The Sahrani Run

[Arkon2 0]

Hi,

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

UPDATES - THIS SECTION IS RESERVED FOR UPDATES AND NEW INFORMATION LINKS

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

In order to keep this first post from growing too much or getting too confusing we'll be using this top section to point to discussions on problems and solutions as they are found or fixed. Once you've read the main text below you just need to check the top of the thread for anything new.

IMPORTANT: Please make sure you've read and understood all the Save / restore and beta notes on this page first!!

*********************BEGIN UPDATE SECTION***************************************

1) The SAVE RESUME question is really a problem that seems to be something that BIS need to look into. We are now going to try to get them to look at this problem. Watch this space.

2) Cleaned up the text below to include generic information. This update section now will contain anything new.

3) WORKAROUND for Part2 load bug

Ok, we have done this workaround for anyone that may have a problem when trying to load a savegame in Part 2 which isn't fixed by the usual RESUME/REVERT in the workaround suggestions below. Of course you can restart the mission or go back to one of your part 1 saves but as an alternative.

We've also provided a way to run the whole Campaign as 2 separate missions.

You won't have what you had when you crossed over between the 2 Parts (we don't know that ), some weapons and some sandwiches will be provided.

http://www.ukorbit.com/temp/The_Sahrani_Run_part1_Mission.Sara.zip

http://www.ukorbit.com/temp/The_Sahrani_Run_part2_Mission.Sara.zip

http://www.ukorbit.com/temp/Read_Me_First.txt

*********************END UPDATE SECTION*****************************************

THE SAHRANI RUN

The Sahrani Run - this is a very long mission, so long it has been split into 2 parts and made into campaign format:

Its been running for a while now so reviews are welcome...

Please report any Bugs/Suggestions etc...

Overview

The Sahrani Run V2.0 (single player) gives players a chance to try their hand at a stealth mission (sniper with M24). You are Major Mark Fullagar, a British special operations officer, brought in to do an important job for the Western Alliance on the island of Sahrani. The mission is long and involving, featuring a well-developed storyline that includes elements of RPG and Adventure. This is not the usual run-of-the-mill mission and offers something a bit different for players - give it a try and see! And let us know what you think.

Please read "IMPORTANT PLEASE READ" and "SAVING, RESTARTING & BETA TESTING NOTES" BEFORE starting the Campaign.

No addons required

Armed Assault 1.08

Features:

Dynamic gameplay and Storyline

Healthpacks and Healthchecks

INSTALLATION

Although this mission isn't a Campaign as such it needs to be run as one, therefore to install it you need to unzip the files into the campaign folder. Ie. drive:\Bohemia Interactive\ArmA\Campaigns

++++++++++++++IMPORTANT PLEASE READ+++++++++++++++++++

++ Armed Assault bug - commonly known as SAVE GAME BUG?

This has caused countless problems for players in the past and for us when trying to debug our Campaign!

Firstly this should be referred to as a "LOAD" bug and not a "SAVE" bug because we've established that there is nothing wrong with the saved files in most cases (although the SAVE bug is also known to happen occasionally), in our tests at least. That includes all three types of saved files : the autosave, the exit save and the manual save.

There are two scenarios that appear to happen when resuming the campaign after starting the game;

1) Corruption of Variables, states, AI state etc (who knows what else)

2) Crash to the desktop on resume

The culprit turns out to be some kind of bug that affects a RESUME after the game is fired up. Although one may initially think that the SAVEGAME file itself is corrupted, this is not the case. In our tests the problem does not happen once the saved game is loaded in a particular way:

WORKAROUND for 1)

Run the game, select the campaign, then RESUME. Immediately after it's loaded (error or not) you can either back out to where you will be offered a RESUME again or a RETRY or simply hit escape and choose LOAD (if you made a manual save).

WORKAROUND for 2)

Crashing to the desktop (particularly in Part 2) when using the RESUME after running ArmA for the first time is a big pain because you won't be able to do anything about it other than use the technique we've outlined below for beta testers. (we are trying to get some answers from BIS on what is going on and how to fix this problem).

OK, we reckon the best thing for now is to use this workaround...

Fire up the game, (you will need a saved game of some sort to make Part2 available on the menu) - load the mission (part 2 - REVERT NOT resume). That will take you to the beginning of part 2. Press ESC once - Then Alt-Tab to windows, copy the save files in, go back to the game and hit ESC 2 times more - Then use LOAD. This should work 95% of the time. A bit long winded but the best solution for now - Remember to make multiple save points as you go along and put them into separate folders.

THE BOTTOM LINE !!

To Sum up: Never play a resumed campaign after starting Armed Assault. Always get into the habit of reloading after the resume using any one of the 3 saved files. Autosave.ArmASave, continue.ArmASave or save.ArmASave

(We believe that following the above advice is relevant for all misions/campaign's)

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

SAVING, RESTARTING & BETA TESTING NOTES.

Particularly for beta testing we've found that it's a good idea to follow a few rules to save having to

replay the whole mission or part. Here are a few suggestions :

Get into the habit of making putting your saved files into separate folders after you save at key points in the campaign. This way you'll have a saved game at many intervals during the game. This will allow you to go back if necessary to any part of the campaign without having to to restart.

Replaying Part 1: from a saved game after having started part 2.

Either start the campagn again or select part 1 and REVERT. Once it has loaded, pause the game (ESC) then ALT-TAB to windows, copy the saved files from your save folder. ALT-TAB back into the game and press ESC twice. You should then select the LOAD.

Replaying part 2:

Part 2 is more simple but as a precaution you can do exactly as above, it's best to Save part 2 as soon as it starts.

However, restarting will work ok but do not use ESC / RETRY. ABORT the campaign first then select part 2 and REVERT.

This will read the object.sav and the player vehicle state and should put you in exactly the same position as you were

when you crossed the border.

Restarting the Mission from the beginning (god forbid)

There is one thing that does need to be done. The Object.sav file may cause problems in part 2 so it must be manually

deleted from the save folder. Better still if you are restarting delete everything in that folder. This is an ArmA oddity which only causes a problem when transferring vehicles and states from one mission to another.

Also don't forget to observe THE BOTTOM LINE !! (see above) when starting up Armed Assault.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Sahrani Run - Changelog

V 1.01 :

Corrected spelling mistakes

Fixed bug where heli pilot got out of heli when the player got in

Fixed various small bugs

V 1.02 :

Fixed sqs error "Actionarray.sqs"

Fixed ambulance sometimes not arriving

Fixed Health pack problem

Fixed problem with Drako's picture

Tweaked sound/music volumes

V 1.03 :

Fixed gear problem moving from Part 1 to Part 2

Fixed various small bugs

V 1.04 :

Fixed view staying black until the camera starts at

begining of mission

Added new cutscene in Part two

Added new action in Part two

V 1.05 :

extended trigger size around ambulance base

added auto save games

Fixed bug with taking gear into Part two

Fixed various small bugs

V 1.06 :

Fixed various small bugs

Added new Actions to Part two

Fixed major bugs at Ambulance Depot

Fixed bug with taking vehicles into Part two

Tweaked Part two to improve FPS

V 1.07 :

Fixed various bugs

fixed heli pick-up

Fixed bugs at Ambulance Depot

Fixed some objectives

Added weather variation

Fixed car bomb text

Improved AI of some groups

Grammar corrections

V 1.08 Hotfix for getting stuck on Map at the start

V 1.09 Added vital information regarding SAVE GAME BUG (how to avoid)

V 2.0 Fixed loads of bugs: including heli pick-up at end

Added some more sounds

Added extra way to get to Part2 of mission

NOTE

Do not use old saved games with new Versions

Thanks

Arkon2

The Sahrani Run

[Maddmatt 1]

Sounds interesting, I'll give it a try

[Guest Ti0n3r]

Very nice! Been playing for a few hours. Feels a bit like Abandoned Armies

I just miss the ability to saveGame more than once

...Anyway, DOWNLOAD THIS! It's great

[Arkon2 0]

Hi, Ti0n3r

Glad u like it so far!

Let us know if u find any bugs etc...

Thanks

Arkon

[Maddmatt 1]

Played the mission for a few minutes. Seems good so far.

You can save more than once if you play on regular difficulty with saves set to unlimited. That's the only reason I keep my difficulty on regular.

Noticed one bug. When I met the contact by the lighthouse I got a missing script error when the flares were fired. "Actionarray.sqs" or something like that. Everything seemed to work fine though, still saw the actions appear.

[Arkon2 0]

HI Maddmatt,

Thanks for the saves info....

Iv'e fixed the missing sqs error...

If you find any more points of interest let us know...

Thanks

Arkon2

[ericfr 0]

I've the sqs error "Actionarray.sqs"

Version 1.01

[Arkon2 0]

Hi EricFr,

Thanks for pointing that out.

Fortunately, the error does not have any effect on the game. I will upload V1.02 soon with it fixed. Hope it does not spoil your enjoyment of the game, please give us some more feedback on your thoughts or any other bugs you find.

Regards

Arkon2

[-Variable- 0]

I've been playing the mission the last day and enjoyed it very much. However, I'm afraid I reached a dead end..

*SPOILER WARNING!*

when I reach the russian medical base I wait for the ambulance BMP to arrive inorder to infiltrate it and cross the border. But the BMP never comes... In one of my tries I saw it in the distance but it never got to the base. The base is not alerted to my presence. Am I missing something?

[Arkon2 0]

Hi -Variable-,

Sorry to hear that - nobody else has reported this so far so i presume its a one-off - Ive just tested it and it worked for me - but must have tried this 100 times before and maybe 1-40 times it does not arrive and there is no apparent reason for it - maybe the ambulance crashes on the way or summint - mind you iv'e found with Arma that unpredictable things happen which add variation to the game but sometimes ruin essential things that need to happen, like this!

Anyways did you go right into the base and was you in a vehicle when you approached it? There could be some weird combination of events that caused it not to arrive.

Did you try reloading any saves?

I suppose as a last resort you can try from the beginning again - i know this is a pain but you was just coming to the the part when things was about to hot-up.

BTW - there is more than one ambulance so you may have seen another passing by.

Glad u enjoyed it so far but sorry u got stopped in your tracks.

Arkon2

[-Variable- 0]

Anyways did you go right into the base and was you in a vehicle when you approached it? There could be some weird combination of events that caused it not to arrive.

Yes, I have approached the base with a captured UAZ. Could this be the reason?

[Arkon2 0]

Hi -Variable-

There is a trigger around the camp that calls the ambulance - but it is quite close to the camp - the trigger should catch the player whether on foot or in a vehicle - but i have found that occasionally triggers fail to go off. Give it a try on foot and see, maybe you will be lucky!

I hope so...

Let me know how u get on

Arkon2

[ericfr 0]

No effect Health pack

30 % damage->health pack->0% damage but i have the same vibration when i aim with the scope.

[Arkon2 0]

Hi EricFr,

Are you standing up when using the scope?

Arkon2

[Arkon2 0]

Hey -Variable-

You did go into the camp didn't you?

Arkon2

[-Variable- 0]

You did go into the camp didn't you?

Well, to be honest infiltrating the base when the APC is not there yet seemed, tactically, the wrong thing to do. I've found a vantage point overlooking the base and waited for it to come inorder to plan my infiltration according to its parking place.

However, once, when I got frustrated waiting for it, I did get inside but didnt stayed there more than 3 minutes before I was spotted and got killed.

Do I need to get inside the base inorder for it to come? If so, how much time do I have to wait, approximately?

[Arkon2 0]

Hi -Variable-

*SPOILER WARNING!*

Yup, this is the problem i think - you do have to enter or get very close to the camp before the ambulance is called (I'll extend the trigger). It takes about 7 minutes to arrive. But a little tip - it will only stay for about 3 minutes (just time for him to drink his cup of tea) - so you will need to get in a good position ready to board it - use your picture of the base to help with orientation. Fasten your seat belt that driver is bleedin awfull!

Hope this solves it for you - Corazo is a step-up in tension!!

Let me know how it goes

Regards

Arkon

[-Variable- 0]

ok, after a few tries waiting inside the base (in the first two tries i waited for more than 10 minutes and no ambulance came) it finally arrived. But now, I get inside it, without being detected, and no one comes to drive it. I tried driving it myself and got blown up by a T72 in Corazol, as I expected.

[Arkon2 0]

Hi, -Variable-

*SPOILER WARNING!*

You did get into the back of the ambulance didn't you?

If u r in the front seat when the driver comes back - then you will be sussed!!

Regards

Arkon2

[-Variable- 0]

yes, ive waited inside the ambulance for about 10 minutes. one time i heard footsteps around it, but no one got inside.

[Arkon2 0]

Hi -Variable-

Can u switch to 3rd person (enter on numpad) to see what is happening outside?

Arkon2

[-Variable- 0]

I cant. I play on vet mode

[Arkon2 0]

Hi -Variable-,

I remember some problems in the past with Veteran mode when we were developing - a friend found a workaround to solve various problems with the AI. I have emailed him for the solution - will get back to you as soon as I get a reply.

BTW - Veteran mode only allows one save - is this correct, if it is then you had better be on top form to get through Corazo - we are looking at a way of introducing player saves at the moment.

Sorry u been messed about so much - hopefully we can get it sorted fairly soon.

Regards

Arkon2

[-Variable- 0]

Thanks. When I come to think of it I play on Regular mode actually, but I disabled all features (like 3rd person view and aiming aids) except multyple saves because you cant have multyple saves on vet mode and I wanted to play realisticaly. Ive noticed you designed the mission to cadet mode, becaue no GPS is included and no multyple saves. Maybe it's better to mention that it is advisable to play it on cadet mode only.

[Arkon2 0]

HI -Variable-

*SPOILER WARNING!*

Just a long shot, (if you have time and its easy to do) but can you try with 3rd person turned on and then enter the ambulance and sit in the back - then switch to 3rd person and wait for 5 minutes.

Thanks

Arkon2