MP - Ravage [COOP - 6] The Escape

[neofit 65]

hmm, OK SP *does* work for me, I guess I just didn't wait long enough.  It took MUCH MUCH longer for the SP to load than what I had observed for the MP mission load times so I just didn't give it a chance to finish.  

 

Case solve, and so far it's a lot of fun - except the AI barely follows orders. :)

The SP version hasn't been updated for some time, the Ravage mod has received a few major version changes since then, so you are likely to run into problems or not see most of its new features. Only the MP versions of "The Escape" have been updated, and you can try to play them as SP scenarios, but you will encounter other problems: you can't hire teammates (they are supposed to be other people in these scenarios after all), no bandit camps, etc. It's in this post and above. IMO the solution is to wait until Cosmic is tired of playing coop ;).

 

Also, every large scenario like this one or Pilgrimage for instance, whole map scenarios that generate a lot of loot and units everywhere, they always take a LONG time to load the first time you start them. Probably the initial generation of goodies.

[cosmic10r 2331]

hmm, OK SP *does* work for me, I guess I just didn't wait long enough.  It took MUCH MUCH longer for the SP to load than what I had observed for the MP mission load times so I just didn't give it a chance to finish.  

Case solve, and so far it's a lot of fun - except the AI barely follows orders. :)

 

Yep... it takes a bit to load... it is more than likely the map analyzer scanning the map and selecting locations for the sites...

I wanted that done before the player loads in so that is why it takes awhile in SP....

 

 

The SP version hasn't been updated for some time, the Ravage mod has received a few major version changes since then, so you are likely to run into problems or not see most of its new features. Only the MP versions of "The Escape" have been updated, and you can try to play them as SP scenarios, but you will encounter other problems: you can't hire teammates (they are supposed to be other people in these scenarios after all), no bandit camps, etc. It's in this post and above. IMO the solution is to wait until Cosmic is tired of playing coop ;).

 

Also, every large scenario like this one or Pilgrimage for instance, whole map scenarios that generate a lot of loot and units everywhere, they always take a LONG time to load the first time you start them. Probably the initial generation of goodies.

 

I have been working on it a bit, but i got through stages where i start a new project and get sidetracked with that, get frustrated, need a break, play another game a bit lol

I finally downloaded Assetto Corsa and dusted off the g27 and have been playing that a bit...

 

buuuut... Tanoa SP was mostly done so I fixed up the recruit script this morn b4 work so you guys could have a go....

 

 

 

 

A couple of notes..

- most of Haleks changes are behind the scenes so most missions get a bunch of the new features without the mission being "updated" as such

Its only when a change is made to a module that the mission needs to be updated either with a new module or a new setting but for the most part... 

a good portion of the changes happen by "Haleks magic" which is nice for mission makers...

 

-the recruit script will now add 6 mags of either handgun or rifle ammo to the unit when you recruit them at the flagpole at mission start based on what they spawn with using the rvg random equipment spawner.

As you guys  have mentioned though... The ai has a hard time being useful... most of the time ... lol

 

-Load in is slow because the map analyzer needs to scan whole map to randomize site location.

 

-Included is a Tanoa SW and an updated Altis SW for SP

Have a look and see if it is working...

If no  major bugs are reported I will update OP with new link in a couple of days

 

Enjoy guys... its very rewarding to see people playing and enjoying the mission... it really was just something the 4 of us threw together for testing and its great to see it have some value for people

 

 

https://www.dropbox.com/s/sth65w03vq3xkrn/RavageEscapeSP.zip?dl=0

[Valken 622]

I started playing the SP Escape Ravage mission after completing Escape Tanoa Coop online yesterday. Brilliant. To add more variety, would you consider porting this to the Unsung Mod? Imagine the GIs escaping both VC overruns and Zombies while working with "mercenaries" to get out?

[neofit 65]

Playing the SP Tanoa atm and having a lot of fun.

 

Question: can the white containers at the "Ammo" markers and the greenish ones at camp sites be used for safe storage, for my own ammo, weapons, fuel canisters, wheels, etc? Or there is some garbage collector script that will clean them up for everything that wasn't spawned in there every n minutes?

[neofit 65]

I just escaped from Tanoa, SP, latest version. I had a lot of fun, and did not encounter any major issues.

 

This is my second playthrough on Tanoa. The first one took place back when there was a fuel consumption bug, I tried taking the first assault boat I came across all the way to the escape point and got away with it. This time the fuel has been carefully measured, just enough to cross onto the main island + 2-3 km on either side to find a spot we like, nice touch. I tried something similar to the first attempt though. When I figured out how to syphon fuel from wrecks, I thought it would be a waste to use it on a car that I will have to leave on the main island anyway, so I tried refueling the boat instead. And to much surprise it worked, allowing me to escape like 10 times faster. I filled it with 2x 20l jerrycans, but it turned out to be way too much. I barely used 5% of that fuel while crossing the whole map.

 

I don't know if that was intended, but on the one hand it's nice to have this option, on the other, this allows the player to avoid like 90% of the content, so I don't know what to think. Maybe if the goal was to reach the escape point AFTER visiting every island to acquire n laptops of Dr Whatshisface (I know you know what I did there), then a refueled assault boat would turn from an I-win button into an extra means of locomotion. Something besides an assault boat would be nice too.

 

Some remarks:

 

* I think I found an "unintended feature". If the hose and jerrycans are there to refuel cars and not boats, then you should prevent fuel stations from topping our fuel like they do in vanilla Arma. I drove into a commercial fuel station, got out, got in, and was astonished to see it being auto refueled from orange to 100%. All the NPC cars had 100% fuel too, so I guess AIs use this exploit too :).

 

* Maybe you can turn off fog or give us an option to do so? It doesn't add an eerie feeling or whatnot, bu it feels like early morning all day long and hides the beauty of the surroundings.

 

* I've visited an airdrop, and didn't find anything within about 300-400m of the marker. Some air crews should receive a taking to.

 

* There is this problem with loot, but I think it is more a Ravage mod problem than something with the mission. And I've seen the same implemented in every manner of online zombie missions, like DayZ, Origins, Epoch, etc: loot doesn't spawn if I approach a building in a vehicle. I understand why this is done online, these modders like to p1ss people off, but it makes no sense in a SP game. it's just a huge waste of time to have to dismount a few hundred meters away, make everything spawn, then jog back to the vehicle. If you want to talk about difficulty, it is more difficult to cross a village infested by NPC shooters in a vehicle than on foot. I wish this went away.

 

* The zombies are just the way I like them, slow, no runners, a mere nuisance.

 

* I've been to a few camps, some unmarked ones with large campfires, one marked with a "?" on the map, and one marked as "camp". Everybody was shooting at me, so I have no idea where to find survivors to recruit.

 

All in all, I've had a lot of fun. Good job!

[haleks 8212]

 

* I don't know if that was intended, but on the one hand it's nice to have this option, on the other, this allows the player to avoid like 90% of the content, so I don't know what to think. Maybe if the goal was to reach the escape point AFTER visiting every island to acquire n laptops of Dr Whatshisface (I know you know what I did there), then a refueled assault boat would turn from an I-win button into an extra means of locomotion.

 

[...]

 

* I think I found an "unintended feature". If the hose and jerrycans are there to refuel cars and not boats, then you should prevent fuel stations from topping our fuel like they do in vanilla Arma. I drove into a commercial fuel station, got out, got in, and was astonished to see it being auto refueled from orange to 100%. All the NPC cars had 100% fuel too, so I guess AIs use this exploit too :).

 

* That's a problem with BIS vehicles and maps : fuel consumption ain't really scaled for the size of their terrains.

I'll probably have to edit this myself... :/

 

* That's something I need to fix, actually. I disabled those for Altis & Stratis, but totally forgot to do the same for Tanoa.

[neofit 65]

Haleks, thanks for the reply. Is the loot not spawning when you enter a village in a vehicle a Ravage issue or something with the scenario? I tried searching for various synonyms around "loot spawn vehicle" inside the Ravage thread to no avail.

[cosmic10r 2331]

Really interesting how you are doing this all Neo... loving that you keep finding new and interesting ways to play the mission . 

I may never have thought of trucking gas over to the boat... very cool

 

I have an idea for what you suggested... and I also like searching for laptops as well. In SP i can play around more than in MP just because locality can be a hassle.

 

I think what happens in  a vehicle is that you move so fast into the town that loot doesnt get a chance to spawn around you because it is set to spawn at a radius beyond you so you dont see it but the vehicle travels so fast into the area that it then doesnt spawn in the town you are in... thats what i remember from awhile back... could be way off lol

[haleks 8212]

Yeah, the loot spawn system doesn't really like vehicles at the moment. :/

Another thing I need to fix for good, haha... ^^'

[neofit 65]

I have an idea for what you suggested... and I also like searching for laptops as well. In SP i can play around more than in MP just because locality can be a hassle.

 

 

This was a thinly veiled reference to this mission, but now I know that you've forgotten about it :). Now, maybe maintaining one single mission with features of both would be easier?

 

I think what happens in  a vehicle is that you move so fast into the town that loot doesnt get a chance to spawn around you because it is set to spawn at a radius beyond you so you dont see it but the vehicle travels so fast into the area that it then doesnt spawn in the town you are in... thats what i remember from awhile back... could be way off lol

That's what I thought at first, but then when I first walked in to the airport where you arrive right after the first island, I saw some luggage fall from the roof down to the ground, so distance away from the player mustn't be that great. Then when I get somewhere with a car, I can wait for stuff to appear but it never does, not around me nor a few hundreds of meters away. BTW, the code can spawn a zombie a few meters away behind my back, I don't mind if some loot spawns that way either.

[neofit 65]

Yeah, the loot spawn system doesn't really like vehicles at the moment. :/

Another thing I need to fix for good, haha... ^^'

I think I remember the authors of Origins and Epoch saying that it was done on purpose, to make us walk to the loot. Anyway, it's good to know that it does not happen this way in Ravage for a purpose, there is hope then.

[Richie 330]

I think I remember the authors of Origins and Epoch saying that it was done on purpose

 

That was done for performance, it was the Dayz code that stopped loot spawning, if players were travelling over 15 kph (I think) otherwise as players drove through town loot would spawn unnecessarily.

[neofit 65]

That was done for performance, it was the Dayz code that stopped loot spawning, if players were travelling over 15 kph (I think) otherwise as players drove through town loot would spawn unnecessarily.

Fair enough. The owner of a server in an online scenario may want to minimize the impact of this loot spawning. With 30 people online each in his own region, the amount of spawned loot may start consuming a lot of resources. But in an SP game I'd like to be able to control that, even if it requires de-pboing the .pbo and changing a parameter in an .sqf. I am presuming that loot is despawned after some time or at some distance from me.

[Donnie_Plays 435]

is there a way to disable the temp gauge in the top right corner?

[cosmic10r 2331]

is there a way to disable the temp gauge in the top right corner?

No. I can maybe put it in a radio trigger hint so you can call it when u want but it isn't there all the time...

[Donnie_Plays 435]

No. I can maybe put it in a radio trigger hint so you can call it when u want but it isn't there all the time...

 

It's really not overly important, but if it was optional it would be good to turn the notification off or on. The guys I play with and myself enjoy playing Arma with as little notifications on the screen as possible. One of the things I really love about Ravage, is the clear screen. We didn't seem to have this notification when we played on Tanoa?

 

Tonight I attempted to play through the Altis mission with the same three guys from the Tanoa mission. We had a lot of technical problems on the Altis map. I suspect it had to do with the mods we were using. I'm not completely sure. All of us had a crash problem at one point, and I was hosting the game and we ended up having to start over. At one point we went to an equipment crate marked on the map. We couldn't pick up the stuff in the crates. We had random problems with backpacks or gear just disappearing off of our bodies. Sometimes when we died, we would start with the same stuff. Sometimes we would completely respawn with almost nothing. What ended our session... I died from a zombie attack and it wouldn't let me respawn. It just stayed stuck in the map screen. There was no option to continue and hitting escape would not put me back in the lobby.

I noticed on the Altis map (compared to Tanoa) there were a heavy amount of running zombies. This was not something I tweaked in parameters at all, I guess this is the default setting? At one point we had like 15 zombies running at us from random directions. We couldn't really outrun the zombies since there is no holster option. We kept running out of ammo and couldn't progress. I didn't realize it before, but we had played on Tanoa with no running zombies. For this particular mission, I guess it is just our preference for less running zombies. There just seems to be too much ground to cover and too little supplies for ammo. We also seemed frustrated with the lack of ability to spawn anywhere but where you start, and it just seemed like a very far distance to reach the new spawn point in the middle of the map. We never found a single vehicle in the four hours we played tonight.

 

Here are the mods we had activated...(and ravage)

 

Arma Enhanced Movement

CBA_A3

Advanced Urban Rappelling

task_force_radio

JSRS4: APEX

Deadfast Third Person View

All three RHS mods (AFRF, USAF, GREF)

[cosmic10r 2331]

In terms of technical issues, that is strange. That mod list isn't huge so that to me doesn't look like an obvious culprit.

The ammo crate thing is weird too.

Now the backpack disappearing may actually not be a glitch. The zombies can swipe them off your backs and they are on the ground but if you aren't paying attention you can leave it behind. There are a few reports of gear like maps etc disappearing when you switch backpacks. I think it's an Arma glitch.

So it could be that when the zombie swipes the pack it is considered switching back packs and arma glitches and removes the map etc too.

That would be kind of a comical happenstance but I digress...

I need to tweak the respawn system. The feedback helps. Haleks is adding the respawn backpacks that deploy as tents that allow you to carry the pack and deploy it where you want. Should add some good gameplay decisions.

I agree with running zombies being an issue. I prefer walkers only myself. It's set in the mission and I must have had it off for tanoa while testing. I'll maybe look at having it as a mission parameter in mp.

The temp is off on tanoa because it's a warm climate and seemed odd freezing to death there lol...

No vehicles is really odd. I'll have to have a look in on the mission when I get some time.

[neofit 65]

I agree with running zombies being an issue. I prefer walkers only myself. It's set in the mission and I must have had it off for tanoa while testing. I'll maybe look at having it as a mission parameter in mp.

 

And in SP too please. I hate running and head flailing zombies. At least as a clearly defined parameter in some init.sql, at best as a radio command like Sepia on/off, and even better no runners whatsoever :).

 

 

The temp is off on tanoa because it's a warm climate and seemed odd freezing to death there lol...

Oh that's why then, I was wondering. Makes perfect sense actually. I've never been in a jungle, but it doesn't seem they have freezing nights there like in a desert.

[Noigel 3]

Hey guys, really been enjoying both Ravage and Escape.  I'm playing solo on the dedicated server.  I've not beat either Altis or Tanoa maps because, since noticing the stamina issue I mention below, I've been playing it like a rogue-like game and if I die, I perma-die.   :)  Found a couple of issues I'd like to share, pardon if you already are aware of some of these:

 

1) When you abort and come back the character-saving-mechanism does not save your binoculars (Noticed on Altis, unknown on Tanoa).

2) When you start the game as a fresh spawn there is no stamina drain, if you die and respawn you now have to operate with/around the stamina system as it comes back. (Noticed on Tanoa, unknown on Altis)  Note:  If you abort and come back without dying you are still stamina-system free.

3) Some vehicles let you put items in the inventory, some don't.  I was able to put items in a fully-white-health offroad, but was not in a hull-orange-health SUV (Noticed on Altis, unknown on Tanoa)

4) Some dead bodies will not let you take items and put them in your own inventory, either by right clicking or by dragging, but if you put on the clothes-item then the stuck-items in it can then be moved around like normal. (Noticed on Tanoa, unknown on Altis)

 

You guys have done some great work!  Appreciate how smoothly these all run!

 

I've read a lot of weapon balancing posts in this thread... that's a hard thing to try to tweak to please everybody.  I would like to weigh in though, please note that I have not used the RHS mods in my mission yet.  In the hours I've played I usually end up with either a PDW, AK-variant, 5.56 variant, or the Mk200.  The reason is that these are the only guns that I can obtain and start to gain a decent collection of mags for... all the other guns don't really offer a path to increasing your bullet count.  The closest would be the MX-variants found on dead soldiers but their mags are still more rare that the four weapon-types mentioned above.  I personally would like to see more variety but I'm not sure how you could make that happen without creating a situation like in DayZ where there's so many ammunition types that you rarely find the one you need...  do players using RHS see their options as limited too or do you think they have more variety with RHS enabled?

 

Again, thanks, love the work you all have done. 

[cosmic10r 2331]

Hey guys, really been enjoying both Ravage and Escape.  I'm playing solo on the dedicated server.  I've not beat either Altis or Tanoa maps because, since noticing the stamina issue I mention below, I've been playing it like a rogue-like game and if I die, I perma-die.   :)  Found a couple of issues I'd like to share, pardon if you already are aware of some of these:

 

1) When you abort and come back the character-saving-mechanism does not save your binoculars (Noticed on Altis, unknown on Tanoa).

2) When you start the game as a fresh spawn there is no stamina drain, if you die and respawn you now have to operate with/around the stamina system as it comes back. (Noticed on Tanoa, unknown on Altis)  Note:  If you abort and come back without dying you are still stamina-system free.

3) Some vehicles let you put items in the inventory, some don't.  I was able to put items in a fully-white-health offroad, but was not in a hull-orange-health SUV (Noticed on Altis, unknown on Tanoa)

4) Some dead bodies will not let you take items and put them in your own inventory, either by right clicking or by dragging, but if you put on the clothes-item then the stuck-items in it can then be moved around like normal. (Noticed on Tanoa, unknown on Altis)

 

You guys have done some great work!  Appreciate how smoothly these all run!

 

I've read a lot of weapon balancing posts in this thread... that's a hard thing to try to tweak to please everybody.  I would like to weigh in though, please note that I have not used the RHS mods in my mission yet.  In the hours I've played I usually end up with either a PDW, AK-variant, 5.56 variant, or the Mk200.  The reason is that these are the only guns that I can obtain and start to gain a decent collection of mags for... all the other guns don't really offer a path to increasing your bullet count.  The closest would be the MX-variants found on dead soldiers but their mags are still more rare that the four weapon-types mentioned above.  I personally would like to see more variety but I'm not sure how you could make that happen without creating a situation like in DayZ where there's so many ammunition types that you rarely find the one you need...  do players using RHS see their options as limited too or do you think they have more variety with RHS enabled?

 

Again, thanks, love the work you all have done. 

 

 

Appreciate the kind words. Great to see people enjoying it. Me, Tourist, and BB would have had a nice sessiona couple of days ago if I wasnt dicking around with the respawn and screwed the settings up lol

 

I will try to release the other 3 directions of escape tanoa when haleks drops 1.39. Some awesome updates, fixes and features included in Haleks latest update.

 

1)Ill check with Haleks on Character saves. Cant remember how it is working right  now.

2)Noted. I don't mind stamina as such but its a total pita when you are basically crossing a huge distance on foot.

3)that is a bit odd. I'm not sure about how the vehicle spawning works... but I don't think haleks does anything with that in ravage, possibly vehicle damage disables cargo? will look into it.

4)that is a known bug I believe and isnt ravage, we have it to do it too in missions and have to drop it on the ground and last test one of the guys couldnt pick the uniform up lol...

 

In relation to weapons, I made a few decisions for the loot module in the mission with deciding to go

rhs weapons only if RHS active,

Cup weapons and equip only if cup active

no warfare thai, altho i could likely change that to cloths only.

 

reasoning was iirc the RHS uniforms are a tad more performance intensive 

Cup covers a lot of civ stuff and weapon variation

i wanted to limit it to try to give the players some usable ammo, tbh tho we are pretty starved for the right ammo too and i think in the loot calculation it would help for a chance of the actual players current weapon ammo spawning via a check. 

in this way it might give you the last clip you really need but it wouldnt be a guaranteed thing.

 

just something I thought about, but all the input helps trying to balance it for the actual playing people do as opposed to me bouncing it around in my head lol

 

Cheers

[Noigel 3]

A percentage check on the crates would be a nice addition.

 

I also wonder if it would be possible to somehow keep an A.I.'s total number of magazines from depleting so low.  For instance, I'd love to use the 5.8 caliber weapons that some of the A.I carrry but when I loot them they only have one spare magazine and whatever was left in the gun... if I don't happen to kill two of these same A.I.s side by side I abandon that weapon.

 

I wrote a script a while back for players that adds a magazine back to the player's gear if the last round from their current weapon gets fired.  Most infinite ammo scripting I've seen has the player never having to reload... it's like they have an infinite capacity magazine... there's no realism to that.  Maybe it could be tweaked to keep a decent number of mags (say two or three total) on an A.I.?

 

Here it is:

 

player addEventHandler ["Fired", {
 
if (!InfiniteReloads) exitWith {};
 
_mag = _this select 5; 
_unit = _this select 0; 
 
if ({_x isEqualTo _mag} count magazines _unit < 1) then {
 
_unit addMagazines [_mag, 1]; 
 
}; 
}];

 

Be aware it also works for HEs and rockets (Yikes!).   :)

[The Angry Pacifist 0]

I've been playing ravage on LAN for a while now and decided to make it dedicated. We are trying to play the Escape Mission and cannot seem to run it properly. The server detects it, however when the mission is loaded it has no slots in the mission.

[cosmic10r 2331]

I really need to revisit and update this mission.

I haven't had much time lately but hopefully soon.

[FireWalker 329]

On 2/28/2017 at 9:01 PM, The Angry Pacifist said:

I've been playing ravage on LAN for a while now and decided to make it dedicated. We are trying to play the Escape Mission and cannot seem to run it properly. The server detects it, however when the mission is loaded it has no slots in the mission.

That actually sounds like the mod isn't loading. Start the server and let the game and mission fully load and then read through the newest rpt file and make sure everything is loading ok.

[flea_doctor 0]

hi, been playing on the tanoa map and all working great. is there any way new players can spawn in on others instead of starting on their own?