Invisible unit

[kkkonge]

Working with FP for some time now, I've often found that I needed some sort of a dummy guy. Especially when working with vehicles I've come across several problems:
1) You can't pre-determine what seat a given character will occupy,
3) lights cannot be left on in empty vehicles,
3) and the bug where you exit a vehicle, but then find that you cannot re-enter (only if you are not the squad leader).
The latter can be solved, but I just thought that having a totally invisible unit (physically invisible, non-intelligent, can't get shot, does not show up on squad listings etc.) would be quite usefull.
This way one can, say 'fill up' a chopper/car with invisible guys in order to ensure that the player is seated across another vital character/on the backseat - or cars could be left with their engines running - or the exit-enter bug could be worked around - or you could use it as a pinpoint dummy (inv. helipads are a bad idea with choppers in the air) - or...

Maybe this is just a lame idea. Maybe not. But I think it would be interesting to see someone do it.
Oh, what the heck, let's be honest: I need the sh*t...  http://www.flashpoint1985.com/ikonboard301/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/confused.gif

[advocatexxx]

Maybe just adding one action to the 'back' one:

Get In Ural sit in back
Get In Ural sit in front

I often wanted to sit as a co-pilot in the blackhawk only to realize that by boarding in back places me in the rear cabin and I have to fill all those seats up as the copilot seat will only be boarded last.

[Prospero]

</span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote (kkkonge @<hidden> Nov. 19 2002,15:40)</td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">Working with FP for some time now, I&#39;ve often found that I needed some sort of a dummy guy. Especially when working with vehicles I&#39;ve come across several problems:
1) You can&#39;t pre-determine what seat a given character will occupy,
3) lights cannot be left on in empty vehicles,
3) and the bug where you exit a vehicle, but then find that you cannot re-enter (only if you are not the squad leader).
The latter can be solved, but I just thought that having a totally invisible unit (physically invisible, non-intelligent, can&#39;t get shot, does not show up on squad listings etc.) would be quite usefull.
This way one can, say &#39;fill up&#39; a chopper/car with invisible guys in order to ensure that the player is seated across another vital character/on the backseat - or cars could be left with their engines running - or the exit-enter bug could be worked around - or you could use it as a pinpoint dummy (inv. helipads are a bad idea with choppers in the air) - or...

Maybe this is just a lame idea. Maybe not. But I think it would be interesting to see someone do it.
Oh, what the heck, let&#39;s be honest: I need the sh*t...  http://www.flashpoint1985.com/ikonboard301/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/confused.gif[/QUOTE]<span id='postcolor'>
Use a gamelogic.

Prospero

[kkkonge]

Use a game logic, you say?
It actually works (gee, and I never knew...), but: Come to think about it, I actually got the idea of an invisible unit quite some time ago. I was designing a mission, where the player&#39;s squad would join with another group, outgunned and desperately trying to hold a certain hill.
For this mission to work - to create the right sense of chaotic battle in the air - I wanted the soldiers to fire at each other without actually hitting. That is impossible with OFP, though you can use the &#39;fire&#39; command. This makes any gunner fire more or less upward, and it looks quite weird.
A workaround is to create an empty unit, say a civilian car. Via &#39;Dofire&#39; the soldiers readily shoot the unit to pieces, but this behaviour only applies to empty cars, tanks planes etc. and not to easy-to-hide objects like helipads, mines and so on.
Furthermore, one cannot make the machine gunners fire salvos, only a series of single shots.

And that&#39;s how the idea of the invisible unit came up. Place him at a distance from your soldiers, make them shoot at him, move him away, wait a while and then move him back again...

For the time being I&#39;ve decided to put that mission on hold.

One may argue that an invisible unit does not have a lot of uses, but I find that in some cases, it would be quite obvious to use such an item. I imagine the coding may either be quite difficult or very easy to do. Maybe someone would like to give it a go?

[granQ]

i also want a invisible one.. and the idea is great.. so stop posting "hey we don&#39;t need that" course some of us do. better let the space be open for those with ideas on how to make it..

[Prospero]

I spose you could just apply transparent textures to a standard soldier / weapons. Long way round, though.

You might try creating a modified and very simple transparently textured target object (if you need res LODs) with sufficient cost/type attributes such that AI soldiers will target/shoot it (this is more or less how the laser designator spot works). You could then move this around at will with setVelocity. A far more flexible solution.

That&#39;s how I&#39;d try it, anyway.

Prospero

[Prospero]

</span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote (GranQ @<hidden> Nov. 22 2002,16:03)</td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">i also want a invisible one.. and the idea is great.. so stop posting "hey we don&#39;t need that" course some of us do. better let the space be open for those with ideas on how to make it..[/QUOTE]<span id='postcolor'>
And I never said anything of the sort.

Prospero

[granQ]

</span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote (Prospero @<hidden> Nov. 22 2002,17:13)</td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">http://www.flashpoint1985.com/ikonboard301/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/wow.gif3--></span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote (GranQ @<hidden> Nov. 22 2002,16http://www.flashpoint1985.com/ikonboard301/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/wow.gif3)</td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">i also want a invisible one.. and the idea is great.. so stop posting "hey we don&#39;t need that" course some of us do. better let the space be open for those with ideas on how to make it..[/QUOTE]<span id='postcolor'>
And I never said anything of the sort.

Prospero[/QUOTE]<span id='postcolor'>
i am sorry if you took it that way.. it was more that i feelt the topic went from "HOW" to do it into a topic about "WHY" do it.. no hard feelings..