zonker3210

Hahaha! I know that I usually come across as very critical but you've created some wonderful missions. This one, however, is the best yet.

You've really outdone yourself this time, EMSI. I just finished playing the mission and I'm amazed at how you managed the seamless transitions between the various fire teams and their respective missions. The fact that you let the player choose tasks on the fly...brilliant. This single mission plays like a mini-campaign all by itself. I really like this one and I'm going to have to study your SQF code to see how you pulled it off. The entire trilogy is enjoyable but this one...wow! GREAT job! Thank you so much for taking the time to create this mission and share it with the community!

I'm very grateful that the debug console shows up in SP...that's what allowed me to enable saving without unpacking the mission PBOs and making a change that way. ;) I understand the gear selections are often semi-randomized / template-based and I am fine with a challenge. It's just that sometimes the result is some rather weird loadouts. Also, it's frustrating to be going against militia forces who have better sights (and other gear) than anyone in my team. You're correct about Specter...the unit loadout has the correct 30-round mags but the helo has the 11-round mags by mistake. Also, the really weird thing about the chopper loadout is that usually when you remove items from a gearbox, more room is freed up in that gearbox. That is not the case with the helo. I team-switched my way through all four units and topped off everyone's loadouts...the helo's inventory was still showing up as completely full and I couldn't move any items into it. Very odd. Again, though...this might be a game bug. I guess you could always free up space by dumping all of the parachutes from the inventory. Again...really fun mission pack! Thanks for sharing!

One other odd quirk I noticed during the Specter mission...the helo's inventory is constantly full. So if you take a piece of equipment by mistake and try to put it back...no luck. You're stuck with it at least until you disembark and can drop it on the ground. Might be a game bug but I've never noticed it before, as far as I can recall.

(fyi...I also posted this same comment at Armaholic since I was having problems logging in here at the BI forums...) It'd be nice if you enabled saving in SP mode. I know that they're technically co-op missions but otherwise they seem to work well enough in SP. I played the mission Silence in SP mode and when I got back to the crate at the beach prior to extraction, only my uniform changed to the scuba gear. The gear change worked for the whole team at insertion so I'm not sure why it didn't work for the whole team at extraction. Also, the automatic gear change is a pain when it's triggered while under fire...suddenly my gun changes to the SDAR...etc. It'd be nice if you added an action to the crate after the exfil task is assigned. Only the fact that the rest of my team's loadouts did *not* change allowed us to continue to engage nearby opfor. The main issue I have with the mission is that the boat and driver were under water at time of exfil. Not sure if the driver was killed or what happened but I do recall hearing gunfire while moving from the crate (during the initial insertion) toward the SUV with the weapons. Couldn't finish the mission as a result of this. Played a few other missions in the pack and I enjoyed them although I'm generally not a big fan of the gear assignments. Often seems like basic gear like binoculars are left out...or they're given during night missions despite not being NVG-capable. Also, noticed that it seems like you may have loaded the wrong .45 mags in Specter mission (has 11-round pistol mags rather than the 30-round SMG mags). Please take the above comments as they're intended - honest feedback. These missions are a lot of fun and you've obviously put a lot of time & effort into crafting quality missions. I appreciate you sharing these with the community! Thanks!

Thanks for the quick reply, Zenophon! Good news...your script works just fine. The bad news...I need to rethink how I was doing things. For example, this works... _pos = ["mkTestArea", 250] call Zen_FindGroundPosition; player sideChat str _pos; However, I have an array of markers and want to use your script to find a ground position near one of the markers. And that's where I'm getting the error... _targets = [ "mkTestArea" ]; _selectedMarker = _targets call BIS_fnc_selectRandom; hint format ["_selectedMarker (%1): %2, %3, %4", _selectedMarker, (getMarkerPos _selectedMarker select 0), (getMarkerPos _selectedMarker select 1), (getMarkerPos _selectedMarker select 2)]; _pos = [_selectedMarker, 250] call Zen_FindGroundPosition; player sideChat str _pos; I think that this is easily fixed by creating another marker and just moving it to same location as the marker randomly selected from the array. I should then be able to call [Zen_FindGroundPosition] using that hardcoded marker name. I thought the function allowed the first argument to be either a marker name or a position...I think I misunderstood that, though. Anyhow, thanks for the help...and thanks for this wonderful script framework!

Just curious....are you planning on adding support for the Kunduz terrain? At present the [Zen_FindGroundPosition] function fails and I'm guessing it's because the terrain isn't listed in switch statement that determines the world size. Thanks! Update: I think it must be more complicated than I realized as I added a "kunduz" entry to the switch statement in the [Zen_FindGroundPosition] script file but I'm still getting errors when attempting to call the script. I'm not sure whether it's because the world size is incorrect (I guessed and used [20480,20480] as the value) or if it's something else. I always seem to get a "No valid position found" error. I'd appreciate it if you could point me in the right direction. I think I'm calling the function correctly but perhaps not. Thanks!

Just curious...how does this script compare to the [Zen_SpawnInfantryGarrison] script in your framework? Here's my understanding of the differences: the framework's garrison script handles both spawning and garrisoning units within eligible buildings in a given area but just places the units without positioning them to watch out windows/doors. this script requires that units already exist but does garrison them so they look out windows. This script also seems to allow control over how the garrisoning takes place (fill order, fill distribution, etc.) Is that correct? Are there other differences (unit behavior, positioning, etc) that we should be aware of? Thanks for sharing this script (and your excellent framework!) with the community! - z

I'm wrapping most of my initial feedback in spoiler tags to avoid spoiling other people's enjoyment... Just so I'm clear, there are aspects to this mission that I really enjoyed: the back story is detailed and believable, the gameplay itself is a lot of fun, the concept of a time limit for the Hydra mission, and extremely well-executed transition between various phases (Hydra -> Ares -> mission #3 teaser). With very few exceptions, your scripting & triggers work beautifully and the entire scenario flows along nicely. Overall, this mission has huge potential but I think you might want to consider reviewing parts of it in order to produce a bit more balanced gameplay. As always, this is intended as constructive criticism and I greatly appreciate you making this mission and then sharing it with the A3 community!

I just spent some time playing the new version and I like it a lot! One suggestion...I haven't looked at how you implemented the "select next advance" task but rather than have a timeout cause a mission/task failure (and restart from an earlier save), you may want to have one of the choices be the default instead. So, for example, if the player does not choose a specific option within a certain amount of time, then the FIA contact says "okay, I guess you don't need our help. Good luck!" or something like that. I originally chose to have FIA support but when I followed the guy toward the AO, he eventually stopped about 400-500 meters southwest of Zaros and just stood there. I eventually just gave up and let him stay there while I moved my team in toward the city. Having FIA help would have been *very* helpful as there are a lot of enemy in & around Zaros. A UGV, more than 20 infantry, two Tigris AA tanks, a convoy, a transport helicopter presumably dropping off more troops...it's a lot of guys for just one 3-man team to take on alone. Still, it's a lot of fun and you've obviously spent a good amount of time & effort making a very high-quality mission. Thanks again for sharing it with the community! ps: Did you intentionally remove the vest from the player (teamleader) unit?

First, this mission looks to be really fun and very professionally done. That said, I think it may be a little over-engineered. Your custom scripts make for excessively rigid gameplay. For example... First few times I tried the mission, I landed at the designated point...but not *exactly* at the designated point. I was, perhaps, as much as 5 meters away. When I exited the boat, somehow I bounced very high in the air, crashed to the ground, and died. Eventually exited the boat at exactly the designated landing point. The boat was drifting backward a bit and since I wasn't sure if I'd need it for the exfil, I tried to get it and move it back toward shore. However, it's now locked. Why? Apparently, despite the "variable options" for completing the mission, I have to do exactly what's expected exactly when it's expected. Met up with the FIA rep and was given two actions - one to accept FIA support and the other to complete the mission with just my two teammates. The rest of my team was still across the road near the water and I wanted to move them closer to my position. I thought that I could select an action once we were all together. Nope...apparently there's a trigger (on a timer? for a very small radius?) that causes that task to fail since I hadn't made a selection. The result: mission failure and I have to restart from the point where I exited the boat. Perhaps some of this is a game bug (i.e., the first item) but I've never seen it before and having looked at the source code for the mission and the excessively rigid game logic used, I can't help but think that the scripting is a factor. Again, this looks to be a really nice mission and I'll definitely look at later versions to see if it lives up to the claims of being a more open, free-style mission. Nonetheless, thanks for taking the time to make it and share it with the community!

I just tried the latest version and I love it! One thing I happened to notice was at [2987.03,2520.96,0.00143814]...the light pole is embedded in the corner of the house. It looks fine from outside but when you're in the house, it's more obvious. Also the terrain seems to rise through the floor in one or two houses. Still, this is a wonderful map! Thanks for making it in the first place and then taking the time to listen to feedback from the community.

@Major_Desync yes, that was exactly my point. Thanks!

I guess I was mostly struck (no pun intended) by the extent of the damage. Two HE rockets from the Pawnee completely obliterated the radar dome to the point that even the dome's base was heavily damaged. Meanwhile, the dome-shaped building in the southeast corner of the island can take more than 24 HE rockets before collapsing. I guess it's a quirk of BIS' config values but still...bizarre. Anyhow, it obviously isn't an issue specific to your island so please disregard. Thanks!

While putting together a rough mission on Gorgona I've noticed two things... The military camp has one entrance/exit. Maybe that's intentional and a good idea, it just seems like a potential bottleneck to me. A relatively small force could keep the entire base locked into the walled area by blockading that one location. The big radar dome on the hill north of the camp is totally destroyed by only two rockets fired by a Pawnee. This may be a game bug/feature but it just seems really weird. I have to load up one of the stock A3 terrains to see if this is an issue for those as well. As for the helipad, now that I see where it is, I like it. Its remoteness gives me a few interesting ideas for various mission tasks and, contrary to my earlier comment, I'm not at all sure that you need to add another. Thanks!

Tried the latest Steam version and....uhhhh....no. Game seems to autosave every few minutes; Units still don't completely rejoin squad after you respawn...some of them ignore commands and if you tell the whole squad to move, the rest of the units move into formation near the bot that *isn't* responding and then the entire squad just stands there & waits for the entire bunch to move...which won't happen since the one bot ignores your commands; Automatic battlefield cleanup means that units & their equipment occasionally get deleted as I'm scavenging their inventory; Got some message about no longer being undercover. No idea why I lost undercover status, how to get it back (if I even can do that) or anything else. Cleared the area around a city and a nearby "resource". I then waited a few minutes while scavenging ammo & equipment...no reinforcements/counterattack arrived. Great! Let's actually take down the flag at the resource. Within a minute or so I was attacked by two jets, at least one a helicopter, an armed UAV, at least two APCs, two tanks, multiple other vehicles, heavy mortar attacks... Hell, for all I know there may have been more but I decided to call it a night and just exited the game.

Yep! Bisign files are definitely required for installation. You only need to add bikey files to your Keys folder if you're hosting a server. I wholeheartedly agree! If memory serves, I didn't see *any* lights around some of the areas. I really need to do a more thorough exploration of the island, though. Thanks again for sharing!

Am I correct in thinking that when you say the issues are corrected, you're referring to the Steam Workshop version has been updated but the Armaholic-hosted version hasn't been updated yet? If so, do you have an estimated date for when the Armaholic-hosted version will be updated? Also, when I selected the "Move HQ" option, I did finally see Petros...he was *really* far off, though. Nowhere near the initial campfire. In fact, if memory serves, he was over 5km away. Perhaps his spawn location has been corrected along with the other items, though. Thanks again for sharing!

Wow, you did a beautiful job on this! I got it from Armaholic (thanks for posting it there, btw!) and at first I thought the download failed..."63MB....what the heck?!" ;) I did a quick tour in the editor and I really loved the way you arranged some of those buildings to create inner courtyard areas. Many terrains feel sterile but from what I've seen thus far your Gorgona has some of the organic feel that makes a truly excellent map. In that respect it reminds me somewhat of the amazing maps created by Opteryx such as Afghan Village and, of course, his wonderful Avgani. (How the hell he managed to create something so awesome in the first ArmA game just boggles my mind! Sorry, back on topic...) One suggestion that I have is to add some more lights to certain areas. I think it's safe to expect that one would encounter a fair number of spotlights around certain spots. In particular, the military camp, prison buildings and radar/radio areas. Please don't add *too* many lights, though! Also, I notice your description here mentions a helipad but I didn't see one...?? I'd expect one at the military camp and perhaps another near that compound in the northeast portion of the island. (I can't recall the name but I think it was Villa Something-or-other...or in that vicinity, at least). I'll take another look later this week. Anyhow, thanks for creating this map and sharing it with the A3 community!

Seems like it's going to be a really excellent mission but there are still some fairly major bugs at this point... units in group don't always respond after you die & respawn; also telling them to rejoin formation causes some to respond in a way that suggests they are joining a different group altogether. These may be bugs in the game itself but I'm fairly sure there are hacks/workarounds for these issues. checking the status of a city...nothing happens. trying fast travel causes un-closable map and at least some unresponsive keys; this may be due to me trying to use this feature to get back to HQ before I've captured any particular zones. Still, if that's not allowed, then the script/feature should handle it gracefully rather than effectively locking my game. So far I've only tried this solo on a dedicated server instance so I've had control of Stavros. There was mention of getting side missions from the other main character but no indication of where he was or how to request side missions. the first time I tried playing it, I dismantled (or whatever you call it) the HQ to move it to a new location...the other main character appeared on the map which was nice. Forgot to try getting side missions from him, though....mainly because I spent all my time in an unsuccessful attempt to figure out how to setup the HQ again. It'd be nice if you could make that process a little clearer. Not at all clear how I take control of a city/town. I have pretty thoroughly cleared at least one town and its surroundings but...? There's some green "t" character overlaying the town name but can't check the city status (see above) and the overlay never changed color to, say, blue. I tried using the "transfer vehicle cargo to inventory" feature but nothing seemed to happen. At least some of the items I've listed may be the result of me not doing stuff "the right way" or of actual game engine issues....I really don't know. If things must be done a specific way, then perhaps the briefing/documentation could be made a little clearer. Overall, I did enjoy the mission although admittedly I didn't get very far along. Still, this looks to be a fun one so thanks for taking the time to create it and share it with the community!

I had that problem, too. It turned out the team got in one of the vehicles at an FOB and I didn't realize it. One thing you can do is hit the ESC key to pause the game and then use something like this... ....in the command window (press Local Exec button after pasting that command in the window) to get map coordinates of the player and a unit. In this case "s02" refers to the 2nd of all possible team members (i.e., Vega)...not necessarily the current 2nd unit in your squad. You may need to tweak the code to get the particular unit(s) you're seeking. Also, the positions are [X.Y] format...so X is along the East-West axis and Y is along a North-South axis. Hope that helps!

Oh, man. I spent hours working my way through the mission and now this update is going to make me restart from scratch...and I don't even mind! :) I see you have the mission on Armaholic...but the download link still refers to the Steam page. You may want to upload a copy of it to Armaholic using their public FTP although you'll need to upload a version without spaces in the file name. Just check the "Having a Mod/Addon/Script/Mission hosted at Armaholic.com" section in the FAQ here [http://www.armaholic.com/plug.php?e=faq&cid=1]. All the folks who hate Steam (myself included) will thank you! If you offer a download that doesn't point to the Steam page, be sure to update the text of the Armaholic page to let people know they can now get it without Steam. And if you're wondering why it's a good idea to *not* use Steam for hosting, I suggest you have another look at section 6A of the Steam Subscriber Agreement: [http://store.steampowered.com/subscriber_agreement/]. Seriously, I appreciate the way Steam makes updating a mission easy but...ugh. Also, one thing you may have fixed in the latest version...I accidentally ran over one of the guards at one of the FOBs. Accelerated time + driving = mayhem. Anyhow, I earned a skill point for that and somehow I don't think it's what you intended. ;) Perhaps the killsCounter.sqf] script could be updated to check to see the deceased's side/type. Any kills other than EAST and isKindOf Man should be either zero or negative points, imo. Just a thought. Finally, thank you once again! This really is a fun mission and you've done a really nice job on it!

Great but I hope you'll keep the resources limited. I've been able to use the SP command line to reload vehicles' ammo when absolutely needed but even then I don't do that unless I'm at a FOB or the main base. Everything else, I'm avoiding the temptation to hack any other changes because it's a really nice setup as-is. Obviously there's the issue with saved games but that's really a Steam issue. I unsubscribed from the Steam version and moved the copy that I'd downloaded...that should fix things for now. I did vote your mission up in the MANW contest, though, to offset unsubscribing from the Steam version. ;) Is there some reason you haven't also shared the mission on Armaholic?

Great mission and loads of fun! Two questions about things so far, though... 1.) when I talk with teammates, their bio gets updated with "fact1"....but no actual info about them. Is that intentional? 2.) is there a way to rearm the vehicles? For example, I just engaged two groups of rebels and the Hunter GMG is low on ammo. I can repair it at the Service vehicle at any LZ but cannot seem to restock the ammo. Again, really nice job on the mission. It's obvious that you put a lot of effort into it. Thanks for sharing it!

This is true....as far as it goes. A few points you seem to be overlooking: Some people don't want the Steam client at all. Let's assume, as you suggest, that an Arma fan buys the DVD version and only uses Steam for the initial activation and subsequent game patches. Great. Except they cannot play MP unless Steam client is up-to-date and running.