TisovcikRasto
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Posts posted by TisovcikRasto
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Tuesday's dev branch update brings a new functionality of the server command #mission. In this post, I'd like to shed some light on the changes that were made.
- Tweaked: Server command #mission now supports an optional difficulty parameter. If not set, difficulty remains unchanged.
- Fixed: Server command #mission would reset the server difficulty to Regular
What does the command do?
An already existing server command #mission can be used by admin who is logged in to a dedicated server to change mission that is currently being played. The command has been around for a while and many of you are probably familiar with it.
Previous state (1.60 stable)
In the current stable, the command is simply used to specify a particular mission. Once you log in using the #login command, you can use it in the following way:
#mission MP_COOP_m01.Stratis
However, the command also changes the server's difficulty to default preset (Regular) which may be - to put it mildly - not always desired.
Current state (dev branch, from rev. 136795)
From now this revision, the #mission command supports an optional difficulty parameter. This parameter allows you to set the difficulty preset that you wish to play the mission on. If the difficulty is not specified, the difficulty will remain unchanged and you will play the mission on the same difficulty as the previous one:
// Changes both mission and the difficulty #mission MP_COOP_m01.Stratis Veteran // Changes mission and keeps the current difficulty #mission MP_COOP_m01.Stratis
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Today's dev branch update contains a small update that is related to the difficulty:
Tweaked: The current difficulty on the Dedicated Server is now used as an initial difficulty on the Create Game screen
The change affects the Create Game screen that is displayed when you're selecting mission while playing on a dedicated server.
Previous state (1.58 stable): When the Create Game screen is opened, the difficulty preset in list box is automatically set to user's current difficulty preset that is stored in their local profile. This is currently the case in 1.58 stable.
Current state (dev branch, from rev. 136177): When the Create Game screen is opened, the difficulty preset in list box is automatically set to server's current difficulty. If you're playing a mission on Veteran, log in as admin and decide to change mission using the #missions command, the difficulty list box is automatically set to Veteran as well. In other words - unless you decide to change the difficulty yourself, it remains the same. The same applies to voting.
Finally, if the dedicated server uses the forcedDifficulty parameter, this change has no effect at all as the difficulty preset is forced by DS and list box that usually allows you to select difficulty preset is not available.
We hope that this change (along with previously introduced forcedDifficulty) results in less confusion and easier setup of MP games. As always, all feedback is welcome and appreciated! :)
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Forced difficulty
Today we introduce new difficulty related feature to the dev branch - a new server config parameter forcedDifficulty that allows admins to force a particular difficulty preset for all missions that are (and will be) played on the server.
To force a particular difficulty preset on your server, simply add the following line to your server.cfg file and set the preset to your liking:forcedDifficulty="Veteran";
As you can see, the value that's given to the parameter is name of the difficulty preset (to be more precise, it's the name of a difficulty class from CfgDifficultyPresets), i.e. Recruit, Regular, Veteran or Custom.
If a server uses forcedDifficulty parameter, there is no way for any player to override (e.g. by voting) this preset. Admins who log in using the #login command cannot override forced difficulty either.
UI changes
Along with the new parameter, we have also made a few changes in the user interface.
First of all, we removed the Game Options button from the remote mission selection screen (Create Game) and reintroduced the list box with difficulty presets. This change only affects mission selection screen on dedicated server - when hosting a MP game without using DS, the Game Options is still present for the player who hosts the game on their machine.
If the forcedDifficulty parameter is used, all clients that connect to the server are informed of it and the UI on the client's side is slightly modified to avoid confusion. As you can see on the screenshots below, the list box which allows you to choose/vote for difficulty preset is disabled and replaced by name of the preset that is forced by the server. The same applies to the voting screen where text "Most wanted difficulty:" is replaced by "Forced difficulty:"
Additional details
The forcedDifficulty parameter should find its use mostly on dedicated servers without mission cycle (as the mission cycle allows admins to specify difficulty for individual missions). However, the parameter can be used on servers with mission cycle as well. If defined, it sets a "base" difficulty for all missions in the cycle. This "base" difficulty can then be overridden for selected individual missions by specifying the difficulty for a mission. This is the only situation in which forcedDifficulty can be overridden by other setting.
In the example mission cycle below, difficulty in missions 2 and 4 is set to Veteran (thanks to the forcedDifficulty parameter) while in missions 1 and 3 it's set to Custom and Recruit, respectively.
forcedDifficulty = "Veteran"; class Missions { class Mission01 { template = "MP_COOP_m01.Stratis"; difficulty = "Custom"; }; class Mission02 { template = "MP_COOP_m01.Stratis"; }; class Mission03 { template = "MP_Marksmen_01.Altis"; difficulty = "Recruit"; }; class Mission04 { template = "MP_Marksmen_01.Altis"; }; };-
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I will add to this that if you were already in a mission when you type #missions, it will be stuck on Regular difficulty and the Difficulty tab will be disabled until the next server reboot. I have discovered a workaround - select a mission and go to the slotting screen, then do #missions again and go back to the Game Options to see the Difficulty tab is unlocked again.
What groups like ours really need is the ability to tell the server via the config or profile to always default to a single difficulty preset (custom or otherwise) and for it to optionally make the settings "read only". That would actually be an improvement over how it was previously.
Right now the only solution I've got for members is a topic on our forums with the 23(!!!!!!) options they need to make sure are correctly set. This isn't a practical solution.
I have just fixed the bug regarding the disabled Difficulty tab. The fix should be included in the next dev branch update, allowing everyone to change their difficulty options until they reach the mission's lobby.
We have not been able to reproduce the bug with #missions command and revert to Regular/default preset yet. If you encounter it again, could you please provide us with more info (e.g. list of steps to reproduce the behaviour) so that we can look into it? Even the tiniest details are appreciated. Thank you!
Ad. forced difficulty - we are now considering a solution that would allow you to force server to use only one specific difficulty, essentially overriding difficulty preset that can currently be selected by connected players. That way, you would simply set options for your custom difficulty (the one that's stored in profile) and tell server to use "Custom" at all times. Would that work for those of you who wish to enforce a particular difficulty on your server(s)?
Im not using a dedicated server, just wanted to double check, does the Difficulty settings I have are working when I launch a game with friends? or I need to set up something?
Yes. If you host a multiplayer game (via Play -> Multiplayer -> New), your difficulty preset (along with all difficulty options) is sent to other players. There's no need to set up anything else.
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Could you elaborate that a little bit more? For me, my default difficulty settings are still not applied when I host a server.
Sure! It's a fix to a bug that was introduced on the 1st of March when the first phase of difficulty overhaul hit the dev branch. Back then, we slightly modified the Create Game screen (Play -> Multiplayer -> New) - we have replaced the list box with difficulty presets by a static text which displays current preset and also added Game options button which can be used to change difficulty as well as individual options.
However, this screen was also using parameter difficultyMP from user's profile (i.e. file username.Arma3Profile in Documents\Arma 3). The changes on dev branch from the 1st of March were supposed to make the parameter obsolete - the application was no longer able to change its value and the parameter was not created in user profiles anymore. However, it had not been removed completely and upon launching the mission, the current difficulty preset was overridden by value of difficultyMP (or by Regular difficulty if the parameter was not found in user profile). This issue is now fixed and difficultyMP is really obsolete. :)
What exactly do you mean by default difficulty settings? Could you describe the issue you encounter a bit more so that we can look into it?
Additionally, I thought you wanted to add a difficulty setting which hides all those white icons from the action menu, is that still in the works?
We are looking into it but cannot promise anything right now - as the icons are intertwined with the action menu, it's a bit more complicated and there are still some possible issues that we must consider.
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Feedback Thread
in ARGO - GENERAL
Posted
Hi, thank you for the feedback. Colour of which text in particular do you mean? If it's chat, then yes - it's a work in progress and its visual (in both lobby and in-game) will be changed soon. :)