[SP Campaign] M.E.R.C.S. - mercenary expendable ruthless covert selfish

[IndeedPete 1038]

MCC could conflict. As far as I know people reported issues but that was quite a while ago. Thanks to GTA V I haven't had the time to re-test that mission yet. :) On the other hand it seems like the 1.42 update added some AI faults, especially waypoints are sometimes not "checked" by the AI in later missions. Could affect that officer's movement as well, even if it's not done with a waypoint. I'll test as soon as possible and integrate bypasses/fixes into the next update for those issues I know of. You can try it again without MCC and see if it helps but I know this mission is quite time consuming.

[jprice94 16]

MCC could conflict. As far as I know people reported issues but that was quite a while ago. Thanks to GTA V I haven't had the time to re-test that mission yet. :) On the other hand it seems like the 1.42 update added some AI faults, especially waypoints are sometimes not "checked" by the AI in later missions. Could affect that officer's movement as well, even if it's not done with a waypoint. I'll test as soon as possible and integrate bypasses/fixes into the next update for those issues I know of. You can try it again without MCC and see if it helps but I know this mission is quite time consuming.

Ha, I wish I could run GTA. Anyway I freaking love your mod, despite the frustrating bugs. I love the whole scavenge, sell and buy system and the story is cool, I like how you can choose contracts. Is there anything like it for multiplayer/coop? PMC is something I do with my arma group sometimes.

And do you think you'll ever get voice acting? a lot of the make arma not war mods had voice acting, some of it really good quality.

Since the marksman dlc came out some heavier looking vests came out too but there's only green/digi AAF and olive/mtp US vests, do you plan on adding custom skins of those in coyote, removing flags etc?

(Sorry for bombarding you with questions)

[IndeedPete 1038]

Glad you still find it enjoyable, with every official patch a few new bugs / incompatibilities turn up, that's normal I guess. As to my knowledge there are no MP mercenary campaigns or missions in this style. And I don't plan on creating any, not much of an MP player anyway.

No, I won't add voice acting. I've considered it at some point but decided otherwise. Too much work to implement that post-release and too little time on my hands. I only have very limited resources and will devote them to new projects, aside from a basic minimum that goes towards fixing and answering requests / questions like I'm doing now.^^ It's planned for a successor though, might release some details in the coming weeks / months.

I will add the Marksmen stuff to the shop but I won't be able to re-texture it without doing an addon. Uniforms can be re-textured by script but that does not work for headgear, facewear, vests, backpacks and weapons. And since this campaign also comes in the older Campaign PBO format I won't include custom vests in the addon version and leave half of the players without them.

[skooma 10]

This is a great campaign and BIS could do with taking a few notes on your implementation.

I'm playing Checkpoint Charlie now and this truck has contraband on board. I have no way to turn him away or arrest him. Am I missing something or is this glitched out?

[IndeedPete 1038]

Ah, thanks!

You should have a support menu action "Call AAF" or something. Just call that when he's still there and that stuff is still in his cargo, then they will arrest him.

[jprice94 16]

I'm having a few more bugs. In the mission where you attempt to take out some guy's black arrow contractors to remind him that we're better than them the SUV drove into a wall in the military base and got stuck. So I had to kill his PMCs from very long range from an overwatch overlooking the base. It was kind of difficult and I'd rather have just ambushed them on the road but derpy AI... speaking of derpy AI i'm now on the mission where you and mcmillan recce the black mesa facility. In my first playthrough I had him drive. Ordered him to the waypoint and everything was golden.. hit a few walls and derped around a bit but I can expect nothing less from the arma AI. But one of your triggers I believe wouldn't fire. The move waypoint just outside of the city near the gas station and ruins. I'm not sure why not. I'd tried driving myself, I'd tried shooting the heli down prior to reaching it or after reaching it, I'd not touch anything.. Nothing seemed to work. Continuing to the RV does nothing as there is nothing there. On the one occasion that trigger DID fire and mcmillan contacted the knights, when I got there the knights were there but that trigger didn't fire. And I couldn't talk to any of them or do anything, mcmillan kept telling me to get back in the vehicle if I left it.

[IndeedPete 1038]

First one is - as you've noticed yourself - stupid driving AI. Maybe I'll place all his waypoints way outside the camps. It really is ridiculous sometimes.

The second problem was introduced with 1.42, seems like McMillian does not (or almost never) check his last two waypoints. I have no idea why though, yet another AI issue. Already built a bypass that will come with the next patch. For now, you'll need to skip that mission using

[] call IP_fnc_cheatEndMission;

in the debug console.

[jprice94 16]

I see. thanks for being so quick with your responses btw, and I'm sorry about your missions breaking, it's not your fault, it's bohemia's

[IndeedPete 1038]

I don't think it's BI's fault. Overall, they're improving the game. And in such complex software construct like Arma obviously is, stuff goes wrong. Not much of a problem, I can fix it pretty fast. Got a lot of real life work these days though keeping me from working on Arma. And, as already mentioned there's also GTA. :D

[skooma 10]

Ah, thanks!

You should have a support menu action "Call AAF" or something. Just call that when he's still there and that stuff is still in his cargo, then they will arrest him.

Oooooh. Gotcha. I thought Call AAF was just in case of attack or something.

[IndeedPete 1038]

It's serving for both purposes. ;) Don't call them for nothing though, that AAF officer will get pissed and might deny help when you really need it.

[jprice94 16]

True enough I'm loving the new features. I think i've encountered another instance where waypoint triggers don't seem to happen. I've stolen those tanks and blown up a lot of AAF and there's no indication as to whether i'm making any progress. Also intel said there would be at least 1 kuma,but I didn't expect that many. Would be nice if the the AI in my other tank wouldn't show their arse to the enemy tanks and get their turret lodged in a broken truck

[IndeedPete 1038]

There shouldn't be any waypoint issues as there are no waypoints.^^ Make sure that AAF defence line is completely wiped, starting by the stadium and then going down to the other road before the hill. There's usually some infantry left. I know about AI and tanks and I think that has been an issue since OFP. I'm usually taking the driver seat by myself but the AI is still turning the tower towards the back. Is it really that hard to program the AI to look straight? oO

[jprice94 16]

There shouldn't be any waypoint issues as there are no waypoints.^^ Make sure that AAF defence line is completely wiped, starting by the stadium and then going down to the other road before the hill. There's usually some infantry left. I know about AI and tanks and I think that has been an issue since OFP. I'm usually taking the driver seat by myself but the AI is still turning the tower towards the back. Is it really that hard to program the AI to look straight? oO

I mean the objectives. I literally can't fulfil them. I steal the tanks it doesn't acknowlege I have. I steamroll the AAF and anahilate all their defenses and blow up literally everything and it doesn't acknowlege I have. I attack the tank depo and blow all that shit up too and still nothing. I had to skip this one again after I'd made the area devoid of life.

[IndeedPete 1038]

The first objective to steal the tanks is fulfilled when the factory area is under control. If it's not checked the area is not under control. Note that it doesn't have to be cleared, BLUFOR just needs to seize the comoplex.

[jprice94 16]

Ohh.. I see. Would probably be down to the AI crawling on their bellies and derping around whilst I steamrolled ahead. I loved the mission after that where you track down the paranoid geek. It's rare that a game makes me use my brain nowdays

[IndeedPete 1038]

Yeah well, based on my own case studies seized by triggers are as problematic as side not present ones. They're working on AI perception. Imagine a town occupied by OPFOR that has to be seized by BLUFOR, trigger set to seized by BLUFOR detected by BLUFOR. Now if a BLUFOR unit enters the city without immediately noticing an enemy it will consider the area as seized and the trigger will fire regardless if there's a whole army hiding behind the next corner. Same goes for triggers with seized by BLUFOR detected by OPFOR. There might be only one OPFOR shithead left, hiding somewhere in a corner while the area is actually swarming by BLUFOR. Yet this unit will consider OPFOR is still in control of the area preventing the trigger from firing - that is usually the case in this mission. There's some nutjob, hiding somewhere and thinking he's still in control of the area.^^ Seems like there is no quick setup for these rather simple seize that area missions; needs quite a lot of tinkering to work in most cases at least.

Schnitzeljagd is obviously the mission that causes the most problems for users. Not be cause it's buggy or so but because people don't read carefully or don't understand what's asked of them - I've managed to stun some players with them facing an unexpected problem. I'd be a bit proud of that, seeing my lab-rats a.k.a. players fail in great numbers by simple elementary maths. But it gets annoying after a while when people contact me every other day asking the same question over and over again. I should have known though when I made the mission. Entirely my fault. :D

[jprice94 16]

I liked it. It was a welcome change of pace from being shot at, and nothing can beat the satisfaction of a eureka moment. (I mean I still got shot at and ended up killing like 47 AAF and Bandits in that one but still)

[IndeedPete 1038]

Yeah, well, some action's gotta be there, it's Arma after all. ;)

But like Riot Control this mission can be solved within two minutes and without firing any shot as well. <username> is monitoring your progress from a hill a few hundred metres south-west of the start. You could just go there and say hi which will complete the mission. I'm curious if any of my players actually did that on the first try. He should be able to spot from the chopper when using the helo insertion. But as it is most people (including me) don't look the way they came from. :D

[jprice94 16]

Another bug, mostly with helicopter insertion. The pilot is a little to eager to take off after touch down. in two missions it merely injured me, but in the most recent one the fall outright killed me because by time the disembark animation was finished the heli was back in the air. Also seriously? how did I miss that. I went to the trouble of all those puzzles and all those killings and the douche was just sat on a hill nearby?

I've also taken diaz' sons hostage and tracked him on the gps.. He appears to have... (brace yourselves for surprise) driven into a wall in the research facility and is stuck there.

Edited April 18, 2015 by JPrice94

[IndeedPete 1038]

Okay, which mission? The helo insertions are usually pre-recorded but there were some changes to the get outs. BTW, killed on heli disembark is a problem that happened to me in many missions. I don't know, sometime these pilots want to kill you I guess.^^

[jprice94 16]

Specifically the one where you kidnap the guy who works at the research facility is the heli insertion that killed me, so I reverted and inserted by boat instead. Even then the guy just drove into a wall so I couldn't complete it, will reload until he un-derps. In the mission where you recover the csat agent and you land on the roof, and injured myself. I took AI squaddies the first time. The AI soldiers if you took any have a tendancy to walk off the edge of the heli pad and fall to the ground like a sack of shit.

Edited April 18, 2015 by JPrice94

[IndeedPete 1038]

I might just add invincibility for a few seconds after leaving the chopper. The latter is a known AI problem, hence they're already invincible until they fell off the building.

[jprice94 16]

I've reloaded several times now and dr diaz still can't un-derp himself and get out of the facility. Watching his gps tracker is painful.

[IndeedPete 1038]

Which way of getting him out did you take? He's usually on foot where both possible cars are parked outside of the facility (to prevent him from fucking it up). But I've just started my fixing session anyway so I'll can get on that right way. Thanks!