Abandoned Armies 1.4

[l etranger 5]

I m not dying because i m too close of the house, i can move anywhere for 10 seconds, run far from my save point, drive, hide, then i die.

[thobson 38]

Can you hear shooting? Are you sure you are near the lodge in the mountains?

[LoTekK 0]

Are you playing with ECP or one of the other unit replacement packs? Maybe you were hit earlier and you're simply bleeding out?

THobson, yeah I kinda figured that out after several attempts to sneak around killing soldiers. On my best run I managed to nail about six or seven of them before one put one between my eyes. After I put three 5.56 rounds into him. :\

Shall attempt to sneak out on my next run. Now I just have to figure out where that damned cabin is.

[Abs_01 0]

I had planned to study for my quiz tomorrow, but instead I played your mission and posted about it at OFP Base.

I'm only at the starting stages, but honestly, the mission made me jump out of my seat. I plan on killing every single person on this island.

I'll let you know how long it takes me

Abs

[thobson 38]

I do hope you enjoy it. On how long it takes, well one tip is to collect NVGs as you go. It is embarassing to have to go hunting for them when the sun sets.

On your post at OFP Base - the picture of Anropov seems to show him with some form of disguise - is this an add-on that you have?

[Abs_01 0]

Yes. I'm using DMA addons. I hope it's not a big disappointment for you. Is there something special on his face that needs to be seen?

Abs

EDIT: Whoops...I had said ECP instead of DMA

[thobson 38]

Nothing special about the face - except I picked it specifically myself.

[nominesine 0]

I've only just started. I did the intro and visited the cabin where Tatiana was held prisoner, and I'm stunned. You are a very good storyteller Thobson. You have created a genuine dramatic feeling already in the beginning. Good job, judging from the first look. My computer lagged a little bit too much with ECP and full settings, so I will restart it without ECP and lower settings now, before I continue.

[thobson 38]

Thank you for your kind comments, I really do appreciate them.  

I suggest you try no ECP but full setting first.  Full settings doesn't change the story or the fighting - but it does have very big effect on the atmosphere. I built the damned thing and some of the effect still make me jump.

[karantan 0]

Hey mate, where's all that lag from the beta versions gone?  I play it with ECP and full settings, also my personal settings are pretty high, but it runs quite smouthly!  I'm still somewhere like on the beginning, so I'm a bit worried, how it will be, when 'things' starts really to cook up.

Great stuff, mate, I can't thank you enough for this miss...adventure.  As you may know, I've followed the development of this miss...adventure on OFPEC Beta Testing Board (true, not very actively; lack of free time) from its infancy to its end, and I know, what an enterprise and a journey that has been.  I still can't forget one of your responds to my post, where you're explaining to me, how you've tested the AI of convoys (or something like that), and keep it runing for days.  For days!  I really admire all the effort, which you put in this miss...adventure.

I don't like smilies to much, but here I'll gladly make an exseption:  

[thobson 38]

Thank you for your comments

I remember - you are are in the list of beta testers.

On the lag in the earlier versions: I did a lot of restructuring from the first couple of versions to remove a lot of background processing.  The acid test as you say is when things really start to get hot.  I can't do much about lag then, it is all to do with units moving and projectiles flying.

Yes I did test it for days (5 to be precise) - I wanted to make sure the island would continue to operate forever if the player did not do anything.  In fact I tested it many times for several days at a time until I got it working properly.  This is important.  The mission would easily run fine for 20 hours or so and then the AI drivers would get screwed up.  It was worth it though.  I have just finished a complete run through of v1.4 as a player not as a builder (it is too late to make changes now).  Mission time on completion was 24 hours and 7 minutes (I am a slow player).  Dawn on the second day was terrific.

[karantan 0]

you are in the list of beta testers

Really?  Do not deserve it ..

[thobson 38]

You submitted a beta test report and made some useful suggestions - of course you should be in the list

[DEATHBULLET 0]

Very very nice mission this made me think like if it was a real life situation very much cheers to you I have just gotten to the part where u rescue the 2nd group of civies unfortunaly i dint know where to go after as one group headed to the uncle cabin on foot, I decided to try and find out the girls missing sister and mother but we got ambushed by a shilka and my whole team died.. Unfortunaly I had to walk on foot to the cabin as I already had 2 t80's and god knows how many infantry on my tail, Am now on the cabin with only 1 soldier and dont know what to do..lol, but I will keep trying its a very thinking mission, Good Job Thobson

[thobson 38]

Lol.  Thank you.Yes you do have to think about what you are doing.  Attacking the first and everything you see is not my favourite way to do the mission.  You really need to try and understand what is going on first.

To have taken any casualties at that stage means you have a bit of a problem on your hands.  No impossible, one beta tester deliberately left his team at the lodge and did the whole mission on his own.  I couldn't do that.  I need to use the team.

[nominesine 0]

...this just gets better and better. I restarted the campaign without ECP, and now it runs smooth, with full effects. The story makes replacement mods/addons/effects pointless IMO. I'm too concentrated on investigating what's happening on Malden to bother about flashes of light, tracers and similar unimportant things

The atmosphere in Abandoned Army is really great. It reminds me of the old paperback RPG "Twillight 2000". Once again... good job Thobson.

[thobson 38]

Quote[/b] ]I'm too concentrated on investigating what's happening on Malden. . .

You have discovered the secrect of this mission.  Find out what is going on before you start destroying stuff.

I am glad you are enjoying it.  On the ofpec beta thread I have just finished replying to someone who was suggesting what score this mission should be given.  My reply was that the score was not important to me.  What is important is comments from people who play the mission and enjoy it.  

That is the real reward.  So please keep them coming

(For those that play the mission and don't like it I have a couple of comments:

- when I was building it I expected most people would hate it so I really expect it.

- the time to tell me was when the mission was in beta testing.  It is too late now. )

[Daniel 0]

I started the mission again for the first time since it was half way through the beta testing. And the intro is amazing! It's great how the music goes with the scenes and the titles.

At the moment I'm a bit stuck at the civilians near La Trinite, I keep getting shot before i can get close, and am always spotted before I kill more than two of them. Are there always soldiers there, or was it just my luck.

Anyway, I had great fun ambushing a convoy of machine-gun jeeps at an abandoned checkpoint, sniped them from behind some sandbags.

I'll have another shot on it tomorrow.

As for performance hit, it's totally playable, no slow downs so far using Low Settings and DXDLL.

[thobson 38]

Quote[/b] ]Are there always soldiers there, or was it just my luck

No and maybe.

I am not sure but it might have something to do with:

Quote[/b] ]Anyway, I had great fun ambushing a convoy of machine-gun jeeps at an abandoned checkpoint, sniped them from behind some sandbags

Perhaps you were spotted and some guard units are now searching for you.

[Daniel 0]

Aha. Well I sniped the guards at the civilians, rescued them, got blown up by a T80, repeated, and got them to saftey. I'd just made it back to camp and was looking through the squad via the "re-organise squad" feature, when I noticed an Abrams sitting next to one of my team mates.

"Oh no, 2 is down!"

"Damn, 3 is down!"

"4 is....5,6,7 is....etc...

This might be cheating, but are there any actually safe areas on the game, or will I constantly be hunted? I retried but was almost over run by a squad of infantry, and lost many of my team.

[thobson 38]

Quote[/b] ]This might be cheating, but are there any actually safe areas on the game, or will I constantly be hunted?

If the soldiers know where you are then guard units will head your way - so no there are no safe areas.

[Daniel 0]

Oh great.

[Abs_01 0]

I'm so pissed! I spent about an hour hoofing it on foot to where Stamanov is hidden, saved, and now my save is gone! (This has nothing to do with your mission...it's just how OFP works. Bloody hell.)

I was caught in Larche during two battles of the opposing sides, took a snipers rifle from somewhere, began sniping the crap out of patrols that came my way, stole two ammo trucks and returned them to base, RAN back to Larche, ran south towards Stamanov, took out a sniper with a silenced pistol, got sniped by another sniper who somehow knew about my taking out a member of their group, despite it being all silenced (I was rather upset about that, but I'll chalk it up to being spotted, and not a script informing the other guy about me). Quit. Came back and accidentially double clicked ont he mission. Lost my game.

Now I've got about an hour and a half of war to re-create. THobson, you're so luck this mission kicks ass, or else I would have dropped it.

Abs, still enjoying this mission

[thobson 38]

Quote[/b] ]saved, and now my save is gone!

No your save hasn't gone.  When you go back into the game you are taken to the place you were the last time you exited the mission alive.  You may have a later save.  To get to it press Escape and then Retry - I bet that will get you to where you expected to be.  This is mentioned in the readme file.

Quote[/b] ]took out a sniper with a silenced pistol, got sniped by another sniper who somehow knew about my taking out a member of their group, despite it being all silenced (I was rather upset about that, but I'll chalk it up to being spotted, and not a script informing the other guy about me).

Quite right - I don't script things like that it would be cheating.  It is standard OFP that if you are spotted by a unit or if you only wound a unit it will know where you are, so all the members of its group will know where you are, so all the guard groups of that side will know where you are.  So two shots with a silenced weapon and the guy lies dead - but if the first shot didn't kill him then run like hell, and if there is a sniper in his group that has a clear shot of you ....

I am glad you are sticking with it. You seem to have got them fighting each other - that is an excellent move.

[Abs_01 0]

Trust me, it's gone. I double clicked the mission from the 'Single Missions' menu, that restarted the game, and wiped everything in the save folder. I even looked - nothing there. I read the readme, btw

Lol...that sniper scenario ticked me off like no tomorrow. I snuck up on the bugger, and he had no clue I was there. I didn't have cover, and he was right in the bush I was heading to. I put 5 bullets into him, and he didn't die. I thought it was lag, so I put one more then he was dead. Then I was dead. Thoroughly enjoyable times.

Haha..if it was me who got them fighting each other, I don't know what I did.

[DELETED]

Honestly, this mission is the way I wish all OFP missions were. Thanks, THobson.

Abs

(PS: Did I say Larche? I meant La Trinite)