SP Mission: Sweep & Strike

[UbiquitousUK 11]

Sweep & Strike v1.2

Elements of the USMC are preparing for a coordinated strike on the Russian held town of Zelenogorsk. PRIMARY OBJECTIVE: You will lead Alpha team in securing the northern aproach to the town. Bravo team will assist you in securing the town centre. Eliminate all hostiles in the target zone. SECONDARY OBJECTIVE: Recon photos show two Russian T-90 tanks in for repair at the Russian area base of operations. Once zelenogorsk is secure CAS aircraft will be vectored to your location. Proceed to the russian area H.Q. and direct the aircraft to destroy these tanks before they can be returned to operational status.

This is my first mission since I stopped playing with OFP a few years ago. I hope that someone has fun playing this and stops by with some feedback! Sorry for the unimaginitive title. If you like this mission, please check out my latest offerings: "A Different Kind of War", and "A Different Kind of War II".

Edit New Version 1.2 (11/07/2009): (ArmedAssault.info Mirror), (Armaholic mirror), (Filefactory Mirror).

Fixes in 1.2:

(*) Fixed (I hope) problems with jet not arriving/arriving too early.

(*) Made clearing of Zelenogorsk farm a separate task.

(*) Made securing the Russian base a task.

(*) Markers now change colour when task is complete.

(*) Added ammo box near spawn so that players can take sniper rifle/machine gun/SMG/shotgun if they prefer.

(*) Added a few extra objects and units in the spawn base.

(*) Added title text on spawn.

(*) Unlocked enemy vehicles (except the tanks--which are supposed to be in for repair) so that player can drive them.

(*) Took out 'new task' messages for those tasks that are assigned at the mission's start.

(*) Added a regroup task to round off the mission.

Fixes in 1.1:

(*) Bravo team should now be more reliable.

(*) Some typos fixed.

(*) Added a short delay before victory trigger fires.

(*) Fixed some enemies dying on spawn.

Edited August 30, 2009 by UbiquitousUK

[trickster1982 10]

Downloaded!going to have a crack at it now!

---------- Post added at 11:26 PM ---------- Previous post was at 10:08 PM ----------

Just finished it,really enjoyed that one!you've placed some crafty insurgents in that town, i lined my squad up on the hill overlooking the northern approach behind a small stone wall with orders to engage at will, i thought we'd got everyone after 10 minutes exchanging fire,then when i started cautiously advancing over the open ground into the town we got opened up on from behind houses & all sorts,lost half my squad! :eek:

had fun destroying the tanks too,i didnt want to get in close as we were taking fire,so i just had the whole base flattened with several air strikes,i like how you've kept the jets circling the combat area rather than buggering off after one strike like on BIS's "village sweep" mission :cool:

Didnt come across any bugs other than after using the truck on my first attempt my squad wouldnt follow me anymore & were referring to number 2 as the squad leader,and bravo team didnt advance till after i'd cleared the town.

More like this please! :D

*edit - i noticed you had a random civilian driving a car in the mission too,something lacking from the main campaign!adds to the immersion!

Edited July 8, 2009 by trickster1982

[Potatomasher 0]

Good old fashion assault mission. I didn't encounter any bugs at all. Bravo team assaulted in to the city with me after i entered the center of the city. They were very helpful eliminating the rest of the enemy forces in town.

Then i crouched to good spot and watched the fireworks. :D

[UbiquitousUK 11]

Thanks for the feedback guys, I'm glad you liked it. I shall investigate Bravo team if they are procrastinating in some instances.

The airstrike phase at the end was mostly as a reward for the player--figured people would enjoy that.

[synch_c 10]

Thanks for the good mish Ubi! Worked ok for me although if Bravo had any infantry I don't think they arrived in the town. I just saw the LAV scooting around for about 4 minutes. Didn't need them with a ten man revivable squad with two machineguns.

[Zipper5 74]

I actually quite enjoyed this mission, especially designating targets for the Harriers. Leveled pretty much the entire Russian HQ with them.

I have one suggestion though. Each objective was completed immediately after the condition for them was met, be it the last enemy soldier in the area or if both of the T90s were destroyed. This meant that it was very apparent to me that triggers were in use and were waiting on that last condition to be fulfilled. It also meant that the mission just abruptly ended once the second T90 was destroyed. To be honest I would have liked to see the smoldering wreckage left behind after the LGB hit it. :p

It's not a necessary change, but it would be a welcome one in my opinion. Great mission.

[UbiquitousUK 11]

Thanks Zipper5,

That's a fair suggestion---particularly for the last objective. It's fairly straightforward to put a bit of a delay on the triggers, so I shall look at it tonight.

[alx 20]

I'm probably half way through it right now and really liking it. However, I am only half way through clearing the town when the Harriers turn up. A bit anoying having them buzzing about when I have to concentrate on clearing the town. Well before I'm ready to find the T90s

[UbiquitousUK 11]

The jets absolutely should not have turned up until after the town was clear since they have a wait waypoint that is miles away and synchronised with the task complete trigger for the town. I will investigate this evening and see if I can reproduce the problem. Thanks for letting me know.

[Pl4t0 10]

I thought that it was a fantastic mission, you obviously have some great experience. The insurgents actually FELT LIKE insurgents.

We need more Mission-Crafters like you.

[Alpha-Kilo 36]

Thanks for this mission. I have just finished it and I am going to play it again! The difficulty level was just right to create a challenging, yet manageable experience.

Just two remarks:

- Team bravo was a bit lazy (perhaps intentional to give the player more things to do?).

- The ending came too quickly.

In my opinion a mission should never end upon destruction of a target, it should end after moving to an egress point, returning to base or some other place. This creates a feeling of "closing a circle". In this particular mission the player's squad could also meet Bravo and board their LAV.

[Tempest67 10]

Great mission Ubiquitous. I really enjoyed that one.

Unfortunately, I didnt get to call in an air strike - even though all tasks where showing green and completed - probably something I'm doing incorrectly. I used the Laser Mark on the T-90's, but no option to 'send in' co-ordinates.

I wasn't able to drive any vehicles either and when I ordered a squad member to enter vehicles, it was always met with a 'negative'. Not sure if this was supposed to happen, or once again, a fault with my inexperience.

Thanks again - nice mission.

[UbiquitousUK 11]

Tempest: for the air strike, you just need to wait for the jets to arrive and then mark a target and wait—they should bomb it without you needing to send coordinates, just takes a while for them to line up on their bombing run. Also, you should be able to drive the truck provided at the beginning of the mission.

Thanks again for the feedback all, it's really appreciated.

[Alpha-Kilo 36]

I have just returned from an appointment with a customer and the first thing I do is write another message about this mission. I was indeed impressed!

Knowing that this won't be an option in reality I dare to suggest an ammo box with a comprehensive arsenal at the starting point.

I think that the possibility to complete the same mission with different load outs can greatly enhance replayability and the purists are not forced to make use of the option - so it should not spoil their "realistic" way to play the game. And we are talking about a single player mission where a little fun might be more justified than in a "serious" online match.

[Casus_Belli 10]

This sounds like a great mission but it's not showing up in my sp scenarios, even though I followed all the instructions. Any help?

[Alpha-Kilo 36]

I daresay you haven't followed all the instructions because everybody else got it to work. I honestly don't mean to sound arrogant. But you might have installed it to the wrong directory, you might have forgotten to unpack the mission or you might have a corrupt download.

Perhaps you can download it again, make a note of every single step you take with the mission and post that. I am sure someone will offer some useful input.

[Warmoer 1]

Thank you for this fun mission!

I had the same problem with the Harriers flying over the town a few times, and then leaving before I have chance to assault the enemy HQ and tanks. I had a few enemy deserters that were running into the hills that we had to hunt down, and by the time that was finished the loitering Harriers were gone.

I would almost recommend having a radio command to "summon" the Harriers into the area when the player is ready. After that, I had to scavenge the town until I finally found a body with an RPG that I could use the blow up the tanks.

If all else fails, are there any other munitions close to the tanks that can destroy them? This may provide additional options to accomplish the mission.

Thanks again. :)

[UbiquitousUK 11]

Thanks for keeping the feedback coming in. I shall look at this again over the weekend and try to make some more improvements. I like the idea of letting the player select their gear—this is a game, so I see no reason not to. I think it's also fair to say that a better ending is necessary. That has been a secondary priority whilst I have been trying to get the mission up and running, but i shall look at it too.

I remain puzzled about the jet issue: it has worked fine every time for me so far. The jets are synchronised to the same trigger that completes the "Clear Zelenogorsk" task, so they shouldn't arrive until then. Once they arrive at the town, there are no more waypoints for them, so they should stay until they run out of fuel. If anyone can offer an insight into what seems to trigger their premature arrival it might help. In any case, I shall also make sure that there is an alternative means of taking out the tanks.

Casus_Belli: do you have a file called SP_ZelenogorskStrike.Chernarus.pbo in you \Arma II\missions\ folder?

[trickster1982 10]

Ive had no problems with the jets,they've come in at the time they should do on each play through!although to be fair it wouldnt bother me if they started swooping around early,it is supposed to be a war zone that doesnt just revolve around the player at the end of the day,and im sure in real war zones men on the ground see all sorts flying above them that isnt related to their mission :)

[ProfTournesol 956]

Very nice mission, balanced and fun to play. No problem with the jets, apart from the fact they blow me away several times cause i was too close from the tanks. Good work overall.

[stun 5]

Top mission mate. It's the best Arma 2 one I have played to date. Only issue I had is that Harriers didn't turned up. I was playing version 1.1.

[Casus_Belli 10]

Casus_Belli: do you have a file called SP_ZelenogorskStrike.Chernarus.pbo in you \Arma II\missions\ folder?

Yes, I do, but it doesn't show up in-game.

[cadmium77 16]

Sweep & Strike

Elements of the USMC are preparing for a coordinated strike on the Russian held town of Zelenogorsk. PRIMARY OBJECTIVE: You will lead Alpha team in securing the northern aproach to the town. Bravo team will assist you in securing the town centre. Eliminate all hostiles in the target zone. SECONDARY OBJECTIVE: Recon photos show two Russian T-90 tanks in for repair at the Russian area base of operations. Once zelenogorsk is secure CAS aircraft will be vectored to your location. Proceed to the russian area H.Q. and direct the aircraft to destroy these tanks before they can be returned to operational status.

This is my first mission since I stopped playing with OFP a few years ago. I hope that someone has fun playing this and stops by with some feedback! Sorry for the unimaginitive title.

Edit New Version 1.1 (09/07/2009) ArmAholic.com Mirror: http://www.armaholic.com/page.php?id=6256

Fixes in 1.1:

(*) Bravo team should now be more reliable.

(*) Some typos fixed.

(*) Added a short delay before victory trigger fires.

(*) Fixed some enemies dying on spawn.

That's awesome. Thanks a lot. This kind of content will be my favorite thing in this game, even moreso than multiplayer. Just keep 'em coming and I guarantee you I'll be a part of your loyal fanbase.

And Bravo made a full rendez vous with me in town. It's working perfectly in it's latest version. I'm playing this 1920x1080 and it's so vivid and real, and my squad is awesome...When the enemy vehicle comes up the road at us it's a good firefight...we crushed them.

As for the Harriers they haven't showed up yet after a prolonged beat down of forces at the repair facility and so I suspect there were a few survivors left at the town. Was I supposed to get some sign that the town was fully cleared before proceeding to the repair facility?

Edited July 11, 2009 by Cadmium77

[Alpha-Kilo 36]

Yes, I do, but it doesn't show up in-game.

Very strange. Have you tried other user-made missions and is this the only one you cannot play or do you have a problem with user content in general?

[UbiquitousUK 11]

Sweep & Strike

Edit New Version 1.2 (11/07/2009): http://www.filefactory.com/file/ahc3770/n/sweep_and_strike_v1-2_zip

Fixes in 1.2:

(*) Fixed (I hope) problems with jet not arriving/arriving too early.

(*) Made clearing of Zelenogorsk farm a separate task.

(*) Made securing the Russian base a task.

(*) Markers now change colour when task is complete.

(*) Added ammo box near spawn so that players can take sniper rifle/machine gun/SMG/shotgun if they prefer.

(*) Added a few extra objects and units in the spawn base.

(*) Added title text on spawn.

(*) Unlocked enemy vehicles (except the tanks--which are supposed to be in for repair) so that player can drive them.

(*) Took out 'new task' messages for those tasks that are assigned at the mission's start.

(*) Added a regroup task to round off the mission.

Fixes in 1.1:

(*) Bravo team should now be more reliable.

(*) Some typos fixed.

(*) Added a short delay before victory trigger fires.

(*) Fixed some enemies dying on spawn.

Added a new version of the mission today addressing some of the great suggestions that people have made. Hopefully the jet should work properly now since I have made a completely new implementation. I made securing the Russian base a task since it seemed odd that the mission should be considered a success if there is still an enemy base 200m from the town you are supposed to have captured. Also, added a simple additional task requiring the player to regroup away from the main combat area with his or her squad at the end of the mission. Hopefully, this will make the mission ending seem less abrupt.

Thanks everyone for your dedicated playtesting and suggestions. Hope you enjoy the new version!