Ecp released!

[cornhelium 0]

Just wanted to say thanks for the great work ECP team. I've just gone from 1.055 to 1.071 with DR and don't really know where to start with praising it. I guess the group join thing is the most exciting addition, and every one of the smoke/dust effects looks awesome.

I'm really interested in the AI stuff you're doing/planning, and the whole "can do" attitude of the team is exciting.

A couple of questions:

Lighthouses. I've noticed that some vehicles with embedded scripts (Klink's Fishing Boats, BAS Blackhawks) seem to disable the lighthouse. Tested on Malden lighthouse at co-ords Ig82. Is this a known issue?

Blood. I can't seem to be able to disable it completely. In the Blood_Settings.sqs I have ECP_bld_pt_enable, ECP_bld_obj_enable, ECP_bld_bleed_enable and ECP_bld_bleed_bloodloss_enable all set to false, but the ECP dialog in game still shows blood as enabled at 25% detail. Is there a setting I'm missing?

Thanks again,

Cornhelium

Edit: Now I've got started, may I make a couple of suggestions:

Bullet Impacts. The 1.055 impacts looked good but were too small and transparent to see, plus there was the transparency issue when hitting certain vehicles. What would the possiblity of an effect much like the blood but with small dark particles instead of red droplets? Maybe this could be an either/or option with the blood, in the interests of CPU time, or a "one every few impacts" effect? I appreciate that too much detail/scripting on these could really kill the frame rate

Alternatively, I suggest an effect like the 1.055 impact, but twice the size and a little more opaque.

FFAR impacts These are really nice, a tiny improvement IMO would be if most of the clods of earth would go vertically in more of a fountaining movement.

Shell (HEAT) impacts. Goldmember's experimental shell explosions really look and sound the business IMO (they're not integrated into the GMR mod yet). Do you still work/share with GMR?

[munger 25]

Nice suggestions Cornhelium.

One think I think would be great in ECP is KeyCat's revised Grouplink 2 (think the latest version is 1.56). It's probably the single best AI modification available, and really makes a difference when you play. It would be cool to have this integrated into ECP, maybe with an on/off toggle in the in-game settings menu so people could easily go back to default AI if necessary.

[kroky 1]

@General Barron

I understand your point of view regarding the joining of units if the mission maker didn't suppose you to do it. Still my opinion is that the mission player and not the mission designer should decide wether he wants to grab any units in the particular mission or not. This would be a kind of difficulty level

which is adjustable.

However there are still some issues:

- When I had command over a soldier or a squad and they got

  killed before I joined anybody to my group and I'm alone, I'm

  not able to join any soldiers anymore because I'm alone.

 (monitor checks if there are more than 1 unit)

  and the same occurs when I release all my units and would

  like to join them again at a later stage. This isn't possible

  either because I'm not in command of any unit. (yes I know

  this doesn't make too much sense to release all units, but

  I'm pointing out all theoretical limitations which could occur

  during play.)

- The bug not being able join units was in the PMC command

  campaign. (yes I know I could transfer them via the COC

  engine, but we're discussing now ECP). So these units were

  sitting in the BAS chopper (UH-60L) and I was in command

  of 1 soldier. I ran next to the chopper and tried to join them

  but it didn't show up the join AI name. I tried the same with

  the original BIS chinook and voilŕ no problem I could join the

  pilots sitting in the BIS chopper. Than I ordered the pilots in

  the  BAS chopper to disembark (in the COC menu) and than

  I was able to join them to my group.

EDIT: Just noticed that the same occurs with DKM vehicles.

-  Another thought on the limitation of joining only when

  outranking the leader (or equal). Suppose a squad leader

  lost all his man and he's at a higher rank than you. Than

  he's standing around alone and you're not able to join him

  because he outranks you.

Why not make all the limitations of joining the units selectable?

This way every ECP user could decide himself if he wants to use the join command as it is in 1.071 or with the restrictions like in 1.072.

[Acecombat 0]

Nice suggestions Cornhelium.

One think I think would be great in ECP is KeyCat's revised Grouplink 2 (think the latest version is 1.56). It's probably the single best AI modification available, and really makes a difference when you play. It would be cool to have this integrated into ECP, maybe with an on/off toggle in the in-game settings menu so people could easily go back to default AI if necessary.

No Munger that wouldnt be Good , in different missions there are different scenarios i dont want them ruined byh having all the AI on me

This option is best left out if a missionmakers wants to use then its up to him to use it separately.

[nubbin 0]

remember Ace, the option for Group Link / AI enhancements would be selectable. So your right it would screw some things up. But you can easily switch back and forth with the new ingame ECP options

[General Barron 0]

@Kroky,

While I would concede that things like the rank and single unit restrictions should be optional, I'm afraid that as a mission designer myself, I am of the opinion that the mission designer should have the say on whether or not you have a group.

You could say "hey, its up to the player to decide what he wants to use--kinda a difficulty setting." But if something is EASILY AVAILABLE, most people will end up using it. What if we added a script so you could create a tank or a helo to get in, at any time, via the action menu? It would likely mess up a ton of missions, right? Sure, it would only mess it up if the player uses it, but why even give them the option to do so? If a player is truly dead-set on playing a certain mission in a tank, or with a squad, then he can depbo the mission and add in the tank or squad.

The same philosophy (to not interfere with the mission author's mission) is the reason why Keycat's group link script, or similar scripts, will not be included in the ECP, to my knowledge. The problem with those types of AI scripts is that they make groups travel long distances to help each other, similar to creating waypoints for those groups. This could easily mess up a mission makers design, because it could draw units from places they are not supposed to leave.

Komuna is the main man who is working on AI improvement, but his AI scripts will not "make waypoints" for units. It will focus on things like how units move between waypoints, how they engage the enemy, etc. Groups will move in to support each other, but only when they are reasonably close to one another (in visible range or a short hike from engaging the enemy). This is all still under development though, so there is nothing to show yet.

On the join bugs:

You can join units to your squad at ANY time AFTER you have control over a squad. Even if you currently don't have a squad, you can still grab units, as long as you have had a squad at some point previously. So if you release all your units, you can still join them back to you--assuming you outrank them.

Actually, there is a 10 second or so loop in there to detect when you first have a squad, so there is a very small possiblity that you could get a squad, then lose it before that loop completes (a 10 second gap max, usually smaller), and you would never be considered to have controlled a squad. I used a loop like that to reduce lag, but if it turns out to be a big problem, I suppose I could shorten it.

As for the vehicles, I'll have to check into it, but I assume the problem is the pilots are "too far away" from you, so you can't grab them. The blame for that actually lies with Red, since he was the original author of the script :P. But I'll look into it, and maybe increase the max range of the join command.

[munger 25]

Nice suggestions Cornhelium.

One think I think would be great in ECP is KeyCat's revised Grouplink 2 (think the latest version is 1.56). It's probably the single best AI modification available, and really makes a difference when you play. It would be cool to have this integrated into ECP, maybe with an on/off toggle in the in-game settings menu so people could easily go back to default AI if necessary.

No Munger that wouldnt be Good , in different missions there are different scenarios i dont want them ruined byh having all the AI on me  

This option is best left out if a missionmakers wants to use then its up to him to use it separately.

Well that's why I specifically stated if it was to be implemented into ECP it should be toggleable. By default it would be off, but if you were making a mission where you wanted the improved AI you could turn it on.

Quote[/b] ]Komuna is the main man who is working on AI improvement, but his AI scripts will not "make waypoints" for units. It will focus on things like how units move between waypoints, how they engage the enemy, etc. Groups will move in to support each other, but only when they are reasonably close to one another (in visible range or a short hike from engaging the enemy).

That sounds perfect.

[andy_aws 0]

 Actually, there is a 10 second or so loop in there to detect when you first have a squad, so there is a very small possiblity that you could get a squad, then lose it before that loop completes (a 10 second gap max, usually smaller), and you would never be considered to have controlled a squad. I used a loop like that to reduce lag, but if it turns out to be a big problem, I suppose I could shorten it.

I say if you lose your squad in the first 10 seconds, then it's unlikely anyone would want to join up with you.

[BAM 0]

Would it be possible to add the possibility to enable enemy soldiers, tanks etc. to engage all helicopters, like the way they do when you use a BAS chopper? I think someone mentioned this before somewhere, but I couldnt find it upon looking back through this topic.

Thanks,

BAM:)

[General Barron 0]

Would it be possible to add the possibility to enable enemy soldiers, tanks etc. to engage all helicopters, like the way they do when you use a BAS chopper?  I think someone mentioned this before somewhere, but I couldnt find it upon looking back through this topic.

I'm sure that is possible. I wouldn't be the one to do it, but it seems like I'm the only team member monitoring this thread at the moment, so I'll pass it on to the team.

[killagee 0]

OK, I have flagged the FDF mod and now ecp works fine. Amazing addon! Now i cant play without it. Is there anyway at all to use FDF addons with ECP?

[kaskad 0]

Is v1.072 out already ? where can I get it?

[andersson 285]

I try to make a mission on Malden at night but there is a problem. A tunguska is shooting the lighthouse and I want it to be on.

[Maddmatt 1]

Quote[/b] ] I try to make a mission on Malden at night but there is a problem. A tunguska is shooting the lighthouse and I want it to be on.

The problem is because the light is a vehicle being controlled by a west soldier. A simple fix is to use a civilian to "drive" it and then the problem is solved. I had a look at the scripts myself and found that out. Also when you shoot it a west soldier is added to your list of kills!

Can't you guys make it work without anyone in it?

[RED 0]

Quote[/b] ] I try to make a mission on Malden at night but there is a problem. A tunguska is shooting the lighthouse and I want it to be on.

The problem is because the light is a vehicle being controlled by a west soldier. A simple fix is to use a civilian to "drive" it and then the problem is solved> I had a look at the scripts myself and found that out. Also when you shoot it a west soldier is added to your list of kills!

Can't you guys make it work without anyone in it?

It has to work that way, but a simple fix would be to use setcaptive true on the soldier.

RED

[Maddmatt 1]

Quote[/b] ] I try to make a mission on Malden at night but there is a problem. A tunguska is shooting the lighthouse and I want it to be on.

The problem is because the light is a vehicle being controlled by a west soldier. A simple fix is to use a civilian to "drive" it and then the problem is solved> I had a look at the scripts myself and found that out. Also when you shoot it a west soldier is added to your list of kills!

Can't you guys make it work without anyone in it?

It has to work that way, but a simple fix would be to use setcaptive true on the soldier.

RED

That still doesn't solve the soldier getting added to your kills when you shoot the light out, but I could live with that.

Can't wait till the next update!

[General Barron 0]

It has to work that way, but a simple fix would be to use setcaptive true on the soldier.

RED

Is the light kinda like an M2 MG? If so, you could put a game logic in as the driver, and that should work.   You may also have to use the "turn light on" action.

[gazmen 0]

Hi,

when you have in plan to add :

- Realistic rate of fire for AK.

- Replace old BIS scope by those find in JAM_optics (using suchey Scope), look better, I have all ready done this for JAM_magazines, I can send you the file (give me a url or FTP).

- Command : add Satchel in vehicule.

- Dynamic Range sound for JAM.

I love ECP

[walker 0]

Hi all

@ Red I believe the original spotlight might have been a civilian light house keeper. The light house should be manned by a civilian. That way the kill is correct.

Quote[/b] ]Can't you guys make it work without anyone in it?

No. Wont work. Tried for months. Have a go youyrself if you dont believe me

Kind Regards Walker

[benu 1]

Got some questions/remarks, some of them from the ofp usenet group:

-does disabling scripts in the settings.sqs prevent them from being run at all? Which would be the most variable/processing-power heavy scripts? Some guy named Communique has troubles saving/restoring in mp because of too many variables/scripts.

-would it be possible to get a drs with wss sounds only mod as a replacement for the "old" drs? BTW: who does drs nowadays? PitViper? Zayfod?

-Would it be possible to ask modmakers like finmod and csla to somehow make their mods ecp compatible? I always thought that ecp was aiming to be the one-and-all replacement config, so it would make sense to me to have all other mods as "plugins" in it so you could eg enable csla and finmod at once. So that every mod could be used like the mods that are already in ecp and could be turned on or off individially to combine them with others. It's a real pity that you have to restart servers now to change mods and can't combine mods because of some kind of rivalry between modmakers. Sadly i have read in the finmod and csla threads that go into the direction that they probably won't do this as they want that people play "their mod only with combining it with other stuff"

[andersson 285]

All my visual effects has disapeared in ECP...

I disabled all effects during a very demanding test and it ended with me having to end ofp from the taskmanager. Not ECP´s fault, not enough virtual memory....

From that moment all visual effects are gone. I have them enabled in ECP_settings and if I go to ECP settings during a mission all are enabled. But nothing during gameplay....

Any ideas of what to do?

[Dwarden 1124]

as there is someone working on hi-res night sky and hi-res moon ... i got idea small idea:

not sure if that can be supported thru script or different way ...

but things like

- aurora borealis

- bolids (Perseid time etc.)

can add real beauty in

[benu 1]

- aurora borealis

I think Winter Nogojev from Kegetys has this and it is scripted, so it should be possible to put something like that into ecp and get it working on all islands.

[iNeo 0]

It would only be weird if it was on all islands... This is supposed to be realistic.

[Jochen 0]

Three questions :

ECP

1) Is it possible to disable the altitude warning ? It's freaking me out and it makes flying a 'copter impossible !

2) Is it normal that there's so much lag ?

GMR Explosion mod

3) I read in the readme that this mod incorporates rotor wash effects like dust clouds. The problem is I never see them. Can I use this mod together with ECP ?

System :

AMD XP+ 3000

1024 DDR

9700 Pro w Cat 3.10

Beta 1.96