ZKs -=LOST SP=- Single Player Survival Mission (With Optional Base Building)

[miasdad 94]

Thanks so much for the SP update/changes..I have one question tho,how/where do I change parameters(skill,group size,start time etc)?Or are we allowed in this version?

[zonekiller 175]

If you unpbo the mission there is a Single_Play.hpp file in the main directory that has all the settings in it and you can change them there

[neofit 65]

Hi,

 

I played a little and was having fun. Then I hired an NPC and figured the mission did not have TeamSwitch enabled. So I decided to add it myself, I've done it successfully in every other mission I've tried that did not have it.

 

I've added "addSwitchableUnit _man;" to "Join.sqf". It works but with a problem. As soon as I switch to #2, he becomes the leader and there is no way to get leadership back. "Join.sqf" does have a "group _player selectLeader _player;" at the end, but does not seem to matter after one switch. And it doesn't matter where in Join.sqf I put the AddSwitchableUnit. I've added the same to other missions and never had any problems, so I wonder what I am missing here.

 

As a wild stab in the dark I've tried to execute something like "(group player) selectLeader player;" in the console, to no avail.

 

Any ideas?

 

(please don't list ways to change an NPC's inventory, I know them all and short of TeamSwitching, they are all extremely tedious, even more so in a loot-based scenario).

[kremator 1065]

There's some serious JuJu going on under the hood neofit.  I don't see why you need to TeamSwitch.  Just get a defribrilator and you can respawn.

 

The mission is designed to work that way.  You HAVE to hunt for loot and/or be VERY careful when surviving!

[neofit 65]

5 minutes ago, kremator said:

I don't see why you need to TeamSwitch. 

Like I said, to properly equip team mates without pulling out all my remaining hair.

[kremator 1065]

You DO know that you can get thm to halt, then press F1 on them.  That will open their inventory and you can sort as you wish.

 

ZK coded it that way.

[neofit 65]

2 minutes ago, kremator said:

You DO know that you can get thm to halt, then press F1 on them.  That will open their inventory and you can sort as you wish.

That's still not faster than just rummaging through the truck inventory myself, is it? Also, AIs never get stuck inside buildings in this scenario?

[kremator 1065]

Getting stuck in a building is due to sloppy pathfinding by BIS.  Certainly in the MP version, when you log out and in again, the AI have rejoined you - that helps.

 

Can't help your further though mate.  There must be a valid reason why ZK hasn't put it into the mission.

[neofit 65]

12 hours ago, kremator said:

Getting stuck in a building is due to sloppy pathfinding by BIS.  Certainly in the MP version, when you log out and in again, the AI have rejoined you - that helps.

 

Can't help your further though mate.  There must be a valid reason why ZK hasn't put it into the mission.

The question was never "how do I equip my dudes", nor "why hasn't ZK included TeamSwitch in his mission" (people who play mostly MP usually do not care too much about these essential quality of life issues for SP), and certainly not "why are my dudes getting stuck in buildings". It is more along the lines of "has anyone encountered situations where AddSwitchableUnit behaved in such a way", and it still stands.

[neofit 65]

I can fix the loss of leadership after it happened without any apparent ill issues, but manually. To get back leadership of the group, I open the console, point with the other guy to me, and run a "group player selectleader cursorTarget;", in case anyone is interested.

[neofit 65]

The mission is actually quite fun. I am amazed at how much is being done without megs and gigs of mods. I like that the enemies are humans and not magical zombies. Although I had a few civilians dues, bloody, limping an unarmed, that was glowing red to me, attacked in melee and only went down after a headshot.

 

I have changed some parameters from Single_Play.hpp as described on the first page, thanks for the thorough documentation, but I am having trouble understanding some. With the current values, I feel that there are a bit too many enemies for my taste. I feel like I am in a warzone, but would like to tune it to feel like a post-apoc setting with a few remaining but deadlier survivors.

 

How should I interpret the "per location" in:
_default_groups = 5;    max enemy groups per location
_default_vehicles = 2;    max enemy vehicles per location

 

I suppose "location" is a city or any of the areas defined in your triggers. But then, should it mean 5 groups + 2 vehicles when I enter the area, then when killed nothing until I leave and re-enter it? Or 5 groups + 2 vehicles at all times, with "Men/Settings.hpp/_enemy_respawn_time = 30;" seconds between each respawn? It feels like it's the latter, I enter a city and start getting vehicles from all sides, before I even manage to loot the previous kills.

 

Also, does this mean 5 infantry groups + 2 vehicles, or are the vehicles included in the 5 groups?

Is there a way to change these respawn and group size parameters from the in-game console, in case I want to fine tune them with a mission underway?

 

 

Also, there is this very annoying feature, the magical ever-seeing mortars. There is no way they have spotters who can pinpoint my location to the meter, inside a city, wherever I go. How can I disable them?

I suppose by changing

"_itemdefarray = MY_Enemy_E_D;" \n
in AI_Enemy.fsm?

 

Or maybe changing in Unit_Arrays.hpp
MY_Enemy_E_D = ["O_Mortar_01_F"];
to for instance
MY_Enemy_E_D = _cars;

 

But no way to deactivate magical arty after mission start?

 

[kremator 1065]

52 minutes ago, neofit said:

I like that the enemies are humans and not magical zombies. Although I had a few civilians dues, bloody, limping an unarmed, that was glowing red to me, attacked in melee and only went down after a headshot.

Actually they are zombies.

[miasdad 94]

4 hours ago, neofit said:

The mission is actually quite fun. I am amazed at how much is being done without megs and gigs of mods. I like that the enemies are humans and not magical zombies. Although I had a few civilians dues, bloody, limping an unarmed, that was glowing red to me, attacked in melee and only went down after a headshot.

 

I have changed some parameters from Single_Play.hpp as described on the first page, thanks for the thorough documentation, but I am having trouble understanding some. With the current values, I feel that there are a bit too many enemies for my taste. I feel like I am in a warzone, but would like to tune it to feel like a post-apoc setting with a few remaining but deadlier survivors.

 

How should I interpret the "per location" in:
_default_groups = 5;    max enemy groups per location
_default_vehicles = 2;    max enemy vehicles per location

 

I suppose "location" is a city or any of the areas defined in your triggers. But then, should it mean 5 groups + 2 vehicles when I enter the area, then when killed nothing until I leave and re-enter it? Or 5 groups + 2 vehicles at all times, with "Men/Settings.hpp/_enemy_respawn_time = 30;" seconds between each respawn? It feels like it's the latter, I enter a city and start getting vehicles from all sides, before I even manage to loot the previous kills.

 

Also, does this mean 5 infantry groups + 2 vehicles, or are the vehicles included in the 5 groups?

Is there a way to change these respawn and group size parameters from the in-game console, in case I want to fine tune them with a mission underway?

 

 

Also, there is this very annoying feature, the magical ever-seeing mortars. There is no way they have spotters who can pinpoint my location to the meter, inside a city, wherever I go. How can I disable them?

I suppose by changing

"_itemdefarray = MY_Enemy_E_D;" \n
in AI_Enemy.fsm?

 

Or maybe changing in Unit_Arrays.hpp
MY_Enemy_E_D = ["O_Mortar_01_F"];
to for instance
MY_Enemy_E_D = _cars;

 

But no way to deactivate magical arty after mission start?

 

Ditto..ported to Malden and landed into a hornets nest.Those numbers in the parameters...what are the ranges(i.e. _default_groups = 5;)< is that 5 out of  100 or what?

[zonekiller 175]

Hi Guys thanks for your comments

 

Here are some tips to setting it up

 

Single_Play.hpp

 

_default_time = 10; // Time of day to start the mission
_default_skill = 15; // AI Skill 0 - 100 (how smart they are)
_default_random = 1; // Random Unit and Group numbers (not exceeding _defaults)
_default_groups = 5; // Max amount of enemy group per area (_default_area around towns) not counting vehicles
_default_size = 8; // Max amount of enemy units per group not counting vehicles
_default_vehicles = 2; // Max amount of enemy vehicles per area (they will follow you around the map for 30 minutes then leave the vehicle and add a damaged vehicle to the map to be repaired)
_default_defences = 1; // MORTERS set to 0 if you don't want any
_default_house = 5; // Percent of houses occupied by enemy units per area (Not counted with groups)
_default_civs = 4; // Percent of houses occupied by civilians units per area (Civs will wander from house to house)
_default_vehiclebuild = 350; // Amount of damaged vehicles at fresh mission start (set for about 100 on Malden) The mission will destroy AI left vehicles it there are to many vehicles
_default_Wreckbuild = 150; // Amount of wrecks at fresh mission start (set for about 50 on Malden)
_default_fromroad = 75; // Max distance from a road to put vehicles and wrecks from a road at fresh mission start. Boats are 2 x this distance
_default_area = 750; // Area that is paroled by AI units and distance player triggers the enemy
_default_los = 1; // AI reaction script set to 0 to save some CPU power 
_default_hc = 0; // Used for headless client (Not used in SP) 
_default_edit = 0; // For testing purposes (Set to 1 to see markers for all the vehicles,wrecks,groups,civs,units,animals and zombies)
_default_Friends = 1; // Used for MP (Not used in SP) 
_default_animals = 4; // Amount of animal spawn points per area
_default_loot = 2; // The amount of loot you can fine in houses (Options are  --  1 = Highest,  6 = High,  2 = Normal,  3 = Low,  4 = Lowest)
_default_nourishment = 5500; // adjusts how food and water affects you (Options are  --  8000 = Super,  5500 = Good,  3000 = Normal,  2000 = Poor)
_default_M_Difficulty = 20; // Side Mission Difficulty (Options are  -- 10 = Insane,  13 = Hard,  20 = Normal,  26 = Easy,  40 = Super Easy)
_default_M_Time = 5; // Side Mission Max Time to complete (Options are --  5 = 9 Hours, 10 = 14 Hours,  15 = 19 Hours,  20 = 24 Hours   
_default_T_Virus = 3; // T-Virus Active (Options are --  0 = No,  1 = Yes Walking,  2 = Yes Running,  3 = Yes Both) Zombies are made by randomly making a civ infected - Zombies are infectious to other AI 
_default_Name_Markers = 0; // Used for MP (Not used in SP) 

 

If you get any errors with _default_T_Virus just use 0 or 1.

 

AI vehicles and units are found in Men/Unit_Arrays.hpp

Mission vehicles (The ones you repair) are found in Code\Server_Arrays.hpp (at the bottom)

 

I hope this helps guys

 

[miasdad 94]

Thanks,ZK..much appreciated

[miasdad 94]

Well,edited params:

_default_time = 5;
_default_skill = 15;
_default_random = 0;
_default_groups = 3;
_default_size = 3;
_default_vehicles = 3;
_default_defences = 1;
_default_house = 0;
_default_civs = 1;
_default_vehiclebuild = 100;
_default_Wreckbuild = 100;
_default_fromroad = 75;
_default_area = 750;>

yet I'm still getting hordes  of  bandits upon me where ever I land..like 80-100 units  within  300m  radius  & it's making the mission unplayable  due to the lag.Anything else I'm missing here?

[zonekiller 175]

I spent the morning converting all the new code from -=LOST=- Malden MP to -=LOST _SP=- Malden

 

Here is the link to Lost on Malden.

-=LOST_SP=- Malden

[neofit 65]

Thanks for the extra info on the parameters.

 

I've already restarted 3 times trying to tune the settings, never even got around to finishing my first side mission :). I'm having a blast, but would like to change more things, like increasing the _default_skill, and tweaking _default_M_Time and default_T_Virus (not described on page 1). Is there any way to change any of those parameters from within the console, without restarting the scenario?

 

I suppose that some can't be changed on principle, like _default_vehiclebuild, if all the cars have already spawned at the beginning of the scenario. But maybe the ones above can be?

 

Suggestions:

 

From what I saw, the grinder only works on rusted wrecks? In an eventual future update, it may be interesting to let it dismantle even the vehicles that we find in the wild, or the ones we "liberate" from AI groups?

 

Can you move a parameter from "Men/Settings.hpp" into "Single_Play.hpp": _enemy_respawn_time (30)

 

Maybe another parameter to change the chance of seeing a zombie? With the default I am seeing about 1 per hour, usually hearing, when my dudes start shooting neverending bursts without seemingly any results :). I don't want hordes, but a few more would be better. Just like with cars, how many per location and the respawn rate. But since AI teammates don't know they should hit the head, the defaults should remain low as it is now.

 

I didn't like the way magical mortars worked, but I wouldn't mind some other defenses. If it's not too time intensive, can they be optionally replaced by one of those 2-story sandbag forts manned by an AI squad and/or static weapons?

 

Anyway, awesome job. Thanks for supporting the SP version, and most of all, for a proper SP save system.

[kremator 1065]

2 minutes ago, neofit said:

From what I saw, the grinder only works on rusted wrecks? In an eventual future update, it may be interesting to let it dismantle even the vehicles that we find in the wild, or the ones we "liberate" from AI groups?

This would be good too for the MP version.

[zonekiller 175]

Im not sure about changing things on the fly without breaking other things

 

I didn't like the way magical mortars worked :) well that's got me a tad confused as the mortars are set to they see you and they shoot at you nothing magical.

 

Mortars are in the mission to give you that unexpected unwelcome surprise same is the AI inside of buildings (from your comments they are working as intended and will not be changed - you have the option to turn them off) 

want more zombies add more civs to an area - that will make more and then they will have more to infect

 

I've already restarted 3 times trying to tune the settings -- my suggestion would be to get the inidbi2 addon and download the MP versions and host the mission locally where you can change the parameters every start and keep your stats the same until your happy with the settings and then add them to the SP settings  

 

Im working on a system to dismantle the vehicles that are in the wild.

 

 

[neofit 65]

5 hours ago, zonekiller said:

I didn't like the way magical mortars worked :) well that's got me a tad confused as the mortars are set to they see you and they shoot at you nothing magical.

 

Mortars are in the mission to give you that unexpected unwelcome surprise same is the AI inside of buildings (from your comments they are working as intended and will not be changed - you have the option to turn them off)

I guess I was unlucky then, maybe I was often in view of more than one of them. Whenever I reached a civilized area, I was under regular bombardment. Like every minute a new smoke shell on my position. It follows me into town, with precise fragging shots right ontop of me. I tried circling around a huge hill, it follows. I hide behind the high concrete walls of a tiny military base on top of a hill, 15 seconds later - accurate shots land on top of my vehicle, as if the AI was smart enough to understand that if he spotted me getting in, and hasn't seen me coming out, it means that I'm still inside. It's like they invested all their money into the mortar spotting AI, and nothing was left for the AI driving procedures :).

 

Anyway, I didn't know that *_defense=0 would only remove the mortars without reducing the overall infantry group spawning, now I know what to do.

 

5 hours ago, zonekiller said:

want more zombies add more civs to an area - that will make more and then they will have more to infect

I'm not sure about that. I've reduced the number of civilians and still see one every few minutes, the ones not infected, not drafted by bandits or killed by them should be very rare, so that I cherish the ones I have. IMHO civilian and zombie settings would be better as separate settings.

 

5 hours ago, zonekiller said:

I've already restarted 3 times trying to tune the settings -- my suggestion would be to get the inidbi2 addon and download the MP versions and host the mission locally where you can change the parameters every start and keep your stats the same until your happy with the settings and then add them to the SP settings  

I don't know. I know that MP missions, with the respawn system, are extremely frustrating to play when solo. I'm pretty sure I won't gain any knowledge about settings while cursing at the two pixels that shot me from 300m away and had me start redoing a lot of things. It's a shame we can't change anything in SP once the mission has started.

[neofit 65]

One other thing, my teammates keep jumping off the car by themselves as soon as it stops, and this is starting to get very annoying :). Now, I suppose that I have to control them somehow with the keys listed on p.1, but my number keys bring up the usual BIS orders menus, and I don't even have the '~' as a separate key on my keyboard. Wouldn't it be better if these team commands were put into the support/radio (9/0) menus?

[kremator 1065]

1 hour ago, neofit said:

One other thing, my teammates keep jumping off the car by themselves as soon as it stops, and this is starting to get very annoying :). Now, I suppose that I have to control them somehow with the keys listed on p.1, but my number keys bring up the usual BIS orders menus, and I don't even have the '~' as a separate key on my keyboard. Wouldn't it be better if these team commands were put into the support/radio (9/0) menus?

That WAS fixed recently in MP after I told ZK about the bug.

[zonekiller 175]

It should also be fixed in the new -=LOST=- SP Malden

 

The MP missions and SP missions are the same with only one real difference is that in a MP mission if you have a defib you dont loose your stuff or position when you die there is no respawn and if you die without one you have to start over

[neofit 65]

18 hours ago, zonekiller said:

It should also be fixed in the new -=LOST=- SP Malden

 

The MP missions and SP missions are the same with only one real difference is that in a MP mission if you have a defib you dont loose your stuff or position when you die there is no respawn and if you die without one you have to start over

Nice. Well, I guess a new restart is in order :). One day, oh glorious day, I will do my first side mission. And then, who knows, maybe even start building something :).