Vietnam the Experience: Discussion

[dr@gon 118]

Any Mod updates ?

[Snake Man 407]

Sure lots, but dunno how much geek development detail you guys want here ;)

At the moment v1.3.7 changelog has over 40 entries already, so its going to be packed with nice fixes and tweaks. Most notably I would list fixes for few plane pilot proxys (no more head through canopy), rpk machine gun added, nva sniper now using correct rifle, new m134 minigun and m197 chaingun sounds, napalm fire/smoke is working again, antitank rocket launchers ironsight view fixed, etc etc.

We have several MP missions for Ia Drang and it is completely enjoyable gameplay for me there with the current build. Yes of course there is issues on the whole mod, many issues... but it is already totally playable.

I'm now just trying to find a balance that enough issues / bugs have been fixed for public release. I know from experience that many people enjoy the upcoming (and would enjoy even current) version and many people dislike it also, there is never a way to please everyone that goes without saying. But the main focus is not to have critical bugs like errors on the screen or newbie stuff like CTD's.

[jw custom 56]

I've started to finish off some of the missions i started on but never finished for the public VTE preview, infact i have started on yet a new one which is almost done :)

Here's a little video from the mission(full HD available):

[dr@gon 118]

Wow very nice video, lots of atmosphere.

[Snake Man 407]

New version was sent for private testing.

Its more and more difficult to find new critical bugs, I can't find any, testers doesn't seem to find either, so dunno. I was thinking that maybe a public beta would be good option for now, not sure yet.

[Altimeter 10]

Im really interested how (or if) you guys did those vietnames jungle / swamp settings.

[dr@gon 118]

New version was sent for private testing.

Its more and more difficult to find new critical bugs, I can't find any, testers doesn't seem to find either, so dunno. I was thinking that maybe a public beta would be good option for now, not sure yet.

Woot public beta.

Add 20-50 people to the testing pool and bugs will be found because we'll do things to the missions and mod that you never thought of, and we'll have fun doing it :cool:.

I hope you do decide in favor of a public beta but I'll continue to wait if you don't.

[mortyfero99 10]

Just one thing ...

I've played a lot VTE for ofp and loved it (played once those for arma1 also). I remember all the big and wonderfull islands included.

Couple of days ago downloaded unsung mod, and I saw most part of the island is covered with tall grass (too tall imho).

So, my men could see and shot the enemy and the enemy returned fire, but I was standing like a stupid in the middle of nowhere, unable to see anybody (plz don't ask to reduce to minimum ground effect).

Please don't make this happens also on your islands, maybe it's more realistic, but imho really kills playability.

Sorry my bad english.

Thanks men !!

[geloxo 2]

I love the maps and the amount of vehicles included in VTE. Keep the work alive as Arma2 needs NAM mods ;)

Cheers

[Fox '09 14]

Don't worry we are still alive. I am working on the sf textures and bdu textures , I'll post pics soon

[jw custom 56]

Couple of days ago downloaded unsung mod, and I saw most part of the island is covered with tall grass (too tall imho).

So, my men could see and shot the enemy and the enemy returned fire, but I was standing like a stupid in the middle of nowhere, unable to see anybody (plz don't ask to reduce to minimum ground effect).

Please don't make this happens also on your islands, maybe it's more realistic, but imho really kills playability.

The "Ia Drang" map in the VTE preview is actually well cluttered and with the right difficulty settings you can have great battles even on the thickest "jungle" parts of the map. The downside is the vegitation doesn't look very good which makes me only wanna play night missions where it looks decent :)

I hope maps with more "uptodate" vegitation is added in the full version :)

[dr@gon 118]

Any more word on a public beta?

[nettrucker 142]

Yesterday I had my first extensive look on the La Drang map.

Really awesome, No problem to fight the enemy, visibility is great and at least you have the chance to spot the opponent.

Looking forward to a full scale release.

Thanks

kind regards

[Honeycutt 10]

Any chance of a maps based on Hue and the Mekong Delta/Rung Sat special zone region?

Hell how about Hanoi? and let F4/F-105s wreak some havoc.

[dr@gon 118]

Any chance of a maps based on Hue and the Mekong Delta/Rung Sat special zone region?

Hell how about Hanoi? and let F4/F-105s wreak some havoc.

Interesting map choices Honeycutt.

The Delta would be good mostly open with lots of canals, rivers, rice paddies; bring on the SEALs. Sounds like fun. Rung Sat is under water during high tide that may be a bit difficult to play.

My vote would be areas such as; War Zone III with rolling hills near Tay Nihn, A Shau Valley, populated coastal areas mixing bush with paddy fields and jungle areas.

just some thoughts.

[Honeycutt 10]

I remember there was mekong delta map in OFP VTE and the atmos was awesome, mist everywhere, tall elephant grass, rolling hills, huge palm trees.

You'd walk slowly unable to see a dam thing in front of you and then a toe-popper would go off and all hell breaks loose. End up blasting away in almost every direction.

I agree playing US Navy Seals operating in Mekong Delta would be brilliant, add rivers or tributories (many of them) and PBR + Monitor boats it would kick ass. Even get the Navy "Seawolves" helicopter support units to give you a hand if the shit hits the fan. Imagine a mission getting in/exfiltrated by PBR at night (not sure if starlight scopes are as reliable as modern day NV though).

Snake man - when is VTE going public? Will it possible to download VTE in chunks rather than a massive 800MB Z file?

[Fox '09 14]

We were considering torrents as well, but that's not set and stone ..

[Snake Man 407]

Im really interested how (or if) you guys did those vietnames jungle / swamp settings.

Settings?

Add 20-50 people to the testing pool and bugs will be found because we'll do things to the missions and mod that you never thought of

Yeah, maybe in my dreams :)

I love the maps and the amount of vehicles included in VTE. Keep the work alive as Arma2 needs NAM mod

There is some cool stuff in the upcoming version, I hope you like the release.

The "Ia Drang" map in the VTE preview is actually well cluttered

I hope maps with more "uptodate" vegitation is added in the full version

No updates on the vegetation, its one of those limitations that I have right now. If someone is willing to join the team to model some trees and bushes, feel free to contact me. But for now, the vegetation visually is the same as in preview version, well besides that we have tons of more vegetation as this is full version.

Any more word on a public beta?

Tomorrow I'll send final "planned" upgrade for testers, when it gets some testing time and no bug reports arrive, then I'll put out full release candidate. If that goes well, then its time for release.

At the moment I don't make much categories of beta or no, the public release is just an release with version number. What is important... is that all you guys get to play it.

Yesterday I had my first extensive look on the La Drang map.

Really awesome, No problem to fight the enemy, visibility is great and at least you have the chance to spot the opponent.

Looking forward to a full scale release.

No problem to fight the enemy, spot the opponent? I don't get it, there has been no problems since early OFP test versions regarding visibility.

Any chance of a maps based on Hue and the Mekong Delta/Rung Sat special zone region?

Hell how about Hanoi?

We have very large city on one of the terrains. We have specific Meekong and RSSZ terrains.

We don't plan to add Hanoi terrain, if I'm correct, there was no fighting there other than what you mentioned through the air to ground campaign.

Of course if you have some specific ideas / designs for such terrain, please post them here and we'll take a look at them.

My vote would be areas such as; War Zone III with rolling hills near Tay Nihn, A Shau Valley

We have A Shau Valley terrain.

when is VTE going public?

I cant say date for sure, but we are definitely on the last phase now, read this post above and there is the details.

Will it possible to download VTE in chunks rather than a massive 800MB Z file?

Its actually going to be like 1.6gb file :D

I'm planning on making the release right. I'm naturally going with the news site hosting route, then I've been in discussions to get it into Addon Sync and also I plan to put out a torrent.

So no, there is not going to be split files, but it would be very unforunate scenario that you would not find good download location. I highly would recommend torrent if you have download problems normally, like not using wget or some download managers.

General update

Sorry guys for not posting so regularly, been terribly busy editing to get this monster to shape up for release.

I can honestly say with zero hype, that when you run VTE, it runs smooth without errors and it is fun to play. Yes there are few items that still are buggy (cough arty, cough mines...), but the basic operation is smooth as silk. Of course I'm just one guy, but I do not find any critical bugs anymore when playing on our MP server and solely rely on our private testing team to send me feedback of those hard to find bugs.

Also I'm pretty burnt out for editing, so probably more than you guys I'm looking forward to this release so that I can finally get some time off ;)

[Honeycutt 10]

If BitTorrent works similiar to six updater, I am all for it. Going back about map ideas. I am sure all the VTE maps being developed will be great.

Oh wait..ignore the above >Just seen SnakeMans post - good timing huh.

Thanks Snakeman for the update.

Edited October 14, 2010 by Honeycutt

[dr@gon 118]

Thnaks for the update Snake Man. I can't wait to spend a weekend soon playing the mod (maybe even take some time off work). I have been a fan of VTE since its early days and I am eager to play the full release for ARMA 2 when its ready.

I am not expecting ACE 2 compatibility since that adds a lot of work to your mod but since I run ACE is it safe to say that VTE can run with ACE without too much difficulty? Many mods aren't specifically ACE compliant but still work great with ACE minus a few features.

[jw custom 56]

Any news on the mod and it's release?

[mortyfero99 10]

Are the terrains created as islands or as mainland ??

[Fox '09 14]

Are the terrains created as islands or as mainland ??

Islands as per the latest internal release.

We fixed our "floating bridge" problem and many other issues. We are awaiting on feedback from our testing team right now. Snake man left these forums so I will keep you guys posted for now.

Once released less time will be spent on the

Mod by him , however I will be doing some improvments to aesthetics.

Do mind we have a dev-heaven (link inbound, on phone ) thanks to sickboy. Once out , suggest , report and offer away :)

[mortyfero99 10]

Bridges .. from OFP to ARMA 2 always been the biggest trouble for AI .. :D

Thanks for the info Fox !!

Waiting for the release of VTE !! i have a couple of ideas about a "Seal Team" style campaign ...

[Killerwatt 0]

It appears its been released! Check here: http://forums.bistudio.com/showthread.php?t=110019