SP/COOP 1-10 Leper Island [UPDATED 1/23/2017]

[johnnyboy 3793]

Leper Island is my COOP entry to the MANW contest. It is fast-paced, CQB mission with time pressure and lots of surprises.

Version 3.0 Updated 1/22/2017.  Fixed loadout bug caused by Arma patch.

 

• Voice Acting
• Challenging objectives
• Randomization of objective placement for greater replayability and unpredictability.
• Multiple Endings
• Functioning Trawler
• Special Effects
• Surprises!
• No mods required.

Download from Dropbox

Subscribe on Steam

Download from Armaholic old VERSION

Please support this mission for the MANW contest.

Change Log:
 

 

Version Final/Gold:

• Added Parameters to choose time of day: Morning (Daylight); Full Moon with no NVG; or Dark Night with NVG
• More dialogue to make dynamic objective more clear to player.
• Lots of clean up and small fixes
• Titles and Briefing overhaul

Version 2:

• Randomized 4 different paths for Protect Ship objective which changes game flow dynamically (more replayable).
• Fixed MP Ending selection
• Added crew to ship.
• Added more clutter to camps for ambience.
• More voice chatter.
• Added more paths for suicide boats.

I've tested in on a dedicated server so I think all the tasks and triggers are MP compliant, but I'm not sure about JIP.

I would love if some of you could test it and give me some feedback. Please report any bugs, and balance issues, suggestions etc.

I hope you enjoy it as much as I have enjoyed making it and testing it. Thanks!

Only one week to go until MANW deadline! Any feedback greatly appreciated.

[alaskafish 10]

Is that boat a mod?

[johnnyboy 3793]

No, the Trawler is not a mod. It came with Arma 3, but it is an inanimate object (i.e., it doesn't move or do anything, its just there for scenery I guess). But I've written scripts to make it a moving trawler, and allow it to simulate damage from explosions, fire, etc. No Mods are required to play this mission.

[alaskafish 10]

No, the Trawler is not a mod. It came with Arma 3, but it is an inanimate object (i.e., it doesn't move or do anything, its just there for scenery I guess). But I've written scripts to make it a moving trawler, and allow it to simulate damage from explosions, fire, etc. No Mods are required to play this mission.

I hear a mod someone can make.... cough.... cough...

[Variable 322]

Sounds great. I hope this is a no-respawn mission? And are you using any first aid or wounding scripts?

[johnnyboy 3793]

Hey Variable. It's group respawn, my personal preference. Also, as this is a MANW entry, I don't want to use 3rd party scripts that might disqualify me or get me into an attribution squabble with someone. After the contest is over, I can modify it if the demand is there.

This mission is perfect for a few players that enjoy COOP but don't have time to invest in clans and epic long Insurgency or CTI style missions (those missions are awesome, but not practical for everyone's time constraints). Leper Island is also very playable and fun as a single player...but damn near impossible to beat without group respawn.

There is a "chase and defend" time pressure element to this mission that makes it unique. Give it a try, I think you will like it. :)

What are CIA's preferred scenario types and first aid/wouding scripts?

Edited October 14, 2014 by JohnnyBoy

[Variable 322]

Hey Variable. It's group respawn, my personal preference.

Perfect!

What are CIA's preferred scenario types and first aid/wouding scripts?

Our preferances are Group respawn (mostly to allow convinient JIP for guys that loose connection), and Psycho's Advanced injury System (which is a bit buggy but still the best high-speed-low-drag solution there is for the vanilla's lack of any first aid system).

Thanks a lot. Have you tested the mission on a dedicated server?

[johnnyboy 3793]

Good news. I thought organized clans thought "group respawn" was too gamey...lol. I've tested it alot on dedicated server, but with only myself playing. I'm pretty sure all voicing and task completion is clean for MP, as well as special effects. Not sure about JIP though, and hope to get feedback on that. Its possible that some effects might spam with >1 players, I hope not...and will do my best to fix it if reported. I did have some spam in initial dedi testing, but fixed it, which leads me to believe its now clean.

[johnnyboy 3793]

Appeal for Feedback:

Only 9 more days left to modify this mission before the MANW contest deadline. About 250 people have downloaded this in the last 4 days. If you any of you have any feedback on any bugs you saw, or any suggestions to improve this mission, I would really appreciate it. If I get some feedback in the next few days, i will still have time to improve the mission accordingly.

Thanks! And I hope you enjoyed the Exploding Barrels script I posted over in the editing forum.

Long live ARMA!

[Variable 322]

HiJohnyBoy! I gave the mission a quick ramb-playthrough-test on the CiA server all by myself to test it. It looks very cool! I didn't complete it but I did get thechance to advance up the island to its middle before I decided to stop in order to wait until I play it in coop, it was too nice to waste on SP :) It shows that the mission was created with love, nice voice recordings and cool and exciting features you put there.

Few observations (tested on a dedicated server):

1. It seems like the teams are reversed? I would expect Alpha to appear on top of Bravo on the slots screen.

2. When I approached the southern camp there were maybe just three enemy fighters there, I would expect to be some more. Also, there was only a fire (literally, just fire, no woods were visible, it looked like the fire was coming from nowhere). I would add some items to make it look like an actual camp, a tent, chairs, sleeping bags, etc. (maybe there was a camp there but I missed it??). I would also beef up a bit the defence there. They seemed very random and weak.

3. Some nice and suspenseful intro music would do wonders to the insertion phase.

More feedback is due to once we play the mission in coop with a full team (might take a while since we are usually much more than 10 players).

[johnnyboy 3793]

Hey Variable, Thanks much for the feedback.

HiJohnyBoy! I gave the mission a quick ramb-playthrough-test on the CiA server all by myself to test it. It looks very cool! I didn't complete it but I did get thechance to advance up the island to its middle before I decided to stop in order to wait until I play it in coop, it was too nice to waste on SP :) It shows that the mission was created with love, nice voice recordings and cool and exciting features you put there.

Great to hear. Appreciate it.

1. It seems like the teams are reversed? I would expect Alpha to appear on top of Bravo on the slots screen.

That bugs me too. I wonder if I have to delete Bravo and re-add them to achieve that. Will try to fix.

2. When I approached the southern camp there were maybe just three enemy fighters there, I would expect to be some more. Also, there was only a fire (literally, just fire, no woods were visible, it looked like the fire was coming from nowhere). I would add some items to make it look like an actual camp, a tent, chairs, sleeping bags, etc. (maybe there was a camp there but I missed it??). I would also beef up a bit the defence there. They seemed very random and weak.

Agreed. I've beefed up the camp and added more clutter to it.

3. Some nice and suspenseful intro music would do wonders to the insertion phase.

I've added some suspense music also, but its after the initial dialogue.

More feedback is due to once we play the mission in coop with a full team.

COOP feedback would be awesome. My greatest fear is there is a fatal MP flaw that I won't find in time.

I plan on releasing an update today (late Sunday California time). It will include more variability (4 different paths for the "moving defend objective") to make mission flow more dynamic, more details, more voice chatter, and more.

Thanks again for the feedback, I really appreciate it.

8 more days to go before MANW deadline. I will sleep for a week after that. I can't imagine how much work the Campaign entrants have put in, as this is just one mission, and I am getting really tired after 2 months. Should have quit my day job! :)

[johnnyboy 3793]

Version 2 uploaded to Dropbox and published on Steam. See links in original post.

[Brainbug 10]

Please look into the loadout settings again. It is very tedious if I have to sort the equipment when the mission has already started. Better would be to do that in the briefing screen, i.e. drop all the useless shit like laser designators, nvg, smokes, lights and whatnot, change weapons (in SP, maybe I want to use the mg or the battle rifle). In your first version that was possible, but now something is mixed up. I started as bravo team (why?), had to teamswitch to alpha asap, but on both teams the loadout wasn't like I had set it in the briefing. Obviously some script set it differently at mission start. And there was no mg available at briefing, unlike in last week's version.

Another issue is that the guys on the rocks tend to sink in, in my playthrough today one of the parachute bombers was competely inside a rock and I couldn't shoot or bomb him out of there, the rock saved him. Luckily but for some unknown reason, after I had killed the last other guy on the island, this guy decided to blow himself up (thus ending the mission), and I wasn't even close. Better place them somewhere away from the rocks directly on the map surface.

Also I haven't really found out what to do with the ship, I saw it traveling by, with some guys on it, but do I have to shoot them, blast the ship completely away or what is it good for? In the earlier version, I didn' see it at all.

Sorry I've only looked at it from a SP perspective, not MP as you wished for. But concerning balance, I'm afraid for ten players this is not so much of a challenge, I did this alone and found it quite easy, as the opponents are relatively weak. Maybe make this a coop for 4 players at most (2x alpha, 2x bravo), that is already enough. Or put more resistance in it (more opponents or harder ones, statics etc.).

[johnnyboy 3793]

Brainbug: Thanks much for taking the time to give feedback. I really appreciated it!

Please look into the loadout settings again. It is very tedious if I have to sort the equipment when the mission has already started. Better would be to do that in the briefing screen, i.e. drop all the useless shit like laser designators, nvg, smokes, lights and whatnot, change weapons (in SP, maybe I want to use the mg or the battle rifle). In your first version that was possible, but now something is mixed up. I started as bravo team (why?), had to teamswitch to alpha asap, but on both teams the loadout wasn't like I had set it in the briefing. Obviously some script set it differently at mission start. And there was no mg available at briefing, unlike in last week's version.

I'm surprised you had a weapons choice at all on previous version, as I've specified a specific loadout for the 5 man team. I never added a weapons config to the description.ext, so it shouldn't have been an option. I'll take your advice and drop the light sticks and laser designators. NVGs I have removed (I hate seeing them on units in day missions), so if you saw NVGs please let me know. If I have time, I may add weapon selection, but with 6 days left til MANW deadline I make no promises (other priorities).

Regarding starting as Alpha, I can fix that (I've been MP testing so it wasn't an issue, but I can see why its an issue for SP).

Another issue is that the guys on the rocks tend to sink in, in my playthrough today one of the parachute bombers was competely inside a rock and I couldn't shoot or bomb him out of there, the rock saved him. Luckily but for some unknown reason, after I had killed the last other guy on the island, this guy decided to blow himself up (thus ending the mission), and I wasn't even close. Better place them somewhere away from the rocks directly on the map surface.

All the units start away from rocks, but AI navigation makes them take crazy paths sometimes. All "Clear the town, clear the area, clear the island" potentially have the famous "last loon" problem, where a player can be stuck looking forever for the last enemy (who may have sunk into a building floor or under a rock). So I've implemented the classic "last loon" solution, and that is to detect if only 2 enemy are left for 2 minutes then a script kills them and end the mission. This is better than leaving the player stuck.

By the way, where on the map did the rock problem occur. Was it on the west side near the dock and barrels? Or was it on the East Side near the rock tunnel? Maybe if I change the boat positions to be further from rocks it will reduce the chance of this happening.

Also I haven't really found out what to do with the ship, I saw it traveling by, with some guys on it, but do I have to shoot them, blast the ship completely away or what is it good for? In the earlier version, I didn' see it at all.

Your goal is to actually defend the ship. Its purposely not defined as a task in the beginning, as its supposed to be "new intel" that is discovered during the mission. If boats are leaving the island you need to prevent them from hitting the ship. That's the twist and challenge, as depending on the path of the ship, it changes your tactics and mission flow. Obviously, I need to make this more clear to the player. I think I will add a new task, once this intel is triggered (i.e., when the captive tells you about the ship, or when the ship is first hit).

Sorry I've only looked at it from a SP perspective, not MP as you wished for. But concerning balance, I'm afraid for ten players this is not so much of a challenge, I did this alone and found it quite easy, as the opponents are relatively weak. Maybe make this a coop for 4 players at most (2x alpha, 2x bravo), that is already enough. Or put more resistance in it (more opponents or harder ones, statics etc.).

Good point. I actually can only beat it solo about 50% of the time though. Especially if you count saving the ship as well as surviving. I think I will beef up the defenses based on your feedback.

Thanks again for the feedback!

[Brainbug 10]

By the way, where on the map did the rock problem occur.

a bit south of the "boats" marker, not far (less than 100 m).

[johnnyboy 3793]

Thanks brainbug, that helps. I've moved the boat the AI wants to drive further away from the rocks to help prevent this issue. But AI navigation can still be crazy sometimes.

[johnnyboy 3793]

Final Version released. This is official Gold version for MANW contest. See top original post to download. Just had a rum and coke and 2 beers, and will now sleep for a week! Can't imagine how burnt out all those campaign contestants are. Good luck to all the entrants! :)

[Variable 322]

Thanks man, CiA coop server updated.

[fuiba 10]

Thanks for the great mission JohnnyBoy! I have played it for half a dozen times in SP and finally completed it without the trawler sinking! The difficulty is perfect for SP, I wonder if there's enough challenge for ten human players - of course these things are difficult (impossible?) to balance so good job!

I already commented on the Steam workshop but I really liked the not-so-serious approach. I think the problem with user-made missions which try to be too realistic are the "Arma moments" when something funny happens that breaks the immersion. For example when a rooster stopped in front of my prone AI team mate who didn't really seem to mind him blocking his sights :)

[johnnyboy 3793]

Thanks Fuiba, really glad you enjoyed it. You're right about balance, but I like MP with group spawn, and I usually only play with one or two other guys, so I like having 10 AI slots to respawn in to. For a few players the balance seems pretty good. 10 hardcore players would probably find it too easy. Did you try it from both North and South? What about Night with NVG and Full Moon options?

I enjoy those random Arma moments (like your rooster). The game always surprises me somehow.

Thanks for posting dude, we mission makers need the encouragement!

[fuiba 10]

Yeah I tried from North and South. I liked the North approach more suitable for me because I love to blow up the farmhouse on my way and the guy on the quadbike. I believe I haven't tried the newest version since I never got the chance to change the time of day. I love night missions in Arma 3, especially without NVGs. I think the NVGs are too powerful (even though it's the 2030s) - there is no real static and you can see waaaay too far. I believe this means I'll give your mission a couple of more go's and try the night ops :) Thanks again!

[johnnyboy 3793]

Right on. I like Night with full moon only, because I find it way too dark otherwise. Might be my graphics settings though. The nightstalker scope is really cool too (marksmen have one in their packs). To change time you have to be in MP and do the Edit Parameters thing in the lobby where you pick your AI slot.

[fuiba 10]

Do you plan on creating more missions after this one? I'd really like to play more. I also tried your explosive barrels script which I found on Armaholic. Great stuff!

[Variable 322]

Mission accomplished on the CiA server. Great stuff you got there mr. Johnnyboy, you definitely got our attention! Multiple "thank you"s were left on your Steam page and players were directed to your MANW page :)

Good luck and please keep on making missions!

[HKFlash 9]

Good mission, quite original concept.