Sinews of War - The New Resistance Campaign

[crashdome 3]

Current Status: Finalizing

We at Sinews of War have produced a 7 mission campaign which is going to feature a very much improved version of the SOW Script Mod.

For new-comers, SOW has provided the ability to carry inventory from mission-to-mission a'la the original BIS Resistance Campaign... only in MP!

However, one of the worst bugs in SOW v2.0 was that of 'menu lag'. Menu Lag appeared when 3 or more individuals joined a MP session and the Inventory Menus started to inoperate... that is.. you clicked a button and nothing happened!! for up to 10 mins!!!

It started off minor but got worse as the game progressed. This rendered our Demo mission pretty much unplayable for groups of players!

We believe we have uncovered the cause and our 'limited' testing has proven wonderful. Additionally, we've incorporated some compression enhancements for saving and such.

As an official release, SOW v2.2 is to be announced with the 7-mission MP campaign which I stated above.

We are offering you, the opportunity to give us some feedback on the mission, the SOW enhancements, and the overall experience. We give you 6 of the 7 missions in their unofficial state to bash, hammer, and gnaw at.

Because of the improvements, we are really looking for feedback from groups of people who play the campaign in MP. Three or more should give us good data. SP or Two-player setups are appreciated, but not much help unless it's simply feedback on the missions themselves (always appreciated of course).

Anyhoo...

You'll find all information regarding the purpose of the missions from the breifing or the units you speak with in the game.

or go here...

Link Removed by CrashDome

Here are the missions in PBO format (so we can provide quick updates easily):

Link Removed by CrashDome

The 'Official' versions will be zipped and posted elsewhere when the time comes.

I've also included the SOW Demo Mission User Manual as your guide to hosting and operating an SOW mission successfully. The mission may be the different, but the SOW interface is the same. I highly suggest reading it if you are the MP host.

The only Add-On required is the Editor Upgrade which you can find on the SOW forums if not elsewhere:

Link Removed by CrashDome

The SOW Team

 

*EDIT* I would be a moron and not provide a link to our feature list of the campaign

Latest Updates:

[August 1st, 2005]<ul>[*]Fixed problem when removing equipment from a unit and it did not exist in Inventory Database (the syntax bug)

[*]Added killed eventhandler to Civilians for FIFO body removal system

[July 29th, 2005]<ul>[*]Added Engineers to Uniform list when selecting AI Squadmates

[*]Clear Cargo of Vehicles now works properly

[*]FIFO body remover courtesy of bn880/KillSwitch

[*]Updated AIoD to rev36

[*]Updated ECP compatibility

[*]Multi-Group Control now reverted back to Player 1 control only

[*]Moved some vehicle parking triggers

[*]Included second boat for players 7-12 on Mission 1

[*]Removed some non-essentials...

[*]"DisabledAI" fix

[*]Fixed saving of units in squad that are not part of personnel list (i.e. other players)

[July 22nd, 2005]<ul>[*]Initial Starting Funds -- players started w/ $0 instead of $10,000 -- [must restart campaign (delete object.sav file) to see this fix]

[*]Starting Civilians -- players started with more recruits than they should have... this led to low count of in-game recruitment units. If you started a campaign it just means you got the recruits already - no need to start over necessarily-- [must restart campaign (delete object.sav file) to see this fix]

[*]"Take Control" should now work. It allows you to control some other mercenary groups unrelated to your mercenary team. These units cannot be put into inventory and do not carry over to next mission. Only player that pays the money can control the units.

[*]BIS_WeaponPack error message fixed

[*]Black Ops Uniform Fix - When choosing Black Ops(Day) you were given Night Ops units and vice versa

[*]Mission#1 - Final Objective should now complete

[*]Mission#2 - Notebook objective does not complete now until the player who took it returns to base. He MUST return alive. If the player dies with notebook, the notebook is considered lost/useless and you will not get paid for it. Before the fix, you were paid the $15k the moment you took the notebook - no need to have returned to base.

[*]Missions#3-6 - Area secure triggers now trigger when there are less than 5 units in area (no need to hunt that last guy down!

[*]All Missions -- disableAI added to description.ext (although AI units were deleted upon mission start anyway)

[Edit]SOW Archive: http://www.sinewsofwar.com/Downloads/tabid/77/Default.aspx

[.kju 3244]

ill have a look, though i dont know if i can get 3 or more ppl ... will try to

[crashdome 3]

Do what you can! It's appreciated!

[.pablo. 0]

i suggest you set up a test date and time, and just have people come then; you could use the zeus server, and have the match on like friday or saturday evening.

just a suggestion

[lwlooz 0]

Oh,funny you say that since we had already planned to play this on this Saturday . So,feel free to drop by if you want

[bn880 5]

Well I'll try to attend the tests on Zeus as well, I can't promise anything, but I want to check out this masterpiece

[nubbin77 0]

Here's the readme. Its a little out of date. Unfortunately real life (my wife and I just had a baby) I wasn't able to implement all the features that were originally intended. Please be open minded with this campaign. My focus was mostly on fun and teamplay above uber realism.

The campaign is **almost** fully compatible with conversion mods like EECP, Y2K3, and FFUR. The problem is the inventory selection screen is compatible with ALL default BIS weaponry and magazines. However, most of the authors of the conversion mods chose to make some of the default weapons of the soldiers non-standard BIS nomenclature. For example, in y2k3, Pappy chose to make the grenade soldiers use the grenade vests so instead of "grenadelauncher" he has "c8xgp25Vest" This item is not on the default inventory list. So if you kill an east grenadier and take his weapon, you cannot put it into your inventory (you can use it during the mission though). If you try to put it in to your inventory, you will get an inventory error. It does not appear that the error would ever crash the mission, but it screws up the menu system until you drop the magazine.

There are 2 solutions to the above if you demand the use of playing in a conversion mod.

1) Be concious of the differences in ammo and weapons from default BIS and what your paticular conversion mod uses and never take such items, or

2) Modify the inventory files to suit the needs of the conversion mod.

In the future I may release different inventory files that are compatible with the major conversion mods. They are not very difficult to modify and the instructions for modifiying them located on the SOW website.

A couple final thoughts:

Please be open minded when you play these missions. As I said before, they are very dynamic and you WILL have different experiences each time. If the first time you play, you get overwhelmed... well maybe its time for a different approach. Please play the missions for a while before you make any real damming judgements.

Some of the missions (like 3-4) can take hours to play, if every aspect is completed. Think of the missions as a journey rather than a destination. Its the fun during the mission and working with your buddies that makes these great, more then the "mission complete" screen at the end. One feature that I really wanted to complete was a tracking of the objectives during a single mission. Because missions 3-4 can take a long time to complete, I wanted players to be able to save the status of the objectives, so if they had to stop midway through, the mission would save the current status. RL has gotten in the way of that. My suggestion is if that happens, just restart the mission, but only do the unfinished objectives from the last time of play.

They are best played in a cooperative-team spirited players. After all this is a small resistance team against bad odds. You'll need each other.

Ok, well, here is my crappy readme:

Quote[/b] ]CREDITS / FEATURES:

SOW version 2.0 (See www.sinewsofwar.com)

CoC AIOD rev 32 Bn880 05-2004->21-10-2004 (see www.thechainofcommand.com)

Keycat Group Link Script - version 1.91 (see http://www.flashpoint1985.com/cgi-bin/ikonboard311/ikonboard.cgi?

s=c06a7316254ea0a603e13a42941b774b;act=ST;f=7;t=42976)

Multiple Group Control - currently you have the ability to buy the use of 2 groups of mercenaries (you are not responsible

for equiping these soldiers and using them is optional) and they will engage in combat at your bidding. (THIS FEATURE

BECOMES AVAILABLE STARTING IN MISSION 3. IT IS COMPLETELY OPTIONAL).

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

--------------------------------

Notes and Features of the mission:

SINEWS OF WAR!!! SAVING IN MULTIPLAYER! - Please refer to the included documentation regarding the operation of SOW.

Be sure to save only when you have put everything back into inventory.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

--------------------------------

Mission notes:

GENERAL:

After the SOW interface loads, the CoC AI on Demand function will load. You should wait until this completes before

proceding with the mission. Frame rates will improve dramatically after this completes. A side note, you can hit escape

while the SOW interface loads and you can move about normally. However until all loading is complete DO NOT INTERFACE WITH

THE MAIN MENU OR GROUP MANAGEMENT FUNCTIONS.

Other than the first mission, the action is very dynamic and unpredictable. Play them 20 times and you'll probably have a

different experience each time. They offer very open ended play. THe objectives are laid out for you. Its up to you and

your teammates to pick a strategy.

Dead units will be cleaned off the map every 20 minutes or so. This was to avoid lag as the mission progressed. Our testing

has not revealed any lag in these missions, I tried to be very concious about that when making this campaign. Make sure if

you are scavenging that you try to do it quickly before they disappear. Generally 20 minutes has always been more than

enough time to get what you want. Also, the way the enemy reacts to you makes it a good idea to disappear after you

If your lucky enough to disable a tank, hopefully you can get enough money to buy a repair truck and get it back to base.

$$$Chaching$$$

MISSION SPECIFIC:

MISSION 1) Not a lot of action. Mostly an introductory mission with the opportunity to familiarize yourself with the SOW

interface.

2) Choosing different times of day can dramatically affect the way this mission plays. It may be easier to sneak in with

small team at night. Always keep the time of day in mind while progressing through this campaign.

3) When you get recruites, they are generally very low skilled and they are in civilians clothing (and only have four ammo

slots available). You should get them back to base ASAP and put them into your pool. Get them into training ASAP.

Regarding blowing up the bridge: I'm not sure if RPG's can destroy a section of the bridge. But I know that satchel charges

work.

4) You have a fair amount of time before the convoy even leaves (you will be given a couple hints as to how much time you

have before it leaves). This should give you plenty of time to get you teams in order and even do some recruiting locally

before the convoy comes down the shoreline. Pick your ambush points carefully. Don't let them repair that bridge! The

artillery is considerred destroyed when the T72 is destroyed. It is not necessary to blow up all the cannons on the mountain

(they are there for show). After it is destroyed, the Russians will not be able to call additional artillery support on you

(until later missions when they have set up a new range).****THE PART ABOUT THE ARTILLERY IS OUT OF DATE, I'LL UPDATE

LATER****

5) This is a survival mission. Its in your best interest to have a good defense set up. Remember each time you die you will

lose $1,500. Don't let the base get overrun.

6) Night time is the right time for this mission. Don't bother attempting at any other time of day. The AI react

agressively in this mission to multiple events.

[crashdome 3]

Crap.... company picnic Saturday....

I'd not go... but seriously.. it's free food

and my fridge is bare.

EDIT---

Quote[/b] ]but I want to check out this masterpiece  

hehe.. well.. I may have corrupted nubbins 'masterpiece' a little  - hence the 'Beta Testing'

I had to combine nubbins missions, my menu lag fixes and conversions to fNSendGlobal/fNRemoteCall, AND Rune's save enhancements... all from different builds of SOW.

I did alot of copy/pasting and staring at code.. I'm really hoping I didn't mess it up too bad  

EDIT AGAIN---

When choosing "Respawn near friendly" you are actually respawning near the closest friendly unit in your group. If you are a lone soldier, the option is unavailable. I should probably clarify that more.

Make liberal use of the "Group Management" menu to help out in that area...

[Placebo 29]

(my wife and I just had a baby)

Methinks you had the easy part Congratulations though

[bn880 5]

No need to explain CrashDome, I know how it is with these large projects...

[Garcia 0]

This is great! Now I got some missions to rip apart when I (someday) can start on that SoW mission of mine...got stuck in another mission (which I've been working on for over 2 years now )

I'll try to get as many as possible from the OFPTF team to play this Though, it seems most of them are gone...probaly some summer vacation shit

[crashdome 3]

We're a little thin over at SOW because of summer too.

Glad you like it so far! I'm also glad you all could help.

We may have found a bug with initial starting funds, but it doesn't hinder the missions. You get extra fund-age in the first mission. Keep the bug reports flowing! (not too many though )

[.kju 3244]

zeus guys and me played it a little yesterday:

is there a special reason about the 6 players limit in the campaign?

cant give much more feedback by now.

any small introduction video might be a good idea

(which shows the basic functions along with a voice comment)

[nubbin77 0]

Quote[/b] ]is there a special reason about the 6 players limit in the campaign?

Uh, no actually. I guess I never thought that far ahead. I guess I knew I didn't have that many friends

That's exactly the type of feedback we need. Ok, that's an easy fix. How many should I make? 10? The only issue I would foresee would be lag, but you guys seem to have a good server, so that's probably not an issue for you.

Quote[/b] ]any small introduction video might be a good idea

(which shows the basic functions along with a voice comment)

Yes an intro video might make this a bit more professional. To be honest, I've never done one. Mostly because I'd rather put all my effort into the mission itself.

As far as showing off the functions of SOW.... there's a lot to show. Crashdome, Rune, and Fox2 have written some pretty extensive documentation on the features of SOW and mission editing of SOW on the main website. Also there is a demo mission that you can toy around with to your heart's content to learn how to interface with the SOW menu's (based on 2.0 code but it'll still show how its supposed to work).

Thanks for the feedback. Keep it up. Will not having more player slots available hinder your testing? Please let us know.

[crashdome 3]

nubbins right... we can definately add more players...

I've thought about a teaser/intro video.. but I also thought it might be a little lame showing videos of 'menus' being used...

however... I've think you've inspired an idea in me...

I'll get back to ya on that!

[Garcia 0]

IMO, 6 players is enough...10 would be ok too I guess, but over 10 is getting too much (IMO). Though, I like missions with not too many players. Better with a nice small coop with your friends than a big mission with boring people you don't know

Got 3 other ppl to play with now...just waiting for someone to finish uploading a file to the server, then we're gonna test this baby

[.pablo. 0]

what time will the saturday game start at?

also, i think you should allow for a large number of players (~20); it really sucks when you want to play a specific mission but you have just 1 person more than the mission allows.

[Garcia 0]

bleh...my crappy wireless connection fucked up everything and disconnected me after 15 mins It doesn't like OFP...always does that during a OFP game...at least lately

[crashdome 3]

New Updated missions. See first post for updates.

Should not require a campaign restart.

Simply replace the PBOs in your MPmissions folder.

[.kju 3244]

thanks

[Commando84 0]

CrashDome i wonder can i modify some file or files so that i can have Laser US weapons instead of the bis originals?

and replace the russians with RHS units & weapons?

maybe i can get two of my friends to test this with me but i don't know when but some weekend i hope

[crashdome 3]

Yes, you can!

You may want to wait until these missions are completed. They are still in beta and I am making several fixes every day.

Unless you are making your own missions. You can find a quick 'How-To' doc at our website (see my sig). Click 'Downloads' button on top menu to find it.

The only thing you need to modify are the files located in the mission 'Inventory' folder. Please see above mentioned docs for more info. PM or such if you need assistance!

CrashDome

[Commando84 0]

i'll wait a while for more updates to the missions then

[Sp00nez 0]

Fullly played the first 2 missions, no problems really.

Played mission 3 for about 2 hours solo, but it crashed, was using the CSLA mod, which.. as far as I have expereinced is pretty unstable on my setup.

But yeah, this is UBER impressive as far as missions go, in fact this is defiantly the best coop I have pretty much ever playedin ofp. The GUI and in game communication with npc's its awesome.

In mission 3 I could not Put all the items in my vehicles to "dump" to the inventory, I'm probaly just an idoit.When i would return the vehicle itself to inventory and then bring it back all the objects would also be deleted, but I imagine thats pretty much unavoidable.

I may have a good chance to lan test this with about 4 others this weekend, I'll try to post some results if I remember.

Can't wait till this is outta beta, great stuff !

[crashdome 3]

Glad you like it! That's what we made it for!

In regards to vehicles and inventory:

We have deemed it purely impossible to query the cargo of a vehicle/ammo crate in MP. Therefore, we created the "Remove all items to inventory" action on the Inventory sheds at base. All you need to do is grab weapons out of it and hit the action and it will put all your goodies that you grabbed into the inventory automagically.

It's a bit of work, we understand, but it does also add a sense of realism in that you really have to work for your stuff!!

If you do put your vehicle into the inventory pool, all cargo is erased - that we cannot solve either. Perhaps I could show some kind of warning?

All-in-all glad you liked it and I'll have more fixes by Saturday.