ladlon
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Posts posted by ladlon
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Thanks for the quick reply. Ya, you'll have to excuse me... Even though I'm quite computer savy, I'm seemingly useless when it comes to Arma2 stuff!
What is the @ symbol at the start of each of your names? Is that to be taken literally, or is that some iconography in the forum to indicate a folder or something?
I tried installing one map (Podagorsk?). Didn't seem to have everything in one folder that I could drop in the root without having loose files (not in a folder). I'll look at it again, but I remember I stopped right there for that reason.
So, the shortcut parameter things can be for multiple maps (separated by a semicolon)? That'll allow you several maps to be available in the selection screen?
Oh, incidentally, what is the -winxp parameter that I've seen some people use? Currently, I'm using that (although I'm not sure what it does), plus -cpucount=2 and -nosplash on my P4 dual core WinXP Pro 2gig RAM system. Anything else I should put in there (or remove)?
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Any way to easily code in random weather in the MyMission sessions (Mission Wizard)?
Just wondering if someone has some existing code for that, and would be able to tell me how to put that in (..if it's not too complicated).
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Is there an easy way to modify the settings of the MyMission sessions (beyond the Mission Wizard's settings panel).
Specifically, I'd like to give myself (leader) a sniper rifle, rather than whatever the default is.
I wouldn't mind tinkering around with the gear loadout of the other team members too, if I could.
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Sorry, I couldn't find this via the forum search....
Could someone outline how to (manually) install new maps in Arma2?
I'm a bit confused about the folders... whether you create a <MapName> folder in the Mods folder, or a Mods folder in the <MapName> folder, or what. Just wanted to make sure before I mess up my vanilla installation.
I'm running Arma2 with the latest patch (1.5... or something to that affect).
Will all the files for the map stay within the containing custom folder, or is there 'spillage' (files being written/created to the core Arma2 installation. Just asking, as I want to know how easy the maps will be to remove manually too.
If manual installation (of maps) is 'dangerous', what currently is the easiest/best map manager app?
Thanks....
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Is there a section of this thread that deals with the AI (number of units, etc) slowing things down, as opposed to it being a graphic issue? My game is usually very fluid, even with high graphics settings... It's seemingly just deep into the game that it sometimes gets bogged down, probably due to too many units being controlled by the CPU.
I started looking at all the posts in this thread, but it's a huge thread, so I wanted to make sure beforehand that this thread even addresses non-graphical CPU stress.
BTW, I defragged again, but it only gave me a 1% increase in speed, as my drives are pretty well maintained. I wanted to upgrade the video drivers, but despite the complex control panel for the video card, a 'Check For New Drivers' button seems to be missing (...frustrating that it has all those menus, but doesn't have the one thing I need!).... So, I have to do it the manual way... which can be a mess. Other than that, everything checks out fine (..tons of drive space, etc).
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Oh, dear... Looks like my post was moved to this area... and now I can see why!
Oops... Ya, I suppose there was a very good chance of there being a 'slow performance' thread elsewhere. I guess I should have looked... but I didn't, because I figured mine was not a graphics thing, but more of an AI overload type of deal. Plus, I'm not one of those guys who has his resolution and detail settings set to maximum.
Well, whatever the case, sorry about that!
Okay, I'm using the good old Nvidea GeForce 8800 GT. Vanilla Arma2. Graphics drivers are probably not up to date (...I'll look into that). I defrag often, although I suspect this drive might need a defrag again (...I use Auslogics defrag).
Ya, as you confirmed, the spawned units drain a lot of CPU... From what I can see, it's not that my graphics settings were too high. Putting them really low did nothing to change the speed. Usually, my framerate is quite nice, even with relatively high graphics settings. Definitely seems to be caused by the spawned units and ambient combat, which seems to be a bit more cumbersome to the CPU in the MyMission/Combat scenario, as opposed to my own Editor based scenario (which also used the Secop and Ambient Combat modules, pretty much the same). Not sure what's different. Maybe the internal settings for the modules are more aggressive (more units) than the default ones that I was using on mine (...I didn't tweek any module settings).
I'll read over this whole thread (...again, sorry about not seeing that!), and hopefully it addresses AI strain, rather than just graphics stuff. I'll defrag again as well, and look into drivers (though, again, it doesn't seem to be graphics related).
I was just hoping there was something I could tweek... like number of enemies, etc. that might reduce the strain. I'm getting my butt kicked by the swarms of enemies that seem to be often surrounding me anyway!
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I've been playing Arma2 up to now using either the editor (simple setups), or some of the included missions... graphics all pretty high, and frame rate good.
I've recently started playing the MyMission/Combat scenario (random Secop missions), and that was fine for a while, but now my frame rate is deteriorating during gameplay.
Starts off fine enough (but with a few hickups/pauses while flying in on the copter during the insertion sequence)... but deep into the session, the frame rate starts to drop, and gets increasingly worse (generally).
I tried reducing various graphics settings (...didn't really have it very high as it was anyway), but that seems to have no effect. Even if I set everything to painfully low, I get the slowdowns... to the point where it becomes a slide show. So, I'm figuring it is either a memory leak of some kind, or there's too much AI happening.... not that I'm an expert on this sort of thing.
Wondering if there's anything else I can tweek or try... and what it might be.
Fragmented drive?
Running it on a P4 dual core with 2 gigs of RAM... XP Pro.... Ya, not exactly a super computer, but my I 7 12 gig RAM machine is for work exclusively (....despite me being REALLY eager to see how things like ARMA2 and Flight Sim X run on it).
Any help is appreciated... Thanks.
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Yep, I saw and read those (...although the Ranger Handbook is new to me, so I'm reading that now).
Thanks, guys
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Tried it out last night (satchel)... Yup, you're right, there is a command deep in the Action command.
Only thing is, I assumed you select that while pointing where the charge should be placed (...kind of a Place Charge Here command...)... but I didn't see anyone run over to the car I was pointed at, and place anything. I went to do the command again, and saw the command for detonating it, and figured 'Okay, a glitch or something. Didn't show the guy, but it's set'. So, out of curiosity, I told him to detonate....whereupon we all got blown up! (...since, as I quickly realized, the Set Charge command sets the charge where the guy is currently standing, not where you are pointing!)
So, I guess you need to tell the guy to move to where you want it set, then have him set the charge. A bit awkward (compared to a point to where you want it set type of thing), but it works....
BTW, doing all that made me discover the ability to control any of your teammates (...in the sense of becoming them). I did that, and stood there wondering if the sim AI then controls the 'leader' as a leader (...meaning he orders ME around now). No go (which isn't really a surprise, as that would have been brutal AI logic programming, I'm sure!). Still, a bit of a shame... as at least then my squad would be (theoretically) doing proper procedures, and I would essentially be told what to do!
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Ya, that's how I usually win the Destroy Target missions... Call in an airstrike or artillery. Bit of a waste, though... since (with the guys dead) there is no urgency to do a quick, overpowering destroy.
There's also a good chance that I'm uncovering the errors or limitations of the AI and game logic overall, since I'm kind of doing my own thing (due to my current lack of understanding of proper approach/battle technique)!
I wouldn't be surprised. I seem to be really good at finding bugs, since I seem to do things differently. I should be a playtester!
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Hrmm... I'm definitely going to have to fire up Arma2 and experiment on that.
Will a 'Set Charges' type of menu item appear, or just a general 'Attack This' type of thing? I would have thought it would only be an Attack This command... but then I wondered how you specify what weapon to use.
So many little elements of Arma2 that I don't know about... partially due to the lack of a full manual.
Gets more and more interesting with each discovery...
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Ya, I'm doing the Combat thing. I normally just go in, and not edit the insertion point. I'll check that out.
Ah, so #5's been holding out on me, eh!?
Can you command him to use the charges, or do I have to get them from him somehow and do it myself?
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Okay, so the consensus is that the explosives needed to destroy things (in a TRAP or Destroy Target mission) are usually found in enemy locations, as opposed to your team having them (either by default, or by some method of equipping your team before the session starts)?
But, if, say, I'm to destroy a communication tower (for example) at a randomly placed Secop mission camp, that camp is the only enemy 'base' (area with potential supplies) that exists in the world at that point (as they are created and removed as needed, with only one mission existing at a time)... So, I guess you need to kill the guys first, then see if that little camp has crates, and if you are lucky enough to find explosives, you use those?
Just seems like most of the time there are no supplies... I had a Destroy Target mission where there were three guys, a bunch of barrels, a (big) crate or two, two big fuel tank type things (one white, one rusted), and a truck. I figured the truck was the 'target', so we managed to destroy that (along with the guys).... but nothing happened (no victory trigger). It didn't seem like we could destroy the barrels or anything... The truck was on fire and 'destroyed'... and no supply crates were around.
Only thing that finally triggered the victory was when I called up my A-10 (..I coded an A-10 to be able to become part of the team temporarily, via a radio command)... and ordered it to.... attack a barrel (as I the fuel tank things were not available on the target list... so I figured an A-10 attack on something near it might do enough splash damage, so to speak, to the fuel tank.
Sure enough, when the A-10 struck the barrel (...well, the general area of the camp!), victory was triggered.
I don't really get it...
@Nielsneo: Ya, that's how I do things with movement and targeting soldiers/tanks, etc... but it doesn't seem to work for things like fuel tanks, buildings, etc (...only allows you to Move To).
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The only thing I've found up to now is the green crates where you can rearm. I've seen other types of crates, but they seem to just be 'for show'.
I could probably edit the scenario (the one the sim makers made, not mine) to modify the weapons, by changing the type of guys on my team. Doesn't seem to be any way (in game or via the editor) to actually control the weapons carried.... at least that I found.
Then again, I'm confused about a great many things....
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Well, that's what I thought... but it didn't seem to be the case the last few times I played.
A few times now, I've been assigned to destroy a target, I've killed everyone, but it doesn't trigger anything.
The calling for airlift, ambulance, etc is all done automatically, isn't it? Seems to be when the 'victory' DID actually trigger. When it didn't, I tried to do things like call for medical support, but always got the old 'Negative...' response.
Seems to be failing to trigger most of the time since I started playing the MyMission Secop session, rather than my own similar Secop mission created in the Editor.
Getting frustrated with the controls... I had a hell of a time trying to figure out how to get my guys to attack things. Along with the painfully awkward menu system (since you can't seem to just use the space bar method of selecting a guy, then selecting the target... you can only seem to MOVE to things, not destroy (inanimate) things), often the things I want targeted are not even in the menu Target list.... :mad:
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Where would you get those? When I start, I just get dumped into the world, with no supply boxes or seemingly no way to select gear. About all I have is the occasional supply box at enemy camps...sometimes.
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A few questions about the random missions created by the Secop module...
1) What exactly do you need to do to secure a crash site? Usually, the 'secure' gets triggered after I wander around the wreckage a bit, but a recent game couldn't be finished because it wouldn't trigger. There was a wounded guy there, but he wouldn't do anything, regardless of what we did (...kept saying he was busy). I had my medic heal him, but that didn't change anything. The program says that I may need to destroy the wreck, and get any wounded into an ambulance... but I could do neither. Any request for support was answered by a 'Negative...', and I couldn't destroy the copter (threw grenades, shot at it.. and finally got my team to shoot at it too... Actually, I couldn't get them to STOP! Guess I found a bug. Menu assumed they were on 'Hold Fire', as my only option was 'Weapons Free'.
2) How are you supposed to destroy assigned targets? Usually it's a whole little camp, so bullets won't do it... and unlike Battlefield2, grenades WON'T blow up everything! ;) Unless you have a guy with a rocket launcher, I'm not sure how you're expected to destroy everything in the target... aside from calling in an airstrike or artillery.
3) What is the strategy/technique you are supposed to use when escorting friendlies? As soon as you reach them, the run like a bat out of hell, and all you can seemingly do is run after them, trying to keep up! It's impossible to get ahead of them and scope around, so I'm not entirely sure what more you can do but chase after them... which seems kind of pointless.
Thanks in advance!...
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Up to a few days ago, I was playing a custom scenario I created... Me and 3 other guys, randomly placed on the map, the Secop module and Ambient Combat modules running and providing me with random missions.
So, escort, patrol, secure crash site, destroy target, etc (from the Secop module).
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@NoRailgunner: Yep, read all that. The Editor is what I've been using all this time... I created a simple 'random' mission session... Me and 3 other teammates, randomly placed somewhere on the map, the Secop and Ambient Combat modules set to go, and a Huey and Apache sitting at the airport (not part of my team) scripted so that I can have them temporarily join, dismiss or land by my command via the Radio feature.
That was cool, but I couldn't do things like artillery strikes... and my airstrikes were really me having the Apache or Huey temporarily becoming team members, and I order them to attack something. It worked...
But then yesterday, I was introduced to the mission creator by another user Nielsneo (earlier post in this thread), which I TOTALLY wasn't aware of! That basically gives me the same thing I was trying to set up (random missions), but includes airstrikes, artillery and even reconnaissance (...although I never understood how to use that!).
So, that's totally cool....
Now, I have to really learn the do's and don't's of formations, postures, techniques, and generally memorizing the commands numerically (so I don't have to battle the menu interface).
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Thanks!
Ya, I TOTALLY need to start learning and utilizing things like formations, postures and sending men ahead.
Most of the time, I'm just walking, and the guys are following... doing whatever the sim's AI tells them to do. If anything, I'll do things like 'Regroup' or 'Go to...', and sometimes assign a target to the entire group, or just one member. That's about it, sadly. I know I'm missing out on a TON as a result... and the experience is a fraction of what it could be.
Still wrestling with the interface quite a bit... which is one of the reasons I haven't really dove into the more advanced commands.
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Ya, for sure... but my point is that a lot of times you START in the middle of a field... or you have to cross it (and going around it would take an insane amount of time).
If you start in the open, do you just pick a direction and run until you reach some trees or something?... or, is running going to just make you more visible, so you should move crouched instead? It's a bad situation, obviously, but what is the best action when faced with it?
And as far as having to cross a huge field... is the general consensus then to go around it... regardless of how far that journey might be?
Also... my teammates seem to be pretty relaxed if there's no known enemies around, and stand around, out in the open. Is this 'smart' behavior (since they seem to handle things fine when there ARE enemies around), or do I need to order them to keep low, etc? Basically, I'm asking if they are wisely autonomous when enemies AREN'T around as well?
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Curious about something.... Half the time I play a random session, I find myself in the middle of a field, with little to know cover to be found in any direction for quite a distance... or, I have to get to a destination that is on the other side of a huge open field.
What is the 'proper' way to deal with such a situation?
Also, please mention any general stratagies you could suggest to people beginning Arma2, or not familiar with proper military technique (...aside from the obvious 'Don't get shot' and 'Seek cover'). Stuff like when to use what formation, etc.
Just in general...
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[Later that evening....]
Cool... Ya, that mission generator thing is good! Even better is the last one, that uses the Secom module (like the one I set up myself)... but also gives me airstrikes and everything! That is SWEEEEET!! Man, here I was with my own homemade, limited little mission, and all the time, this little gem was sitting there without me knowing it!
A shame that you can't have it randomly select things (like what enemies are present, what your target to destroy is, etc).... but the Secom one (last type on the list... I think it's called Combat) pretty much randomizes everything anyway.
I got to say, Arma2 certainly packs a lot of stuff into one package! I was already blown away (when I first got it) that I could fly planes, copters, and even the large planes. Then I was surprised to find all the other components (all the multiplayer modes)... and then my beloved Secom module, which was what I then used from that point on.
Now this! Great stuff!
I'm just having a go now... Made a few kills. Airstrike saved me from a large group of troops headed towards us. Got to really figure out the different types of strike (when I would use each one, etc)... as well as how to point to where you want the strike (...I think I got it right.. Just left clicked on the map... Seemed to work).
Never knew how to use the remote reconnaissance plane thing.
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@NoRailgunner: WOW!!!!!!! Well, that's a pleasant surprise! I didn't know about those missions! CRAZY!! I never noticed that in the manual!
(Further proof that a proper manual really would be keen....)
I'm going to check it out now. Wicked!
It's like an early (...late??) Christmas.
Thanks!
Proper installation of new maps
in ARMA 2 & OA - GENERAL
Posted · Edited by ladlon
I'm going to try one out and see...
---------- Post added at 09:13 PM ---------- Previous post was at 09:04 PM ----------
Nope, didn't work... but I'm sure I'm just doing some thing wrong. Something simple.
I created a folder in the root Arma2 directory, and loaded the contents of the map zip into it.
I then put -mod=[foldername] in the shortcut parameter
If I have multiple parameters (as I do... the -nosplash, etc), to I need to separate THOSE with semicolons too? Or can I put -winxp -nosplash -mod=[foldername]
(BTW, by [foldername] I mean the name of the map folder I created, not literally [foldername]... Just in case you were wondering)
Do I need to put an @ in the folder name or something?
Oh, I should point out that this is strictly for singleplayer... although I suppose it would be wise to make it MP compatible... just in case.
---------- Post added at 10:45 PM ---------- Previous post was at 09:13 PM ----------
Okay, after watching a tutorial video on YouTube, I got the map to show up. It was the @ symbol thing (...I never heard of using an @ at the start of a name), as well as having an Addon folder inside that folder.
So, that works... but the problem NOW is that the insertion point for that map (for the MyMission/Combat session (Mission Wizard) is off the map someplace... so my copter drops us off in water... and I can't grab and drag the insertion point, since I can't even see it (...it's in the black area outside the map, it seems. I can't seem to define a dropoff point, so I'm not entirely sure what to do now.
Anyone have any ideas?
---------- Post added at 10:55 PM ---------- Previous post was at 10:45 PM ----------
[update]
Not sure what I did, but suddenly now I have a proper insertion point visible on my map that I can now move around. I tried jumping from one map to another, and for whatever reason, that seemed to do the trick.
Everything seems working now with this first map, so I think we're good! I'll try out the other maps. Man, it's nice seeing a new map...
Thanks for your help, guys...