AdmiralKarlDonuts

Whooopeee! Your A-6 is a thing of beauty! BTW how's the Mudhen coming along?

I've never been interested in this Kuma War thing....seems to me like it's just a way to cash in on all the stuff going down around the world. Â Anybody here play it?

So only Tom Clancy has to explain things? Dude, seriously, two posts back you said it's like reading Marine Sniper, a lengthy book with everything much more developed than it is here. The length of the story shouldn't matter at all - the quality should be the same no matter what it is or how long it is. But like I said earlier, that's my take on things - take it or leave it.

Keep in mind this is all IMO and I'm trying to help in the long run Descriptive writing: Mmm, I'd say about .5, probably a hair over. Good, only so far as it gives you an idea that you're in a town, surrounded by other guys, it's hot, etc etc etc. However, I don't see much that makes it Vietnam, if you know what I mean. There are place names and such, but I just don't feel particularly immersed. Put us in combat - have us feel the strain of taking fire, running for cover, trying to drag wounded buddies to safety...make us feel the uncertainty and intensity of the moment. Characterization: I'll give it a .5 because you attempted to give the character a background. Other than that, there are no other characters. You provided some names, but all these other guys are just random dudes holding guns. Since it's such a short story you can only have a couple of fleshed-out characters, but try taking one of the squadmates and making him another person rather than another M16. Like I said, dialogue is powerful - make use of it in creating some good characters. Plot: Again, since I'm pidgeonholed into three possible ratings I'll have to go with .5, though it's probably less than that. You allude to a move up north, a possible invasion of North Vietnam, and then you wrap up the whole Tet Offensive with a couple of numbers, but in terms of what actually happens here, there's not much. A plot moves the story along, the plot is the whys and wheres and whos and all that...pretty much this is jump out of bed, walk into city, exchange gunfire, get knocked out. I suppose you'd argue that the overall plot is the guy getting caught up in the Tet Offensive, but this little story is far too narrow in scope to really encompass that much. Setting: I already lumped this in with desciptive writing, I suppose, but again I'll give you between 0 and .5 for this specific part of it. Describe where we are, describe what the firebase looks like, give some life to everything and immerse us in it. We're told where we are but someone who knows nothing about Vietnam won't benefit at all from some place names. Where's the sea? Where is Saigon? What does the base look like? Is Saigon a big city? Is it dirty, overcrowded, loud, smelly, etc? Presentation: I don't know what you're asking me to evaluate here. Overall this story is far too detached...I don't feel at all that I'm in this guy's shoes. I don't know any of the other men (therefore they mean nothing to me), I don't have a good sense of where we are, so on and so forth. IMO you know you've written well when your reader finishes the story, looks up, blinks a little, and realizes he's still where he was before he started reading. Part of my novel includes a platoon scrambling to board their choppers in a PZ under heavy fire - I talk about how the men can barely see one another in the tall grass, talk about how the protagonist fixates himself on one enemy soldier and as a result sort of zones out from the rest of the battle, I talk about choppers struggling to get into the air, being pelted with bullets, so on and so forth. Little details make all the difference. They draw the reader in, and even if you're a MOP or whatever it is, if you balance the names and technical details off with sound writing all around, you're golden. I showed a few people that scene and nobody got hung up on all the M16s and Uh60s and miniguns and RPG7s or any of that since it was part of a general trend of writing very detailed work. So my advice is this - narrow the scope of the story even further. Really focus on the combat part of things as opposed to listing off all this stuff about the rest of the Tet Offensive. Here's something you might do... 1. Open with the protagonist pissing away another night in Vietnam with a couple of buddies over a couple of beers - use this time to establish the guy's background and all that other stuff. Lots of talk here, back and forth, but obviously they're all buds so you'e got to make it seem natural. 2. Everybody goes to bed. Very briefly talk about how the character can't get a certain thing that was brought up in conversation out of his head - maybe somebody was talking about his girlfriend or his parents or something, which then makes our man start thinking about all that stuff in his life - BAM! Wake up, gunfire, get your ass in gear soldier, we're in a war here. Fall in - make sure the buddies from before are seen prominently here too. 3. Off we go to war - put us in the war. Since this is first person, every little detail we're getting comes right through the eyes of the protagonist - that means every little thing he hears, sees, does, thinks, etc should figure prominently in the writing. Details, details, details. Also, decide whether this is actually living the action as it unfolds or looking back on the action after the fact - I think this is a little unclear, since some of what's written is clearly with the benefit of hindsight as opposed to the rather limited perspective of live-action. IMO the first person is used when your goal is to put the reader into the story. I think this on one hand limits your possibilities, but on the other hand it means that you can (and therefore must) make everything as vivid as possible. Focus on what's going on; focus on the combat, on the beads of sweat dripping into your eyes from underneath your helmet, on how the M16 feels in your hands as your heart pounds and rounds are slamming into the concrete all around you. Earlier, focus on the people, on their mannerisms as they talk to the protagonist, on how they intonate certain words, on how they move when in combat, etc. Like I said, we're seeing everything through the character's eyes so we'd better feel like we're standing there too. Take what you will out of that, I'm not about to tell you to throw it all away and do things my way. You're on the right track, just make some changes and you can raise the quality exponentially. But your attitude kind of worries me...IMO there's no difference in why you're writing, just make it the best damn writing that you can. In my case it's not being graded so I suppose at this point it is "oh write a story, show the world, get comments and support oh fun type of thing" until I get it published, but that doesn't mean either one of us should be putting any less than 100% into what we're doing.

This whole biographical chunk is a good example of that old "show, don't tell" axiom. Stuff like this throws the whole flow of the writing out of order; it's far better to somehow work these details into the writing more smoothly without just listing them off like items on a shopping list. Following the narrative along and suddenly reading this section is a big jolt to the reader - it just doesn't fit. It's okay not to cover these details up front at the beginning of the story - push them back to the point where you can fit them in more naturally, such as in conversation between two characters, or even by including them as part of a particular scene's setting. What I mean is that you don't have to establish the physical description before you do anything else. For example, instead of saying that somebody always gets in trouble, you should include instances in which he actually is getting in trouble. Similarly, find a way to point out scars (if they're significant enough to mention) without blatantly saying "I have scars on my arm." Dialogue is always useful for describing things you want the readers to know, because you might have characters involved in the discussion who are just as ignorant of certain things as the reader is - in this case you might have character A say something to character B because character B didn't know it...nor did the reader. I find this works best when referring to someone who isn't there - A and B talk to each other about C, so therefore you don't need to have even seen C yet to know what he's like. But I come at this writing from the 3rd person - I don't know how exactly to translate that over to 1st person since your POV is so constricted. Anway, I figured I'd mention it so that you might improve your writing in case you wanted to take any of these little stories all the way - I'm writing a full-lengh book myself so I definitely appreciate how tough it is to write stuff people want to read. Keep it up and the quality of your work will continue improving to the point that it's all second nature.

Oooookay... Does anyone here actually have an opinon on Kuma War using events like this as part of a $9.99 per month gaming service?

IIRC the author says he's working on a complete overhaul of Unscripted War...he's pretty much said don't bother playing the old ones anymore since the new version will be very different with lots of fixes. Can't wait for it

Unless you manually give him a target first I think you give him a dotarget command and then a fire command, and he'll fire like you want him to.

Agreed...there's absolutely no motivation for the Chinese to attack us and no way they could take the fight to the continental US even if they had one. But from what I see locally, in the unlikely event there was an actual invasion of the USA, the most the Rhode Island National Guard would be able to do is put up a flight or two of Cobra gunships. There are C-130s and Blackhawks around, but those are no help in repelling an invading force. The nearest fighter cover would probably be a handful of F-15s from Otis AFB in Massachusetts, though as they keep a few on strip alert they'd be in the air and ready for a fight quickly. There are some engineer and MP units based in the middle of the state, but all they've got (as far as I've ever seen) in terms of support are Humvees and 5-tons, so I can't imagine they'd be able to do much more than put up a hasty defense in the face of an invasion - probably scattered pockets of resistance by blocking roads and closing off Route 95, which is really the only major highway running through RI. The ANG would probably be able to also put some Loaches in the air to help track enemy movements and spot for artillery batteries - there are some based here but at least some are deployed overseas right now. IIRC they have some towed 105s, so depending on how well the other NG units held up, they might have enough time to set up firing positions and offer their services. I think most of the fighting would be done by active-duty units still at their bases in the US....IIRC most of the 4th Infantry - considered to the division with the greatest armored capability - returned to Texas some time ago after being deployed. Units like that would probably have to use the time the Guard buys them to form up and get ready to rumble. But all this is just what I've seen - I'm not in the Guard but I know people (officers and enlisted) who are. As pretty much everyone agrees, it would probably never happen that an enemy force invades CONUS but I figured I'd speculate a little because the hypothetical question (despite it's low probablity of occuring) is something that's intersted me for a while, too.

There aren't any blood textures on the units, and the M60 ammo belts on several of the units are also untextured. Also, niether of the M60s have reloading sounds. These really are great looking units otherwise....fix those texture bugs and these will be the premier Vietnam units out there.

Both dl links lead to the CoC divers....need a link to SJBs dudes

I think the only time I've seen SEALs wear their flippers that way was in the movie US Navy SEALs (Charlie Sheen )...they had them strapped there while boarding and then riding in the C-130 that was going to HALO them into the ocean. Since Charlie Sheen movies aren't exactly factual reference material, that hardly counts, but I figured I'd mention it I agree that its' more common (from pics I've seen) to wear them on the belt - if they keep them - or to dump them before they move inland.

1. Â You'll need a trigger that, when fired by the player, will add an action which will execute a script when selected. Â See the official command reference on the syntax. Â You can then script the outcomes. Â I don't really understand what you're trying to do with it (it's late), but for instance you could script the "right" and "wrong" responses - select one action and something will happen, select the other and something else will....etc etc etc. Â Without more specifics that's about as much as I can tell you 2. Â Instantly? Â Group the trigger to him, so when he activates it, he's setpos'd to the new location - the setpos command will "warp" him to the new location. Â If you want him to physically walk there, you can give him a domove command in the "on activation" field specifying the new position...something like [Dude move (getpos Place)] - without the brackets. 3. Â Well, if you want them to start moving only when the player activates the trigger, you can set a condition in the first AI waypoint's condition field, such as GoGoGo, and put GoGoGo = true in the trigger's on activation field. Â Then when the player fires the trigger, the AI will start following its waypoints. Again, without more details that's about as specific as I can get - I'm sure someone else will have the exect answers you need

That's because you're not supposed to zoom in all the way. Â You're supposed to bracket the target with the horizontal hash marks - line the top one up with the top of the target's head and line the bottom one up with his feet, move the crosshair to where you're aiming (head, for example), then lower your aim just a tad to account for the recoil. Â When I actually started using the ART the right way....the number of head shots I took went up dramatically Right way to range: Wrong way: I thought this was in the OFP instruction manual

Sounds like MFCTI, which you can find here.

Yep, from what I read in a quick search, it's an Mi-24 'Hind-E' fitted with a twin-barreled 23mm gun instead of a 12.7mm in the nose. Â I read something about "direct air support" or some similarly vague description of what the difference actually is. It also looks like an engine upgrade or refit on this model, possibly some fire-control or other avionics upgrades. *EDIT* This from globalsecurity.org: "Mi-24V (Hind-E) is another improved version, a development of Mi-24D. The major change consists in the upgraded and more efficient SHTURM - V missile system with 9M114 (AT-6 Spiral) radio-guided anti-tank missiles launched from two pairs of cylindrical pods mounted on wingtips. Also added were B-8V rocket pods for 20 80 mm S-8 rockets, UPK-23-250 pods with two-barrel Gsh-23L and 250 rounds, GUV9A universal pods which can carry a 30 mm 9-A-800 automatic grenade launcher, or one 12.7 mm 9-A-624 four-barrel machine gun and two four-barrel 7.62 mm 9-A-622 machine guns. It was equipped with TV3-117V engines with improved height characteristics and optional exhaust mixer boxes to cool exhaust gasses, and auxiliary fuel tanks with a capacity of 450 litres. "

Still no sign of them over there... I was thinking that some CoC guys in woodland camo would be great, and here they are - very nice

What's up with that? Well, it's sports we're talking about. It's not about the victory, but seeing your enemies driven before you and hearing lamentation of their women Heh, well put, but I think you dudes are taking your hockey a little too seriously And what I meant about the NHLers is that we can't see 'em play, but you will - I know your leagues are already awesome.

What's up with that? Anyway, you Swedes are lucky that some of our NHLers are coming over there....I forget which team he picked, but if there's a lockout Joe Thornton is heading over too - he's like one of 5 Bruins with talent this year, so a lockout might not be that bad. Â It would at least keep me from having to watch the B's wallow in their own managerial stupidity (Rolston, McGillis, Demore, Rolston, Knuble, O'Donnell and probably Murray...all gone to free agency)

Can't you see that Architect wants to show off his Euro Puma addon? It's very, BTW. Jarring? No. Nice touch? I think so. There would be little left for the player to do. Another option: skip any sort of bombardments and let the player work a little for a victory. 1. Â I never said do away with the chopper, I just said jumping out of it isn't really necessary IMO - but it is a nicely done bird. 2. Â My thinking was that gunships might have been more effective at supporting the pinned guys - as long as they stayed alive. Â Throw in some AA soldiers or a Shilka and they may not be much help at all. Â Even if you were to toss some of those things in to counter the Tornado, I find that high-flying jet addons are almost totally safe from MANPADS or AAA fire. Hell, gunship support may have given you MORE to do had you been ordered to find and destroy AA systems before they could arrive to help out...but I'm beating a dead horse here. Â If there aren't any good UK choppers out, then I wouldn't put them in if it was my mission either. That was my reasoning for suggesting it, that's all.

Keith Tkachuk.....4 goals.....booyah! I'm really surprised that Robert Eche is playing as well as he is between the pipes....he looked good last night.

Well, I didn't finish due to some college commitments (will soon) but here are a couple of points... I argee with Avon about the music....IMO some metal would be a better choice, but that's just me Other stuff.... - parachuting into the area doesn't really seem necessary as there's ample room (from what I saw anyway) to set the bird down. If you unass it on the ground you're also able to move out quicker as choppers have a nasty tendancy to scatter their jumpers. - I think that sniper was definitely intentional and I see why it was done, but frankly it wasn't as jarring an experience as it was intended. Oh well, there goes my incompetent AI commander...so much the better. - The enemies down by the end of the road to the northeast seemed to preoccupy my AT guys...they wasted their ammo on the long, ineffective shot rather than deal with the BMP2 that charged me next to the forest....and I don't like the fact that I have 2 AT rockets in this whole squad. Going into enemy territory that's supposedly rife with armor, heavy and light, would usually prompt me to take as many AT weapons as possible. But in any case, an assload of enemies seem to be on guard waypoints and run right for me after that sniper started shooting. - the idea of the airstrike is nice but since you can't see the Tornado, why bother with the addon? I agree that a generic script might be better/simpler. - some gunship support would be nice though...I don't know how you do things across the pond but if this was a US unit pinned down there would be Apaches overhead in no time to keep the Reds at bay until the rescuers could reach them....just a thought, maybe you'd swap the Tornado for choppers of some kind....dunno, starting to ramble here Will continue this later...got stuff to do at the moment.

Ugh....downloading from Freewebs is like running uphill through mud...but I'm sticking it out to test the mission. I'll make a full report later tonight

Okay, here's a pic of the AT4 comparison... Came with JAM2: One currently in EECP: Though the JAM folks toned down the killing power and slowed the projectile down in the top version. *waits anxiously for new version *

I wrote PSG90, which is the Swedish designation for the L96A1 (should have written L96A1 first  ) Just wanted to clarify that But anyways, thank you for your quick answers NAFP team I like that you put the cards out on the table Heh, thought maybe you were mixing up the PSG/MSG designation...MSG-90 is a slightly cheaper and more robust version of the PSG-1. Whatever *patienty waits for more news from the NAFP dudes....*