BAS-Damocles

@FSPilot we are looking into your particular issue with some interest, and have a desire to get it fixed so you can enjoy the addon. We will need more information to try to come up with a solution. Having looked at the system specs you posted, I will offer the following suggestions/explanations: Your graphics card is a lower end card, and possibly has trouble handling the BAS Add-ons in particular due to the amount of faces etc. Ours are fairly intensive, combined with the effects included. This is a possibility but unlikely in my estimation, as your system seems as a whole more then capable of handling the game. A more likely problem is some sort of corruption. You did say you have an excessive amount of files in your addon folder. Begin with cleaning your system out. This may include un- installing and reinstalling OFP completely. Remember to back up your addon folder, so you can keep the ones you want. Then download a fresh copy of the MH-47E addon, in the event the download was corrupted somehow. Install it normally and try again. Please contact us by email to further explore a solution if this doesn’t work for you. Now on to other business! Due to the fact that this is rapidly becoming a flame, this will be my final post to this thread. I am going to make this post to attempt to get a final point across, and then hope for the best. First, once again, for all you completely narrow-minded folks, who consistently and completely miss the point time and again. We DO want to be made aware of bugs in our released addon, and we WILL do our best to correct them in a timely manner. We DO support our product, and we appreciate and want to thank the folks that truly understand the big picture and appreciate what we, and all the other addon makers do to make these things possible for the community. Now then. It is apparent that it is only acceptable for the community to offer criticism, opinions and complaints in these forums, judging by the accusations we receive when we offer the same, in the same forums. It is also apparent that the hardworking members of BAS are not permitted to display their frustration and disappointment in the way this very community treats them. This is disturbing on several levels, but I am going to once again address these issues with facts. Something that many members of the community seem to have no inclination or desire to do. Here's the facts column: We can take criticism, and complaints, and even flames. We welcome it. We truly don’t care what people say, we're confident it what we can create. After all, what have YOU the complainer done for the community lately? We at BAS haven't seen any of your work, so we hardly feel threatened. What forces us to address certain issues, is when the comments of the minority begin to influence the majority in a way that is detrimental to our ability to produce add-ons. What do I mean you ask? Well, simply this: You folks only see these public threads, and after criticizing our add-ons, you then criticize our responses. What you don’t see or know, is the fact that we've literally had to add to the members of the staff of BAS JUST to reply to the email we receive regarding the add-ons we release. Some of it positive and helpful, some of it criticism, some of it bug related, but a large majority of it is the completely useless type. This causes the whole BAS team to have to filter through all the mail in order to answer and identify the helpful and serious mail. While the team is sorting BS flame mail, to find the true bug reports etc, it isn’t possible to make new add-ons, and bug fix released ones at the same time. Many of you don’t read the provided documentation, so we have to sort through your complaints, and compare it to our documentation, to ensure they aren’t previously identified bugs. That being said, someone who belongs to another fairly reputable addon team posting an image of a HMMVW jammed in the door of the MH-47E, asking why it doesn’t fit and isn’t supported, generates an excessive amount of interrogative email and posts enquiring about the same issues, which WE the BAS team, have to sort through. Is this constructive and helpful criticism? Or is it useless and silly? I’m inclined to go with the latter. It doesn’t take a military expert to know or find out these things, and I’m quite sure if you’re posting here, you can read and have access to the internet. I am also certain that NO ONE has ever seen an authentic non doctored photograph of a HMMVW driving into, or out of an MH-47E. The topic of this thread was the release of the BAS MH-47E and comments about the release. Not bugs, not criticism of the addon, which can’t possibly be founded and realistic, due to the fact that MANY of the critics posted literally within minutes and HOURS of the release. We have worked on and tested this addon for MONTHS... Can you really offer honest criticism in a few minutes to a few hours of play? Are we to honestly to take this sort of nonsense seriously? Many of you are spoiled children, and very demanding, and this is an annoyance. Many of you drop in your two cents without reading the complete thread, and therefore speak out of turn and out of context. Those of you who find my posts boring feel free not to read them, and in kind feel free not to post in response, since you are obviously lacking the complete story. @ShadowY Do you honestly expect anyone to take you seriously? A 20 minute evaluation of the addon, admittedly haven’t read the readme, and have never posted in BAS topics, and basically jumping in mid thread? This is helpful? @SGTKOPP We are aware of the public’s status where criticism is concerned. I am doing my job for BAS in being a buffer between them and the public. Do me a favor and read the ENTIRE topic completely, and truly objectively evaluate was has been said from both sides. Aside from that, they are in fact our Add-ons, I guess we can bitch if we want to. Due to the amount of negative traffic and increasingly demanding attitudes and pressure generated by the community, it is becoming increasingly difficult to produce. We are constantly forced to deal with unreasonable demands, false bug reports, and general flame mail, combined with repeated hacks, and attempts to hack and get our add-ons before release. This generates animosity among the members of BAS who are less likely to want to work as hard as we do to provide add-ons for an un appreciative and demanding community, who somehow have the impression that BAS owes them add-ons and is required to produce and support them. Think about it, within minutes of the release of the MH-47E, the initially posts are that’s great, where’s the next one. Not wow thanks; I’m going to spend some time with this one. That’s a hard pill to swallow for BAS, who has been working on the MH-47E project since November 2002. That’s 6 months of work for someone to say "when’s the next one" or "I want the MH-60" The attitudes and behavior of the minority in the community, which are the demanding unappreciative types, seem to have a great amount of influence on the rest of the community. This is damaging to addon makers, and with respect to BAS harmful to us and our efforts. Tigershark and I work diligently to keep the team together, and motivated to produce. However, the more add-ons we release, and the more feature rich they are, the more negative feedback they seem to generate, and the less thanks they generate. This causes our team to want to just be a player, and not a producer. The BAS team is all volunteer. If enough of you insist on giving them a bad taste, and being abusive, then I can’t guarantee continued releases of add-ons in the future. Appreciation and thanks go along way toward truly motivating someone, and giving them personal satisfaction out of completing something. Unappreciative ness, demands, and unreasonable criticism go even further towards making people decide it isn’t worth their time, or the stress to make add-ons, when they can stop altogether, and just play OFP. You the community control whether or not BAS continues to produce high quality add-ons by your actions and attitudes. The community as a whole needs to start taking some responsibility and getting a grip on these unreasonable folks, thereby assisting not just BAS, but all the addon teams in the community to accomplish their work. We want and enjoy receiving criticism; it makes us stronger, and able to produce ever better add-ons. However we also would like to see some thanks and appreciation before demands and unreasonable criticism once in a while. It goes a long way. I’m going to close with this statement. Those of you who think that Damocles takes all this stuff personally, and that’s why he writes these lengthy posts, let me clue you in on something. Damo doest know how to model in O2, Damo doesn’t know how to texture, Damo doesn’t know a thing about scripting, and Damo has a very basic understanding of the game engine. What Damo does for BAS is provide leadership and management, along with TigerShark, as well as military knowledge and experience, as well as research on projects. The point is, Damo doesn’t take any of these comments personally, since overall he provides VERY LITTLE labor in getting these add-ons completed. However, as a project manager and producer, he does see the effect these things have on his team. As a leader it is his responsibility to care for, motivate, and defend his team, and their work. This he will do to the best of his ability, and this is why I post on behalf of the team. We have a great bunch of people assembled here, whom I respect greatly, and who continue to work hard for the community. Even for those less then appreciative and unreasonably demanding folks out there. However, they are only human, and I can't at all guarantee continued service from them. After all, what exactly is their payoff?? You guys get to play with and pick apart their work, and they get picked apart even when they try to defend it. All the while we haven’t seen any add-ons coming from you. You guys need to get a clue and cut them some slack.

Something else I wanted to mention while were revisiting the subject of free work, liability and responsibilty etc. I noticed another complaint in this very thread that not only disturbed me greatly but in fact pissed me off. The thread was a complaint about not being able to download our files, and talk about BAS should have mirrored them etc. Once again if the show fits wear it with regard to the following statements. First of all as you are aware, BAS does not get paid for the work we do for you the community, for free. Secondly, web hosting is not free, and getting files hosted is not free. As it stands right now, not only does our founder Tigershark not get paid to put this all together, maintain a website, a development team, a developers forum, and the other various things he does, in order to bring these addons to you people, as do all of us belonging to BAS, but he PAYS for hosting out of his own pocket. With the exception of a VERY few people, we havent gotten offers to host our files, or provide space for our webs, or even a public BAS forum. Hell we dont even have a server thats adequate to use for beta testing and multi-player gaming for ourselves. You folks have a lot of nerve and a knack for being extremely critical and demanding, however let me make you aware of one fact. These free addons we provide are only free to YOU the community. They DO cost US (Ballistic Addon Studios) money to make. Whether it be for webspace, software to do the work, our time, or the sacrifices we often make to get them to you, they arent free. Think about that next time you want to complain and be critical. Or how about offering something to us for a change, in return for the work we do for you all? The plain facts are these, we are currently running out of space on our website, we have to watch how many files we host, and how often we host them due to bandwidth limitations (Over a certain amount per month, comes out of Tigershark's wallet) and we have to attempt to keep the files secure as well. The software and tools we use to create these high quality addons are paid for by the members of BAS. Things such as Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Illustrator, 3D Studio Max, Graphics Tablets, and all the various things we use to do the work. With all these obstacles we still do the work. So please, give us a break, and some thanks, and think before you speak. Think about the cost to us before you begin useless criticisms and complaints. If these comments dont apply to you, dont take them personally. We at BAS are tremendously thankful and appreciative of those that have offered space and hosted files for us. We hope to continue this in the future. The whole concept is team work. Together we can make this all work out from start to finish.

</span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote (kikill @ 26 April 2003,23:43)</td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">@damocles i agree with you except this : </span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote (BAS-Damocles @ 26 April 2003,17:51)</td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">Further, we have no obligation to provide support for anything we release, we have no obligation to answer questions, fix bugs, or return emails to anyone, this is another FREE service we provide, again giving of our time, talents and efforts to accomplish it.<span id='postcolor'> i think it belongs to what you called respect and courtesy, (not regarding comments about bugs you previously listed in readme). IMHO once it is public, you have a little responsibility, and EXPECT some feed back. you also have to admit that most us, the public, aren't military expert, we ALL don't have connexion with some army men etc... ALL OF US aren't specialist in O2 or texturing, 3D modeling. Remember: we DO appreciate your hard free work for US, and just want to bring our two cents (you can take one for your royaltie), i admit it's too bad that some of us don't take the time to read the readme, or maybe they didn't understand it, they didn't even read this thread... but i'm sure BAS' "devise" isn't : "Take that addon and shut the fuck up or just say Thank you" voila! sorry for my bad english...<span id='postcolor'> well KiKill I hate to sound like an ass but you missed the point entirely. You see, we dont charge a fee for our addons, and you arent obligated to download and use them. That being said, we are in no way obligated or responsible to support the addons we create, or fix anything that is wrong with them. If you were to pay us however, there there would be some responsibility involved, however, your opinion as to what should be fixed, and the deadline in which to fix it, versus the amount of time it takes to do the fixing, times our fee, would dramatically change. Solve the formula (Bugs+importance / impact+deadline X BAS salary ) and guess what you get? Bohemia Interactive Studios. Which means you will get basic, quickly and cheaply done, minimally functional models that work adequetately for their purpose. You may or may not be aware of this, but if you will read the readme file and End User License Agreement (EULA) on nearly every software product available, you will discover that not only do you not "own" the software you purchased, the company reserves the right to modify, discontinue, and cease support on the software at any time, the software companies are limited and protected in their liabilities. This includes the operating system you are using. You dont purchase software, you purchase a license to use software. As I said, once again, We can, do, and will support our addons. we do it because we enjoy it, and we care about the community, and we take pride in our work. Enough so, that it is important to us to make the corrections to problems found. However dont take it for granted, and just try to be appreciative once in a while. We don't expect everyone to be military experts, or have connections to the military, however we are aware that most people throught the world who play with and use our addons have access to the internet and a library. (Yeah that building with the "Paper" books in it.) If we tell you we wont do something, and give a reason why, why not research it yourself before flapping your gums? Google search works the same on a PC in Europe as it does in the US. Thanks for your opinion, but you are incorrect.

Hi Folks, Damo here again! One item I forgot to address in the "silly and unreasonable" category. This is the issue of the HMMVW fitting in the back of the MH-47E... Â This is explained simply. It can't be done, and isnt done in real life. HMMVW can be slung, and in fact HMMVWs come equiped with lifting shackles front and rear permanently mounted for this purpose. The wheel base on the HMMVW is too wide to allow it to fit inside an MH-47E. Additionally, it isnt possible to carry more than one RSOV, or M151 Jeep internally due to size and space, as well as loading requirements in real life. So basically the point is this: If your requests are not possibilities in reality, then BAS wont be adding them. Do a little reading and research on your own folks, and give us a break. People, if you post threads that say things as idiotic as "why cant I sling an M1 Abrams under the MH-47E" then expect to get your feelings hurt in the response. For you folks out there that suffer from incurable intra-cranial density, the reason why you cant sling an Abrams is because it ways anywhere from 67.5 to 70 tons depending on the model and year of manufacture. Ergo, it isnt physically possible.

Ok, I gave it a few days, let lots of folks post, and get things out of their systems, and gave the released add-on some time to cool off in everyone's machine. Now it's time for Damo's two cents. (Yes this could be a trademark literary work) Firstly, let me begin by saying thank you to all the truly appreciative fans out there that truly enjoy the add-on, and have some small amount of understanding into what exactly is involved in making an add-on, and then the extra work that goes in to making it a BAS Add-on. We at BAS don’t simply make just “add-ons.†Lots of people make add-ons, we at BAS go the extra mile to make ours truly unique. We accomplish this in several ways, such as thorough research, to include photographic and technical data, talking to and interviewing real personnel who have experience with the various add-ons we create. To include pilots, real SF people, real Rangers, real SFOD-D personnel, crew chiefs, aviation mechanics, medics, and whomever else we think would help in the process of creating a realistic add-on. We often spend an inordinate amount of hours modeling from scratch, using either O2, or 3D Studio Max. Our textures are created in house, by a few extremely talented individuals, which are also extensively researched for accuracy and correctness, and we try to duplicate reality. Our scripting is also created in house by our talented and experienced scripters, who as you can see, have overcome some incredible obstacles to make our products work. That being said, we are also not above looking for and requesting outside help in the event we are unable to solve various problems or simply that someone else’s solution functions better then ours. We always give the appropriate credit, and kudos to the people who assist us. We recognize skill and talent, which often results in repeat requests for work. In all of this it must be pointed out and reinforced that this is all done without pay. We don’t have an extensive R&D budget, a funded art department, and paid scripters to bring all these things together. What we do have is a team of talented people who enjoy OFP, and making add-ons to enhance the experience. Secondary to that, we think these enhancements should be shared, so everyone can enjoy the things we have created. We volunteer our time and efforts to bring these things together, most of which are borne of an initial idea, and as the project is developed and researched, capabilities are determined and expanded on. Our limiting factors are twofold: The game engine, and our imagination. I can guarantee that our imagination is unfortunately uncontrollably limited by the game engine, because we are certainly not without ideas! All that being said, once again thank you, all who are truly appreciative of this add-on. Now on to the other matters. You all may or may not be aware, but I am probably known as one of the more abrasive members of BAS. I do not apologize for this, however by way of explanation I will say this: I have little tolerance and use for stupidity, irrelevance, and unreasonable behavior. I can and do get along well with most folks, but I do expect to be treated, and expect the members of my team to be treated in the way that everyone else expects to be treated. This means a little respect and courtesy. I will now respond and answer some of the posts I’ve seen so far, beginning by saying this: I think perhaps as much as 80 percent of the issues I’m reading are due to YOU the PUBLIC failing to perform the simple task of reading the readme file included with the release of the add-on. I don’t know whether this is due to a worldwide literacy problem, or worldwide laziness problem, or both. I do know however, that it is NOT our (BAS’s) problem, and I will be instructing the entire team not to respond to posts that are addressed in the readme. Now, it is my hope that what I just said won’t be taken personally, and will be applied only to those for whom the statement fits. Read the provided readme file. As to the statements made about “tantrums†when criticized or bugs are pointed out, let me clarify something, and hopefully it will get through to you all, and you will understand. We are providing a free service for your enjoyment and use. We ask for nothing in return. However, this is met with demands, unconstructive and useless criticism and bashing, inquiries as to when the next add-on will be released, and requests for instantaneous real-time bug fixes. There is a post in this very thread that says with a tone of indignance something to the effect that the user emailed us with a bug report and hasn’t received a response or a fix. The timeline of which was less then a 24-hour period. Assuming he was the only individual on the planet who received the add-on, and the only one from whom we received email, then I supposed we were remiss. Completely unreasonable. Further, we have no obligation to provide support for anything we release, we have no obligation to answer questions, fix bugs, or return emails to anyone, this is another FREE service we provide, again giving of our time, talents and efforts to accomplish it. That being said, we DO want to receive bug reports, so that we CAN work to correct them, however we do ask that you perform the simple task of READING the readme file before you force us to sort through reams of useless info that was already addressed. This prevents us from identifying and fixing actual problems in a timely manner. I guess the point is simply this, we work extremely hard for you the community, to bring you the best possible add-ons to be had, and we ask only for a bit of consideration. Those of you who don’t like or appreciate what we have provided have the option not to use them at all, or if you think you can do it yourself or better, then feel free, and we wish you the best of luck and success in doing so. As to the issues involving the game engine, feel free to write and approach BIS in the same manner as you do us, maybe they will respond to you and your every whim. Somehow I doubt it, being that their main concern has very little to do with your happiness and enjoyment, and very much to do with the corporate bottom line, which is to say money. I dare say fixes come out of BAS faster then they do BIS. Oh, and incidentally, how many BIS choppers have you been able to fast rope out of, or that have anti missile countermeasures? What’s that? None? Yeah that’s what I thought. Tantrums? While I don’t at all think any member of BAS has posted in a manner that can be considered one, I certainly think they earned the right to do it if they chose to do so. Give us the time and consideration to identify and compile the true bugs that can be corrected, as we will do so. In the meantime enjoy the add-on, and if for some reason you simply cant stand it, DON’T USE IT. If you have some truly useful comments or suggestions as to how to improve, or otherwise make our products better, then we welcome the input, however if your soul purpose is to piss and moan, then you can feel free to produce your own add-ons. We ask only for a little common courtesy and respect for what we do, and once in a while a simple thanks would be of incalculable value to the team. To those who are truly helpful and thankful, we appreciate it, and stay tuned for more fine products to come out of our studios!

The Pilots and Crew are wearing accurately modeled and animated ANVIS/6 goggles, however due to the game engine they are pure eye candy. The NVGs are Hard coded by BIS, meaning if you turn on the NVGs from the menu, the old BIS AN/PVS-5 Goggles appear on you face, and that of any AIs, regardless of the model added. This is not something that is correctable insofar as we are aware. We have spent an inordinate number of manhours researching the problem, and attempting different things to add our own correct NVGs to the game, if there is a fix or a way to do this, we havent found it. If there is a way, please feel free to share folks, BAS will ask to use, and give all proper credit for the use of the solution!!

Since I am a technical advisor for BAS among other things, and since I do have nearly 11 years and counting experience in the US Army, I felt it important to point out some details once again, in the interest of accuracy, after having read this and many other threads on the same type of issue. 1. Fast Roping is not Rappelling. Fast roping is similar to sliding down a pole like firefighters use in fire stations. The Difference being, the Army uses a long three-inch wide rope thrown out of a hovering helicopter. Fast ropes come in lengths of of forty, sixty, eighty, and ninety-feet. Fast roping requires a soldier to place the hands around the rope and free fall down to the ground. Just before landing, the soldier grips the rope to "break" the descent. This allows for a very rapid descent with a momentary stop before hitting the ground. During a fast rope insertion, several soldiers can slide down a single rope (The same rope) at one time, allowing a fast and efficient  disembarkation/insertion, which limits exposure time both for the helicopter, and the inserting force. Fast Roping is the most frequently used method of insertion by helicopter for combat operations. The techniques used during Operation Restore Hope in 1993 by Task Force Ranger were fast rope insertions at several points simultaniously. 2. Rappelling is not Fast Roping. Definition: rap·pel [r? pél] vi (past rap·pelled, past participle rap·pelled, present participle rap·pel·ling, 3rd person present singular rap·pels) descend by rope: to descend a steep slope or vertical face using a rope that is secured at the top and passed through a series of coils or a harness around the body. U.K. term abseil v. n descent by rappelling: a descent made by rappelling. U.K. term abseil n. [Mid-20th century. From French , from Old French rapeler “to recall,†from apeler “to call.â€] Rappelling requires the use of a harness or saddle, requires more extensive training to be done safely and properly, and additional takes longer to execute. During a rappel operation, only one person can descend on each rope at a time, and after landing must detach from the harness. This takes time to accomplish, and is a limiting factor. I.E. A UH-60L Black Hawk helicopter can Deploy up to four Rappelling ropes at once, or up to four Fast Ropes at once. If rappelling is used, only four soldiers can insert at one time, and must reach the ground and disconnect, and then perform belay for following soldiers. If the Fast Rope is used, two to three soldiers can slide down each rope at once, and can move to cover immediately upon reaching the ground. Soldiers are not physically connected to a fast rope, in fact they simply hold on with hands and feet. Belaying is not needed as the thick, heavy fast rope stays in place by itself, and is further stabilized for soldiers exiting the helicopter by the soldiers who are nearing the ground. Using the Fast Rope technique, a helicopter can insert 25 to 30 soldiers in under 30 seconds, in any terrain, at night or during the day. Rappelling does have military applications and is used in certain conditions and circumstances, dependant on the mission requirements, and is especially suited to rescue operations.

Ok I had posted a reply, but it seems to have vanished so I'll try it again. We think you guy will be very pleased with the re-release of the MH-47E, and we are confident it is unlike anything you've ever seen, and anything you've tried in OFP. Our guys spent lots of time, and their blood, sweat, and tears, in an effort to perfect this aircraft, and get it up to the BAS standard. We are confident in saying there is nothing like it, and no one comes close to it. As to the included features, all I can say is: YOU MUST read the read me file, since the Federal Aviation Administration in the US nearly made us require everyone to have a pilots license just to release it! As to the comments about the cargo ramp, I think you'll be pleased with the options available. As to the comments about rappelling. Actually, and especially in the case of the MH-47E (Which is a special operations helicopter) Both Rappelling and Fast Roping are done frequently from the aircraft in reality. Multiple personnel can Rappel/Rope off the ramp at one time, and in some instances, personnel can Rappel/Rope through the cargo window in the floor of the bird. The CH/MH-47 is capable of many types of operations which are frequently trained and are standard proceedures including: Helo Casting, Wet insertions/Extractions, SPIES/STABO, Rappelling/Fast Roping, and CSAR Rescue winching type functions. In any event we think you guys will be pleased and pleasantly surprised with our release, and as always it will have the BAS Quality Standard... I think you'll find that it is going to raise the bar once again in addon quality and functionality standards in the entire community. </span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote </td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">MH-47D/E Standard Mission Equipment The MH-47 is configured with the following equipment: Aircraft communications equipment consists of FM, UHF (with HAVE QUICK II capability), VHF, HF, SATCOM, and the Motorola Saber. The MH-47E is equipped with SINCGARS VHF-FM single channel ground and airborne radio system. Automatic Target Hand-off System provides the capability of data bursting pre-selected/ formatted information to other equipped aircraft or ground stations. A navigation system consisting of a Mission Computer utilizing GPS/INS/Doppler navigation sources for pinpoint navigation. Fast Rope Insertion Extraction System. May be utilized for insertion and extraction of personnel. Applied loads at the rear ramp for insertions will not exceed 9 persons per rope at the same time. Applied loads at the rear ramp for extractions will not exceed 6 persons per rope at the same time. Internal Rescue Hoist. Is configured for use at the center cargo hook/rescue hatch. It has a 600 lb. capacity and approximately 150 feet of useable cable. External Rescue Hoist (MH-47E only). Is configured for use at the right front cabin door and has a 6000 lb. capacity with 245 feet of useable cable. Also Fastrope capable with hoist installed. External Cargo Hook System. Each hook may be used separately or in conjunction with each other. All loads should be planned as a tandem rigged load, this will facilitate greater load stability and insure faster airspeeds during flight. Hook limitations are as follows: Forward Hook - 17,000 lb. Center Hook - 26,000 lb. Aft Hook - 17,000 lb. Tandem Hook - 25,000 lb. NOTE:These are maximum hook rated loads and may not accurately reflect the true capability of the aircraft due to external conditions, i.e., pressure altitude and temperature.<span id='postcolor'>

Doh! Somehow my post went to the wrong thread!!

</span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote (Landwarrior87 @ April 11 2003,21:53)</td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">were those 15-20 soldiers Fully Equipped?? and anyway the rangers say up to 11, and thats what bas is making. And yes.. the M4 sounds need to be improved, ive been noticing in real life sounds from the war the M4 doesnt sound like it did in the BHD movie.. its more of a Loud Snap noise. And the Machine Gun sounds, i never liked em.. if nothing else updated.. update the Machine Gun and m4 Sounds. the m4's shouldnt sound so Mog 1993.. after all.. u rnt making addons from that time anyway right?<span id='postcolor'> Just to add to the conversation, In peacetime training there are many things that we dont or are not authorized to do for safety sake, that is done routinely during actual combat operations. Additionally, some units are authorized to train in certain ways based on their mission, such as Special Ops units, that regular troops dont do. Putting 15 guys in a Black Hawk in no way overloads the bird, (I've seen Black Hawks lifting a HMMVW with a 155 Towed Howitzer attached, among other things) Incidently a Black Hawk with seats installed can carry 17 Pax total: Pilot, Copilot, two crewchiefs (left and right) and 13 troops (Squad leader seat is between the crew chief seats) The pros and cons are like this: (We call them risk assesments) This is very basic and just an example so bear with me. Factors? Mission Requirements? Combat Operations? Peacetime Training? Seats in = some crash protection, limited equipment room, and less men, slightly more range without stubwings installed.(Probably OK in training no danger of receiving fire) Seats out = less crash protection,(which is negated by the potential of taking fire in combat and being shot down, where seats arent much help) more men, more equipment,(= More combat power and capability) less range. (Can be extended with stubwings) Also some technical info about your comments regarding the M4, and Mogadishu etc. We are working on a way to improve the sounds for all our weapons. However, there were no M4s in Mogadishu in 1993, since they hadnt yet been developed fully or put into production. Additionally, the guys that were using your "M4s" were also using different ammunition then standard issue ammo. (until they ran out and were forced to consolidate with the Rangers of course) That said, a .223 (5.56mm NATO) is a .223. The difference in sound is not really perceptable between projectiles leaving the muzzle, especially with no experience. Lastly, and this is key: THAT WAS A MOVIE, and therefore they were A. Firing Blanks (Which sound very much different since you wont here the crack of the projectile leaving the muzzle at supersonic speed) or B. using the Hollywood special effect propane guns, which detonates a small burst of propane to give the POP sound of a weapon firing. Point being, it was a MOVIE and not real. It never ceases to amaze me how people base their opinions and comments on the accuracy of ANYONES addons and models not just BAS on what they saw in a movie, rather then real research and info from real soldiers. Those are my two cents!

In response to the issue of the MH-47Es volume and distance heard. Being able to hear the startup and in flight sounds MILES away, isnt only the MH-47E. This is true of all the helicopters in OFP. It is a fairly well known game engine bug. This is also the reason why you can hear footsteps and breathing soldiers, even when none are near. I am not aware of this ever having been fixed.

There is a medic already included with the Rangers, and the length of time it takes to self heal, or heal another soldier is considerable already. We havent truly seen this to be an issue with respect to game balance, either in single or multi player modes of play. Additionally our missions to demo then units and their skills often place them in a situation of being vastly outnumbered. In the single player mode this is quite challenging. As to game balance issues when creating multiplayer missions, you should remeber that Deltas operate in small units. Often times in teams of 4. Obviously if you are building missions that are battalion sized elements of Deltas and even Rangers there is going to be a balance issue. Until a method can be divised to adequately handle the issue we plan to leave them as is. As I stated we have tested them fairly extensively, and for realism sake we intended them to be stronger and more capable than standard units as they are in reality. The addons were intended to augment normal forces to enhance the realism of mission building. It is truly not feasible realstic or likely to use large numbers of these guys in reality or in game with the exception of using the Rangers to create an Airfield Seizure mission, in which case in reality an ENTIRE company would be dropped directly on an airfield to physically take it from the enemy, and keep the runway intact for allied use. If trying to create a realistic scenario in game involving an airfield siezure, then game balance would purposely be poor from the defending side as would be the case in reality. The only hope for the defender would come in the form of well lead and employed reinforcements, because badguys on the airfield are toast.

Just to respond to the issue regarding self healing units etc: Firstly, in reality SF soldiers (Delta, Rangers, SEALs, and Special Forces) are all issued and wear body armor that also includes plates that will stop up to and including 7.62mm rounds. Additionally SF soldiers receive quite a bit more first aid training, as well as more advanced training then the average soldier. Rangers are required to have several EMT (Emergency Medical Technician) certified soldiers per squad in addition to the medics that may be traveling with the squad or platoon. Special Forces soldiers (Delta, SEALs, included) not only have etremely advanced first aid capabilities provided by their medics, they also cross train each skill among the other members. We tried to simulate this as accurately as possible within the game engine, and as to the question of balance this is somewhat evened out due to the fact that while healing, or healing another unit, the unit is not able to return fire or seek cover. You will also notice that extreme range shots with any of the available weapons are less effective then shots taken within the weapons effective range envelope . This too simulates a realistic condition. We assure you they are not indestructable and can be killed by normal troops.

My apologies once again Ox if I've ofended. I thought I was fairly clear when I explained the context in which we were discussing the term. Additionally I thought I made it clear that I wasnt calling you a civilian or dismissing you in any way. I even went back and re read the related posts. I'm really at a loss to understand your sudden lashing out.

3--></span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote (OxPecker @ Feb. 24 2003,003)</td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">Damocles, I salute you! Seriously! I've never met someone who knew evertyhing, or was never mistaken about anything! It's a real privilege! Me, I'm just a lesser being who can accept that there are some things I haven't heard of before, or that there may just be someone out there that knows something I don't. Kudos to you! <span id='postcolor'> Well now, there was a wholly uncalled for remark, packed with plenty of research and info to show me where I am in error. I thank you for pointing out absolutely...well nothing but another personal attack. This is a prime example of what Im talking about. Perhaps you'd like to actually contribute in a useful way to the converstation by providing some actual information and research to quantify and qualify your statement? Or do you prefer to just launch lip rockets? </span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote </td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">SGTKOPP Posted: Feb. 23 2003,23:22 as for jamming i have to say the major contributor is the magaizine i have fired M4s M16a1,a2 a4s almost 99% of all jams where caused by old worn out mag springs. Like any weapon you have to lube it and keep it clean One thing about the AK is that it is simple only has 11 pieces abd it is easy to use <span id='postcolor'> SGT Kopp is absolutely correct. There are two major points of failure with the M16 family of weapons, the primary one being magazine springs. This has been extensively worked on, and while improvements have been made, there is as yet no fool proof cost effective solution. The Second point of failure being the buffer spring wearing out, which also can cause feed issues. This problem has been largely solved with the use of Hydraulic Buffers in the weapons that SF uses. SGT Kopp, he hasnt gotten to me, I actually reply becuase I find it entertaining to see what they will post next.