Loadsa new addons, but where are the missions?

[kojak_2002 0]

Foreword:

First of all, for moderators, I'd like to clarify I *did* use the search function beforehand (from the "beginning") and found nothing

Used Google too... zilch.

Anyway: to the point.

Loads of lovely new addons are out, but I just can't find any missions that use them

I'm looking for good missions that use the following:

ADATS

Tunguska

Any type of large ship

Antonov etc

I have searched, admittedly not *strenuously* and found square root of zero.

Help an old OFP player out here!

Thanks

[Major Fubar 0]

Operation condor uses several new addons, including the Antonov. I can't find a link at the moment, but I will look.

I agree, there are a lot of quality addons out there just not being used in missions. I think mission makers are afraid if they use addons that people will be more hesitant to install them. A lot of OFP gamers out there just don't like installing addons.

[FallenPaladin 0]

</span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote (Major Fubar @ Nov. 16 2002,14:32)</td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">I think mission makers are afraid if they use addons that people will be more hesitant to install them. A lot of OFP gamers out there just don't like installing addons.  <span id='postcolor'>

That`s been my thought, too, before I started mission editing. I just wanted to avoid any troubles when I use an unofficial addon.

[Major Fubar 0]

One thing I think is essential: if mission makers do use addons, they must clearly document which addons are required (and which versions of the addon, if neccessary), provide download links in their readme and their websites, and if possible, bundle the addons with the missions or mirror the addons on their sites.

There have been a few missions which looked quite good, but because they were addons I never heard of I had no idea where to get them. I ended up never using the missions.

[kegetys 2]

My addons and some others are used quite alot in our multiplayer missions, available at http://kyllikki.tiimipeli.net/missions.php

[JAP 2]

I ve got a mission ( co op ) almost finished.

It uses Antonov, HKpack, Kawazaki, LSD.

The times i betatested already with some friends i got very very good reactions.

One thing though, if you make a mission with addons people bitch about it, if you make one without people start asking where the missions with addons are

Anyway, mission info.

2-5C Scudbuster

Your squad starts on an LSD North of Nogova.

Russian forces are building up on Nogova and are now transferring Scuds to the island. Untill now we kept ourselfs neutral in this conflict but with the scuds they will be able to hit a neighbouring island which we have alot of installations on.

Your 5 man squad will insert by blackhawk and meet with a resistance contact who will provide you with another mode of transportation. Stakeout the airfield and verify the presence of scuds. Then stick to the orders given.

Mission is huge and takes alot of time to complete ( 2-3 hrs sometimes depending on how high your "rambo factor" is ).

Its 99% done only implemented some more text and hints, tweaked some AI and added deleted some stuff. I havent come around testing the last things i implemented.

Lots of twists in te storyline. And very tense athmosphere.(spelling )

It s perfectly playable with 2-3.

If you re interested in this mission i will try to betatest it later this week and pbo it sometime near to the weekend.

Cheers

[theavonlady 2]

Other than one mission I found with a mere flyby over your head, I'm still waiting for all the mission makers who said they would put out SP missions starring the C130 in the lead role. Big talkers, the lot of 'em!

[shadow 6]

</span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote (kojak_2002 @ Nov. 16 2002,14:21)</td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">Loads of lovely new addons are out, but I just can't find any missions that use them

I'm looking for good missions that use the following:

ADATS

Tunguska

Any type of large ship

Antonov etc<span id='postcolor'>

If you really want to see those units in missions, why don't you make 'em yourself?

I think there are two obvious reasons why so few missions use addons:

1) Read Maj. Fubar's first post

2) They don't add/enhance gameplay

I've tried a few addons here and there. I've even made a few missions using them, but never released any of them. Because in the end the addons really did'nt make much difference at all. But that's just my opinion. Everyone is entitled to have one

[JAP 2]

</span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote (Shadow @ Nov. 18 2002,14:10)</td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">2) They don't add/enhance gameplay<span id='postcolor'>

Oh yes they do !

I simply stopped making mp missions for everyone and am just making missions the I enjoy. Whatever mp mission you make the feedback is simply a laugh, so not much reason to make sure its addonfree.

There s always a few addons i keep using again and again.

I myself am a bit tired of the standard stuff. So the addons do make a difference i think. Without addons i would ve stopped playing ofp for some time now !

In fact, even with the addons i m getting a little tired of it, but it s slowing down the process.

Cheers

[joltan 0]

</span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote (Shadow @ Nov. 18 2002,14:10)</td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">2) They don't add/enhance gameplay<span id='postcolor'>

They definitely add and help making a mission 'different'. Also such basic stuff as Kegetys' Russian weapons pack definitely add to the atmosphere - and give you new options (like a scoped assault rifle for east, or bunkers from GFX' packs) or just ease the editing proccess (editor addon).

An important point is that you should stick to a well defined selection of addons so people know they only need to have this and that to be able to play all your missions. I'm making mp maps only and since quite some time I'm using many addons in my missions.

The server I'm making these missions for luckily has a addons pack that was put together after asking players and mapmakers what they wanted or were missing. The pack is only 16MB in size (growing to over 20MB with the next revision) but has proven a big success and people really enjoy their new tools. And I enjoy making maps with them.

[aggie90 0]

Problem I've had with addons is having to find them in obscure places now.

Came out from under my rock and the famous OFP editing center had gone off-line... Of course, no one updates their links anymore... Where did it go??? What has replaced it?Anything?

I'm looking for a "Civilian Clothing Pack" that I remember seeing there. No one carry's civvie stuff anymore!

Better luck finding a mod of a WWII Lugar with a silencer...

[RED 0]

It has not gone, if you searched the forums you would have found that the link has changed to "www.ofpec.com"

RED

[aggie90 0]

Thanks, RED! I was searching the forum for that, as your answer came in... Thanks again!

[kojak_2002 0]

There's only 1 thing that stops me from making my own missions: the fact I work as a software developer in real life

I'm not insulting any of those people who write their own missions, it's just that I want to relax away from the development environment and play games. Besides, I've tried scripting and got bored BTW, just expressing my own personal opinion - no flames please!

I think maybe BIS should, for the next patch, incorporate an "addon auto-download" feature, like Unreal Tournament (1999) does, for example. Anyone agree?

[ACES_KEVIN 0]

Me and my buddies over at operation northstar have recently completed a few CTF missions making use of the great canadian addons if any1 is interested in letting me try them they should be on the site soon but till then u can get them here:

http://www.ofpshack.com/OPNS/RuralCanada.zip

This requires the Editors Uprgrade 1.02 and Cpack

Kevin

[Nagual 0]

I think an auto-download thingy for mp would be good (combined with being able to install without restarting opflash). And being able to put download links in a briefing or overview that link directly to the net would also help.

Addons definatley add to game play and atmosphere, and they open up new scenarios, like desert battles or super nice winter nogojev.

For me, ive made enough stuff with standard units, and once im finished updating old projects i will be using addons quite a lot, as i like them a lot (including a c130 Entebbe op ) .

ps. Jap you mission sounds good, epic coops are great.

[Major Fubar 0]

I think the type of addon depends on how useful it is in a mission. Simply substituting a user made rifle for an existing one (say an FAMAS instead of a G-36), where it serves the exact same function, just looks and sounds different, serves no useful purpose in a mission (IMHO).

But when it is an addon that adds something totally new (like the C-130 transport plane, or an artillery piece, or a mortar), then it can add a helluve lot to a mission if used cleverly.

My 2 cents.

[KaRRiLLioN 0]

I don't use any addons in my missions, but I am tempted if I see some that are actually good and useful. I downloaded several Addons, mainly the large planes, new choppers, and some islands just to see how I liked them.

While I think the modeling looks quite good on the large planes, like the Boeing 747 and Antonov, the handling is something quite different. They turn like large planes, i.e. they don't spin around, but they roll like F-14's or something, and the physics are really strange. Not only that, but the wings don't seem to be detected to their full length by the OFP game engine. I had my wings clip through hangars, etc. and it didn't damage it. Also, the Antonov had a picture of a SCUD launcher rolling out of it. I couldn't find any way to get a vehicle to "drive" into that plane, and the cargo hatch was immovable, i.e. you couldn't open/close it. But it is a good-looking plane. =)

There's a few other large cargo planes out there which have nice polygons, but the textures are just horrible.

Some of the nicest planes, which I'd REALLY like to use, are the F-14's. Aside from the lousy jet sounds they have, they are really nice to fly and handle great. If someone comes out with a good-looking and useful aircraft carrier, then that'd be the perfect complement to them.

I've also tried a number of islands out, like the winter islands, and a few other ones I saw on ofp.info. While they are nice, they just don't add enough to make it worth the hassle of having everyone download it for a mission. I've seen numerous versions of Kolgujev and the other original islands in winter, jungle, etc. but I'm just SICK of their geography, and Nogova is beginning to get old. If only someone could create a nice, well-balanced island with 2 airports in 2 major towns on the mainland. I think that a realistic island could be formed that had some nice balanced apsects to it so 2 teams could fight it out over territory and such. Nogova was a nice start to that, but the fact that the 2nd airport seems to be more of an afterthought just stinks. I'd like to see at least 2 airports usable to AI, maybe a nice mountain range with a couple of narrow valley passes running through them somewhere in the middle, and some nice naval ports on the sides of the islands.

One really cool new addon is the Little Birds. Those helos are official material IMHO. Really great work. I'm looking forward to seeing more from BAS. An aircraft carrier, maybe? I'd like some more original vehicles of that caliber.

The thing I hate seeing the most though is 50 thousand different versions of the same vehicle, i.e. the Blackhawk. Man, I think that helo comes in every color under the sun now. I think that while it makes sense for some Mods to use the different camo on them, it just gets crazy trying to track down the one addon that comes in the particular color that some mission author decided was necessary for his mission, and yet didn't include in the download.

If scripting didn't take all my time, I'd look more into island modeling, but unfortunately I'm not really adept enough at scripting to be that fast. I'm sure someone will come out with the island of my wet dreams some day soon. =)

Sorry to ramble, but addons have been a particular source of frustration for me, as I see so many addon errors from players on my server, and they sometimes conflict with a mission causing players to crash. Also, any mission maker that makes a mission using addons should really INCLUDE THEM IN THE DOWNLOAD!!! I've had to hunt 30 minutes before just to find some obscure weapons pack in a mission because the author didn't include even a link.

OK, enough rambling.

[shadow 6]

I could'nt have said it better myself, KaRRiLLioN

Totally agree

[miles teg 1]

</span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote (Major Fubar @ Nov. 16 2002,14:32)</td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">Operation condor uses several new addons, including the Antonov. I can't find a link at the moment, but I will look.

I agree, there are a lot of quality addons out there just not being used in missions. I think mission makers are afraid if they use addons that people will be more hesitant to install them. A lot of OFP gamers out there just don't like installing addons.  <span id='postcolor'>

Thanks for the support of my mission. Yeah Operation Condor uses a bunch of good addons and I made sure to document where I got them from on my website. You can download the mission at: http://www.geocities.com/miles_teggd/SPETSNAZ.html

However I have to warn that currently there are a few minor bugs in it (phantom addons) that I have gotten rid of. So I'll be updating the mission shortly.

Chris G.

aka-Miles Teg<GD>

[Guest]

The latest OPGWC beta patch adds 10 missions to the mod (as well as some fixes and other things). All is available here:

http://www.roughnecks.org/opgwc/

Enjoy.

[Wreck-It 0]

I've seen many good missions with user-made addons. The big problem stems from the lack of an auto-download feature, and some missions edited with the addons misplaced in the addons directory (probably from unzipping to it without checking for sub-folders). This creates a huge amount of wasted game time, specially when there's a dozen people with different addons missing/misplaced.

I loved the Canadian soldiers addon, and the ADATS, but appart from these, and Kegety's classics, me and my pals don't use the rest to avoid problems. We don't release them anymore, because there's always someone bitching about this or that.

[_Hekler_ 0]

In regards to Addons. Use high quality ones and I'm sure ppl wont worry about D/loading them.

I recently D/loaded an Automatic grenade launcher (On a tripod) for the east and M60MG's on tripods for the west.

[shadow 6]

</span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote (_Hekler_ @ Dec. 13 2002,07:53)</td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">In regards to Addons. Use high quality ones and I'm sure ppl wont worry about D/loading them.<span id='postcolor'>

How will you convince the person that the addon used is worthwile the "hassle" to find it ?