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smiley nick

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Posts posted by smiley nick


  1. main.png

     

    Main Language: English

    Timezone: UK/EU

    Game Times: Weekly every Saturday at 8 pm UK time

     

     

    Who are we?
    We’re a small and mature chill-to-mil-sim unit of like-minded players (and friends) who enjoy escaping reality once a week for a virtual get together in arma.

     

    How serious are you?
    We’re all here to have fun, but we do try and bridge that gap between casual and authentic. We do like to come up with a plan, execute on that plan and work together (no lone wolves). That is the reward we are all after, that feeling of working together – against the odds. You can expect plenty of goofs and bants during the mission, but we ask that you switch on when needed, and help keep the game elevated for the entire team.


    What sort of missions do you play?

    A lot of us grew up on OFP, so we like to go back to those days and play with gear/equipment of the 1980s. We run hand-crafted missions/ops that combine assault and recon elements,. We use the ALiVE framework which creates a persistent and ongoing campaign, with a lived-in world feeling to it. As we run with small numbers, we don’t use helicopters or tanks and are much more inclined to use motorised options and crew-served weapons. We tend to operate out of a single FOB and is framed as special forces/best tool for the job (as we don't have time for ranks, roles, faff). 
     

    How often do you play?

    We run our official coop game every Saturday at 8 pm BST/UK. As we’re all grown men with plenty of real-life commitments and responsibilities, our weekly get together is something we all look forward to. If you're looking for games every night, we're not for you. 
     

    Do I need to use my voice?

    Yes, this is a prerequisite. If you’re unable to speak, then there are other units/game modes out there for that. Sorry.

     

    What MODS do you use?

    We run a hand-picked selection of tested mods, that help to improve or expand on the player experience. We do our best to keep the mods purposeful and are very aware of download limits/HDD space. We are using the CSLA DLC as our base asset pack, which can be gifted to new members if they show commitment and are not going to fleece us.

    How can I join?
    There's no application process or any BS like that. Just rock up on our Discord and have a game with us. If you like it, then great, if not, then no problem. https://discord.gg/gxsu2Hj4MN

    Few pics of a recent game last week
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    • Squad name:  [23rd] 
    • Timezone/location : Europe/UK
    • Gamemode preference (eg coop or pvp): COOP
    • Contact email: nick.david.gregory@gmail.com
    • Website address: none
    • Short description:
    • We're a small team of 5-6 who go way back to OFP days. We play casually at least once or twice a week, using practical tactics combined with a semi-serious approach. We're not interested in military formalities, just some maturity and willingness to go along with some tactical suggestions (in game) is all that's required. We play COOP, mostly spec-ops and patrol based missions, with maximum aggression and equipment to make up for our small team size. It's good fun, with games normally lasting 1-2 hours with plenty of firefights. We have a small mod list that captures both cold war, middle east and modern east v west theaters of war, along with a few immersion-based mods to help create a slightly more cinematic feel. 
    • Language: English.

  2. Firstly, thank you so much for putting all this time in. I feel bad there has not been much of a response. I've played this a lot that I'd like to start running it on a server with a few of my friends. Do you have any plans to move your assets over to a steam workshop, as it just helps manage the file version and means everyone can get the mods without too much trouble via the launcher - it also means randoms can join and get to experience this awesome mission.


  3. Hi everyone,

     

    I've messed about with a few scripts/addons in my time, but never got the hang of scripting from scratch. I am wondering if anyone smart enough on here has the knowledge to either point me in the right direction, or maybe (if it's easy enough) give me a little code snippet of how I might go about creating this. 

    In short, I am looking to make a script that is MP friendly which allows the deployment and pack up of a camp site (few sleeping bags, fire, small tents). Ideally this will be an 'add action' option assigned to an actual object that can be carried by one player, or stored in a vehicle. Once placed, the campsite has the ability to 'skip time' for all players in the coop mission and maybe serve as a respawn point if we wanted to run patrols off the location with a little map marker. 

    My intentions for this is to create a sense of day/night progression and build immersion in the mission. For example, we patrol to location, setup camp and wait for day break to attack. It would be cool to have this little extra immersion builder for missions that may run over a few simulated days.

    Thanks everyone!

    Nick.

    • Thanks 1

  4. For me this is one of the very few islands being on par with Alltis and Tanoa, providing a unique setting and makes you feel like visiting the real thing :)

     

    Blimey, I've still got much to learn but I do try and strive for quality when I have the time! - thank you :) :)

     

    Your island is probably the only terrain I've never actually had a fight in. Every time I've played on it I've set it to cloudy/rainy and just walked around while listening to music feeling like I'm back in the UK. Kind of reminds me of the game Dear Esther.

     

    One of my favourite terrains, keep it up.

     

    Haha, I do honestly hope people will actually fight on it, as its always been my biggest worry - it being too civilian and nice? Totally understand why you would want to treat it as a virtual holiday destination, I also like walking around and exploring too. Never heard of the game, but looks really good! Thank you for the kind words :)

     

    Holy Molly! That's really impressive. And I thought it couldn't get better...  :wub:

     

    Blushes 

     

    That looks really nice man, keep up the great work.

     

    Cheers man.

     

    Looking great Nick! Keep up the good work

     

    Thank you :)

    • Like 2

  5. Hi everyone,

    Thank you for your continued support. I took some advice and had a small break, but the recent updates (Mainly Apex and the lighting) made me start again. I don't have a lot to show, but have decided to change my work flow a bit and only focus on one manageable area at a time - as there is no sense of progress other wise. I have looked into the new lighting update and it really has changed the feel of the game so much more, and I hope the images below still translate that "British" feel to it.

    I'll am working on a release soon, I have made some good progress over the weekend and i'm basically tidying up St.Agnes, along with two AOs (Airport and a fortification to the east of St.Mary's) I am hoping that this might be enough for some missions to be made, while I gain feedback from you lovely people.

    The screenshots are of "The Garasion", which populates the far western side of St.Mary's island. You can read a little history of this historic area with the link below. As always, been working on new textures and refining that clutter, and its nice to see that my approach isn't too far off BIS - having looked at the Jungle. It's basically all clutter (with large ferns to block views) so its super preferment - that's what I think anyway!

    June_1_low.jpg

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    @MIkemhz

    I found that weirdly fascinating, thank you for sharing :D I will be continuing on with my mixed approach, but there are some interesting assets in the Apex expansion that I may pull over. I hope you are enjoying Colombia!!


    Thanks everyone :)

     

     

    Just thought this might be a nice pic.

     

    http://www.digitalterrains.com/Dev/beachy.png 

    • Like 10

  6. Hi everyone,

    For those still interested, I'm still here!

    I've got a bit of a writers block and am seeking your input in what best to do. I don't want to be melodramatic, but taking on such a large solo project can at times be discouraging - given that there's so much to do. Recently I've felt like I've been making very little progress, and I'd be keen to hear if you'd like me to release the terrain in its current state..

    The advantage is that I might be able to get energised again -hearing all your feedback & suggestions, or even areas you think I should focus on. The downside is that I've spent over one year on this and I don't think it's representive of that- meaning you all might be very disappointed and underwhelmed....

    Thanks for everyone's supportive and constructive comments so far, I really would have stopped a long time ago if you all weren't so supportive!

    Cheers,

    Nick.

    • Like 1

  7. Hi all,

    Its been a while since my last update. Truth be told, I've been slammed at work but time is opening up again - what with Christmas round the corner. I'm hoping to get some time out and work on the terrain further, but I do have a few images to keep you all interested!

     

    St.Mary

    So the mammoth challenge of creating UK houses, objects has started and I've put together a little scene that will depict whats to come. Naturally, making custom models and working on the terrain takes a huge amount of time and its going to be a while before I have everything populated as how I want it. 

     

    You can find below a few assets that have enough progress to show in game, although lots of things are missing (mainly LODs, normal maps).

    Cottages

     

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    cottages2.jpg

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    St.Mary's Church (taken in Unity)

     

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    Old Windmill

     

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    Docks

     

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    bushestest.jpg

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    Tresco

     

    I just spent today messing around with making some dunes/sand parts. Still work to do, but so far so good I think!

     

    beacharea.jpg

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    As you can see, some things are in better state than others. Thank you for everyone's support and keeping me motivated.

     

    The islands were in the news a few weeks ago, as a part of the Falcon Rocket from Space X washed up to shore! More details below.

     

    http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-34941386 

     

    • Like 9

  8. Thank you for your kind words everyone. Progress has been slow this month but I do have two extra buildings finished and I am currently experimenting with hedges.

    A proper update will come shortly.

     

     

    Will there be an small airfield or landingstrip on the island?

     

    You betcha! There is a large'ish airport on St.Mary's and a small heliport on the island of Tresco. St.Mary is pretty small, so I may need to look at extending it to fit a larger aircraft range in the game, and Tresco will only serve small aircraft/choppers.


  9. Hi all,

     

    I had a fairly productive weekend. Still a LOT to do, but success is being made small steps at a time.

     

    I spent this weekend bringing in the terminal and worked on locking down a base layer of clutter/general look & feel of the airport area. The general surfaces are a mixture of cut grass and wild grass/heather near the coast line. It's not perfect but it does I feel give a good mix of rugged/civilized area. I will revisit this again, adding further objects detail and I'll most likely tweak the clutter more.

     

    As part of this process, I am also removing artifacts from the satellite image (such as buildings, cars from road etc. ) The whole workflow of removing, these details, painting the surface masks, defining clutter characters, adding objects and testing/packing (repeat 100 times) is a slow process. If you are at all interested, you can view a cut away image of the airport mask - giving you a glimpse of  what's involved. I actually hand paint everything  - one pixel at a time! There are quicker ways to do this (magic want tool, mass painting), but I really want to capture the detail as much as possible.

     

    In addition to that, I have also been experimenting with surface types, as my terrain is divided up into 512x512 image tiles. With some careful management and a good Photoshop template, I am able to have up to 6 unique textures/clutter variations on each 512x512 tile - meaning more diversity and detail!

     

    The terminal is now in, but its far from finished, I still need to work on the glass (as I'm sure you can see) and add in the additional UV's/RVMAT and damage/animations.

     

    Anyway, on to some still very early WIP images. 

     

    Grass

    Grass_low.jpg

     

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    End of Airport

    airportEnd_low.jpg

     

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    Cliff Edges

    Rough_low.jpg

     

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    Terminal

    Terminal_low.jpg

     

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    • Like 3

  10. Looks Great ! I will work as soon as possible, on a new Island in France in Brittany, i hope it will looks as good as yours !

    With your 2 meters cell, Don't you have massive drop of FPS , when you are in vehicles, due to the PIP ( video settings) ???

    I had to back to 5 cell/meter or higher, to avoid such effect ( or deactivate PIP)

    Good luck to finish your work !

    Xnam

    Sorry for the delay in getting back. I've recently come back from Holiday (in Cornwall!) and have been doing a lot of behind the scenes development. I would love to see your island and best of luck with it! I had issues with 1m and 2m cell and reverted to 3m - as it offered a good blend of defilade and performance (although I believe the recommend value is 3-5m). I have not come into any issues with PIP, but I will check again!

    I've been working with a friend and custom building development is now underway! The houses you saw in the St.Agnes terrain will be improved (as they were very basic proxy models) and I'm now moving onto hero assets and houses with accompanying interiors. I'm not sure how long its going to take, as I still have to continue with the rest of the surface painting, clutter and overall terrain development, but its coming along.

    St.Mary's Airport Terminal

    Real life version

    So here is a taster of whats to come. Its a copy of the newly created terminal and offers players the chance to enter and explore the terminal and ATC tower. It will have an in-game map on the wall, highlighting interesting locations/Easter eggs once I have finished everything.

    terminal1_low.jpg

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    I'll post an update once I have finished the Airport area.

    Cheers!

    • Like 3

  11. Hi all,

    A few new screenshots and a video of me spending some R&D time in the woods. I wanted to try and get something detailed without compromising performance or AI. I'm running vanilla A3 with no mods and happy with the results so far. I am still planning on adding a few small extra clutter objects - such a flowers and more rocks.

    These area is called "Abbey Woods" and backs onto a large estate with gardens and a large mansion house. There is also two lakes that surround the woods - which i will be tackling next.

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    Game-play video in forest - bloody hard to spot the AI.

    During testing, I found a hilarious image after one of the AI got killed and slipped through a gap!

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    • Like 1
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