Campaign Episode 1: SURVIVE - Feedback thread ** SPOILER WARNING! **

[smokedog3para 365]

The intro for the missions was all stuttery for me it did not run smooth while playing, after that it seemed good all of the couple of minutes I got to drive before my 20 month old daughter decided she wanted to have a go on my steering wheel and she ended up driving me to the checkpoint, she enjoyed it too

[blackhead 10]

First, nice campaign guys! It is really awesome :)

I have finished the first two missions and when I try to load the third mission "Maxwell" the game doesn't proceed after the loading screen. The game finishes loading but I'm stucked in the loading screen. The game is not frozen.

Yeah the same here, the 3rd misson would not finally load...

[maddogx 13]

Which topic is actualy intended for a not technical feedback? :) I left a couple of words about my impressions in the neighbor one :oops:

I merged your post here. That older thread was mostly about speculation and "wishes".

EDIT: Ah, I just saw you said "not technical feedback". My bad.

In principle, I guess both threads could be used for general feedback.

Edited October 25, 2013 by MadDogX

[sic-disaster 311]

Last night I played the first mission, and got a little bit into the second. I stopped there because there were too many distractions around me, but this morning I decided to continue. Turns out the progress hasn't saved, and I have to do the first mission again.

There is no list of missions in the campaign menu for me, and no play button either. I have to double click the campaign to start it. Is that how it is supposed to be? I thought the original way of showing a list of missions you've completed in OFP was much better, if that's the case.

[Deadfast 43]

There should be an arrow on the left side of the campaign name you can click to expand the list.

[2nd ranger 282]

The mortars in the last mission are annoying for sure, normally BIS script mortars like that so they don't fall too close to the player, I guess it was just overlooked or not working properly. Same problem with Miller on his minigun looking in completely the wrong direction as I was running to the boat. Although the boat did take a direct mortar hit a few moments before I got there, so maybe he was dizzy or something.

There is no list of missions in the campaign menu for me, and no play button either. I have to double click the campaign to start it. Is that how it is supposed to be? I thought the original way of showing a list of missions you've completed in OFP was much better, if that's the case.

The campaign tree is not expanded for some reason, you have to click on the arrow next to the episode name to display the available missions.

[cadmium77 16]

Hmm...ok I solved that problem...you can only get in one of the boats.

In conclusion, a good campaign though a rather simple one compared to the original Arma 2 campaign which was a lot more complex and a lot more difficult, both as a game and because of technical glitches. BIS kept this one relatively simple, but it was fun.

Edited October 25, 2013 by Cadmium77

[ziiip 1]

In the first mission, when AAF turns against NATO at Kamino, you can see through the binoculars that the NATO troops are scripted to not take damage. It looked pretty bad when I saw an AAF troop shoot a NATO troop from 3 meters aways but the NATO troop just kept on walking. I suggest you only make AAF troops invincible.

[NeuroFunker 11]

episode 1 was made i guess, to get new players in to it. Learning course so to say. Good balance between average difficulty and simplicity. But i do expect next episodes be more toughter, and complex. Well, on Altis it can't be simple i guess.

[antoineflemming 14]

digging the campaign. just got to xray and got killed. when trying to restart straight after dying i get cannoty resum error. its not seeing mods i had loaded when playing 5 seconds ago.

Missing addons detected:

speedofsound

Warning Message: You cannot play/edit this mission; it is dependent on downloadable content that has been deleted.speedofsound

LODShape::AddLoadHandler: Handler not present in shape [a3\weapons_f\acc\reticle_hamr.p3d]

Warning Message: No entry 'A3\Missions_F_EPA\Campaign\description.ext/Campaign/Missions/A_in.CONTINUE'.

Warning Message: '/' is not a value

Warning Message: No entry 'A3\Missions_F_EPA\Campaign\description.ext/Campaign/Missions.CONTINUE'.

Warning Message: '/' is not a value

Attempt to override final function - bis_functions_list

Attempt to override final function - bis_functions_listpreinit

Attempt to override final function - bis_functions_listpostinit

Attempt to override final function - bis_functions_listrecompile

[60759,1423.02,0,"XEH: PreInit Started. v1.0.4.198. MISSINIT: missionName=intro1, worldName=Stratis, isMultiplayer=false, isServer=true, isDedicated=false"]

[60759,1423.05,0,"XEH: PreInit Finished. CACHE DISABLED? (Disable caching with cba_cache_disable.pbo): SLX_XEH_RECOMPILE=false, CBA_COMPILE_RECOMPILE=false, CBA_FUNC_RECOMPILE=false"]

Attempt to override final function - bis_fnc_missiontaskslocal

Attempt to override final function - bis_fnc_missionconversationslocal

Attempt to override final function - bis_fnc_missionflow

- also a little fog might just add a touch of atmosphere to the beginning. felt very stark when ambushed in forest.

_ AAN hellicopter just hover near rogain. not moving.

EDIT - restarting the campaign mission gives me this error when near chopper right at the beginning. didnt get this error last time.

[3246,63.256,0,"XEH: PostInit Started"]

[3246,63.262,0,"CBA_VERSIONING: cba=1.0.4.198, "]

[3246,63.316,0,"XEH: PostInit Finished. State: _isClient=true, _isJip=false, _isDedClient=false, _isServer=true, _isDedServer=false, _playerCheckDone=true, _sp=true, _startInitDone=true, _postInitDone=true, _mpRespawn=false, _machineType=1, _sessionId=3, _level=0, _timeOut=false, _game=3, BIS_functions=L Modules:1, group=L Modules, player=BIS_inf, _playerType=B_Story_Protagonist_F", _playerGroup=B Kerry]

[3246,63.257,0,"x\cba\addons\network\XEH_postServerInit.sqf:3","Initializing: cba_network version: 1.0.4.198"]

Unknown attribute itemsCmd

Unknown attribute itemsCmd

Error in expression <_fnc_advHint_hintHandlers") then {

if !(BIS_fnc_advHint_hintHandlers) then {

_>

Error position: <BIS_fnc_advHint_hintHandlers) then {

_>

Error Undefined variable in expression: bis_fnc_advhint_hinthandlers

File A3\functions_f\Hints\fn_advHint.sqf, line 118

I get that too. Had to disable any mod that actually replaces something in-game. So, TMR, Speed of Sound, CBA even. After disabling all those, I could resume. So disable Speed of Sound. Disable CBA, as I see you are using both.

[ziiip 1]

episode 1 was made i guess, to get new players in to it. Learning course so to say. Good balance between average difficulty and simplicity. But i do expect next episodes be more toughter, and complex. Well, on Altis it can't be simple i guess.

I personally died a lot and I decided to save after every couple of kills. ;D And it wasnt because of the FPS. Maybe I'm a crappy player?

[Dennis187 10]

I can't get past the darter scouting task. I find the mortars but when I spot them with laser Charlie doesn't take them down. When I try to get over there by foot mission fails after a few minutes.

[twisted 128]

I get that too. Had to disable any mod that actually replaces something in-game. So, TMR, Speed of Sound, CBA even. After disabling all those, I could resume. So disable Speed of Sound. Disable CBA, as I see you are using both.

thanks. its speed of sound. i kept mod=@CBA_A3;@VTS_Weaponresting;@NATO_Russian_SF_Weapons;@TPW_MODS;@fhq_accessories;@ACC_PAF"

which all ran fine and resumed load games no problem.

[horrorview 10]

Runs outstanding, and is really quite compelling. Got three missions in, and only had a few issues, though

none gamebreaking -

1) After boarding helicopter at the opening of the game, I noticed the helicopter animation was quite choppy. Set the game's CPU priority to High, restarted, and it was smooth as silk.

2) "Lieutenant" character in first mission seemed fused to H-Barrier he was sitting on after he hopped off to greet me.

3) Squad at "rendezvous" didn't proceed to objective. They just stood around screaming "COVER ME" and "Return to formation!". I got sick of waiting for someone to do something, so I went on alone, and they didn't follow until I

reached the objective.

That's about it so far. :)

[novemberist 2]

In "Radio Silence", has anyone actually succeeded...

taking out the watchtowers? Those mortars don't hit anywhere near the positions I designate...Am I doing something wrong?

[frostwyrm333 1]

I would like to know how the mortars are supposed to destroy the tower when they land all over the place, otherwise it a pleasant experience, the gear system is a bit confusing though.

At 1680x1050 the letterbox effect doesn't cover the entire bottom part of the screen.

The color filter was a bit strange at first but it looks good, put it everywhere!:cool:

Also BI has developed a new time format it seems:http://imgur.com/gjjnjsR (I don't think its a spoiler)

[Tyl3r99 41]

it says that the british voices have been added but I cant find them under profile edit??? :(

[2nd ranger 282]

In "Radio Silence" [...] Those mortars don't hit anywhere near the positions I designate...Am I doing something wrong?

I restarted it a couple of times after running out of mortar rounds, but I still never managed to get a good hit on any of the towers. Then your Ai friend is like "Damn, you didn't get them all". Me? I'm just calling in the coordinates, man, I'm not the one on the tube!

[dead kennedy 124]

Those mortars don't hit anywhere near the positions I designate...Am I doing something wrong?

Nope, it seems like the mortar fire just has a such dispersion :))

I have

just called him to the most massive crowd of the enemies to provide maximum damage, then taked the point and layed the AP-mines around a north entrance. Then just executed the rest of reinforcement troops one by one.

[nickbn 10]

Hi. Old OFP veteran here. Played through all the official missions and campaigns of all games + addons / DLC from OFP + red Hammer / resistance, Arma1, Arma2 + OA / PMC / BAF/ Czech to arma3.

Im dissapointed in this part of the campaign episodes. If all the episodes are as long as this one is then I can't be bothered to play them all.

This may sound very harsh and unfundend. It is not my intention to just moan and whine about this without a thorough explanation. Therefor i'll try to be as thorough and concise as needed. Click on the spoiler tag if you want to read why

Duration

The campaign is too short. Sure, it's just an "episode" but even for an episodes playing through it in under 3 hours is a definite no-go. If all the other episodes are as long as this one and there are at least 2 episodes coming then we'll total just over a 9 hour campaign. Too short by todays standards. But hey, that might be a designers choice?

Difficulty

The difficulty is too low. Yeah I played it on the regular difficulty bit not getitng shot from 75 meters by the AI repeatedly makes it too easy for me. Oh, since when Do shot sounds only travel 100 meters and doesnt the enemy hear me? In real life a shot fired can be heard from over at least 500 meters. But that might be a designers choice aswell. I have only died once in the campaign and that was because I was out of ammo. I dont play careful but im no rambo either.

The Story

Even though at some moment the campaign tries to tell a story it just does not convince at any moment. From the beginning to the end at every moment the game tries to tell me a story I get questions marks everywhere. "how come the AAF suddenly fires upon Nato, just moments after passing a checkpoint?" "why does the commanders car get ambushed BEFORE the passing of the checkpoint?" "Why is AAF attacking NATO?" Over the course of the campaign there are many many more questions that pop up, but dont get answered. Such a miss for me that didnt quite make the campaign better but made me stand further away from the story. Theres a lot happening over the course of 2 days in the campaign that does not get explained when it definitely should. Talking about the events happening in the game... Oh. And Survive? Yeah, the first 2 mission are about "surviving: , after that its "regroup and do a couple of random ops to eventually get off the island". But that not a label that gets through the marketing department. but its definitely not about survival. It doesnt feel that way at all. And talk about explanation in the very last moment of the campaign. Why the hell is there suddenly a CSAT chopper?

The realism

I can understand for the sake of creativity and gaming experience, shots fired dont get heard by enemies that are standing farther away than 100 meters. But what I cannot understand for the sake of gaming experience or realism for that matter is why the commander in chief is making such unorthodox and strange non-military decisions on what the next ops are. What the hell is Delta doing for example? doesnt get explained throughout the story. Why the hell is there no recon or base detail explained more trhoughly? Why does it take over a day for AAF search groups with their equipment to find 20 US/UK / NATO survivors on an island thats not even over 25km2 big? Doesn't add up to the realism. No checkpoints, search groups, attacks, no not until the FIA ammo mission does Nato get attacked by AAF shells / bombardment. And even after that, No AAF infantry sweeps / search groups after the shelling / bombardment. Seriously? It just doesnt add up. i've been ex-military for 6 years now and from my real world operational experience it makes absolutely no sense. Even not for the sake of storytelling or game action. I strongly doubt that a military strategist or expert has been consulted for the story of this campaign. You can't sell this to me and I bet there are a lot of army vets out there that would agree with me on this. Heck, I would gladly hire myself out to you guys for free to polish this thing up and make it more plausible. After all, its a miliraty simulator, but the story doesnt feel much like simulation. Then again, might be the designers choice?

The verdict

I've seen a lot of people replying how much they like the campaign and a general praise can be seen. Im happy that so many people actually do like it and it makes me feel like an old nagging critic that wants everything to be perfect or to my standards. I just feel like theres a lot of room for explanation for the story thats been left out. I could easily think of a couple of scenarios that would actually make the story as it is now more plausible and heck theres even room for a couple of ops to do the extra explaining while not hurting gameplay experience. I'm just not that convinced. the PMC campaign for Arma2 AO actually made my hopes high for a more decent storytelling but this just doesnt not cut the cake.

TL;DR Played through it and expected more. Better action, better stroytelling and more plausability. I would gladly refer this episode to a "rough diamond" but it suits the label of a "rough bar of bronze" Even when its polished up you cant make more of it than it is.

Edited October 25, 2013 by nickbn
spoiler tag added

[NeMeSiS 11]

I can't get past the darter scouting task. I find the mortars but when I spot them with laser Charlie doesn't take them down. When I try to get over there by foot mission fails after a few minutes.

Find them by running around at 4x speed (may take a couple of tries), once you find them fail the mission because you are out of time, then try again with the knowledge of where they are. It is how i had to do it.

I just finished the last mission, and i really liked it so far. I do hope that the next episodes are longer though, otherwise the entire campaign can be finished in less than 9 hours.

Also, on the last mission

the random mortars are really lame, it took me about 15 tries to not be randomly blown up, and the only time i didnt die i had to rambo myself through those paratroopers since my 2 teammates who survived the mortars were instantly killed by them. It wasnt hard, just annoying. Its funny to see them alive again the the cutscene after that though. :p

Edited October 25, 2013 by NeMeSiS

[maddogx 13]

Also, on the last mission

the random mortars are really lame, it took me about 15 tries to not be randomly blown up, and the only time i didnt die i had to rambo myself through those paratroopers since my 2 teammates that were still alive were instantly killed after that. It wasnt hard, just annoying. Its funny to see them alive again the the cutscene after that though. :p

I had the same experience. Incredibly frustrating.

[Deadfast 43]

I had the same experience. Incredibly frustrating.

Indeed, several times I got blown up by the first mortar shell, no matter how fast or where I ran.

Words about spoilery things

I think you should remember you're only playing a part of the campaign. It was quite clear to me most of those questions that weren't sufficiently answered for you were the driving force of the plot and therefore answering them in Act I makes no sense.

[HorbeySpector 164]

the campaign definitely needs something that helps me keeping track of my leader. a small indicator in the screen or something. It's easy to loose sight on him, and he, being a stupido Ai, isn't really waiting or taking an obvious path..

[antoineflemming 14]

Hi. Old OFP veteran here. Played through all the official missions and campaigns of all games + addons / DLC from OFP + red Hammer / resistance, Arma1, Arma2 + OA / PMC / BAF/ Czech to arma3.

Im dissapointed in this part of the campaign episodes. If all the episodes are as long as this one is then I can't be bothered to play them all.

This may sound very harsh and unfundend. It is not my intention to just moan and whine about this without a thorough explanation. Therefor i'll try to be as thorough and concise as needed. Click on the spoiler tag if you want to read why

Duration

The campaign is too short. Sure, it's just an "episode" but even for an episodes playing through it in under 3 hours is a definite no-go. If all the other episodes are as long as this one and there are at least 2 episodes coming then we'll total just over a 9 hour campaign. Too short by todays standards. But hey, that might be a designers choice?

Difficulty

The difficulty is too low. Yeah I played it on the regular difficulty bit not getitng shot from 75 meters by the AI repeatedly makes it too easy for me. Oh, since when Do shot sounds only travel 100 meters and doesnt the enemy hear me? In real life a shot fired can be heard from over at least 500 meters. But that might be a designers choice aswell. I have only died once in the campaign and that was because I was out of ammo. I dont play careful but im no rambo either.

The Story

Even though at some moment the campaign tries to tell a story it just does not convince at any moment. From the beginning to the end at every moment the game tries to tell me a story I get questions marks everywhere. "how come the AAF suddenly fires upon Nato, just moments after passing a checkpoint?" "why does the commanders car get ambushed BEFORE the passing of the checkpoint?" "Why is AAF attacking NATO?" Over the course of the campaign there are many many more questions that pop up, but dont get answered. Such a miss for me that didnt quite make the campaign better but made me stand further away from the story. Theres a lot happening over the course of 2 days in the campaign that does not get explained when it definitely should. Talking about the events happening in the game... Oh. And Survive? Yeah, the first 2 mission are about "surviving: , after that its "regroup and do a couple of random ops to eventually get off the island". But that not a label that gets through the marketing department. but its definitely not about survival. It doesnt feel that way at all. And talk about explanation in the very last moment of the campaign. Why the hell is there suddenly a CSAT chopper?

The realism

I can understand for the sake of creativity and gaming experience, shots fired dont get heard by enemies that are standing farther away than 100 meters. But what I cannot understand for the sake of gaming experience or realism for that matter is why the commander in chief is making such unorthodox and strange non-military decisions on what the next ops are. What the hell is Delta doing for example? doesnt get explained throughout the story. Why the hell is there no recon or base detail explained more trhoughly? Why does it take over a day for AAF search groups with their equipment to find 20 US/UK / NATO survivors on an island thats not even over 25km2 big? Doesn't add up to the realism. No checkpoints, search groups, attacks, no not until the FIA ammo mission does Nato get attacked by AAF shells / bombardment. And even after that, No AAF infantry sweeps / search groups after the shelling / bombardment. Seriously? It just doesnt add up. i've been ex-military for 6 years now and from my real world operational experience it makes absolutely no sense. Even not for the sake of storytelling or game action. I strongly doubt that a military strategist or expert has been consulted for the story of this campaign. You can't sell this to me and I bet there are a lot of army vets out there that would agree with me on this. Heck, I would gladly hire myself out to you guys for free to polish this thing up and make it more plausible. After all, its a miliraty simulator, but the story doesnt feel much like simulation. Then again, might be the designers choice?

The verdict

I've seen a lot of people replying how much they like the campaign and a general praise can be seen. Im happy that so many people actually do like it and it makes me feel like an old nagging critic that wants everything to be perfect or to my standards. I just feel like theres a lot of room for explanation for the story thats been left out. I could easily think of a couple of scenarios that would actually make the story as it is now more plausible and heck theres even room for a couple of ops to do the extra explaining while not hurting gameplay experience. I'm just not that convinced. the PMC campaign for Arma2 AO actually made my hopes high for a more decent storytelling but this just doesnt not cut the cake.

TL;DR Played through it and expected more. Better action, better stroytelling and more plausability. I would gladly refer this episode to a "rough diamond" but it suits the label of a "rough bar of bronze" Even when its polished up you cant make more of it than it is.

Did you expect them to consult a military advisor? I certainly didn't. The focus isn't really realism. It's simulation. And yes, there's a difference, as one is in tactics and the other the mere functionality of equipment and simulation of weapons, graphics, vehicles, and the human body (fatigue and the like). The questions raised will be answered in the other episodes (like why the AAF attacked). The CSAT choppers are there because they are invading the island. You didn't get that? AAF are working with CSAT, and pretty much lay the ground work for a full on CSAT invasion. The problem with BIS is that they are small and don't have the money to hire not only good writers/advisors, but also to hire people to motion-capture their campaigns. The general premise of the story is great, it's just that the execution of it isn't. They need a large team dedicated to the campaign, just like they need a large team dedicated to improving performance (for me the two are linked). Full motion-capture of all important NPCs, and not just in cutscenes. No cutscenes; take the COD route which is no cutscenes, everything in-game (basically what BIS has, except they stop your ability to move and put up the cinematic black bars). Better optimization of code/AI, specifically for single player (don't really need advanced coding/scripting for the AI. Trying to tell a story, so just have them take cover and shoot at you, maybe try to push up on you. Other games do this without having laggy code). Better optimization of graphics; trees drop FPS. Having 90% of the campaign in the forest drops FPS. Fake graphics where you can. Don't need particle effects everywhere. Sure, COD does it, but in the campaign you're meant to go only a specific set of places. Music needs to be developed for the campaign IOT (in order to, military uses this alot btw) complement the campaign instead of being essentially random tracks that play as background music.

TL;DR

Basically, the assets used in the campaign need to be separate from the sandbox element of the game. Tailoring these specially made assets (sure, they'd be available in the sandbox element, the editor) to the campaign would allow for better execution of the campaign, including but not limited to performance, simplified, faked, but good-looking graphics, professional voice acting, full acted out NPC motion capture (including facial capture), immersion, realism, and atmosphere as created by campaign-specific music. The focus needs to not only be on realism (focus on realism, not simulation fever) but on telling a good story.

---------- Post added at 09:43 ---------- Previous post was at 09:35 ----------

the campaign definitely needs something that helps me keeping track of my leader. a small indicator in the screen or something. It's easy to loose sight on him, and he, being a stupido Ai, isn't really waiting or taking an obvious path..

This would help if they'd tailor assets and code to the single player. NPCs need to be scripted. There are specific actions they take, and they are supposed to stay alive until they are supposed to die (wouldn't want an NPC dying before he's supposed to), and setting their damage to false isn't the solution. As well, the simulation aspect isn't as important in sp as it is in the rest of the game as the primary focus is telling a story, so it'd be good if BIS would develop a much simplified simulation system for AI and for scripts and the such. Same with graphics and such as I've already said. But if you had scripted AI (and that shouldn't lag) where the character takes a predefined path (and waits for you to catch up, yes, other games have this as well), you wouldn't have the stupidAI^TM kicking in for your NPCs.