[ALiVE, SP/COOP 1-20] Operation Prophet [Insurgency]

[HeroesandvillainsOS 1504]

I got most mods from the workshop and the ones that I could not get from there I downloaded through armaholic (or the links in the main post).

The map loads in the editor and all, so it's not the map at least, and the only other mod would be ASR AI, but that should be fine, right?

I'd think so but I've only personally tried Pooter's Enhanced ASR AI.

Do any errors pop up on the screen at all when the mission starts?

And just so I'm understanding the problem correctly, the mission starts and then immediately you get greeted with a mission complete screen, right?

Do me a favor and just try removing any mod not on the list and see if the mission loads. If not, that would help me a bit in trying to narrow down your problem. For now, don't use Pooter's ASR either. Let's get the mission working first.

If you remove ASR AI and it still happens, can you post a screenshot for me of your mod list please?

Before updating the PBO last night, I actually downloaded my own mission from my Dropbox along with my links to @mas_compatibilites and @Burnes_Foxhound and everything loads just fine. Let me double check that Spyderblack updated his Workshop link too (I'm using the standalone download). I'm sure he did though.

EDIT: Spyder Addons is up-to-date on Workshop. It has to be ASR. At least I hope!

[laserhel50 12]

I tried it again with just the mod order, it did not work, after the map "lobby" screen it just gives the loading screen and when that is gone it's mission completed and I am back at the lobby.

 

Mod list:

Last two under that are the map and it's objects. The map itself works fine as I have tried to use it, also made a small ALiVE battle and it worked, I suppose the problem lies with one of the mods indeed, just not sure which..

[HeroesandvillainsOS 1504]

JSRS Dragonfyre maybe? Could you try removing it?

If need be, I can remove the trigger. That's no problem. I just put it in there to spare players from guessing if all the insurgents are dead or not.

However, this error has the added benefit of letting me (and players) know that ALiVE is not initializing properly. That's what's happening. The trigger is beating the enemy spawns which should not happen if things are loading properly. When ALiVE doesn't initialize properly, the numbers of BLUFOR and OPFOR can change drastically and that can kill the balance of the mission.

It has to either be an out-of-date mod or JSRS. I'll double check just to make sure the mission is playing for me but I've also been getting PM's that the mission is loading for other people so I think it's an old mod that needs to be replaced or Dragonfyre.

[laserhel50 12]

Removing JSRS made no difference unfortunately, it still did not work, but the .rpt seemed to show that ALiVE was initializing properly, but I can't be sure of that because it gave a bunch of errors which were either me closing the game or something else..

A quick fix (if even possible I haven't worked much with SQF) would be to add a timer to the check that handles the mission end and make it check only 5 minutes after the game has started and on from there, if there is more problems we could probably find then easier that way through testing/checking logs.

[HeroesandvillainsOS 1504]

What are the errors? Can you post the logs to pastebin and share the link back here? Or I'd at the very least like to see what startup errors you're seeing (if any), especially ones that pop up on screen when the mission starts.

I'll PM you a version without the trigger, but I won't be until tonight after I get out of work. I could always add a sleep to it too but for now I'll just remove it and send you a new link.

The mission is loading for me so I'm super confused. If I had a hunch, I'd say this is all caused by CUP Terrains being from Workshop. I had nothing and I mean nothing but problems with that mod and subscribing to it.

Sorry this has been such a chore. I feel bad the mission won't load for you.

You wouldn't be on dev branch by chance, would you?

[tomtrustworthy 15]

At work right now so I can't get this mission yet. But I would love to play it, I just would like to avoid trying to set it up for hours and it not work. 

 

So the download link from dropbox is the mission itself. I would need to search on steam or other areas for all the mods listed in the first post right? Does anybody have all the mods needed, packed up as a collection in the steam workshop? That would be wonderful if so. 

 

Ive been trying to make a mission like this, with terrorist type activities but im not really sure how. That and Im not sure if i close the game if my progress will be saved even. 

[ian-c 10]

I seem to be having he same problem, When i start the mission i get the Rashmaan Province loading screen with the Prophet loading panel but that's all i get till i hear some music and text being typed to screen which i assume is the mission end being shown, then i just get returned to the role selection screen. On the server console i see..

 

15:58:31 Dedicated host created.

15:58:42 Host identity created.

15:58:45 Game Port: 2302, Steam Query Port: 2303

17:14:16 Ian-C uses modified data file

17:14:16 Player Ian-C connecting.

17:14:16 Mission Prophet.Reshmaan read from bank.

17:14:21 Player Ian-C connected (id=XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX).

17:14:43 Roles assigned.

17:14:43 Reading mission ...

17:15:29 Mission read.

17:17:43 Game started.

17:18:12 Game finished.

17:18:15 Waiting for next game.

17:18:16 Mission Prophet.Reshmaan read from bank.

 

Which is the point i am returned to the Role selection screen.

 

Here is the server command line...

 

 -port=2302 "-config=C:\Games\ArmA3\ALiVEServer\TADST\ReshmaanProphet\TADST_config.cfg" "-cfg=C:\Games\ArmA3\ALiVEServer\TADST\ReshmaanProphet\TADST_basic.cfg" "-profiles=C:\Games\ArmA3\ALiVEServer\TADST\ReshmaanProphet" -name=ReshmaanProphet -filePatching "-mod=@CBA_A3;@ALiVE;@Spyder Addons;@3cb_baf_weapons;@3cb_baf_equipment;@3cb_baf_vehicles;@3cb_baf_units;@NATO_Rus_Weapons;@NATO_Rus_Vehicle;@MiddleEastWarfare_Vehicles_mas;@mas_compatibilities;@burnes_foxhound;@CUP Terrains - Core;@CUP Terrains - Maps;@Reshmaan Province;@mad_build;@AliveServer"

 

As you can probably guess I'm using TADST to launch the server.

 

The CUP Core and CUP Terrains is currently from the steam workshop but i'm currently downloading them from the CUP website and will try with them.

 

 

Any clues on how to get this working?

 

Regards

 

Ian

[HeroesandvillainsOS 1504]

Hi Tomtrustworthy. If you're name is any indication, you're the kind of guy I could lend money to and expect to get it back without even having to ask you for it. I like that. :)

So it seems that you may be new to modding. Generally speaking, mods need to be downloaded individually. In this (and most) instances, a collection wouldn't really be useful because a lot of mods are not hosted on Steam Workshop.

Firstly, these are the sources which I'd recommend you getting the mods from:

CBA (subscribe on Steam Workshop)

ALiVE: http://alivemod.com/#Download

Spyder Addons: https://www.dropbox.com/s/prmlimscomgxpza/Spyder_Addons_Latest.zip?dl=0

3CB Weapons: http://www.armaholic.com/page.php?id=28645

3CB Equipment: http://www.armaholic.com/page.php?id=29033

3CB Vehicles: http://www.armaholic.com/page.php?id=27203

3CB Units: http://www.armaholic.com/page.php?id=27201

Burnes Foxhound: See first page

Massi NATO Russian Weapons (subscribe on Workshop)

Massi NATO Russian Vehicles (subscribe on Workshop)

***Massi Middle East Warfare Vehicles version: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B_6GnxXzbNVubWtRVkFNcXZZQ2M/view

Massi Compatibility Patch: See first page

CUP Terrains Complete: http://cup-arma3.org/download

Reshmaan Mad Build: http://www.armaholic.com/page.php?id=17250

Reshmaan Province: http://www.armaholic.com/page.php?id=17246

***For the Massi Middle East Warfare download, inside the file is a folder called "Optional". Open it up and copy the contents inside it. Paste it into the folder in the Middle East Warfare file called "Addons".

Now, open the spoiler:

For every mod not subscribed to on Workshop, after you download it, open the downloads folder on your PC. What I do then is drag the zip file onto my desktop. Make sure you have a program that can un-zip files such as 7-zip.

Right click on the zip-file, hover over 7-zip in the menu, then click "extract here." This will extract the mod to your desktop. In most cases you should now see an @modfolder. If not, open the un-zipped mod folder and find the @modfolder. Drag this into your Arma 3 root directory (by default this is under program files (x86)\steam\steamapps\common\arma 3

Put the @modfolder in the Arma 3 folder. This is the same place as your arma3.exe

When you launch the game after you have all the mods installed, you'll want to load the needed mods and place them in the order I have on the front page. For any mod that is not on workshop, you can find these in the "+local mod" area of the A3 launcher. When you're done, name and save your profile within the launcher so you don't need to organize the mod list again every time you want to play the mission.

For the mission itself, I have it packed as a .pbo file. Make sure to place Prophet.Reshmaan.pbo in your Arma directory (the same place as above). Place it inside the folder called MP Missions.

Start the mission in Multiplayer. Under LAN. Although you can play alone and recruit AI, it is not recommended you try to play in SP.

Saving and loading this mission does not work in a traditional SP sense. ALiVE stores too much data for a SP mission to properly load when you want to resume it. What I personally recommend is for you to try it in LAN first (which I explain in the spoiler) and if so, we can go over how to save/load your mission with an easy to use dedicated server. :) I'm a moron and have things working nicely. If I can do it, Tomtrustworthy can do it too. :)

[HeroesandvillainsOS 1504]

Man. I'm really surprised lots of you are having the same issue. From what I'm seeing:

Available roles are selectable in the lobby. This is good because it means all the necessary data and mods are being loaded. Also good is the mission is starting.

What's not good is that this trigger is firing on mission start which means some kind of error is occurring on startup. I'm going to just go ahead and replace the mission link on the front page to one without this trigger until I can figure out what's going on. ETA 10 PM EST.

The only other thing I can think of besides CUP Terrains from Workshop being the issue is the link to the Burnes Foxhound in the first post.

Ian, could you try this one? It's from my own personal Dropbox account: https://www.dropbox.com/s/m1mb6145l4s5xle/%40burnes_foxhound.zip?dl=0

[HeroesandvillainsOS 1504]

You know what? Another thing I think all of you are using that have had this problem is the Workshop version of Middle East Warfare. I use the google drive link I posted two posts above and just copy the "Optional" files and place them in the "Addons" folder; essentially making my own "vehicles" version of the mod. I wonder if that's it?

I'll try subscribing to the Workshop version later and see if I have the same issue.

EDIT: Check that. Dakorath uses the WS version of Middle East Warfare so that probably isn't it. He's playing the mission just fine. *sigh*

Man I'm really sorry guys. Some of you seem to be able to play, while others can't play at all. It has to be a simple explanation.

[tomtrustworthy 15]

Thanks for the detailed long post I will read it again later tonight after the kids are in bed and I have time to download and setup all that. 

 

I want to play arma so bad but its always been "play the exile mod online" or "make a mission with alive but most of it doesnt work as i want and spawning sucks, i have no back up in game and nothing is saved" 

 

So i hope i can have another option with your mission.

[HeroesandvillainsOS 1504]

I've added a disclaimer to the first post that Prophet currently only supports release candidate 1.60 and will not work on dev branch. I will support Apex/Tanoa once they officially get released on July 11th and all of the mods the mission uses get updated accordingly.

[HeroesandvillainsOS 1504]

The mission has been updated on the front page with the removal of the mission complete trigger.

Note to players new to ALiVE: Startup errors can and will break ALiVE missions. It is recommended you only use the mods listed in the first post and that you always play on the stable RC branch. Dev branch is not supported and will also break the mission.

EDIT: Thanks Dakorath for the bug report! I also just fixed an issue with the Arsenal not working at all the bases and outposts. I appreciate the heads up. :)

[tomtrustworthy 15]

I downloaded all the mods and extracted and loaded them up. I had about 2 minutes to check if it worked this morning before leaving for work. It seemed to load just fine. I saw my base and troops going out on patrol. 

 

So now I am mostly wondering how saving and loading this game up will go. I saw when I exited I could save and exit as well. But i wouldnt know how to load anything. 

 

That and I know this type of game is different where you need to question people and stuff. I need to know how that even works.

[HeroesandvillainsOS 1504]

I downloaded all the mods and extracted and loaded them up. I had about 2 minutes to check if it worked this morning before leaving for work. It seemed to load just fine. I saw my base and troops going out on patrol.

So now I am mostly wondering how saving and loading this game up will go. I saw when I exited I could save and exit as well. But i wouldnt know how to load anything.

That and I know this type of game is different where you need to question people and stuff. I need to know how that even works.

I'm glad it's loading. That's a relief honestly considering some people had problems. I think they must be using Dev branch. Below I'll leave you two spoilers; one for how to play and the other about what you'd need to do if you want to save and load (and why the latter is worth the setup).

Aside from this, I have a brief "How to Play" in the briefing area (the map screen) and also a link to the ALiVE wiki for what an Insurgency is on the front page. Definitely read those if you have time. Anyway, see the spoilers below for more:

An ALiVE Insurgency is a full map battle designed to replicate the modern COIN (Counter Insurgency) warfare going on around the world; especially what we're seeing in the Middle East and double especially from the American and Britsh occupation of Afghanistan. Here's an excellent documentary on the matter: https://m.youtube.com/results?q=royal%20marines%20mission%20afghanistan&sm=1 If the link doesn't work open You Tube and type in Royal Marines Mission Afghanistan. Even if you don't play or like the mission I made it's a fascinating documentary on the modern war on terror.

Anyway, obviously with Arma being a video game, things are a little more "bang bang" but the principals are pretty much the same. You play as a member of the British Royal Marines. The Taliban have a foothold on the province. Your job is to eliminate the threat and keep the civilian populace happy.

Here's how to play: Recruit some AI and gear up. Pay close attention to the markers I put on the map because all of the tools you'll need to succeed in the mission are clearly labeled. There's an Arsenal for you to gear up. There's a map board for you to recruit AI. There's a transport helicopter to take you around and ample vehicles for you ride in too. There's also a little area you can drive in to automatically rearm and repair your vehicles. It's all marked on the map.

Your task is to destroy the Taliban forces and resources and to keep the civilians happy. To keep peace with the locals, you need to maintain a presence in the area. So pick a place on the map and start your patrol. The insurgency in the early stages will just be getting started so you'll want to go to any village and start talking to civs. Walk up to any civ and use your mousewheel options. You can search them (more on that later), arrest them (this causes them to join your group. More on arresting later); speak to them if they have a certain status within their village (sometimes you'll see 'talk to town elder' or what not) and most importantly, if the option is there, you can "gather Intel."

When you see "gather Intel", which is usually at the very bottom of the mousewheel options so make sure to scroll down, your map will light up with important information. It's designed to disappear quickly to mark the map icons as quickly as you can.

Recruitment HQ's, Weapons Depots, Installations and IED Depots are what the Taliban will use to put a stranglehold on the province and what they'll also use to arm the civilians with. We don't want that. So go to these locations, find the weapons tables or IED tables and blow the buildings up with charges. Clear the area Taliban and if you find the area important enough, use the ALiVE Commander Tabet and call in reinforcements to garrison the town. This will deter the Taliban from taking the area back.

Note: This all happens in real time so it's equally as possible to discover these installations just by patrolling and searching villages and towns.

Also, Taliban fighters can drop Intel items after they are killed so keep an eye out for documents on the ground.

As the insurgency grows and the Taliban have established their basic areas of operations, they will begin recruiting new forces to keep their strength up. The very civs you are trying to save can and will be turned dark side and will join the enemy ranks. So let's say you have a tip on a weapons depot and decide to do a little recon on the area before choosing your course of attack. Civilians will actually walk into these buildings and arm themselves. Or they'll strap some explosives to their body with the intent of running towards you and suicide bombing themselves. So survey the area and plan your next move accordingly. Maybe you'll decide you and your squad can handle it. Or maybe it's so overrun you'll can in friendly forces or CAS support. What you do is up to you. This is the freedom ALiVE gives you.

Taliban fighters will try to blend in with the locals. If you sense Taliban are or were nearby, make sure to search the civilians. If they have any explosives or weapons on them, either arrest them (and put them in the prison on the main base if you want) or kill them.

As the insurgency deepens, the battlefield becomes a lot more dangerous. Vehicle born IED attacks become a real threat and insurgent fighters will begin lining the roads they have control of with IED's. If you spot any IED's you need to destroy or disarm them. This will have a positive effect on the civilian's opinion of you and will in turn make it less likely they'll be recruited to kill you.

I'm not the best at describing things in great length so I hope this isn't too confusing. Trust me when I say a well made insuegency mission is the most breath-taking I've ever done in a video game. :) I think the best thing for you to do right now would be to head on over to the ALiVE wiki and learn how to use the Commander Tablet (you need a laser designator in your inventory to access it). This tool is your best friend and will allow you to call in CAS support, transport choppers, and even things like calling in reinforcements or even requesting mission if you feel like something a little more structured for the night. It's invaluable to your success so let me know if I can make things more clear for you.

Saving and loading your mission works a little different with ALiVE. Due to the amount of data being stored, traditional SP saving and loading is not recommended. This is why Prophet needs to be run in LAN or on a dedicated server.

The "server save and exit" option you see is how you would save your progress though you'd need a dedicated server and an ALiVE War Room account to use it. Trust me, it's super easy to set up though! I'm a right moron and had no troubles at all! :) In the second post on the first page I link to a guide to help you get one set up.

Here's what I'd personally recommend. Try the mission in LAN first. If you like it, I'll help you get that server up and running. As you can see in my above spoiler, the mission blossoms and gets better and better over time so it's a real treat to continue where you left off. The guide for getting a server going is pretty straight forward but I'm definitely here to answer any questions you might have.

[tomtrustworthy 15]

Awesome info, thanks for the post. 

 

The server setup so i can save, is that like hosting stuff on a server or is it more like me running a server instance and it then is able to save? Id rather not have to pay monthly to play this mission on my own haha. 

 

I'll have to look at the wiki for that commander tablet thing... thats the thing im most worried about at this point. I know ive tried to use it before but couldnt figure out the key to bring it up or something. 

 

When I have tried this in the past I know one issue i had was that my mission wasnt great. So if i died i spawned miles away and all alone. So going back out to the fight would take a whle and I was always alone. So if your mission here has a few spawn points and a way to bring npcs with me that will be great. Kinda worried about how i will gear them up with what i need but ill see how it works. Do I call in npcs to join me with the commander tablet too? 

[HeroesandvillainsOS 1504]

Awesome info, thanks for the post.

The server setup so i can save, is that like hosting stuff on a server or is it more like me running a server instance and it then is able to save? Id rather not have to pay monthly to play this mission on my own haha.

Oh no no. It's totally free to host your own dedicated server from your PC. :) I use the community made TADST tool. It's very easy to set up and I can walk you through it. Let's see if you like the mission first.

I'll have to look at the wiki for that commander tablet thing... thats the thing im most worried about at this point. I know ive tried to use it before but couldnt figure out the key to bring it up or something.

I can imagine this may be a little overwhelming for you, so let me teach you how to use the commander tablet. This should give you some confidence so you can enjoy the mission rather than learn how to play the mission. Note: I'm not at home so some of my phrasing might be off but it will still get the point across.

The Commander Tablet should open by default using the app key. You need a laser designator in your inventory to access the tablet (I give you one by default). When you open the tablet, you see a list of options. The most important will be "Commander Actions" so let's start there.

Under Commander Actions you see a list of options. The key features being:

Personnel This menu allows you to see what players or AI are in your group. Here you can click on the player and dismiss them from your group if you want (I sometimes do this when I have a group of 8 AI but decide to go out on recon and only need a smaller group).

Operations This is a list of all of your friendly forces fighting around the map. In the left panel you'll see a list of groups. In the right side on the map display, these groups are symbolized by blue marks. If you click on the group in either the left menu or right map display, you can do a few cool things. Options being to change their waypoints (for instance, you could do this if you wanted to have a group or groups go to a certain village and help you fight). You can also choose to spectate the group (you literally watch them fight) or you can even join up with them (doing so will teleport you to their location. Very cool for when you're low on time and want to be able get in on the action)!

Logistics This menu allows you to call reinforcements or equipment that can either get paradropped to you or driven to you. Need some backup? Go through the menu options on the left hand panel. Ask for some solders or even a full squad! Click on the map exactly where you want them to arrive. Confirm your selection and watch the awesomeness unfold!

Tasks Feel like a more structured mission? This menu allows you to ask your commander for a task. So if you wanted to kill an HVT you can ask for the mission here! I don't use this too too much but it can be fun when you're short on time.

Combat Support This is easily the single most important menu. This menu allows you to call in a transport chopper or a CAS chopper to help you in battle. To use, select the kind of chopper you want. Let's say you want transport. Click on the chopper in the left panel, click "Land" in the same panel, then click on the location you want the chopper to land and viola! A transport chopper is on the way! This is great for when you need a quick evac or need to gear up back at base. For CAS support, follow the same steps as you do with transport. Except this time, I like to use the SAD (Search and Destroy) option. Click the area on the map and confirm and watch as your CAS team rains hell down on the Taliban! Good times. I limit the amount of spawns to 6 so be careful when you call it. Once the CAS chopper gets destroyed 6 times, that's it. No more CAS.

Intel This menu gives you a snapshot of the kind of progress your friendly groups are making, what cities you've captured, etc

It's really not as hard as I'm making it sound. Trust me. It's very intuitive and simple to use. :)

One last thing on helicopter transport. On the base you'll find a transport helicopter. Once you board it, use your mousewheel options and select "talk to pilot." From there it functions the same way as I described above (click on land, click on an area in the map, confirm it, and get ready to rock and roll baby! You're going for a ride!). Want to send it back to base and out of harm's way? Open the tablet again, click on Commander Actions, click on Combat Support, click on the Transport chopper and then click on "order return to base." The same principal applies to the CAS chopper too.

Also, in the main menu of the Commander Tablet, you'll see an option called "Admin Actions." This can be nifty because it lets you turn teleporting on (just Incase you really really need to get somewhere fast before you're done for the night or something. There's also an option to teleport individual units, useful for a situation where one of your friendly AI gets stuck in a house (you know, when Arma is being Arma :) ).

When I have tried this in the past I know one issue i had was that my mission wasnt great. So if i died i spawned miles away and all alone. So going back out to the fight would take a whle and I was always alone. So if your mission here has a few spawn points and a way to bring npcs with me that will be great. Kinda worried about how i will gear them up with what i need but ill see how it works. Do I call in npcs to join me with the commander tablet too?

Currently I have the mission set up with 4 respawn points. When you die, you'll have a choice of 1 main base and 3 outposts to spawn at. All places have an Arsenal for you to gear up, vehicles for you to ride, and a place to recruit AI.

Speaking of friendly AI. They way I currently have it set up is that you'll start the mission alone. All of the bases you can spawn at have a place for you to recruit AI to your team. Look at the map closely because I have markers clearly stating where these locations are. On the main base it's a on-screen option that pops up when looking at the map next to the Arsenal box. At some of the smaller outposts, it's usually a flag or a different ammo box.

Regarding what happens when you die, for now, the AI in your team will not teleport with you. They will be where they were. If you want to join back up with them take a car or a chopper. Or "cheat" and teleport. Or just dismiss them from the "Personnel" menu and recruit a new team. It's totally up to you so do what you feel is fun.

Once BIS officially implements Revive I'll add it to the mission. But for now it's Respawn based until Revive is supported and it works with AI teammates.

As far as gearing up the AI, they'll spawn with sensible gear. If you're not happy with it you can transfer loadouts to the AI from the Arsenal at the main base. For you gear up however you'd like, the only thing I'd personally recommend is some explosives.

[dakorath 13]

Operations This is a list of all of your friendly forces fighting around the map. In the left panel you'll see a list of groups. In the right side on the map display, these groups are symbolized by blue marks. If you click on the group in either the left menu or right map display, you can do a few cool things. Options being to change their waypoints (for instance, you could do this if you wanted to have a group or groups go to a certain village and help you fight). You can also choose to spectate the group (you literally watch them fight) or you can even join up with them (doing so will teleport you to their location. Very cool for when you're low on time and want to be able get in on the action)!

 

 

I haven't had much luck with this, mainly the Join Group feature... 

 

If I click the button, sometimes it teleports me to the right position for a minute, then teleports me back to base.  Sometimes it says "Joining Group Echo 2-1" but that usually means I get stuck with a headbug and am forced to disconnect to fix it...

 

Joining the squad through the Personnel menu works okay, but it won't let me take control of the group for longer than 30 seconds before 'demoting' me back to last place haha.  Maybe the soldiers don't appreciate a strange Private showing up and usurping command  :)

 

These may not be tied to this mission, however.  Could be just an ALIVE bug on my end that happens on any map.

[HeroesandvillainsOS 1504]

I honestly haven't used those features too too much recently but they definitely used to work. But I agree. If there's an issue with these features, it would be ALiVE itself and not the mission. I'll take note and report them to the ALiVE Devs as I see them.

I usually enjoy insurgencies the most when I'm leading my own squad, going on patrol, exploring the map, trying to keep the locals safe. When I'm short on time I tend to do recon and marking enemy positions (alt+ctrl+left click on the map) or the occasional HVT/destroy vehicle/kill enemy patrol task from the tablet.

[spyderblack723 407]

I haven't had much luck with this, mainly the Join Group feature... 

 

If I click the button, sometimes it teleports me to the right position for a minute, then teleports me back to base.  Sometimes it says "Joining Group Echo 2-1" but that usually means I get stuck with a headbug and am forced to disconnect to fix it...

 

Joining the squad through the Personnel menu works okay, but it won't let me take control of the group for longer than 30 seconds before 'demoting' me back to last place haha.  Maybe the soldiers don't appreciate a strange Private showing up and usurping command  :)

 

These may not be tied to this mission, however.  Could be just an ALIVE bug on my end that happens on any map.

 

In A3, when you spawn a a large amount of units or vehicles in a short period of time it can cause the game to stutter. In order to solve this issue ALiVE introduced a slow-spawn method that slows down the spawning of profiles in order to eliminate stuttering. Unfortunately, the slow spawn method sometimes breaks the join group feature if the group doesn't spawn fast enough. There are two ways to fix this on our end, one is very hacky and not optimal and the other introduces a potential issue where ALiVE-induced loading screens might never end if coded improperly. It also seems to not work properly when you select a vehicle group to join, I have not been able to solve this part..

 

So my apologies with that feature being kinda broken  :)

[dakorath 13]

Still having a blast with your mission!

 

Set a goal of pushing into a larger town via one of the smaller FOBs in the east.  Packed up a reinforced squad into two vehicles (one Jackal, one MRAP) and cautiously drove on.  Made it through several small hamlets without incident, spreading goodwill the entire way no doubt, until I reached the target village.  Set up some observation, but didn't see much movement other than civilians, so I decided to drive on in.

 

Of course, that meant driving right into a roadblock and small ambush set in the middle of town (hidden from my observation point!)

 

Thankfully, it was night, and I figure that's what gave my guys the advantage they needed to open up on the enemy's HMGs before they could do much damage to my Jackal.  After dismounting most of the squad, leaving a couple on overwatch with the big guns, I cautiously searched the buildings around the roadblock.  After a panicked exchange of fire at point-blank range with a surprised Taliban sniper, we discovered a small IED bomb-making factory!  Two sticks of explosive charge later, and the IED building was no more! 

 

I requested some reinforcements to garrison the town, and packed up my own squad to RTB.  Just as the helicopters touched down, a hail of gunfire from the trees outside of town peppered the helos.  Apparently the enemy mustered some reinforcements as well!

 

Unfortunately for them, the NVG advantage paid off again, and the fresh squad of troops were more than happy to return fire, driving off the enemy forces.  I finished my session by ordering the new unit to move to the liberated town, while my guys headed back to the FOB to refit.  Not a bad night!

 

One question I had, isn't there a way to order reinforcements to garrison an objective?  I didn't see an option when calling them in, so I simply used the Operations menu to set their waypoint on the town.  But that probably won't stop the OPCOM from moving them out later, right?

[tomtrustworthy 15]

I got to play for a bit yesterday and right out of the base I started in I found town, i questioned some people which helped show me some building to search. 

 

I found a building with IED supplied and one with guns all over the place. The way to 'take care of these' would always be to just blow them up right? I did end up blowing up the IED place as it had charges for me to use in the building anyways. 

 

Then later I found a house with a radio and lots of 'intel', I think 3 to 5 intel items were found. What does this actually do for me? it showed that i got it on the map but I didnt see it change anything on the map. 

 

Say I go into this small town, ask around and get rid of anything they claim is a problem. How do i then try to keep the town Green? Do I just reroute patrols in the area to stay in town or is there a better or more formal way to say "occupy this town" and troops show up to chill inside. 

[HeroesandvillainsOS 1504]

Still having a blast with your mission!

 

Set a goal of pushing into a larger town via one of the smaller FOBs in the east.  Packed up a reinforced squad into two vehicles (one Jackal, one MRAP) and cautiously drove on.  Made it through several small hamlets without incident, spreading goodwill the entire way no doubt, until I reached the target village.  Set up some observation, but didn't see much movement other than civilians, so I decided to drive on in.

 

Of course, that meant driving right into a roadblock and small ambush set in the middle of town (hidden from my observation point!)

Haha! That's awesome. You can thank Davidoss for the custom roadblocks. That's one of the things the compatibility patch does! Make the already great ALiVE roadblocks even more bad-ass!

 

Thankfully, it was night, and I figure that's what gave my guys the advantage they needed to open up on the enemy's HMGs before they could do much damage to my Jackal.  After dismounting most of the squad, leaving a couple on overwatch with the big guns, I cautiously searched the buildings around the roadblock.  After a panicked exchange of fire at point-blank range with a surprised Taliban sniper, we discovered a small IED bomb-making factory!  Two sticks of explosive charge later, and the IED building was no more!

I'm actually glad you brought up nighttime. BIS adjusted AI night detection values with 1.60. Obviously, since you have night vision and these primitive Taliban do not, this definitely puts you at a major advantage when the cover of darkness is on your side. This is more of a game question rather than a mission question: In your opinion could they see you ok enough? Was nighttime too easy or is it still ok since they spawn in larger numbers?

I definitely like the balance better now versus how it used to be, which was pretty much AI-360-degree-1000-meter-snipe-shots. What's your take on this?

 

One question I had, isn't there a way to order reinforcements to garrison an objective?  I didn't see an option when calling them in, so I simply used the Operations menu to set their waypoint on the town.  But that probably won't stop the OPCOM from moving them out later, right?

The Operations menu is definitely a decent work around for garrisoning an objective. It does the trick. However, I think the formal way would be to use the logistics sub-menu and request some troops to come in. In the left panel at the bottom is an option you can click before setting their waypoint. Pretty sure it says "Reinforce."

Man I love your stories! See this is why IMO there is not better game mode than an ALiVE insuegency. I have a million stories too - tall tales of victory and the bitter pill of defeat. Thanks for sharing. :)

[HeroesandvillainsOS 1504]

I got to play for a bit yesterday and right out of the base I started in I found town, i questioned some people which helped show me some building to search. 

 

I found a building with IED supplied and one with guns all over the place. The way to 'take care of these' would always be to just blow them up right? I did end up blowing up the IED place as it had charges for me to use in the building anyways.

Yes this is exactly right. If you see anything suspicious such as IED tables or weapons caches, blow the building up. Just take care not to blow it up with civilians inside it. If they refuse to be evicted from their home, "arrest them" so they temporarily join your group and make them wait outside. Search their inventory just to be sure they're not armed and let them go when you're done. Or not. There's a big enough prison on the main base they could call their new home. :)

 

Then later I found a house with a radio and lots of 'intel', I think 3 to 5 intel items were found. What does this actually do for me? it showed that i got it on the map but I didnt see it change anything on the map.

Are these Intel items documents that have fallen off the bodies of dead Taliban? I don't want to spoil too much (updates will have further surprises), but I have decorated some areas around the map to make things feel a little bit more like a real enemy "compound." That said, I intentionally try to not use anything that could mislead the player into thinking they'd need to do something they actually aren't required to do.

I'm trying to figure out a way to explain things without showing my hand too much. It really would spoil what I have in mind for my next update. For now, let's just say the only "intel" you need to worry about are from dead Taliban bodies and what you get from questioning civs.

The rest of the documents you might see littered around are just decoration. But just for now (I think I spoiled the surprise :( ).

 

Say I go into this small town, ask around and get rid of anything they claim is a problem. How do i then try to keep the town Green? Do I just reroute patrols in the area to stay in town or is there a better or more formal way to say "occupy this town" and troops show up to chill inside.

Two quick things I should have explained. Reinforcing and area the way you tried to do it works perfectly fine. Another more formal way is to use the logistics sub-menu in the commander tablet. Ask for a unit to get heli-dropped or driven to your location, and set them to "reinforce," which is an option on the left-side of the menu; the same side where you choose their insertion method.

The red squares are essentially just a tool for you to use when clearing towns. Turning them to green means you've cleared the area. Keep in mind, areas you turn green do not persist between saving/loading and even something that's turned green can get overrun by enemies again.

Look at is more as a tool where enemies "could be," rather than where enemies are or are not.

[tomtrustworthy 15]

Thanks for the reply, the intel wasnt off bodies as I never shot even once. I just went into a building. Heard this radio that was pretty loud and found intel all over the inside of the house. I picked it up and it brough up my map showing i got intel but it didn't seem to do anything. It just was confusing so I ignored it.