List of things that make a good mission?-ambient l

[A_Lone_Hobo 0]

- ambient life

- good story

- decent units

- well placed

any others?

[mattxr 9]

Good Sound Placement.

Good Timing of Actions/Events

[Maddmatt 1]

Using the preload commands in cutscenes so they don't look horrible when the camera changes angle and everything has to load

Makes a cutscene that could have been good look like total crap when the author doesn't do this.

[mattxr 9]

Using the preload commands in cutscenes so they don't look horrible when the camera changes angle and everything has to load

Makes a cutscene that could have been good look like total crap when the author doesn't do this.

Most people dont no how to do this.

[Maddmatt 1]

Using the preload commands in cutscenes so they don't look horrible when the camera changes angle and everything has to load

Makes a cutscene that could have been good look like total crap when the author doesn't do this.

Most people dont no how to do this.

Yea, but it only takes some experimenting to figure out. CamPreload isn't difficult to use. Just black out the screen while it loads. Someone with the skill and patience to make a good cutscene should be able to use it. You can take apart the BIS missions. Devils Cross, the "Atari Exlusive" mission (which you can download if you don't have - look in the official missions section), has a good intro that can be used as an example.

Here is a topic about preloading from the editing section.

[Elgarion 0]

I think a good mission must be well-balanced and must not have annoying bugs.

Well balanced : I'm often surprised and quite fed up with completly irrealistic objectives. ArmA is not Quake...

Annoying bugs : It's sometimes difficult to make a perfect mission in complex environments. But it seems obvious that a mission has to be tested, and tested again before a release.

These two elements should seem basics, but in fact a lot of users' missions in ArmA have these problems...

[Przemek_kondor 13]

-should be tested in not very high-end PCs (posibility disabling grass, decrease distanceView)

-intros shouldn't be too long

-let music that missionmaker loves stay only in his PC, not in mission (not everybody loves linkinpark, rap etc)

-missionmaker has to balance between ambient life and our PCs' performance (to many units make mission very laggy)

[Andre 10]

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Edited January 31, 2013 by Andre

[wolfsblut_ 0]

Armed Assault is THE simulation !

I (we ?) bought ArmA for that.

So, missions got to be REALIST !

What is real is what military operations are in real life.

First of all: NO RESPAWN but all squad (1 life for 1 mission). I never saw a soldier down respawning !?

It oblige soldiers to use teamplay and move as a unit, with a good plan, instead of run, frag, die, respawn, run, frag, die, respawn, run... and so on.

Second: Realist objectives.

Do you realy think squad is sent to destroy a shilka ?

Should be free hostages, destroy a chemical storage, protect VIP extraction... or merly recon.

Lot of things could be said, but all can be resumed like that: just keep in mind your mission is a real military operation, is it ?

As Elgarion wrote: "ArmA is not Quake".

Oh, I was forgeting one important point.

Of course you all enjoy to play your mission with skins/units addon from your own, but do you think people all around the world would ?

Do you think french, english or german feel your mission immersive if you use malaysian or chineze characters skins ? I don't think so.

So be wise to release both original units and your own skins versions. Your mission will be played all around the world then.

Cordialy,

André.

Fully agree.

And 2 more (because 80% of the sp-mission-builders do it wrong):

1.) if there is an option to use a silenced m9 in the mission, please stock up the pistole with silenced(!) ammo or make sure that someone can find these special silenced-ammo in the ammo-crate.

2.) please dont send out a infiltration-squad WITHOUT binoculars.

[Rejn 0]

- ambient life

- good story

- decent units

- well placed

any others?

Good location scouting for your missions, I spend a good chunk of my mission concept creation time scouting locations for possible realist objectives. It doesn't make sense for example to put a target up in the mountains for no reason other than its hard to get to...

A little thought into location etc can set the mood for starters.

One my missions in The Cause campaign (number 3 Battle of the Hedge) has a Normandy like battle where units use the hedgegrowth along the road to mount an ambush on U.S. tanks which follows in a fire fight between RACS and SLA. Its not the most realistic of missions by far but its aimed at giving the player a sense that the SLA takes US tanks as a very serious threat to their survival time.

Realistic objectives... consider your mission is to blow up target x, ask yourself some questions about the objective as if you where brainstorming to take it out:

q) Why are you being sent in to destroy target X when it is much more viable to airstrike it?

a1) Target is guarded by heavy AA.

a2) Target location is hidden but presumed in area Z.

a3) Fighter support *jetfighters* grounded due to weather?

etc....