Setting up a convoy ambush?

[panicsferd 24]

I am currently working on a mission that is part of my campaign I've been working on and this mission entails the player to ambush a enemy supply convoy that is passing through a town and for the life of me I cannot figure how to have the convoy run through the ambushing place with all the vehicles sort of close by so the explosive charges planted by the player would destroy a few of the vehicles.

 

I tired using Norrins/Devestators scripts and that doesn't seem to work the greatest because the vehicles behind the armed ifrit seem to be like really far away so when the ifrit is destroyed the other vehicles in the convoy are too far away to be effected after blowing all my charges, I am kind of stomped on this particular part, and I think this might be my first time setting up like a convoy ambush like this.

[HazJ 1288]

This may be of use:

 

[praising 35]

There's also this one if you haven't already tried it:

 

https://forums.bohemia.net/forums/topic/226608-simple-convoy-script-release/

 

I recently used this one on the RHS PKL map, and didn't encounter any problem with it. AI drove across the map from north to south without ever getting stuck.

[JohnKalo 657]

Well the Norrins/Devestators scripts did work on my end. Are you sure you are doing everything right? Because I remember it did take attention to every detail so as to reach the needed results. Unless you want vehicles to be like a meter or two near each other. Then yes those scripts will most likely not work.

[panicsferd 24]

3 hours ago, JohnKalo said:

Well the Norrins/Devestators scripts did work on my end. Are you sure you are doing everything right? Because I remember it did take attention to every detail so as to reach the needed results. Unless you want vehicles to be like a meter or two near each other. Then yes those scripts will most likely not work.

Yeah well I don't need them that close, but when using norrins/devestators scripts I noticed the vehicles in the convoy are like almost 20m away from each other and that just doesn't seem to work the greatest when I am setting an ambush where you plant charges to ambush the convoy. 

6 hours ago, praising said:

There's also this one if you haven't already tried it:

 

https://forums.bohemia.net/forums/topic/226608-simple-convoy-script-release/

 

I recently used this one on the RHS PKL map, and didn't encounter any problem with it. AI drove across the map from north to south without ever getting stuck.

I will maybe have to check that one out then, since I noticed the route my convoy is taking there is like a really bad turn/bend and I noticed that was a issue I had where the convoy will kind of get stuck/hung up on that bend, I did move the convoy a bit closer to a straighter road and that seemed to help a bit more but the main issue I am having is the convoy being really far apart so as a player when you touch off the bombs they will only destroy the first ifrit (well unless you plant the charges like 15ms away).

 

I think after I figure this out, this might be my last convoy ambush or convoy type mission, since it's almost causing me to pull my hair out.

[Harzach 2505]

1 hour ago, panicsferd said:

the main issue I am having is the convoy being really far apart so as a player when you touch off the bombs they will only destroy the first ifrit

 

That's how you ambush a convoy. Destroy the lead vehicle, causing the rest to stop and engage.

[JohnKalo 657]

Maybe a limitSpeed command as an addition will help. But if the acceleration of vehicles are different then every start stop will cause greater distances to occur. In this case maybe the turn you mentioned.

Quote

I think after I figure this out, this might be my last convoy ambush or convoy type mission, since it's almost causing me to pull my hair out.

Lol, I know. If it were not for MP then I would have quit Arma 3 editing years ago. If everything worked as it should it would take about 2-4 hours to make a mission not about 20-40. 

Quote

That's how you ambush a convoy. Destroy the lead vehicle, causing the rest to stop and engage.

What if the first and last vehicle are tanks and you have no anti-armor weapons though. For military vehicles the distance between explosives would be 2+3+2 about 7 meters. Judging from ingame experience. Have not been in the army. Yet....

[panicsferd 24]

First things first its been almost two months and I am still struggling with this and been busy IRL to respond to this.

 

On 3/30/2020 at 12:41 PM, Harzach said:

That's how you ambush a convoy. Destroy the lead vehicle, causing the rest to stop and engage.

 

My main issue was that the lead vehicle would be somewhat damaged or destroyed, but then the next vehicle was like 3 car lengths behind and so were the other vehicles so it isn't much of an ambush when the rest of the vehicles in the 4-5 man convoy is like 3 car lengths away it is kind of hard as a player to deal with the remaining convoys and enemy combatants. I am getting so sick of these convoy missions, and like I said in OP this is probably going to be my last I ever do (if I remember to not make anymore)

 

I am almost thinking of just scrapping this mission entirely and maybe just setting up a mission where the convoy is already stopped/parked at the location refueling and maybe the player is tasked with sneaking in at night and planting charges on the parked convoy? and maybe that will solve the issue of actually having the convoy being ambushed by the player I think that is what I might have to do, or just scrap this whole campaign mission completely.

[Harzach 2505]

On 3/31/2020 at 11:22 AM, JohnKalo said:

What if the first and last vehicle are tanks and you have no anti-armor weapons though.

 

Then you are unprepared. Trying to destroy all armored elements of a convoy with placed explosives is not tactically sound.

Some spitballing RE: your main point; maybe check for the state of the lead vehicle, and when it is damaged/destroyed do something to the rest of the convoy vehicles like remove all of their fuel and eject the occupants (skipping the gunners, if you want) so they are forced to engage on foot. 

You could even script it so that the player places virtual explosives. Have them place a charge for the front vehicle, then maybe a quick cut to black - "ambush set." Later, when the player sets off the ambush, just blow up the other armored vehicles via script. 

 

Don't be afraid of scripted events, a campaign is supposed to tell a story. 

[panicsferd 24]

1 hour ago, Harzach said:

 

Then you are unprepared. Trying to destroy all armored elements of a convoy with placed explosives is not tactically sound.

Some spitballing RE: your main point; maybe check for the state of the lead vehicle, and when it is damaged/destroyed do something to the rest of the convoy vehicles like remove all of their fuel and eject the occupants (skipping the gunners, if you want) so they are forced to engage on foot. 

You could even script it so that the player places virtual explosives. Have them place a charge for the front vehicle, then maybe a quick cut to black - "ambush set." Later, when the player sets off the ambush, just blow up the other armored vehicles via script. 

 

Don't be afraid of scripted events, a campaign is supposed to tell a story. 

Yeah maybe I might have to do that, but my main issue still is that after doing the various testing that the vehicles are too spaced out so even if do the script method it seems I would have almost some how erase the convoy, then recreate the abandoned vehicles on like the road where the ambush takes place to sort of visualize that you ambushed it and then the passengers would disembark to defend it.

[Harzach 2505]

13 hours ago, panicsferd said:

but my main issue still is that after doing the various testing that the vehicles are too spaced out

 

Yeah, copy that. Didn't mean to derail things here. 

[johnnyboy 3741]

setConvoySeparation command might help.  I don't know if its used by the script you tried or not.