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

[mistyronin 1181]

As far as I know, its not like NATO has dozens of satellites. They need to make a pass in order to initiate surveillance, hence why those assets are not always avaiable. Plus the rest of NATO was already on the way when CSAT made its move on Stratis.

Satellites need up to 24 hours to reach a specific spot, that's why even today most of the recon has to be done through planes or drones. BTW we still don't know if this is the only point of action in all the world. And even the best army requires time to prepare for any incident like that ( specially if it was an ally who back-staved you ), they need to collect info. , process it, guess what the ... is going on, think if that was a distraction or a single event...

Just compare this with the Falklands / Malvinas attack, the british needed time to react.

[HKFlash 9]

Satellites need up to 24 hours to reach a specific spot, that's why even today most of the recon has to be done through planes or drones. BTW we still don't know if this is the only point of action in all the world. And even the best army requires time to prepare for any incident like that ( specially if it was an ally who back-staved you ), they need to collect info. , process it, guess what the ... is going on, think if that was a distraction or a single event...

Just compare this with the Falklands / Malvinas attack, the british needed time to react.

Well the U.S. Navy or the U.S. Marine Corps could intervine early on, if their aircraft carriers were within range, which I doubt since why keep your fleet near an ally?

[mistyronin 1181]

Well the U.S. Navy or the U.S. Marine Corps could intervine early on, if their aircraft carriers were within range, which I doubt since why keep your fleet near an ally?

True. If I'm not wrong, somewhere was mentioned that there was tension in the Pacific, so it would make sense that the NATO eyes were focused there.

[antoineflemming 14]

True. If I'm not wrong, somewhere was mentioned that there was tension in the Pacific, so it would make sense that the NATO eyes were focused there.

That'd be the proxy wars with China.

[FallujahMedic -FM- 866]

DISCLAIMER: sorry if I've missed other player's obsevations, I'm reporting off my own notes.

Before I begin, As I type this I am just starting Maxwell. These are the observations/suggestions I've made thus far. I will try to keep them in as linear an order as I can.

Suggestions/Observations:

-Once player has exited the helo, disable the "radio" sounding voice for a more believeable "radius based" voice.

-voices arent based on actual point of origin (as in commanders voice isnt originating from his mouth) (Compare to "JAMES"@ beginning of "Maxwell"mission.

-Inability to pick up ammunition from deceased OPFOR.

-Compass directions are incorrect. @push South to Camp Maxwell...to rendezvous" actual direction is to the West.

-Mission "Situation Normal" Orca is stuck in the air near Falcon.

Hope these help

[pottage7 1]

I enjoyed the episode. A little short considering you've delayed it so long after the release of ARMA, but I can deal with it. I didn't encounter any bugs or crashes.

[TheMightyMooseKing 10]

One thing that really annoyed me was that often your AI companions wouldn't use actual military techniques which they supposedly should've learned in their basic training, for instance in the second mission when going through the forrest the unit should've split up and used a 'travelling overwatch' or used 'bounding overwatches' so that one element could have flanked the enemy while the other one could've suppressed them and kept them busy as encountering contact was extremely probable, but they stayed together in a 5 men group and especially when playing on maximum difficulty you would often find yourself in the situation that all your AI companions are dead and you're the only one alive being lid up by a whole squad of enemies. However it was done right in the mission where you are supposed to meet up with the FIA near Camp Tempest where one part of the Squad is taking a vantage point above Agios Ioanis while the other guys are enveloping the enemies, I would really appreciate it if the characters would use these military techniques during the entire next campaign episodes as it is simply more effective while also enhancing the immersion.

Btw, about overwatches, that's page 170 in the Tactical Guide, the different kinds of enveloping are adressed on pages 188 and 189.

Edited October 26, 2013 by TheMightyMooseKing
Fixing some typos + elaborated further

[FallujahMedic -FM- 866]

- Snakes still counted as a civilian "kill" :( we're too far into the game for that kind of "oops"

[Kirill 1]

impressions

- There is no coherent stories (Even in the ARMA story was better)

- no civilian life

- A lot of scripts

- No splash

- i dont empathize hero

- Immortal commander!? (

- The player - the center of the universe

[mistyronin 1181]

- no civilian life

Wasn't Stratis a militarized island ( island turned into a huge military base with its different assets all over it )? So it makes sense that there's no civilian life.

[St. Jimmy 272]

Can't the AI wait for the player in the last mission? Only 1 or 2 guys are left from the first contact and then they just rush before I can even catch them and die.

With almost 100% chance that I'm alone when we need to retreat I need to go for swim because I can't fight against over 8 AI that gets dropped and beg that I find "ride in back" action from the boat and not die under heavy fire.

[[aps]gnat 28]

Great session. Finished

Comments

- Might be a bug, very last mission; 1st boat left, second boat waited a long time (3-4 minutes) before departing. No obvious reason why.

- Seems odd when in the first couple missions the commander would run off, and not even wait for the player, as the player (me :) ) frisked some dead bodies or scouted a destroyed emplacement. These were not away from the intended mission path. Suggest penalise the player for delay by sending in an enemy AI squad at random.

- Seemed little reference to civilian effects of what was happening. No refugees, no fleeing or hiding civi's, no escaping vehicles ......

Otherwise nice design and enjoyable.

EDIT:

Interesting twist. First time I played the Campaign on release. Normally I spend months in the sandbox first! Side affect of the new staged release ..........

Edited October 27, 2013 by [APS]Gnat

[FallujahMedic -FM- 866]

Cant remember ( no notes this time) possible typographical error (Blackfoot Down) Piecing.

Also mission after Blackfoot Down:

looking at player Callum Turner (UKSF), voice actor is American English, is this an error?

Also, Miller's voice is Australian, not British.

Edited October 27, 2013 by Stang69

[jinzor 31]

I've asked this before, but with no reply (check my post on page 21); what exactly is the point of the "Patrol" missions during the Maxwell missions of the campaign when you can't access any of the vaguely important areas of the map?

[rehtus777 10]

Cant remember ( no notes this time) possible typographical error (Blackfoot Down) Piecing.

Also mission after Blackfoot Down:

looking at player Callum Turner (UKSF), voice actor is American English, is this an error?

Also, Miller's voice is Australian, not British.

I thought Miller's voice sounded British, but the guy you first meet at Maxwell (can't remember his name) who tells you to check in with Miller (not the US Soldier who salutes you, but the British officer) .... now he sounded Australian to me, I had to look at the patch on his uniform to see where he was from and he had a Union Jack flag.

I'm not an expert on English accents, but I'm sure Jay Crowe should know the difference.

[FallujahMedic -FM- 866]

Given that Oz is a Commonwealth country, I can "accept" that Miller's accent is valid (whether it is or not), and even though I brought it up :(

Also, I've noticed a disconnect between the player's roles through out the campaign. In the latest mission, I've changed from rifleman to machine gunner. Definitely NOT SOP!!

[antoineflemming 14]

Given that Oz is a Commonwealth country, I can "accept" that Miller's accent is valid (whether it is or not), and even though I brought it up :(

Also, I've noticed a disconnect between the player's roles through out the campaign. In the latest mission, I've changed from rifleman to machine gunner. Definitely NOT SOP!!

Miller's voice is weaksauce. Kinda expected a bit deeper voice. It'd sound better.

[rehtus777 10]

I think what people keep forgetting is that in the Campaign, we are playing as a low ranking grunt just trying to survive. As one of the higher ranking soldiers said to Kerry about the political / military situation of the Island, "It's on a need to know basis" or in other words - "Our's is not to reason why, but our's is to do and die." The whole point of the campaign is to experience the life of a "Grunt" and the trials he has to endure while just trying to make it out alive during an awful situation. Sure, we can question the logic behind some things that don't make sense to us (at this time), but for me the Campaign is about an Enlisted Man doing his duty.

I was in the USAF from 1984 to 1992 and I was an enlisted Airman. Most of the time, we did everything on a "need to know" basis.....it wasn't our duty to understand "Why" many things were done, but we were just a small cog in a very large machine...... we had to go about doing what we were told so the final goal was reached for the High Command / POTUS. If we wanted to know what was going on (as an enlisted man) we had watch CNN or listen to the GeoPolitical situation given to us by the News on the Radio or TV (I use to listen to the BBC on the short wave). I remember when Saddam invaded Kuwait in August of 1990, I watched CNN and listened to the BBC very closely to find out how this might effect me. Sure enough, by early September, our Air Wing was sent to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia - the 190th Air Refueling Guard..... One of Bob Dole's "Pride and Joys" for his State. I was just a lowly E-4 NCO (just got my Star for Sergeant :p) and the only information I got about Military Strategy was that I needed to back up my bags, we were heading to the Middle-East..... we did not know where we were going until we touched down in Jeddah. The only source I had about the conflict in the Gulf was from the News Outlets (mainly CNN / BBC).

Anyway..... the Campaign isn't about the NATO Supreme Allied Commander and the strategic decisions he has to make, but it's about a Grunt who is trying to survive 'basically' on his own with a few Band of Brothers.

Edited October 27, 2013 by rehtus777

[FallujahMedic -FM- 866]

Fair enough Rehtus, but as a Squid (92-10), I was taught to think beyond the "General Orders". Not to say that as a grunt that I wouldn't be under the auspices of "foreign"commanders, but within the context of the game, I'm trying to point out the obvious. Please don't take this as "USN/USMC/USA is better than USAF. My Best friend from H.S. was in fuels (USAF), he provided me (fuel for) CAS my entire time in country.

[antoineflemming 14]

I think what people keep forgetting is that in the Campaign, we are playing as a low ranking grunt just trying to survive. As one of the higher ranking soldiers said to Kerry about the political / military situation of the Island, "It's on a need to know basis" or in other words - "Our's is not to reason why, but our's is to do and die." The whole point of the campaign is to experience the life of a "Grunt" and the trials he has to endure while just trying to make it out alive during an awful situation. Sure, we can question the logic behind some things that don't make sense to us (at this time), but for me the Campaign is about an Enlisted Man doing his duty.

I was in the USAF from 1984 to 1992 and I was an enlisted Airman. Most of the time, we did everything on a "need to know" basis.....it wasn't our duty to understand "Why" many things were done, but we were just a small cog in a very large machine...... we had to go about doing what we were told so the final goal was reached for the High Command / POTUS. If we wanted to know what was going on (as an enlisted man) we had watch CNN or listen to the GeoPolitical situation given to us by the News on the Radio or TV (I use to listen to the BBC on the short wave). I remember when Saddam invaded Kuwait in August of 1990, I watched CNN and listened to the BBC very closely to find out how this might effect me. Sure enough, by early September, our Air Wing was sent to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia - the 190th Air Refueling Guard..... One of Bob Dole's "Pride and Joys" for his State. I was just a lowly E-4 NCO (just got my Star for Sergeant :p) and the only information I got about Military Strategy was that I needed to back up my bags, we were heading to the Middle-East..... we did not know where we were going until we touched down in Jeddah. The only source I had about the conflict in the Gulf was from the News Outlets (mainly CNN / BBC).

Anyway..... the Campaign isn't about the NATO Supreme Allied Commander and the strategic decisions he has to make, but it's about a Grunt who is trying to survive 'basically' on his own with a few Band of Brothers.

Yeah, but in the case of the campaign, it wasn't about being too low of a rank to know about what their mission was, what they were doing there, and what Miller was doing. It was Leftenant James who said need to know, because he, and Miller, are British SBS. They're special forces, and therefore Kerry doesn't have the security clearance to know about their mission, which is to gather intel on the CSAT/Iranian weapons research and development being conducted by Gen. Ostad Javeed Attar's Red Pegasus on Altis (if they're sticking by the old story).

---------- Post added at 23:16 ---------- Previous post was at 23:15 ----------

Fair enough Rehtus, but as a Squid (92-10), I was taught to think beyond the "General Orders". Not to say that as a grunt that I wouldn't be under the auspices of "foreign"commanders, but within the context of the game, I'm trying to point out the obvious. Please don't take this as "USN/USMC/USA is better than USAF. My Best friend from H.S. was in fuels (USAF), he provided me (fuel for) CAS my entire time in country.

But the Army is better than the chair-force... j/k

[rehtus777 10]

Fair enough Rehtus, but as a Squid (92-10), I was taught to think beyond the "General Orders". Not to say that as a grunt that I wouldn't be under the auspices of "foreign"commanders, but within the context of the game, I'm trying to point out the obvious. Please don't take this as "USN/USMC/USA is better than USAF. My Best friend from H.S. was in fuels (USAF), he provided me (fuel for) CAS my entire time in country.

You know why we have an Army and Marines, don't you? To mop up after the Air Force. HAHAHA. Most Evil Governments around the world fear our USAF and the NAVY......they strike fear and terror into evil men's hearts.

Anyway......I hear what you are saying. Yes, certain enlisted men (and officers) must know more than others when it comes to situational awareness... depends on their AFSC and their "General Orders." But for this Campaign, it seems Kerry is just a lowly grunt.

[antoineflemming 14]

You know why we have an Army and Marines, don't you? To mop up after the Air Force. HAHAHA. Most Evil Governments around the world fear our USAF and the NAVY......they strike fear and terror into evil men's hearts.

Anyway......I hear what you are saying. Yes, certain enlisted men (and officers) must know more than others when it comes to situational awareness... depends on their AFSC and their "General Orders." But for this Campaign, it seems Kerry is just a lowly grunt.

Please, you all exist to support the Army... LOL.

Kerry is an E-4, a corporal. He's a junior NCO. He's regular Army being commanded by British special forces. Their NATO security clearance is way above his. So he's not in the loop as to what Miller's CTRG (Combat Technology Research Group) is doing in the Mediterranean.

[rehtus777 10]

Please, you all exist to support the Army... Kerry is a Corporal. He's regular Army being commanded by British special forces. Their NATO security clearance is way above his. So he's not in the loop as to what Miller's CTRG (Combat Technology Research Group) is doing in the Mediterranean.

I don't see what the argument is here.....I agree with you. My point is that some posters are upset that the story line doesn't make sense, but that should be expected since we are playing Corporal Kerry and we really don't know what is going on with the Military / Political situation in the region. In all truth (and you should know this if you are ex-military) many don't actually know what goes on in the "Real World" when it comes to our Government's and their "covert operations" or use of their Military. Our lame News Media is all we have to try and understand the "Big Picture" of Geopolitical situations around the world. I can remember old Cold War Soldiers telling stories about Vietnam and Cold War missions to where the News Media wasn't even close and the American Public had a warped view of current events / history.

In all actuality, the President of the United States, his Chief of Staff, and the Secretary of State are the only ones who know "EVERYTHING" on a 'need to know' basis when it comes to Geopolitical situations. Even the Secretary of Defense isn't privy to State Issues all the time.

[Victim9l3 11]

I'm confused as to which section we are supposed to put campaign stuff in. It should only be this one right. Since in the Arma3 (non development branch) hasn't got the campaign yet. But both threads are talking about the same thing.

Anyway, can someone help me with the "radio silence" mission? I have been playing it for almost 2 hours and have not had mortars hit a single target yet. Outside of the one or two times it hit a different target than what I told them to hit. They all just land randomly. No joke, i'm getting mortars landing 50 to 70 meters away. I've tried single shot to 5 shots and not one hit a single guard tower. I can't pass the mission without taking them out.

It also says I can call out targets without the map. How? by looking at a target through binoculars when I call out to fire? It says I need both to adjust fire, but every adjustment just gives me another set of random drops

[metalcraze 290]

Right so because we are playing as a corporal it's OK that it takes an eternity for AAF to find a base (considering they have all that strong air force). Then they drop an arty on the base. And NATO instead of getting out ASAP... stays there. Not even trying to put out fires. I mean you gotta escape because arty is there to soften shit up for main forces. Oh wait - the enemies never come to finish NATO forces off. In fact there's ~18 hours passing between the bombardment and the next mission. I guess the reason for this is above corporal's rank?

Or that enemies refuse to mount their APCs when their last base is getting pushed into the sea?

You are trying to make it look like BIS did any research when in fact they have used literally zero common sense when designing campaign. It's like it was designed by 16 years old who thinks that war is all about HOOAH MURICA and every other army has no idea how to even use their own tech. This is laughable.