I'm all out of ideas

[shadow 6]

Howdy all.

Those of you (if any) that know the missions I've made, know that there's been over a year since I released any OFP-missions. The reason to that is because I got a lot of crap half-a$$ed ones on my h-d that does'nt deserve to see the light of day.

I need some inspiration, a story or a plot to get me going again.

I want to make a covert-op mission. But not just a regular sneak-into-compound-blow-stuff-up.

I want to make something that lasts. A mission that takes time to finish without being extremely difficult. Something that rewards the player for doing some recon-work before the actual mission start out.

Any ideas for a plot?

Addons?

Co-op or SP or both?

[shrike 0]

No time to develop and share ideas now, maybe later but PLEASE do a coop version as well.

IMHO there's nothing the MP community needs more to keep it from dying a slow death than MP missions featuring new addons. Using popular and widespread addons would ensure many gamers playing it.

See Avon's signature for reference!

Maybe just a hint: Our players love combined arms raids with the need of precise action (eg taking out armored or otherwise dangerous defense positions with choppers or armour before Specops go in to capture a guy or retrieve some documents/free prisoners/steal secret weapons etc.)

Will think about something when I have some time at hand!

Go for it, your work will be greatly appreciated!  

[Skul 0]

How about you sneak into a compound and blow stuff up?

.....

Quote[/b] ]...not just a regular sneak-into-compound-blow-stuff-up.

Ah...

Er...how about, that's one of your objectives, but you get captured before you can do your mission, so you must escape captivation and, being the reckless soldier you are, you make your way back to that place where you have to blow stuff up (which is pretty far from your 'prison'). Enemy patrols could come out looking for you as you make your way to the base.

After everything is destroyed, you get word that the enemy has mobilised some choppers to search for you (the stuff that you blow up could be something super-useful to the enemy). The rest you can make up yourself as you go along. Usually, to make a mission last longer, just keep things happening. Keep the enemy constantly running after you and blocking your original plan, forcing you to detour from your mission for a while.

How's that?

[Gareth Gates must die]

[Harnu 0]

Hostage Rescue

Go recon the area.  Find where he can be.  Watch Gaur'd patorls for any gaps.  Go in, grab him.  Make him follow you out (AI or human).

Maybe blow something up as you leave :P

-twist-

You get out of the area safe and sound (good luck with that).  You're inbound helo transport is shot down by a recently moved AA battery.

A pilot gives off a distress signal.  you find him wounded (able to walk though) and you have to get to a new extraction point.  (Maybe on the shore and a bout has to come and get you?)

I've been thinking of doing something like that.  But I'm too busy trying to make scripts for pretty screen shots.  

edit-

Instead of rescuing an inita hostage. Maybe having to kill a certain person, or destroy a certain something. Then on your extraction you just have to rescue the downed pilots. Get to the next extract.

Maybe meeting up with some resistance contacts to help you through eastern squads?

[Koolkid101 0]

How bout make it emotional? I mean the last part in the Resistance campaign was sad, when your team mates die make it sad, instead of the owell who cares.

[Bosun 0]

Counter spy....working for both sides....stealing documents from east and west, a girl in both towns...

[SpeedyDonkey 0]

Addons: Wolf Addon (re-skinned version of the static dog)

Scripts: Make them dance.

Plot: Just Steal the plot of the classic movie "Dances with Wolves" (Kevin Costner)

Music: TMF - Every Body Dance Now (or wait ... maybe i wanna use it)

Thats about it - No need to thank me  

[shadow 6]

Addons: Wolf Addon (re-skinned version of the static dog)

Scripts: Make them dance.

Plot: Steal the plot of the classic movie "Dances with Wolves" (Kevin Costner)

Music: TMF - Every Body Dance Now (or wait ... maybe i wanna use it)

Thats about it - No need to thank me  

LMAO

I've said it before and I'm saying it again: Donkey: you need HELP  

Koolkid101: Not easy to achieve what you are implying.

The campaign "build" the characters through many missions. I would have to do it all in one. I don't think that's easy, if possible at all.

Skul: I like your idea. Especially combined into what Harnu suggested.

Any Ideas where?

Malden, Everon, Nogova or a user-made island?

What side is the player representing?

What side is the opposition?

[Harnu 0]

I'd say Nogova.  It's big enough and has all needed Terrain. Play as west against east. And west have *some* possible support from the Resistance.

And since west has the needed equipment ingame to pull off some fun missions.

[The Frenchman 0]

Sargauro?

[sanctuary 19]

Something that i will like is a SP mission where for every objectives you have to use a different role

Example

1-Sneaky sabotage of AA defenses with a specops limited squad

2-Destroy what you can with an A10 (with Maverick) or an East comparable plane

3-Be a part of a tank + infantry squad to clean the area of enemy (remaining armored vehicle and soldiers)

4-At some part of the battle , pilot a chopper to support / evacuate / attack .

With some use of "setpos" between end of objective cutscenes , you can teleport the player to his other "role" in the battle .

Can be tricky to have this in a smooth way (especially because you cant switch the player model on the fly) , but if well done a multi-role mission can be very interesting, as most of the existing mission concentrate on one role in the battlefield.

[Heatseeker 0]

How about...

green berets in nam, featuring the nice SEB NP2. being part of small sf unit, you could have many objectives like searching for POW camps, finding a secret supply trail and follow the enemy until you find secret vc supply village, or defend small base or village from vc atack using CoC mines and flares goin up in the night, or rescuing friendly villagers from enemy atack and defending their village until slicks arrive for civilian evacuation, there are so many possibilities.

You could also go with the spetsnaz missions, my personal favorites, could do a night mission where you have to kill a spy hidden in secret base, locate base by following enemy movement (jeeps, trucks, etc...), if you blow any enemy units prematurly the spy will be evacuated by helicopter to another safe location causing mission failure, you could even hide a Dragunov rifle with only one round (to make sure you dont miss) in a crate somewhere, after target elimination you could create another objective for you to blow some AA sistem so Helicopter extraction becomes available, ofcourse Nogova doesnt provide the necessary cover for this operation so , is this too complicated? .

[shadow 6]

Thanks for all the ideas, everyone.

I've decided to go with Harnu's idea.

He is now the writer and the tester of the mission.

But feel free to keep the ideas coming.

There are probably alot more mission-designers out there looking for a story

[MASTAKILLA 0]

what about trinity island? i think it would be funny to attack the new port or/and blow up the nice factory. maybe with mixed spec ops team. i would prefer the "new" Seals and their very nice FAV from BAS and a small team of CoC Combat Divers. Seals and FAV insertion via Ch47, the COC Divers get´s to FAP with an Zodiac or such nice thing...

Mission Taget:

- rescue the POW (extract the PoW´s via BAS Blackhawk)

- destroy the oil storage tanks or better the facility complete

- sabotage the enemy ship´s

i would love to play it in a team of 4 BAS Seal´s and 2 CoC Diver´s

Addons:

- everything available if needed from BAS including the BH and the Seals

- CoC Divers and Mines

- Zodiac or an other spec op boat

that´s it for now  

[WhoCares 0]

After I read about Jagged Alliance 2 in Offtopic, I started last week to play this game again.

And now I wonder whether it wouldn't be possible to generate a mission with a plot like that, a mixture of RTS and CoC...

When disengaged you, resp. the engine would move just virtual units around to keep the CPU load low. You could manage the militia, your mercs, go shopping, a.s.o.

I would be careful with vehicles, maybe not bigger then APCs and Choppers just for transfers. Income would be generated by occupied cities, like in RTS.

However, some aspects would be difficult to implement, e.g. the endurance and health model. Or the hunt for body armor, addons for the weapons (e.g. scopes and bipods) and such things...

[ozanzac 0]

This might be a little late, but heres one for later.

Using Winter Nogojev.

(Intro):You and a small band of black ops (or even BAS Rangers or Delta ops or whatever the hell you like), are assigned to a small roadblock on a fairly isolated road (North or south coast) After an unexpectd russian advance (tanks, air support, infantry) The leader, (James Gastovski) decides the best option is to retreat on foot throgh a forest into a clearing where chopper (MH-6) evac is possible, or even make it so the chopper lands in some heat like on one of those 4 story apartment blocks in a town, and the 5 or 6 man team make it out alive.

(Mission.) After receiving intel that a russian chopper has come down for mechanical reasons, and that a repair crew is on route. The team takes out the chopper crew and Then waits for the repair crew. The dead pilots (buried by hide body functon), then assume the pilots left the scene for a bite. Then the BlackOps attack the crew and commandeer not the chopper, but the repair truck, and use it to infiltrate a main Southern base to obtain some intelligence, (possibly bug a residence some how) and then depart the scene having not alerted any base defences (or the base could be alerted).

If this happens, either before or after the placing of the bug, the main objective ecomes to survive. (Search partes, choppers, the works). If they survive, mission without placing the bug, mission fails. The black-ops request evac, but no response. (Outro of a night Russian attack which anhilates an american base) If they do place the bug. Mission Success, possibly leading to another mission, following up on the gained intelligence. (Mayby a counter-attack to the one that in the lose outro which destroys the American base.)

Or something along those lines.

Take it or leave it, anyone's welcome.

Just a suggestion, take it or leave it

[Imshi-Yallah 0]

Heres a few I'd like to see done.

1. Vietnam Huge ground battle raging player has to fly an )V-10 beyond the FEBA and land in clearings to recover SFs and personell who've been left behind in a major US retreat.

2. Shadow a large russian convoy on a fast motorbike, when opportunity arises speed out of cover kill General and flee against impossible odds i.e. Helicopter pursuit and troops being airlifted ahead of you toform roadblocks.

3. Lead a squad travelling with a large convoy (as in more than 5 squads plus vehicles), when convoy is whittled down to last squad (hopefully yours) leave the raods and flee cross country, spend night in farmhouse then counterattack isolated enemy patrol and break for friendly territory.

Finally play as sniper in built up area have three detecion objectives (watching for terrorists on busy street) and one destroy killing terrorist leader, then try and reach extraction point in city full of armed terrorists and rioting (GIM tossers) .civilians

[Koolkid101 0]

How bout a decent black hawk down mission?

[Skul 0]

You seem to have 'Mission Editor's Block', Shadow...

Did you know that Mission Editor's Block is a way of knowing that you're not cut out to be a mission creater?

[Gareth Gates must die]

 

j/k

[The Frenchman 0]

Kill a high ranking Soviet advisor for the NVA?

[Messiah 2]

just wanted to mention something about the whole co-op thing... that has a cool thing going for it...

like each player has a specific role and a squad to carry it out... if one of the player's don't perform their task succesfully, then it fails for every1 - if one of the players suceedes, but noisly, it makes t harder for the following people who move in...

so one squad is sniper... one is demolitions... one is airborne... one is spec ops..

demolitions move in to take out a radar instalations that control SAM's in the area - once clear choppers can roll in under sniper fire while spec ops rescue/capture.

if one of those teams dont work properly, then the mission becomes very hard, or doomed - kinda like real life operations - this would give a greater team feeling

[shadow 6]

You seem to have 'Mission Editor's Block', Shadow...

Did you know that Mission Editor's Block is a way of knowing that you're not cut out to be a mission creater?

[Gareth Gates must die]

 

j/k

If you saw the 150 or so missions I got in my user-folder you'd understand

I might make a coop-version of the mission in a way like Messiah says.

I say might because I'm not sure if this mission will be any good in multi. Going to be quite some cutscenes and some setpos'ing that would be bad for multi IMO.

But right now, the SP-version is 1st priority.

[SpecOp9 0]

Shadow I guess you could check out my "Developing a great mission" thread for some ideas  

[shadow 6]

Shadow I guess you could check out my "Developing a great mission" thread for some ideas  

I tried starting reading it , but it was too much text to process at 10 in the morning on a saturday

I'll give it a go later on today after I've been to the range

btw if I balance my mission differently than websites "recomend" then so be it. I make missions I myself want to play. I don't do this for "recognition" and high scores in reviews

[SpecOp9 0]

Yea I kno what ya mean lol