RKSL Studios: ArmA2.PBO and Countermeasures Released

[ziiip 1]

Well yea but the landtex mod works on any server for me. :)

[UNN 0]

rock, the reason I can see that being a superior option is because ArmA 2 can't auto download addons when connecting to a server.

Yeah, in an ideal world we would support both. We had all sort of plans to implement script and addon based version of our systems. But there just isn't enough time to do both.

Apart from converting the existing system scripts and ensuring they still work alongside the addon version. We would have to drop Rock's active IR targets (which is my favourite feature) and flare launchers as a weapon. Launchers as a weapon may not seem like a big loss, given the other options. But it's intuitive, covers reloading and makes MP easier to script.

Can the lockon warning & auto deploy thing be disabled (forcefully) missionside?

You should be able to, but I just checked the scripts and realised I replaced the description.ext check, with a locality check by mistake :(

I've never had a switch for the audio warnings, but it's easy enough to add one. So next version you will be able to turn off Auto deploy and Audio warnings for either a mission with description.ext or per aircraft with functions.

Those, some other bugs logged on our tracker and XEH support, mean we almost have enough to warrant an update.

Well yea but the landtex mod works on any server for me.

The landtex mod does not provide players with an advantage over any opponent that doesn't have the addon, plus landtex is all client side so the server doesn't need it.

Our system does work if it's not installed on the server, but when I say works, it turns itself off :) I quite like this approach, as it means you don't have to swap mod folders when moving from a server that supports it to one that doesn't.

Thanks for all the feedback so far.

[mr burns 132]

Speaking of MP servers - would it be possible to make a serverside only version of this flare addon? So that users don´t need to have a special addon loaded, but the server propagates all the visual fx & missile deflection? :)

[Splikes 10]

Our system does work if it's not installed on the server, but when I say works, it turns itself off :) I quite like this approach, as it means you don't have to swap mod folders when moving from a server that supports it to one that doesn't.

Can you make atleast the warning work clientside on MP ? on the next release... because it will be alot more usefull than just flying around alone on the editor.

[UNN 0]

Speaking of MP servers - would it be possible to make a serverside only version of this flare addon?

Hmm...I'm not sure. No major obstacles spring to mind, other than an MP mission would have to be compatible server side and file checking. Can't promise anything in the near future, but it's certainly an interesting idea!

Can you make atleast the warning work clientside on MP ?

No, sorry. The last thing we would want to do is give individual players, any sort of advantage. Probably more from a case of principle, rather than it having a dramatic effect on a game, but it still stands.

But if someone wants to add that to a mission, it's easy enough without any addons.

[Sgt.Slaughter 10]

any way to get this great addon to work with F-16 Fighting Falcon

by Myke and others like it such as PMC Apache, etc.

[svendejong 0]

never mind, problem fixed

sven

Edited August 19, 2009 by svendejong
problem fixed

[gnarly_rider 0]

"RKSL aircraft coutnermeasures causes error"

Folks, posted this on the RKSL forums, but they are very quiet, so this looks like a better place:

I have a mission with one aircraft (whether chopper, A10 or AV8B), using this new mod, works fine and dandy. Client and sevrer have rksl-arma2.pbo, rksl-radarsys.pbo and rksl-system.pbo

however, when I copy and paste the aircraft (AV8B) to duplicate (ie have 2 AV8B's at airstrip) both empty and unlocked, upon starting the mission on a dedicated server i get a 'you cannot run this mission due to downloadable content that has been deleted. RKSL_ARMA2". Trying to start it as Host causes ARAM2 to crash to desktop.

Issue also occurs with two AH1Z's instead of the AV8s, so it doesn't seem to be unit specific

Any ideas what may be going wrong?

Note both aircraft are non-spawnable for what its worth...

driving me nuts, worked fine prior to using the mod.

[Guest RKSL-Rock]

"RKSL aircraft coutnermeasures causes error"

Folks, posted this on the RKSL forums, but they are very quiet, so this looks like a better place:

I have a mission with one aircraft (whether chopper, A10 or AV8B), using this new mod, works fine and dandy. Client and sevrer have rksl-arma2.pbo, rksl-radarsys.pbo and rksl-system.pbo

however, when I copy and paste the aircraft (AV8B) to duplicate (ie have 2 AV8B's at airstrip) both empty and unlocked, upon starting the mission on a dedicated server i get a 'you cannot run this mission due to downloadable content that has been deleted. RKSL_ARMA2". Trying to start it as Host causes ARAM2 to crash to desktop.

Issue also occurs with two AH1Z's instead of the AV8s, so it doesn't seem to be unit specific

Any ideas what may be going wrong?

Note both aircraft are non-spawnable for what its worth...

driving me nuts, worked fine prior to using the mod.

It sounds like (considering you posting in the ArmA1 areas) you are using the ArmA2 system in ArmA1 which will never work.

You need to get the ArmA1 files from our site:

http://www.rkslstudios.info/downloads/rksl/232-arma1.html

----------------------------

Ok I've just tested this in ArmA2 and you are right there is a problem - we'll look into it thanks for letting us know.

@Mods can you move both Gnarly's and my own post to the ArmA2 RKSL Countermeasures thread please?

Edited August 20, 2009 by RKSL-Rock
Seem Gnarly post was int he wrong area.

[gnarly_rider 0]

Ooops, apologies, didn't notice I'd posted in ARMA1, it is actually AMRA2 it's occurring in as you've discovered. Link to the BI thread was sent to me by a friend, and I didn't even stop to look at which platform it was in!

[UNN 0]

Folks, posted this on the RKSL forums, but they are very quiet, so this looks like a better place

Just generally busy atm with RL. But we like to investigate the possible causes before replying. We do try and post bugs up on the tracker asap.

What we are trying to do with the rksl_arma2.pbo is, AFAIK new ground in general. So there are things we are not aware of. Automatically trying to activate addons that may or may not be defined in a missions header is a tricky business, do it to early and you miss one lot of addons, to late you miss another.

If you unpbo your mission, you will probably see something like this:

	addOns[]=
{
	"cacharacters2",
	"CAAir",
	"rksl_arma2",
	"utes"
};
addOnsAuto[]=
{
	"cacharacters2",
	"CAAir",
	"rksl_arma2",
	"utes"
};

Try removing the references to rksl-arma2 from the above sections. I actually have a hard time recreating the above, when making test missions, probably something I'm not doing. To recreate your problem, I had to manually add the references to the missions headers.

We still haven't exhausted the possible solutions to this problem, but it could turn out that what we are trying to do with rksl-arma2.pbo is just to unpredictable. So we may have to drop the idea. Best bet is to keep an eye on the tracker or this thread.

Of course if you can help us track down the problem and possible causes, then we would be more than happy. Which you already have done, by letting us know in a way we can reproduce easily :)

Cheers

[bushlurker 46]

I'm having the same problem reported above on a couple of edited versions of Domination I made...

Its a puzzling problem - I made these edited versions (just a few parameters changed and a vehicle or two) well BEFORE I installed the rksl_flares - Yet in both cases they fail to run with the same "requires content that has been deleted" error reported above...

Just to be sure - I de-pbo'd both missions - of course, they DON'T have "rksl_arma2" as an addon requirement in the mission.sqm - I didn't have it installed when I made them!

I tried the stock Domination mission - from which I derived my variants - it worked fine...

I tried de-pbo'ing the stock version - changing a few things and re-pbo'ing (now with rksl mod installed) - still working fine - (and NO "rksl_etc" auto included addon dependency created in mission.sqm)...

I also thought for a few minutes it might be some kind of problem with the change from official patch 1.02 to 1.03 - but nope, I made both these variants AFTER the release of 1.03, so that can't be the issue either...

I dunno - I'm really puzzled with this one... so far, only these two edited missions are throwing the problem - I'll try some others and fool around some more - If I come up with anything more informative I'll let you guys know...

When it's working - it's working REALLY well! - So thanks for this, by the way - it almost makes flying choppers a practical proposition again!

B

Edited August 22, 2009 by Bushlurker

[UNN 0]

Thanks for the report.

I tried the stock Domination mission - from which I derived my variants - it worked fine...

I tried de-pbo'ing the stock version - changing a few things and re-pbo'ing (now with rksl mod installed) - still working fine - (and NO "rksl_etc" auto included addon dependency created in mission.sqm)...

So you got the Flares to work without any errors, using the above.

de-pbo'ing the stock version - changing a few things and re-pbo'ing

Is all that done through the export to MP, in the mission editor?

Could you PM me about arranging to get the links\or pbo's (so I'm sure to use the exact same version) to the Stock Domination and your modified version?

Cheers

[bushlurker 46]

PM'd with appropriate links, UNN... hope it helps...

B

[rstratton 0]

doesnt work on dedicated server whether its in the mission.sqm or not

[bushlurker 46]

Hi again UNN & Co.!

Just a little update on this error...

I DON'T think its confined to the RKSL addon...

I've been trying to help another forum member with his mission - it works fine in the editor - but when run on a dedi server it throws EXACTLY the same error as this - except referring to an OAC component...

Same error about deleted content - despite it being an OAC required mission, and OAC being present on both client and server... exactly the same!

Not sure if this info helps much trying to track down what's causing it, but I thought you might wanna know it doesnt seem to be a flaw in your addon - more like some sort of normally acceptable scripting that maybe the netcode doesnt like... just guessing... I dunno...

P.S. Re: the mission I PM'd that was causing an RKSL error - I did it again from scratch - works fine this time! - Flares running fine - mission on dedi server - no errors - working 100% and delighted with the flares!!

B

Edited August 26, 2009 by Bushlurker

[BoxiouS 10]

Thx for this. it makes a huge difference.

[UNN 0]

Not sure if this info helps much trying to track down what's causing it, but I thought you might wanna know it doesnt seem to be a flaw in your addon - more like some sort of normally acceptable scripting that maybe the netcode doesnt like... just guessing... I dunno...

Thanks for the info Bushlurker, what were trying to do is outside the normal game requirements so there may be things you just can't do, or things we haven't done yet with the scripts. Your info will go a long way in helping us track down what it is.

P.S. Re: the mission I PM'd that was causing an RKSL error - I did it again from scratch - works fine this time! - Flares running fine - mission on dedi server - no errors - working 100% and delighted with the flares!!

That may explain why I missed those problems. When testing, I either created a mission from scratch or tested with unedited versions of existing MP missions.

Also thanks BoxiouS, and all the others who confirmed it at least works in some cases.

If we can nail this set of problems, then it should be ok for everyone.

[Seraphim2150 10]

Is there anyway to add this to other addons such as the littlebirds or RAF chinook?

[konyo 14]

Is there anyway to add this to other addons such as the littlebirds or RAF chinook?

Yeah would love to see this on the RAF Chinook :)

Im sure you can add it in the config cant we? :confused:

[l mandrake 9]

thanks this is a great mod, however it seems to either work 100% (aircraft evade EVERY missile) or 0% - every missile ignores the flares and hits.

Am I doing something wrong?

Cheers

[Guest RKSL-Rock]

Is there anyway to add this to other addons such as the littlebirds or RAF chinook?

Yes theres is. But let us fix the first version first then we'll release a template and quick tutorial if we get time.

thanks this is a great mod, however it seems to either work 100% (aircraft evade EVERY missile) or 0% - every missile ignores the flares and hits.

Am I doing something wrong?

Cheers

Ok I'm not sure what the problem is. The system isn't meant to be perfect just like real world countermeasures. And its usually a hit or miss scenario in the real world so 100% or 0% success seems pretty accurate to me?

The system uses random values to decide if and how it deflect missiles:

- its random chance that it actually does deflect missiles.

- When it does deflect it uses a random angle, meaning that even if it misses you may take damage from a proximity explosion as the missile hits a flare.

Does this explain or am I misunderstanding your problem?

[l mandrake 9]

well the problem i have is with Ka52s and Su34s, i.e. I sometimes fire 8 stingers from an Avenger at them and they evade them all....!

Other times I fire 1 stinger and it hits. There doesnt seem to be much in between.

The 2nd problem is that flares dont fire automatically when I am piloting an aircraft. I just hear a beep about 2 seconds before I am hit by a missile. Is there a way to make the flares fire automatically upon lockon?

Not bashing your mod at all here, in fact it's a real breakthough for Arma2 IMO, I juts think it may need some tweaking (or I dont' know how to use it ;) )

[Guest RKSL-Rock]

well the problem i have is with Ka52s and Su34s, i.e. I sometimes fire 8 stingers from an Avenger at them and they evade them all....!

Other times I fire 1 stinger and it hits. There doesnt seem to be much in between.

That sounds like the random factors working to me. So it looks like its working properly.

The 2nd problem is that flares dont fire automatically when I am piloting an aircraft. I just hear a beep about 2 seconds before I am hit by a missile. Is there a way to make the flares fire automatically upon lockon?

Not bashing your mod at all here, in fact it's a real breakthough for Arma2 IMO, I juts think it may need some tweaking (or I dont' know how to use it ;) )

What other addons are you using because they should fire automatically. Thats the way they are setup.

[UNN 0]

If in one of your mission init lines or init.sqf you add:

RKSL_DEBUG=true;

You should get a side chat with the following:

Player SideChat Format ["Rand: %1 > %4 Count: %2 Flare Num: %3",_Rand,_Count,_FlareCount,_LockNum];

Rand: is the random number generated by Arma2. If this is greater than _LockNum (Rand: %1 > %4) it will lock onto to flare.

Count: How many times (in seconds) the random number (per missile/flare) is checked.

Flare Num: The flare index currently being checked.

You can also experiment with one of the following settings in description.ext:

radarflareprob : Corresponds to _LockNum. A random number greater than this value is a lock onto a flare. But remember a lock does not mean a miss.

See: http://www.rkslstudios.info/documentation/30-instructions/121-rksl-radarsys-v10-beta.html for more info on description.ext.