AAR (After Action Review - replay of your battle in Arma2)

[DZR_Mikhail 14]

Little Wip. Nothing interesting today, just some programming routines.

Two hours of coding in the morning before going to work.

Implemented an efficient action switching block of code. Just a conditional cycle which activates this or that mode on the fly as a command is issued. This "Switcher" must be both in Arma script and in Delphi client. Arma is constantly monitoring a delphiCom pipe and reads replies from the client. Delphi is always monitoring the armaCom pipe and reads AAR status.

It works like this. You hit RECORD button ingame, it sends "RECORDING" status to the client and waits until the client replies "ROGER_RECORDING" and starts sending data to client to be recorded into replay file.

Hit PLAY and Arma sends "PLAYBACK" to the client and waits for a reply "ROGER_PLAYBACK" and then starts receiving a data from the recorded replay and applies the data on units until there's a "EOF" reply from the client (end of replay file).

Client is constantly checking the armaCom pipe for new statuses. When receiving "RECORDING" the whole thread goes into a cycle of writing received data into a replay file until the "STOP" status received, which breaks the reading cycle to a basic status monitoring. Before writing a file it sends a reply "ROGER_RECORDING" to arma.

When it reads the "PLAYBACK" status it grabs a defined *.aar filename from playlist (not implemented yet), sends reply "ROGER_PLAYBACK" to arma and then transfers the contents of the replay line by line until the end of file, at which it replies "EOF" to Arma and breaks the reading cycle to a basic status monitoring.

The Switcher is almost done. Main structure of command-reply blocks is defined. Just need to create good debugging instruments, tune and optimize its interactions. At this moment the switcher only detects statuses from arma. Next step is to make it send replies and arma react on them. And this will make possible to start working on collecting replay data and reading replays. We're close :bounce3: See you tomorrow in the morning at the next WIP :p

[DZR_Mikhail 14]

Thanks to SickBoy!

Now AAR Project is hosted at DEV-HEAVEN

Fell free to spam it all with features and thoughts. Soon I'l fill out the repository and file storage for you with all the demo stuff.

[DZR_Mikhail 14]

All you need is here :

AAR Project Home at DEV-HEAVEN

Fresh AAR version

Readme\Wiki

I turn to use Dev-Heaven workflow from now on, and you CAN subscribe or follow the project there to track the lates progress and changes and give all the feedback. I will try to post wip in free time, but latest news are on the Dev-Heaven. :bounce3:

Please, create a ticket there to request all the features or send your feedback and bugs there. I cannot guarantee a qick reply and addressing an ussue if it's posted here. I guarnatee that your issue will not be lost and DEv-Heaven and will be lost for sure if you post it here. Sorry. :(

Edited November 19, 2010 by zvukoper
omg, wrote CANT SUBSCRIBE))) A typo

[Muahaha 10]

All you need is here :

AAR Project Home at DEV-HEAVEN

Fresh AAR version

Readme\Wiki

I turn to use Dev-Heaven workflow from now on, and you cant subscribe or follow the project there to track the lates progress and changes and give all the feedback. I will try to post wip in free time, but latest news are on the Dev-Heaven. :bounce3:

Please, create a ticket there to request all the features or send your feedback and bugs there. I cannot guarantee a qick reply and addressing an ussue if it's posted here. I guarnatee that your issue will not be lost and DEv-Heaven and will be lost for sure if you post it here. Sorry. :(

Nice. Congrats on the demo release. Will test it soonest.

[DZR_Mikhail 14]

Amazing news guyz! Today I think I resolved the main playback issue - the unexplainable unit position flickering.

I just rewrote the main recording/reading algorythm and all seem very descent.

More good news is that I managed to solve almost all main issues an it's now far more than an alpha demo. It's almost an effective infantry AAR. Transport and crew is incompatible. Last tiny bit is to add fire events and damage.

Today in the evening I will upload the new version for your testing.

Edited November 21, 2010 by zvukoper
doublepost

[DZR_Mikhail 14]

Ok! Alpha demo is here . As all dev's usually say: "Use at you own risk" ;) Just kidding. Nothing harmful found during two days of testing. :bounce3:

[DZR_Mikhail 14]

We just tested all in MP! Better than I thought.

Well if you record replay and then playback with all players connected their characters are laggy and replay is not smooth at all.

But if you create some civillians there, all is smooth in MP and we just watched our recorded units run and attack an enemy squad. We were running among them, looking at everything in detail))

All three MP players report smooth playback.

The only glitch is that if your unit was not AI (it's you of course) then disable IA is absent and when he sees enemy it tries to lay down and is gliding laying on the ground to the position he ran at recording.

No impact on server, connection or my (already dropped by my old video card) FPS during record or playback.

Still not really handy to restart server everytime because of the pipes cannot be reused.. I mean I not that pro with JayArma2Lib to open\close pipes correctly. Jaynus tried to tell about some handling, but it's still beyond my knowledge.

_____________

Here is my crappy video. My video card got damaged and I use a very old one, so FPS is terrible with FRAPS it's twice as terrible.

Soon my squad mate will upload a better one.

Playback is still uploading

---------- Post added at 10:40 PM ---------- Previous post was at 10:26 PM ----------

Playback video

Edited November 21, 2010 by zvukoper
Video

[rcdxph 10]

well，I didn't know how use AAR? can you creat one help of graphs?

[DZR_Mikhail 14]

well，I didn't know how use AAR? can you creat one help of graphs?

Here's readme with a little manual.

[TemichSablin 10]

After-Action Review system, from regular player's point of view.

AXs3NFBHHcM

[rcdxph 10]

hello zvukoper:

"Start the mission aar_io_1.utes." what is mean?

In my AA2, i can't find the aar_io_1 neither in SP nor MP ?

So, i hope you would make one help of graphs.

and my OICQ is 45824645 ,email is rcdxph@126.com

I hope contact you.

[DZR_Mikhail 14]

hello zvukoper:

"Start the mission aar_io_1.utes." what is mean?

In my AA2, i can't find the aar_io_1 neither in SP nor MP ?

So, i hope you would make one help of graphs.

and my OICQ is 45824645 ,email is rcdxph@126.com

I hope contact you.

Download it here. Unpack and place mission aar_io_1.utes in your MPMissions for example.

Be sure you have JayArma2Lib and CBA mods active.

[rcdxph 10]

Well，zvukoper:

I have place aar_io_1.utes in my MPMissions,and created one folder named "Replays".and in the "Replays",i place the "ra_aar.velmet.org" and "test.aar" in it.

then i do as in your readme,and in the MPmission——Utes,i find the "Arma2 AAR Alpha Demo",then i start it,and in the start,i put Laugh AAR as you mentioned,in the left-down of the screen,there are some message like"No pipes",and the infomation fo the ra_aar.velmet.org.exe is still the "no pipes",so i didn't konw the reason for this, and how to solve it ?

[DZR_Mikhail 14]

rcdxph, thanks for the feedback. You're not only one with such issue. By the way, what's your operating system (Win7 or XP?) and have you used Arma2 or Combined ops?

If you're on Win7, please, be sure you run both ra_aar.velmet.org.exe and Arma2 with administrator privileges.

Edited November 23, 2010 by zvukoper

[rcdxph 10]

My operating system is XP and i used Arma2.

[DZR_Mikhail 14]

rcdxph, ok. Try launching OA, because you need to have CBA_A2 installed for ARMA2.

I only tested everything on Combined Ops (Arma2+Arrowhead). Can't promise it will be working in a simple Arma2.

Also doublecheck you have JayArma2Lib installed correctly. dsound.dll is in the same place with arma2.exe, you have @JayArma2Lib folder there and it is loaded. If you used ACRE radio then it's installed and you just run your game with -mods=@CBA;@JayArma2Lib for Combined Ops, and -mods=@CBA_A2;@JayArma2Lib for original Arma2 without Arrowhead.

[rcdxph 10]

well , the problem has been solved. the mistake that i made is that " i didn't place the dsound.dll in the same place with arma2.exe ".

now ,it is good. and i used the only arma2 with -mods=@CBA;@CBA_A2;@JayArma2Lib; so the AAR is good for single AA2.

thank zvukoper very much and you are good guys !i support you for ever! ^_^

[rcdxph 10]

it would be perfect if the AAR could compatible wiht the "TroopMon2 created by Charon"http://www.armaholic.com/page.php?id=7948, i hope zvukoper could make the compatibility for "the AAR and TroopMoo2" come true !

[DZR_Mikhail 14]

thanks rcdxph, looks interesting. Will have a look at this. Meanwhile check the new version. Now it records firing and hits and also has some experimental spectating script. Check Current version file section. Demo version is frozen. Forget it))

[rcdxph 10]

it is very mazing !

but,there is one bug that "how to finish the state of Spectating ,then reback the nomal state ? "

[DZR_Mikhail 14]

You can quit spectating by pressing ESC I suppose. If you're not in a cam mode, but switched to a buttefly mode - just land on the ground (hold Z) and you're out.

Edited November 24, 2010 by zvukoper

[DZR_Mikhail 14]

A little update, sad news.

Due to arma limitations I'm not able to pass more data than 4096 bytes and it means no more than 3-5 units can be recorded. Due to JayArma2Lib limitations I cannot send smaller sets of data more often. Jaynus is still silent about this, I can't guess how can I solve this. Tried a lot of variants but nothing works. Pipe recieves only abrupted portions of data, sometime receives nothing, though command is executed and arrays of data are full and active and I monitor them by hints and various debugs. So wether I need more clarifications on JayArma2Lib or the whole thing is spoiled.

Edited December 1, 2010 by zvukoper

[rcdxph 10]

I support you! Dont give up! Here must be methods!

[DZR_Mikhail 14]

Issue is published for Jaynus to react. Please, vote up at dev-heaven.

[boom! 10]

Hi zvukoper,

This certainly is a very interesting project and I wish you all the luck. I am currently scripting a similar project (before I found your thread). It is specifically aimed at playback of markers on a map after a game of Benny's warfare. At the moment the server records everything to an array and then broadcasts this across the network at the end of the game and then I force the map to open and playback significant events, such as towns getting captured etc and then play them back with markers on the map. I am aware that the size of this array might become very large over time and am looking for a way of saving custom messages to a log file and then broadcasting that at the end of the game. I will download your .rar and look through but it sounds as if you have something I can also use. I will let you know.

Atmos