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ladlon

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Posts posted by ladlon

  1. Posted

    No sweat, Nielsneo... I didn't take it badly, as you acknowledged that you weren't sure if what you were saying was the case or not. It's all good...

    Frustrated?... Ya, I suppose... But not in the 'I wish I could become Rambo, and manage to destroy all the enemies' type of way... It's not so much about making many kills... Just feeling a sense of control and feeling like I'm doing things correctly.

    It's kind of like activating manual shifting in a racing sim... That little reality adds SO much to the experience (...that's a literal example... I used to always play with auto shifting, thinking manual shifting was just something to complicate my driving... but instead, I found it really added... plus made it not only challenging and more interesting, but actually gave me more control!). In the case or Arma2, though... I kind of feel like I can't quite get the clutch to work, so I'm kind of putting along in first gear, wishing I could join in with the pack that is whipping by me at 120mph! Just needing to get a grip on the controls, and understand the tactics, etc.

    I'm entirely a single player type... I can count on my hand the number of multiplayer sessions I've had in my life (on any game). Not that I'm against it, but usually you either get slaughtered (or are a burden to) the hardcore players (whatever the game may be), or are frustrated by the moron mentality. I'm a big fan of bots (and staying offline in general)... although I fully acknowledge the fun of playing along with other people. I think the last thing I've ever tried to play multiplayer (LAN) was Ravenshield and Battlefield2.... Previous to that... wow.... It's like Age Of Empires 1.... and Duke Nukem! Ya... You could definitely say that I'm not much on the multiplayer thing!

    Ya, I had started using the number keys a while back, which really helped. I just promptly forgot them (... haven't played in quite a while until recently). I only really remembered a few of them when I was using them anyway. I need to make a reference card.

    I might start playing some of the scenarios again. I stopped after about 3 of them, as I was getting slaughtered in one (the first night one), and I think the same thing happened with the 4th(?) one too.

    Playing those (rather than just running the Editor with the Secom module) will certainly open up some of the many features not available via the Secom module missions.

    I haven't installed any of the new maps or missions either.... So, I think I'm just scratching the surface of Arma2 as it is.

    A Co-op LAN session would be amazing, though... Nobody here though, even if I had a second copy of Arma2 installed on another machine. I remember watching these great videos of these two British(?) or Australian(?) guys going through missions as a 2 man team. The chatter was hilarious.

    I suppose that's one thing I'm missing (since the sim can't really generate that), is the solid feeling of communication and direction/ordering... Telling your buddy, "I think I see someone over to our left, up by that barn. You sneak over to the south side of that car while I keep an eye on him...', as opposed to struggling with 'Space bar, scroll down to this command, oops, I missed, okay, backspace up to the previous menu, argh... Why can't I....? Argh!!!!'. Plus, of course, you don't have all the wonderful chatter, arguments and panic dialogue either.

    Hopefully, once I really get an understanding of the use of formations, 'postures' (stealthy, aggressive, etc) and truly commanding (properly) my guys, it'll be just like switching the shifting to manual on the racing sims... so much more engaging, challenging and in-depth.

    @SeaVee: Never heard of that. That sounds cool. I'll look into that. Thanks!

  2. Posted · Edited by ladlon

    @Nielsneo: Actually, I don't own a single copy of COD or GRAW, etc. Arma2 is my first plunge into semi-realistic/realistic combat sim... aside from the old Rainbow6 Raven Shield and STALKER. Granted, I have been a Battlefield 2 player for quite some time (single player against bots)... but not one of those bunny hopping types of players. (...and I respect that you acknowledge that this may be the case, so I'm not bashing you here... just stating things 'for the record')

    I bought Arma2 to actually get the more realistic, command a squad, etc type of experience. I love the stealth, the waiting, the tension, the 'one shot' reality... This is exactly why I got it. I'm neither surprised nor upset that Arma2 is realistic and different from the arcade type war games... quite the opposite.

    A similar thing happened to me with combat flight sims. I've been playing 'lite' sims like Lomac, and still wanted something more detailed. I'm not one of those guys who just wants to jump to the dogfight... but instead, I really enjoy the 'power up and taxi' experience too. So, I ended up modding my copy of Falcon4 (...ya, I still have the huge manual binder and everything!) with OpenFalcon (or whatever that one excellent hardcore mod is called)... and that delivered! Powering up is half the game!

    So, that was great... but the problem I had was one of those 'be careful of what you ask for' type of things! I WANTED the complex, full powerup (for example), but now that I had it, I was overwhelmed by it (...afterall, it IS hard to learn how to power up a real F-16). So, again, it wasn't a situation of me saying 'This sim sucks' or 'Why is this so complicated now?!'.... but me being glad of the complexity/realism, but simply acknowledging that I'm currently not well versed and relatively unskilled at the task at hand.

    In the case of Arma2... it's partially because I'm not familiar (fully) with procedure (... I still completely ignore formation and ordering a stance and 'rule of engagement' to my mates... partially because it's proper use is still a bit new to me, and because I'm often too busy dealing with other things).... and partially because the interface fights me (and part of THAT is STILL unfamiliarity with some of the menu sections that I don't use as often, along with the already stated 'awkwardness' of many aspects of the menu system). Quite honestly, I think I would do a lot better playing with a real human, using voice commands, as opposed to menu commands for bots... a lot of the current difficulty is the interface as well as just the understanding of how to get things to do what I want (translating my wants into menu commands)...whereas with a human, I could communicate it much easier and intuitively.... not just because it's easier to say it, but because there's more flexibility in how to 'say' it, wider vocabulary, etc. (Example: I hate how when I select the command menu (Backspace key) the mates I selected get unselected... Half the time, I select a guy, activate the command menu, only to remember that it unselects everyone for some reason, so the command I want is now grey, then select the guy again, THEN the command. Just that sort of clumsy situation with the dynamic nature of the menu items that helps create a sense of not being fully in control or 'not getting it'...).

    So, ya, I'm in no way wanting to quit Arma2... Quite the opposite. I'm in the process of learning each detail, one at a time, to increase the quality of the experience. I'm definitely not 'running and gunning' or taking on the enemy by myself (...quite the opposite there, too!... My mates usually take care of the enemy before I even spot them!... Although, last night, I made a few more kills... but unfortunately spent the majority of the session giving first aid to my mates, who kept getting injured, one right after the other! I couldn't get any shots in! :rolleyes:

    BTW, ya, I'd LOVE to do things like call in support, etc... (doing recon and calling in a strike is one of my favorite elements!) but I'm playing out of the Editor.. with a single 4 man team, the Secop, First Aid and Ambient Combat modules.... and an Apache and Huey set up to be called in to join us via the radio. I don't have access to any of the support (ammo, medical, etc)... So, that's a shame. I'm unclear on how to set up the artillery mod (...it's explained, just not as easy to understand as the other modules). The Apache I set up can be used to do a sort of air strike (becomes a member of my team temporarily, and I (usually?!) can order it to attack SOME things). The Huey is more for troop targets,and giving us a lift to farther locations (...or getting us out when things are rough). So, I'm currently also only experiencing a small part of the Arma2 world.

  3. Posted · Edited by ladlon

    Man, I often seem to cause trouble when posting.... :p

    Ya, from my point of view, the grass is 'good'... realistic, bothersome (in a good way). As I mentioned, it WOULD be great to be able to lift your head up, even just to peek up. I have a TrackIR as well, and it would be great if you could actually move your head (lift) using that too.

    The whole 'does grass block the AI's view' debate baffles me.... Doesn't anyone know 'for sure'? Has the developer not stated something one way or another, or hasn't anyone viewed the code itself?

    I'm 'curious' about it, but certainly don't want to cause eyes to roll to the ceiling by mentioning it (as it appears the subject has been discussed to death).

    My original post was more in the vain of 'Wow, this is realistically hard! As would be expected from a non-military player, I'm not completely kicking AI butt here. I'm doing relatively okay, but am aware that I'm not doing things 'by the book' and efficiently/properly. For example, having a hell of a time spotting enemies, especially when prone!'.... So, it was more of a 'I'm curious how you guys do it', than a 'This game is stupid' kind of deal.

    So far, my sessions are more like 'I'm one team, my squadmates are another'.... as I'm really not utilizing formations, team tactics, etc. As well, since I'm spending a lot of time wrestling with the controls (in one form or another), my participation is not 'equal' to that of my squad.... Not necessarily that I'm doing nothing... but I'm doing DIFFERENT stuff than them. They obviously are doing correct stuff (unless I interfere), and I'm.... well.... doing my own world thing.

    Most of the blame simply goes to my not knowing the proper tactics, although part of it DOES rest on the wonky controls (commands, not movement and stuff)... as well as the limitations of the sim (situations it didn't consider, bugs, etc).

    I keep going in, wanting to experience the 'by the book' team-based warfare... but sadly, it usually ends up as 'my two teams'... with them saving my butt most of the time (as far as clearing hostiles), while I'm looking around, trying to spot the enemy that the squadmates are already battling with for a while!... or cursing while I try and exit the menu that has gone balistic on me. :rolleyes:

    I seem to only dictate where we are walking to, and healing guys. Granted, I've had several kills.... and when doing stuff like a 'Destroy important target' Secom mission, I'm the only one to actually try destroying the thing (as there doesn't appear to be a way to get the other guys to attack them... only to move to them!). Actually, that brings up another question... of how am I supposed to destroy these targets??? I tried grenades, which didn't really work. Usually, I just call in an Apache (which I've set up in my random missions with the radio feature)... but again, it's THEM doing stuff, and not me. I need them to airdrop a rocket launcher or something!

    I'm still playing vanilla Arma2. Figured I should figure out things first before going hardcore with ACE2, etc.

  5. Posted

    Well, truthfully, half my difficulty while on a mission is wrestling with the controls too. So many times I either:

    1) Can't seem to get the right control option (ex. Gate icon appearing... Getting the First Aid icon to appear when trying to get a wounded guy to stop crawling around...)

    2) Hit the wrong thing because the context menu suddenly changes

    3) Am in a situation where the software won't allow me to do what I want (ex. Tell the copter that I just failed to board to come back down with my squad, and let me try boarding again... without having to tell everyone to get out first, etc)

    4) Spend time fumbling through the menus because the mouse wheel got overzealous, or my keystroke wasn't registered (or registered twice)

    5) Operate based on what I THINK the control scheme should be, not what it IS... and repeatedly being surprised that a command isn't available at the time due to the dynamic/context nature of the controls

    6) End up shooting rather than selecting (or vice versa on a bad day!), or some other 'I didn't want to do that' scenarios, because some mouse buttons are linked to multiple actions

    That alone (topped with my general lack of knowledge on ADVANCED combat techniques (...I generally understand basic techniques/practices) help to turn my outings into a bit of chaos.... or, at least for ME.... My squadmates seem to do fine.

  6. Posted

    Ah... Okay, I guess I wasn't zoomed in enough or something... I just never seemed to have seen any numeric markings up to now (other than those ones on the shore). Half the time I'm looking at the 'hills' and wondering if it's a hill or a valley...

    No biggie... Just would get me one step closer to knowing what the heck I was doing! :D

  7. Posted

    Hrmmm.... Ya, I always wondered if (or how much) things like grass, bushes and trees actually DO block you from the enemy (visually, not bullet-wise). It would annoy me (as it does in other games) if they made no difference, and all my stealth tactics were pointless!

    Disabling the grass is a good idea (assuming it doesn't affect the AI, which seems to be in debate here)... but the grass looks so cool! (heheh...)

    (Actually, it would be cool to have a command to crane your head up a bit, just to look around without having to get up to a kneeling pose, then go prone again!)

    True, my squad usually takes care of the enemy before I've even managed to spot them... That's all lovely, but I really want to be part of the action too. Getting tired of being the 'slow' member of the team, not contributing, and having to be bailed out by the rest of the squad. :(

    I guess I just have to keep practicing and study some more 'proper tactics'. I'm just kind of doing things my own way right now... Probably would make another person (who is well versed in the proper combat techniques) spit out their coffee, and look in shock and dismay.

    Ya, seems I'm ALWAY in that flippin' grass... and not on some clear level ground. I'm always playing random sessions using the SECOM module. Always in the middle of a field! Argh....

  8. Posted · Edited by ladlon

    I'm carefully moving along, using cover, making sure the area is clear.... then suddenly an enemy is announced and/or we get shot at. Fine... I drop to the ground and seek cover. All that is great.... but then I'm faced with grass in my face, and seemingly no way to see the enemy (who is hard enough to spot without the grass!). I try pushing it down, relocating, etc... but it seems I'm always faced with grass and a bad angle (enemy's ground is rarely higher than mine, so they are behind the 'horizon'.

    Just wondering how you guys deal with this. I always seem to have to go to a kneeling pose just to be able to actually see the enemy and shoot... but that naturally puts me at a much higher risk of getting seen/hit.

    I'm just feeling like the soldier who wants to get in there with the rest of the troop, but can't seem to unjam his weapon! :(

    Curious to hear your tips, comments, etc...

  9. Posted

    I know how to read normal elevation maps, but I'm a bit confused about ARMA2 ones...

    1) Are there no actual elevation numbers on/by the contour lines? How do you tell if an area is a hill or a valley?

    2) I DID notice some numbers along the coast. What are those? Are those elevation numbers?

    Granted, I haven't really studied the entire map, but noticed this on my last session.... figured I'd ask, since I'm in the neighborhood. I suspect I'm going to look at the map again, and suddenly feel really stupid I asked!

  11. Posted · Edited by ladlon

    Ya, I didn't mean in mid-air... that WOULD be stupid. :j:

    I got shot (as a pilot) in an Apache, and managed to bring the copter down to a safe landing.... but after that, I (seemingly) had no options. Normally, you can call for help (fireteam), but while in a vehicle, it won't get answered (fair enough). You have to get out of the vehicle..... Problem is, it won't let you.

    Normally, in the 'writhing' state, you can still crawl ...but, for some reason, can't call for support (ambulance, etc), because you are no longer in charge. In this case, I was squirming/flailing inside the vehicle. I could still pilot the copter (except my view was red and my head was flailing around), but it did not allow me to get out.

    Oddly enough, I've managed to get IN a vehicle while wounded... but I can't get OUT.

    Yes, I'm using the first aid modules.

    Teamswitch seems like it would work, but only had one other team member (the gunner), and he wasn't set as playable.

  15. Posted

    Yep, that makes sense. Good work!

    I'll try that. If it doesn't work, it's no biggie. The Land Where You Are works fine, so it's really just a matter of pointing him to where you want him to go (like the airport), and then sending the Land command.

    I just make an aircraft that comes to you from the airport, and lands again once you dismiss him.

    Cool....

  17. Posted · Edited by ladlon

    Hey, Grizzle. I was tinkering around with some more triggers, and am a bit confused as to why this next thing isn't working. Hoped that you could take a quick look, and tell me what I'm doing wrong...

    I have my existing 'Request Apache' and 'Land Apache' radio commands that work great (thanks!). What I then tried to do was a 'Return To Base' command, much like what we originally were trying to do with the helipads.

    The coding I have is this:

    Apache1 doMove (getMarkerPos "Helipad1");

    Apache1 land "LAND";

    Apache1 join grpNull;

    Player hcRemoveGroup Apache1;

    (Where Helipad1 is a MARKER I placed, rather than an invisible Helipad, since I didn't think that the getMarkerPos command would work with an object)

    What seems to happen when run, is the Apache goes elsewhere (not the marker location), lands, starts up immediately, and flies to the marker, hovering there! Almost like it's doing the first two commands in reverse!

    Any theories? I'm going to try putting in an invisible Helipad on top of the marker, just to see if that makes a difference.

    ---------- Post added at 02:59 PM ---------- Previous post was at 02:43 PM ----------

    [LATE ADDITION]: In my second test (with the helipads as well as the markers), they did the same thing... BUT, once they were in the area (airport) and told again, they properly landed in their respective parking spots, and shut down.

    So, I'm wondering if this is something like what you mentioned before with things not working outside of the airport area? I figured that it would move to the marker (regardless of where it was), and then when it hits the LAND command, it would be right on top of a helipad anyway, so even if it didn't KNOW to choose that one specifically, it would find it as the nearest one.

    Does it wait for a command to be completed (the action, not just the execution of the command) before moving on to the next one? If not, maybe it's landing 'on route' to the marker (...does the gotoMarker command, but then immediately hits the Land command before it reaches it? That would explain why it seems to land first, then go to the marker, and hover there without landing. Any idea how to put in some sort of 'don't do the next command until you reach the marker' type thing? I imagine it could be done with waypoints (...keeping in mind that the waypoints would not be locked areas, as the scenario is always random).

  19. Posted

    I noticed that one change in the 1.05 update is that missions, addons, etc 'can' now be stored in the Users Documents folder, as opposed to inside the Arma2 folder.

    I'm wondering if this is mandatory, or it just gives you the OPTION to.

    I personally would rather it all be in the Arma2, as I'm against software that insists on putting things in my C drive (...I have a special drive for games on my system), as it only serves to use up the precious drive space I'd rather have my O/S use. So, just wondering if this new thing is an option, or if you have no choice.

  21. Posted

    Now that I got one script working, I may be a bit better at figuring out the other commands (via the script list posted somewhere in the wiki or something). I'm starting to understand the syntax a bit now.

    Ya, you would think that (if given an order) one of the suitable crew members of a vehicle would jump in the pilot seat... or (if they don't have that functionality) give you a 'No can do' response. But, I would have them giving me a 'Solid copy!', then sit there. Happens quite frequently. Then again, I think PART of it is that I noticed that when you give a move command, their actual destination is often quite a bit off from what you specified... and as a result, often they won't move, as they kind of feel they are 'there already'. So, I think in some cases (when the copter is sitting on the ground, with or without someone in the pilot seat), they will not start the engines and take off because they are not intending to move (as they feel they are 'close enough' already). Just a theory...

    Isn't the guy in the 'copilot' seat of the copter able to fly from his station? Seems to me he wouldn't even have to move (if the pilot were gone).

    I'm going to try a few more radio command based orders (like getting a Huey to come down and allow me to board).

    True enough, there appears to be some existing scripts that do all the stuff I'm ultimately after anyway.... and I intend on trying them..... but, it's also good to know how to do at least some of the stuff yourself, too. Just in case the 3rd party scripts are exactly what you want.

    I'll try out the hint thing. I'll try and find that script list thing again, and go through that again, now that I'm a bit more familiar with the syntax.

    Thanks for the help so far, guys!!

  23. Posted

    [A wee bit later...]

    Brilliant!!! Yup, that works!

    Previous to this, I simply had the Apache as part of my group, but had him sitting at the airport (whereas we were positioned randomly on the map via a HUGE Placement Radius setting). He would end up starting up his engines and finding us, which was a bit annoying, but usuable. The bigger annoyance was having to tell him to Disembark whenever we wanted him to not waste fuel hovering around over us while things were quiet... especially when I'd have to manually get the pilot back into the copter before I could even give it an order! Not good in a tense situation!

    Still, it 'worked'... and I had a Huey set up like that as well, so I could call it in to transport us where we needed. But this is MUCH better!

    Is there a way to have some type of noise or message appear when you do a radio call? Not critical... but it would be nice. I thought it would be in the effects section of the trigger, but the only sample I can find are atmospherics (wind, etc).

    I'm still trying to get the Return To Helipad thing working... It was working before (when I didn't have the Land Where You Are radio trigger), but now I can't seem to get it to work. Probably just an error in the code or the trigger I'll play around with it some more....

    Ya, Arma2 is sweeeeeet. It's my first time with the series. The only things similar that I've played previously were things like the older Rainbow Six games, and Battlefield2. I got Arma2 just before Christmas or so. Blown away by the complexity, the openess, and even the graphics.

    Runs quite well on my system (Dual Core P2.8 with a NVidia 8800 card). Considering that I'm always just playing my custom scenario (single group against Secom generated enemies), I can probably crank the quality up really high.

    Bugs? Ya... but with a game this dynamic and random, that's inevitable... and well worth the scope and randomness it provides.

    Really, my main issue with Arma2 is the controls... The shared key/mouse controls get really annoying (unintentionally doing one thing, when you wanted to do another... as often it's context sensitive). I will look into remapping some of the controls... as well as memorizing/setting up direct key commands for common things (so I don't have to wade through the command menus, which is made more difficult with the twitchy mouse wheel control).

    That done, I'll be really happy with this all! (...and I've only just been wandering around, on foot, with my single group... and haven't even got into some of the more interesting things... laser targeting, sniping, tank battle, etc. I've flown the planes a bit (very cool), but have found spotting enemies and targeting to be too hard at those speeds (...copters are fine, though).

    ---------- Post added at 12:32 AM ---------- Previous post was at 12:24 AM ----------

    Ooooo, ya the C130J..... I hopped into one once, and tried to taxi with it.... ended up in a forest near the airport. Seemed like the turn radius on that puppy was about 10 miles. (heheh...)

  24. Posted

    Is there an explanation of the individual difficulty setting elements (ex. Enemy Tag, etc) somewhere? My forum search for them didn't come up with anything.

    Failing that, could someone give me an explanation of them (or some of them)?

    Failing THAT, could someone tell me what I need to disable to get rid of the white circles around animals! :rolleyes:

    I thought it was Friendly Tag, but it seems to show it even though I've disabled it... sometimes. (Cue Twilight Zone music...)

  25. Posted

    YES!!!!! Okay, excellent! Now I have a radio command that brings the Apache over to me (from a parked, engine off position at the airport), and another radio command to dismiss him (where they return to the airport, land and shut off the engines). NICE!!!!!

    Okay, some more detailing....

    1) At this point, the copter is not part of my group, so once he arrives, I can't control him (ex. tell him to attack a target). Does he have to be part of my group, or is there some other means to have him attack things once he arrives? What is the equivalent coding for a SearchAndDestroy waypoint/mode (without a waypoint)?

    2) Rather than just meeting up with us via the doMove (getPos Me), is there a code/command for him to attack a specific target I'm indicating?... or is that a heavy/external coding thing? I guess the tricky part there is to specify a target... so are we stuck with just a 'search and destroy' mode when he arrives at our position (until I dismiss him)? That's cool too... just a target specification would be sweet.

    3) If I do a similar setup with an aircraft, do I position the aircraft at the end of the runway? Do I use a helipad, or some other object to indicate the landing strip?

    ---------- Post added at 11:06 PM ---------- Previous post was at 11:00 PM ----------

    Ah, looks like you may have also found a solution to my new question (regarding control/target specification). That would be excellent. Trying it out!

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