Help find some real "vs AI" competition

[Cloudman 1]

Hello!

Im new in ARMA 2, and very interested in map like "freedom fighters, war welcome" where I can build base/units. But this is too easy for me.

Please tell me where can I find similar maps, or what mods should I install to make enemy AI more strong.

Also is there some maps where I need to build good defence?

Also I dunno how to install Zeus AI, I've placed files into right folder, then apllied it in main menu->expansions, then restarted game, Zeus AI working now?

Edited June 6, 2012 by Cloudman

[anthropoid 1]

I would be interested in the main question you've asked here myself. I _think_ that they call those types of mission/scenarios "warfare" missions but not sure. Basically a mission where you start out with a foothold and then have to build up a base.

Actually though, I found that the War Welcome was a bit too fast paced for my tastes. I did manage to win it, but it just seemed so frenetic and unrealistic. I thought that the "Campaigns" in the stock install would be more what I was looking for, but having played the first part of the campaign that seems too scripted.

A true "campaign" -> something that is very sandbox, involves building up a presence on a map, and takes several days or weeks to culminate would be awesome.

As far as how to install things, I myself downloaded a launcher.

Check the link for the ArmaLauncher under "Option 3 : Modfolders + ArmAlauncher" at this FAQ on Installing Addons

http://www.armaholic.com/plug.php?e=faq&q=18

Edited June 6, 2012 by Anthropoid

[EDcase 87]

Any mods, addons that are active are listed to the right in main menu screen.

Cloudman, what you are looking for is called "Warfare" or "CTI" (Capture the Island)

There should be some online co-op servers and you can also download for single player.

Try this one: http://www.armaholic.com/page.php?id=7313 (download at bottom)

Have a look at Armaholic for ARMA info and all downloads.

'Domination' is also quite good with continuous missions and cities to capture.

As for difficulty, try Veteran mode in settings... ;)

Mods like Zeus can make AI better but if you play online then you don't need to install any as the server will control the AI.

(You will get better performance playing online because the server does the AI calculations)

Edited June 6, 2012 by EDcase

[anthropoid 1]

Thanks EDCase. Will definitely DL the Benny Warfare after A2WarMod_Full1.4 finishes in another 1hr 34m ;)

[orcinus 121]

Welcome, Cloudman :)

You and Anthropoid might also like to take a peek at Kremator's Battle Zone, which is a somewhat different take on CTI, Really good fun, & can be played SP as well as MP. Lots of island ports, but note that really good performance on the larger islands like Chernarus needs a dedicated server.

Edit

Oops, forgot the link:

http://forums.bistudio.com/showthread.php?132146-Kremator-presents-BattleZone-MSO-PatrolOps2-amp-ATCRabbit/page6

Edited June 6, 2012 by Orcinus

[anthropoid 1]

Question about the stock ArmA2 "Campaigns" (Harvest Red and EW). Are the whole things as scripted as the first couple scenarios, or does it get more sandboxy as you progress?

[EDcase 87]

They are quite scripted and have smaller objectives but you have the freedom to tackle them any way you want.

They are still quite good and there is some storyline that makes it interesting to get into.

[anthropoid 1]

Oh yeah, that Benny Warfare thing is AWESOME! Exactly what I was looking for :)

My only problems so far (apart from just not being very familiar with the high command menus):

1. Is the WF Menu the only place I can see the composition of my Teams?

2. Is it not possible to buy units and then manually transfer them into one of my subordinate teams? The manual for ArmA2 says something about the "Diary" having a tab for "Transfers" but I have not yet managed to find that sucker.

[gunso 10]

A nice tutorial on youtube regarding Benny Warfare

You can also play it on a lot of custom islands like shown in the video.

You cant transfer units only money to subordinates, just send them money and set their role as tank platoon and they will buy the units themselves.

[anthropoid 1]

Thanks Gunso!

ADDIT: yeah, those tutorials are nice :)

Edited June 7, 2012 by Anthropoid

[gunso 10]

FYI there's a lot of warfare missions out there actually, you can try gossamer warfare which is more CPU friendly if your computer is not powerful enough. Just browse through armaholic CTI section.

[Cloudman 1]

Try this one: http://www.armaholic.com/page.php?id=7313 (download at bottom)

Have a look at Armaholic for ARMA info and all downloads.

hmm, benny warfare looks good, but all my AI dies and no respawn. Just "Error : No vehicle" in menu.

And game is over=)

[orcinus 121]

@Cloudman: questions about a specific mod or mission should be posted in the thread for that topic - after searching, ofc :)

[anthropoid 1]

Yeah I'm sorting my way through that ~550 page thread for Benny Warfare edition ! :) Lots of info in there, and actually the advanced searchfunction works rather well. Came across this and I'm going through it to see if it helps with some of my problems:

ftp://clan-gmc.de/pub/Games/ArmA2/Warfare%20BE%20Tutorial.pdf

[gunso 10]

You have to run benny warfare on dedicated server to make it run properly.

[anthropoid 1]

Ah okay. Guess I'll have to figure out what a dedicated server is then :p

Just got OA installed last night, and have now been fiddling with the editor, trying to make a simple SpecOps mission to take out an enemy aircraft on Utes prior to Operation Red Harvest . . . I can see Arma becoming a significant source of ongoing projects for me.

[burdy 11]

http://forums.bistudio.com/showthread.php?135583-Hells-Gates-Dynamic-Normandy-Operation-I44-(SP-Co2-Co3) Give my mission a go, if you have I44- its in the criteria your looking for I believe

[orcinus 121]

@Anthropoid - basically, 'dedicated server' means you need a separate machine to act as host.

Burdy's suggestion sounds cool - if you haven't looked at i44 yet, then do. It's superb!

[anthropoid 1]

http://forums.bistudio.com/showthread.php?135583-Hells-Gates-Dynamic-Normandy-Operation-I44-(SP-Co2-Co3) Give my mission a go, if you have I44- its in the criteria your looking for I believe

Wow! That looks incredible!

Bet the DL is a fairly long one though, and I'm headachy from struggling with the editor, pbo, cpbos, sqfs and .exes . . . but I will definitely get that one up and running in the very near future.

Question: it is for ArmA2 not for Combined Ops right?

I get the impression that, one can play ArmA2 missions and mods through the OA .exe and generally that will work fine?? They seem to have not only added content with OA but also seem to have added some functionality, for example, the ability to enable and disable expansions in an in-game GUI, and the change in how the Briefing documents are handled. Nice changes, but makes it all a bit bewildering for a newcomer gnashing at the bit to not only master the game, but start making some missions, and eventually decipher the entire engine so I can become a brilliant AI programmer and create my own design studio that focuses on Learning by Doing using a combined strategic-tactical 3D interface like that in ArmA2 but dealing with more scholastic topics like learning introductory statistics or French or some such . . . but I digress . . .

[gunso 10]

The best way to play with mods in arma 2 is by using sixupdater. It will automatically download the mod and updates it to the latest version. it also let you switch to beta patch and back.

If you have arma 2 combine ops and running the game using arma 2 CO icon you can access any arma 2 or OA only specific missions without any trouble. For eg. if you're suing OA.exe you wont be able to play the chernarus map. But if you are using sixupdater, it will take care of that for you.

Regarding dedicated server, just browse through your arma 2 folder and run armaOAserver.exe then you will see your own server running in MP section under local. Yeah dedicated server is for a different machine but it's the only way you can run benny warfare properly on your pc. join your own server, choose a mission and vote yourself as admin. Then you can play with the mission parameter.

for the editor, yeah it's a pain for new guys cause all of us have gone through it even though i'm just messing around adding stuffs cause i suck at scripting, just copy past most of it.

If you run arma 2 only, the editor will only list arma 2 stuffs and the same for OA only. But if you run the game using Arma 2 CO you will have all the vanilla equipment and vehicles but the mission you created will require arma 2 CO to run. the same applies with mods.

You need a pbo tool to dpbo the mission you want to edit, once unpacked only the editor can open it. You need to pbo it again for arma 2 mission to see it.

You can change the mission name under mission.sqf, anything that you add in the editor will appear under mission.sqf. When you open other people missions and see bunch of folders, those are scripts. you need to check their thread on how to edit those because it differs from mission makers.

Just asks around in the editing thread if you have any questions regarding mission editing. Hope to see your mission later cause i cant script even if my life depends on it XP

[anthropoid 1]

Thanks for all the pointers gunso! That is like a complete orientation for 'not-quite-a beginner / but still cannot figure out some stuff.

I've gotten TOTALLY into the mod "Lost" by Markb50k. TOTALLY what I like! Sort of like "Oblivion" but with machineguns in a make believe Eastern European country in the present ;) . . . and with hostile Russians.

This game really is fucking fantastic.

By merging this game with Mount&Blade and Rome Total War and adding a few of the 'cultural/religious/scientific/Great People' elements in the traditional Sid Meier's Civ games, one could effectively have "Civilization True & Complete" the way it should be: strategic control of societal development and army deployment; when the palyer wants tactical battlefield control of fighting units.

Add in the character dynamics of say Crusader Kings II and . . . oh, la, la what a game . . .

[gunso 10]

I think you also havent try the stalker mod in here, it's like the stalker game minus the loading screen. I played it for a bit but stopped cause it's too dark and scary =P

Just asks the question at the proper section and i'm sure the community will gladly assist you.

[anthropoid 1]

Hey I DLed that "SixUpdater" thing but it seemed to be very laggy and weird. I uninstalled it.

How important is that for using lots of mods?

I am so frustrated with the AI in warfare mode right now. Poor Markb50k, I've durn near clogged up his thread for his Lost mission going on and on about the AI . . .

http://forums.bistudio.com/forumdisplay.php?86-ARMA-2-amp-OA-USER-MISSIONS/page79&order=desc

If only the AI would behave normally, and groups would actually EXECUTE orders when given and not just go running off on their own, that mission would be fantastic.

I'm using ASR AI, any chance that is causing those problems I describe in that other thread?

[-Coulum- 35]

Hey I DLed that "SixUpdater" thing but it seemed to be very laggy and weird. I uninstalled it.

How important is that for using lots of mods?

Six updater is basically a tool that helps you downlad and update mods. Once you download and run it, a window will come up with a list of the majority of mods out there. Then you simply click on those you want and it'll install them plus any mods that are required in order to run the mods you want. It also makes it very easy to keep up to date with mods, because every time you run it you will be able to see what needs updates. It is not necessary at all. I've been playing a couple years now and it wasn't until a month ago that I really started using six updater for mods other than ace. It may seem a bit unintuitive at the start but once you get used to it its very convenient and I believe it can do a lot more than just install update mods (I just haven't tried to dig deeper than that).

I am so frustrated with the AI in warfare mode right now. Poor Markb50k, I've durn near clogged up his thread for his Lost mission going on and on about the AI . . .

http://forums.bistudio.com/forumdisp...e79&order=desc

If only the AI would behave normally, and groups would actually EXECUTE orders when given and not just go running off on their own, that mission would be fantastic.

I'm using ASR AI, any chance that is causing those problems I describe in that other thread?

Well I seriously doubt it is ASR that is causing problems. I've been using it a long time now and I think its the most stable ai mod around. Do you have CBA? I think ASR requires that mod to run, so if you don't have it get it and try again. Otherwise, do all your units have ammo? ASR makes it so units will go out looking for ammo on their own... but usually they just share ammo with another squad member so I doubt this is the problem as well.

My bet is its the lost mod causing problems but honestly I haven't played it so I can't offer you much help on that front. sorry.

Also, if your looking for dynamic ai battles, give HAC AI a try. Its pretty intensive on the computer (at least on my potatoe) but it delivers totally dynamic ai battles and its the closest thing you'll get to a "chain of command" in arma. It may not be as "large scale as you want it" though as there are no resources or building up of ones army, but it will give you a good battle. I haven't had the time to try it much but I also here WICT is pretty good and very dynamic as well. give em a go if you can't find a solution to the lost mod.

[gunso 10]

when you run sixupdater just let it do whatever it wants, dont try to force it. It will update automatically just let it.

Then on how to use mod is by using the presets, find the mods you want to use and add it to a new preset and rename it. Then right click and select install and update. you can't do anything else once it's starting to install or download.

you can also use it to run a dedicated server or apply a beta patch. Just find the menu and put a tick on it. It's easy to revert back from beta patch to official patch easily.