merlin

Thanks once more Twirly, i really do appreciate the quick response. one problem i have observed stems from the sleep command, it seems to cycle the loadout every 60 seconds, which really conflicts with my intentions for the script which are to give the players limited quantities of unexpected equipment and perhaps solicit some degree of cleverness/improvisation from them. my first instinct would be to change 60 to some large number, however i must ask is there any command to only initialize the script once? I tried removing the sleep command as well as adding an "exit" line ot the end, however they both resulted in the script running every tick(?).

I've been trying to flesh out randomized loadouts once more and have run into some more problems while trying to solve a seemingly simple scripting problem. I have several varying loadouts for a single ammo crate, what i want is for a random ammo script to be selected and initialized. my first attempt used a single script and looked something like this (i used this as a reference http://forums.bistudio.com/showthread.php?t=106956 ) _ammobox = _this select 0; while {alive _ammobox} do { clearweaponcargo _ammobox; clearmagazinecargo _ammobox; switch (floor (random 2)) do { case 0: { //weapons _ammobox addWeaponCargo ["Binocular",1]; //mags _ammobox addMagazineCargo ["HandGrenade_Stone",98]; }; case 1: { //weapons _ammobox addWeaponCargo ["ACE_Flaregun",1]; //mags _ammobox addMagazineCargo ["ACE_SSGreen_FG",10]; }; case 2: { //weapons _ammobox addWeaponCargo ["revolver_EP1",1]; //mags _ammobox addMagazineCargo ["6Rnd_45ACP",16]; }; }; I then tried throwing together some kind of primitive if>then script to no avail, looking something like _ammobox = _this select 0; while {alive _ammobox} do { clearweaponcargo _ammobox; clearmagazinecargo _ammobox; _rnumber = floor (random 2); if _rnumber = 0 do { _ammobox addWeaponCargo ["ACE_Flaregun",1]; _ammobox addMagazineCargo ["ACE_SSGreen_FG",10]; }; if _rnumber = 1 do { ...etc i used this thread as reference for my final attempt, http://forums.bistudio.com/showpost.php?p=1872767&postcount=3 with indivudual scripts for different ammocrate loadouts and a scriptsel.sqf to select which one to initialize scriptsel.sqf: _ammos = ["ammo1.sqf","ammo2.sqf","ammo3.sqf"]; _ammo = _ammos select (round (random ((count _ammos) - 1))); // ammocrate is named crate1 [crate1] execVM _ammo; right now i'm fairly certain that any one of these three techniques could work but i've butchered the formatting on every one. any guidance would be appreciated.

Amazing system, a couple questions though. 1) how much space would this sytem take up in a mission? assuming the sounds are included in the mission and not a mod. 2) was that lovely ch-53 ever released?

Did the ACE team consider adding a longer spin up time for helicopters like in ACE for ArmA I? if so why was it removed (i presume it would be because it doesen't "add anything to the gameplay", which is a valid point in some respects). I rather liked this feature in A1 as it slowed things down, giving the pilot time to check their route or make any announcements to the crew. Furthermore it created a nice atmosphere of "we'll have to prepare this helicopter very briefly before departing instead of launching like a cruise missle". Other than that I dearly enjoy playing ACE with my group of friends and only recently stumbled upon the tank FCS system, which is an amazing achievement that turns BIS's desert map into the battle of 73 Easting after about 2 minutes of work in the editor. looking forward to future releases!

Is it possible to apply some kind of large particle effect over an area, say in my instance with a radius of 600m (Dirty Bomb). I recall that Evo for Arma 1 had something like this. i'm not sure if it was a clever trick involving the scaling of green smoke effects or another technique but it would be of tremendous help to me if i could have some kind of visual indicator for a contaminated zone of this size. Great script btw, a lovely application for ACE's underutilized gas masks.

I appreciate hte prompt response Twirly, The script works great and the magazine multiplication idea is brilliant. _number = ceil (random 10); the _number variable in this should be _rnumber though. thanks again!

Perhaps the OP is suggesting some kind of persistant gamemode like MSO, with PVP support added. while i can't imagine that being planned by the devs i would certainly support the implementation of such a gamemode.

It would be interesting to see this implemented as a module that mission editors could group with markers and squads. At least for me the implementation of the module system in ArmA II made the editor a lot more user friendly and functional. Furthermore, it would be interesting if scripts could be "Module'd" for rapid integration into missions without wearing down the printing on your alt and tab keys. for example, if i often had an equipment script in my missions i could select the files associated with the script and compile them into some sort of module, once the module was added in the mission the associated files would be placed in the mission.

I like this idea but i would prefer a more practical solution, hand grenades and other explosives should have a substantial effect on underwater units. I remember speaking with my father about the conflict in vietnam and telling him about dolphins trained to kill frogmen, to which he responded that troops stationed on floating barracks would regularly throw grenades into the water to deter enemy frogmen. I don't nessecarily advocate the introduction of dolphins into ArmA 3, i do think explosives should be enormously effective as a countermeasure against divers. this would require no additional models and the only problem i imagine BI would run into would be some kind of unique damage model for submerged units. I'm not sure whether it would be easy to implement or realistic for the AI to perform such counter-frogmen techniques as i imagine visual identification would be difficult. however if the player were to flee into the water after attracting the AIs attention perhaps they could revert to grenades/explosive weapons and attack the players last known/predicted location. also some suggested reading for the thread http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anti-frogman_techniques

I'm very excited to see animated thrust reverse buckets on the tornado. I'm not sure how the sound engine works in arma and i can't imagine it's easy to aquire proper sound effects for the game, but if you havn't already planned for it/added it already, a satisfying roar when the thrust reverse bucket is activated i would be tickled to death (this feature was amazing in microsoft's flight sims and always made landings extraordinarily entertaining and immersive).

It's difficult to convey how impressed i am by the articulation system. furthermore the UN skin and the model both look amazing. There is a special place in my heart for European truck design :) .

No chance you were in Anniston? i've seen aerial photos of the depot and there hundreds of those bunkers. The bunker looks great btw, any chance for a grass roof for woodland maps?

Now we just need a ported version of the Vulcan bomber from ArmA 1! Looks great btw, custom buildings will be a welcome addition.

I really admire the amount of depth you put into the cockpit, it reminds me of Franze's excellent f/a-18 for Arma 1.

don't know if this has been addressed already. but from what it looks like in this screenshot, it looks like we won't have UAV camera tracking in OA. i could be wrong though.

i'd like to see more enterable buildings as well, especially one that could be a high profile target for mission makers such as a capital building or a large hotel. i was really disappointed when i found the 'city hall' in chernagorsk was not enterable.

if you can, try to let the map facilitate tank battles, not only would this be great for 73 easting-ish battles; but it would make for some good A-10 fodder. i think a few supply dumps / abandoned outposts would make suitable targets for tank assaults. some flat terrain for player created FOBs would be nice too. screenshots so far look great, keep it up! @oddjob: i think ACE2 is adding craters, dont quote me on that but i vaguely remember crater models on one of the latter ace1 patches.

3)No specific towns, industrial areas or landmarks. Was thinking I'd leave it to mission makers to add "targets". Could use "templates" to generate towns or villages etc. Problem? i'm not sure if you've seen the film "the Beast" (about a russian tank crew cut off from the rest of it's group and it's battle with a group of mujaheddin) but this map seems pretty similar to Afghanistan, i think some villages would be of tremendous use in missions, however i dont think any urban or industrial areas are necessary, but some pre-placed farming villages composed of slums and clutter definitely do the map good. 4)Simple landmarks: Was thinking I might at a few small random landmarks like a few of the big lattic radio towers on mountain peaks (not the big TV tower, probably). Problem? definitely like to see some landmarks, they make excellent objectives. 5)No roads, mainly because its a huge map and no landmarks except airbases, so there seems little point. Thoughts? i think roads are still necessary, at least paths are. paved roads in the middle of the desert not very common, but i think some paths are necessary for convoy missions and ambushes.

http://www.armaholic.com/page.php?id=5893 this template will let you put cars in the C130. however i don't know how you would add extra infantry slots to it, right now i think you can put quite a bit in. i think you could cannibalize the c130 script to make a crude chopper pickup, although i'm sure others have a better approach.

would it be possible to add random numbering/letters to most of the vehicles? maybe add random chevrons on the vehicles?

if you're talking about that old tv show 'the amazing race' then yes you could probably implement it without any mods at all. a simple mission would do the trick. i imagine you could have little side missions at each settlement (hunting game, finding a missing person, etc.) upon completion of a sidemission you could be awarded with a car or a bike, maybe even additional fuel for a car you already have, i imagine it would be a fun 'civ' mission, not my thing personally i prefer combined arms and vehicle combat, but i'd be willing to play an online round if it was populated.

I think it might be more interesting to explore the western portions of Chernarus, as opposed to the northern part which wouldn't be anything more than some mountains and part of russia. theres quite a bit BIS seeme to have left out (future content???, wishful thinking, but its possible)

I've been waiting for this since ArmA I, great work mate!

I'm experiencing this exact problem, has anyone found a solution yet?

worked perfectly, thanks for the quick reply!