OPEX

[Gemini 359]

Hi guys,

 

Thank you for your feedbacks, be assured I appreciate a lot ! I will always try to answer as precisely as possible, do not hesitate to ask again if I forget to answer something.

 

Enemy spawn problem (spotter001): please be assure that you hare using the Release Candidate version of Project OPFOR (see the link in the first page of this thread) - the "public" version currently available on Steam workwhop or eleswhere is not compatible for the moment.

 

Project OPFOR (HeroesandvillainsOS): yes, I'm aware it could be updated with different units and classnames... But I tried to centralize all customed classnames into one file, so it shouldn't be so complicated to replace them if necessary.

 

Saving game in SP (HeroesandvillainsOS): despite I haven't tested it into a long session, yes it should work.

 

Disappearing AI (HeroesandvillainsOS): OK, I think it's because the cleaning system has been built to delete AI units that are far from player(s) to save CPU, so I will check it out.

 

Red dots appearing on map (HeroesandvillainsOS): Well, if you are talking about red dots markers, you shouldn't be able to see that... They should only appear when debug mod is on, which is not the case on public releases. I will check it out too. Unless you are speaking about units markers that are appearing when the "Extended map" (I'm not sure about the real name in english) feature is enable into the game difficulty settings ?

 

Task "03" - Secure village (HeroesandvillainsOS): to complete this task, you have fore sure to neutralize every enemy into the area but also to check every building (means that you need to physically enter into each building). I suggest to add a cross marker on every building you have cleaned. This task could be more or less tedious (it depends on the village size) but OPEX has been built to be as much realistic as possible (for better and for worse).

 

ACE mod (scimitar): I suppose it will be an endless problem: some people like this mod, some others don't... If most of you don't like it, I will think about removing it totally.

 

ACE fatigue (scimitar & HeroesandvillainsOS): no problem, I'll disable this feature in the next update.

 

ACEX (scimitar): this mod shouldn't be required at all since the last update, could you confirm you are using the last version of OPEX (1.01). HeroesandvillainsOS is also confirming that he hasn't this problem with the last update.

 

[scimitar 221]

Gemini, the ACEX requirement was just my experience using the previous version of the mission. I still haven't played the OPEX 1.01 version yet but I believe you when you say that ACEX is no longer required. Also, I'm glad to hear that you will be disabling ACE fatigue but I would suggest that you make ACE optional but still make the mission compatible with it. If the mission could be played with or without ACE, then people that like ACE could play using the whole mod or just with the features/modules that they like and those that don't like ACE, could forgo it completely.

[Gemini 359]

OK you convinced me, I think you are right. I will see what I can do to make ACE optional..

 

Edit: ok, I can confirm ACE will not be necessary anymore after the next update.

[HeroesandvillainsOS 1504]

Sorry for the confusion. Yes I was talking about the extended map markers from enemy sightings by my friendly AI. Let me elaborate.

 

I selected the secure the village task. I had a recruited AI pilot fly us there and land within viewing distance of the objective radius. When we dismounted, the chopper immediately took fire and became surrounded by enemies (again, which was outside of the mission area, but very close to it). So I'm wondering if I somehow broke the task by coaxing the enemy AI outside of the task radius?

 

The village did seem clear. I went inside every building. Or at least I think. I'll try it again and be extra careful to clear everything (FATA can be tricky. Lots of little alley ways and stuff so it's possible I missed a building).

[Gemini 359]

I already fixed the problem of disappearing AI teammates. It will be included into the next update.

 

But it has no link with the task that can't be succeeded, I'll check it out too.

[scimitar 221]

Gemini, thanks for the update. I'm looking forward to the next version. I did try the 1.01 version for a few hours last night and even with my frustration with certain ACE features, I still found it very enjoyable. I tried the "patrol into enemy territory" mission and got my ass kicked by the AI. I took a full squad, including a helicopter pilot to fly us in. We spotted lots of enemies on the way in and were hit almost immediately when we landed. I had the pilot take off with two door gunner to fly around the area and hopefully thin out some of the resistance. We made good progress towards the first objective but I was never able to clear it because we kept getting hit from behind. Eventually I called the chopper back in for an extraction and we headed back to base so that I could rethink my plan. I think I'm going to have to forgo the chopper and take some armed vehicles for the next try. Very impressive! I haven't played it extensively enough to get familiar with all of the features but I'm thinking that some type of limited support, such as artillery or mortars should be available (without unlocking) based on the number of enemies encountered in the field. Perhaps a request could be radioed in and then HQ could decide whether to provide support or not based on the situation on the ground.

[HeroesandvillainsOS 1504]

Or, it could be AI controlled CAS support as well, similar to how ALiVE has it. Might be neat to be able to earn points to unlock that. 

 

Something to consider anyway. Good suggestions Scimitar.

[Gemini 359]

Hey,

 

I'm verry happy you enjoyed what you have seen so far. 

 

OK, I hear what you are saying about support, be assured I'm taking all your feedbacks into consideration.

 

From a more general point of view, keep in mind that at the opposite of most of missions similar to OPEX, the amount of enemies is not based on players amount. I really tried to make it as unpredictible as possible, to make it as realistic as possible. So, sometimes you won't encounter anybody or sometimes you may be totally surrounded. And as in real life, moving by the air into hostile territory could be very risky. So like you said, moving by road could sometimes be the best option (or not... do not forget about possible IEDs and ambushes !). It could be longer and more boring... But remember the ArmA III slogan: this is war ! 

 

Anyway, I'm already working on the next update. Stay tuned !

 

 

[HeroesandvillainsOS 1504]

Keep up the good work, Gemini. I look forward to the update. :)

[Gemini 359]

Hey guys,

 

I worked hard these last days, I tried to consider all your previous feedbacks. Here is the 1.02 update for OPEX !

 

Changelog:

• Fixed: AI teammates shouldn't be deleted anymore when left behind
• Removed: dependency to ACE mod (and so, every linked features)
• Added: code34's dynamical & MP compatible weather script (to replace equivalent ACE feature)
• Added: vanilla revive module (to replace equivalent ACE feature)
• Added: vanilla commands to save gear when player respawn (to replace equivalent ACE feature)
• Added: Viperidae's Little Immersion Tweaks scripts (to replace equivalent ACE features)
• Added: new Gemini's items (to replace equivalent ACE ones) - please be sure you have downloaded and installed the latest version of Gemini's items addon (2016-12-15)
• Added: new music tracks in vehicles
• Added: ambiance music when starting a new task
• Added: support is now also available from the start (radio code 0-0-1) but only on extreme cases, if too many enemies are nearby players
• Updated: task "03: Secure the village" should now be easier to succeed
• Updated: replaced obsolete BIS_fnc_MP command by remoteExec in every scripts

 

Next steps: if no bugs are reported, I will work on adding new tasks and converting OPEX to some other maps for more variety.

 

As always, feel free to try and to comment !

[scimitar 221]

I don't know when I will get a chance to try this new version but hopefully it will be tonight or some time over the next few days. In the meantime I just want to say "Thanks, Gemini". You are doing some really awesome work here.

[HeroesandvillainsOS 1504]

Agreed. I'm excited for this. :)

 

So sorry for the stupid question, but what does revive mean for SP'ers? Will we still be able to use the vanilla method of healing ourselves with medkits and FAK's? I'm assuming revive is ignored unless in MP but figured I'd ask.

 

So assuming there are no bugs, although Takistan would seem like a great and obvious choice, my all-time favorite map is Sangin for A2. I could patrol that map forever and ever. :) Now, FPS does kind of suck on it in places, but if you could make it work that would be sweet.

 

I love Kunduz a lot too, but you might want to wait to see if the scope zoom lag gets fixed when 64-bit comes out (for that matter, Sangin might perform better on 64-bit too).

 

I also love Clafghan a lot as well. Reshmaan is amazing too but it's enormous. 

 

Anyway, thanks for the update. I'm looking forward to playing!

[Gemini 359]

Fore sure in SP there is no revive or respawn, you'll have to reload your game from a previous save if you are killed (or you could also host a MP game on your computer and play alone if you want to use those systems).

 

For the healing system, as ACE has been removed, it is indeed back to the vanilla system.

 

Yes, I know all these maps you are talking about, they are in my favorite list too.  I'm also planning versions on African maps, to introduce the conflict against Boko Haram.

[HeroesandvillainsOS 1504]

Yeah! African ops against Boko Haram would be sweet. I like N'Ziwasogo a lot and I hear Isla Duala is cool as well.

[Gemini 359]

Sorry guys, I forgot to delete some debug markers before releasing the last update. I have re-upload the file a few minutes ago (same name, same version) so if you have already download it before reading this message, please download it again.

[spotter001 82]

Interesting so far, nice work. One question, can i turn the time to normal speed? 

[HeroesandvillainsOS 1504]

16 minutes ago, spotter001 said:

Interesting so far, nice work. One question, can i turn the time to normal speed? 

I have a feeling it's made this way on purpose, otherwise you'd probably never or hardly ever use the eat/sleep/drink system. 

[spotter001 82]

1 hour ago, HeroesandvillainsOS said:

I have a feeling it's made this way on purpose, otherwise you'd probably never or hardly ever use the eat/sleep/drink system. 

That makes sense. Still, it's a bit unusually how lighting rapidly changes during a mission. Just hoped there's an option to tweak it.

[Gemini 359]

Yes, you can modify this parameter by editing the mission. Go into the "initServer.sqf" file and search for the "setTimeMultiplier" command which is "8" by default (this means 24 hours in game is equal to 3 hours in real time). To turn the time to normal speed, simply set it to "1". But, as HeroesandvillainsOS said, this has directly influence on the primary needs module so just keep it in mind. Also, the general idea was to bring more time variety to the situations to avoid playing only by day or by night.

 

Anyway, maybe I should adjust this parameter to a lower level. Don't hesitate to tell me what would be your preference.

[spotter001 82]

Thanks gemini!

I think most people like it this way so you probably don't have to change anything. I'm gonna change it to 4 or 2. It's always good when a developer helps others modify his/her work to suit their liking. Great work!

[HeroesandvillainsOS 1504]

Gemini, I had a couple of odd issues and some questions if you get a chance.

 

Ok, so the most major thing that happened in one run earlier was that once I got to the objective to search the hideouts, I realized I couldn't fire my weapon. And no the safety wasn't on. It's weird.

 

I had the default gear consisting of 10 PAMAS mags in my backpack, but when cycling though my firemode types, all of the slots in the top right corner (where you choose the fire mode) were all red. My FAMAS pistol would fire and reload fine but for the life of me, I couldn't shoot or attempt reloading my rifle. 

 

And whats also odd, was during the same mission, two of my three AI teammates would only equip their pistol even though they had PAMAS rifles with ammo in their backs. So I'm assuming the game thought none of us had proper ammo for our rifles. Strange bug, yeah? And keep in mind, we all only had the default equipment in our inventories. I didn't edit or transfer anything. Not sure if this is even something you could do anything about but I wanted to bring it to your attention.

 

During a different session, I also had this really strange bug with my default scope. It was like I couldn't see through it (this fixed itself when I restarted the game). I'm kind of wondering if my French mods are corrupt or something. I didn't have these kind of problems a couple days ago. Maybe I should try redownloading them because both of these weapons problems are strange.

 

Also, would it be possible to have recruited AI always have at least 1 or 2 medkits in their inventory? Not a big deal if you're at the mercy of the default unit gear. It would just save me time from having to hand them some when I spawn them. Without medkits of FAK's they won't heal themselves.

 

And how do you see the map at night? I know with ACE you can use the mag light. I've never seen it black in missions without ACE before so I'm not sure if there's a vanilla feature to see the map at night or not. 

 

 

[Gemini 359]

Hi Heroes,

 

Damned! I apologize it's my fault  Team leaders may have randomly 2 different FAMAS version and the proper ammo was not selected every time. So here is the 1.02b update for OPEX.

 

Changelog:

• Fixed: ammo of team leader is now properly selected at start

About your other questions now .

 

AI teammates should have at least 1 first aid kit (10 for medics, none for several exceptions like divers): could you confirm none of them have any first aid kit in their backpack ? Could you please look into it and tell me what is inside ?

 

To light the map at night, you just have to:

1. Have a flashlight into your inventory.

2. Press the F key (this is the one by default but you can rebind it directly from the diary in the "voiper's Modules" section). This function is not vanilla, it's bringed by voiper's "Little Immersion Tweaks" scripts (he's the one who developped the function included in ACE3).

3. Or move near a lighted source (streetlight, vehicle light, fireplace, chemlight...).

 

Thank you again for your precious feedbacks !

[scimitar 221]

Gemini, thanks for the new version. I finally got a chance to play the 1.02 release and I was quite happy with the experience. I did notice a few errors popping up related to ACE medical (something about morphine) but other than that, things played nicely. I'm also glad to hear that time can be changed to real time and thanks a lot for leaving the mission in folders rather than compiled as a pbo file. That makes it much easier to tweak things to the individual player's liking. I will be changing my time settings to real time, because to be perfectly honest, I don't personally find that eating and drinking adds that much to the experience, but that's just me. Others probably like those features. I am glad to have the resting feature as a way to skip ahead to the time of day or night that I want to play the mission. I replayed the patrol into enemy territory mission and completed it successfully and I enjoyed it quite a bit but before starting the mission, I noticed that I didn't have any NVGs in my inventory and I couldn't find any in any of the crates in the armory. I also couldn't purchase any supplies (are NVG's an option?) because I didn't have enough credits left after spending them on troops for the mission. For that reason I didn't want to go out too close to dark, so I got everything prepared for the mission and then went to one of the tents and rested. After the rest it was early morning and light enough that I was able to go out on the mission. Would it be possible to add a feature to set how long the rest period is, such as 2-10 hours? That way if someone wanted to start just after dark or an hour or two before dawn, it would be possible to do so.

 

I'm really looking forward to the African versions of the mission. That sounds like it will be a blast. Just one other thing. I understand the French focus of this mission and because of that I'm a bit hesitant to ask, but do you have any plans to possibly port the mission to play as other nationalities in the future? Playing using Brit, Czech, Dutch, Spanish or German (etc.), forces would be an awesome experience and a chance to try out some of the weapons and vehicles in a number of other great mods. The possibilities are nearly endless and the mission could even be played in different eras, such as Rhodesians during the bush war there in the 70's, the Russians during any of their recent conflicts, UN peacekeepers (or mercenaries!) during the Congo Crisis or even as Americans, Australians or South Koreans in the Vietnam conflict. I don't think the mods exist yet to do French forces in Algeria during that conflict but that would be something that I would really like to see one day. I would particularly love to see something focused on the Foreign Legion! I better stop or I'll get carried away with the ideas! If the answer is no to any or all of those suggestions, then I can certainly understand. I'm just really thankful for what you've given us so far and I'm looking forward to what you come up with next.

[HeroesandvillainsOS 1504]

@scimitar I've yet to spawn in without NVG's being in my inventory. Be sure to look that you aren't carrying some. But all in all, yes, I totally agree that Gemini should consider making sure every supply we'd need for long save-and-load play sessions would always be available, at the very least as we accrue points (things like ammo, FAK's, NVG's just incase, etc). I can't personally think of anything offhand that I think he should add because I die pretty much on every run because I suck, but you make a good point. My goal is to save and load this thing for a long time.

 

Again, keeping in mind I haven't put in a super long session, on the surface I tend to agree with dropping the default time acceleration speed. I'm thinking by half. Mainly because it takes me FOREVER to get an AI driven vehicle out of the base (man I really wish BIS would have given the new and improved driving logic to drivers instead of vehicles. Stupid decision on their part).

 

And not only that, but without built in AI helicopter transport by default (like ALiVE), I tend to recruit a pilot and then run over to a chopper on every mission start and make him get in a chopper as pilot incase I need to be airlifted out of an objective. So all in all, by the time I recruit my guys, get the pilot in a chopper, get out of the base, and the 4KM to the objective, a lot of in-game time has inevitably passed.

 

I also like the idea of having options for how long to sleep for. No biggie if it's tough to implement though. We can always sleep twice I think if the time skip is well thought out enough (such as 4 or 6 hours).

 

Question about supplies and combat support. When we choose to get supplies,  where do they spawn? And when we try to use the radio options to get combat support, how do we know when it's available and what's coming for support?

 

Also Gemini, regarding the medical supplies, so far I can confirm the AI that spawn with them are the ones wearing backpacks. The ones that don't do not carry medical stuff. At least from what I can tell and that's fine with me if that's how you want to leave it. At least that's how I feel until I get to play more.

[Gemini 359]

Thank you again guys for your feedbacks, I always appreciate because they are very interesting and constructive !

 

Error about ACE_morphine is missing

I modified all occurrences to ACE addons to be optional (I verified again) so I don't understand how this error could pop-up  And I never seen this while testing. Let's keep an eye on it.

 

Mission compression (or not)

I usually upload pbo version (to make it more user friendly), maybe I forgot once. But if it's painfull for users to decompress it, I could provide both version.

 

NVGs missing

NVG should be provided in your inventory when starting the mission (be aware that they are not always auto-equiped, they are perhaps in your backpack). Also, a stock of NVGs should be available in the support box into the armory but it seems that a command line doesn't work, I'll fix it in the next update.

 

Rest function

No problem, I will add an option to select time user wants to skip in the next update.

 

Porting the mission to other nationalities

Unfortunately I already have a lot of work with this French version so it's not in my plan for the moment. But I tried to make it as customizable as possible, feel free to edit the corresponding files. They are in the custom___addons folder. You'll just need the classnames of addons you would like to use.

 

Time acceleration

I hear your arguments, I will adjust it in the next update (maybe slow it down by 2 ?).

 

Supplies spawning place

Every supplies, vehicles and units you can buy are spawn into the "Delivery area", at the HQ. So be sure it is not crowded by anything.

 

Combat support

I tried to make it realist: you can't know if a support is available until you ask for it.  But it should be available if enemies around you are much numerous that friendlies. And fore sure, you can still unlock specific supports by succeeding some tasks. I made it this way to bring another part of interest.

 

First aid kits

Unless I really forgot one, I tried to avoid giving FAK to some units that maybe shouldn't have in real life (like divers or pilots). I'll check it again anyway.

 

AI transportation

Yeah I know, AI drivers sucks. Mostly in small areas (like in the main base). But unfortunately we have to deal with it, it's ArmA's engine. But I'll think about a kind of taxi function for people who doesn't want to manage the transportation.

 

I will be very busy until the beginning of the next year, but I'll check all of this as soon as possible.