The Cause

[Rejn 0]

ALL MISSIONS ALSO HOSTED AT WWW.ARMAHOLIC.COM, If some of the links do not work go to the downloads/scenarios/sp missions at the armaholic website.

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I plan to make a series of missions at some stage, this is the first one.

I have to post a warning to those who may be offended by the subject matter in the mission and I'd like to point out that I don't sympathize or draw on any parralells to whats happening in Iraq within my mission.

That being said:

The story is that you've just watched from a distance as your entire village including your family has been executed by a U.S reconnisance platoon.

The mission takes place and starts in the neihbouring occupied village (North Sahrani) were you and your friend enlist help to take revenge on the platoon.

Features:

-Voice Acting

-My own composed music

-Intro

-Mission

-Outro win

The mission is far from perfect or problem free mind you. Im still developing my skills in mission making.

The mission is short and hopefully somewhat entertaining.

I'd love some feedback on this as I plan to make it a series.

Thankyou!

THE CAUSE MISSION 1:

Here is the link:

http://www.sharebigfile.com/file/126907/THECAUSE-zip.html

P.s: You have to type in the number at the bottom and click submit, then you have to wait around 26seconds as the timer goes down and a green button with download now will appear and u can grab it.

Crit/feedback welcome thanks.

*****************************************************

Thanks for the feedback guys Glad you liked the mission

Sorry Kwato this one is SLA and not insurgent but I will make another insurgent one at some point

This next one is a continuation of the first though there's not a huge deal of story links between the first mission and this one. I plan to link the series at some point.

THE CAUSE MISSION 2:

Version 2 of the file: (Fixed some small annoying thing(s) :P

http://www.sharebigfile.com/file/132089/THECAUSE2-rar.html

Story: The player charachter joins the SLA and after hard training he is assigned with his company to (spelling?) Mercillimo??

The mission starts in the barracks where you and a few others in your platoon head out for a days lesson on Rpg's (fairly quick event).

You then run into town to meet up with the rest of your platoon

to go and relieve A and B company of frontline duties.

However things don't go as planned and if you want a spoiler read the bottom of the post.

Mission has:

-Intro

-Mission

-Quick Mission Ending Cam script

-Music

-Voice Acting

Please let me know the enjoyment factor of this mission.

+ and - are great way to tell me what you want/prefer or even make suggestions as what you'd like to see in future. Thanks!

************************************************

Here is THE CAUSE MISSION 3 - Battle for the hedge.

Its an easy-hard mission depending on the variables of war. I have found the last two times I have played it seems to have been easy going.

http://www.sharebigfile.com/file/138485/THE-20CAUSE-203-Sara-rar.html

Thanks guys. This mission was sometimes a pain in the butt to make. and hence its not the better of the last one but it is still fun to play I hope

Its difficult getting the ai to do what you want ^_^

Anyway this one is called the battle of the hedge. I hope you enjoy it. There is an ambulance bmp this time.

I'd like your feedback on the following:

1) Enjoyment factor

2) Pc performance. (Works ok on mine but would still like to know thnks) I tried to be as efficient as possible.

3) any dislikes

4) Your likes

Story:

******spoiler warning*************

You spend the night at the Communications post with a few other assigned men. The next morning you are ordered to the front. (not much of a spoiler but I think I'll let you get into the story when you play the mission)

**********************Hints and tips Spoiler warning****

- When the enemy tanks arrive just stay low and wait at least for the first one to be taken out. The tanks have a hard time seing anyone hiding in the grass, even at 100 meters.

- After the tanks attack the RAC infantry will be on the move. Initially there will be a strong wave but that will die down.

You will spend around 3-10 minutes in continual combat at the front until another wave of enemy tanks arrives and you and the men are ordered to retreat pronto. At this point you will be assigned to Corporal Miguel's group so ask him where he is if you need directions. When these messages start to happen you will know its time to run. Tank Commander Grosky will attempt to shield the retreating personelle though you shouldnt have to many problems getting away as there is a good half a min between the tanks arriving and the warning.

-If your under fire roll behind a hedge and keep rolling for a bit.

-stay on your belly as much as possible.

-There are about 3 apc's and 2 humvees that attempt to cut off the back pass sometime in towards the game. Make sure your retreat is not jeopardised and invest a few bullets to ensuring the back stays free. (there is an outpost there which should take care of itself)

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MISSION 4

Thanks Wolf Glad you liked it.

Here is mission 4.

It is a short mission and has a longer intro and outro that is more story driven.

Every now and then I will make one of these more story orientated missions.

This mission facilitates my plan for a 2nd invasion of the South.

http://rapidshare.com/files/29604195/THECAUSE4.Sara.zip.html

This mission also available on Armaholic:

http://www.armaholic.com/page.php?id=1218

Im not sure how some of you will deal with the intro... Its quite negative particularly towards the U.S. but I dish it back out to the SLA in the outro so bear with me. The point being a general anti-war anti-war-for-the-sake-of-ideology feel.

THE MISSION IS STILL IN BETA STAGE 0.99

-Later I may add a few more voices

-Increase volume of some of the radio messages

-Fix spelling

Please let me know:

1) Performance on your pc

2) Bugs/glitches

3) Enjoyment factor

Thankyou.

Known Issues:

-Camera during outro intro can be a little choppy.

-Charachters may not be facing each other during dialogue.. dowatch isnt perfect. In some cases like the outro it wasnt nessacary for the charachters to look at each other as their attention is on other things.

-Sound can be a little out of timing if something occurs to disrupt the outro/intro/dialogues but usually its not to bad. Disruptions can range from PC stutters to use input.

******************SPOILERS/HINTS AND TIPS

- At the beginning during the initial assault you will face minor resistance... in fact you may not even end up shooting much during this mission.

- Make sure that the Vulcan is taken care of early on and that it doesnt wipe out your squad or the mission will be very hard to complete.

-You do not require the RPG after the initial assault. In fact you may want to pick up another weapon if you prefer it for later on.

-When guarding the road it will take a min or so before you encounter an attack. Be aware that the enemy will attack from two flanks... If your overwhelmed head further in to the forest.

Reserve platoon will move to help you from direction west and another platoon will arrive and trickle in from direction north west. The tanks arrive very shortly after that so its not to hard.

Enjoy.

[kroky 1]

Very short mission but I enjoyed it anyway.

+ Very good cutscenes

+ superb voice acting (I first thought this were ArmA original

voices.

- story could get more complex

- mission could last longer

The last cutscene implies that maybe there will be a continuation. You could make a very good campaign out of the first mission.

Again: voice acting is absolutely brilliant!

[Rejn 0]

Hi Kroky!

Thankyou very much for your feedback it has made all the effort worthwhile

The mission is sadly very short and acts more as an introduction to a series of missions I intend to create. I wanted to test the idea first and see wether people would be receptive to the first mission.

I will definately make more missions and link them into a campaign (I think that is possible within the editor through key code).

Thanks again for the compliment I did a bit of voiceacting for pc games and mod's in my time though Im still only amateur.

-Warlords 3 Battlecry

-E5 Brigade (3 charachter's Manuel Garcia, Ludwig and some Irish guy)

-Pvkii mod (Viking and Pirate)

and some other bits and pieces here and there.

I occassionally do it for a bit of cash on the side. The Arma editor allows me to explore alot of media and see how well it works ingame.

Hope you all enjoy and I will begin working on the second mission.

[SeppSchrot 0]

I am deeply impressed.

Very well done.

[-Puma- 2]

U could enlist to some mod group, im sure they could use a good voice actor

[Maddmatt 1]

Nice mission, and the voice acting was good .

[Kwato 0]

That was a really well done and fun mission although too short! If you enjoyed playing the mp mission Insurgent, you will like this.

Please do some more. I love playing rebels.

[Rejn 0]

Thanks for the feedback guys Glad you liked the mission

Sorry Kwato this one is SLA and not insurgent but I will make another insurgent one at some point

This next one is a continuation of the first though there's not a huge deal of story links between the first mission and this one. I plan to link the series at some point.

*Note I have posted the link in the first post as well.

THE CAUSE MISSION 2:

Version 2 of the file: (Fixed some small annoying thing(s) :P

http://www.sharebigfile.com/file/132089/THECAUSE2-rar.html

Story: The player charachter joins the SLA and after hard training he is assigned with his company to (spelling?) Mercillimo??

The mission starts in the barracks where you and a few others in your platoon head out for a days lesson on Rpg's (fairly quick event).

You then run into town to meet up with the rest of your platoon

to go and relieve A and B company of frontline duties.

However things don't go as planned and if you want a spoiler read the bottom of the post.

Mission has:

-Intro

-Mission

-Quick Mission Ending Cam script

-Music

-Voice Acting

Please let me know the enjoyment factor of this mission.

+ and - are great way to tell me what you want/prefer or even make suggestions as what you'd like to see in future. Thanks!

***************Spoiler****************************

+ hints and tips

-There's a lot of radio chatter in the background between Company Command and the various platoons within the company. It gives you a vague idea of what's going on. War being the ultimate expression of chaos may make it difficult to figure out.

-You will recieve orders to aid HQ platoon at the communication Post Alpha which is your primary objective. You do not need to follow waypoints to complete this mission.

-Your platoon and Platoon 2 will have a tough time with enemy numbers yet this mission is not hard at all. If your desperate to finish the mission do what you can and take cover behind hay bails and wait for reinforcements. Be careful though: the enemy will try and flank you. More often than not when playing this mission my entire squad dies just before reinforcements comes in to save the day.

-I never make my missions impossible or to hard.. when apprx half your men die Company Command will relent and send 2 bmp's with troops in them. They take about a minute or so to get to your location.

-Once you reach the Communication's Outpost Obregan Garrison will send two tanks and once they arrive that will conclude the mission.

-When reinforcements arrive work your way up the road with them. The Bmp's will help clear a path and provide some cover.

[Kwato 0]

Ok this was simply brilliant. I think it is the best single player mission I have played for Arma so far. The intro, the music, the end cut scene, the atmosphere, the voice acting (it is hard to believe it is the same person doing all the different voices) and the mission itself are top notch.

It is not some sort of commando or specops fight, it feels just like war. It is pretty brutal and yes you can try to be a hero or just try to survive.

I highly recommend this mission! It is so good, it puts the game missions to shame.

And playing SLA is my second favorite thing to do after playing rebels  

[Rejn 0]

Thankyou so much for your appreciation Kwato

It has made my day

[Yeb 0]

Well, i totally agree with Kwato, i would add your missions are like drugs, we need and want more.

Music and voice acting are impressive and deeply help to set up an atmosphere, a heavy atmosphere, and as said Kwato: it feels just like war.

Your missions are simply worth downloading. Hence, i can not wait for your next mission.

[MBot 0]

Rejn, The Cause - First Patrol is simply brilliant ! By far the best ArmA mission I played until today. It very much reminds me about the old OFP demo mission, which also had that great "simple grunt in war" feeling.

I loved the general setup of the mission, the selection of location, the overall battle plan and as I mentioned the fact that you are a simple soldier trying to keep pace and stay alive. On top of that comes the superb voice acting.

Now that you have reveiled your great talent, you have to keep delivering I am looking very much forward to your next mission.

[Rejn 0]

Im very happy that  you guys liked the mission Thankyou very much for all the positive feedback.

Also feel free to add suggestions of what you would like to see in future missions. Im following a sort of guideline. I did a long speech of voice acting today which explains the military position that all sides have on the island.

Im not sure when i will implement that speech but it will be an ambient one perhaps next time the player finds himself in Bangango or if I find a suitable place where a staff meeting might take place ^_^ The player will merely be able to overhear the speech and can move on or listen to it if he likes.

I also plan to add some elements from the first missions story into future missions. Bringing back old charachters. Just have to make it seem like co-incidence to the player or that the charachter purposely looks up yours.

Eventually I will release a campaign with all the missions in it.

Now that I know people like the combat missions that make you feel like your just a soldier and not rambo I am rather relieved because to be honest thats my favourite style is if the player feels he is but an ant in an ant hive

I did play that OPF demo mission when OPF first came out. I think i played it to death lol

My main concern when making a mission are the following:

-Reason for being (ie Story)

-Location (there are some locations not even a private would set up shop)

-Squads (I like my squads to be structured)

  SLA: A company = 4 Platoons and possibly a reserve

                            HQ,1st,2nd,3rd, and/not reserve

                            Platoon = 12 men

RACS: A Company = 3-5 Platoons including reserve platoon

                        HQ,1st,2nd,3rd,and/not 4th,5th

                        Platoon = 9 men

U.S being the trainers of the RAC have the same. but it depends on Battalion type etc.

and playability/replayability factors.

I also do not like the situation where if your the last guy left you have no way out. My missions are so that no matter what the player does eventually the fighting will die down. Or he has an escape objective. Im still learning alot about the mission editor but my missions will get more complex as time goes on. So mabey expect a bit more dynamics in the further future

Im also wondering how did you guys find medic availability in mission 2? I often have a medical team following behind the platoons in my missions.

[Yeb 0]

I guess you did not expect this in your mission . Driver certainly drunk too much vodka.

Unfortunatly, i do not know the exact reasons of this accident because i was missing: medic urgence, and i gonna bounce to answer your question, adding medic is really a good idea, but maybe you could add a motorized medivan bmp instead of men, could add to the realism, just my humble opinion. But that's a good idea, it gives us the feeling that we have support behind us.

Btw, what really makes me love your missions is as you sum up well:"I also do not like the situation where if your the last guy left you have no way out." The feeling that brings bmp-2 supports is merely unique because just before, you heard:"Oh no, 1 is down, same for 2,3,4 etc...", and you say to yourself: ok, now it's my turn. And finally, the relief: bmps-2 are coming to save your life. A feeling i did not feel yet in other missions.

I definitely love your missions.

[Rejn 0]

hmmm I've certainly never seen that happen to my bmp's before lol...

I've played my mission through a few times. There were 3 occassions were alot of my men and I made it to the end. I love a little bit of unpredictability

But not bmp drunk unpredictability lol. If it happens to anyone ealse let me know. My guess is both bmp's bumped into each other. Though there is a bit of time between each one's depature and arrival ... *shrugs shoulders*

[Rejn 0]

Here is The Cause mission 3. Battle for the hedge.

Its an easy-hard mission depending on the variables of war. I have found the last two times I have played it seems to have been easy going.

http://www.sharebigfile.com/file/138485/THE-20CAUSE-203-Sara-rar.html

Thanks guys. This mission was sometimes a pain in the butt to make. and hence its not the better of the last one but it is still fun to play I hope

Its difficult getting the ai to do what you want ^_^

Anyway this one is called the battle of the hedge. I hope you enjoy it. There is an ambulance bmp this time.

I'd like your feedback on the following:

1) Enjoyment factor

2) Pc performance. (Works ok on mine but would still like to know thnks) I tried to be as efficient as possible.

3) any dislikes

4) Your likes

5) bugs / glitches

Story:

******spoiler warning*************

You spend the night at the Communications post with a few other assigned men. The next morning you are ordered to the front. (not much of a spoiler but I think I'll let you get into the story when you play the mission)

**********************Hints and tips Spoiler warning****

- When the enemy tanks arrive just stay low and wait at least for the first one to be taken out. The tanks have a hard time seing anyone hiding in the grass, even at 100 meters.

- After the tanks attack the RAC infantry will be on the move. Initially there will be a strong wave but that will die down.

You will spend around 3-10 minutes in continual combat at the front until another wave of enemy tanks arrives and you and the men are ordered to retreat pronto. At this point you will be assigned to Corporal Miguel's group so ask him where he is if you need directions. When these messages start to happen you will know its time to run. Tank Commander Grosky will attempt to shield the retreating personelle though you shouldnt have to many problems getting away as there is a good half a min between the tanks arriving and the warning.

-If your under fire roll behind a hedge and keep rolling for a bit.

-stay on your belly as much as possible.

-There are about 3 apc's and 2 humvees that attempt to cut off the back pass sometime in towards the game. Make sure your retreat is not jeopardised and invest a few bullets to ensuring the back stays free. (there is an outpost there which should take care of itself)

[MBot 0]

Great, looking forward to play it when I get home

[Yeb 0]

Omg! Omg! A new mission! And what a mission!

Gimme a mg42 and Normandy is not far.

Rejn, every time you make missions, every time they get better and better, orgasmic is the right word to define your mission and dying in your missions is no longer a pain because fun is always here.

About ambulance bmp, i think it would have been a good idea for the second mission because a medic team follows us, imho, an ambulance bmp would have been more efficient, faster, etc...but for this mission, as we are static in one part, and in other part, there is not really the place for a bmp, for instance, i was behind a bush to get a cover (well, to hide ^^), unfortunately, the bmp crushed this nice little and so useful bush (RIP) (when it was not me), and about twenty RAC were happy to meet me: "Hello guys! Fine?", then a beautiful firework has been organised to celebrate this meet.

Ai is also funny sometimes like kamikaze who runs in the noman's land followed by the ambulance bmp because they are injured until they definitely die, or rusted humvee fleeing...nowhere (but probably shitting in their pants.).

And the end, ah, the end...my name is now Rambo, a cut down Rambo, but still Rambo, my right leg and my two arms have gone, i do not care, i am alive!

One suggestion: maybe you could add one or two mg nest, otherwise, your mission is almost perfect.

My review could seem negative (even if funny), but i do not want to spoil too much. Keep it up!

[Rejn 0]

Omg! Omg! A new mission!    And what a mission!

Gimme a mg42 and Normandy is not far.

Rejn, every time you make missions, every time they get better and better, orgasmic is the right word to define your mission and dying in your missions is no longer a pain because fun is always here.

About ambulance bmp, i think it would have been a good idea for the second mission because a medic team follows us, imho, an ambulance bmp would have been more efficient, faster, etc...but for this mission, as we are static in one part, and in other part, there is not really the place for a bmp, for instance, i was behind a bush to get a cover (well, to hide ^^), unfortunately, the bmp crushed this nice little and so useful bush (RIP) (when it was not me), and about twenty RAC were happy to meet me: "Hello guys! Fine?", then a beautiful firework has been organised to celebrate this meet.

Ai is also funny sometimes like kamikaze who runs in the noman's land followed by the ambulance bmp because they are injured until they definitely die, or rusted humvee fleeing...nowhere (but probably shitting in their pants.).

And the end, ah, the end...my name is now Rambo, a cut down Rambo, but still Rambo, my right leg and my two arms have gone, i do not care, i am alive!

One suggestion: maybe you could add one or two mg nest, otherwise, your mission is almost perfect.

My review could seem negative (even if funny), but i do not want to spoil too much. Keep it up!

Some great feedback there! Thanks man!

Im very happy you liked it

Good advice on the bmp

these were my major problems during mission testing and creation:

-1 sadly the medics kept running away or dying and the field tent to me seemed very U.S like (might make an east tent with field medic capabilities.)  So I added the bmp lol You can sometimes use it for cover when parked right from the advancing west flank But yeah it can trample the wild life D:

-2 I tried a few scripts to stop the friendly ai from running across no man's land... sadly nothing really works 100& without sometimes nasty side effects D: I will dwelve deeper into solutions on this for future missions.

-3 I thought about mg nests i really did D: I was worried about the tanks spotting them and it becoming somwhat obsolete. However I could have placed them and had the crew leave and enter it when the tanks were taken down ala the D30 nearest to your position. I will keep it in mind and mabey have a future mission were u man one of these babies

Thanks for your feedback and to those of you who download these missions please please feedback all your likes/dislikes and suggestions for future mission sakes. It also helps motivation. Thanks guys

Also how was your pc performance on this mission btw? And can u give me ur specs just so I know?

I have an amd dual core 3400x2?

and a GTR 8800 (only one)

My GTR8800 has some issues with the game though as many people have reported.

[Yeb 0]

My rig is the following: Amd 3700+ (singlecore); 7800gt (overclocked) and 1giga.

My performance are quite good despite the amount of ia, i did not notice any fps or perf drop. Overall, my perf are good. I run 1.05.5143 (beta patch) with this config (faible=low ,élevé=High and désactivé=disabled).

[Rejn 0]

exellent. This gives me a framework on cpu usage in my missions for the future Thanks

[Rejn 0]

And the end, ah, the end...my name is now Rambo, a cut down Rambo, but still Rambo, my right leg and my two arms have gone, i do not care, i am alive!

Oh yeah also can i get peoples sentiments about the mission end? How did you find it etc what was your experience with it etc. Just for future note. Thanks.

[MBot 0]

Just played it, great mission. Here are some comments:

+ Atmospheric intro

+ As usual top notch voice acting/scripts.

+ Good overall mission concept with well chosen elements. Calm introduction, showing off the defense line to the player, combat, being outflanked, retreat etc. Appropriate radio transmissions with emotions where they fit.

+ I like the fact that you are creating a meaningful and realistic order of battle ( in a scale that is of importance to the player ). Your mission have a overall battle plan that look realistic. In general a realistic feeling for the whole operation.

+ I like that you are concentrating on infantry warfare with some armored support, not the full mechanised war.

+ "Just a single soldier in a big war" feeling.

+ Good use of autosave

- The briefing map had lots of good informations with front line etc. ( what I really like ), but was a bit clustered and hard to read.

- After you arrive at the front line your leader says something like "you and me join first platoon", then he runs away. The first time I followed him, while it seems I was supposed to stay there ( I thought he would lead me to first platoon, but I already was ).

- The tanks don't get destroyed on every try. Sometimes the Abrams run over your lines.

- The AI generally was unable to fight from their position. They started to go prone in the open, move around aimless or storm the field. I know that this is nothing you can influence, but the ArmA AI is unable to fight from superior positions with the use cover, which is a shame. It kind of hit the suspense of disbelieve to watch the AI do stupid stuff. But that is something that affects all defense missions.

- Your contact at the end of the mission ( Miguel ? ) was standing a bit off the road and was initial hard to find.

- The end cutscene was a but lush ( I saw a idle T-72 for most of it ). I understand that it depends on what actually happens then as it is a "realtime" cutscene. Perhaps some shots of advancing RACS troops would have been good ( or whatever ), basically something that doesn't interact with the actions of the mission itselfe, something over which you have full control ( but it still shouldn't look displaced, it should 'look' like part of the action of the mission ).

Overall a very good mission with a great concept, that is hampered a bit by the limitations of the ArmA AI. You realy have talent and I am looking forward for your next installment of "The Cause"

Edit:

And performance was good even on my medicore rig ( 3500+, 1GB RAM, GF6800 ).

[Rejn 0]

Thanks for your feedback mbot very happy you liked it

With Corporal miguel he says "Take the Mg to 2nd platoon! Alexander you and I will go and join first. "

It is sometimes hard to make out what their saying particularly if you arrive and the music is still playing D:

Yeah I find that the ai is quite unpredictable and I cannot as of yet get it to do what i want. The defencive stance their suppossed to take doesn't quite happen. I will further investigate threads that deal with this issue.

I have noticed that the T72's sometimes do not enter the fray as their supposed to. This has happened once or twice to me during a mission. It is unfortunate thankyou Arma ai lol.

I have to admit the end cut scene was pretty lax as I had spent way to much time on the mission itself that when the end cut scene worked well on first try I didn't do much testing after D:

I apologise for that D:

Miguel should be closer to the road or at least I should have placed a marker so you can find him particularly if your playing in vet mode. I was afraid he'd get hit by crossfire D: I will note such inconvienice for players in future missions.

Thanks for the feedback

[Yeb 0]

Indeed, ai sometimes behave strangely, after the first wave of infantry who have been completely owned, i saw ten or more of us attacking as in braveheart or m113 which are supposed to cut off our back did not really act so (almost attacked in front).

I also forgot to mention some suggestions (nitpick in fact):

-Ammo boxes are, according to me, too uncovered (no bushes around to cover us.), especially the one near the d81.

-I think you could also play with weather to improve more again atmosphere (for future missions), certainly one of the best feature of arma and results can be impressive.

-You could add people in our side fleeing, scared by the amount of enemy.

-Why humvee instead of 4*4 with m2 (Rac car i mean)?

-Real nitpick: you should not shorten word like Roger by Rgr for instance.

I have more ideas (and i could give you some) but none talent to make missions .

*spoiler*

About the end, just a feeling to describe it: chaos.

I stayed in the frontline until i got the message to withdraw, the situation was hot and chaotic, tanks were really close, i stand up and just got a shot in my arm and one bullet right in my leg, but i was still able to run, luckily. Thus, i rushed and ran to the last objective. I do not know how i survived but i did.

And the third time i played the mission, there were no tanks at the end, trigger bug maybe.

But i really love the way you bring the end, we are getting more and more dead in our side, we are really more and more under pressure, and finally, rac managed to defeat us in a final and deadly wave.