Some Thoughts on Multiplayer

[hund 0]

The biggest problem I have encountered when doing low intensity warfare missions has actually been the players themselves. They tend to be up and ready at all times, resulting in a "Go-Mode" attitude that isn't always preferable when operating amongst civilians.

The best deterrent I have found is swift punishment for breaking ROE - make people think before they act, or suffer the consequences.

But by far the best solution to the problem is for the players to "get it". This requires a degree of "roleplaying" (much as I hate to say it) which isn't really suitable for the public arena, and much less for pvp scenarios.

Three examples I have played:

A) Road Patrol - worked fine for a while, but then the players started to figure out the most efficient routes to avoid being ambushed, which kinda broke the mission a little bit.

B) IED Removal - Secure the area and send in the EDO team, then get bumped by anti-player forces. This one didn't really work well because every incoming vehicle was perceived as hostile and engaged (the afore mentioned Go-Mode).

C) MOUT - placed on Porto, with every possible support weapon at the players disposal. Harsh ROE in place (variable cas cap for civvies and no damage to the mosque allowed), which had the effect of the players not wanting to use their support assets at all, for fear of collateral damage.

[An Fiach 10]

The biggest problem I have encountered when doing low intensity warfare missions has actually been the players themselves. They tend to be up and ready at all times, resulting in a "Go-Mode" attitude that isn't always preferable when operating amongst civilians.

The best deterrent I have found is swift punishment for breaking ROE - make people think before they act, or suffer the consequences.

But by far the best solution to the problem is for the players to "get it". This requires a degree of "roleplaying" (much as I hate to say it) which isn't really suitable for the public arena, and much less for pvp scenarios.

Three examples I have played:

A) Road Patrol - worked fine for a while, but then the players started to figure out the most efficient routes to avoid being ambushed, which kinda broke the mission a little bit.

B) IED Removal - Secure the area and send in the EDO team, then get bumped by anti-player forces. This one didn't really work well because every incoming vehicle was perceived as hostile and engaged (the afore mentioned Go-Mode).

C) MOUT - placed on Porto, with every possible support weapon at the players disposal. Harsh ROE in place (variable cas cap for civvies and no damage to the mosque allowed), which had the effect of the players not wanting to use their support assets at all, for fear of collateral damage.

Thanks. Hmm the ROE is a tough one, especially since I plan to use actual civilians as insurgents. See this is good, I can get on the problem areas before I even start with the map.

[hund 0]

You can just change their side so they are not on the civvie side. The problem with civvies, esp. if they are AI, is that they run of civvie FSM, meaning that they aren't the brigtest boys on the block. This may have been changed in arma 2 tho, who knows.

If they are human I can recommend changing their side, or the people who waste them will be punished for doing so by the game. To change sides:

Place down your civvies.

Go to the mission.sqm

change the side tag for their group and for the individual units (now it says CIV, change that to EAST or WEST or GUER ... i think).

One thing to keep in mind is that once you've changed them, they will revert to a rifleman of the chosen side if you open up their dialog and change something later on, so it is advisable to do so when youre good and ready.

THe other way is to just group them with a unit of the appropriate side and make him into a colonel (so he is always leading) then set his probability of presence to zero.