swimming, BIS have added a allowItemDropping setting in the description.ext file that stops units losing their stuff, need to double check its SP as well as MP though...

Would be great if you can make a port... need any hints about my code just ask!

Cheers

B

[dondaddah 10]

+1 for Podagorsk

[orcinus 121]

I changed this after some complaints that the mission was always "slow at the begining" and players felt they "had to run around looking for the battle"[/Quote]

I play with COSLX so the wounded-ally markers point to where the action is. Also tend to shrink the maximum spawn radius which makes things more hectic for a given number of groups.

You might have a look at Rydygier's "Blood Drops" scripts, which briefly display a marker wherever a unit is killed. Could be included as an option, maybe.

I also wondered if spawning a few med tents for each side would be interesting, especially for those who don't want to use COSLX. Oh, and Blufor ammo/weapons caches would be nice, too :)

... vehicles tend to have a short life, especially BLUFOR vehicles (average # of missiles per AT unit somewhat higher for OPFOR due to RPG-7).

Re: Podagorsk thats a good idea, great map, I had my own personal Flashpoint: Podagorsk (With the default A2 units) ages ago but never released it after Arrowhead arrived... About the river and swimming, BIS have added a allowItemDropping setting in the description.ext file that stops units losing their stuff, need to double check its SP as well as MP though...

Would be great if you can make a port... need any hints about my code just ask!

Cheers

B

Ah, thank you, I missed that beta & hadn't noticed it in the change log. Don't worry, I'll check that command in SP in the next day or so.

OK, I'll get a Podagorsk port ready sometime this week; probably US & BAF vs Takistani forces first.

One question re the car/town stuff - are you using a list of town Centres for the co-ordinates, or manually locating a clear space in which they can spawn?

Cheers, mate.

[thomsonb 3]

re the car/town stuff - are you using a list of town Centres for the co-ordinates, or manually locating a clear space in which they can spawn?

The parked car system works like this: (using Takistan values as example)

- Manually defined list of "town" positions in the init.sqf (CAR_TOWNS)

- At each town a trigger is made to detect the player within 1500m (CAR_SPAWN_DIST)

- When the trigger is activated all roads within 750m (CAR_TOWN_RADIUS) of the trigger are detected

- This road list is refined to leave only those roads that are not junctions, and have a building within 25m (CAR_SPAWN_FROM_HOUSE_DIST)

- These selected roads are then chosen at random for car spawning, between 6 and 9 cars are spawned for each town (CARS_PER_TOWN)

- cars spawn between 6m and 15m from the road centre (CAR_OFFSET_DISTANCES) and at 0,90,180 or 270 degrees from the direction of the road (plus a small randomness in direction)

-if more than 100 cars exist (CARS_MAX) then the oldest cars are deleted to keep the number below 100

So to pick car towns for Podagorsk just go into the editor, make circular triggers or markers of a certain size (750 works well, but maybe 500 as the towns are smaller in Podagorsk?) position these triggers so they cover all the roads in each town (remember only roads near building will be used so it doesnt need to be perfect)

Then make a quick script to diag_log the positions of your triggers or markers out into the arma2oa.rpt file and save them as the CAR_TOWNS array.

confused yet?!

cheers

---------- Post added at 03:08 ---------- Previous post was at 01:35 ----------

Well, as promised,

updated version 1.20 of Zargabad and Shapur is released!

please download from here:

Flashpoint Takistan Zargabad Shapur Download page

rgds

B

Edited July 8, 2012 by thomsonb

[anelaidlives 10]

hey thomsob, I found some scripts that may help

http://www.tacticalgamer.com/arma-mission-development/170209-kegsteys-1-03-spectator-script.html

I saw a reference to a "gtd spectator script" but I found no links.

Hopefully these help!

[pcc 14]

Is it possible to add random AI artillery to these missions?

[thomsonb 3]

Does anybody know a good Spectator Camera script?

I have been testing GCam2 by Gigan

..

It works really well, I will include it in the next release if he agrees to let me use it...

I will add it as an option after you die

[Zorg_DK 10]

I've been playing quite a bit of Warfare mp lately. I think it's a lot of fun to setup defenses around towns (sandbags, tank traps, road blocks, machine guns turrets etc.). I think it would be cool to be able to construct defenses like that in this mission. What do you think about that?

Hi

Hi Zorg_DK,

Thanks for the feedback! That is true, users who have low performance should set up manually and reduce groups to 5 per side or something... In the last update I increased the default AI group numbers a bit, there have been a couple of complaints, I am working on an automatic script that detects low fps and reduces group counts, remove ambient animals etc, this should help! Regarding cars, they are not very hard on framerates or cpu, but you are maybe right, there may be more than needed!

Regards

B

That sounds good.

[orcinus 121]

Hi thomsonb

I believe there's a bug somewhere in v120, probably in wx.sqf - selecting any level of cloud other than 0 has no effect - noticed it in my first Podagorst alpha port, & confirmed in Takistan & Zargabad. It means nights are always quite brightly lit & you can't get it to rain (maybe irrelevant to desert maps, but not to others). Duh, I to check whether the fog settings work - will do so this evening.

So to pick car towns for Podagorsk just go into the editor, make circular triggers or markers of a certain size (750 works well, but maybe 500 as the towns are smaller in Podagorsk?) position these triggers so they cover all the roads in each town (remember only roads near building will be used so it doesnt need to be perfect)

Then make a quick script to diag_log the positions of your triggers or markers out into the arma2oa.rpt file and save them as the CAR_TOWNS array.

confused yet?!

Nope. that's fine :)

For Podagorsk N of the river there's a dearth of towns & even roads disappear as you move N (makes for great large-scale forest engagements) so I'll probably stretch (hmm, somewhat oxymoronic) the "town" definition to include single buildings up North.

Cheers

Orcinus

EDIT: forgot to mention I'm using the latest beta, 94444 - will check with 1.60 vanilla.

Edited July 9, 2012 by Orcinus
Additional information

[thomsonb 3]

..there's a bug somewhere in v120, probably in wx.sqf - selecting any level of cloud other than 0 has no effect..

Well spotted Orcinus, I have found the culprit and fixed the wx script!

I will upload it as a 1.20.1 minor update now...

B

---------- Post added at 23:39 ---------- Previous post was at 22:59 ----------

... I'll probably stretch.. the "town" definition to include single buildings up North..

Don't forget that my carpark.sqf only spawns cars near road sections! You may need to adapt the script or make an extra script for your "own flavor" of towns that don't have roads?

B

[orcinus 121]

Great, just downloaded.

Thanks; I got the point about the roads - what I meant was that given the low building density N of the river, I'll use even single houses, barns or sheds near roads. The roads peter out a bit after where buildings have ceased. I think lots of civ cars running around the dense forests in the far N would be a bit unrealistic anyway. I might trim the Northern co-ordinates a bit to exclude a chunk of the forest furthest above the pretty gorge.

Thanks for the heads-up on enableItemsDropping, works fine both with river crossing & for units spawned on the closer islands in the South.

[thomsonb 3]

Thanks; I got the point about the roads - what I meant was that given the low building density N of the river, I'll use even single houses, barns or sheds near roads.

sorry mate I thought you meant random buildings without roads! I recall now that Podagorsk has lots of logging tracks in the North, before it gets really remote and rural in the Far North...

case "fdf_isle1_a": {WORLD_STRING = "Podagorsk"; SPAWN_LIMITS = [6400,15200,3800,20400]};

Just found that line still living in the init.sqf Those are the limits I chose when I made it ages ago... you can tweak them as required! Have fun

On another note, just had some great intense fun playing my MP coop test version with my bro and a couple of others, we got repeatedly wiped out by russians especially Spetsnatz! No show stopping bugs so far, maybe I have finally worked out how to code a MP mission :) THe gameplay is really cool with the unknown factor and the possibilty of firing on friendly groups. Expect a more complete MP Coop soon.

B

[jimm 10]

hi Thomsonb

do you think you will do a flashpoint version for iron front ?

it would be amazing if you did.

its great to see all the new features your adding to the missions mp will be superb.

its funny i messed around with your missions myself for my own use awhile back and had respawn car bombs and random artillery strikes.

its great to see a lot of these features being put into the missions.

do you have iron front if not id consider buying it for you.

thanks for the many hours of arma :)

[Kyle_K_ski 1]

Hello thomsonb,

It's been too long since I last played your superb uber-dynamic missions. I'm happy to see that you're still working hard on these gems, and I hope to play them again real soon.

I say "soon" because, as of yet, I don't own BAF or PMC, and they're required for play. The ArmA II-only versions that you supply don't state whether or not they utilize the features from Combined Operations, which is the version that I own. Do your missions detect whether or not one's playing with a CO version of ArmA II, and, if so, does it integrate its features into the missions, or...?

In regards to how the AI handles itself in urban-environments, the last time that I played, the infantry units really didn't take advantage of fighting out of the interiors of nearby structures. Has this been enhanced in the updates since then? The reason why I ask, is that I've come across various discussions (that I've yet to test myself due to real life issues) that seem rather conclusive that if one is playing ArmA II with SLX and Group Link 4 Special FX Edition, that one will reliably get some pretty terrifying encounters of urban combat. The first post linked below brings this up, and I've supplied a direct-hotlink to ChrisB's thread supplying images of the AI very effectively fighting out of structures...

Post Mentioning Combination of SLX+GL4SFXE: http://forums.bistudio.com/showthread.php?121837-COWarMod-Release&p=2181313&viewfull=1#post2181313

Thread of Screenshots Proving the Above: http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showpost.php?p=22247442&postcount=15564

I can only imagine how nerve wracking battles would be if the above set of mods were to be combined with Robalo's amazing ASR AI mod and, perhaps even more importantly, TPWC AI Suppress v.2.06 (which is amazing to see in action).

Part of the reason for why I mention the above urban-AI considerations, is if said features aren't integrated into your dynamic missions, do you think that they'd "break" your missions were I to try them with the above mods active, or...?

Also, in regards to an island that would seem ideal for the type of dynamic missions that you're creating, have you considered Ovaron? You can find it here: http://www.armaholic.com/page.php?id=10839&highlight=OVARON The reason why I bring it up is that its features really stand out to me:

--The overwhelming majority of the structures can be garrisoned

--Lots of convincing waterways and bridges (it would be awesome to see combat from boats along with infiltration-by-boats handled by your more than capable hands)

--In spite of the city/village names, the locations are believable due to the care and consideration that was put into designing the urban centers and surrounding natural environment

When I load that island up in the Editor, I have a hard time leaving it. :)

Thanks for your time and consideration! :D

[JetlinerX 1]

Kyle - I didnt read it all, but I wanted to inform you that PMC and BAF are optional. Not required. ;)

Thomson - I have no words to describe how happy I am to see the direction of this mission. Once MP is in, and 100% working, I would say that this mission SHOULD BE as popular as DayZ for us more military focused players.

REQUEST: The option to spawn in as a reporter to like... follow around the troops! :3 Or I guess any civilian. Just to watch the war. :3

Also, having a bit of an issue. I am 100% of the time stable at 60FPS and always have been with your mission. However, I am now losing 40FPS every time I start a new mission, bringing it down to 20, and sometimes, even 9. Here are my specs, and I dont think it's anything to do with my computer struggling with ArmA ;)

FULL SPECS:

- Ivy Bridge i7

- Corsair 16GB DDR3 RAM

- Gigabyte GA-Z77X-UD5H

- PCI-E Wireless N 802.11 adapter

- Barracudda 2TB HDD

- HAF 932 Full Tower

- Corsair Enthusiast Series 650 watt

- DVD+-RW 24x

- GTX 570 HD SLI Super Clocked

- Liquid Cooled CHCW60

- OCZ 120GB SSD (SATAIII)

THANKS SO MUCH!

Edited July 10, 2012 by JetlinerX

[thomsonb 3]

I am now losing 40FPS every time I start a new mission, bringing it down to 20, and sometimes, even 9.

Please explain more to help me fix it!

- Does this happen just at the start of the mission?

- Does the happen after you restart a mission?

- Is it temporary, or for the rest of the mission?

Cheers

B

---------- Post added at 19:45 ---------- Previous post was at 19:00 ----------

Hi Kyle_K_ski

I don't own BAF or PMC, and they're required for play. The ArmA II-only versions that you supply don't state whether or not they utilize the features from Combined Operations, which is the version that I own.

BAF and PMC are not required, because the default Operation Arrowhead include BAF and PMC lite versions (somebody correct me if im wrong here!) The only difference is you get low res textures on the units. Of course if you chose the manual setup options in my missions you can choose the factions you like...

The arma2 only versions are Flashpoint Chernarus and Flashpoint Utes. These only use units and features from A2. They still work in A2 CO.

The BAF versions Flashpoint Chernarus-BAF and Flashpoint Utes-BAF require Arma2 CO and use BAF content. They do not include many features from CO, just a few thermal scopes for snipers etc.

Hope that clears it up.

(Its impossible for me to release and support many more versions, I have already around 11 to update every time! ;))

....SLX and Group Link 4 Special FX Edition....ASR AI mod ...TPWC ...do you think that they'd "break" your missions were I to try them with the above mods active, or...?...

I have tested ASR_AI and it works fine with my missions.

I have tried including the scripted version of TPWC AI supress, but ran itnto conflicts with ASR AI. (I didnt have time to do any testing really.. it may work if you are using the Addon version of TPWC AI supress)

I have no experience of SLX or GL4, they sound great, its just becuase I dont have much time to get into mods due to real life and work!

I have had many messages from players telling me they use Zeus AI or ASR AI etc etc, with no trouble...

Its probably best if I keep the missions Vanilla, and leave each individual to use the mods they like best... Please everyone post and let us know what combo of AI mods you like best to play these missions.

Cheers

B