alan.rio 18 Posted February 2, 2018 Frontline is a PvP mod that brings the same structured teamwork orientated gameplay found in games such as Project Reality, Squad and the Tactical Battlefield mod back to Arma 3. The aim is to create a set of realistic game mechanics and systems that puts the responsibility on the players to play as a team to win. The majority of the features of the mod will be very familiar to players of the aforementioned games/mods. Roles and squads Commander features and command structure Rally points and forward outposts Weapon re-balance, smoke and particle rework Defensive structures construction Vehicles and assets become available at specific player numbers. Medical system Custom suppression effects Squad radar Spotting system Heavily modified and enforced TFAR version 3D Interaction (Easier door opening, ladders and more) Vehicle Maintenance Freakishly simple 2-clicks-from-vanilla-arma-to-being-screamed-at-by-your--squadleader launcher. Excellent performance relative to other game-modes that have large player numbers Smooth and polished interface and systems AI fighters only for when the server is waiting for actual players to join But why is it called Frontline? Because we fight on the Frontline! Gone are the days of fighting over arbitrary buildings and locations, now territory is king. You decide what locations are tactically relevant the whole battlefield is your playground. Push the Frontline by taking and holding ground, the team with the most territory bleeds the other of tickets, the more territory the faster the bleed. The Frontline constantly updates and flows with the shape of the battle forces the teams to play together, communicate and fight in a realistic manner. Flank enemy squads to cut them off from reinforcement and supply, probe for undefended gaps in the Frontline and breakthrough. Timelapse 40x speed of a battle (youtube) Typical reaction of a player seeing the frontline for the first time At the moment the mod is played in conjunction with either RHS or Iron Front mods . The only place to play it is on the server run by the development team (this will change as the player-base expands). The mod and it's dependencies are available on steam workshop. If you have any problems installing please use the launcher we made. It's idiot proof. The steam workshop is there because people wanted it, and it works just fine, but we will only support/help people installing with the launcher. Details of the launcher in the second post of this thread and you can get it on the website. The server also uses CUP terrains, Kunduz and some custom terrains that are all in the mod pack delivered by the launcher. Teamspeak is mandatory because of the mod-integrated Task Force Radio, but even if you don't have TS, the launcher will help you install teamspeak, take care of all the TFR plugins, open the frontline teamspeak, put you in the right channel, open TrackIR if you have it, launch Arma, put you into the server, and make you a nice cup of tea just the way you like it.) We have a website here frontline-mod.com but nearly all interaction with/between the community is on the discord On the discord we discuss feedback, trash-talk and organize events and playing times. We play at specific times, we don't yet have the player-base to have spontaneous games so we set specific game nights to get bigger games with more players and combined assets unlocked. So yes the server is empty most of the time, and no that does not mean the mod is dead. Come to the discord to find the time of the next fight, but right now it is every Wednesday (RHS), Saturday (RHS) and Sunday (Iron Front) at 1800GMT. Some background on the development: The mod has been in development for several years now, starting with a sub-section of the dev team that developed Tactical Battlefield. The SQF coding is built on top of the framework made by the AAW team. The tech behind the Frontline itself is something entirely unique to this mod. A whole Python extension framework has been built from scratch just to be able to execute our Python code on the server that takes care of "capturing" the terrain and computes a realistic frontline based on the situation in the AO. On a side note: we're quite proud of how we implemented it. In fact, we're so proud of our ingenious tricks used that we're currently (early 2018) going to Python conferences and giving talks about the gamemode. Its pretty cool stuff and as the bonus of fantastic performance. 8 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
overflo 6 Posted February 2, 2018 Frontline Installer/Updater/Launcher v1.14.0[https://get.frontline-mod.com] TL;DR: Yes, we know that you can set the game up perfectly fine by yourself. You're awesome and we know it. We built the launcher not for you but for everyone else to ensure that THEY also can have the right mods and are connected to the right TS server so that YOU can play and communicate with them. Remember that these are public servers. "But you can't mess this up! People are not that stupid!". Ok... Have you ever played with someone that was muted and you weren't able to talk to him over TeamSpeak? Here is your answer. About: This is the Launcher for Frontline that lets you painlessly install the mod. It takes care of updating the mods when required and launches the game with the right set of parameters. It will also take care of launching TeamSpeak and connecting you to the right TS server. It also supports TrackIR, OpenTrack and FaceTrackNoIR (enable "automatically start tracking on startup" in FaceTrackNoIR for an even smoother experience :)). If needed, it will automatically install the TFR Teamspeak plugin along with its configuration files. In short: Downloads and installs all the mods needed Automatically installs TeamSpeak TFR plugin Ensures all the mods are up to date Launches teamspeak and connects to the right TS server before starting the game. Launches TrackIR, OpenTrack or FaceTrackNoIR if installed and enabled in the options The launcher leverages Bittorrent protocol for downloading data. Additionally, it makes use of web-seeds for users that have Bittorrent blocked or throttled by their internet provider. When mods are updated, your client will only download the parts of the files that have changed, even if your connection in an earlier session was lost, thus highly limiting the amount of data transferred. Also, after installation/update, any superfluous files (that are not supposed to be in the directory) are removed. This does not concern Arma3Sync metadata files - they will not be removed from the directory. Over time we've been using this launcher it has been downloaded over 30,000 times and has transferred over 0.2 petabytes of data! Usage: Run the launcher Press Install Go make yourself a large coffee Come back and press Play. That's it! By default, the launcher will download Frontline and all other required mods to Arma 3\Frontline. If you want to change that, read below. Want to store mods somewhere else? Spoiler Select OPTIONS Click Choose Path Select the desired directory Notes: Setting the installation directory to a directory that you don't have write rights to will require you to run the launcher as Administrator and is not recommended. Have some mods already downloaded? The launcher will just reuse your mods. Follow the instructions that show up on the screen. Spoiler If you have some mods installed through the Workshop, the launcher will attempt at detecting them and will offer you the choice to either reuse them inplace or to copy them to the Frontline directory. If you store your mods in a separate location, you can give the launcher that location to search through in search for the missing mods. Bugs: Report any bugs at: Github's Issue Tracker. If something does not work an you don't report it, don't expect it to be fixed anytime soon! Note: If you submit a bug on github PLEASE check that bug later. If I need some additional information to reproduce the issue and you are not there to provide it, the issue won't be fixed! (should be obvious but, unfortunately, isn't :() Technical stuff: The launcher is a fully fledged Bittorrent client, enhanced to be also able to remove superfluous files. The use of Bittorrent protocol should make downloading resilient against network problems. Your client will only download the parts of the file that have changed, thus limitimg the amount of data transferred. In the best-case scenario, we could have several data sources seeding the mod. Clients downloading the mod can also share their connection and upload data to other clients, just like with a regular Bittorrent application. Anyone can become a full mirror and help us serve the mod to users! Just keep the launcher open and it will switch to seeding mode when installation is complete! You can turn off that feature in the options screen, if you don't feel like helping everyone (but please dont! :)). Bittorrent protocol will make sure data is not modified so it is safe from a security perspective. Source: The code is Open Source so if you know Python and want to contribute you're welcome! You're free to fork it if that's what you need, although I would prefer you to contact me and cooperate together on an universal launcher instead. Credits: The Frontline Launcher has been written by Stack (aka Overflo) and Sighter. 4 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
overflo 6 Posted February 2, 2018 <Reserved for other things> Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mach1muscle351 30 Posted February 2, 2018 Very coolio! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
zio sam 77 Posted February 2, 2018 If you have some spare time on the weekend try this mod. FPS are very good and stable,community is good,gameplay is super cool. It's very similar to Squad but the Frontline features is one of the best thing on the PVP scene since...EVER! It's not suited for lonewolves but to join a squad and make some new friends it's very easy. Bear in mind that every role is important and there is a system that provides available assets based by the number of players in game increasing balance and replayability I strongly recommend this game mod! Don't fear about modsize...if you already possess the mods there is no need to redownload them and the launcher is very simple (2 clicks) . Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Vesna. 0 Posted February 2, 2018 The best PVP experience based on ARMA. A real hardcore fight without extra hours spent at briefings and slot placement. Strong international community where everyone will find his place. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bumgie 49 Posted February 2, 2018 The idea of the frontline seems like a great adaptation of steel divisions similar mechanic. It should focus the fights well and discourage solo play. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
overflo 6 Posted February 2, 2018 27 minutes ago, bumgie said: a great adaptation of steel divisions similar mechanic Just FYI: we had our Proof Of Concept code already working before Steel Division even got released so I'm not entirely sure who adapted whom Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
echoj7 11 Posted February 2, 2018 It checks mods in my workshop dir, but can't find them, shows 0/70 (For RHS, Cup etc) even though they are downloaded and installed from Steamworkshop. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
alan.rio 18 Posted February 2, 2018 echoj7, overflo will be along to help you with this in a while. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ski2060 167 Posted February 2, 2018 So, It looks like it found all my mods no problem, and downloaded the new mods. The only issue I have is that my unit uses the new TFAR Beta package. Is the Frontline TFAR plugin mandatory or can I run the TFAR Beta without having to reinstall a plugin every single time I want to check out Frontline? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
adanteh 58 Posted February 2, 2018 hey @ski2060 that is currently not possible. Our TFAR code is VERY different from the regular code, so they are in no way compatible. If you want to make a ticket at http://issues.frontline.frl maybe someone can take a look at it. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ski2060 167 Posted February 2, 2018 No need for a ticket. I can just install/re-install plugins manually. I was just wondering about compatibility. Thanks for the answer. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
overflo 6 Posted February 2, 2018 1 hour ago, echoj7 said: It checks mods in my workshop dir, but can't find them, shows 0/70 (For RHS, Cup etc) even though they are downloaded and installed from Steamworkshop. Just to make sure we're on the same page: 0/70 means 0 players currently playing on the server with 70 available slots :D. If it shows a big PLAY button, you're good to go. The launcher finds the mods by comparing directory names (while ignoring everything that is not a letter nor a number). The question is: what is the exact name of the directory (along with the path that contains the mod) that the launcher cannot find? Your Workshop mods should be located in the `Arma 3\!Workshop` (with symlinks/junctions pointing to the real directories named with only digits). If you don't have such a directory (which is what I reckon is happening), then your installation is somehow broken. As a workaround, you can click the folder icon for each mod and set the directory for those mods but it's not recommended and you normally should rely on autodetection. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ski2060 167 Posted February 2, 2018 So, is the server up for play now or is it only on the specified times per the post above? I'd like to get some guys in to check it out as soon as we can get enough to install everything. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
adanteh 58 Posted February 2, 2018 Hey for questions the best option is still discord at http://discord.frontline.frl Basically the servers are always online, but we found it easiest to get people in around scheduled times. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ski2060 167 Posted February 2, 2018 Roger, I'll either try to get on Discord channel to text chat or get on later to voice chat if I can. We have some people interested and would like to check it out if possible. Thanks! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
computer 113 Posted February 3, 2018 The idea is amazing. Keep up the good work. I love the dynamic of the gamemode, but I hope to see good old fashioned cache hunt from pr/tacbf. I've always loved playing the underdogs and stuff. But this is a very nice twist on conventional warfare. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ab_luca 24 Posted February 3, 2018 keep on growing this community guys! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
alan.rio 18 Posted February 3, 2018 There is a game tonight, in 7 hours from the time of this post. Make sure to get the launcher and get the mods set-up well before time. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
alan.rio 18 Posted February 3, 2018 9 hours ago, computer said: The idea is amazing. Keep up the good work. I love the dynamic of the gamemode, but I hope to see good old fashioned cache hunt from pr/tacbf. I've always loved playing the underdogs and stuff. But this is a very nice twist on conventional warfare. Come on the discord and put in a suggestion for the cache hunt in the suggestions channel. I know that at least one or two of the team have been talking about getting it back in. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
alan.rio 18 Posted February 4, 2018 Iron Front game tonight. Fronline with WWII. 5.5 hours from the time of this post! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
adanteh 58 Posted February 6, 2018 On 2/3/2018 at 3:40 AM, computer said: The idea is amazing. Keep up the good work. I love the dynamic of the gamemode, but I hope to see good old fashioned cache hunt from pr/tacbf. I've always loved playing the underdogs and stuff. But this is a very nice twist on conventional warfare. I have some S&D code sitting to be finished, but unfortunately I'm already occupied with too many other systems to do, so probably no chance. If anyone wants to help writing SQF (Or Python) we can make it happen Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jdingo 4 Posted February 6, 2018 cool idea but a lot of people aren't going to play if you make a 3rd party launcher required to play. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
LCpl Derr 7 Posted February 6, 2018 2 hours ago, jdingo said: cool idea but a lot of people aren't going to play if you make a 3rd party launcher required to play. It streamlines the mod downloading process so everyone has the exact same mods with minimal effort from the end user. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
