Ofp community featured in pc zone (uk gaming mag)

[dm 9]

Thanks for taking the effort to post this Munk, seems to be a nice article, but that won't stop me emailing him and spanking his ass down for making some critical errors in his report ("few addons" missing out BAS, CSLA, UKF, CoC and FDF etc)

Nice

[FW200 0]

I'm not able to look at those pics.. it gives me this:

Quote[/b] ]Access to this website is currently not possible as your hostname/IP appears suspicous

They work for me

Anyone else who's having trouble viewing them, you can find them in Nightstalker's forums (in General OFP I think). I'll PM you a direct link if you want

Quote[/b] ]Thanks for taking the time to scan the pics and post them BTW, forgot to mention that bit

That was the easy part, thank me for making the 6 mile walk in the rain and the 0.5 miles I had beat my way through the hords of old people who cant walk in a straight line

The entire forums thinks I'm suspicious ;) So I can't access anything.. I don't know why the forum things my hostname/IP is suspicious but I shall ask some of my friends to download the pics and send them to me through MSN thnx for uploading it anyway

[Placebo 29]

That was the easy part, thank me for making the 6 mile walk in the rain and the 0.5 miles I had beat my way through the hords of old people who cant walk in a straight line

Naaah that's character building

[Munk 0]

The entire forums thinks I'm suspicious ;) So I can't access anything.. I don't know why the forum things my hostname/IP is suspicious but I shall ask some of my friends to download the pics and send them to me through MSN thnx for uploading it anyway  

I can email them to you if you really want or you can add me to MSN Munk_D@hotmail.com

Quote[/b] ]Quote (Munk @ Feb. 07 2004,14:58)

That was the easy part, thank me for making the 6 mile walk in the rain and the 0.5 miles I had beat my way through the hords of old people who cant walk in a straight line

Naaah that's character building

Guess I'll be doing a lot worse things in the Army

[dm 9]

Gah... Munk, does it give this James Lyon blokes' email in the mag somewhere? Because I'll be damned if I can find it on the site (which is crud IMHO... why cant they ever put the IMPORTANT stuff on sites like that? (email addresses and whatnot))

[Munk 0]

Can only find one email

letters@pczone.co.uk

If you find something better post it, there's a few mod's I'd have liked to see mention

[Placebo 29]

Gah... Munk, does it give this James Lyon blokes' email in the mag somewhere? Because I'll be damned if I can find it on the site (which is crud IMHO... why cant they ever put the IMPORTANT stuff on sites like that? (email addresses and whatnot))

http://www.computerandvideogames.com/r/?http://www.computerandvideogames.com/interact/contactus/contactus.html

Everyone there has an Email address of firstname_lastname@dennis.co.uk so try that

[ExtracTioN 0]

Thanks for taking the effort to post this Munk, seems to be a nice article, but that won't stop me emailing him and spanking his ass down for making some critical errors in his report ("few addons" missing out BAS, CSLA, UKF, CoC and FDF etc)  

Nice

I tottaly agree with you there missing out the BEST Mods those reviewers are blind or they dont know what quality is

BAS, CoC, CSLA, FDF, Invasion1944, Earl & Suchey, Falklands Mod, Malvinas Mod, ADF, Tales Of War and OPGW Mod those mod teams are all working hard to make the best of the best so in my opinion they all deserve a place in a game magine

You are all working hard in your free time to give the commnuity the best of what you guys can do you are all number1 for me I love you guys thank you for your efforts

Sorry for my bad english guys

[dm 9]

Here's my long and stuffy email to them, I KNOW I've missed a lot of addon makers and mod teams, but it'd go on for months if I listed them all, to those I've missed, I'm sorry.

First of all, I would like to compliment you on an excellent magazine, I don’t read it as often as I would like, but that’s what you get when you are a poor student…

I would like to point out a few errors, and oversights in James Lyon’s recent article in the Community Chest section, entitled “Operation Flashpoint.â€

First of all, Mr Lyon seems to contradict himself in the main section of the article, by initially saying “with only a couple of add-on packs to keep it company†and then saying that “its still going strong with new add-ons.†I understand that there is an issue of article space in every magazine, but as an active member of the Operation Flashpoint Community, I can say that there are a lot more than “a couple†of add packs. Possibly he meant Official addon packs (like Resistance) but I believe that the opening statement is a bit ambiguous.

Secondly, I would like to comment on his “interesting†choice of acronym for Operation Flashpoint. “OpFap†seems to be quite clumsy, and as can bee seen on all of the sites and mods that Mr Lyon has covered in his article, the common abbreviation for Operation Flashpoint is simply “OFP.†i.e. www.ofpec.com, or ofp.action-arena.com.

Now I would like to move on to my main “concern†which is the small number of add-ons and mods that Mr Lyon has covered in his article. I would like to point out that there are countless mods and add-on making teams for OFP (like any other game) however, I feel that Mr Lyon has “ignored†or glanced over many of the more “important†mods available to OFP, as well as the main forums, the Official Bohemia Interactive forums (http://www.flashpoint1985.com/cgi-bin/ikonboard311/ikonboard.cgi). I will start by directing you in the direction of the two British mods (other than Flashpoint in the Falklands) these being Project UK Forces (http://www.project-ukf.com/) and The Chain of Command (http://www.main.thechainofcommand.net/) Whilst Project UK Forces has not yet had any major releases other than a beta of their pack, I can tell you that they have a lot of very promising work almost on the verge of release, and I feel that this is especially important since your magazine is UK based. The Chain of Command have some of the best scripters in the community working with them, and they have created the two most influential modifications for the game yet released. These include the “Command Engine†which allows you to take control of multiple squads of men, instead of just 1 squad of men; their second major modification is their “Unified Artillery†add-on. This overcomes all of the previous limitations of the game, and provides the players with real time artillery support, from small mortar teams all the way up to the big guns of mobile artillery units.

The next modifications I would like to talk about are all “total-conversion†modifications, which alter the game completely, with new models, textures, weapons, and configuration values. These modifications include the Finnish Defence Forces (FDF Mod; http://koti.mbnet.fi/~fdfmod/) currently on version 1.2, and including features such as Unmanned Air Vehicles, and a completely new set of missions. The CSLA II. MOD (Czechoslovakian Peoples Army Mod; http://flashpoint.tiscali.cz/) is the second total conversion modification for OFP, and includes a new campaign, and totally new vehicles which replace the “standard†BIS Russian vehicles. The third (and final for the current time) total modification is the Battle Over Hokkaido Mod (http://ofpboh.himitsukichi.com/) which represents the Japanese Self Defence Forces (JSDF) with all new units and weapons.

There are also other add-on “teams†who release addons as “stand alone†downloads, like the Marine Assault Pack you have featured. The team I work with is included in this category, Ballistic Addon Studios (http://www.ballistic-studios.com/) or BAS for short, currently focuses on the “top of the range†US Special Forces. We also have a pair of new islands, which include all new buildings, vegetation and 3 different forces to occupy the islands (Governmental Forces, Rebel Forces and a Civilian militia)

Other mod teams include Operation Northstar (http://www.operationnorthstar.com/) a Canadian Forces mod, who have released many Canadian units and vehicles to date. Red Hammer Studios (http://www.redhammerstudios.com/) who are concentrating on modifying/replacing the current Russian element of the game, also have a lot of promising work. The Decisive Killing Machines (http://www.dkm-mod.mkdi.net/) team also have a lot of exceptional addons available, and are renowned for the quality of their scripting work. Finally I would like to mention Mapfact (http://www.mapfact.net/) a German team who are focussing on improving the civilian side of the game, producing all manner of buildings and vehicles for the civilian side.

Now I would like to move on to the vast array of other news sites for OFP, there are countless news sites out there, but these three are the most important in my honest opinion. These include http://www.opflashpoint.org/ and http://ofp.gamezone.cz/. Also, “Got Flashpoint†(http://www.gotf.net/) is a relatively new, UK based news site, which hosts a lot of addons, and missions. All of these sites have forums where members can discuss the current add-ons, and the possibilities of new add-ons.

I would also like to address Mr Lyon’s comments about the “cardboard vegetation and misshapen faces.†Yes the game is old, but if you take the time to look at the hundreds of pictures found in these two forum threads (entitled “OFP Combat Photographyâ€)

http://www.flashpoint1985.com/cgi-bin....2;st=0,

http://www.flashpoint1985.com/cgi-bin....4;st=0.

These two threads just go to show how GOOD a 4 year old game (the engine is nearly 7 years old now!) can really look.

Finally, I would like to say that the OFP Community in general, is one of the best, most mature and helpful games communities there is. As with all communities, we have our good days, and our bad days. But generally, the vast majority of the community are good people, great players and are fun to be around. There are countless game servers, and hosts who spend their time allowing us to have fun. I appreciate that this would probably be far too long to print in full in your magazine, but I feel that the statements in Mr Lyon’s article painted a “false†picture of the real nature of OFP and its community.

Thankyou for taking your time to read this, and thankyou for your excellent magazine.

Yours,

Mark Lacey,

AKA “DeadMeat†of Ballistic Addon Studios, Operation Flashpoint Modification.

[theavonlady 2]

Please, no autographs!

[Messiah 2]

nice rack

[iNeo 0]

Nah

[dinger 1]

Come on guys. you take a writer who doesn't play the game, give the person a day to slap together a one-page article (on a standard format no less) and explain what's on their DVD, and give a snapshot of what's out there.

A) new unit addon (marine assault)

B) Surreal Addon (lega warz)

C) player-based OFP utility (OFP watch)

D) new mission types (RTS-3)

E) FAQ Site (Avon Lady)

F) Addon site (Flashpoint Arena)

G) Editing site (OFPEC)

H) Upcoming mod (FP1982)

The list is tailored to 1) what was negotiated on the CD/DVD, 2) what the journalist dug up in a day, 3) what gives an impressionistic image of the FP1985 community. Of the 8 things mentioned, 3 (C, E, G) are the undisputed leaders in their field. The others are very good representatives of their group.

It's good news. It might encourage people to take a look at what's out there.

Also, if you want them to publish a letter, keep it very very short.

[theavonlady 2]

If anyone can email me a clearer scan of the article's section on The FAQ, I'd appreciate it.

Thanks, Munk, for the heads up in my inbox.

[hellfish6 7]

Very nice letter, Dead Meat.

[Ex-RoNiN 0]

Come on guys.  you take a writer who doesn't play the game, give the person a day to slap together a one-page article (on a standard format no less) and explain what's on their DVD, and give a snapshot of what's out there.

A) new unit addon (marine assault)

B) Surreal Addon (lega warz)

C) player-based OFP utility (OFP watch)

D) new mission types (RTS-3)

E) FAQ Site (Avon Lady)

F) Addon site (Flashpoint Arena)

G) Editing site (OFPEC)

H) Upcoming mod (FP1982)

The list is tailored to 1) what was negotiated on the CD/DVD, 2) what the journalist dug up in a day, 3) what gives an impressionistic image of the FP1985 community.  Of the 8 things mentioned, 3 (C, E, G) are the undisputed leaders in their field. The others are very good representatives of their group.

It's good news. It might encourage people to take a look at what's out there.

Also, if you want them to publish a letter, keep it very very short.

Agreed 100%. The community is smaller than you think, it just seems huge because we are closely knit.

We are nothing compared to CS or UT, its a harsh reality. Many people won't touch OFP because it is not like CS or UT, ie a fast game. Thats life.

[m21man 0]

Quote[/b] ]AKA “DeadMeat†of Ballistic Addon Studios, Operation Flashpoint Modification.

BAS is now a modification ? I don't know how many times I've seen BAS members deny that it's a mod .

[Messiah 2]

its not a mod, as they don't modify the game itself... they just make shiny new units to play with...

FDF and CSLA would be the only Mod's at the moment i can think of... guess keg's HiSky is as well since it does indeed modify ofp

[laulau 0]

everybody has forgot OFrP.........

i think the article is not so bad even if for people from the community the article missed the most important things. I am more upset about the fact that the journalist seems to be a guy who doesn't know OFP community (OpFap!!!!!where did he find it????).

anyway, WE (the community) knows where OFP is today and that the most importat thing.

[NZXSHADOWS 0]

its not a mod, as they don't modify the game itself... they just make shiny new units to play with...

FDF and CSLA would be the only Mod's at the moment i can think of... guess keg's HiSky is as well since it does indeed modify ofp

What ever.BAS does modding to an new addons.

[KaRRiLLioN 0]

I was emailed by someone else about a month or so ago about mentioning RTS3 in the magazine, and in my reply I told them about CTI being another popular RTS, and told them to visit the forums for more info on more mods, but I dunno if they did or not. Judging from the 1-page format, they obviously didn't have much room reserved anyway since it's basically just a blurb about it.

[Noon416 (OFPEC) 0]

I agree with Dinger, and would add:

Given the age of the game now, why don't we all just be appreciative of the page we got.

Wouldn't want to be seen as an ungrateful community now, would we...

[redface 1]

limited time for research or understanding seems to be the rule in some gaming magazines, though. This month's issue of "Micro Simulateurs" (in French) carries a blurb about footmunch's IL-2, commenting that it constitutes "a weird anachronism within the setting of ofp". It reminded them of a "joke" similar to Codemasters (sic!) releasing a Sopwith Camel for the game.

It is always my feeling that game magazines write about the games they get paid to write about, and that they take most of their info from commercial packs given to them by game developers.

[laulau 0]

redface, could you post a scan of this article about footmunch's work?

[quicksand 0]

I think this article is a great thing to happen.Sure they didn`t get the image of the ofp community right but what it does show is that a game that is 4 years old still gets recognition.

The magazine is very popular in the UK so it will bring some peeps to play OF at this late stage.

Last I surely don`t agree with him saying OF has out-dated graphics.Someone should advise him to go play a mission on Tonal with Suchey marines;ECP;Llauma high res skys and 4x anti-aliasing. It`s priceless I tell you,not a single game can compare with it...