Uziyahu--IDF

Ballistic Addon Studio Team Page... http://www.idfsquad.com/images/cassandraintro.jpg When did she arrive "on the scene"? http://www.idfsquad.com/images/cassandra.jpg http://www.idfsquad.com/images/cassandra2.jpg Here's when I remember Cassandra arriving on the scene... (Notice that this is before she made her well-received Female Soldier addon.) http://www.idfsquad.com/images/cassandra3.jpg Sorry, but I think this is a grand example of BAS's mutual reach-around arrangement. If you're not the one of "The Veterans" (comprising members like Vikingo, Adammo, and AndOne) or one of the developers then you weren't on the scene "from the beginning".  "The Veterans" pre-dates DnA and Sith. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ What follows is a group interview with members of "The Veterans", a self-named collection of the earliest English-speaking fans of "Operation Flashpoint". (The English "Cold War" site run by AndOne was the place where B.I. used to come to talk to its fans and look for feedback on their work, this before the 1st public demo was released and operation-flashpoint.net came along.) 1) What were your thoughts when you first read about "Flashpoint", when it was being developed? James McKenzie-Smith: A mixture of thoughts. I was pleased about the chance to control a lot of different modern kit, but I was less pleased about the original post-WW3 setting. Thankfully, that was changed. Robert "Acutus" Freudenreich: Oh well, my first thoughts were not so enthusiastic. I simply thought to myself "Well, sounds like a good game". But when I started visiting ColdWar and when I got more and more information about Flashpoint 1985 (OFP's old name), my first thoughts turned over to "OMFG, this is the game I was waiting for the last years!" Ojokoltsa: That's the game I ever wanted. And: unbelievable that such a game could one day exist! Fernando "Vikingo" Santamaría: I remember that was in mid 1999 when I first knew about "Flash Point". Yes, in those days  the game was called like that and the planned publisher company in those days was another ( http://web.archive.org/web/19990422063151/http://poseidon.jrc.cz/ ). I read information about the game in the now closed tacticalplanet.com site (great page that always post news about this and other war games in those days). I  found the link to the first official page (Poseidon) [also released to the public], there I downloaded screen shoots and the first ever released video trailer from 1998 called "big trailer". I was totally shocked and amazed when I saw it for first time and luckily windows media player don't suffer erosion because that first trailer was played hundreds of times here making me want more and more this dreamed game. Armourdave: Excited! This was the game of my dreams. Couldn't wait to get my hands on it. "Captain" Adam "Adammo" Moore: When I first read about OFP, it was being published by a different company than Codemasters. Fortunately, the publisher went under, which gave Bi Studios more time to perfect an awesome game. Uziyahu: I was impressed by the few screenshots that were available in those first few months of becoming a fan. I was also following the development of other super-shooters, like "Private Wars" (which was abandoned) and later, "Team Factor" (now released). The photo-realistic textures in the screenshots of Flashpoint were transporting me to unknown places after I closed my eyes at night. I had waited for over a decade for a tactical first-person shooter that integrated the use of vehicles as completely as Flashpoint promised it would. When I was in the service and playing "Airborne Ranger", "Gunship", "F-19 Stealth Fighter", and "F-16 Falcon" in the warm barracks night after night, I asked myself why it would be difficult for Microprose to make a 3-D infantry simulator. I drew up the idea and sent it off to Microprose around 1988, waiving any rights to the idea. (I just wanted to play the thing!)  They responded with a letter stating that the idea had been forwarded to their R&D department. Someone named "Yoshi" apparently had the copyright until about 1992, when computer technology reached the level that Electronic Arts needed to make "SEAL Team" ( http://www.fatman.com/midi/sealthme.mid ). A helicopter crewchief buddy of mine, upon seeing the release, recognized it as having elements of my proposal. Also "coincidental" was the picture of the decorated SEAL in Vietnam, "Thornton", plastered on the box. The reason that I bring this up (other than to pathetically try to make myself look good) is that EA’s "SEAL Team" had vehicle integration, though you couldn’t actually pilot the vehicles, only being able to direct them by marking the area on the map. Not only that, but it also had dynamically structurable fire-teams, as with "Operation Flashpoint". "SEAL Team" was the first squad-based tactical shooter ( http://www.helixe.com/team.html ) that I ever encountered, though it failed to popularize the genre the way that "Rainbow Six" did. A DOS-based game, I can no longer run this great title, even though I never finished the campaign of historical SEAL missions (I rarely finish a campaign in any PC game). "Flashpoint" promised to return to these hallowed features, discarding the simplicity of shooters like "Castle Wolfenstein 3-D" and "DOOM!", which turned people on to first-person shooters, in the first place. 2) In your opinion, how open was Bohemia Interactive to input and feedback during those beginning days at the http://www.coldwarflashpoint.com/ forum (now closed down)? Can you cite some examples? JM-S: They were fantastic. I got into a discussion with one of the dev team about communications, and he even emailed me privately for my input. Another time, on the private board of ColdWar, we had a good long chat about AI soldier logic vs. real life troops in static positions. They were good listeners, for sure. Acutus: Ah, that's a quite difficult question, because it's a long time ago. As far as I can remember, Bohemia Interactive was very open to input and feedback from the (small) community.... but hmm... examples... I think my small brain has deleted this data.  Ojokoltsa: Very open. Besides of Mr. Maddox from Maddox Games (actual title: IL-2 Sturmovik) I've never seen a game developer that was this open toward the community. For example, they asked the user for opinions or when they simply needed help. Vikingo: So nice! I remember so many replies from them to our posts at the ColdWar forums. When we placed an idea or asked for something a reply was always there and that really felt so good. On that times even a single new screen shoot was a treasure for us, so you know how good it was that BIS people would enter the forums and share things with the suffering waiting fans. Armourdave: Pretty good, better than most developers, they seemed to spend quite a bit of time checking the ColdWar forums. They still seem to be actively including themselves in the community. Adammo: Bi Studios understood that they were making a game for fans and friends of wargames and it was them that would be paying the money for the product. So Bi Studios tried to incorporate their comments when they could. Uziyahu: I really got the feeling that "Flashpoint" was a team effort by B.I., and we were considered part of the team. And-One, Adammo, and I were given the privilege of providing input on the dialogue in the single-player demo. (There may have been others of which  was unaware.)  Except for only one flub, the dialogue turned out perfectly, in my opinion. Later I was promoted to beta-tester, though I don’t remember now how that came about. It was refreshing to meet developers who mingled with their hopeful fans. In the later stages of development, I think that the input of real-life U.S. Army veterans possessing respect for the project could have been paid better attention to.  They seemed to have gotten sick of our feedback, as SGT-T will attest.  But all-in-all, they're the best. 3) What experience did you have at that time that might have made your input valuable to the developers? JM-S: I was an Army man, including such experience as being a demolitions instructor, and I'm pretty interested in tactics. I have also been an amateur board wargame designer for over two decades, so I knew a lot about the eternal struggle between realism and replayability. Ojokoltsa: Several years of gaming experience and I knew a good bunch of tactical shooters by that time already. Since they wanted to make a tactical shooter that stands out from the others, that could've been helpful. Vikingo: They made my dreamed game for sure. I play games since "Airborne Ranger" ( http://www.angusm.demon.co.uk/AGDB/DBA1/AirRang.html ) in Commodore 64, "Special Forces" in Commodore Amiga, and I remember with affection "SEAL Team" on PC 486. But finally, after many years trying computer games and waiting for THE game, a developer had the guts to make something like "Operation Flashpoint", something that would have all the things I and many wanted for a war game. I enjoy even today old games because they have soul that many actual games don't have (many fancy graphics but they are empty and you lost interest in some days), but OF have all, the soul and the good quality. Really don't know if I was valuable, but I post many times at forums and I hope that something that I wrote then was useful for the cause. Armourdave: Many years of gaming, most of which were simulation gaming. Adammo: Input, I have always wanted a game like OFP but other developers always fell WAY short of ever making such a game. Who wants to just fly an airplane or just drive a car? I think it’s a perfect mix of many aspects of games. I think of it as a game with many games in it. Uziyahu: I served in the United States Army during the height of nuclear arms escalation and the tail end of the Cold War, from late 1986 to late 1989. I did Basic Training at Fort Jackson, South Carolina (a post seen in the movie "Renaissance Man") and participated in joint Army-Air Force wargames using M.I.L.E.S. gear (see "Heartbreak Ridge") at Fort Chaffee, Arkansas (seen in the movie "Biloxi Blues"). Though I was an "elite" paper-pusher because I am color-blind, I was honored to be stationed at Fort Wainwright, Alaska in an Air Cavalry Squadron. Cobras, Hueys, and Kiowas greeted me every morning. From what I remembered, we were respectfully fearful of the Soviet military. Boy was I glad when we saw the phasing out of the M16A1 and the phasing in of the M16A2! The Soviet Spetznaz were deadly Gremlins and the Hind helicopter was an ancient flapping red dragon. Fighting in chemically contaminated or irradiated battlefields was something we expected, but not one of the real-life, large-scale wargames I had participated in provided the sort of "Bear Vs. Eagle" warfare simulation that Flashpoint was promising. I had played numerous tactical first-person shooter and aviation sims before, but OFP was obviously the Holy Grail.  I tried to share what I remembered of the Ronnie Ray-gun United States Army with those great Czechs in Prague.  My concern was to get more realism into the game. 4) Were there any game features that you felt were a must and did they ever make it into the game? JM-S: Well, as far as I was concerned, nothing was a 'MUST', beyond what was specified by the original game concept.  I am, however, glad that crouching and walking made it in! Acutus: The best game features of OFP are IMHO the big islands and the possibility to use tanks, jeeps, helicopters, etc.... and, as you all know, they are in! Ojokoltsa: Realism was important for me and realism up to some point made it into the game. However, more essential is the "mood" a game might create, and that's where OFP wins big time. There is no second shooter that "feels" like OFP! Vikingo: Many! For example the option to arrive to the battlefield inside a helicopter or other ways of insertions, they are all inside the game! The chance to use any vehicle you want and more with several positions to do it (with the chance to drive/command with your head out) and have a great interface for give orders, all in the game. The detailed models, for example the tanks with different cockpits. At the beginning I thought there was just the same cockpit for all tanks, but I was wrong. Other important thing that I expect was a good A.I. and I get a super A.I. instead! A nice environment was also something to wait for and I think all look so sweet with those red skies and the colors used in terrain are the right ones. Some reviews talk about a "washed palette", but I think they are the right ones.  Just watch a movie like "Behind Enemy Lines" and you have the colors used and you can see the OF environment, but this time taken with a movie camera. ;) (I didn't like very much the movie, but what a chance to see a real BMP in action! hehe) Armourdave: The Jeep w/ M2 machine gun was something that I felt OFP lacked, was great to see it included. Also, I felt vehicles such as the BTR70 and light artillery such as mortars were lacking and still are.  [bTR80 is now in development.  --Uzi] Adammo: Most of the items that I wished had made it into the game were model specific. Example: retractable landing gear or helicopters or water planes. I wish that they had incorporated all features of each vehicle class into each other. Uziyahu: Yes, I just HAD to have a side doorgun on the UH-60 Blackhawk. I biatched and whined and biatched and whined to B.I. I’m so glad it made it in, anyway! 5) How painful was the wait for the first demo and what did you do to cope with the anxiety? JM-S: The wait wasn't too bad, as I was part of the Beta team. In fact, I had pretty well had my fill of OFP for a while by the time the demo came out! Acutus: As always, if you wait several months or even years for a special game, the wait for the first demo is extremely painful, but I chatted with some guys of BI, posted in the forums and worked on Operation-Flashpoint.de, so day after day went by and then it was demo time! Ojokoltsa: I can wait for a year (which I did), if only the game is as good as it took time to complete it. I played a couple of other games during that time, which I do normally, 'cause there never is just one good game on the market. Vikingo: Ohh! The pain was BIG. Me trying to kill anxiety with the videos from the game, the screens and of course talking with the other suffering waiting fans was one of the nicer things I remember. The problem was that as soon as a new video appears the anxiety always goes up because you see a new feature or unit inside. So instead of a painkiller you suffer more. (mmm thinking now, maybe the "units of the week" was an evil plan. hehe I remember me reloading the official page so many times until a new unit appears each week and also I remember when we have to "hack" the site to get a classified video that was hidden inside. ooh! Those things from BIS to us were great!) And let me tell you about the night dreams! Yes, I had plenty of them. I think that is a normal thing after you look at a new video more than 25 times, look at the screen shoots for a last time in the day (with zoom 4:1 so you don't lose detail), then read the last reply at the forums and go to sleep. haha I can tell you, they were great with all those big 3D battles inside my head. The bad thing was when I wake up and the CD-ROM drive was still empty... Some delays happened and there were even times when I fear to die before the game release and can't see it finally here. No joke, here! I remembered to drive more slowly on the final waiting days and double-check when crossing streets. haha And I remember other people that did the same... ;) Yes, my mental health is a little wounded, but I feel proud for living through and surviving those unforgettable moments! Armourdave: Incredibly painful! There seemed to be a new rumour about the demo release everyday. Added to that, when the demo was finally released the wait while it downloaded was awful, especially as everyone else seemed to have downloaded it in minutes. Adammo: Pain, oh the Pain! Uziyahu: It was pretty bad, but when I saw fans get disgusted and leave because of demo release dates that fell through (sort of), I knew that I had the strength to hang. Like Vikingo, I did fear dying in a car accident before I could try doorgunning while riding in a Blackhawk flying nap-o’-the-earth. 6) What was your favorite unit video? JM-S: The Hinds. (5.9 megs) Man, that seems an age ago now. Acutus: My favorite was the PV3S (5.5 megs) unit video, because of the exploding tank in the background. Ojokoltsa: I was most impressed by Bohemia’s first trailer (21 megs) of OFP.  My favorite unit video, however, was the sniper video. Vikingo: Hard one! Talking about "Units of the Week". I think the UH60 BlackHawk (6.6 megs) was the one. Why? Because in just 29 secs it shows in a great way the unit and all the details. Outside with great rotating camera effect and nice environment sounds, then inside the cockpit and then the back part full of soldiers ready for battle, many of us dreamed of riding back there and even using a door machine gun. Have in mind that at the time that was the first time we saw things like that inside a computer game, so it really amazed me. And for the trailer videos I like very much a 1999 one called "invex trailer". (29 megs) There I saw for the first time the thing I like to call the "binoculars effect" inside the game. You know, when you move the mouse while using the binoculars (or sniper rifles) and you can feel that more smooth and detailed movement effect. mmm I'm the only one that feels this? Love that feature in-game, so real! Uziyahu: I think it had to be the UH60 Blackhawk video. Looking out the open side door and seeing the tops of the trees was just like the real thing. I think that it was when I saw that particular video that I really started crusading for a side doorgun. ( http://www.idfsquad.com/sounds/getsome2.wav )  In relation to that, the M60 video (7.9 megs) was delightfully morbid. Armourdave: Strangely enough, the one that sticks in my mind is one of the 5-ton truck. (5.9 megs) Adammo: I think the tanks. (7 megs) These massive M1 tanks (5.9 megs) roaring down the road. It was also pretty sweet to see the Sniper video, with the victim taking a shot in the head and (slow motions) turning and falling to the ground. 7) What was your impression of "Operation Flashpoint" the first time you played any version of it? (What version was it, including demos?) JM-S: The first version was an early Beta of the demo, and I was impressed by the scope of the terrain. Nothing had ever come close to it at that point (some would say NL's DF series would, but let's face it, their terrain was tiled and had NO forests). Acutus: My first impression was WWWOOHHHOWW! WHAT A GAME!".  I'm not sure if it was the demo or the 1st press preview, but I think it was the press preview. Ojokoltsa: When I first played OFP, I really loved it. Though, I don't know which version that was, because I played it at Bohemia's office when I visited them. Must've been a late beta. However, when I later played the official demo, I liked it, but it was kind of too hectic to me. Also the AI didn't impress me. All that changed later, however, when I got a little bit used to it and when I played the full game. Vikingo: I wasn't selected for the beta test, so for me it was the first SP demo. Oh! I will always remember that historic day: March 20, 2001, the release date of the first single-player demo of the game. Here I was with a phone modem (like now) and again the pain, many hours downloading and praying for the .ZIP file integrity. But again, the good friends were there on that afternoon... while downloading I was at the ColdWar chat room and I remember that we even made a countdown with the final seconds of the demo download. LOL I was one of the last ones there to get it, due to the slow connection I have, but great times! Then I closed my connection and stayed playing with it for hours again and again! One of the first things I try was shooting with the M16 at the first M113 I saw (my favorite unit along with the BMP) and I was pleased to hear that the bullets made the metal hit sound ( http://www.idfsquad.com/sounds/metalhit.wav ) I was waiting to hear for a long time. heh! I was always playing in a "standard" way, following the mission plan. haha Then I let the demo menu animation run in a complete way and I was surprised, but I like to keep this part for myself... Uziyahu: Well, even though I became an external beta-tester, it took a while for me to get my hands on a build, because I had to sign a Non-Disclosure Agreement and fax it back, etc. So, the first time I played the game was when the singleplayer demo came out. Lemme tell ya. The same clumsy, naked, vulnerable, about-to-be-hit-by-a-bullet-while-on-the-run feeling I got while trying to run from cover to cover with a helmet, web gear, boots, and weapon was what I felt as I played Vs. that Soviet presence. The BMP was one scary monster, reminding me of the time that I saw an OPFOR ZSU-23 Shilka (I think it was) at the Joint Readiness Training Center in Arkansas.  (That is where JRTC was, then.)  Fortunately, the armor battle phase of JRTC was over, so those armored OPFOR had no interest in us, but the beast they drove made such a scary noise. See, there was no armor in Alaska because armored vehicles would sink in the muskeg (which I hear is now being replaced by grass, thanks to global warming), so the rumbling and ground-shaking was quite an impressive thing. And to have a BMP park next to your head while I hid in a bush in the SP demo was comparable. I think this is why I took a shine to the LAW so early in my OFP gaming career. Cracking open a BMP was clearly a priority. Later, when one of the scripting gurus released a night version of the mission, the lighting was so realistic! I couldn’t do anything but gush as I reported my impressions to B.I. They really did a slam-bang job. High-speed, low-drag! Out-farking-standing! Armourdave: My impression was that it was everything I had hoped and waited for. The first version I played was the 0.36 version demo. Adammo: It was a beta copy of OFP, and it ROCKED!!!! I stayed up all night and the next day until I fell asleep. Man, was I in trouble with my wife! 8) What are some of your favorite official and unofficial addons since v1.00? JM-S: Probably some of the SAS men and Colonel Klink's Zodiac. I'm also very interested in the recently released Chain of Command mod, which allows much more control in battle. One thing I always wanted in OFP (but knew that I would not get) was control over larger formations. Chain of Command goes far to bridge the gap between OFP (the best Infantry battle sim out there) and Steel Beasts (the best mechanized warfare sim). Acutus: My favorite official add-on was the AH 64 from the Upgrade 2. My favorite unofficial add-on is Winter Kolgujev from Kegetys. Ojokoltsa: No doubt, Resistance! Best of all OFP campaigns! Vikingo: Many! Official : the M2A2 Bradley and especially the BMP2! High quality ones. Unofficial, for example: Adammo's AH-6 Littlebird pack, SelectThis's UH-1H special operations helicopter, so nice with that M60 and also the enemy machine gunners attack you! I like that. Also the Russian Weapons Pack from Kegetys. That RPG-7 rocks! The WW2 tanks from the WW2 team are very nice. Also, the XA-188UN Patria by DKM-Mod. The air units for FIA. Such original, fun and high quality addons! And I can continue for pages... Right now I'm waiting for the ZU-23 AA gun from Retaliation team and still don't lose the hope to see inside the game my most wanted add-on: a BTR-80 Armourdave: The M163 and SU-25 are my favourite official addons, and I think these were quite well thought-through addons. In the early days of OFP modding I actually quite liked the collection add-on put together by Kegetys and I, and the British army units by Bibmi, I think they were his, anyway. Since then, Kegetys Winter Kolgujev and winter units have probably been my favourite add-on. Adammo: My favorite I would say was the Blackhawk and the Apache. Uziyahu: Normally, I would say something about the Apache, as I had a great fascination for this bird while in the Army, but OFP seemed to offer other attractions. I was glad to see the Humvee, the M2 Bradley Fighting Vehicle, the CH-47 Chinook, and the BRDM make it in, as that made things look more realistic. I also liked the appearance of the Steyr AUG, seen in the Ahnold movie "Commando", but I didn’t appreciate the addition of the HK G36 or the Bizon (though in and of themselves, they are really cool), because they didn’t fit in with the 1985 campaign. And, just as I warned B.I., these weapons found themselves in missions taking place when these weapon models didn’t even exist.  The presence of these two weapons in the Red Hammer campaign wasn't so much B.I.'s fault, as Codemasters pretty much developed that campaign on their own.  However, I embraced the OH-58 Kiowa whole-heartedly, as if I was returning home. What an agile bird! I’ve had lots of fun with Kegetys Kiowa Warrior, Adammo’s Littlebirds, and Adammo’s C-130. There’s also a Flame-thrower add-on out there which has sadistic appeal. The various Barrett Light-50 target interdiction rifle addons are also lots of fun. There’s still a lot of good stuff coming out. I have ideas of my own, too. There are numerous holes in the 1985 campaign, weapon and vehicle wise, and it would be really nice to be able to go back and fill them in. I'm mostly a critic and a talker, though, so unless someone wants to volunteer their skills, they may never get made. 9) Are there any aspects of OFP that have proven to be a disappointment for you? If so, what are they? JM-S: Well, the lack of the ability to control more men (up 'til now). I'm a bit of a control freak, and I like huge battles where I control a battalion, but also have to stumble around in the woods, trying not to get my head shot off. Now that I think of it, I'd also like to have seen an option of being able to jump from soldier to soldier in my squad, both so that the action can continue even if I screw up, and so that I can experience more of a mission. Acutus: Yes, the feature which I loved most at the beginning and which turned out to be the most disappointing for me is OFP's realism. As the time went by, I began to dislike the realism in OFP more and more, because it totally destroyed the fun for me. Ojokoltsa: Yes! The AI can be pretty dumb and annoying at some times. And it wasn't even tweaked for the needs for Resistance, which really was a pain in the neck. Tank driving really kills my nerves (and I was pretty pissed about the long tank-driver campaign in OFP) and letting the AI drive tanks is even worse. To make it short and sweet: OFP is nice for soldiering, the infantry kind of stuff, I mean. But when it comes to driving or flying vehicles, the fun simply ends! Vikingo: I love the game (I hide it well, no? haha), but of course, there always is a dark-side in the Force. I can't claim disappointment in any way, but I miss little things... For example: the ability to make the helicopters land using a direct action command like, "Land right here, at once!" Also, to have a turret machine gun for the tank commander (surely you know that the engine of the game doesn't permit you to have more than one gunner, so no chance for this right now. Maybe in OF2... ) I love to see that NSVT machine gun over the soviet tanks in the old videos and pics, but they have been removed because you can't use them. Sad that BIS don't let the machine gun over tanks the same just for decoration. Also, the AT3 missile of the BMP can't be there and I miss him. The Soviets use the M2 and I hope an NSV will replace that one someday... Some of the periscopes inside vehicles aren't in the right "horizon level" and you can't see well outside. Example: the ones at the Shilka’s driver position or the M113’s driver position (though in the Vulcan they are fine). I know you can use optics, but I think it is nice to drive those vehicles using their periscopes. Luckily, the BMP’s are in a great position! ;) The sounds of some of the weapons (example: M2) are a little weak (of course MODs are out there) and I would love to hear the Soviets using radio commands in full Russian and not in English or accented voices. I read this can't be because Russian is far away from English syntax, but I still want that. The Scud was not useable, but that was solved via great scripts, so no problem now. As I have said before, these are just some details and not a disappointment. Armourdave: Early multiplayer was probably the biggest disappointment, but at the same time one of the greatest assets to the game. The early netcode, as we all know, was not so good, but the feeling of playing a co-op mission with 4 other people was better than any other multiplayer experience I had had before. Adammo: Net code in the beginning needed lots of work, we are glad that Bi also agreed with this and revamped the entire netcode. Uziyahu: The way old bugs are reported, squashed by the dev team, then resurface once again. I have some little complaints about the U.S. soldier’s web gear not being correct for 1985; a little nit-picking about the rear sight assembly on the M16A2 not being quite right; more quibbling about the LAW’s range-finding flip-up sight; dissatisfaction about the lack of ability to run and patrol with your weapon at "port arms"; some problems with the light machineguns not being able to truly suppress the A.I., instead driving them to the ground where they are prone and fire more accurate shots than the LMG’s can put out (but this is somewhat fixed by the higher terrain detail in OFP:R, because now soldiers can find places to unbuckle their web belts and hug the ground); and a stone in my stomach which misses touches like the CUCV (a Chevy Blaser painted camo which the Army used pretty commonly in my day) and the Deus-and-a-Half, both very common U.S. Army vehicles in 1985. Mostly, I think that the enemy A.I. is too skilled, sometimes, but this has been fixed in Resistance somewhat. Still, A.I. perfectly leads a moving target, making running or driving a vehicle away a losing proposition. Often, zero skill level just doesn’t look like zero skill level. For example, in marksmanship, there is so much that can go wrong with a poor marksman. Maybe they’re near-sighted, maybe their weapon isn’t zeroed correctly (easily done with iron sights), maybe they lost their cheek-to-stock weld, maybe they’re snapping off rounds just to make themselves feel better, but aren’t aiming their weapons the way they were trained to under fire. Furthermore, OFP A.I. doesn't seem to ever make mistakes. You'll never see them friendly fire, for example. They never seem to change their minds, for example, shooting at one target and then switching to another closer or more heavily armed target (unless they are ordered to). They never say to themselves, "Whiskey Tango Foxtrot, over?" as a real soldier (and a real player) would in the fog of war. I don't believe that the realism of a game is ever its enemy. Take Falcon 4.0. You almost need to go to Flight School to get through the manual and know how to use all of the weapon systems effectively. Yet, that game has a loyal following. It isn't realism that isn't fun. It is realism not realized. OFP's failure was in realistically portraying the common failures of soldiers in the stress of combat. I also don’t like the way hand grenades work in OFP. For this reason, I rarely use them. They don’t have delayed fuses and you can’t control the distance that you throw them very well. This makes them practically useless in urban and indoor environments, where they will detonate in your face (albeit across a typically small room). Also, on the M203, the 40mm grenade doesn’t have a minimal arming distance, so if you shoot it at the ground, you’ll die, when in reality the round probably wouldn’t have armed, yet, and it would make for one heavy bullet. Also, dangerous backblast is missing from the rocket launchers. Another thing that gets me is that when you go to weapon sight view, the weapon is zoomed in big-time, making the HK MP5SD’s extremely effective front hoop sight pretty useless for CQB because you’re bound to get nailed by someone beyond your range of peripheral vision. This is fine for assault rifles, but not for subguns and pistols. For all of these complaints, though, this game can’t be beat. The sound effects could have been improved by adding more unique, authentic sound effects, but what people don't realize is that lots of the weapon and vehicle sounds were being added within days of v1.00.  I saw the sound being used in the M60 video and just couldn't have that.  The default v1.00 sounds for the M16A2 and XMS are real M16A1 sounds, despite what those who think they know better say.  It is the same with the M21 (which uses an M14 sound, because it is functionally the same rifle, just more accurate), the M60, the M2 .50, and the AK47 (not 74).  There are probably other sounds in this list, but off the top of my head I can't be certain at this late date.  One disappointing factor is that there was a misunderstanding as to how the sound bites should be edited, because I wasn't there to see how the game worked or how the sounds I was sending were turning out, but the ones I mentioned are still the real things.  I know.  I was there.  No, not in B.I.'s studio.  In the Army, playing with those weapons.  I've got a DD 214 and fragged ears to prove it.  So pursue your cool-sounding sound packs.  More power to ya.  The real thing doesn't always sound so cool.  The new M16 and AK47 sounds in Resistance are recorded much closer to the weapon's action, so the result is that you hear the action working over a mile a way.  It's a compromise.  Ideally, you'd have one sound playing near the weapon and another sound playing away from the weapon.  Of course, that takes up twice the memory.  You didn't want two CD's, did you? 10) In what ways do you believe today's OFP exceeded your expectations? JM-S: Well, the BIS team was pretty straight up with us, so my expectations were met, neither more, nor less. I was, however, impressed with the sales! Acutus: OFP has totally fulfilled my expectations. It is a great game and with Resistance also the netcode is good enough to handle many players. Ojokoltsa: The freedom. And in many ways it did. Its totally up to the player how he fights, what strategy he uses. The huge territory. Using the landscape for your advantage... no, there is no other game like OFP that gives you such a freedom (there is no other game besides OFP I know of, where one can move into and through forests!). The "feeling" of OFP. The player is absolutely involved. You get scared and feverish, you duck down although you sit in front of a monitor. The mood the game creates is, besides H&D, unsurpassed! The story of OFP and Resistance (the campaign) really glued me to my monitor! Vikingo: I have always had blind faith in this project. The engine truly rocks and runs smooth even on the humble machine I have (PIII-500 Mhz, 256 Mb and Voodoo3 3000 under glorious Glide). I always underline that when I talk to people. BIS made a great code optimization work so that all people can enjoy the game without having to run and buy a specific "X" brand video card. You can make fine tuning at Options to run the game well on almost any computer. Now, with the introduction of Resistance, you can up the graphic quality even more. Sad that many other developers don't work things like this and you wind up having to change your computer every six months to play a game. The quality and detail of the units also exceed my expectations. You can drive tanks with the hatch open or just being in the Commander’s cupola is one of the things I enjoy more. If I have to choose just one screen shot of the waiting times I would select one that shows the BMP with the crew in safe position, first time I saw that I was really amazed. Just think that even simulator games that have a single unit simulated don't have all these kind of details! The game is full of little details that warms the heart of the gamer, examples would be making units sit down or salute and now leave their weapons behind. And the game editor, well... truly amazing, you can create almost all of the things you want with it. Armourdave: It's durability, it's lasting and lasting. It's (almost) as much fun to play it now as it was to play it for the first time. Adammo: It is incredible that in a game you can enter any vehicle and exit it at any time. This exceeded my expectations. It works so smoothly, too. Uziyahu: I am still amazed by how "open source" this game is without even being open source. For example, remember "BattleChess 2000", where the pieces would animate a la "Star Wars", demonstrating which piece was the conqueror? Well, you could do that in OFP, using its powerful scripting language and its mission editor. In essence, you could create a completely different game, all for the price of just one game! Truly, the potential of OFP is beyond my ability or free time to take advantage of it. Matches in OFP can be just like a game of paintball with experienced players. Wise players of OFP get on their bellies and lie still, listening for the enemy. To do anything else can quickly get you killed. (I like the fact that when this community started you never had to worry about accusations of "camping", as everyone recognized that "camping" was a perfectly legitimate expression of a soldier’s military prowess and that if you were stupid enough to let the enemy into your respawn area you deserved whatever havoc they could wreak there… but traditionalists from other games have weedled their pollutions into what was once a community as liberated as the game it embraced.  Are soldiers in foxholes "campers"?). 11) If all things were possible and you could make a living working with Bohemia Interactive, would you? JM-S: Hell, yes! The BIS guys are fantastic, and I'd like to visit them some day. Acutus: No, I would not. But the point is, I love living in Germany and I would not like to go to the Czech Republic in order to work there. But if Bohemia Interactive would have an office in Germany, then hell YES! The guys at BI simply rock and I had the luck to meet several of them in reality (Marek Spanel in Germany and also him and many other like Jan Hovora when DnA, Sith and me visited BI in Prague). Ojokoltsa: Sure! Vikingo: mmm... Of course. haha Hey! Where did I leave the genius magic golden lamp? But I dream and I will be happy if someday I can meet the team and say thanks in person for this game that has given me hours of happiness and sure I will ask and plead to play with a 1998 or an early 1999 build of the game. I saw the '98 and '99 video trailers so many times that I hope someday can play for some minutes with the units and soldiers in the way they looked when this dream started... About the videos I mention... not an advertising of the Argentine fan site but you can check some parts of those videos.  That video section is in English, but come on guys, learn some Spanish. ;) Someday it could save your life... hehe Enjoy! Armourdave: Of course! I think you would be a fool to say no, although I would be cautious of their strange sense of humour. Adammo: If the pay was not an issue I would certainly work for Bi Studios! They are a great company and always having fun at what they do. There are insider jokes in the maps and funny things if you know what to look for. Uziyahu: What, and work in the same building with a real, live kunoichi? *claps hands and jumps up and down* Okay! G’morning, Angelina-baby! :-) Seriously, I don’t think they’d want me.  Hell, *I* wouldn't want me.  : ) Oh, lastly, I'd like to put a plug in for The Avon Lady's OFP FAQ.  ( http://www.theavonlady.org/theofpfaq/ ) If the Avon Lady had known about OFP sooner, she would have been one of the Veterans, too.  You guys might think about interviewing her.  She's truly an exceptional lady.  Just watch out for her Barret and Ka-bar. "The Veterans"

http://ofp.gamezone.cz/news/pics/cuba1.jpg http://ofp.gamezone.cz/news/pics/cuba2.jpg http://ofp.gamezone.cz/news/pics/cuba3.jpg http://ofp.gamezone.cz/news/pics/cuba4.jpg Kilhoffa ( mailto:kilhoffa@yahoo.com ) is working on a (tiny) Cuba island, it should feature new buildings and vegetation: The CWC plants and objects are only place holders, there will be jungle plants with permission from a certain mod team and hopefully Cuban style buildings when I release it. There are 11 towns right now, I might add more but probably not more than 1 or 2 towns as I am pretty happy with the way it is now (you can't see the names of all of them on the picture).

I've been following it and I think it will be a good "tide-me-over-until-OFP2-arrives" game, especially since it will have mid-game joining, OFP1's biggest shortcoming. But picking up tanks with a Blackhawk? Â *belly laughs* So funny to see that Battlefield: Vietnam is also going to have tanks transported by Huey helicopter! Â Monkey see, Monkey do, I guess. Â *scratches head and armpit and makes an "oh!" face* And OFP2 just HAS to do whatever B:1942 does to maintain a connection. Â Often I'll get a "connection troubles" message in B:1942 but things will eventually level out and I can continue with the MP game. Â In OFP, once I get that "loosing connection" message, OFP just doesn't seem to know how to get back its grip on the server. Oh, and lack of bullet travel time in Soldner is going to make it seriously arcadish... and have I seen smoke trails behind flying tank rounds? Â Sniping will be a joke. Â I mean, DF1 had bullet travel time, for pete's sake! Â Sheol, "SEAL Team" by EA had bullet travel time!

I need someone who can access satellite elevation data for another part of the world and then convert it to a .wrp. Please contact me at uziyahu AT yahoo DOT com

Yes, please send me the tutorial to uziyahu AT yahoo DOT com I bought the DEM for the area I needed, the Sinai Peninsula, Israel, and surrounding areas, but it doesn't look like it turned out correctly? Can I *use* this? For some reason, everything smears downwards towards the right side.

Actually, they are saying that it was the paint or film on the skin of the Hindenburg that burned up like dry leaves. Â You can actually see this taking place in the film footage. Oh, and we were still using these Jerry Cans for water and JP4 (avgas?) in the Army in Alaska from '86 to '89. Fill two of those with water and then walk them 300 meters and your arms will feel like they've been stretched like Plastic-Man.

Yeah, we tried playing it while I was in the Army and the result was that it was too much like being in the Army. We barracks rats wanted an escape, not more Army! For me, OFP is what I always wanted T:2000 to be. It would be neat to have a post-apocalyptic campaign, though, with "hot spots" and cumulative radiation poisoning, mixtures of weaponry and uniforms and vehicles.

Actually, it makes a bad game look like what it is. I won't buy "Grand Theft Auto", just like I wouldn't pay money to watch movies glamourizing auto theft. Yeah, I tried the "Postal 2" demo, but I certainly didn't buy the thing.

Okay, I've got the DEM, at a crappy 900-meter resolution, but that might still serve my purpose, because what I need is a .wrp that has been shrunk to 2% or so of its actual-size IN-GAME. How big is each cell on a .wrp, again? Anyone think they can tackle this? Turning actual-size DEM data into a map 2% of actual-size IN-GAME? I imagine it would involve averaging, or maybe picking the highest (or lowest) elevation every interval of so many meters? *shrugs* The idea is to recreate the geography of a real place, but then shrink it to a typically playable 12km x 12km terrain. About what percentage of a Tank main gun's normal range does an expert tank aim and fire at in OFP? Whatever that percentage is, it would be the tolerance for such a shrunken map. The difference would be the unrealism of the map's being shrunken. If I'm not conjugating my verbs correctly, it's probably because I don't have much practice at conjugation.

Can someone modify the M2 .50 MG's in GFX707's ( www.fortress-ofp.com ) MG Pack so that stupid light doesn't come on when A.I. are manning it, since there is no scripting work-around for this, that I (and this forum) seems to know of? If couldn't override the inherited attributes of the default M2, maybe you could put a script in it, activated by an init entry, that would ... ah, hell, I dunno. What about modding the model so that the light isn't there? The light is fine for a base, but not good for a unit in the field.

Thanks! I'll give it a try. turn off light on M2 turn off M2 light turning off light on M2 turning off M2 light

Yeah, NoOne's site finally went down. (He left the OFP community quite some time ago.) They're fixed, now.

The Israeli Defense Force squad's "Virtual Ceasefire" AddOn Server shows up as [iDF] Server @ www.idfsquad.com/ on GameSpy 38.114.3.86:2234 Commands for a Dedicated Server Links for AddOns Great tool, Certa. Looking forward to the next update!

But NOT if you can't play unless you are able to log-in, because I had a GREAT time the 1st day that Delta Force: Land Warrior came out, but on the 2nd day I couldn't play a single game online because I couldn't log in. Their servers were bogged down!

I think the amount of time it takes a turret to turn 360 degrees should be a statistic added to the vehicle class. Would be nice for those making WW2 tanks and also add some survivability to AT soldiers. (The direction the turret turns to look for the AT soldier should be somewhat random if the AT gunner's noise is outside the hearing range of the commander when turned out or turned in. Of course, if you get hit you have some idea which direction the shot is coming from.) Also, tanks should at least point their turret at someone firing a rifle at it to look at their enemy and decide whether he is a danger.

I think this needs some clarification. While navigating through them may be clunky, the buildings themselves are often beautifully decorated and modelled.

I thought they were SUPER-human?

That's what I don't know. If the turret is facing a direction in which there is no danger, and I was its turned-in commander, I would bring that coaxial machinegun to bear on that rifleman and swat that pesky fly who might kill some of my fellow soldiers.

I was one of the external beta-testers for OFP v1.00. Seemed like CodeMasters was pressuring B.I. to get OFP out the door, to me. And as I recall, fans were GREATLY pressuring B.I. to release something, also. Personally, when the game is good, I don't mind paying for a full version that seems a bit like a beta, especially when it is supported as well as B.I. supported OFP. I DO think that B1942 profited from learning from some of OFP's experiences, but I thought that it was very important that B.I. be credited with "doing it first". I hope that the 2nd time around SP and MP beta demo's are publically released, with an interface for bug-reporting, so that the full version will be polished. Hopefully CodeMasters (I was hoping the 2nd time around B.I. wouldn't have to distribute through them...) will give them all the time they need, this time. B.I.'s relative silence is a bit spooky. I hope they are listening to the fans' suggestions, because most of the more serious posts do a pretty good job of pointing out areas that could use improvement. B.I. should also consult with real Vietnam veterans, mercs (for Africa), and Cold War veterans, shunning so-called "consultants" who charge too much for their bogus input.

Oh, well if the SJB pistols ALREADY have recoil that prevents hits beyond 200 meters, then you don't need the dispersion, but usually the recoil modelling doesn't prevent these kind of hits. Pistols are pretty much for use in urban situations and dense brush (like in "We Were Soldiers", where the Sgt. Major was using his Colt .45 at point blank range because the brush prevented the enemy from being revealed until they were almost right on top of him) and trench warfare. If you need to engage targets past 200 meters with a pistol, you really should just way for the enemy to get closer, or the mission designer should give you something with more range. I understand where you might be coming from, though. In Rainbow Six and Rogue Spear (and even Raven Shield, I think) the pistols are quite accurate, and because in-game weapon recoil recovery time is based on the length of the weapon, with shorter weapons recovering faster, the pistols wind up being pretty darn deadly. Most weapons mods duplicated this, but the Nato 3 (or was it 4?) mod for Rogue Spear opted for a very wide reticule expansion to counter the quick recovery time and accurately model the wide muzzle flip on pistols. It rocked! You could fire off lots of rounds quickly, but the aiming reticule arms wouldn't be fully recovered, yet, if you did. This meant that you had to be in realistic pistol ranges to pull this off. However, traditionalists didn't like it. Keep in mind that if you put significant dispersion on the weapon and then put it in the hands of tangos, they will also miss more frequently.

Also, will an extended mag (33-round?) be possible for the Glock 18?

If you could make the dispersion wider on these pistols than B.I. has set for theirs (as you can practically snipe people at 300 yards with most of theirs), making it wide enough that it is rather difficult to hit a man-sized target past 200 meters. Because of the short sight rails on pistols, their base accuracy is crap compared to assault rifles, with their long sight rails. Add to that the fact that muzzle flip is much more pronounced on a pistol than on a rifle (if you were to actually measure the # of degrees the muzzle flipped). Of course, if you are sitting and firing it braced from your knee, there are some long-barreled, large-calibered pistols than can reach out to a goodly distance, especially if they have a scope on 'em. No sitting firing position in OFP, though. Prone position isn't braced enough for some of those monstrously large-bore pistols. And if anyone says anything contrary to this, they don't know what they're talking about. Pistols should be close range and back-up weapons, not a good substitute for an assault rifle if you just aim for a second or two. Pistols should have their weapon sight views unzoomed so that there is more peripheral vision, if possible.

The Lost Brothers Mod is in development, once again. Those who would like to contribute their skills to this project can email Uziyahu ( uziyahu AT yahoo DOT com ) to provide links to their work or explain what skills they can provide. We would like to get this long-awaited project completed as soon as possible, so if each contributor can do great work on only one addon we could turn out as nice mod in a short period of time if many people contribute. Those who join the team by demonstrating that they have something to bring to it will be able to download the Team Beta version. This mod will be portraying combat in a land in which many people from numerous cultures are emotionally invested; therefore, we want to turn out a real work of art. Show up and we can point you to the things that need making.

Stiiillllllllllllll recruiting! Lost Brothers Mod (to Join) Visitors Welcome! Discuss the Mod, Here...

There's something very strange about that picture labelled "PPSh41", not only is it missing the very common drum, but it also appears to exhibit some elements of that other Russian subgun... the PPSh43, perhaps?