[SP] Punishment Battalion, scored 9/10 at Ofpec!

[Alpha-Kilo 36]

I'd like to say thank you for this wonderful mission. I like the way the story unfolds with unexpected events. It feels like playing through the plot of a film, but with more freedom.

Probably it's an ArmA problem, but like some others in this thread I find squad control very difficult. My men sometimes refuse to take weapons or ammunition from dead bodies or from crates. My work-around for this particular problem: I have to take the weapon in question and drop it on the ground. Then I have to order a squad member to this position and tell him to pick up the weapon. Some times this method works and sometimes it doesn't. In any case it is a very time-consuming process. If there is an easier way to do it, I'd be grateful for a hint.

[Griffon2-6 0]

Joel seems to be the biggest problem in the squad. If there is any way to make him on the same side as Robert and Marco, then I think that would fix a lot of problems, but at present, Joel is on the Civ side, and is actually afraid of the squad. He became so much of a problem that I had to detach him from the squad.

[Alpha-Kilo 36]

To Griffon2-6: Thanks for your help. In one of your previous postings you suggested quite bluntly to murder Joel. This is obviously the way to detatch him permanently from the squad. But is it really necessary to be so drastic? I am sure leehunt27 created Joel for a purpose and the book with the cross on the cover tells us not to interfere with the Creator's plan. But if there is no other way to accomplish the mission...

To Joel: Griffon2-6 claims that your repeated dis-obediance has been causing considerable delay and this may jeopardize our whole operation. I will not tolerate any trouble-makers on my team but because you are a civillian I will give you a last chance: I'll colour-code you to become a team of your own. If this helps you will be allowed to stay. If not, I am afraid we will have to go on without you. You have been warned!

[ThudBlunderQ8 0]

Hi again Lee,

We have a new desktop at home, so I thought I'd try PB again on ArmA to see how it all works on a half-decent graphics card.

This has prompted me to return to this thread (surprise, surprise...) and on re-reading I realise I never answered a question you posed previously. Re the PKM at the final base: I made my way to the top of one of the "added features" at the airbase just to the south of the main entrance and used it from there.

Now, the reason I'm back here asking questions is this: I've taken the downed US aircrew to the ERV (he doesn't get in the heli, as was mentioned by a previous reporter) and moved over to the crates. I get a list of instructions for the mortar and a reminder to use this heavy weight I'm now lugging around the battlefield. However (and this will probably expose my extreme numpty-dom to all seasoned ArmA observers) I can't see how to find/deploy/use the mortar! I re-checked the OFPEC page and the only req'd d'loads are the SLA/ SLX people - should I have downloaded the mortar separately? I have - so far - not found any menu items that make any mention of Mandoble's fiendish device; could you please give me a clue?

Prob won't reply for a week 'cos I'm off overseas to somewhere with no internet, but I look forward to being put out of my misery one way or another.

PS - thanks again for this, the only mission I've bothered returning to since installing ArmA anew.

[Griffon2-6 0]

@alpha-kilo

One way to use Joel is to detach him from the squad and use him as an advance scout. Since he is a civilian, he will not be shot, but he will spot enemies for you. You can also tell him to attack enemies without consequence to him or to your team - he will attack them after a while. Just don't expect him to follow you or he will be nothing more than a nuisance.

@Thudblunder

The Mortar is invisible. It is an extra weapon you carry on your back and launch on your back, but it is purely imaginary. I never had to use it and I lost it after a while.

[Alpha-Kilo 36]

@Griffon2-6: Your suggestion to exploit the fact that Joel is a civillian has worked extremely well in several situations (though it may not be realistic to regard a person armed with Kalash as a non-combattant). But this unfair advantage helps to solve some problems in this mission. Thanks for your help.

@Joel: You bravely attacked a group of enemies while the rest of our squad merely watched you from a safe distance. You passed the test and from now on you are a full member of the team!

[Gildor 0]

Great mission!!

It seemed however that at some point Berias troops hardly attacked me anymore. (They did shoot any of my team members on sight though.) During the dark I was able to approach them to about 200m and used a AK74PSO to kill them all without them firing back at me. This way I was able to finish the game by killing 80% of the troops on the arsenal and the airbase and killing Beria as well. In the end, however, I did not get a codeword. Did I do something wrong? The game did end for me and the first three objectives showed up as completed. (Investigate helicopter landing, Find your friend etc... and Dispose of etc...)

[leehunt27 1]

hi guys,

Been away out of town and out of touch with internet-- thanks so much for the posts answering questions and what not. Very appreciated!

Seems like the squad AI with Joel is a problem. The most recent time i've played he got killed early on so i didn't experience these situations. I do believe the SLA will target him (he did get killed). As for the SLA not shooting at you near the end of the game, that must have been simply the AI not seeing you, because i was killed many times at the Pita Base myself .

Gildor-- the codeword might not hit for a few minutes if you achieved 80% kills right at the end. So the finale might have run before the script that checks the codeword-- but i don't know how you would know you've killed 80%?

ThudBlunderQ8-- the mortar is invisible and activates after Floyd is rescued. I think with the latest patch something might have changed in regards to helo's, fuel and pilots because Floyd always boarded and left in ArmA 1.08. In 1.14 it seems different, but if the objective toggles off it doesn't really matter.

happy gaming!! any suggestions for PB II (for ArmA II) will be appreciated as well!

[Gildor 0]

Ahhh.... I think I misunderstood the 80% ending. I thought it was killing 80% of the troops at the base and airfield and disposing of the boss. I will move on from my last savegame and kill 80% off all the enemies on the island (I'm glad it isn't over yet :-D)

[Gildor 0]

I killed some more troops. The codeword appeared about 15 minutes after my last kill.

Is sending off Floyd with the rescue chopper a pre-requisite for the codeword? The codeword appeared within a second after I entered the vicinity of the three trucks that were located near the chopper and the text about Floyd keeping his word appeared.

Secondly I still believe that for some reason Berias men just don't fire at me anymore. I had this strange situation where I closed in on a BMP2 with Marco as a driver and me in the truck as well. I noticed the BMP2 when we were too close so I was just waiting to be shot. It didn't happen for at least 20 seconds. Then I jumped off the car to kill the tank. A split second later the tank opens fire at the truck, now only containing Marco. Also when encountering patrols I could shoot most of the enemies at close range without getting any fire back, whereas my men are shot immediately, even if they are further away.

[Griffon2-6 0]

Hm. That might have something to do with the fact that Carla joined your group. As a playable character, she may convert the side of the only other playable character in the squad.

[Gildor 0]

Nope, I did not have Carla joining me.

In general the mission was extremely easy for me, as long as I made sure to have my three group members driving the ammo trucks (yes, three of them ) I stole and making them do so at a large distance.

Could it have to do with the fact that I was fully armed using weapons from the well-stocked bases? I.e. looking friendly to them by the sound of my gun )

[Griffon2-6 0]

No, that can't be it. If you shoot at friendly AIs, they will hit the ground as bullets fly past their head. They'll respond to gunfire of any kind.

[leehunt27 1]

Strange these AI issues, writing the code for Carla was a pain but it seemed to cause no problems for anyone else.

I definitely was shot at by the enemy throughout the entire mission, without fail. The mission did not get easier for me until i took out the helicopter, which routinely strafed my troops on the ground.

These comments make me think PB II should be a bit tougher (though some in betatesting thought PB I hard enough) and have air cover replacements for the AI...

[Alpha-Kilo 36]

Quote[/b] ]I still believe that for some reason Berias men just don't fire at me anymore.

In PB I have not experienced this phenomenon (yet). But in Mr. Murphy's Battle of Ortego the enemies stopped shooting at me. They took cover when I attacked and they performed the search-the-horizon-animation but they did not see me even if was standing right in front of them.

I just thought I had a faulty download and now I am surprised to read that the same thing happens to other players in other missions, as well.

[Gildor 0]

Quote[/b] ]But in Mr. Murphy's Battle of Ortego the enemies stopped shooting at me. They took cover when I attacked and they performed the search-the-horizon-animation but they did not see me even if was standing right in front of them.

This seems to be about the same problem indeed.

[Griffon2-6 0]

Must be an issue with ArmA itself. Just a rare circumstance that some players happen to meet.

[leehunt27 1]

After coming back from a long summer vacation, just finished playing PB myself . I did lose a few characters along the way but i found destroying the helicopters early made all the difference. I know in the next game to make air cover much tougher!

[sdoc 0]

excellent!

It has something ofp resistance was missing. I actually cared about my men, they were not just generic canon fodder.

[=BFP=Cheetah 0]

Well, OFP: Res had Abandoned Armies in which you were supposed to care for your teammates.

Abandoned Armies @ OFPEC: The Editing Center.

[leehunt27 1]

Thanks sdoc-- i tried to keep the characters interesting and have the "where are they now" segment in the finale.  If ArmA II is any good i'll probably make a sequel...

and I agree Cheetah.  Abandoned Armies is an inspiration and probably the greatest mission ever made for the OFP/ArmA series:

http://www.ofpec.com/missions_depot/index.php?action=details&id=5

[kingnl 0]

I've tried your mission. It's has lots of potential, but unfortunately I couldn't play on because the AI just doesnt want to do what I want them to do. It's too much a chore for me to continue mission. The AI never wants to pick up gear from the body I want to. Even when I let them stand at the body. They just walk to the other body. I cant play on with these AI flaws.

[madrussian 347]

@leehunt27

Best mission so far in ArmA!

I got a good ways in, built up my team a bit, had some rebels scheduled to help me later, and was in the process of tying to get Pablo to join me.  Then I died for the first time in the town just north of Pablo's camp and apparently hit the wrong load button.  It took me way back and so I lost all that progress. I'm ready to try again though (after learning how to load correctly and back up periodically this time).

Overall, I love the mission!  (Smart idea to start out with a winning formula.)  If I have one critisism, it's one that is shared with Abandoned Armies that is inherent to both:  It's great to care for the characters, but they can be very difficult to keep alive if you actually want to use them in combat.  I do love the concept that you can get more nameless help as well in your mission, but my own party of main characters seems to get killed pretty quick, whenever I take them into the fray.

Imo, PB (and AA for sure) would make the ultimate coop mission for a small number of players, say two-four.  That way, as you accumulate more main characters in your war party, you could base the group at a hideout somewhere safe, and go out on sorties with only a few player controlled characters.  Then, if a main character that was player-controlled was killed, that player could take over as one of the remaining AI-controlled main characters.  This would eliminate some of the frustration with having your AI buddies die simply because you are trying to fight the enemy and ArmA's semi wonky contorl system and AI at the same time.  Plus, it would be kick ass to play your mission through with one of you mates!  So I'll pop the question, any plans for coop?  (I know from my limited mission coding expereince, the complexity increases exponentially when you go from single player to multi-player though, so it would probably be a gigantic undertaking to make it coop. )

@KingNL

Yeah, I noticed the AI seems to be more difficult to get them to pick up weapons off dead bodies than it was in OFP.  I ended up having to take the weapons off the dead bodies myself, drop them in an open area, and only them could I order the AI to go pick up the weapons.  But at least it worked that way.  Also I had to use the same technique to get them to take weapons out of crates.  In addition, even after they got rifles, they still seemed to want to use their handguns.  So the handguns had to be dropped right there in the grass!

[Wolfrug 0]

I've tried your mission. It's has lots of potential, but unfortunately I couldn't play on because the AI just doesnt want to do what I want them to do. It's too much a chore for me to continue mission. The AI never wants to pick up gear from the body I want to. Even when I let them stand at the body. They just walk to the other body. I cant play on with these AI flaws.

AI can be incredibly annoying from time to time, especially when it comes to rearming! The best way to do it that I've found is to use a vehicle (such as a truck) : stow all the weapons and ammo you want to give to your party in the truck, and order everyone inside. Once there, issuing a "Gear" action is a walk in the park, and you can quite quickly assign gear to everyone

If there's an ammo box, you can also order them to walk to it and then order a gear action - most of the time they'll go for the ammo box in these situations.

Good luck!

Regards,

Wolfrug

[Kirby 2]

Well, OFP: Res had Abandoned Armies in which you were supposed to care for your teammates.

Abandoned Armies @ OFPEC: The Editing Center.

And look who this mission and Abandoned Armies for OFP was by =P

Same person. So yeah...

=D

Im still playing this by the way, I just raided the bagango base and stole like two truckfulls of weapons, heheeh