ANNOUNCE: PVP script pack released

[Durka-Durka 10]

Hey, is there something in the scripts that prevent random placement of objects/vehicles? I'm trying to make a vehicle that has a placement radius of about 100, but no matter how many times I play the mission, it's always in the same place.

[sbsmac 0]

No - there is nothing that moves vehicles in my scripts. (At least i don't think so !)

[Durka-Durka 10]

No - there is nothing that moves vehicles in my scripts. (At least i don't think so !)

It should be just a part of the regular game coding. If I put a unit on the map, then adjust the placement radius to, say...500, then the game will randomly place that unit within that 500m radius. Doesn't happen with this gametype, so I'm not sure if it's the script, or something I'm doing.

[rome 0]

So so so, just passing by to take som news from your wonderful mod sbsmac..

Are things moving on nicely? (Progressive spawn? :D ;) :p :bounce3:) ).

[Tom_Anger 0]

I think I'll chime in here. There has been a list of updates mac has been giving to us to go over. I may have a completed test in various gametypes in the next few hours and will let him know my results. I think they will be good.

As for the PSP you speak of - it looks like this will be accomplished with the use of a paradrop and objective marker (captureable). (make it any size you want i.e. 1 meter, 5 meters, 100 meters, etc). The marker could be used with a paradrop in that you would set the height to 0. In that case you click on MAP then click on the PSP and BOOM - you spawn there. If you want to get fancy make it paradropable at some custom height. A marker can be placed on any object (building, flag, etc).

While on the subject, how do you envision using a PSP? I recall from my JO days, we would have this in TDM as a midpoint in the game. Both teams go head to head with PSPs as a focus point to shorten the map and give optional spawn points. What types of games are you thinking of for this? It may help me test them a bit if possible.

Edited November 6, 2009 by Tom_Anger

[sbsmac 0]

Hello RoME ! Indeed, a form of progressive spawn is now available. If you want to test it, you can check out the latest beta release here.

There are some notes on the new paradrop system here.

Basically as Tom says, PSP will be accomplished by setting up a paradop at the 'home' base and then setting it so you can spawn at any captured objectives. I don't yet have an option to limit spawn options to the very furthest captured objective - is this needed ? Anyway, if you want to give it a try i would be very interested in feedback.

[rome 0]

simply WONDERFUL !! ooooh yessss,This is the way to go.

@Tom Anger : The way i see progressive respawn (psp) is pretty basic. In an AAS gametype, You go from base and manage to cap objective 1. From now on you will spawn from either Obj 1 or Base. The obj 1 respawn being inside a building or in a secure area (hangar, forest etc..).

Ala Red orchestra actually.

@sbsmac ''I don't yet have an option to limit spawn options to the very furthest captured objective'' sorry, i dont get that.

Im really sorry i have no time to test it. Ill have some spare time in a month, i can surely test it then if it is not done already..

On a sidenote, i just played some AAS on the DAo server. It was terrible. It occured to me that for any PvP gameplay we NEED some Teamkill Punishment... If not people just dont care on Public server. Do you have any TK kick or TK penalty in store?

EDIT: (Just finished reading the notes and beta test stuff: This thing is going to be the revival of the PvP on ArmA.)

About the psp again, there is one thing i dont understand: Let say you play an AAS gametype again and you captured Obj 1 and 2. I get killed at obj2. Do i automatically respawn at base and then have to run at some objects/then mousewheel/then choose the obj to respawn at? Or do you have any type of UI that appears when you dead? Or do you have the possibility to respawn at the furthest obj you conquered autmoatically?

Edited November 7, 2009 by RoME

[sbsmac 0]

RoME, to try and explain the way I see it working...

About the psp again, there is one thing i dont understand: Let say you play an AAS gametype again and you captured Obj 1 and 2. I get killed at obj2. Do i automatically respawn at base and then have to run at some objects/then mousewheel/then choose the obj to respawn at? Or do you have any type of UI that appears when you dead? Or do you have the possibility to respawn at the furthest obj you conquered autmoatically?

Yes, you respawn at base. You then run up to a paradrop object (typically a C130) and open the map. At that point you can click on the map to indicate where you would like to respawn which in an AAS would typically be any of the captured zones and potentially other dedicated 'dropzone' areas.

There are various ways to reduce the number of mouse-clicks....

1) Using 'automap' means that when you are within the area of the paradrop the map will magicaly be opened for you. If you make your paradrop zone large enough cover the whole of the respawn area and use 'automap' then you have no choice but to paradrop rather than run out of spawn.

2) You can use the 'random' keyword in which case as soon as you open the map, the computer will choose a random spot out of all the available zones for you to drop into.

Or do you have the possibility to respawn at the furthest obj you conquered autmoatically?

No, right now it is up to players to manually click on the objective they want to be dropped/respawned at.

[Tom_Anger 0]

If you are looking to make it so that players can choose spawn location on respawn, I believe if you setup the player slots in such a way that they were on a paradrop marker wich is set to automap that each time you spawned you would be presented with the map and have to pick an owned base to spawn at.

This would prevent the need to spawn at home, go to a vehicle, then have to choose a location. Each spawn would force you to pick an owned base.

The only problem is you would have to make the player slots far away from the gameplay area so that no one hits it by accident. Does this make sense?

[rome 0]

Ok i think i understand. (And it is pretty awesome).

To sum up: I die at obj 2. Then i respawn at main base, the map automaticaly open (automap), then, depending on settings (dropzone=any/friendly etc..) i just have to choose the available dropzone. I clik on the last captured objective, then, depending on settings, i respawn at ground level, or from say 300m in a steerable parachute.

Some questions :

-Is there any "invicibility" when on parachute? Or is it up to you to choose a secure location for paradrop?

-About the 'WaveTimings'. How does it works after i respawned at main base and cliked on the map? Any indications on how long do i have to wait, or how many people will paradrop with me? Do i know where my teammates will paradrop?

I think it is a pretty sexy way to handle psp actually, it seems modular and can serve several purposes at same time...

Nice work guys. Ill test it tonight and give some feedback as i have some free time tonight.

EDIT: What about TeamKill system? Is there any plan for future release?

Edited November 7, 2009 by RoME

[sbsmac 0]

Ok i think i understand. (And it is pretty awesome).

To sum up: I die at obj 2. Then i respawn at main base, the map automaticaly open (automap), then, depending on settings (dropzone=any/friendly etc..) i just have to choose the available dropzone. I clik on the last captured objective, then, depending on settings, i respawn at ground level, or from say 300m in a steerable parachute.

Correct

Some questions :

-Is there any "invicibility" when on parachute? Or is it up to you to choose a secure location for paradrop?

-About the 'WaveTimings'. How does it works after i respawned at main base and cliked on the map? Any indications on how long do i have to wait, or how many people will paradrop with me? Do i know where my teammates will paradrop?

There's no invincibility for parachutists - though that's an interesting idea. Generally it's up to you to use your common sense and spawn at a safe position.

Wavetimings are pretty primitive - basicallly they are all synched up to the game timer so everyone will spawn at roughly the same time but you currently have no idea where your teammates chose to spawn. You do get a countdown saying 'x seconds until next respawn'.

EDIT: What about TeamKill system? Is there any plan for future release?

There is currently a CTF_disableFriendlyFire variable. If you set this to true then the shot player instantly respawns at their old location and the shooter is given a black screen for 10 seconds asking them not to teamkill. More serious punishments would be possible on a sliding-scale according to the severity of the offense but I haven't implemented that yet.

[rome 0]

Ok i tested the last version and it's amazing. Paradrop, Artillery, FlyOver etc.. It simply rocks

My only small grip is with the Progressive respawn:

In my AAS map, there is 6 objective and two respawn, West and East respawn.

I put a paradrop marker in the 2 respawn with 'automap'. Then if i die trying to capture say objective 5, i respawn with map on screen and can easily select objective 4 to respawn at. This works well BUT..

When i FIRST launch the game and spawn at main base, the automap is on so even if i didnt capture any objective yet, i therefore can't respawn at anything, and i'm stuck at main base with the map on screen.

[sbsmac 0]

RoME - glad you like it :) There are a few ways to workaround the problem you have...

1) With objectives=friendly in the paradrop, you can set the initial side of the nearest objective to east/west. The downside is that the players then dont need actively capture them.

2) You could just specify objectives=neutral and leave the objects as they are. The downside here is that you would be able to spawn at any objective not owned by the enemy at the beginning of the game. (Note that 'neutral' actually means 'neutral or friendly')

3) Probably the simplest, just create a couple of dropzone markers near to the end first east/west objectives. Use "dropzones=friendly,objectives=friendly" in the paradrop. This way you will always be able to drop into the dropzone regardless of the state of the objectives.

[rome 0]

Ok i ll try that.

But can the 'automap' be only active when several objectives are 'friendly'. Because when you have only ONE place to spawn you dont really need to choose any, so 'automap' should be disable. Is it doable?

Or maybe just make it so when you press "esc" or "," the map doesnt come back automatically again. Not sure if doable though.

-Some Questions -

--Is it possible to make paradrop from 200m on a particular objective, and from 0m on another one?

--Whate are the use of the variables "CTF_useSquads=false and CTF_squadSize=3" ?

--The guns and ammo in the default "guns" marker doesn't really make sense. Would like to edit it but i dont know how.

REPORT on last version (tested only on singleplayer):

-Minor bug:

--The variable ctf_skipIntro=true doesn't work.

--The HUD indication given by the paradrop marker (next wave in 10 seconds blablabla) doesn't fade away.

--The FlyRoute Intro is a bit too close of ground. Is it possible to adjust the height of the camera?

-Major bug:

--The INTRO scene is strangely bugged. It stutters a lot, goes all black suddenly, i can't go through the intro scene. Outro scene is fine.

**SOLVED**

The bug above is related to the "automap" keyword. I placed the respawn near the paradrop with automap on. It is the reason why the intro wouldn't play correctly. When i place my soldier away from the paradrop,or take away the automap, everything is ok.

But then, The problem is that after the intro, we cannot spawn and directly have the map on screen. Well, people will have to press ',' i guess ^^ .

Thats it for now.

Edited November 8, 2009 by RoME

[rome 0]

Ok my first mission with your last version. I really hope you will try it Mac and Tom Anger. I'm pretty happy about it.

If you have time, report any problem please.

Do whatever you want with the mission, host it, modify it. Just give some credit to SbsMac, Tom Anger, and me.

AAS - StarySobor : It is an Urban fight in StarySobor.

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=1O72MJJB *version updates*

Edited November 8, 2009 by RoME

[Tom_Anger 0]

I'll check it out today. Nice work on the loadscreen and so far from what I've seen - great design detail on the object placement!!!

Some suggestions:

• One suggestion is on the Mision name that you conform to the standard naming convention. See this link for details: http://forums.bistudio.com/showthread.php?t=82816. So assuming you map is at v1.00, you map you would probably want something like: AAS32S-StarySobor-v1.00. The 32 representst player slots, the S represents size of map (i.e. S, M, L), the missions name follows, then you have your version on the design.
  
• Also when you go into the map editor click the INTEL word at the upper right and in the Name: prompt enter the same mission name so that it will show up on server browsers (i.e. AAS32S - Stary Sobor v1.00)
  
• In the description prompt put something like 16 vs 16 Advance & Asecure
  
• On the ctfConfig file try changing the line CTF_introType="FlyRound"; to CTF_introType="FlyRoute";. You should see the video in the beginning move to each base to give players a sense of where they will be heading to for the fighting.
  

Edited November 8, 2009 by Tom_Anger

[rome 0]

Thanks to you Tom Anger ^^

EDIT: Thx for advices. I did it.

Edited November 8, 2009 by RoME

[sbsmac 0]

Fast work RoME ! Love the guy on the roof :)

Will have a think about your other comments later.

[rome 0]

hi again,

I'm now working on a mission which is basically a PvP Domination. BlueFor attack the dsignated city and OpFor, with the help of some IA would defend it.

BLUEFOR:There is some important objectives in designated town needed to be captured/dstroyed in order to conquer the town.

OPFOR: Defend important objectives in designated town.

sbsmac script already allow me to handle pretty easily the progressive respawn, the vehicle respawn, the paradrop, the loadout save etc.. BUT

I need som help one some aspect though:

-I need to know how to randomly dsignated one of city.

-I need to know how to make IA spawn in the designated city.

-I need to know how, when the dsignated town has all its objectives conquered by bluefor, to automatically change th objective to another one.

Is there any script already available that i could tweak?

P.S: I feel like i was flooding you with questions recently, sorry about that.. But hey, thanks to you i've never been so close to make my dream mission on ArmA 2.. :o

[sbsmac 0]

Been away the last couple of days...

But can the 'automap' be only active when several objectives are 'friendly'. Because when you have only ONE place to spawn you dont really need to choose any, so 'automap' should be disable. Is it doable?

Hmm - even if there is only one spawn zone don't you want to pick _where_ in that zone you spawn ?

>Is it possible to make paradrop from 200m on a particular objective, and from 0m on another one?

At the moment, no. You can get something close to this affect by setting up _two_ paradrop zones- one that uses height=200 and the other that uses height=0 (you could set the vehicle to be a truck or something). I can think about allowing particular paradrops to be associated with particular dropzones/objectives perhaps.

Whate are the use of the variables "CTF_useSquads=false and CTF_squadSize=3" ?

These were experimental settings I put in for player+AI mode. If you set CTF_useSquads true then the player will automatically spawn with a team of CTF_squadSize AI who are under their control. I forget now what happens to the AI when the player is killed but i you are interested in this concept I'm open to suggestions.

The guns and ammo in the default "guns" marker doesn't really make sense. Would like to edit it but i dont know how.

You can't at the moment I'm afraid. However, I am in the process of reworking the ammo system as well so open to suggestions. What do you want to do ?

The bug above is related to the "automap" keyword.

Good find - will fix this.

I need to know how to randomly dsignated one of city.

-I need to know how to make IA spawn in the designated city.

-I need to know how, when the dsignated town has all its objectives conquered by bluefor, to automatically change th objective to another one.

Let me have a think about this one. No promises but.....watch this space :)

[rome 0]

Thanks for the reply!

1/Lets forget the automap, it is easy to find a way around.

2/It is waht i did, two paradrop zone in main respawn. It works well. Nice idea with the truck btw.

3/Squadsize. Im sure it will come in handy. But i have no idea how to implement it for now.

4/Ammobox. I would like to edit what it contains. e.g No east weapon, No west weapon, More smoke nade, Ru or US launcher in it etc etc..

5/"I need to know how to randomly dsignated one of city.

-I need to know how to make IA spawn in the designated city.

-I need to know how, when the dsignated town has all its objectives conquered by bluefor, to automatically change th objective to another one."

If you find out how to do that whitout too much pain, i officialy ask you to marry me. Tell your parents.

P.S:Oh and please, don't hesitate to ask me to participate in any way you see fit. I have some free time till next tuesday.

Edited November 11, 2009 by RoME

[Tom_Anger 0]

Just chiming in her for a minute.

mac - any idea when 3.0 will be ready? No rush. I am not sure how I can duplicate the CTF issue or Civillian magically showing up as a player in combat issue, but everything else works flawlessly.

I believe the only request I have for MP PVP gaming is the ability to hide objectives so that they don't appear as a task (i.e. in the Siege gametype). Have a great weekend bud...

[sbsmac 0]

What with sickness, business trips and RL commitments, it's been a bit quiet. Would be nice to get this out next week - I may have to give up on some of the feature requests in the initial release.

I believe the only request I have for MP PVP gaming is the ability to hide objectives so that they don't appear as a task

<Cough> check the changelist for 2.08.8 - it includes this ...

Issue #5490 - The 'hidden' keyword ensure that objectives are not shown on map or HUD.

5490 is marked as feedback as are many other of the features (see http://dev-heaven.net/projects/sbsmac-pvpsp/issues?query_id=56 for the full list) meaning I'd like to get some idea from people about whether these are now working the way they were wanted before I declare them 'fixed' :) To be fair, I have had some email feedback which I have not had time to fold back into the issue-tracker.

Edited November 13, 2009 by sbsmac

[rome 0]

"Chiming in her" ? :D

[Tom_Anger 0]

lol, so far testing on my end is going well. TDM has persistent scoring meaning if players leave the team score remains. I will be testing the Friendly Fire (on/off) option this week, and many other features appear to be working. I do have 1 slight issue and that is to get the compass and watch to display. While testing the Team Elimination Attack & Defend games the players had no sense of direction. Since Siege is typically played on Veteran mode a compass will be huge for gameplayability. Any thoughts??? I know the Description is the place to have these, however, some code may be overwriting it somewhere. Just need those elements to be used and made available for mission designers using the scripts. No rush - great work so far on this up coming designer's pack...