ArmA Dynamic Campaign System

[Drongo69 117]

ADCS - A dynamic campaign system for ArmA.

Public beta 0.1

From the readme:

Quote[/b] ]ADCS is a set of missions and scripts that generate a dynamic campaign. One of the main aims was to make porting to a new island and using addons as easy as possible. ADCS is easily customized by editing the StartADCS.sqs file found in the Core directory in each mission file. This file covers a wide range of options, from the size, number and type of enemy units to the skill of friendly troops.

ADCS generates randomized friendly and enemy units and tells them to perform actions such as patrolling and attacking. It is even possible that other friendly units may achieve some mission goals without player input.

The ultimate goal of the campaign is to wear down the enemy will before friendly will is depleted. Also, the reputation of the player is tracked. If he fails too many missions or loses too many men, he will lose the campaign.

Basic fire support and helo transport are also included.

Key Features:

- Highly customizable: easily converted to 3rd party addons, most variables in a single file

- Little editing knowledge required

- Basic "out of the box" Counter-Insurgency campaign

Features of the default campaign:

- Play as a US squad leader

- 5 mission types (Raid, Rescue, Search and Destroy, Battle, Patrol)

- Engage SLA forces all over Southern Sahrani

- Limited fire support available

- Friendly and enemy units roam the battle zone, from snipers to helos

Design notes:

ADCS is playable "out of the box" with no editing at all. However, it was designed from the beginning to be extremely easy for the end-user to adjust it to their own tastes. With this in mind, I focused on designing the *system* as opposed to the *mission*. Some aspects are pretty bare-bones, this is largely intentional. I hope that people will release their own enhanced versions of ADCS for others to enjoy.

The default "out of the box" experience has not been highly tested. It is STRONGLY recommended that players tweak the StartADCS.sqs file to better suit their personal tastes.

Also note that whilst the default campaign is infantry-based, there is no reason why someone with some basic scripting skill and a few good ideas could not produce other types of campaign (eg. gunship or AFV-based).

Known bugs:

- The campaign does not correctly terminate. The last mission is selected in an endless loop.

- Sometime lone units that seem to be phantom AFV crews are spawned.

- The insertion helo can be very hard to control at times

> Download beta 0.1 < (~363kb)

ArmAholic Mirror (With thanks to Big)

Feedback is appreciated.

[Snake Man 401]

Wow a finally a campaign, good work

Ok joking aside, I will take a look on this, hoping it will rock. Any effort on this "area" is very much appreciated, so yes good work and thanks.

[rekster 0]

Good to see you back, for Armed Assault Tacrod.

Is the MP friendly, or just SP?

If you need a server for testing, just let me know.

[liljb15 0]

How do I get the helicopter to come to me and where is it? also what's with the AI in my squad they barely follow any of my orders.

[twisted 127]

great! the dynamic campaigns were a big part of OFP's enjoyment and i am glad to see they are coming to Arma.

one thing i'd like to see added is civilians being dynamically generated, and killing too many means guerrillas aid the enemy and attack you.

[Wolfrug 0]

Wooooot!

You can be assured I'll start tinkering on a campaign of some kind for this as soon as I get the time. I hope it's as easy to edit as the DMA-style ones. ^_^

Yay for dynamic campaigns!

Regards,

Wolfrug

[Drongo69 117]

Quote[/b] ]Is the MP friendly, or just SP?

SP only I'm afraid, though depending on time and motivation, something similar could be done for MP.

Quote[/b] ]How do I get the helicopter to come to me and where is it? also what's with the AI in my squad they barely follow any of my orders.

Not all missions have an insertion helo. In those that do, the helo starts in the base, next to the player. Perhaps I should have removed helo options for missions with no helo.

I'm not sure why the AI in your squad would be playing up. Could you be more specific?

Quote[/b] ]I hope it's as easy to edit as the DMA-style ones. ^_^

In my opinion, it is far easier than any previous ones. It was designed with this in mind. Check the \Core\StartADCS.sqs file to get started.

[colligpip 0]

I used to play these missons all the time thanks for bringing them to arma. Looking foward to making my own modded version.

[klamacz 447]

oh yes, nice to see you again Tacrod. I will test it tonight, you'll get my comments soon

[impi 0]

I have trouble with the AI as well. When I try to mount all my soldiers in the Humvees there is always one that won't mount no matter how many times I tell them to. I am playing with 505 dvd version upgraded to 1.08. Also your insertion helicopter seems to stick around after insertion , which can be deadly for it. Why doesn't it return to base. You should have an evacuation order for the helos to come and pick you up to take you back to base. All in all though its really good. Really like the feeling of being part of an army and not just a squad taking on the oppositon

regards, Impi

[ebud 18]

Thank you, thank you, thank you. Those Dynamic missions were really the only thing that kept me playing OFP. This is the start of something special

[colligpip 0]

yeah i was having probs with AI as well hummvees wouldnt follw man wouldnt get in etc.

[DOA 20]

tacrod and DMA are Gods.

[verde13 0]

Great job Tacrod.May i suggest and a more conventional type of campaign (moving frontlines, capture/defend objectives etc) to go along with the Counter-Insurgency one ?

[Makake 0]

tested it on 1.08. It wouldn't start right. In the second mission, I see my insertion point in the middle of the sea (on the map in the briefing). After starting, my character falls on the ground: dead. No way to play. It happens all the time. What's wrong?

[igor7111 0]

Very very good stuff here.

I'm a neophyte regarding editing.

All I want to try is changing the island....

any idea how i'd do that?

thanks for any replies.

[Drongo69 117]

Quote[/b] ]yeah i was having probs with AI as well hummvees wouldnt follw man wouldnt get in etc.

I've received a tip for fixing this and will test it soon.

Quote[/b] ]May i suggest and a more conventional type of campaign (moving frontlines, capture/defend objectives etc) to go along with the Counter-Insurgency one ?

This is already being created, using Igor Drukov's excellent SBCT command panel. It should be similar to the old CAE campaign in OFP. It goes by the same principles of ADCS, with regards to easy customization.

Quote[/b] ]In the second mission, I see my insertion point in the middle of the sea (on the map in the briefing).

This will happen every time, because the actual mission location won't be generated until after the mission starts. The marker will always be in the sea in the briefing.

Quote[/b] ]After starting, my character falls on the ground: dead. No way to play. It happens all the time. What's wrong?

Is this a "Battle" mission? If not, what type is it? Try restarting the campaign and see if you have the same result with different mission types.

[verde13 0]

This is already being created, using Igor Drukov's excellent SBCT command panel. It should be similar to the old CAE campaign in OFP. It goes by the same principles of ADCS, with regards to easy customization.

Thank you so much Tacrod. Excellent news!

[Makake 0]

Restartet it all over. now it works. nice. you could entrench the enemy units in the assault missions, and give them more defense, so that airstrikes make more sense. for helo insertion: maybe take a look at the "dynamic war"-mission released. heli departing after insertion. maybe this adds to overall experience. great, that other units randomly participate in actions or roam the streets/sky. nicely done.

[mike@uk 0]

Would it be possible to have another mission type where you have to defend a position, like the Battle mission but in reverse.

As I'd like to add an extra mission to my Special Forces conversion where the enemy find the Players camp and you have to fight them off, but I don't know how.

[verde13 0]

How can i change the time of the missions? They are always at night.

[Drongo69 117]

Quote[/b] ]How can i change the time of the missions? They are always at night.

You will need to edit the \Core\Misc\Weather.sqs file in each mission. The first line is:

<table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tr><td>Code Sample </td></tr><tr><td id="CODE">skiptime (random 24)

Tweak this to suit your tastes. For less night missions, try something like "skiptime (random 16)" or a lower value.

Quote[/b] ]you could entrench the enemy units in the assault missions, and give them more defense, so that airstrikes make more sense.

I'd like to do this, but I don't know how to go about "entrenching" units in ArmA. Any ideas?

Quote[/b] ]for helo insertion: maybe take a look at the "dynamic war"-mission released. heli departing after insertion.

I doubt I'll be messing with the helo stuff any further. From experience in OFP, getting AI helo insertions to work smoothly can be a great source of frustration. The simplified move here/land is the neatest way I have found of dealing with this. I could perhaps add an RTB option to the radio.

Quote[/b] ]All I want to try is changing the island....

any idea how i'd do that?

Basically you have to open the existing ADCS_xxx missions in the editor and cut and paste everything to the new island. The markers will need to be arranged to match the island. The scripts under each ADCS_xxx folder will also need to be cut and pasted.

Quote[/b] ]Would it be possible to have another mission type where you have to defend a position, like the Battle mission but in reverse.

As I'd like to add an extra mission to my Special Forces conversion where the enemy find the Players camp and you have to fight them off, but I don't know how.

Check the script \Mission\MissionControl.sqs. It shouldn't take too much to convert this to a defence mission. Just specify the location as the player's base, spawn the enemy units at a suitable distance and give them appropriate AI. Then you will need to integrate the mission into the campaign description.ext.

Another file you might want to look at is \Core\Misc\MissionMonitor.sqs. Once you have the basic idea of what \Mission\MissionControl.sqs and \Core\Misc\MissionMonitor.sqs do, creating your own mission types should be quite easy.

[verde13 0]

Thanks Tacrod

[malick 0]

Hi !

I've been away for a single week, and you chose that one to make a come back ! That's what I call a very nice surprise !

I loved your work for OFP, I guess I'll love it for ArmA.

I'll give it a try and comment a bit later. Thanks !

Malick

[Stuntman 0]

Very nice mod! Indeed! at last we have dynamic campaigns in ArmA as well!

I have one suggestion though.

Is it possible to have helo support on missions where they are let us say, more then 10 kilometers away from base? since on my first mission, we were attacking a town which were at least 10 kilometers away, maybe 15, and it gets pretty annoying and dangerous to WALK all the way to the base, most likely you get killed before you even get out of the town border...

I know you can just end mission by radio 0-0 but I want to have a realisticly mission were you have brief at base and debrief back at base after mission if you get what I mean