jedra

Jedra's Take On Taxis... Description After completing all my time trials and while waiting to play in something big and Russian you're probably bored right? Well here's something to keep you going until those big nasty birds arrive in a couple of days. Larkin Aviation have decided to tap into the burgeoning tourist trade in the Seattle area and also the desperate need for civilians to get around Seattle. They have purchased a couple of new helicopters and bought the "Dummy's Guide To Painting Your Helicopter" and have set up shop as Seattle's very first flying yellow cab company. Whenever you feel like earning a few extra dollars for yourself, simply take a shift in one of these beasts, take people where they want to go and generally watch your career funds head in a generally upwardly mobile direction. Download You can find the mission on my server by following the link below. As a bonus you will also get my Time Trial missions. download here or... Installation You will find two folders in the downloaded rar; @JedraMissions - contains the missions and all previous Time Trials @JedraTaxis - contains 2 new liveries. One each for light and medium type helicopters. You will find them under Light [Yellow Cab] and medium [yellow cab] respectively in the editor. Make sure that you have both or the missions will not load properly. You can either load them using the -mod switch method, or from the in-game expansion menu, or by using a thrid party thingymawotsit like Six Updater (I use this, it's very good!). Mission - further info This mission is a procedural mission much like the challenges that are provided with the game. It will be different every time you play it and offers a variety of challenges. At some point I will explain how I did it over in the editting thread - I am tired now though, so perhaps in a few days. Also if you did not take the hint from before, any money you earn as a flying cabbie will be added to your campaign funds. If there is enough fist shaking and cryings of 'you rotter' about this, then I may provide a version that is just for fun! Known Issues I haven't seen anything majorly game breaking, but I have seen the following; 1. Very occaisionally a new task does not get issued. Not sure why as I haven't been able to track down the bug. The only thing you can do is re-start. You will keep any money earned from completed fares though. 2. Sometimes the drop off point is the same as the pick up point. In this case, you have just earned some very easy money! I have only just spotted this, so will fix for the next release. As usual please feel free to critique the missions and/or post bugs and suggestions. I will myself be straddling those Russian beauties over the coming week, so I may not immediately get round to fixing any issues, but I will try! Most of all enjoy - I had a lot of fun making this mission!

Jedra's Weapons Indicator While playing the new Take On Hinds expansion I noticed that in Expert mode, there is no visual indication of the currently selected weapon. To get this you have to turn on the full HUD in the game options which also displays all the dials - which I didn't really want. This small addon displays the currently selected weapon and remaining ammo in the top right of the screen while in a vehicle. Although I made it with the Hinds expansion in mind, it will work in standard ToH and should work for any vehicle, not just helicopters. I made this for those that like to play in Expert mode, but would still like to know which piece of very expensive ordanance they are about to waste! UPDATE There was a serious flaw in my previous versions which mean that the weapons indicator did not display after an in-game revert. I have completely re-written the addon now to cater for this problem and it should now work as expected. Also - I have removed the original addon that used the BIS hint system and now just link to the version that uses the user interface instead. NOTE - THIS VERSION WILL REQUIRE CBA_TOH Download You can download the addon from my server using the following link; JedWeaponCheckAlt.rar Mirrors Removed mirror link for now until I have informed modsaholic... Six Updater Required Addons You wll need CBA_TOH which can be downloaded from here Installation Download both addons, extract the archive and place both @jed_weapCheckAlt and @CBA_TOH into your Take on Helicopters root folder. You can then either; 1. Add the mods to you -mod switch in your shortcut, 2. Use the in-game expansion menu to activate them (will require a game restart). 3. Use your favourite launcher in the normal way. I use Six Updater - it is very good! The weapon indicator will initialise automatically, you don't need to do anything to turn it on in game. Compatibility Should work in any version of Take On Helicopters with or without the Hinds DLC. I have tested in multiplayer, both LAN and Dedicated and it seems to work fine. Acknowledgements Thanks to BIS for making yet another awesome game. Thanks to the BI Forums community for your support, knowledge and dedication to making BI games the best in the business. Thanks to my familly for letting me waste far too much time on BI products! Issues None that I know of, but please let me know if you find any or have a feature request.

Enhanced Skills Slider by Jedra (new version 1.7) Description With some of the changes to the way precision-enemy and precision-friendly work in the 1.6 patch, I started to look at how the AI works in Arma 2, paying particular attention to the Skills Array. In various bouts of testing I found that the skills array had a drastic effect on the way the AI behaved. I came to the conclusion that just having a slider for overall skill was not giving the player, or server admin the fine control they needed. Hence the Enhanced Skills Slider. The Enhanced Skills Slider will allow you to change the skills of a whole side, a whole group or a single unit on the fly. It works in Single Player, Multiplayer (LAN) and Multiplayer (Dedicated). The Enhanced Skills Slider is a Client and Server Side Addon and will only be available to the server admin when playing multiplayer. It is accessed via the Action menu. Version Current version is 1.7. I have made a huge amount of changes internally this time and added the ability for any new units to inherit values that have been set up in the slider. There is also a more information in the details panel that indicates which values will be inherited by any newly spawned units. To achieve this, the mod must now be installed on clients and server if you want the units to inherit values. I have also added a map, which indicates the position of individual units (if a unit is selected) or the group leader (if a group is selected). The selected units are only shown briefly. If you are playing in 'rock hard' mode I did not want to reveal the whole battlefield and potentially spoil your game. If the unit doesn't appear for long enough, simply select it again. Changelog in the spoiler below... Known Issues Currently the addon cannot read the skills values of units that are attached to remote clients (although it CAN write to them). In this case, the values you see are what the server thinks they are. I am not sure if I will ever get around this, but I am looking into it. I don't see it as such a big issue though as mainly the focus will be on enemy AI which is generally on the server. If people have any suggestions regarding this issue then I will be happy to hear them. There is no feedback from the Dialog when you apply - just assume it has applied the values. There are occaisional script errors when the client or server tries to apply a skill value to a unit that has just been killed. I have tried my vary best to make sure this does not happen often, but sometimes the timing is such that by the time a message gets to the server, the unit has died. You may have to live with this but it only seems to happen when lots of units are engaged at the same time AND you try and change the skills. I have made a lot of changes in this version, although I have tested it extensivley in the last few days, there may still be some issues. ASR_AI users - Both the Enhanced Skills Slider addon and ASR_AI make changes to the way units are initialised. They both change the skills for new units. I do not want to fight with ASR_AI (Robalo is probably bigger than me!), so I have put my stuff in the Init whereas ASR_AI puts it's stuff in post-init. This means that any changes that ASR_AI makes will overwrite the changes that ESS makes. I have done this on purpose as otherwise things would get into a right mess. I cannot guarantee that any other AI mods (such as ZeusAI) will not get tangled up with my changes. It is likely that at some stage, when ASR_AI gets a GUI, my own mod will become redundant anyway - you're just going to have to bear these warnings in mind if you use both mods. I have tested this using the beta version 89223 - some of the security changes made in later betas may affect this mod. I have been too scared to try them, so for now using a more recent version is at your own risk. I would be interested in feedback of any bugs in later betas though. A Word of Warning Changing skills wholesale can seriously affect the playability of a mission. Please take some time to read the included documentation and experiment with your favourite mission and see how things are affected. Please, don't use this for the first time on that Once A Year Clan Night!! I really don't want a squad of angry ex-military types at my door at 3am demanding why I ruined their evening (unless they bring beer)! The Red Arrows are based less than a mile away - any trouble and I will call them - they will come and blow red white and blue smoke up you're ass! Features View skill values currently set for individual units Change individual skill values on the fly for Sides, Groups and single units Increase or decrease skills based on a percentage value Apply random skills to units based on a supplied range Apply a spread to Random Ranges so that each unit is slightly different Client and Server Side Addon Restricted to Server Admin in Multiplayer V2 Key Signature included Optional confid for CfgAISkills included see below) Full (ish!) documentation included in the download NEW - Any new units created by the clients or the server now inherit changes made with ESS - as long as these changes are made to All Units. NEW - ESS now has a map and briefly shows the location of units and group leaders selected. NEW - the details section now shows which elements will be inherited. Required Addons Community Based Addons - CBA (on host client, server and all connected clients) - Not included. JED_CONFIG is an optional addon, but if used, must also be on the host client, server and all connected clients. DOWNLOAD The addon can be downloaded here from my Server. Six Updater Direct Download Armaholic ArmA2Base ArmedAssault.info Mirrors are most welcome! Installation Install @JED_ESS as you would any other addon. If you don't know how to do this then you probably shouldn't use this addon ;-) Compatibility There is no reason why this mod should not be compatible with any other mod or mission. However, if a mod (or more likely a mission) you use also applies skills using script, then they may override any skills set in the Enhanced Skills Slider. Unfortunately I have no control over that, but you can always re-set them again! See the note on ASR_AI above for further clarification on this. If you you use the Optional Config, please read the warning in the readme (embedded below). Optional Config I have included an optional config in the download. To save my typing here is the readme from there... JED_CONFIG - By Jedra ===================== This config replacement will override the standard BIS CfgAISkill. It basically makes the skill values 1:1 with the values that are actually applied by the engine. By default the cfgAISkill config values are applied against the skills in the skills array. For example; If the following is set in cfgAISkill; aimingAccuracy[] = {0, 0.2, 1, 0.4}; An AI with aimingAccuracy 0 has an actual aimingAccuracy of 0.2 An AI with aimingAccuracy 1 has an actual aimingAccuracy 0.4 An AI with aimingAccuracy between 0 and 1 has respective (probably linear) actual aimingAccuracy applied. By making the config; aimingAccuracy[] = {0, 0, 1, 1}; There is now a 1:1 relationship between skills set in the skills array (via script) and the actual skill used by the engine. (Thanks to HeinBloed for the explanation). WARNING - using this config with other AI mods such as ASR_AI or Zeus may have unexpected effects as both of these mods also override cfgAISkill. WARNING - There is no undo feature in this mod, once you have applied skills, they are applied - no going back to orginal values unless you restart the mission!

Thanks for your interest in the add-on. Although I will never say never (not again anyway), I will say it's unlikely to be soon! About a year ago my PC became infected with the UCAS/Metropolitan virus and it completely wiped out all of my files. Coupled with this was the complete failure of not one, but two backup solutions. Not only did this destroy all my Arma data, but also my personal and work data. I lost my work and (for a time) my livelihood. During this time I fell out of love with all things PC. Not sure where I got the virus from as I was particularly paranoid about what I did with the PC and had several checkers and scanners which were run at least once a day. It just goes to show that there are always cracks and chinks in the armour and that the safety net doesn't always do its job. I am now starting to dip my toe back into PC gaming, maybe at some point I will get back into Arma and then begin to investigate if Arma 3 needs this add-on. Until then, keep on trucking and don't let the bastards get you down...

I thought the letter from CiA was both polite and a valid way of expressing a group's concerns and it was great to see that it was taken seriously by the quality of the reply from DnA. Everyone has their opinions about what is right and what is wrong with Arma 3 - heck, people are still having that discussion about Arma 2 after all this time. I think that one of the great things about the Arma series is that each game is a mini evolution and over time it changes and morphs (albeit in relatively small amounts). At least by adding their opinion and creating a discussion around it, CiA have set in motion the beginnings of this process. Life has got in the way this past six months and I didn't feel qualified to sign the letter when it was first sent to me but having played with CiA, I doubt that their concerns were unrealistic or reactionary - they are a great bunch of guys and have supported the Arma franchise well over the years. With some of the replies here though, I thought I has logged on to the Steam forums by mistake!

I will probably do this at some point. So many things going on in life at the moment that it's rather taken a back seat! This thread will be the first to know should I get it converted!!

Superb! I launched PWS so fast I forgot to read the part about it not being released yet! Can't wait to give it a go!

Love the PWS beta layout and support for local mods means I can nearly finally retire the old Six Updater. It will be somewhat a sad day when I finally uninstall SU as I thought it was an excellent product! Anyway well done to the team as PWS is really getting there now. Thanks for your continued efforts!

Thanks for this - love the ambulance! I'll hopefully give the missions a go this evening.

Although nowhere near as prolific or as esteemed as most here, I would not upload any of my own addons to Steam Workshop. I am very happy for them to sit on the Six Network and Armaholic but would not be at all happy if they ended up on the Steam Workshop. I never plan on making any money out of the minimal output I produce, but it is a matter of principle that I will not just hand over the rights to Valve. From a purely consumer point of view, the longevity of BI games is due in most part to the generous contributions that Addon makers to the community. If something like Steam Workshop prevented addon makers from providing content then the game will die a lot quicker than it otherwise would. Just the existence of Steam Workshop is enough as no-one has to prove that they created the work before it was posted up. People on these forums and on Armaholic are vigilant enough to spot plagerised work and it get's removed pretty quickly, but the owners of these distribution areas are not collecting the commercial rights to anything so no real damage is done to the author if it is not spotted for a while. I hope that BI and Valve manage to sort something out with regard to the EULA, but something tells me that Valve probably will not budge from their position.

Actually the xbox controller is quite useful - I use it for driving vehicles. I use keyboard/mouse for infantry and a Logitech G940 for flying. You are correct Spanky, by default it is recognised, but nothing is mapped. You have to go into the controls and map each function individually.

Hi, I am trying to reinstall Iron Front from scratch but I am having problems locating the correct patches - the ones I had backed up are reporting as corrupted. Is there a full list of patches from the original along with download links anywhere? I have the version from the BI Store. I have the DLC but it refuses to work unless the game is patched! Regards Jedra

Thanks Mr Burns - how sad it all turned out in the end...

I have raised a feature request in the tracker for audio. The text in the tracker explains my thoughts... "I would like to see in game options that allow you to better configure the audio options. Rather than Arma 3 using the 'default' input and output, I would like to be able to configure game audio and chat audio through different devices. I know that a lot of people use Mumble and Teamspeak but for a lot of public matches this is simply not always viable. For instance, I use a headset much like you get on the xbox (one speaker mono, with arm microphone). This is obviously no use for game sound, but is ideal for chat." http://feedback.arma3.com/view.php?id=4293 In an ideal world I would like to hear my game audio through my main speakers and the chat through my headset. This works really well when using TS or Mumble, and should really be configurable in game too.

Thanks for this SaOk - I am going to have to get good quick - the AI are brutal in Arma 3!

There are probably a fair few clans running without mods and most of the people who are used to hanging around in the Arma2 beta thread will be running without mods too (mostly). But as Dallas said, I think that BI wanted to get the majority of the community on board from the beginning, and the vast majority of Arma players are playing with at least one mod. In fact there are probably just about as many modders who don't actually play the game as there are players!! I think if they had closed it down for modding then they would not have got so many people pre-purchasing and so there is a financial aspect to this also. All in all your theory is sound and most projects would be locked to as tight a subset of code as possible for an Alpha, but we now live in the world of instant gratification ;-) All I would say is that anyone posting to the issue tracker should be posting having run Arma 3 Alpha without mods.

No problems here with Fraps 3.5.99 build 15618 (licensed version).

Great stuff - one of my favourite mission modes in Arma 3 - much appreciated!

Having been away for a while, it's nice to see that you are still working hard SB - thanks for this - very useful!

Hi, I just checked and it should work OK. You only need the two folders; @JedraMissions @JedraTaxis The other folder is just the source code. My version is using the very latest patch, so maybe that's the issue. Also I never us the in-game extension manager - I use Six Updater, but I don't see why it shouldn't work with the in-game manager - I will try that later...

Just installed the Downtown patch and everything is running great so far. Thanks for all your efforts in getting this out with everything else that's going on at BI Towers!

No problems with Win 7 64-bit here.

If you're playing DayZ then you are probably running with the latest beta too. This is a commonly reported symptom of the last couple of betas. Try joining a normal Arma2 server without the beta running and see if your symptoms persist.

Excellent - I was quite sad when the KS thing failed.

Interesting to see that today Microsoft backed down on barring 'Adult themed' games from their new app store. I think that they realised that this would be a huge mistake. With regard to Steam, I take anything that Gabe says with a pinch of salt. They have got the Steam store so locked tight with their terms and conditions that they are hardly the champions of the consumer. It does annoy me that everyone is desperately trying to create their own monopoly and it will be interesting to see how licence deals are struck in the future between publishers and the likes of Microsoft, Steam, Origin, Uplay etc. Already we have seen people pull out of Steam to distribute on their own service (and therefore at the price of their choosing) so things are already becoming more closed and offering less choice. Although Steam are now running the 'Green Light' system I suspect that this is a sweetener for bitter pill that is to follow. As usual interesting times ahead, but I can only see that it is us (the consumer) that will be left with fewer choices.