[SP] Operation Clever Girl

[GreigPil 1]

[OPERATION CLEVER GIRL]

[v1.3]

Under cover of nightfall, infiltrate the Old Outpost and disable all communications before ambushing enemy reinforcing elements; all in support of a desperate, last ditch assault on Air Station Mike-26.

Features

• immersive mission design
  
• night mission, encouraging stealth play
  
• cutom loadouts
  
• unitPlay MH-9 insertion and extraction
  
• events upon detection
  
• plenty explosions
  
• and a couple Jurassic Park references.
  

Changelog:

[v1.1]

- Enemy convoy now spawns upon triggering the main assault; Some players were encountering the convoy before intended.

- "Extraction" objective now involves a custom unitPlay heli extraction with escort.

[v1.2]

- Added APC to reinforcing convoy.

- Implementation of ambientAnimCombat.

- Locked ifrit and parked it somewhere sensible.

- Modest peppering of enemy units.

- Altered mission fail triggered by convoy reaching Air Station Mike-26: all vehicles must make it to trigger area to activate.

[v1.3]

- Changed location of comms officer.

- Added half unloaded supply truck at the Old Outpost, y'know: if you want to be absolutely sure you can take out the convoy...

- Blufor assaulting units now spawned via script.

- Lacey now disembarks insertion heli with player.

- Lacey now embarks extraction heli with player [teleport - best I could do with my limited know-how. Where's the doGetIn command?].

- Added new task "Sabotage Radio Equipment".

- Redone the extraction heli unitPlay. Now at 20fps, should hopefully bug out less.

[v1.4]

- Convoy and Ambush spawn scripts now called on server [should prevent duplication of spawns which blowing everything up].

- Jackson and Lacey are now kicked out at insertion.

- Gave the insertion heli a pilot, which should stop it from crashing the flight path isn't called immediately (pilot is deleted before kick out script, as subordinates will not disembark in certain cluttered areas - the LZ being one - if the pilot seat is occupied).

- Save game check point added midway through, by request.

- Still no fix for 'laggy' flight paths. unitPlay is apparently not the best for server play - but it's a cinematic touch I don't want to take out.

This is my first mission, which was really just a means for me to learn some scripting which I always avoided in Arma2.

Thanks for the feedback and help! I'll be making ongoing improvements as suggested here and on Armaholic when I learn how to do such things.

This version has been up on the Steam Workshop for a while and has enough positive feedback for me to be happy to move on to something else.

Let me know how you get on.

DOWNLOAD (v1.4)

Armaholic mirror:

- Operation Clever Girl [v1.4]

Steam Workshop:

- Operation Clever Girl [Always up to date]

Edited September 1, 2013 by GreigPil
new version v1.4

[lexx 1363]

Just finished it, it's quite good. Needed approx 15 to 20 minutes. Could be a little bit more difficult when you do the main objective or ambush the reinforcements, though.

[Kommiekat 11]

As a Player, I was all over the map, not just where you suggested.

So, I did manage to see the CONVOY resting and waiting.

I suggest you place them further away or spawn them in.

Also, I grabbed the AA weapon. Came in handy.

[Bhoomer 10]

Thanks for making this mission. I enjoyed it alot. Great lightning, environment and interesting tasks to complete.

[Variable 322]

This was the first user made mission I played in Arma 3 since a single attempt during the early stages of the Alpha. Well done! The mission is immersive and interesting, exactly at the right difficulty level and very enjoyable. I hope to see more of your work, GreigPil. Thanks for that mission!

[Gera_CCT 12]

Good Job! Very BIS Style of Mission.

[msilva 2]

Thanks a lot. Great Mission and like said above great lightning and very atmospheric mission.

[Varanon 892]

Nice mission! Looking forward to more of that kind

[runekn 3]

Really enjoyed the mission, also demostarted very well how you actually CAN be stealthy in Arma 3.

Haven't tried the entire mission though, since my AI got stuck in the house and I shot him from frustation, resulting in failing the mission :rolleyes:

[gibon85 10]

Thanks for the mission, ive noticed one thing- the drop off heli gives you just couple of seconds to disembark. Could you make it so it only takes off when you and your teammate get out?

[GreigPil 1]

Thanks for the mission, ive noticed one thing- the drop off heli gives you just couple of seconds to disembark. Could you make it so it only takes off when you and your teammate get out?

Yeah, it's the same with the extraction heli as well. It's because I'm recording the flight path myself; and all scripts are ignored 'til the path is complete (so far as I am aware). I've tried recording the path in two sections, but I can't for the life of me figure out how to keep the AI pilot from increasing collective once completing the first.

Whaddya doing sitting around in helis all day when there's a war to be fought, anyhow!? :P

[lexx 1363]

Maybe you can kick out the player via script as soon as the heli is set at z-pos < 1 and doesn't move anymore?

[D34 2]

Nice mission, great mood and very BIS-like style. Pretty short and not too difficult - keeps the immersion going when you don't die a million times and have to reload and get frustrated. A couple of points I had, you might lock the Ifrit at the Old Outpost.. once I took everyone out in the area, could have just taken the car.. Also when taking out the AA outpost, some random OPFOR came from the woods while I was grabbing the AA launcher. They fired a couple of shots and got the mission failed -screen even though the teammate didn't go down - at least I don't think so. Is this intentional, get detected - mission blown thing?

Those above are really minor issues, the bigger problem was the ending. Couldn't get to the chopper. I tried many times and it just kept flickering, suddenly it appeared on the ground, then took off, vanished completely, was on the ground again, and so on. Managed to click the ride in back once, only to be thrown to the ground injured. So I think the unitCapture has some bad playback problems..

But all in all, neat mission and really highlights how much Arma series has improved. A part of me was saying, there's no way an arma game can look and feel this good :D

[GreigPil 1]

Now that this has been fixed:

Fixed: http://feedback.arma3.com/view.php?id=11604 (animation loop gets correctly terminated when the condition evaluates to true)

I can get on with putting a final version of the mission together. I'm thinking the reason the heli extraction is bugging out for some people is that it was recorded at 60fps; and there are so many numbers to run through that it is stalling or skipping at certain parts. I'll try re-do these sequences at 20fps and see if it makes any difference.

To do/fix:

• z-pos solutions to make sure Lacey is getting in and out of choppers in time.
  
• convoy composition
  
• re-arranging Old Outpost units to encourage you guys to give it another shot
  
• randomised patrols around the objective
  
• actually have someone play test before publishing
  

I think I'll also explore the possibility to eliminate the comms officer without having to take out sentries/patrolling units. You can risk the clean shot and lay the ambush in stealth; or miss and be presented with greater challenge in getting to him -OR- take out sentries without detection for the to-be-super-sure route.

[Variable 322]

-OR- take out sentries without detection for the to-be-super-sure route.

If you want to accomlish that, note that you will have to NOT have them grouped together. An old Arma bug automatically reveals the shooter of a killed AI unit to all his group, even if they are on the other side of the island... This makes stealth approaches impossible, unless you use ungrouped units.

[GreigPil 1]

They are already un-grouped. I'm also using some horribly ham handed trigger conditions to have them behave or react in a way that gives the illusion they are still working together; though it's still far from ideal. I've heard people talk about the 'knowsAbout' command but am having a hard time working out how it's actually, practically implemented.

[GreigPil 1]

Updated to v1.3. Changed a bunch of stuff, added a bunch of stuff.

[2nd ranger 282]

There's alot to like about this mission, but there are many things going wrong in co-op (hosted).

• Insertion objective didn't mark off until we were being extracted.
  
• Extraction chopper took off as soon as I got on board and left my buddy behind (I know, unitCapture related).
  
• After calling in the assault, the reinforcement convoy was immediately obliterated, to the point that one of the flaming vehicle wrecks went flying 100m over my head like a comet. This was probably a result of the vehicles being too close to each other or being in a problematic spawn position.
  
• And last but not least ... the enemy AI didn't shoot at us or react to us in any way. Did you have setCaptive on for testing and forget to take it off? Our scores were showing negative values.
  

because I'm recording the flight path myself; and all scripts are ignored 'til the path is complete (so far as I am aware). I've tried recording the path in two sections, but I can't for the life of me figure out how to keep the AI pilot from increasing collective once completing the first.

Sending PM about this.

[GreigPil 1]

There have been a few people reporting similar problems; and it looks to be COOP related.

• Insertion task not being completed might have something to do with how I've set up the trigger i.e. not COOP friendly. Has always worked playing myself.
  
• The convoy spawn markers are placed with plenty space. I've watched them spawn over and over and they make it off their mark without issue. Though I have seen this happen, exactly as you described, in a COOP play through on Youtube.
  
• Jackson, Lacey and the pilot all have setCaptive true 'til they hit the insertion trigger, where it is set false. This is to ensure no one shoots you out of the sky on approach; as the approach itself is far closer than could be described as 'stealthy'. I made a design decision to get the player closer, quicker with a little suspension of belief. However, seeing as the trigger that completes the insertion task didn't meet its conditions for whatever reason - setCapture was true all the way through the mission for you.
  

Thanks for the feedback. Your PM too is a great idea which I'll look into.

I think I might be over complicating things, especially for a first run at a mission. I'd encourage anyone to unPBO it and pick it apart to point out where I'm making these amateur mistakes! As I said, I think the problem is not taking into account things that are required when making a COOP mission - it worked great SP for me.

[Bronski 0]

First off I just want to say I do enjoy the mission. However, I am having trouble with it.

I'm playing it as single player from the single player missions folder. When I first played it I believe it was 1.2. The problems I am having are with the helicopter insertion and extraction. Previously with 1.2 the insertion was no problem. Now with 1.3 the helicopter jerks around, sometimes it ends up crashed in the water. It looks a lot like desync when playing online.

I've also never been able to extract and complete the mission. I complete the objectives (optional too) and set off the main attack and see the reinforcements hit the mines. I then head for the extraction point. I played 1.2 multiple times all the way through and most of the time i never see the heli's. At one point I saw the escort ones make a run on the aa position i had taken out and saw what I thought was a little bird wreck at the intersection of the road that passes near the base with the comms officer and the road that goes to the extraction point. I was shot before I could confirm what it was. So far I've run through 1.3 once and the extract never came and I never even the escort heli's.

I really enjoy it tho. I do like the changes you have made with the last version. Keep up the good work.

[2nd ranger 282]

There have been a few people reporting similar problems; and it looks to be COOP related.

• The convoy spawn markers are placed with plenty space. I've watched them spawn over and over and they make it off their mark without issue. Though I have seen this happen, exactly as you described, in a COOP play through on Youtube.
  

Actually come to think of it this could be a duplication issue. When you spawn the convoy are you doing it only on the server? If not, that means the convoy is being spawned twice which would mean that vehicles are spawning into eachother and causing mayhem.

Also, unitCapture/Play is usually a bit unstable in MP. The target vehicle usually shudders violently and if there is excessive lag/desync it can cause issues like Bronski was talking about. I appreciate that your mission was designed primarily for SP, there are just a few things you'll need to consider when making co-op missions to account for locality issues and such. Don't be put off though, for a first mission this is of a relatively high standard compared to most missions that are released for this game. Many authors don't even bother to learn how to make tasks or a briefing, let alone add any of the little touches you have included.

[GreigPil 1]

Actually come to think of it this could be a duplication issue. When you spawn the convoy are you doing it only on the server? If not, that means the convoy is being spawned twice which would mean that vehicles are spawning into eachother and causing mayhem.

This. Makes perfect sense. I'll look into server stuff after my holiday.

Thanks again for all the feedback. It's raising more and more questions, which is great as I can now go find the answers and hopefully improve at a greater pace.

[2nd ranger 282]

Literally all you have to do is this:

if (isServer) then {

spawning stuff

};

Spawning commands/functions are global and therefore occur for every player, unless you only run the script on the server or encase the spawning code in an isServer check as above.

[GreigPil 1]

Thanks for your help, 2nd Ranger. Latest version has been on the Steam Workshop for a while and I think I'm comfortable in saying it's finished. OP updated with info.

[Variable 322]

Thanks! any plans for the next one?