What to fix in the next patch

[Cantata 0]

I notice the sound problems with EAX as well. In fact, when I turn EAX on, I can here everything on a given map, no matter where on the map it is, as if I were standing right next to it. You name it, fountains, people walking, boats, planes, helicopters, ANYTHING on a map ANYWHERE.

I found this out by placing many objects at the far corners of the Malden map, and then started the mission. I couln't tell what was going on at any given time simply becasue I could never discern which sounds came from nearby and which were, literally, miles away. By the same token, I have never heard the sound so good, either. But it's worhtless as is. EAX is off. HW Acceleration I still run, without all the troubles, or so it seems. I really haven't tried it without HW Acceleration, so I shall have to do so.

Only other question I have is this: Does the network code seem to have slowed the game down some in MP? It seems like the game ran faster under 1.40 than it does under 1.42, but maybe that's just me.

BTW: I have a Turtle Beach - Santa Cruz sound card running on a PIII 650 w/256MB SDRAM and a GeForce2 /w64MB.

Otherwise, this game is the greatest thing since sliced bread! A depth and scope unmatched in computer gaming anywhere at this time. Marvelous work BIS and CM, simply marvelous.

[maruk 80]

</span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote (Kegetys @ Jan. 25 2002,16:32)</td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE"></span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote </td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">2) MAP Notes. Do you know you can double click there and write notes and insert markers (use arrow UP/DOWN to change icon)? It's not like reall "scratchpad" but it works quite well for arranging some points and tactics in mp.<span id='postcolor'>

I think there is a bug related to this feature... In multiplayer the markers are seen by everyone, ie. east sees markers placed by west. Makes planning tactics in non-coop missions kinda hard.<span id='postcolor'>

The way how it's supposed to work is that you set the channel for all transmissions including notes in the map using the chat. So you have to first change your comm channel to side or group chanel accordingly and the map notes should appear only to right people.

I have tested it and it seems to be working fine. Please can you try it?

[Beagle 684]

Another thingie that's really annoying, is the fact that none of the tracked vehicles can be stopped when driving downhill. Just test it at the serpentines towards Larche.

It's imposible to control a tank when driving downhill this street.

That's very annoying especially when considering that most tanks can stop almost instantly.

the same with uphill driving. Modern Tanks have electronic cruise control. their top speed is limited electronically not by availble engine power.

this fact makes for enought power reserve when entering a hill. In reality the speed will not drop as much as in OFP.

next issue deals with inertia, and how it is modelled.

The tanks feel much to light, and loose grounf contact much too often. I've seen tanks jumping in reality, but not that high and far as in OFP.

Well, that all so far.

[Bassemoluff 0]

<ul>[*]Thrust control should work like in flight simulators, i.e. should be reversed

[*]When steering an airplane or helicopter, slightly tilting the joystick should cause the air vehicle to only slightly drift sideways, and not strongly (Playstation-like) as it is now

[*]You cannot rotate helicopters with only 30% thrust. You need at least 50% which is bad if you want to turn during descents or landings. This is caused by the analog/digital control system

[*]The infamous "flying BMP" bug needs to be fixed (occurs with only patches 1.20, 1.30+RH, 1.40, 1.42 installed - no inoff. addons!)

[*]If you use animation commands like "FXStandAtt" (causing a soldier to stand with hands behind the back), soldiers turn immortal and need to be explicitly set mortal. This should happen automatically.

[*]Often, the command "return to formation" does not work if you are aboard a vehicle and the rest of the team is onboard (other) vehicles

[*]Gunner does not take notice of targets assigned by the commander

[*]Driver does not take notice of way points assigned by the commander

[*]Friction of heavy objects seems to be wrong (examples: tanks on slopes are very slow or sliding down, helicopters reel through the air after being hit)

[*]Generally, heavy objects (tanks, helis) should not fly through the air after being hit (esp. by satchels/mines) as if they were made of cardboard.

[*]As a commander, you can hardly control tank movement: The driver arbitrarily changes direction and does not turn where he is told to (tank turns, but "snaps" back when turn key is released). Tanks should go where the commander tells them to, and if it is down a cliff!

[*]Many object states are not saved in save games (e.g. tank barrel direction, NV goggles being worn, zoomed sight, etc.)

[*]Empty ammo crates are full after saving and loading game (example: RH:Alamo, sometimes even illogical, i.e. a crate not having contained AT4s before suddenly does)

[*]It seems like you cannot tell an AI soldier an exact position for placing a mine

[*]The AI often sees you through bramble and even house walls (I got shot by a tank through a house wall in RH:Alamo when crouching)

[*]AI often does not react to a close-up team mate being killed (esp. when attacker is far away)

[*]AI soldiers sometimes pass you in 2m distance and do not notice you although you're standing upright

[*]Tank crews usually do not see you when you're crouching

[*]AI soldiers sometimes lay down inhumanly fast and fire almost while falling

[*]When pressing the "lay down" key, often your avatar keeps running several meters before laying down

[*]AI tanks travel around obstacles even if they could easily push them away (i.e. trucks)

[*]AI tanks do not fire at empty enemy tanks even when these had just fired at them - you just need to leave them fast enough

[*]Tanks reload when empty (not manned)

[*]If a tank has just fired, and you save and restore the game, it has immediately reloaded

[*]Badly hit, but still functioning tanks explode after a while

[*]Bad vehicle routing (vehicles bumping into obstacles forever, esp. in narrow passages like on village streets)

[*]If you deactivate satchels, you cannot pick them up and reuse them

[*]Sometimes, when often reloading a gun magazine, it does not have full capacity any more (happened very often with Dragunov, where I could only have 3 bullets in the magazine after frequently reloading, and despite still having several full spare mags)

[*]Joystick throttle control is far to sensitive and lacks a "middle" or "neutral" position

[*]Helicopters bounce continuously when landing until they are destroyed

[*]If shooting a tank with a rifle (M16) it starts to bounce. Instead, the projectile should ricochet.

[*]Installing new patches often impossible because of CRC errors in existing OFP files with no apparent reason

[*]AI soldiers often don't hit you when firing at you from close range while you're crouching and they're standing upright

[Bassemoluff 0]

</span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote </td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">I notice the sound problems with EAX as well.  In fact, when I turn EAX on, I can here everything on a given map, no matter where on the map it is, as if I were standing right next to it.  You name it, fountains, people walking, boats, planes, helicopters, ANYTHING on a map ANYWHERE.<span id='postcolor'>

This bug is rooted in the OS level EAX drivers. Nothing BI Studios can do about this. You need to turn EAX support off in OFP (and probably even turn off hardware accelerated sound on OS level).

[Bassemoluff 0]

One more thing: You should be able to drop things from your inventory.

[xxxvader 0]

Multiplayer Programming

After starting work on some new Multiplayer maps I am experiencing problems on the clients side. The server can execute the walls addactions fine, but when the clients try they get a file not found.

[Bassemoluff 0]

Well - I just read I should only post critical bugs, so if I had to reduce my above list to those, I would name<ul>[*]Tank driving issues (friction/inertia?)

[*]Visibility issues

[*]Save game issues

[*](Not a bug, but yet ...) allow me to drop stuff (e.g. hand grenades)  from my inventory!

[kegetys 2]

</span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote (Maruk @ Jan. 25 2002,18:55)</td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE"></span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote </td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE"></span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote </td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">2) MAP Notes. Do you know you can double click there and write notes and insert markers (use arrow UP/DOWN to change icon)? It's not like reall "scratchpad" but it works quite well for arranging some points and tactics in mp.<span id='postcolor'>

I think there is a bug related to this feature... In multiplayer the markers are seen by everyone, ie. east sees markers placed by west. Makes planning tactics in non-coop missions kinda hard.<span id='postcolor'>

The way how it's supposed to work is that you set the channel for all transmissions including notes in the map using the chat. So you have to first change your comm channel to side or group chanel accordingly and the map notes should appear only to right people.

I have tested it and it seems to be working fine. Please can you try it?<span id='postcolor'>

Ahh.. I tried it locally (I ran a dedicated server, and two ofp clients on my system ) and it seemed to work fine. Maybe you could make something in the marker to indicate this... Ie. make the marker use the active chat channel colour while typing it to avoid accidents with it.

[Satchel 0]

</span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote </td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">Please let us know what do you want to have fixed in the next patch.

Currently, we would like to fix:

..........

- more robust against some not well made user made addons (currently, some user made addons could modify the core config file of the game - causing USES MODIFIED CONFIG FILE and also general problems with the game)

Thank you.<span id='postcolor'>

Don´t know if i understood correctly,

does that imply that you are planning to prevent the modification of the main config.bin file by adding stronger encryption and safety meassures, so addons that need to use it, like Soundmods for example, are unlikely to work any longer with the new patch?

[Krusty 0]

Enemies should not be able to enter an armored vehicle with open spots (if turned in anyway.) Several times I've stolen a tank as a Black Op and start blasting stuff as a gunner. The driver for the tank will come running over, hop in, and start driving around. Either he should not be able to get in, or there should be a fight in the tank (ie, one of us dies or something).

[ChopperSpirit 0]

The MI-17 can't land when an AI is pilot. It only hovers in 2m height. never landing. if u want it to u'll have to order the pilot to eject. doesn't look cool :-)

The throttle should be inverted too. this way it is impossible for ppl who play flight sims to controll.

kindly regards Chop

PS.: this is the kind of game i waited for a long time.

[kegetys 2]

</span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote (Satchel @ Jan. 25 2002,19:53)</td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE"></span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote </td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">Please let us know what do you want to have fixed in the next patch.

Currently, we would like to fix:

..........

- more robust against some not well made user made addons (currently, some user made addons could modify the core config file of the game - causing USES MODIFIED CONFIG FILE and also general problems with the game)

Thank you.<span id='postcolor'>

Don´t know if i understood it correctly, does it mean you are planning to permit the modification of the main config.bin file by adding stronger encryption and safety meassures, so addons that need to use it, like an Soundmods for example, are not going to work any longer with the new patch?<span id='postcolor'>

No, What I think Maruk means is that they are working on how the engine handles not-so-well made addons. Like as many people have seen, defininf some class trees wrong in an addon can make stuff go all wrong. (Flying BMP´s, missing HUD, etc.) Also I remember with 1.10 when an addon could redefine anything in the main config.bin... You could make a new M16 that shoots 100 rockets in a second and use that online. I think some of the things in the config.bin still can be changed with addons, and thats what I believe they are working on and thats good.

Btw. there really isnt any kind of encryption in ofp, just compression, and thats a major difference

[ChopperSpirit 0]

The MI-17 can't land when an AI is pilot. It only hovers in 2m height. never landing. if u want it to u'll have to order the pilot to eject. doesn't look cool :-)

The throttle should be inverted too. this way it is impossible for ppl who play flight sims to controll.

kindly regards Chop

PS.: this is the kind of game i waited for a long time.

[Krusty 0]

LSTs shouldn't sink when a helecopter lands on it. Makes the landing pad pretty useless.

Also, helecopters shouldn't be able to survive sinking under the water and just fly out again.

[TheCounter54231 0]

</span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote </td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">- more robust against some not well made user made addons (currently, some user made addons could modify the core config file of the game - causing USES MODIFIED CONFIG FILE and also general problems with the game)<span id='postcolor'>

hhmm....

Satchels new Sound Mod is great....the sounds are really realistic....and whitout this mod OFP is just half as funny.

[swoop 15]

Ignore all of the above. There's one thing and one thing only that we want:

JOIN IN PROGRESS OPTION FOR MULTIPLAYER!

ok?

Swoop

[Bloodmixer 0]

What I like to see a bit better is :

-Tank physics engine better (better driving uphill as mentioned before)

-Also, I shouldn't be able to park my car at a cliff with an angle of 85 degrees, it should fall down. Try this : drive a car on a real steep slope (try the Malden fjord near La Pessagne) and get out, and you will see the car doesn't move a bit. I don't know if this is a limitation of the game engine or not.

These are just minor glitches, I think the game is pretty good as it is

[flytrail 0]

In numerous missions tanks or BMPS have come up to me and not fired on me.. in one case (covert op against house on base) a BMP came up to me when I was prone, and just stopped right up against me so I could crawl underneath. A T72 parked 10-15 feet away by the edge of a forest lookpointing directly at me (it had chased me in there) and did not fire for ages (I sat down, stood up etc) and it didnt fire until I fired a shot at it.

Happened on a custom downloaded mission that all the enemy came up the hill and milled around me, again not firing till I fired a pot shot at them..

Atmosphere killer .. please fix, I used to love this game and its put me off finishing it and playing the exp pack..

many thanks

[madmike 0]

thanks quite normal for real tanks to not see stuff when the hatches are down becuase of the limited vision.

There are also loads of blind spots when driving a tank like 3/4 meters in front, 5/6 meters to the side.

Alos in real life it is easy to not be seen when people are after you.

One thing they could add would be tracker dogs tat follow your path with a handler

[Eda Mrcoch 0]

VERY old bugs (from 1.00), but still annoying:

If you have AA/AT launcher (not LAW/RPG) and you fire your rocket, you cannot take other rocket (or whole launcher) from your dead buddy, but it is possible from box or truck.

If you're commander fo M1A2 or M2A2, in external view, you cannot rotate your view 360 degrees around, only 270 or so. It doesn't affect others tanks or APCs and internal view is fine (in Abrams).

[erfworm 0]

(1) Tanks still slide up hills sideways in 1.42

(2) And could you make it so that if your the only squad member left you can still call in support (ie: Ambulances and ammo) I noticed that it is grayed out when your the only one left.

(3) Could you also make it so the AI use the mortars more? Ive noticed they never really use them even though in the most simple attacks they never bother to bring it out. (ie: Attacking a villiage not once will they try to bomb it"

(4) Also the AI machine gunner AI set to max seem to shoot over the bad guys heads about 1-2 meters.

Thx for all your hard work BIS your the best game company ever!

[MP 0]

Just a few annoying little problem's...

1: When you kill the driver of a boat the boat keep's going. I noticed this the other night when building a beach assault mission. I killed the gunner and the driver of a Mark II PBR while he was turning. When he died the boat just kept going around and around in circles... A bit on the strange side...

2: The issue with the BMP's being used as a landing craft has to be fixed. When useing it for this role, your camera perspective alway's stick's up out of the water. I know that the camera can't go under the water (why I don't know) but I think that the exception can be made for the BMP (i.e while in the vehicle set a variable to allow the camera to submerge). This would be ok for the BMP as you have a very limited field of view from the inside anyway...

3: When flying chopper's in formation and you are not the leader of the squad, the leader alway's speed's up and slow's down as if to be waiting for the other A.I members of the squad to fall back into formation. I know there is a way around this by setting the leaders WP's speed to full but when you do that you are alway's the one being left behind, as in the leader and the rest of the squad just speed's off into the distance. I think that if the leader stoped slowing down and just flew at a nice steady speed it would be all better...

4: AI soldier's don't get tired when sprinting for long periods of time + AI soldiers can run up hill's instead of doing what you do (shuffle?!). I know that you can strafe to keep up with them but it's very annoying. I think that what limits you has to limit the AI aswell (e.g getting tired while sprinting and going up hills).

5: The issue with the JeepMG... The jeep with MG should only have a limited field of pan (side to side). Let's say about 80° left and right, just enough not to be getting in the driver's face.

6: I have been seeing alot of wierd thing happening lately concerning bail out's from chopper's. When the AI (and player) bails out of a damaged chopper half of them fall out of their parachutes. This also happened to me... I bailed out and fell to my death. I know it sound's funny but it pisses you off after a while

7: This is the final one. Concerning the missing textures on the Desert island, Malden, and Everon. I noticed this at first when v1.20 was released. You can stand about 4ft above the water at the most northern tip of malden. If you start about my system config or addons causing it, well it's not. It's like as if the island's .PBO or .WRP have become curupt or somthing...

OK, that's it from me... but I would like to stress issue 2 and 4 as these are issues concerning the game simulation.... BIS, Thank's alot for this excellent game...

[-SWAF- Jones 0]

2 things comes immediately to my mind after doing some mission editing.

1) Fix the AddAction command. It is quite annoying. Especially since when using the RemoveAction command, the counter is not reset. So commands after that gets IDs still higher.

2) There is an issue with the PublicVariable command. It seems that if there is a packet loss along the way, the variable is not resent to that client. Other commands such as SetPos do not suffer from this. The end result is that the clients become desynched and it can ruin scenarios that heavily depend on it. Note here, this is only an issue if there is a script running locally on one of the clients that modifies a variable that needs to be updated to all the other clients. Please consider fixing this...

[natecooper 0]

Not sure if this has yet been addressed, but here goes...

New Feature(s)

A semi-transparent compass on the HUD that you can toggle on or off.

Additionally as semi-transparent map on the HUD that you can zoom in or out, scale the size of the on-screen map, or toggle on or off.

Be able to fire a gun as a while descending in a parachute. You're just a sitting duck, otherwise.

Fixes

For multi-player games when joining the server, increase the height of the <unassigned> player lists. It's a pain when joining a large game to have to scroll up and down the list to find an available slot. Also make it so that if you do have to scroll through the list, that the scroll-bar stays put. I hate when I have to scroll through the names, find an unassigned spot, only to click off the list and have it scroll back to the top. Perhaps it could be made so that the list will scroll down as necessary.

Fix collision-detection in general. I don't like falling through a window or fence, ect, because I got too close. There are other inconsistencies as well.

Some of the physics are kind of weird when you see a vehicle bouncing up and down forever until the game ends.

I believe tank speed on hills was addressed, but if not that's another suggestion. On especially steep terrain, they often slow to a crawl and in some cases will roll backwards if you didn't have enough momentum to start the climb.

Make a switch for server admins that can be turned on or off to prevent the opposing side from coming within a certain radius of your base. I know this is a strategy in some cases, but then again a lot of multi-player games have been ruined by the opposing teams destroying every vehicle in your base and of course spawn-camping.

Get rid of the damn seagull in games with spawn limits. Allow dead players to scroll through the remaining players' cameras.