johnnyboy

To create fire and smoke effects in OFP, we would use the drop command, with the first parameter being set to "cl_fire" or "cl_basic". This does not work in ARMA. Example drop command from General Barron's script fire_effect.sqs: <table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tr><td>Code Sample </td></tr><tr><td id="CODE"> drop ["cl_fire","","Billboard",100,6*_power/((0.1*(abs speed _obj))+1),[(_center select 0) + _dist * cos _dir,(_center select 1) + _dist * sin _dir, _center select 2],[0,0.3*(speed _obj),_zVel*_power],0,34*_size*_power,27*_size*_power,0.05,[5*_size*_power,7*_size*_power,14*_size*_power,22*_size*_power],[[1,1,1,0.1+0.8*_power],[0.07,0,0,0.1+0.7*_power],[0,0,0,0.1+0.5*_power],[0,0,0,0]],[0,1*_power,0,0.33*_power,0.66*_power],0.2,(_zVel/10)*_power,"","",_obj] The above code results in this Arma error message: Cannot open object data3d\cl_fire.p3d Does anyone know if Drop command works in Arma? Does anyone know what new parameters will work to produce fire and smoke effects? Please advise.

Hoz: Thanks! The new path "\ca\data\cl_basic" works as you said. Deano: Thanks for the additional info. The settings in General Barron's FireEffect ofp script yield a different looking effect in arma. Smoke has alot of red in it. And large smoke looks wrong. Looks like we will have to do some tweaking until we get proper looking fire and smoke effects. Those new commands may help.

Al: Very good, I'll talk a look at your FAC addon. I also just received an email from Lester where he says they are including the invisible targets in their new Map_Misc addon, which could be out as soon as Christmas. It will be on www.mapfact.net, and he will announce on these forums when its ready. Now I can get back to my mission creation using this addon! Hooray.

I'm trying to convert Lester's invisible target addon to ARMA. Since it has very few properties, and no visible textures I'm hoping it is easy. So I've done the following so far: 1. Unpacked the pbo. 2. Edited the config.cpp file to make required version 1.0 requiredVersion=1.0 3. Packed the pbo and put in the ARMA Addons directory. I was then able to see the invisible targets objects in the editor and place them on the the map. I clicked PREVIEW, and get this error: Bad Version 7 in p3d file "invtarget.p3d" I'm hoping there is another simple edit that can be performed on the p3d file to correct this. I tried a hex editor, but saw nothing intelligible there. Any ideas? What tool do you use to edit a p3d file? Thanks.

I have had some success with this in OFP. I wrote some scripts that allowed a group of units to move through a series of what I called "movepoints". This was an array of positions. The leader would move to the first position, and then on to the second position. The next soldier would then follow, and so on. The units were still members of the group, but they all went through the same series of moves, one behind the other. This was accomblished using the following commands: <table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tr><td>Code Sample </td></tr><tr><td id="CODE">DoMove (Each unit sent to particular place) _man disableai "move" _man disableai "target" After each unit moved, the disableai "move" and disableai "target " commands kept the units from moving to engage targets. The good thing was they would still defend themselves (i.e. shoot back). But the units would move again when I issued the next DOMOVE command for each "movepoint" in the array. After units had moved through all points in the array, I would then issue the following commands to put units back under full control of AI: <table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tr><td>Code Sample </td></tr><tr><td id="CODE"> _man setFormation _formation _man doFollow leader group _man The above made sure the units didn't stack up on last position, and went into formation instead. When the last unit completed his last move, I then issued this command: <table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tr><td>Code Sample </td></tr><tr><td id="CODE">group _man lockwp false Which allowed units to then proceed with regular waypoints. Some of this may be useful to you. Good luck sir! I haven't tried my Movepoint scripts with ARMA yet, so I don't guarantee anything...

Ironsight: That worked beautifully. Thanks a million. The Invisible Target addon now works. I will now email Lester to see if he wants to publish it. For those interested, these were the exact steps to convert this addon to ARMA: 1. Unpack the pbo. 2. Edited the config.cpp file to make required version 1.0 requiredVersion=1.0 3. Open the .p3d file in O2, and re-save it. 4. re-pack the pbo. The addon then worked. Thanks everybody!

Definitely do what Deadfast recommends. Most of the time the AI can handle the roads properly. But I've still had occasional problems in Operation Flashpoint where a convoy's AI driving was impacted by some objects near the road. In that case, destroying those objects helped the AI driving. You do use the Object IDs to do this. To destroy one object: <table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tr><td>Code Sample </td></tr><tr><td id="CODE">((position this nearestobject 259904) buildingpos 10) To destroy a list of objects objects: <table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tr><td>Code Sample </td></tr><tr><td id="CODE"> {(position this nearestobject _x) setDammage 1} ForEach [ 256692,256255] Also, if you have any live units standing/walking within 10 or so meters of the road, this can impact AI driving. Its possible the new mountain roads are too narrow and steep for convoy AI...but I hope not. Overcoming AI stuff is sometimes a lot of experimentation and frustration. Good luck dude. Let us know if you solve it, and what road you're talking about (so we can benefit from your work!

Sometimes its objects to close to the road, and you can destroy the objects so the AI isn't distracted by them... These can be built-in objects (signs, trees, bushes), or objects you placed via the editor. Upload your sample mission and I'll have a look. I'm curious which roads are causing the problem.

I too have tried the fireEffect script in arma, but get errors because the engine does not recognise the "cl_fire" or "cl_basic" as valid shapename parameters to drop command: <table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tr><td>Code Sample </td></tr><tr><td id="CODE">drop ["cl_fire","","Billboard",100,6*_power/((0.1*(abs speed _obj))+1),[(_center select 0) + _dist * cos _dir,(_center select 1) + _dist * sin _dir, _center select 2],[0,0.3*(speed _obj),_zVel*_power],0,34*_size*_power,27*_size*_power,0.05,[5*_size*_power,7*_size*_power, 14*_size*_power,22*_size*_power],[[1,1,1,0.1+0.8*_power],[0.07,0,0,0.1+0.7*_power],[0,0,0, 0.1+0.5*_power],[0,0,0,0]],[0,1*_power,0,0.33*_power,0.66*_power],0.2,(_zVel/10)*_power,"","",_obj] The error is: Cannot open object data3d\cl_fire.p3d Here's the wiki page that explains the particle array prameters: http://community.bistudio.com/wiki/ParticleArray How can we find out what the new shapename parameters are for ARMA's version of the DROP command?

If I got it to work, I planned on contacting Lester to get his permisssion before posting the addon anywhere (or let him post it if he wants). I would not put my name on it, as all I'm trying to do is port it. I don't want credit, I just want this EXTREMELY useful addon available in ARMA for my missions.

Thanks. I downloaded ODOL Explorer and used it to convert the p3d file to MLOD format. I then replaced the existing p3d with the MLOD version p3d, and re-PBOed it. Put the pbo in the Addons directory and tried it in the ARMA editor. This time on preview I get this error: Unsupported version 4164812.205 Once I have a MLOD format file, what should I do with it? How do I make the P3D file compatible with ARMA? Please advise.

In OFP a satchel charge or tank blast would send barrels and bodies flying, flip a car over, etc. In ARMA, explosions have no effect on these objects. I hope this fixed, as it is a great visceral immersion effect to see a car flip over, or objects flying after explosion.

OK, I've confirmed that bodies fly, but barrels don't budge at all. I set off a few satchels near a pickup, and it barely moved. I agree OFP was over the top with explosions launching objects, but in ARMA it seems inconsistent (i.e., bodies fly, but barrels don't move).

No, Bravo is always leader when we link up. I finally beat it though. This time I kept my team back while I went to the second closest building which has a 2nd story. I sniped alot from there, then switched to another unit to sweep the town, linked up, returned to town finished greasing enemies and it successfully completed. I still think this mission needs its ending triggers improved, but I can move now, so nuff said... I am having fun though! Not being negative, just giving feedback so BIS can clean things up a bit before the broader release.

I've tried this 20 times and can't trigger the complete condition. I took over as Team Leader, linked up with Bravo, cleaned the town, and Bravo just stands at the wait waypoint forever. I also searched the town and surrounding area for a last surviving enemy and can't find one. Very frustrating.

Beaten dog mission won't end. We've moved to some defensive position, and guys come over the horizon, kill them all, then wait forever. I sped up time 4X and ran all over looking for last enemy but couldn't find him. Aborted mission.

I LOVE this game. But....... AI enemy detection skills, and AI accuracy are way too good. IMO, this is the #1 issue with the playablity of the game. BIS: Please don't make us wait for a great mod team like BAS to produce "High Dispersion" magazines. The game would be much more playable for a wider audience if there was a player configurable setting controlling speed of detection and accuracy. As it stands now, the game is OK for me and other diehard OFP and military sim folks, but casual gamers will be too frustrated. Make this skill player configurable, and server host configurable, then diehard sim folks can play it hard, and the casual folks can play it fun. This should be separate from general skill setting, as we want enemies that are skilled at using cover, path finding, suppressing, flanking, etc..., BUT we don't want to always be dropped immediately by a guy 200 meters away behind a bush.

It's true that's how you place satchels. Problem is after putting first one down a "red X" appears, and clicking put satchel again picks up the one you just placed. You have to move 2 meters so the "red X" goes away, and then you can place the next one...

Sanitation mission does not end. After joining second squad, they proceed to the waypoint in town and just stand there. I searched entire town and surrounding area to find the last enemy to kill to trigger next waypoint. To no avail. I've tried this about 20 times now. This isn't a Arma engine problem, but a mission design problem. Trigger conditions for clearing towns shouldn't allow players to be frustrated by this. When time elapses to a certain point and there are only one or two enemies left, those enemies should have morale boosted (so they don't run), and force them to the center of town (so they fight) -- or have them runaway outside the "clear the town" trigger zone, so trigger can complete. If there is only one enemy left and he is wounded, scripts should heal him (so he can stand), or bleed him out (kill him), so the trigger condition is met. This was a common problem in many OFP missions. The above suggestions were mission design "good practices" posted at OPFEC mission editing site for avoiding this "can't find that last loon" problem.

This is a small annoyance: Can't put more than one satchel charge in same place[\B] You can no longer place more than one satchel charge in the same place. After placing one, you get a red X, which allows you to pick up the satchel you just placed. You have to move 2 meters before placing another one. (In OFP this was not a problem).

When tanks drive across a bridge, tank tracks appear on the ground in the water beneath bridge.

I voted a qualified Yes. I am a hardcore OFP fan and amatuer mission maker, and had very high hopes for this game. But the first few hours had me very frustrated with Super AI knowing my position, missions not ending properly, etc. But after about 5 or 6 hours I got used to changed controls, and got that old special immersion feeling where I was scared spitless as an AT soldier playing hide and seek with tanks. So now I like it alot. And once the patches start rolling in, and more importantly the good mods and addons start rolling in, I will absolutely LOVE it.

Ian, I don't understand your comment regarding "normal map" vs. "color map".... Are you saying it is a limitation of my graphics card or graphics settings in the game? Thanks, John

Nice job! Any tips for those of us new to photo editing? I have a good tool (Corel Paint Shop Pro Photo Editor), and have worked for hours on my custom face. But I have a few problems: 1. Black edges around my eyes. 2. The face on the jpeg looks like me. The face in game looks I painted my face colors on someone else's face structure (i.e., it doesn't look much like me). Any ideas how I can improve this? Thanks!

There was definitely a problem. The squad leader and squad stood at ease in the field, in formation, and never went back to the vehicles we came in. Whatever event triggers the "return to vehicles" waypoint never happened in this case. I replayed the mission, and then it worked as you said. However, there is definitely something wrong sometimes that leaves the squad standing in the field, rather than heading for the vehicles.