Millions of great addons and almost no missions

[theavonlady 2]

This is an old subject but I don't think it's been brought up in a long time.

Great addons are here and, other than opening up the mission editor on Desert Island and look at them, most of them are just taking up disk space.

Any C130 Hercules missions out there?

How about an Antonov, other that 1 mission from Miles teg?

Hey! Great Comanche! Other than Avon's Quanah Parker Mission Pack and maybe one or two other missions, anyone touch this anymore?

There are some exceptions: SEB Nam Pack 2 is a good example. However, what ever happened to SEB's declaration of releasing a compiled mission pack.

Of course, SEB folks are on the BAS team, too. Great addon. There are still a trickle of missions coming out but still relatively few for such a great addon. Yes, congrats on the updated Delta Ops Campaign but that's not new, though of course it's much improved.

Now I'm looking at today's posts. There's the ADF Mod, a BMP3, a new Russian chopper, new Soviet weapons.

Let's not forget all those super WWII addons!

Great stuff! But then what?

I wish the addon makers would finish up what they're putting out right now and devote themselves to producing great missions that highlight their addons, whether solo or in combination with other quality addons out there.

Just a pity. So much work, mostly gathering dust, IMO.

[Stag 0]

You forgot "I use many of these addons, but there's no point in putting missions outside my own group because chances are people wouldn't want to chase all the extras they would require."

Sad, but true.

[theavonlady 2]

</span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote (Wardog @ Mar. 02 2003,15:11)</td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">You forgot "I use many of these addons, but there's no point in putting missions outside my own group because chances are people wouldn't want to chase all the extras they would require."

Sad, but true.<span id='postcolor'>

I think that's less true now than it was in the past.

Mod folders and addon manager utilities make it easier to manage addons than ever before.

From the download statistics I see on The FAQ's hosted mission files, people are downloading missions for popular addons when there are missions to download, irregardless of the variety of addons required.

[Koolkid101 0]

Am I the only one who just look at the addons and admire them know I couldn't do something even close to like that?

[kegetys 2]

I usually use my addons in my missions

[theavonlady 2]

</span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote (Kegetys @ Mar. 02 2003,15:48)</td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">I usually use my addons in my missions <span id='postcolor'>

Spoken like a true anti-social bandwidth hogger!

[-SZ-Vladimir 0]

so for my BMP3, I don't make public release without one or two demo mission I make one demo mission... if someone want make an other mission (Single Player), ask me !!!

Vladimir

[cam0flage 0]

The second option is somehow very familiar When I download a new addon, I test it for a few minutes and then forget it. The few exceptions so far have been Ivan's FDF soldiers and SEB Nam Pack 2 ... and I'm looking forward to make a little bit more with the new FDFMOD.

[earl 0]

I don't have time to write missions for my own stuff. If sombody could show me an SR74 or SR47 mission, I'd be stoked cause I haven't had much fun with the stupid thing.

[peanuckle_00 0]

I like to make missions with custom music, addons too, and some scripts and cameras to really make people say wow. Then I like to host them on gamespy and yes, some people do come in and actually say where do i get the addons from and it will be a full house almsot all the time. The best way to host a game that requires addons is to have the links ready so i take down the links of every addon i have. Then when i host a game i put up the links in the room and they go at it. I'm really interested in cop movies as of late and mecha/anime type stuff so I think im going to make a mission that involves both cops and mecha. The only thing is I need just a few more addons hehe.

[Placebo 29]

I've never downloaded an addon for that addon's sake, no matter how good it is, it's pointless to me, if I know there is a campaign or a few missions I'll download something I want but 90% of addons I ignore because they don't come with anything

[MP Studio 0]

I am making a mission using the BAS Rangers/Deltas and Littlebirds. That are 20 mb and than always they cry: dont use so many addons! i dont want to download so much etc.

[theavonlady 2]

</span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote (MP Studio @ Mar. 02 2003,19:13)</td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">I am making a mission using the BAS Rangers/Deltas and Littlebirds. That are 20 mb and than always they cry: dont use so many addons! i dont want to download so much etc.<span id='postcolor'>

They whine but so many have already downloaded the BAS addons.

Indeed there is a difference when you ask someone to download a big file that has great future potential versus something that will hardly be touched.

What's happening, however, is that even those terrific addons are becoming questionable as to their value, even though people already downloaded them, because they just go unused.

If you want to get a feeling how lopsided the amount of addons being produced is compared to the amount of missions available, just go to all these addon maker sites and click on downloads. The addons are there. The mission's aren't.

Again, there are a few exceptions but even those are insufficient for the most part.

[hoz 0]

What I find is that there are many versions of a particular addon. First a beta is released, then several amedments. This waters down the integrity a bit therefore people don't want to make missions with them.

If someone was to step up (Avon?) and create addon packs and maintained those packs, those particular addons would then become more widely used in missions.

thats my $0.02

[theavonlady 2]

</span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote (hoz @ Mar. 02 2003,21:28)</td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">If someone was to step up (Avon?) and create addon packs and maintained those packs, those particular addons would then become more widely used in missions.<span id='postcolor'>

Nonsense.

When less people churn out addons and more people step up to the plate as mission makers, you'll have the missions.

There seems to be a tremendous lack of established mission makers now, compared to OFP's "hayday".

Yes there are exceptions here too but recognizing aclaimed mission maker's names today is more difficult than a year ago, IMO.

Betas and final versions are less of a problem. If you like and addon and missions are made for it, you'll hear the news when a newer edition of the addon appears.

If you have problems with an addon you use, you'll eventually ask the addon makers or the forums about and and get updated with the addon's version status. That's the way it's been for me 99% of the time.

[Placebo 29]

What we could do with is a database of an addon's pbo name, actual name, and url for download, that way when we get the "addon missing" message they can be tracked down easily and quickly, that removes some of the frustration brought about by the plethora of individual addons being made, that's one of the things that has put me off in the past, still missing addons from Taliban Bodies and it's not the only mission I've been unable to play.

Edit: This is what Opf says is missing from Taliban Bodies.....

[theavonlady 2]

</span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote (placebo @ Mar. 02 2003,22:38)</td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">still missing addons from Taliban Bodies<span id='postcolor'>

Maybe you're just missing specific body parts.

[Placebo 29]

Nope definitely addons, unless Opf is lying to me

[blackdog~ 0]

I play with them all the time. I can usually drag farmcoot, SaltedSlug, or some other poor soul to play with them with me. We have alot of fun either though they arent real missions... we just TK eachother with them and stuff.

I really like to just look at the addons, too, I think because they are so much better than default ones

[MLF 0]

i remember when all these so called mission makers, were "Beaching" to the addon makers that they did not have the units they needed, such as Delta's and Rangers.

[OxPecker 0]

We need some sort of standardisation of addon, i.e. addon packs.

And I think since this is the most universal OFP page (forums), that we should organise a thread here to determine what makes it in.

Some sort of vote system to determine what makes it in initially, and maybe a monthly update that adds new release addons.

Packs broken down into east vehicles, west vehicles, east infantry, islands, static objects etc.

If there was a more organised form of addon packs I'm certain more people would include them in missions.

[PiNs_Da_Smoka 0]

I mainly download addons first off because i love to look at shiny objects. Secondly, I get them in case i feel like playing some MP and the server requires those addons. When i make missions i stay away from addons, because if i were to release it, i want all to be able to play it. Unless i was making a mission for the specific addon.

[Eviscerator 0]

</span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote (placebo @ Mar. 02 2003,21:38)</td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">What we could do with is a database of an addon's pbo name, actual name, and url for download, that way when we get the "addon missing" message they can be tracked down easily and quickly, that removes some of the frustration brought about by the plethora of individual addons being made, that's one of the things that has put me off in the past, still missing addons from Taliban Bodies and it's not the only mission I've been unable to play.

Edit: This is what Opf says is missing from Taliban Bodies.....

<span id='postcolor'>

The 2S19 was made by a guy called hawk i think ( ftp://www.gamezone.cz/ofpd/unofaddons/2s19.zip ), and the STTM16MK is Selectthis' (obviously) Masterkey addon ( http://www.ofpec.com/publicfiles/addfileaddon//STTMasterKey1_10.zip )

[earl 0]

Here's what BIS should have done for us poor people who try to keep all this junk organized:

Every addon should require a 'header section' which contains the following:

-addon creator's email

-a link to download location

-addon filename

-addon public name

When a mission gets compiled, it should retrieve all the header information from every addon that is referenced from the mission. obviously the missionmaker has every addon he makes a mission with...

Now when I try to start a new mission and it stops because of a missing addon, the mission itself already contains the addon header info, which it should then write to an error log in a basic html format.

After I quit OFP, I can open this html file and it will show me the time of error, the mission that I was trying to load, and list the missing addons as well as the contact/location info that I need.

How 'bout that? Maybe it's a bit late in the life of OFP, but it seems like it could easily be done by BIS -- it's just simple text handling, right?

[OxPecker 0]

</span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote (earl @ Mar. 03 2003,06:04)</td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">Here's what BIS should have done for us poor people who try to keep all this junk organized:

Every addon should require a 'header section' which contains the following:

-addon creator's email

-a link to download location

-addon filename

-addon public name

When a mission gets compiled, it should retrieve all the header information from every addon that is referenced from the mission.  obviously the missionmaker has every addon he makes a mission with...

Now when I try to start a new mission and it stops because of a missing addon, the mission itself already contains the addon header info, which it should then write to an error log in a basic html format.

After I quit OFP, I can open this html file and it will show me the time of error, the mission that I was trying to load, and list the missing addons as well as the contact/location info that I need.

How 'bout that?  Maybe it's a bit late in the life of OFP, but it seems like it could easily be done by BIS -- it's just simple text handling, right?<span id='postcolor'>

Great idea Earl, something for BIS to consider for OFP2 (I doubt they will be able to implement it at this stage).