[SP] Pilgrimage

[Rydygier 1302]

:)

Meanwhile core code for "reputation" system is ready, still needs calibration. Some details:

1. Each time player does something, that should influence his reputation, to the single, global array is added new entry containing value of influence, location and time. Actions influencing reputation so far are: kill (influence dependent on side and kind of group of killed unit, counts only kills performed by the player or his current vehicle, so if AI companion will kill some civilian eg when driving second vehicle, this will not influence player's reputation, but same for killed enemies), releasing POWs (surrendered hostiles and these two hostages), paying civilians for the intel;

2. As for reputation dynamics, cyclically, influence of each event is calculated for each unit reacting on player's reputation one by one and all are summed giving the single number. The farther event is, the lesser influence it has, but as rumors are spread in time, older events will have bigger influence. From the other hand, old enough events will be gradually "forgotten" and its influence reduced again, so mothing is permanent (skipping the daytime by resting or waiting however will not speed up forgetting process, it is calculated basing on real gameplay time). There is also random factor.

3. Reputation influences noticeably, bot not critically, amount of civilians ready to talk about the brother, as well as chance for something useful to hear and risk of pointing false directions. It also influences the chances for useful intel from interrogated POWs, but as in this case conversation is based on the fear, also civilian kills, as making the player more fearsome person, will improve the chance for some intel.

4. Apart from that depending on reputation there is a chance for 3D commentary text, one per civilian. The farther calculated for given civilian reputation value is from the 0, the bigger chance for some sentence. What exactly person will say, depends on reputation value (sentences are randomized from several arrays, each per reputation level). Apart from that, if reputation is high enough, civilian may stop to watch the player. If reputation is low enough, there is a chance, so civilians will flee from the player toward their houses.

5. Plans: I want also to add random reputation-sensitive on screen commentaries for companions, so eg they could comment reactions of the locals.

Now, if anybody want to participate with own ideas, I'm looking for additional convincing, short sentences, that locals may use to comment the player for each five levels of reaction:

enthusiastic, positive, neutral, negative, hateful.

[Alpha-Kilo 36]

Rydygier

I often miss offers because I don't constantly keep an eye on the corner of the screen where they appear. Quite often I only read that an auction has been closed and item X is no longer available. I wonder if you could play a short sound file when an offer is made and a second sound file, 15 seconds before it expires. The info that the auction is closed can remain silent because no action has to be taken by the player. Since we already have the ringing of the telephone in the game, the sounds could be something like SMS tones.

[Rydygier 1302]

Hmm? But there is a sound, even SMS-like at each ADM message, isn't? Is used same, as for selling the loot messages. I think, sound at the offer beginning is enough, as from that moment player knows, he has a minute. If he miss that sound, he miss next one too anyway (and adding additional sound 15 seconds before the end is technically difficult, as time here is checked in cycles, and each cycle may take not equal amount of time, length of the offer availability is set only roughly). Nothing very bad in that. It never was meant, so player has to buy every offer, this is secondary helper, so it is nothing wrong, if you miss most of them or even all.

Edited May 14, 2014 by Rydygier

[Alpha-Kilo 36]

Rydygier

A perfectly understandable explanation, as always. Thanks for the reply. I must concentrate more on the sounds you are already providing, it seems. But I could swear I don't hear anything when I sell loot. Strange...

Edit:

This is just to confirm that the sound is played as it should. Thanks for the reply, Rydygier.

Edited May 18, 2014 by Alpha-Kilo

[Rydygier 1302]

That would be strange indeed. Sound is played, and I can hear it.

[kurtz1 10]

Are there any strategies for finding a vehicle to transport the body? Also I get messages about an abandoned vehicle but nothing on what direction to search.

[pvt. partz 248]

Oh, I didn't realize I could manually save. Having said that, can you tell me how to do that please?

[alky_lee 276]

Oh, I didn't realize I could manually save. Having said that, can you tell me how to do that please?

Press ESC and then SAVE

You may have to change your difficulty settings for Arma to allow unlimited saves, otherwise you may find you can only save once, which is not much use for a mission that could take several hours. They can be changed by pressing ESC --> CONFIGURE --> GAME --> DIFFICULTY and then enable unlimited saves

[pvt. partz 248]

I have set everything as instructed (see post 848) but still I cannot save either autosave every 20 minutes nor can I save manually as alky_lee suggested. IF I hit escape I only get the "Abort" option, never save and exit.

Thanks.

[ebarstad 18]

I have set everything as instructed (see post 848) but still I cannot save either autosave every 20 minutes nor can I save manually as alky_lee suggested. IF I hit escape I only get the "Abort" option, never save and exit.

Thanks.

What mods do you have installed?

[pvt. partz 248]

Hmmm.....mods you say?

I never would have imagined that would have any affect but nevertheless I hope you're onto something.

[ebarstad 18]

Hmmm.....mods you say?

I never would have imagined that would have any affect but nevertheless I hope you're onto something.

http://fsfiles.org/flightsimshotsv2/images/2014/05/14/Jc3D.th.jpg

Remove Alive and see if you can save.

[delta99 34]

Hmmm.....mods you say?

I never would have imagined that would have any affect but nevertheless I hope you're onto something.

http://fsfiles.org/flightsimshotsv2/images/2014/05/14/Jc3D.th.jpg

Mod can always break things. Alive used to and probably still does disable save. You shouldn't really run Alive and mods like that just for the heck of it.

[Rydygier 1302]

Are there any strategies for finding a vehicle to transport the body? Also I get messages about an abandoned vehicle but nothing on what direction to search.

Well, across the map you can find about 50 empty vehicles. Those are spread randomly, but in general near roads, not in the towns, so best chance to find one of these is to search for them in the areas with many roads, but not highly urbanized, still, of course, empty vehicles can be sometimes found in every part of the island. As soon, Alex spot such vehicle, it will be marked by blue circle in 3D. If you bought on ADM information about some abandoned vehicle on the map (chosen randomly), this data will be provided in form of square "car" marker on the map. You may turn off map textures to make it better visible. It points roughly area, where one of such vehicles is located.

Apart from that you may also defeat some motorized or even armored group without destroying the vehicle and then take it.

[rsoftokz 288]

you can also just fight and try to capture some opposite forces vehicles.....

I played this mision for weeks now on my Arma and this is my strategy: as soon as you landed, search and kill opposite forces (red or green ones) and get their items to help you (weapons, GPS....)

find "AAF" camps, to turn to hideout (I used to have only one to store extra weapons and captured/abandonned vehicles)

AAF camps can be used to reappro vith ammo (limited) of your vehicles.

I played with one companion and found some others (you can hire for 10.000 FF ) when I had broken some stronghold positions.

sell all that you find you don't need to keep, make FF (war is expensive) almost if you plan to hitch hicking .

fight and run.... and go back a little bit later.

WARNING: for some reasons I didn't identify for now, some of captured vehicules can be stored here and there and stay in place, some just only disspear.....

don't store items you want to keep into a captured vehicle you left somewhere alone

I'm actually playing 1.79 version, on 1.16 modded Arma (seems I have less matters now with only a few of my mods running, All In Arma killed my previous games several times, too bad as loot were fine and cool such as vehicles found coming from Arma 2 )

[Rydygier 1302]

WARNING: for some reasons I didn't identify for now, some of captured vehicules can be stored here and there and stay in place, some just only disspear.....

Yes, that applies to the vehicles generated by Ambient Combat (it is an imperative, so AC should clean up after itself), if such vehicle isn't current player's assigned vehicle and player went far enough - such vehicles will be removed. Empty vehicles (those marked in 3D with blue circles if found) will not disappear, same for vehicles taken from non-AC hostile groups, but you can't reliably distinguish AC and non-AC groups, so if you play with AC turned on safest is to rely on vehicles found as empty and marked.

on 1.16 modded Arma

However IIRC starting from Pilgrimage 1.8, A3 in 1.18 version is required.

[zimms 22]

Just completed my first play through yesterday with about 150 chapels left. I didn't attack any strongholds and obviously I haven't explored everything this mission has to offer.

Is there a place wher I could read up on the background story etc.? Several phone calls hint at some very interesting story elements/equipment but I'm afraid I haven't found any of it yet.

I'll definitely give it another try. Excellent job so far Rydygier, good luck with the contest.

[Rydygier 1302]

Thanks! :)

Is there a place wher I could read up on the background story etc.?

All provided background may be found in the mission description, in the map view entries, mostly in four messages from the brother and some other of Alex' Notebook entries, and in the phone calls. Rest, including putting all these shards of information together, into a coherent whole, is left to player's imagination and perspicacity.

Edited May 15, 2014 by Rydygier

[doc. caliban 34]

you can also just fight and try to capture some opposite forces vehicles.....

That's the easiest way for sure to get a good vehicle early on. I don't like destroying vehicles if I can help it because:

A: If I don't I can capture and use it.

B: If I only damage it, the crew gets out and I get 2-4 more bodies to search for supplies and intel.

---------- Post added at 20:45 ---------- Previous post was at 20:43 ----------

WARNING: for some reasons I didn't identify for now, some of captured vehicules can be stored here and there and stay in place, some just only disspear.....

I can confirm that I once had a vehicle that was not generated by AC or a mod disappear on me. I had to load a save game to get it back, and it never happened again throughout the rest of the mission, despite having left it behind farther and for a longer time than when it vanished. Never figured out why.

Edited May 15, 2014 by Doc. Caliban

[pvt. partz 248]

A huge thank you for finding a solution to the saved game dilemma. Everything works (saves) perfectly now. This makes all the difference in game play for me at least. My confidence has gotten so much better knowing I can restart a short time previous instead of at the beginning.

Thanks all !

[Kommiekat 11]

Well, I'll be going on my 4th try or I should say 4th new game. Enjoying.

But what I have done is a bit different. Last two games, when I find my brother. I stop and start a new game.

I know. Maybe I am cheating or lazy, but I figure once I find him, my imagination tells me I get brother back to boat, then I can quickly start new game at randomized position and conditions.

Much faster that way for me.........

[rsoftokz 288]

I'm on my 6th or 7th game on this mission, most of time I ended the game because I had upgraded my Arma and so save files weren't matching the versions of Arma.

I found the body once, at the second chapel I checked, just after landing on the south east edge of the island..; and get killed by.... you know what.. the deadly mad UGV ;)

I'm runing the 1.79 for now as told before, actualy starting the second night - even intels gave me a relative exact position of the body within the end of the first day- searching and killing opposite forces and exploring the island ( that is on my own opinion the real goal of this mission: exploring each square inch of the landscape).

We are 4 of us now (I got 2 mercenaries from strongholds), with two captured Gorgons (one driver/one gunner each ) and luckily 2 abandonned HEMTT ReAmmo well and strategically placed on the map (thank to the random location this time, I wasn't so lucky on other games ).

thank you Rydygier for the explanation about captured vehicles status and nature, to explain why some last and some just disapear when player goes away .

[pvt. partz 248]

I haven't found my brother yet but it could be that when I do, getting him back might be the hardest part of the mission.

[doc. caliban 34]

Well, I'll be going on my 4th try or I should say 4th new game. Enjoying.

But what I have done is a bit different. Last two games, when I find my brother. I stop and start a new game.

I know. Maybe I am cheating or lazy, but I figure once I find him, my imagination tells me I get brother back to boat, then I can quickly start new game at randomized position and conditions.

Much faster that way for me.........

I've taken him back about half of the times I've found him. It's the part of the game that makes your realize how small the map is because you can make straight shot to the boat in a handful of minutes from anywhere on the map. Best one was when I made a run for it and my vehicle (and my brother and I) were destroyed by a rocket from an S&D helicopter while I was at the boat getting ready to move the body ... literally seconds before finishing the mission. It was kind of funny.

- Doc

[neofit 65]

I've taken him back about half of the times I've found him. It's the part of the game that makes your realize how small the map is because you can make straight shot to the boat in a handful of minutes from anywhere on the map.

With AC on the trip back is not always uneventful. Even without, the way back is not always the shortest route from body to boat, so there may still be roadblocks and patrols to drive by. And once you've loaded the brother into the car you can't move it into another one.