Hellop

The setPlayable command crashes a dedicated server, when the server issues the command. selectPlayer works, but then that player will not respawn, at all when killed. You just sit there like a disableUserInput command was issued. Does anyone know of a way to create a unit via scripting in a dedicated server and then switch into that unit?

I joined some mission and I saw lightning during a storm. Also, there are references to lightning in the OFP pages on the wiki. Is it possible to create lightning in Arma? References: This page references two "thunderbolt" classnames for ofp: http://community.bistudio.com/wiki....laneous This page gives an example to create a thunderbolt: http://community.bistudio.com/wiki/ParticleArray Any ideas? Maybe the "SPARKSEFFECT" particle effect?

Hi Sakura-chan, thanks for the reply. I assume you mean that there are lightning strikes when it rains. But, do you know how to make them using a particle effect? -Thanks

I am working on a mission that you could call a cross between Arma, Zelda, and The Sims2. So, we have the war-simulation, guns, tanks, harriers. And we have the townsfolk, the princess, spells, magic potions. And throw in some owning a house, marriage, getting a job, having to eat/go to the bathroom. And Blammo! You get: CSI-Sahrani. I have been actively thinking/brainstorming about this since before Christmas. So far, I have about 30 pages of hand-written notes and about 1 solid week of coding. If anyone would like to contribute please post what you want to help with. I see a need for: 1. An experienced coder or two that can participate in "Extreme Programming" sessions. 2. Testers/Junior coders who can help with bugs and research. 3. Pictures, Artwork 4. Sound samples. 5. Beta Testers. 6. People who would like to take one particular concept and make it work. e.g. A script for lightening, or a firetruck that shoots water. 7. Someone who can make dialogs. 8. Someone who's good at particle effects. 9. An expert Arma scripter to ask for advice. A. CSI-Sahrani RPG Overview: The fundamental aspect of the game is a dichotomy between the "Geners" and the "Cloners". Geners are those people who are genetically pure, un-altered, like God and nature intended. The Law states that only Geners are free citizens and may hold public office, own property or marry. Since human stem-cell research is outlawed, clones are created using ape embryos implanted with human DNA at the Sirius Cybernetics Corporation. Under strict supervision by the Ministry of Public Welfare all Cloners must register and abide by the "Clone-Laws". i.e. No high-level government positions, heavy taxation, loss of freedoms, and absolutely no marriage since Human/Ape crossbreeding is unpredictable and dangerous. Naturally, Cloners and Geners don't particularly like each other. B. 10 guilds: 1. Practitioner of the Dark Arts. 2. Thieves 3. Hackers 4. Workers 5. Mafia 6. Light Arts 7. Ninjas 8. Terrorists 9. Beggars 10. Politicians C. Several Professions: 1. Farmer 2. Paramedic 3. Tow-Truck Driver 4. Taxi-Driver 5. Building Repair 6. Forensics 7. Bounty Hunter 8. Hitman 9. Bus Driver 10. Lawyer 11. Police Officer 12. Informant 13. Drug Dealer 14. Shop Owner 15. FireMan 16. Gardener 17. Beggar 18. Politician 19. Hacker 20. Thief 21. Scientist 22. Mechanic The guilds provide attribute boosts for the Professions, and other benefits. There will be several PVP mini-games like arm-wrestling, poker, and drinking games so people can sit around and chat and have fun. D. What I have implemented so far: 1."game engine" is nearly complete, and features are ready to be added. 2. Respawning/JIP 3. You can change your clothes/player model. 4. Nitro on all vehicles. 5. Kill detection script. 6. Several spells like: Curse of Eternal Rain, Rabid Pigeons, Translucent Blue Orb of Suffocation, Magic Missiles, Meteor Shower, Propagating Flame, Fountain of AIDS 7. A firetruck with water stream. 8. Gardener Job. 9. Construction Worker Job. 10. Going to the bathroom. 11. Spooner's Money script: AI shops and bank 12. Flying F. Coming up: 1. Dynamic Dialogs 2. Card Games 3. Crime detection 4. Public Beta G. Motivation: I've always wanted a MMORPG that had the quick gameplay of a FPS. When I noticed the Sahrani-Life mission I realized it was possible make my own RPG and design it in such a way so that it's fun for me. So, I just want to make a fun game and play it. Also, I would like to invite anyone who wants to contribute to please feel free. Either let me know what you want to do, or we can come up with something together. On a side note: I would like to design the game in such a way that there is little opportunity for griefing, and therefore no reason for anyone to get kicked/banned. If the mission reaches a level of quality that we can be proud of, I would like to release it Open Source. -Your thoughts and input are appreciated.

New version 0.0.0.c up and running. Burning buildings should be working. Search for Thug-Life under team on the Arma game Browser.

Here, play with my nitro script from my mission, CSI-Saharani. Â It is for vehicles, but you might be able to get some ideas for people. Â You might not be able to use it on people, though, because if you bump the ground going too fast the arma engine will damage you based on your velocity... and so you might die. Here ya go: <table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tr><td>Code Sample </td></tr><tr><td id="CODE"> /*cliS_actionNitro.sqf By: Hellop 2008 Copyright: Released to the Public Domain. Â It would be cool if you gave me credit in your mission if you use it. Purpose: Simulate Nitrous Oxide speed-boost for vehicles. Â Sets global variable on client computer, cli_nitroLock so that the nitro can't be engaged more than once at at time. Pre: 1. Global var: cli_nitroLock = true; 2. Player's vehicle has an action menu item enabled that runs this script. e.g. in the initline of a car/tank: this addEventHandler ["getin", { if ((_this select 1) == "driver") then { actionIDNitro = _this select 0 addAction ["Nitro", "client\action\cliS_actionNitro.sqf"]; Â }; }]; this addEventHandler ["getout", {_this select 0 removeAction actionIDNitro;}]; Post: cli_nitroLock is set to true; Testing: 5 min. reverse doesn't work. Â Would be nice if it worked dynamically from vehicle weight/maxspeed. Air Vehicles not tested. */ private ["_obj", "_vel", "_tmrInterval", "_dir", "_maxSpeed"]; _actionID = _this select 2; _obj = vehicle player; //Tanks and stuff get less nitro. _tmrInterval = .1; _maxSpeed = 120; _speedMultiplier = .4; //2 is good for cars, too much for tanks _nitroDuration = 5; if ((typeOf _obj) isKindOf "Car") Â then { _tmrInterval = .02; _maxSpeed = 180; _speedMultiplier = 1.5; }; if ((typeOf _obj) isKindOf "Air") then { _tmrInterval = .02; _maxSpeed = 500; Â //What is best val here? _speedMultiplier = .3; }; if ((typeOf _obj) isKindOf "Motorcycle") then { _tmrInterval = .02; _maxSpeed = 140; Â //What is best val here? _speedMultiplier = .2; }; //Initialize vars; _vel = 0; _velX = 0; _velY = 0; _velZ =0; _dir = 0; _sinDir = 0; _cosDir = 0; _previousVel = velocity _obj; _previousSpeed = speed _obj; _curSpeed = 0; if ((speed _obj) <= 3) then { player sideChat format ["You must be moving to activate Nitro."]; } else { Â Â if (cli_nitroLock) then { cli_nitroLock = false; player sideChat format ["Nitro Engaged."]; //player globalchat format["Time: %1, Vehicle Type: %2, MaxSpeed: %3", time, typeOf _obj, _maxSpeed]; _startTime = time; _tmpSpeedMultiplier = _speedMultiplier; while {(time - _startTime) < _nitroDuration} do { sleep _tmrInterval; _vel = velocity _obj; _curSpeed = (speed _obj); if (((abs _curSpeed) - (abs _previousSpeed)) > 30) then {_vel = _previousVel}; Â //To prevent getting thrown far in collisions _velX = _vel select 0; _velY = _vel select 1; _velZ = _vel select 2; _dir = getdir _obj; //player globalChat format ["Speed: %1", speed _obj]; if ((speed _obj) > _maxSpeed) then {_tmpSpeedMultiplier = 0} else {_tmpSpeedMultiplier = _speedMultiplier}; _sinDir = _tmpSpeedMultiplier*(sin _dir); _cosDir = _tmpSpeedMultiplier*(cos _dir); _obj setvelocity [_velX + _sinDir, _velY + _cosDir, _velZ -.1]; //Keep Z vector moving with gravity _previousSpeed = _curSpeed; _previousVel = _vel; }; cli_nitroLock = true; player sideChat format ["Nitro test Done! Ending Vel: %1. Dir: %2, Speed: %3", velocity _obj, direction _obj, speed _obj]; }; }; Well, I dunno why it doesn't autotab. Â I posted a formatted version on armaholic.com. Â You could go there and search for "nitro" if you want.

Well, first try creating a another group member for your player without using an eventhandler to see if your createUnit command works. Â Like, put this in a script launched from an action menu: "soldierWPilot" createUnit [getMarkerPos "markerx", group player]; Also, try removing the first underscore and using "_this select 0", which contains the killed unit, instead of "player", which may be dead and have no group. player addEventHandler ["killed", {"soldierWPilot" createUnit [getMarkerPos "markerx", group (_this select 0)]}] Let me know if it works.

Some more info: 1. Identity problems such as not keeping score correctly don't concern me, because I keep score separately, and I seem to be able to use setIdentity just fine. 2. Considering the above, if the "setPlayable" command worked on the dedicated server like it does on a local server, I would be finished. Maybe there is some secret I am missing. 3. Group respawn does seem to work ok, but: a. it will break if the new group member is killed before receiving a killedEventHandler, or if the client locks up, resulting in a seagull. b. I can find no way to have the mission visible in the arma game browser when no players are connected, which is very undesirable. It would be great of group respawn worked with the "Persistent" command. -----Anyone have a fix for this? Thanks everyone. Back to coding mayhem and magic.

Thanks alot for your input on this topic. Â I take it you have spent some time with this issue before. Â Â Would you mind explaining what you mean by " ending or resetting the mission." Â What command can you issue to cause the group repawn mission to reload the mission and show up in the game browser even with no players connected? The following page mentions the Persistent=1 option in the server.cfg, and that it doesn't work on group respawn type. http://community.bistudio.com/wiki/ArmA:_Multiplayer Thanks again for your help.

Also, group cannot be used because when all players disconnect the mission reverts to "Creating Mission" and not many people will see it in the game browser, and hence, no one will join.

Snyide, thanks alot for the reply. I have tried what you are suggesting, but there are two issues. 1. Using the select player method works fine when I host a local server, i.e. single player. Â But, on a dedicated linux server, after you selectPlayer into a newly created unit, you will not be able to respawn. Â If you press respawn, or get killed you will just sit there dead, and all you can do is disconnect/reconnect. Respawn will work if you switchplayer into and existing playable unit, but that is not going to solve my problem. Â I need to be able to switch into newly created units. 2. Using the group method works fine, except sometimes the new unit doesn't get created fast enough and the player turns into a seagull. Â And then that slot is permanently a seagull for all JIP players. Â So, that's not really a workable option. -To solve that, I could always have another unit in the player's group, but he will send radio messages. Â Using the command "disable radio" works for most commands, but he will still say, "Where are you." all the time. -THE MAIN PROBLEM: Respawn quits working after you selectPlayer on a dedicated server. Â I think this has to do with a bug in the setPlayable command on a dedicated server. Because, on the local server, respawn works after you issue a "setPlayable player" command but not before. You just can't do this on a linux server. Any further input is appreciated. Â Thanks.

It's Christmas. The Thug-Life RPG mission is up and running. Look out for Thug-Life, and join. It's a team gametype, so you should be able to find it easy if you sort by gametype in the Arma game browser. Try joining a profession at one of the guilds. Try becoming a magic user and casting a spell on someone. Try burning down a few buildings and putting the fires out with the firetruck's water hose. Then post here and tell me what you think about it. Also, feel free to write what you think I should add next.

Who want's the 1.15 patch for Christmas? Let the developers know that you want it! Please BI devs, can we have the 1.15 patch for Christmas? Pretty please? I'll clean my room and mow the lawn for free.

Well, from what I saw, it seems that the actual "space" character was not the same width as the other chars. FYI...

I have searched the forums. I have tired "Arial Bold" mentioned here: http://community.bistudio.com/wiki/Fonts#Available_Fonts. But, it doesn't appear to work. I have looked in the UIFonts\Config.bin, and tried the 4 listed there. No luck. Doesn't anyone know how to define a fixed-width font in the dialogs? Something like this: #define FontF "Arial" //Fixed width -Thanks for your help. This is very important for my debugging purposes.

T_D, well, thanks for that. Â I loaded it up, and tried a few different sizes. Â You are right, that the spacing seems a bit off, so as to not make the font fixed-width. Â Especially on the smallest point, the spaces seem about half their proper size. Â <br><br> I looked at it with a hex editor... and couldn't figure out it. Â I just need like 10 and 12 point font. Â If you have to work out the bugs, please post again. Â Or any advice would be welcomed too... Â <br><br> Thanks again, -hellop

Thanks for the thread, parent poster. You've made a good point, that you like the game well enough and only play SP. I'd like to offer a counterpoint. Just my opinion, but with all the possibilities that Arma provides with it's scripting/addons, I think there is a serious lack of good MP missions. There doesn't seem to be that much variety in the MP games, but I think there is room for more lower-player-count missions. Like 6-8 player missions that are heavily scripted with story lines, dialog, characters and objectives. You could practically make a playable movie with Arma, and I think the possibilities have not been fully utilized. Also, where are the weird missions? Star destroyers, the USS Enterprise, aliens, Dinosaurs, animals, melee combat, different worlds, altered physics?

Yes. Easy to script with even current scripting commands. Altough the way they search cover is bit odd and many times dumb + ignores some very good covertypes like terrain's forms and buildings. Not up to modern standards anymore. Well, just remember, that whatever complexity you want the AI to have, the Arma designers would have to code that complexity in as well. Â So, negating any possible performance hits arma scripting has vs. code that is hard-coded into the game, if you want complex, you will have to code complex, and accept the associated performance hit. Â So, if you want the AI to find cover behind a hill.. Â you could get the height values in a grid around the unit, then with some complicated coding magic, have them move to a depression, behind an outcropping that is between the depression and the enemy. Not easy to script. In fact it's quite impossible with current scripting commands if we take individual soldier's point of view. How do you teach to AI a basics of good tactical position (what ever that may be in different situations, or is it wise to hold positions or move). Possibly not easy. Â It depends on exactly what you want them to do. Â If all you want the AI to do is wait at a certain position until there are no alive enemy nearby, it seems to me that a couple scripting commands could accomplish that. Â e.g. NearestObjects , nearTargets... Â You could have the AI move, or go prone, or crawl away based on the number of enemy Near, or "knowsAbout". Â What exactly is the difficulty? Uh... Â well. Â First define "different air combat skills." Â Recon vs. attack? Â Recon: turn off the AI's fire ability or Targets or ammo, have them fly around... check for NearestObjects under or in front of plane, create a radio message. Â If different skills means some AI can fly a Heli, some can fly a jet. Â Well, just code it in. Â I can think of several ways. Â 1. If an AI get's in a plane that doesn't have that skill, eject them, put a msg, make them stop... 2. Change the AI's model for the different position they have. 3. Create a new dialog for ordering AI to do stuff(recon/attack). 4. Change skill level, adjust target or awareness level (using fake AI group soldiers on the ground), alter AI velocity vectors while flying to simulate novice flying. etc.. It's cool. Â Thanks for the input and questions. Â I'm always happy to discuss scripting possibilities. -hellop

@NoRailgunner, Commando84.  I'll mark the things that I think can be currently done with scripting/addons with a comment in squarebrackets. - running and throwing handgrenade little bit farther  [several possibilities for scripting this] - smoke with AI viewblock [make a transparent "building" around smoke] - smokescreens from tanks [easy script] - objects that are partly or fully destroyed with AI viewblock (eg trees) [Durgs vegetation fix does this] - improved AI:  - they know were to find cover or hide behind  [possible to script, pretty easy if there was a getNearestTree function.]  - if they take good tactical positions they should hold it until there is no enemy in the immediate vicinity.  [easy to script]  - units should have some kind of better trained weapon skill eg. machinegunner is better in using his default weapon than using sniper rifle.  [For AI, the setSkill command] - pilots with different air combat skills (attack/support) jet pilots, helicopter pilots [can be scripted into any mission]

Can you elaborate?  1. How do you "capture the bullet as it leaves the gun."?  Get nearest object for that bullet classname?  Ok, as long as the fired event handler is only run on one client, it could work.  But, obviously, a method that didn't need to do a  "nearest Object" search would be preferred. 2. How can you detect when the round is destroyed?  That's the problem.  3. When the bullet is destroyed, how do you tell what player it hit?

Is there any way to detect if a certain bullet type hits something and then execute a script? The only want I can figure to do it, is to add a hit event handler to whatever object you want to be able to shoot at, and then every time it is hit, do a getNearestObject and search for the particular bullet. Well, that seems like a roundabout way to do it, and prone to errors. Â I would much rather have something in my bullet's config.cpp that was like: hit = execVM "aScript.sqf"; Â Â instead of hit = 8; Any suggestions? Â There must be a way, otherwise how can I add all the cool stuff I want to add like EMP grenades and poison darts?

Right on Victor, don't let anyone lump us Arma players in with all those smacktards out there! BeerHunter, because of your slander, I will be sure to TK you over and over to teach you a lesson. Â

What if you wanted to change the velocity of only one weapon? Is there a way to do it without copying the whole folder?

You know what happens to Internet Cafes? Â They go out of business. Unless you happen to be in the right location at the right time... But even then, if someone else opens one next to you, then you both go out of business. Â This is why, in locations with a lot of Internet Cafe's, such as Mexico, Los Angeles, Taiwan, they only charge $0.50/hour. -Just my observations FYI.

Say your mission does not use the "Status" radio in the upper right corner, is there any way to use the keys 0-9 and F1-F12? I can intercept the keys with the following event handler: (FindDisplay 46) DisplaySetEventHandler ["keydown","(_this select 1) call cliF_KeyEvent;"]; But the radio status message box thing always pops up, though it is useless. Is there any way to disable it? Or unassign the keys that open it using an addon? Or find its display/dialog and close it? I have tried all of the above, with no luck. It doesn't appear to be a "display" like the "Esc/Abort" menu is. (49 I think) It would be really nice to be able to use those 22 keys. Anyone?