Ether Dragon

A friend and I tried to set up and use the in-game voice system for OF two nights running. We've failed to hear one another on both attempts. We've both set up the microphone in the settings successfully. In game, we can see the global channel icon pop up when we hit the default Caps Lock key for the chat. What are we missing? I've been hosting the server - do we need to have a dedicated server or something? Thanks for your help.

</span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote (Mister Frag @ Mar. 29 2002,13:19)</td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">Still, it would be best to get the built-in voice feature to work, since that is what the vast majority of OFP players use, and since that is the only way to get things like the "Vehicle" or "Direct" speaking mode.<span id='postcolor'> Um, there are other voice chat modes? How do you access them? The only one I've seen is the global one that you turn on with the Caps Lock.

Is there a setup option inside the game too? I never saw one. Yes, I used the external voice setup in the preferences panel. I have both Roger Wilco and Team Speak, but we haven't tried either one with the game yet. I guess Rogue Spear made us shy away from the idea. I'd prefer to use the in-game voice comms, simply because, well, it's there. I really kind of expected someone to reply shortly after I originally posted this thread with some simple answer that all the veterans have known about forever. I'd rather feel like a dork from having missed the obvious and be able to play the game.

I had high expectations for this game, largely based on player testimonials, and I think that's what's kicking my butt right now. I've been looking for a game to replace Rogue Spear for some time. It had to be realistic (no health bars and power-ups,) it had to be tactical, and it had to offer co-op play. More than that, I was looking for something that overcame the limitations in Rogue Spear, examples being the small maps that curtail sniper rifles and an AI enemy that only defends (largely negating weapons like the M-60.) Lastly, I was hoping to find a game that allowed the use of voice software, such as Roger Wilco. I feel that voice software is vital for co-op play, but Rogue Spear required a dedicated server for voice programs. Does Operation Flashpoint offer these things? Yes and no. You get the huge islands to wander over. You get to engage and defend against the enemy. It could almost be a tactical gamer's wet dream, if it weren't for the bugs or poorly implemented features. I only bought this game last week, but in that time, I've almost forced myself to play it. Even then, most of the time I've spent on the game has been trying to deal with it's compatability issues and bugs. For that matter, I'm still dealing with them, but I've gotten the game to a playable state where I can suffer through the remaining problems. Input lag, EAX, lock-ups, mouse pointers, AI issues, and poor GUI have all about done in any interest I have for the game. The thing that keeps me going the most is that a friend bought the game the same time I did, and I feel some responsability to continue playing in order to make his purchase worthwhile. To put it mildly, I'm envious of those posting their love of this game. I wish it could have been the same for me. Based on my strong gaming background, I don't hold out much hope for a fix for the remaining problems this game has. It's been my experience that most games have finished patching after eight months, or I've long since shelved the game at the very least. Seeing as how I'm just now buying the game and it's been out for over eight months already, I can find little forgiveness for the problems I'm experiencing. Especially when I see FAQ's acknowledging that it's a known issue but one that never seems to have been properly addressed on the developer's end. Tweaks and work-arounds are meant for use until a patch is created, not as permanent measures.

Bump...I warned you!

</span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote (ALDEGA @ Mar. 28 2002,09:48)</td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">You ARE sure both soundcards are full-duplex (playback & record simultaneously)? dunno, but in a certain mode, you can only hear others when they are close to you.<span id='postcolor'> Since we didn't know what to expect once in-game, we tried using voice through out. Â When we couldn't talk in the connection screen, we moved on to the mission set-up screen and tried again. Â When that didn't work, the map and mission objectives screen. Â Finally we arrived in-game, standing next to one another with the rest of our co-op AI buddies, and still no voice. Yes, both of us have full duplex capability, and we're confident that our voice communication set-up worked (where you read the text and adjust your microphone performance levels.) One of the reasons my friends and I were looking forward to this game was because of it's in-game voice program. Â We never could get external voice programs to work with Rogue Spear (NATO 3 mod) because it requires a dedicated server to host the voice program, which we don't have. Â Basically, we could talk over such programs up until we launched the game, and then everyone could talk except the host. I think I forgot to mention my system specs in this thread, so here they are: nForce 420D motherboard (integrated GeForce 2, 5.1 sound) AMD Athlon XP 1900+ 1GB RAM Windows XP OFP upgraded to 4.0 Cable Modem Sorry, don't know much about my friend's comp except that it's on a DSL.

Bump...don't make me do it again.

After hosting a multiplayer session, I go to cancel out to the main menu. Â When you hit close on the last screen before reaching the main menu, the game locks up so that the mouse no longer moves. Â It remains stuck on the "close" option. Â I've tried to ctrl+al+del, alt+tab, etc., but nothing works. Â Other applications will open up, but OF remains in the foreground so that you can't see the programs. Â As I'm using an iFeel mouse, I can tell the mouse is working in the background as well (it shakes whenever I run over a menu item or something.) Â The only way I've found to get out of it is by rebooting - not something I want to do after every session. Â Any thoughts on what could be causing this problem? System specs: nForce 420D motherboard (integrated GeForce 2, 5.1 sound) AMD Athlon XP 1900+ 1GB RAM Windows XP OFP upgraded to 4.0 Cable Modem

Your second suggestion sounds like a viable work-around, although exiting multiplayer doesn't necessarily mean I'm done playing the game. I suppose I can just reload it. I've always made sure that other players exit before I close out myself. It's a habit I got into after another game used to cause other players to lock up if I quit while they were still linked.

Having been in the army, I've used the LAW, grenades, M-16, M-60, and M-1 tank. I was in from '88 to '91, so I doubt that much was different from what is represented in the game. Standard load for a soldier in combat consisted of 1 M-16, and 7 magazines (2 mag pouches holding 3 ea., plus one in the rifle.) Additionally, a soldier's web gear provided for two grenades to be carried (more could be added if given permission.) Soldiers also carried a canteen, flack vest, night vision goggles, first aid pack, at least one MRE, and a gas mask - standard. That's before we add the possibility of a backpack for carrying NBC gear, rain gear, and various other optional stuff. If LAW rockets were required for a mission, they would simply be added along with all of the above mentioned stuff. What I'm getting at is that the limitations placed on us by this inventory system are silly compared to reality - which is what this game (I thought) strives for. The M-60 gets it right, however. It's a heavy, cumbersome weapon that requires accomodation. Generally it replaces the M-16 and magazines, but the other gear still remains (probably won't be taking LAW's, either.) Oh yeah, on the subject of LAWs, while I'm glad they're so effective in this game, in reality they've largely outlived their usefullness in modern warfare - even as of 1985. They'll work against BMP's, but against main battle tanks like the M1, T-72, or T-80, you better know where to aim, and hope to god that you can overcome the lame site provided. The only reason that a tank might be frightened of a LAW is because from a distance, in the heat of battle, they can't tell what kind of shoulder mounted weapon you might have, and it might be a REAL anti-tank weapon.

I think I've got it. The mouse still seems "floaty" but it seems to be reacting at something near real time. Here's the deal: NVMax only allows me to set my prerender rate to a minimum of 1 frame, instead of the recommended 0. In order to get to 0, I had to use nVidia's advanced options in Window's setup. However, as I was using NVMax for all other tweaks, the minute I reopened the program, it reset my prerender to 1 again. Thus, I just have to make sure I go back and reset my prerender after I use NVMax and before I go into OF. Here's the thing: I SHOULD NOT HAVE TO DO ALL OF THIS. Ahem. I've never encountered a game that required this much tweaking. What's more, this tweaking is counter productive to all of my other games. This is just plain poor coding - seeing as how every other game I've encountered seems to have found a way around the issue. It's unimaginable to me how this could not be fixed, something like eight months after release, especially considering it involves the extremely popular Detonator drivers.

First off, I've got that "input lag" bug. Â From doing a search of the forums, I came up with some proposed fixes, but none of them have managed to completely fix the problem. Â Dropping the pre-render rate down to zero did the most good, it seems, but I still have a small dollop of lag. Â I need additional suggestions besides that, or a flat out fix from the developer. Also, is there a way to minimize the name icons that appear in the game? Â In trying out the game (which isn't terribly fun with the input lag, I might add,) I had a couple of incidents when some floating text completely obscured my view of a target! Â Is there a way to make it less intrusive? Â Thanks for any help. System specs: nForce 420D motherboard (integrated GeForce 2, 5.1 sound) AMD Athlon XP 1900+ 1GB RAM Windows XP * latest Detonator Drivers (DL'ed new release this weekend.) OFP upgraded to 4.0 Anything important I missed? Â Let me know.

I...I...I...don't...know...? Hmm. I'll have to check on that and get back to you. Has anyone noted a problem with the iFeel and this? I can't say as I saw anything (except for a problem with the force feedback.)

I'm actually kind of confused by some of the decisions they made regarding the LAW. First off, they give it a unique targeting site, like all the weapons I've seen so far, but it's not accurate to the real life site (admittedly the real site isn't much more intricate.) Also, it seems they've made carrying a LAW rocket to be some Herculian effort, slowing down movement and such. Hey, it's not that heavy. Heck, it's lighter, and arguably less awkward than an M16. Was this done for the sake of some balance issue, or what? I was of the impression this game was supposed to be a realistic combat sim. I do like the iron sites on my M-16, though. I think they should have taken it one step further and allowed players to site in rifle at the beginning of the campaign (any GI will tell you that's how you always start off at the firing range.) It would add a little extra touch when you're trying to drop enemy soldiers at long range.

I just got done reading through a GeForce tweaking guide located at 3D Spotlight (following a link provided at The Avon Lady's site,) and it has mentioned somethings that are different from what the FAQ suggested at The Avon Lady. The guide recommends leaving on V-Sync in both Direct X and Open GL modes - as they offer better image quality, while turning them off will allow for faster frame rates BUT induce something called image tearing and...wait for it...input device/controller lag. It goes on to say that prerendering should be used when V-Sync is off - and 1 or 2 frames rendered ahead should reduce or eliminate the controller lag (more than 4 is not recommended.) Now then, by contrast, The Avon Lady FAQ recommends setting the pre-render rate to 0 and also turning off D3D V-Sync. What the heck?

</span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote (placebo @ Mar. 26 2002,11:07)</td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">Forgive me if I'm being blind but I don't recall seeing what type of mouse you have? Is it a bog standard one or perhaps one that may need specific drivers?<span id='postcolor'> Oops, good catch. It's a Logitech iFeel optical mouse (USB).

- The ability to peek around corners, ie., to lean out without exposing your whole body, and duck back behind cover when you stop peeking. Preferably, it would also be harder to spot someone peeking. - A seperate hot key for switching firing modes on a weapon. I really don't think you should switch from semi-auto, to burst, to hand grenade! - Make more buildings capable of being entered, and make them actually useful (until someone drops an RPG in on you, at least.)

</span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote (placebo @ Mar. 25 2002,19:51)</td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">Had you tried playing it before these new drivers? It would seem that sometimes Nvidia's releases can be a smidge buggy, might be worth trying a previous release......Sure your GF2 is up to that resolution at 32bit? I know you have a fair processor and plenty of ram but the gf2 is getting a bit old these days <span id='postcolor'> Well, because it's all a fairly new system, none of the drivers are particularly old. I did try OF with the last Detonator drivers, and only upgraded in the course of troubleshooting the input lag problem. I found out about the new driver release at nvmax.com. As for being up to the resolution, I'm confident it can handle it. I can't tell you what the FPS are, but everything runs smooth in-game without any hint of choppiness. I have to point out that the name "GeForce 2" is a bit misleading being that it's integrated as part of the nForce motherboard. For those who don't know, the nForce architecture was designed by nVidia for speed and power. Rather than being restricted by PCI pathways, everything is opened up for smooth data transfer. Yes, it's still a GeForce 2, but it runs very smoothly. I've also overclocked it slightly (but tested OF at default performance just in case.) =) Okay, as for what I mean by "lag," no, I'm not talking about multiplayer performance. "Input Lag" is a known bug/incompatability issue which causes any actions by the mouse (and keyboard?) to react slowly. When I first started with the problem, it was very pronounced - move your mouse to one side, and watch the pointer move over a second or so later. Only by doing small, slow movements and waiting for the results to show up could I do something as simple as clicking on an button in the option panel. By using the tweaks I found in The Avon Lady's FAQ, I've seen a lot of improvement in the game. It's "almost" gone. The big change seemed to come with switching off pre-rendering. Even so, with the small remaining lag, it's still hard to do fine control. Targeting a distant soldier takes longer because you still have to keep adjusting the mouse slowly so you can see the effect of your motion. Large movements will find me looking off into la-la land, as the mouse is likely to keep going even after I stop. Pull the trigger, and hope that your target doesn't move before the mouse catches up and actually fires the weapon. The reason I'm not sure about the keyboard portion is because I don't have anyone else to compare it to (that may change as a friend just bought the game yesterday.) When I run to a bush, and try to stop behind it, my soldier invariably continues moving and I find myself standing in front of the bush instead. Does the game model momentum, or is it input lag? Much like the mouse, I spend a lot of time doing slow movements a little at a time if I want to get in a particular spot. Nothing else lags. I'm not having problems with troops blinking around, or dying long after I've hit them. Everything else reacts normally, it's only my input which is slowed. My friend has reported that his movements have been sharp and crisp, with the mouse moving exactly where he wants it. I'm very envious.

</span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote (Mister Frag @ Mar. 25 2002,16:46)</td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">What video settings (resolution and color depth) are you using? Are you using FSAA?<span id='postcolor'> Yup, I found Avon Lady's FAQ. I tried all the listed fixes there. While the lag was noticeably reduced, it still persists. As for my video settings, I'm using 1280 x 1024 x 32 both in and out of game. In game, I also have Direct 3D HW T&L selected. All of my other settings are set as high as possible, too. By FSAA, I assume you mean (something something) Anti-Aliasing? If so, no, I turned Anti-Aliasing off - another tweak recommended by the Avon Lady.

</span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote (placebo @ Mar. 25 2002,16:18)</td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">Moving to Troubleshooting <span id='postcolor'> I appreciate your attempt to help, Placebo, but I fear it's misplaced. It's my experience that there's a lot less traffic available in troubleshooting forums, and that's exactly what I don't want when I'm trying to find a fix.

First off, I've got that "input lag" bug. Â From doing a search of the forums, I came up with some proposed fixes, but none of them have managed to completely fix the problem. Â Dropping the pre-render rate down to zero did the most good, it seems, but I still have a small dollop of lag. Â I need additional suggestions besides that, or a flat out fix from the developer. Also, is there a way to minimize the name icons that appear in the game? Â In trying out the game (which isn't terribly fun with the input lag, I might add,) I had a couple of incidents when some floating text completely obscured my view of a target! Â Is there a way to make it less intrusive? Â Thanks for any help. System specs: nForce 420D motherboard (integrated GeForce 2, 5.1 sound) AMD Athlon XP 1900+ 1GB RAM Windows XP * latest Detonator Drivers (DL'ed new release this weekend.) OFP upgraded to 4.0 Anything important I missed? Â Let me know.