tj72

I played a bit yesterday after the patch came out and was able to review what I still dont like in the UI specifically: Selecting of group units when Im the leader: I dont like how the unit stays highlighted after I give the order, especially if I have two pages of units and I have to hit f12 all the time to check to see if the unit is still selected because the commands are the ones I intended. I would rather they automatically deselect after an order is given in the old fashion. Earlier games had a smoother operation here. Also the command menu stays in its position so I am constantly deselecting units and hitting backspace so I can get my quick commands back from the top level. Like - select units and tell them to watch direction. If Im not careful they get another watch direction command instead of a stay crouched. Im fighting the menu while I am in a firefight and its so easy to get killed while Im dealing with it. Kills like that are frustrating and if it is complained about in this forum the poster receives outright ridicule for not being leet enough from idiots! If I am in the squad leaders tactical view ( '.' yeah the one we shouldnt use pfffft!) and I switch to map mode I cant zoom the map with the mouse scroll because the commanding menu sticks in there and cycles through the menu instead of zooming the map. I have to close the map and hit backspace twice and then go back into the map. Its cumbersome, punishing and should be changed. If there are options that can change these parts of the game I was not aware of them. Other things: I still cannot find a tutorial on how to use the mortars and backpacks in the boot camp or any official (or even unofficial) sources. I can use mortars in a basic way but I just cant figure out how to pack them and move them and load them into vehicles and stuff like that which would be a cool feature to play with. Its as simple as adding a bootcamp mission for mortars and believe me I will check again. More bootcamp missions for things like mortars and backpacks should be added with major patches if not allready. I still cant get my units to reload easily even if there are ammo trucks and crates nearby. I have to manually move them to the right location and then use the action menu to tell them to rearm and then they finally take their mags. Medics still have to be commanded specifically to heal units and even themselves. Its sometimes useful to have such granular control but they should have a clear way to know when to automatically heal people and themselves! On a final note, why are there only 3 servers in my MP lobby in 1.60?

To get a plane to fly at a high altitude and simply drop a bomb, I needed to add heavy scripting methods to overcome whatever the default AI behaviour was doing to make it not work. I had to setpos and setdir the plane at height and use the fire command (dofire didnt work work well at all) and setvector the bomb towards the target on the way down. If the disableAI fsm for planes can prevent it it from dive bombing targets and crashing into the ground and or deviate from its intended flight path then all that scripting can be taken out and now the plane simply does what it is told by the scripter. Its really important that scripters are allowed to controll the AI when they want to and can enable or disable the default AI methods as needed. If I want a plane to just fly around an area and "do stuff" then the default behaviour is okay. If I want a plane to fly through a hail of AA fire and ignore all targets except for my specific ordered target then I need to turn those behaviours off so I can get the controll I need. Just adding my experience with scripting AI for what its worth.

If you search for "useweapon" this is the third result: http://forums.bistudio.com/showthread.php?t=124467&highlight=useWeapon

Obviously, something in the AI logic is deciding for you what should be fired upon and when. Im not sure why that would change when the player is commander but it obviously means the AI full crews will not dofire reliably unless the firing conditions are considered good enough by said AI logic. The AI wont reliably fire on what the mission designer wants them to unless the weapon is force aimed and force fired and that is why I use the fire and lookat commands because it pushes the AI to fire no matter what. Its nice when dofire works and I have made scripts that try it and if it fails then go to the next method. The lookat command is reliable but if the AI is distracted by nearby enemies it may start to aim off the desired target so the lookat command has to be entered again like in a simple loop.

The trigger will run the code but I would use a script and run it with a trigger. The lookat part should only be needed to aim the turret. If its stays aimed allready then you should not need it. The fire command works like this: unit fire weaponName e.g. Shilkaname fire "AZP85" - this might not be the right weapon so you will have to test this. If its right you should have complete controll of the Shilkaname gun. lookat works like this: unit lookat target/position target shilkagunner lookAt target1 this would work if your shilka gunner was named shilkagunner and your target unit would be named target1. If your crew is spawned in the tank you can run the gunner command to get the gunner unit instead of his name. shilkagunner = gunner shilkaname;shilkagunner lookat target1;shilkagunner fire "AZP85" I would put them in separate triggers just to test them and give the lookat part some time to aim the barrel. Then I would put the code into a script and execute it somehow like from a trigger or init.sqs.

Try using the lookat command combined with the fire command on the shilka gunner. You may not need lookat but I find it works reliably. The fire command should work on the turret very well unless recent patches have changed the behaviour.

I will test the latest beta sometime soon and post back....

You are right but its a "new" bug. In older version/games it would hold the position. It should get fixed but I dont know if it is in the Bug Tracker. Try dofire instead of or right after dotarget as I remember that seemed to keep the weapon aimed. Incidentally, dofire should work on certain target objects and enemy units that the AI internally decides it "wants" to shoot. If the target is too far (which seems to be over 50 meters or so) or the object being fired at is not the right type then the above manual method works as a workaround to the issue. Also the "fire" command (unless recently fixed in betas/patches) does not work for infantry as many allready know, the unit fires up in the air. If a vehicle is given the fire command it usually works as expected. The useweapon method described here is intended for infantry only to work around these issues. I have only used it for rifles and not handguns or launchers...

Useweapon works it just has to be used properly.... http://forums.bistudio.com/showthread.php?t=113243&highlight=useweapon It works everytime even if the weapon is on shoulder. The unit goes to pick up a weapon if useweapon command does not have a gamelogic to run the action on. You cant just tell it to get weapon 0 if that is not the current correct weapon. The code in the above link works no matter what the weapon is as long as its the current primary. I didnt test on handguns though.

Taking something away from people who are used to using it to make things easier in an editing forum is wrong. The ease of helping new users that is gained is FAR less than the loss to another user who either does not know .sqf and may not ever learn how to use it and is left on the sidelines. Im sorry but people who dont understand the concept of two different formats before writing some code and experts who are too lazy to clarify what format they are writing in is not good enough reason to remove something so useful. Whatever happened to live and let live? Programmer types dont have the right to dominate Arma series scripting, its just wrong no matter how mad some of you get about it. You are in the wrong on this. Maybe we need separate forums for the two formats so everyone can play nice. This bully attitude displayed here is unacceptable to me. Maybe BIS should delete sqs and sqf and move onto LUA? sgf is ugly crap and LUA is the future. All it will achieve is making scripting more exclusive to one type of person, one who is better at writing programs compared to someone who is more creative and wants to use the easier format to get something done. You guys are WAY out of line but thanks for being honest about your agenda.

So lame and boring...... Such a nice attitude and demeanor you have there ruebe. sqs gets shit on by the great experts who want to clean it out from the series future in the name of being a jerk....

Not everyone is a programmer......

The main reason its easier is because you dont get hassled by the experts who rip on sqs even though most things could be done in either. Not everyone is a programmer. Programmers arent necessarily the best script designers.

dotarget was messed up the last time I tested it. its like it aims but then does not stay aimed. I havent tested the aimedattarget command but it should be possible to give the dotarget and use the aimedattarget value to determine how well the weapon is aimed at the target. At the instant it is aimed perfectly a disableAI "Anim" command can be given and the weapon should hold in place as the unit has no ability to do any animations at all. It will take playmove and switchmove animations (at least the last time I checked) so the unit could be told to move forward or back and should hold the weapon in place. Then enableAI "anim" will put it back to normal. Its probably a little too complex for your idea OP but I thought it was useful information anyway.

Yeah its all MAPFACT grass objects I was using.....

Ive tried alot of different techniques and it seems almost impossible to get crisp LOS checking no matter what I try. It would be best if BIS just made a simple command as the game has it as the AI dont shoot untill they have LOS to a target. I am trying to get more info on the intersect command. It is also possible to use a laser designater by pointing it at a target area and simply checking if the LD object is at the target position. The logic is clean but its a cumbersome proof of concept at best and I cant see it being used practically. Someone has to make a special LOS addon that gives us a function or special unit (like an invisible silent weapon that fires at a target and checks if the projectile made it). It would be a great help.

Sorry for the bump but I still dont get it and I think there are those out there who do and have not shared the information anywhere. Any concrete working examples? Pretty please?!

I cannot figure this command out. The example given is confusing at best and here is why: From ofpec.com: Description: Find named selection in object which is in specified lod intersected by given section of a line. Used In: ArmA Example: [tank, "VIEW"] intersect [[1500, 1500, 2], [1550, 1500, 2]] The description is vague and confusing at best. First how are selections defined? Are they vertices in the LOD's are they entities? EDIT:Ok, the coordinates are different now. Who changed that?! ha ha But still I cannot get the command to return anything by trying to set up my own example. This seems like a good command to attempt a more crisp and high demand LOS checking system which we do not have in this game series since the beginning. We have needed a simple LOS check function for years and if intersect command is the way to do it, then it needs to be better explained, presented and exampled for the community. Does anyone have a working example of intersect command that returns anything but an empty array? Thanks in advance for your help.

I thought all the grass/bush/tree objects are "grab-able" from nearestobjects or nearobjects command? I remember using a trigger with the command and hint format and was able to get the cfg names from it. Tedious but it should work. Am I wrong that trees are not in the nearobjects return code?

The virus problem in web searches seems to be worse than ever on my end. Ive had to clean malware out of my systems a couple times now. So far I havent had to rebuild from scratch, yet. One was my home PC and the other was my work laptop. I used to only use Malwarebytes as it would get everything and its still a good product (free or pay). I had to use another program called Hitman Pro and it got what Malware bytes missed. I havent been using AV but Im going to add it and use Symantec AV with Malware Bytes and Hitman Pro (have to buy it after 28 days but it seems worth it). Im thinking of getting a new browser as the older firefox versions seem vulnerable more than ever. Im also thinking of buying Macrium reflect to back up an image of my configured system. I have used Macrium reflect on professional jobs and it works well for me. Acronis DriveSpy is another product that is supposed to be good for image stuff. When cleaning the inside of the PC its not a bad idea to re seat things if you know what your doing. I always press the power button twice on a benched system before re seating things because I have noticed that there is often latent power in the mother on alot of different machines and pulling things off a mobo that has juice in it can be very very VERY BAD! Just watch the fan if you turn off the computer and unplug it and if there is latent power in the board it will spin for a second when you press the button. Newer boards and PS probably not so much of an issue..... I often find fans failing to be the most common problem when checking the ol' box and they are usually cheap and easy to replace. Keep it cool and dust free and your system will have maximum life span.....

Couldnt a setvelocity script take care of the problem?

I agree with Celery that PvP like DM/CTF is a great way to get good at shooting and movement. You cant help but learn how to lean from cover and move appropriately because if you dont you keep getting killed from nowhere and will either quickly learn or ragequit. I find the use of stealth and concealment is essential. I have played against much better players and managed to score kills on them by "tip toeing" which is essentially tapping forward so that you do not make any footfall sounds and hiding in bushes to catch a player go past you. If you can at least see where your opponent is killing you from you are doing better because your senses about checking your surroundings is improving. If you start getting shots off before you get killed then that is another step forward. Finally you will get someone before they get you in a firefight because all the fighting has conditioned your fingers to fly over the keyboard. I almost laugh when I think about the keypresses I do in pvp its crazy where other games you stick to the old wasd and mousewheel click. In Arma you have the prone/stance/lean and double commands to manage. Playing pvp cqb will improve a players key management and controll no doubt about it. Once you start sighting and scoping people in on their flank you have arrived because you are sneaky enough to get to a good position and you can shoot at your opponent before they even have a chance. Most of the fights in Arma are over before they start because one opponent has out thought another and arrived at the flanking position first. I love the ACOG in pvp btw because its the best scope for me and its not bad in close but I havent tested CQB sights in a while. Alot of people like the DMR and I can hear them spam firing. G36 has allways been popular but I left it once I found the gorgueous ACOG and felt like it had a little more style then the G36. I havent PvP'd in a long time and its allways fun, great warmup and deserves a place in public MP. I would be really happy if there was just some 24/7 PvP action online its a real big loss for the community. It seems weekends and certain weeknights or team affiliation is the best way to get consistent action. P.S. If you are playing any mode and incoming bullets hit cover near to you then you are playing well because you used cover and survived the ambush (AI will shoot the laces off your shoes if thats all they see though) If you actually get a chance to reload in DM/CTF you are doing well because you are surviving longer and directing fire towards the opponent.

cant you check for that special "pre loaded kill "case in the first part of the script? If the init fields fails to run as you say cant you check for that somehow? Is there no way to protect these entities in the short time before loading by using hideobject true? You cant immediately run a script on a loading unit, I got that. But you should be able to check for all these special cases somehow in the first part of the script and then redo what needs to be done....

If you dont want to use any addons or scripts then the best you can do is test out all the settings in the editor with different waypoints and skill settings. Its tedious but you might find a combination of settings that works well for what you want. It used to be the case that the Guard waypoint was a good technique to get quick and easy random AI encounters. If alot of AI are in mission it can affect the performance of their thinking as there are more of them to calculate for and I have seen the effects of that drain. I would just set their AI to max skill and give them a ring of different waypoints with a cycle at the end. It may be undesirable to set up some scripts or addons to enhance the ai but the reality is you are usually just including something in your mission that does a ton of work for you. Some mods and scripts can be a bit complex to set up I admit, but many are made to be very user friendly and implementing them is often alot less work than testing out the in editor features. All the ai mods I know come with example missions that show the features and are usually easy to combine with other editor missions.

The best solution would be to have any unit able to ID a satchel or mine unless they are hidden somehow. Then only special EOD units are likely to find them. Only Special EOD units should be able to deactivate mines, maybe satchels deactivated can be for everyone as if there is a simple off switch. But mines and IED's require special skills. If non skilled units try it there could be a roll the dice to give them a chance of explosion. Then the EOD should get the deactivate abilities only when he is at the site. To get an ai unit or group to do this dynamically would require complex scripting. Not impossible, just not easy, but possible. The player can direct the AI more easily than having the AI direct themselves into random areas that may have explosives. Im thinking other AI groups can run scripts with nearobjects command and can activate the AI scripts if they detect explosive objects in their nearobjects array. _list = position unit1 nearObjects 10 You could run this every few seconds like a radar pulse. Then if any of these strings are IN the _list.... ;Put this in an init script or onactivation of an object.... Bombs = ["PipeBomb","TimeBomb","Mine","MineE"] Sorry if thats not all the bombs its just a quick list. You will have to check each item that is in the _list array and find out if it is IN a certain array. _counter = 0 _item = _list select _counter _typeofitem = typeof _item ? _item in Bombs:hint format ["There is a %1 here!",)_typeofitem] Simple example and you have to iterate through the array by incrementing counter + 1 with a loop. I personally would like a whole group that dispatches to an area and can scan autonomously for explosives or follow directions to deactivate specific artifacts. For this example and just to get going I would just make a group and in the leader init put: eodteam = group this Then in the first script you could get started by putting some code in the condition right after the hint.... ? _item in Bombs:hint format ["There is a %1 here!",)_typeofitem] ? _item in Bombs:[getpos _item,eodteam] exec "Dispatch_EOD.sqs" In that script you will have the position of the bomb and the team to tell to come and deactivate it. You could use addwaypoint to get the whole team to move there or domove command for an individual unit of the group to go there. You can use the deactivate actions once they get there. You can give them playmove command to play animations to better simulate the work they are doing. You can make a loop to check the distance and health of the team on its way, exit out if they got killed in transit. It would also be nice to have a specialist in group for convenience. A seperate set of scripts can be used for this with much of the code from the group scripts copied in....