[ZEUS|TVT|COOP|SP] Defiance

[Nashable 10]

Defiance is a ARMA III Game mode that combines elements from the Zeus DLC and Team vs. Team (TvT) game play. It can also be played as a COOP or SP mission if desired.

Looking for a TL;DR? Then watch this!

If you want to support Defiance, please do so in the Make Arma Not War contest.

DETAILS

Current Version: Stable 1.4

Worlds/Islands Currently Supported: Altis, Stratis, FATA and all A3-MP islands

PBO Download: http://www.playdefiance.com/download/

Armaholic Download: http://www.armaholic.com/page.php?id=25192

Steam Workshop: http://steamcommunity.com/workshop/filedetails/?id=244264556

Latest Changelog: http://www.playdefiance.com/category/updates/

Youtube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/armadefiance

Live Development Roadmap: https://trello.com/b/tH0bRz6Z/defiance-gamemode (Please read before posting suggestions/changes)

Bottom of this post will be an overview video if you'd rather see the game in action.

MISSION OBJECTIVES

Defiance takes place with two teams BLUFOR (blue) and INDFOR (green). Blue team is trying to find and eliminate enemy HQs who represent the control of key towns by the Green team. Meanwhile Green team is fighting a defensive battle, trying to inflict as many Blue team player casualties as possible. Blue team win the game if they are able to shut down all the HQs on the map. Green team win if they manage to inflict a certain number of Blue team player respawns (a.k.a Tickets).

BLUFOR (BLUE) TEAM STRATEGY

The enemy HQs start the game hidden, somewhere across the cities, towns and villages of Altis. Blue team can obtain intel from local civilians via direct (scroll-wheel) interaction with them. Not all civilians have intel and can only share intel if there is an enemy officer in the region (~5km), if the Blue team keeps turning up no intel then they should relocate to another town. This intel will be marked on the map as white squares, these markings become more and more accurate as more intel is gathered.

If a HQ is found and deactivated (BLUFOR player gets near to it) then the INDFOR operations are closed down. This means INDFOR can no longer spawn at the location and the INDFOR Leader can no longer spawn items there as a Zeus player.

BLUFOR (BLUE) COMMANDERS (ZEUS ROLE)

Blue team has two Zeus roles on their side. Mission Commander (MC) and Air Commander (AC). MC is the overall leader of the team. The MC is also responsible for spawning and controlling all ground forces. Blue Team also have a MHQ that the MC can issue orders to. The MHQ is a secondary respawn point for Blue team as well as a small spawn area that the MC can use to deploy forces in the field. The MC can spawn troops at the central Blue Team base or in a small radius around the MHQ.

The AC role is to coordinate and deploy all Blue team air traffic. Air vehicles can be deployed either inside the Blue team base or at the main airfield. The AC can also remote control any vehicle they have deployed to assist with landing and takeoff of transport vehicles. The AC can also create empty aircraft if they wish to take a direct role in air support. If you enjoy being a pilot and fancy the challenge of managing all the aircraft for your team then this is the role for you.

INDFOR (GREEN) TEAM STRATEGY

The Green team win the game if they manage to eliminate all of Blue team’s tickets. Green team players should note that they are outmatched by Blue team’s resources and technology. The aim is to make sure Blue team pay the highest price possible for every gain they make. Green team members can respawn as much as they like and should utilize the ability to spawn at any of the towns containing officers for extra mobility.

INDFOR (GREEN) LEADER (ZEUS ROLE)

Green Team’s leader is also the Zeus player for INDFOR. The leader can deploy troops in any of the towns that currently has an active/alive officer. Officers cannot be controlled and will just patrol their respective town. If Blue team enters one of your deployment areas then it will be disabled until they leave the area, unless they manage to kill the officer, in which case it will be permanently disabled.

As noted above, if Blue team shut down an HQ they will have the opportunity to pick up intel. This will mark your location on the map to the Blue team. If a Blue team member finds you and kills you then a number of tickets (lives/respawns) will be rewarded to the Blue team. In addition approximately every 15 minutes the number of tickets awarded increases, only resetting once a bounty has been claimed.

VIDEO OVERVIEW

I'll be releasing a series of videos that explains in more detail how to play Defiance

Part 1:

Edited May 18, 2014 by Nashable
Updated to Stable 1.3

[kremator 1065]

Nashable, this is really nice. Well done mate.

[teoleo 2]

...how i can download the zeus?

[Andy230 10]

@teoleo: You have to switch to development branch in steam

[teoleo 2]

ok, thank....i have download the mission....is sp mode, i don't have the possibility to make the ai the commander of my side?

[kilroy the nerd 14]

Very exciting. Although I personally find Zeus clunky still, it's awesome to see how missions are taking advantage of it. Kind of a shame that there's no Kumas though. Seems more like an insurgency than anything without them. Also, using helicopters to launch counter-attacks when the town is occupied and it takes too long to drive there would be nice.

[Nashable 10]

Very exciting. Although I personally find Zeus clunky still, it's awesome to see how missions are taking advantage of it. Kind of a shame that there's no Kumas though. Seems more like an insurgency than anything without them. Also, using helicopters to launch counter-attacks when the town is occupied and it takes too long to drive there would be nice.

There is an asymmetrical design at work here due to the balance of Blufor tickets. Based on the feedback and the way people approach defiance I do have some ideas on the drawing board of what a more symmetrical 3-way mission would look like.

ok, thank....i have download the mission....is sp mode, i don't have the possibility to make the ai the commander of my side?

The Indfor commander will automatically take over if there are no active Indfor players, there is no Blufor AI.

[Nashable 10]

I just updated the mission to Beta 2.3 you can read the full changelog here: http://www.playdefiance.com/2014/03/31/beta-2-3-now-available/

[Nashable 10]

With the announcement today that Zeus DLC will be released on April 10th, We'll be running a preview of Beta 2.4 (our last beta build before Stable 1.0 release) this Saturday, April 5th at 10am PST (6pm GMT)

We have a Steam group for anyone who wants to find other Zeus players: http://steamcommunity.com/groups/arma3zeusgaming#events/1658756565748241403

[Nashable 10]

With Zeus being released to Stable branch today I've also released the 1.0 Stable version of Defiance! OP has been updated with some new videos as well.

[.kju 3245]

congratz Nashable :)

[[lb] boggler 10]

Well done Nash!

[kremator 1065]

Hey Nash,

Running 1.0 here on Stratis and it seems to be going well, however I have found that the MHQ (after being destroyed a few times) and Zeus control being changed a few times, is no longer under Zeus control.

Been hosting it quite a bit today. One main problem that I have found is that when you Remote Control a tank (with multiple positions) it fails to attack when you release control (or press Y again)

Edited April 11, 2014 by Kremator

[Nashable 10]

Hey Nash,

Running 1.0 here on Stratis and it seems to be going well, however I have found that the MHQ (after being destroyed a few times) and Zeus control being changed a few times, is no longer under Zeus control.

I'll look into this, I'd recommend having the logged in admin press the "Zeus Reset" button on the Command Menu, if that doesn't resolve it then it could be a Zeus bug than a Defiance bug. One workaround that comes to mind is have the officers get out and then replace the crew with your own controlled AI.

Been hosting it quite a bit today. One main problem that I have found is that when you Remote Control a tank (with multiple positions) it fails to attack when you release control (or press Y again)

This would be a Zeus remote control issue. I'd also check after you've been switching around positions that the AI is actually in all the right spots as the crew in the tank (perhaps having the crew get out and back in). Also make sure their stance is set to Combat as well.

[kremator 1065]

Thanks mate.... been hosting some more and it seems pretty popular. One thing that I noticed is that on Stratis INDFOR can really screw over the base by advancing from Agia Marina.

[Nashable 10]

Thanks mate.... been hosting some more and it seems pretty popular. One thing that I noticed is that on Stratis INDFOR can really screw over the base by advancing from Agia Marina.

Let me know when you guys play Stratis and I'll come observe. If I was the BLUFOR CO and had enemy that close, I'd fortify the roads and push troops onto the hill tops to secure. Once secured I'd move the MHQ up there and build some static emplacements. After all that I'd remove the roadblocks and move to secure Agia Marina to block INDFOR from spawning troops. If I had enough players I'd have them go via Helicopter insertion and enter from the north. That way blocking the INDFOR team from spawning forces even faster.

[kremator 1065]

I must say that performance is great on my dedi server. One thing that really does annoy me a bit is chasing after Civs! Those buggers will not stand still long enough for a 'Halt'. Also sometimes the guidance they give just takes ages to find the cache. Have you considered using circles around the marker to show where it could be (500m marker has a 500m ring around it etc)? That way you could triangulate a bit faster.

Also would it be possible for INDFOR to see what houses are being searched so they can disrupt - that would lead to really interesting CQB.

Could we also have an INDESTRUCTABLE option for the MHQ please? I don't mind it being camped but to help some younger players they seem to think ANY vehicle needs to be blown up :) Can MHQ be lifted at all ?

Final thing for now .... what about putting time pressure on BLUFOR/INDFOR? 'You have 20 minutes to find the cache in XXXX'. Timer sits in corner as reminder.

Stratis seems to be more popular than Altis BTW.

Cheers

Krem

[Nashable 10]

Hey Krem, glad you're enjoying and thanks for the feedback. Let me address some of your comments.

I must say that performance is great on my dedi server. One thing that really does annoy me a bit is chasing after Civs! Those buggers will not stand still long enough for a 'Halt'. Also sometimes the guidance they give just takes ages to find the cache. Have you considered using circles around the marker to show where it could be (500m marker has a 500m ring around it etc)? That way you could triangulate a bit faster.

That is partially intentional. The more that BLUFOR is "in the field" so to speak the more it gives INDFOR an opportunity to attack them. I'll see if I can get an option in a 1.1 release candidate. Though keep in mind something like this will skew the mission heavily towards BLUFOR.

Also would it be possible for INDFOR to see what houses are being searched so they can disrupt - that would lead to really interesting CQB.

I like CQB but will need to think through the design in more detail. I've added it to the roadmap for a future version.

Could we also have an INDESTRUCTABLE option for the MHQ please? I don't mind it being camped but to help some younger players they seem to think ANY vehicle needs to be blown up :) Can MHQ be lifted at all ?

Seems reasonable but the vehicle won't be a combat one. Will be in the next RC update I push to the official servers.

Final thing for now .... what about putting time pressure on BLUFOR/INDFOR? 'You have 20 minutes to find the cache in XXXX'. Timer sits in corner as reminder.

What happens when the timer runs out? Could you elaborate on this one.

Stratis seems to be more popular than Altis BTW.

Once we have a few stable branch builds in place I'll also be releasing versions for Chernarus, Takistan, Zargabad and Utes.

[kremator 1065]

Just had a 3 hour battle where BLUFOR won. At one stage we encountered INVISIBLE indfor at Camp Maxwell. Wierd.

Interesting how many players like using sniper loadout !

The MHQ seems to react to combat situations, but it would be good to give it a Careless mode, to remain nomatter what.

EDIT finding this error in VAS.

Error in expression <(_request) do

{

case "guns":

{

if(count VAS_weapons > 0) then

{

if(!isNil {_filt>

Error position: <VAS_weapons > 0) then

{

if(!isNil {_filt>

Error Undefined variable in expression: vas_weapons

File mpmissions\__CUR_MP.Stratis\VAS\functions\fn_fetchCfg.sqf, line 15

Error in expression <g;};

_list = VAS_pre_glasses;

};

};

};

_list;>

Error position: <_list;>

Error Undefined variable in expression: _list

File mpmissions\__CUR_MP.Stratis\VAS\functions\fn_fetchCfg.sqf, line 107

Error in expression <l)-1,(_details select 2)];

};

} foreach _info;

_control = ((findDisplay 2500) d>

Error position: <_info;

_control = ((findDisplay 2500) d>

Error Undefined variable in expression: _info

File mpmissions\__CUR_MP.Stratis\VAS\functions\fn_mainDisplay.sqf, line 50

Ref to nonnetwork object 23942040# 164092: b_soldier_03.p3d

Ref to nonnetwork object e2218080# 164041: b_soldier_02.p3d

Error in expression <e "STR_VAS_restricted"];};

if(

(count VAS_weapons > 0 && !(_item in VAS_weapon>

Error position: <VAS_weapons > 0 && !(_item in VAS_weapon>

Error Undefined variable in expression: vas_weapons

File mpmissions\__CUR_MP.Stratis\VAS\functions\fn_handleItem.sqf, line 32

Final edit of the day ... is it possible to make the MHQ a VAS please (if allowed in params)?

Edited April 14, 2014 by Kremator

[starworlds 10]

What a brill mission!!! 24/7 servers are now up with GB 69

[Nashable 10]

Krem - There were some bugs in 1.0 with VAS and JIP. I believe those have been fixed in the current build I'm working on. Stay turned for 1.1 which is likely to come out this week. I'll add the VAS/MHQ request to the roadmap.

[teoleo 2]

i don't understand zeus and this mission... :O(

[kremator 1065]

Cool mate. I know BIS have added more goodies in DEV version for Zeus which will add more usefulness.

[Nashable 10]

Defiance Server #2 is now hosting Chernarus and Takistan versions of Defiance. If you're running A3MP then you should check it out (I'd love to get some feedback on how it plays with these maps)

CBA, JSRS and Blastcore also keyed on the server.

[spitfirefrench 10]

must say im loving this game mode, can't seem to get VAS to load though.

any settings I must change? Cheers