Pmc ranger path - campaign [Archive] - Bohemia Interactive Forums

Snake Man

May 15 2003, 00:50

PMC Ranger Path OFP Campaign

PMC Ranger Path campaign is US Army Ranger specific using Laser's Delta/Ranger, bas Blackhawk, Littlebird and Chinook addons. Missions are somewhat special in nature and you dont find same kind of basic infantry grunt action here as in PMC Fury. The lame storyline is much like in the other campaign where US forces fight off Russians from the four (official BIS) islands.
Some facts of PMC Ranger Path campaign:

- Radio messages without voice files, you'll see radio text but not hear a voice.
- Two cutscenes on every mission, these aren't that hot (sorry, don't expect BIS quality here).
- Thorough briefings, small section + detailed section.
- Over 20 missions and two standalone cutscenes.
- Islands used: Everon, Malden, Kolgujev and Nogova.
- Some missions might require lot CPU power (more or less 1ghz).
- Requires some addons; C-130, CoC UA/Mines, LSR Delta/Ranger, Bn880 Tracers, JAM3 etc.
- Optimized for 1500 meter viewdistance.
- Missions are designed for COOP multiplayer compatibility (MP versions will be released later).

Visit PMC Tactical OFP Campaigns (http://tactical.nekromantix.com/ofp/campaign.php) page and PMC Ranger Path Official Forum Area (http://tactical.nekromantix.com/forum/viewforum.php?f=4) for details.

blackdog~

May 15 2003, 00:56

Belongs in User Missions - looks good though! I'll download it.

RalphWiggum

May 15 2003, 01:20

yup.

LaPoi

May 15 2003, 01:27

Downloading the addons now. Where are the CoC mines anyway? http://www.flashpoint1985.com/ikonboard301/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif

blackdog~

May 15 2003, 01:39

In the NAM pack or at chainofcommand.com (in files)

LaPoi

May 15 2003, 02:02

Tried the first mission. It runs very smoothly on my computer. Suggestion: Can you use CoC's swiming people in the first level in an updated version? Pretty please with cordirite on top? http://www.flashpoint1985.com/ikonboard301/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/tounge.gif

Eviscerator

May 15 2003, 03:12

Okey dokey, finished the first mission, and now the second mission seems slightly hard, i have to attack the 'city' with four people, two machinegunners and a normal rifleman, and me, a rifleman, the city has about 30 or so troops and a BMP2, and i have no anti tank rockets to kill them with, the only russian RPG soldiers are stuck in the middle of the town, i have to kill about 20 of the soldiers before i even have the chance of getting near an RPG, so, ive kinda been dying a lot, i was just wondering, is this what you planned or is the number of people you start with based on the previous mission?

Skaven

May 15 2003, 07:30

hehe Getting Old Evis http://www.flashpoint1985.com/ikonboard301/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif
I'll give this a try, thanks a lot for the Campaign Snake Man http://www.flashpoint1985.com/ikonboard301/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/wink.gif

RED

May 15 2003, 08:22

The amount of ammo is passed on to the next mission (the same as the number of soldiers in your group)

By the third mission I was completely out of ammo with only 4 men left in my team. It would be good to have a weapon selection from the briefing.

RED

theavonlady

May 15 2003, 08:49

Which C130 file is required?

c130v1.pbo

or

c130v1a.pbo

TIA. http://www.flashpoint1985.com/ikonboard301/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif

Gourka

May 15 2003, 09:41

@<hidden>

C130v1a.pbo

</span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Code Sample </td></tr><tr><td id="CODE">addOnsAuto[]=
{
"BAS_derad",
"Bizon",
"C130v1a",
"bis_resistance",
"COCMine"
};
[/QUOTE]<span id='postcolor'>

Snake Man

May 15 2003, 10:31

</span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote </td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">Which C130 file is required?[/QUOTE]<span id='postcolor'>
Its the one that Gourka nicely pointed out, also I think this is the latest one. Good tip theavonlady, I have now updated our campaign page to reflect this specific version of C-130.

</span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote </td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">By the third mission I was completely out of ammo with only 4 men left in my team. It would be good to have a weapon selection from the briefing.[/QUOTE]<span id='postcolor'>
Hmm indeed in the FOURTH mission the players squad get resupply... this is too hard even for the hardcore. I mean you can get by when you pickup weapons from the enemies... but then it aint much of Ranger campaign if everyone is carrying AK-74 http://www.flashpoint1985.com/ikonboard301/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif

I'll do adjustments that the player gets fresh loads of ammunition in every mission, but the squad replacements arrive only at the fourth mission. I'll also add the gear selection in the briefing. Good note RED.

I wont make update today since ... well it was just released today, so lets wait at least until tomorrow and I'll gather up all urgent fixes there.

btw man am I shamed for the "deleted" hint on the first mission, yikes how could I left it there.

RED

May 15 2003, 14:43

Mission 4 is very hard, I suggest adding a savegame in after the first objective. I got to the last objective killed most of the enemy there, and then an artillery barrage killed my whole team.

There seem to be quite a few mines, do they activate when the enemy walk over them? If not could you script it so they do, it would be useful to watch enemy patrols so you can avoid the minefields http://www.flashpoint1985.com/ikonboard301/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif

RED

RED

May 15 2003, 15:44

Two bugs on mission 5:

1. When calling for ammo via the radio (0,1) you spelt sideradio wrong for the first sidechat text.

2. Alpha black has the identity of Bravo Black.

Mission 6 is good so far, half way through that one now.

RED

redliner47

May 15 2003, 22:32

For mission 2 is there something special i have to do? i have been walking around for like 15 min and i cant find anyone else

Sinister[tnuC]

May 16 2003, 07:03

mission 2 didnt end for me either, i used the endmission cheat.
those mines are lethal, i lost 2 ai just after start on mission 1

RED

May 16 2003, 14:29

The kill the general mission is impossible, there is no way that I could take out that much armour.

I would suggest having less 'clear the town' missions, they get pretty repetitive after 4 or so. I enjoyed the SAR mission, this could do with a bit of fine tuning though, ie add another objective to the briefing when falling back so it is easier to know what is going on.

RED

LaPoi

May 16 2003, 21:56

When is the first mission with addons? I am up to the 7th mission and not a single addon. And so far, everyone is talking about missions that I never got to and passed. http://www.flashpoint1985.com/ikonboard301/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/crazy.gif

Eviscerator

May 16 2003, 22:03

</span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote (LaPoi @<hidden> 16 May 2003,23:56)</td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">When is the first mission with addons? I am up to the 7th mission and not a single addon. And so far, everyone is talking about missions that I never got to and passed. http://www.flashpoint1985.com/ikonboard301/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/crazy.gif[/QUOTE]<span id='postcolor'>
er, did you download 'Ranger Path' or the 'Fury' campaign?

LaPoi

May 16 2003, 23:03

Fury........ http://www.flashpoint1985.com/ikonboard301/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/tounge.gif Oh how I look stupid right now. http://www.flashpoint1985.com/ikonboard301/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/wink.gif

Edit: I have a suggestion, in mission 6, instead of BIS parashutes, how about you use Gandalf 21vb's parashute?

http://flashpoint.gamezone.cz/shots2/skydiver.jpg

PitViper

May 18 2003, 01:28

it's nice having to worry about claymores and other mines now http://www.flashpoint1985.com/ikonboard301/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif

DayGlow

May 19 2003, 06:28

The mines are cool, too bad the ai can't see them. Not sure if you can do with the ofp engine you can 'mark' them mines by right clicking on them so the ai is aware of them. Too many times 1 stray guy gets his head blown off as I try to stear my squad around the mines.

Poet

May 19 2003, 06:58

Nice work so far.

Can I make 2 requests/suggestions.

1. Please get rid of the ghastly inane racist cr*p that the soldiers are spewing. Yeah it was cute for about 10 seconds, but it almost never fit in with the action, even when we are silently moving towards a target they keep spouting their mouths off.
Sure that may be quite realistic http://www.flashpoint1985.com/ikonboard301/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/wink.gif but its damned annoying, at least the option to disable it. PLEASE!

2. Can we have Campaign and Missions versions like other Campaign makers have done? It would be nice to have the choice of playing with teh same men and ammo, or starting each mission with a fresh squad.

Good stuff tho.

DayGlow

May 19 2003, 14:58

"kill the commie" is racist?

I've only played the 1st mission and that's all I've heard them say in that sense.

RED

May 19 2003, 15:13

No I would not say it is racist, but I would suggest changing this feature. Make it so the AI and player only says these things while in combat (detect the ammo of the unit in for change, have a short random delay then play the sound)

RED

Poet

May 19 2003, 15:37

I didnt mean "racist" as in I'm gonna pull the P.C card and start giving lectures ... http://www.flashpoint1985.com/ikonboard301/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/tounge.gif

But "Eat lead Commie Scum!" repeated every few minutes did get a touch irritating.
And it was like a cough in a Doctors waiting room, once one got it, they were all at it.
I'm sure some people will think its a really cool addition to the campaign, I personally would love to see the option to remove it or at least reduce the amount.

<>Crippler<>

May 19 2003, 15:51

Does anyone else have the problem of men dying when you rappel out of he chopper at the beginning of some missions? On the first few missions everything was ok, but now I seem to pause at the top of the rope, then fall off and break my legs or die http://www.flashpoint1985.com/ikonboard301/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/crazy.gif sometimes my whole squad gets injured as well, anyone else have this problem?

Crippler

Snake Man

May 19 2003, 17:10

About the AI yelling... if you call that a "racists" then I suggest you complain to BIS, they are the default sounds found in the Operation Flashpoint added there by the makers of the game.

Other thing... the AI fast roping from helicopter, I just do not understand why this happens - I never had it happen while playing the missions itself, but it does happen on the opening cutscene randomly. Seems like if OFP has been running long time and/or different missions, it tends to do that but after reboot it works ok. Go figure.

DayGlow

May 20 2003, 03:13

Damn if the SAW gunners aren't the most vicious people in the world. I use 2 and they regularly cut down 10 enemies at around 500m http://www.flashpoint1985.com/ikonboard301/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif Don't leave home without them.

theavonlady

May 20 2003, 04:44

</span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote (Snake Man @<hidden> 19 May 2003,20:10)</td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">About the AI yelling... if you call that a "racists" then I suggest you complain to BIS, they are the default sounds found in the Operation Flashpoint added there by the makers of the game.[/QUOTE]<span id='postcolor'>
I think the main point is to make these voices more random and less frequent. That's all.

John C Flett

May 25 2003, 08:49

Just started playing the campaign last night. Rather good though I can see its better suited to coop than single play. The mines are a problem for the AI though if I'm on the ball I can shoot them out.

I'd kind of agree with some of the comments about the AI shouts though. Its a nice touch but there isn't enough variation for the frequency. A little less often would be better I think.

Nice campaign so far and I'll be back to it after the cinema this morning.

Okay been playing some more and had a few thoughts.

The barrages are too deadly and too fast. I can't move too fast without losing my team but if I stop we get slaughtered. I don't know about real life but could any soldier in a fire fight really call support down that accurately and fast? Perhaps, but its no fun in the game.

Secondly, friendly AI. Okay, you said the mission was balanced for coop but I play SP. It seems to me my guys are rather poor for an elite unit. At one point they waited for a BMP to get within 100m before needing FIVE shots to hit it. Have you knocked down friendly AI on some missions?

Eviscerator

May 25 2003, 17:29

Secondly, friendly AI. Okay, you said the mission was balanced for coop but I play SP. It seems to me my guys are rather poor for an elite unit. At one point they waited for a BMP to get within 100m before needing FIVE shots to hit it. Have you knocked down friendly AI on some missions?
This is actually down to our (BAS') addon, in default when placed in a group the AT soldier has very little skill, and has trouble hitting even static targets, slide it to the right a bit and they get much better...

John C Flett

May 25 2003, 20:41

Just took a look at the missions and all the AT guys have the skill slider set all the way to the left. No wonder they're so poor.

Additionally for Poet and co. In the 'ai_control.sqs', change the 'comment' header under 'random chance of a reply'. I've set it to '(random 50 < 2)' to get a more reasonable level of battlecries.

I'm getting to rather enjoy playing about with prebuilt missions. Mayby I should do something of my own.

theavonlady

May 26 2003, 04:09

I'm getting to rather enjoy playing about with prebuilt missions. Mayby I should do something of my own.
More mission makers, both solo and team members, are desparately needed in the OFP community.

Poet

May 26 2003, 08:14

Thanks for the Tip John C, this is a great Campaign, I'm really enjoying it so far, lots of nice touches, its just as an English OFP player I find it hard to concentrate listening to those never ending corny cliche's.
Its like a Jerry Bruckheimer film at times. http://forums.bistudio.com/oldsmileys/crazy_o.gif
I've looked at the same AI script myself and seen it in a couple of other missions. I think its fantastic when the enemy use it and you can hear them shouting at each other when you attack.
Any idea how I can change the script to completely remove the Allies using the comments and let the Russians keep them ( I can handle cliche's in Russian, cause I havent a clue what they're saying http://forums.bistudio.com/oldsmileys/biggrin_o.gif ), still keeping the other cool enhancements the script uses?

Snake Man

May 26 2003, 10:53

change the script to completely remove the Allies using the comments and let the Russians keep them
Okay, so whos being racist now? http://forums.bistudio.com/oldsmileys/smile_o.gif

Oh dear you guys with this bull about little things. The only one factor that makes me think about the ai_control script is the deadly enemy artillery that they call on you.

Anyways, answer to your question is; unpbo the campaign, use notepad to open init.sqs file in each of the mission dirs, comment out the lines which say:

["initialise",assault1,[0],[0],[0],0,0] exec "ai_control.sqs"

And then you and your team mates will be silent during the mission. Remember, you need to do this to each and every mission where you want to remove the voices.

Oh btw, I cant provide any "technical support" for Ranger Path campaign if you have done your own edits to it.

theavonlady

May 26 2003, 12:09

Just started playing now. Comments:

1. Put the updated version number on the Campaign's main overview page. That will make sure that anyone that has a problem knows what version they're playing.

2. 1st mission, under WAR SITUATION in briefing, some corrections:

- war torn
- .............. thrown out of here ..............

3. 1st mission, the tank outside the base should be a little more active once anyone around the base is shot at.

4. 2nd mission, what blew us to pieces? Mines? Artillery? Whoa! Came outta nowhere! Sort of guaranteed instant death unless you've played the mission once, which is not a fun way to play, IMO.

5. There were other grammar errors in the 2nd mission's briefing but I didn't write them down.

6. BTW, I like the AI voice taunts. http://forums.bistudio.com/oldsmileys/smile_o.gif Maybe you could introduce a RADIO command to turn them on/off for those that don't like them?

7. Any chance you'll create voice files for the radio messages like the ones you produced for the PMC Fury Campaign?

So far, that's all I've played. Keep up the good work!

John C Flett

May 26 2003, 16:39

Quote[/b] ]Oh btw, I cant provide any "technical support" for Ranger Path campaign if you have done your own edits to it.

Oh no, any dumb mistakes will be entirely my own work. Before I do start breaking things though, are we looking at another version or is this a final?

redliner47

May 26 2003, 20:24

on the mission "PMC" Ranger bait i start with four guys even though all my guys survived the previous mission? also when you lose guys, they next mission they still appear, but they r in the chopper

RED

May 26 2003, 20:47

Yes that is odd, Snake Man make sure you use deletevehicle on those men.

RED

John C Flett

May 28 2003, 21:30

Doh! Seems to be an unknown addon in the end of all places. An LSD. Either a landing ship or the drug. I can find mention of it in forums but haven't found a working download yet.

Or wait, is this the critter? USS Ashland at

http://ofp.gamezone.cz/index.php?showthis=3834

Snake Man

May 28 2003, 23:30

Doh! Seems to be an unknown addon in the end of all places. An LSD. Either a landing ship or the drug. I can find mention of it in forums but haven't found a working download yet.
In which mission did you find Dock Landing Ship addon used?

John C Flett

May 29 2003, 05:50

The closing cutscene. And no, I haven't actually finished the thing. I had broken it into individual missions to look at it. And yes, it was the Ashland from the previous link.

Very enjoyable still but I think the AI levels really need tidied up for single player. My team mate vary from 0% AT to 100% SAW. For an elite unit the AT guys are a joke while my machine gunners are just super human. I've been experimenting with a uniform 75% for all rangers and it seems a fair balance.

Additionally a thought for the lethality of the artillary support. I can't figure the scipt sufficiently but an idea I had was if units in the fire zone got an 'incoming' warning when the script activated while the altitude of the shells was set to mayby give 4-5 seconds before they started bursting.

Mayby a crap idea but I thought I'd mention it.

Bremmer

May 29 2003, 19:01

It's always nice to get feedback on a script, even if it is implying I'm a racist http://forums.bistudio.com/oldsmileys/wink_o.gif

Snake Man - it might interest you to know that v1.1 of my ai script is available at the OFPEC. There is an easy option that would allow you to turn the sounds off/on, as well as a host of other improvements (making the option side specific is a good idea - I'll take that onboard for the next version). I also tried to cut back on the frequency of the comments - I appreciate it can become tiresome in a long mission. The script just now is limited to the ofp default sound files, but I would love to add lots of custom ones to decrease to repetition. If anyone is willing to help me by recording some sound files (both english and russian) please e-mail me at ian at 289gwr.fsnet.co.uk or IM me on the OFPEC forum.

Regarding the accuracy of the artillery, I must say I'm not an expert in the real subject but it strikes me that if a target stays in the same place artillery will very quickly zero in on it. That is what the script simulates - the first volley is usually well wide of the mark, if the target position does not move successive volleys become more and more deadly. Keep moving and you'll almost never be hit.

Right - I'm off to download the campaign.

Cheers

Ian

John C Flett

May 29 2003, 20:30

Quote[/b] ]Keep moving and you'll almost never be hit.

Broadly true, but the AI in my experience need you to pause occasionally or they can get lost. If OFP had a spread out command to increase seperation it might help. Additionally since they don't respond well to the arty they will quite happily run into it. As a player I have rarely been killed but I loose my squad too often.

As for more variation in the comments, go for it. That was always my complaint not any percieved racism. Though surely 'die commie' is a political rather than a racial slur? My pet hate is having an elite soldier scream 'were surrounded' after hes spotted one guy 500m away! Big sissies!

John C Flett

May 29 2003, 23:04

Right, I've been playing around with the script when I should be in bed. I have to get up for work in 5 hours.

What it seems to me is that the key to the artillary is the z coordinate. This is what controls the time between making the call and the shells hitting the target. Easy enough. What it seems to me is that this time is too low, once you're spotted the shells follow too close behind even if your moving.

Now I'm no expert but lets say I see you and know where you are. I take my radio and say 'fire for effect XX to XX by YY to YY.' Now thats almost five seconds speaking clearly. Assuming an experienced crew men say 10 seconds to respond and adjust fire? Now the question is how long does a typical mortar shell spend in flight? I'm sure one of you guys out there can give an answer but lets say 15 seconds. So what kind of a z axis do we need to simulate that time of flight? Around 1200 by my tests. Quite a change from the 20 - 40 already used.

My sums and theory may be wildy off the mark but I think this may be the key to making the script workable. We can't diminish the effect of a shell, the key has to be in finding the right time between call and impact. I'll keep experimenting but I'd be curious to hear what anybody else thinks.

Back again, I've been playing around and I think these changes seem to do the trick. Getting caught in a barrage is deadly still but it is avoidable.

Beyond that though I am getting a bit tired of the campaign. Sorry Snake but I think this is just too hard for a single player campaign. With artillary support, mines and reinforcements pouring in its just too much for the AI to handle. I can see it being a damn good coop campaign but as a single player I think some of the missions ( Mountains - Cain being a real bitch ) are just asking too much of a single player.

sgt.elias31

May 31 2003, 19:15

yay im proud! I lost one man on the first mission. On the second mission i lost only one guy again. If anyone needs help for the 2nd mission , position ur men on the hill overlooking the town. (opposite side of the town from where you start) Have 2 SAW gunners and give everyone else grenade launchers giving yourself a sniper rifle and an at4. Have ur men hold fire until thier in position on the hills. Then blow up the bmp2 with the at4 and have your men open fire. The russians get slaughtered by the grenade launcers. Then take out the t-72 with another at -4 round when it comes. Just keep sniping guys and your home free. The best part is , the artilerary never came when i was up there! Does anyone have strategies for mission 3?

ruff

Jun 1 2003, 03:27

mission 2 was the hardest so far i reckon
had to be like rambo
so that ai dont use artilerry strikes
i actually attacked it front on
but i cheated though
i used the save cheat
but i was so hard even though i saved it
i only had one guy after i think the 4mission
up to the 5th mission now i think or sixth

ruff

Jun 1 2003, 03:30

theavonlady

Jun 1 2003, 11:26

I decided to restart the campaign, since I saw a new release over on PMC's forums. http://forums.bistudio.com/oldsmileys/smile_o.gif

In the first mission, as you clear the 2nd object (fuel depot/road block), there's a UAZ there, full of baddies.

I had already triggered the objective clear trigger and message and all these guys were still in the UAZ.

The win outro took over during which time 2 of my men were killed. Not fair!

What should happen is that the moment any of the soldiers in the UAZ or the fuel depot are fired upon, all UAZ soldiers should debark in mode=nasty. http://forums.bistudio.com/oldsmileys/tounge_o.gif

Please fix. http://forums.bistudio.com/oldsmileys/rock.gif

BTW, in the 2nd mission, was anything changed as far as the arty barrages or am I a goner already? http://forums.bistudio.com/oldsmileys/sad_o.gif http://forums.bistudio.com/oldsmileys/wink_o.gif

theavonlady

Jun 1 2003, 15:23

In Baseblast, it would be nice if the T80 tank crew would disembark after either the tank has taken on a certain amount of damage or if the commander has been killed.

John C Flett

Jun 1 2003, 16:13

I think a bug that owes more to OFP than the campaign ( I seem to remember something similar from resistance ). I completed 'mountain' as the only survivor than went on to 'action 2' playing alone. Needless to say didn't get far, reverted to 'mountain' and finished it with seven other men. On returning to 'action 2' I find I've lost my other survivors.

I don't know if there is a work round ( going back two missions? ) but I thought I'd mention it.

theavonlady

Jun 1 2003, 16:28

I don't know if there is a work round ( going back two missions? ) but I thought I'd mention it.
You could delete file \OperationFlashpoint\Users\YourPlayerName\Saved\Tmp\pmc_ranger_path.sqc, and use the CAMPAIGN cheat to revert to the mission but that would be with a full team and you wouldn't want that, would ya? http://forums.bistudio.com/oldsmileys/wink_o.gif

John C Flett

Jun 1 2003, 17:29

Quote[/b] ]you wouldn't want that, would ya?
http://forums.bistudio.com/oldsmileys/rock.gif
Mayby try once more as a solo Rambo.

Okay, I gave up and cheated.

Snake, in the same mission ( action 2 ) you seem to have forgotten to initialise the AI for assault1. The mission works but none of the fancy stuff happens.

Additionally, and I do apologise for my screwing around with all your hard work, but I've been experimenting with a variation whereby only officers can call in artillary support rather than every grunt in the country. It seems to work quite well but thats just my 2cents.

FSPilot

Jun 2 2003, 04:15

I didn't like it. It was just too generic. Capture the town, capture the base, capture the airfield, capture the fuel depot. Every once in a while there'd be a good mission like the POW missions or the sniper mission, but it was just too much of the same.

John C Flett

Jun 2 2003, 17:55

Quote[/b] ]Capture the town, capture the base, capture the airfield, capture the fuel depot

Isn't that pretty much a description of most military operations?

I'll admit I like a bit of action with helos and armour but I think this campaign offers enough variation in the way missions play out. The advance AI keeps you on your toes sufficiently and there are plenty of little delights. Calling in close air support in 'action 2' and having the A10 zoom in rght over our heads was worth playing that mission for in itself.

Your not wrong that its 'generic' but Snake Man has done it so well that I can't complain.

Another bug - Snake in some missions you have given assault1 a value 0,0,0,0,1,1 in the initialisation. I was playing the Pilots mission and the first time I spotted an enemy patrol half my unit ran away! Not a great advert for the rangers.

FSPilot

Jun 2 2003, 23:38

I wouldn't know, I'm not a soldier. But when I play a game I want to do something new and exciting, not the same thing with a different view.

theavonlady

Jun 3 2003, 11:43

I like PMC's campaigns because they're not far fetched and exotic. The over campaign story line portrays a realistic type of goal of conquering and securing another area of the island.

Back to the campaign..................

Those artillery barrages are a real over-killer. There's just no warning and moving around doesn't always help.

Snake Man, if you won't eliminate them at least:

1. Make them more innacurate.

2. Fire fewer rounds - maybe just a single each time.

3. Make the first round inaccurate, forcing the player to move quick or die.

John C Flett

Jun 4 2003, 21:49

Does anybody have a good solution for 'decapitate', The mission where you have to kill a general defended by half the red army?

By good I mean not involving huge amounts of luck, superhuman effort against hoards of armour or cheating by knowing where things are from previous efforts. I can complete it but I'm not satisfied with the way I did it. Even making it to the extract without the helo being shot down seems to be more luck than design. So any solid and reliable plans would be very welcome.

FSPilot

Jun 4 2003, 21:59

I just shot him from a way off. Grabeed a sniper rifle, trotted over to a hill and popped the guy with the black hat. Don't think I took any fire, but those tanks scrambled to look at me.

I did have to knock out a BMP that got too nosey towards the rest of my squad (I left them behind so I wouldn't have to deal with them or worry about them blowing my cover. Plus I hate them showing into the radio and startling me to call out a pretty bird they saw or something).

Another thing that kinda bugged me: landmines. Does the enemy just randomly toss them out there? Somehow they knew about most of the LZs before I got there. I can understand a few places being fortified with landmines, but a SAR mission? How did they know I was going to land there?

John C Flett

Jun 5 2003, 05:18

theavonlady

Jun 5 2003, 08:19

I just played the Airbase mission, where you start off jumping from a C130 (can't wait for a quality C130).

This was one great mission! Russians were everywhere and those Spetsnaz patrolling in the bushes on the way to the fuel depot had me pinned down for quite some time.

Then the airbase was quite a treat. Nothing to it. My SAW bunnies did most of the hard work from a safe distance.

Now all I have to do is get used to not wearing binocs. http://forums.bistudio.com/oldsmileys/tounge_o.gif

John C Flett

Jun 7 2003, 15:32

Having all kinds of problems with 'Bait'. The most obvious being what am I actually meant to do? Am I meant to destroy the tanks or simply place satchel charges? Either way I barely get time to do anything.

When I do try to flee the tanks seem to pursue me without hesitation and any attempt to evac usually results in the helo getting shot down before I can reach it.

Help big time would be appreciated.

FSPilot

Jun 7 2003, 15:58

Quote[/b] ]I just shot him from a way off.

When I played it I could not get an angle on him, he was tucked too far round a corner and getting a LOS on him meant coming within about 150m on the north or about 200m to the south. Suicide either way.

I still don't know how they mined our LZ in the first place.
To be honest I saw him prone in the middle of the street (huh?) and he was moving around so I noticed he was an officer. I just shot him in the feet. Eventually he got up and started running so I picked him off.

And I still don't know how they mined our LZ.

ting

Jun 10 2003, 08:41

I'll type inn my problems here, since i dont want to register at the pmc board. To many things to remember:)

Problems: I played throug most of the missions. However this was an erlier beta version. 2 things ruined my experience:

Though I had non or very few losses in the previous mission i often found myself alone whit my men falling dead in the chopper. ( I suspect the save soldiers function doesnt work properly).

In i think capture the officer or something. The insertion doesn't work. I eject with my group and proceed with my mission. On making kontakt with the enemy i get ordered to withdraw, loose som ammo, all but 3 of my men and are ordered to a non existent point of escape. This happend in several missions. I suspect this was not intentional in any of them.

I have downloaded version 5. But i start alone on mission 2, even if i dont loose any men.

I use a seperate addons and campaigns folder for this and other campaigns based in post 1985. It has kegetys editoraddon incorporerated.

Could it be that i should use my res\addon folder and campaign for this to funktion properly?

I love the campaign and i am addicted to the savegame cheat:)

Hope you have a quick fix so i can cotinue with mission to again. This campaign has a high replay ability.

theavonlady

Jun 10 2003, 08:55

I have downloaded version 5. But i start alone on mission 2, even if i dont loose any men.
1) Delete the following folder:

\OperationFlashpoint\Users\yourPlayerName\Saved\campaigns\pmc_ranger_path\

2) Delete the following file:

\OperationFlashpoint\Users\yourPlayerName\Saved\Tmp\pmc_ranger_path.sqc

3) Use the CAMPAIGN SP cheat to revert to mission 2.

Quote[/b] ]I use a seperate addons and campaigns folder for this and other campaigns based in post 1985. It has kegetys editoraddon incorporerated.

Could it be that i should use my res\addon folder and campaign for this to funktion properly?
No.

ting

Jun 10 2003, 10:06

Thank you young lady, it works! Now i can resume testing http://forums.bistudio.com/oldsmileys/biggrin_o.gif

theavonlady

Jun 10 2003, 10:29

Does anybody have a good solution for 'decapitate', The mission where you have to kill a general defended by half the red army?

By good I mean not involving huge amounts of luck
I had a super amount of luck.

I was carrying an M24. Approaching the valley where the town was, it took me no time to see that going in head-on was suicide.

Further, having 8 guys running behind me might draw attention from those wandering BMPs. So I told my team to stop up above and keep low.

I headed a bit north up the ridge. Then I ran west across the lower grounds, having to hide twice - once from a patrol, another time from a BMP.

After reaching about 100 meters before the coast, I turned due south. Again I had to take cover from a roving BMP. I got within about 50 meters of the back of the town. I took out an AT soldier and made a quick run to some shrubs in between the back of two houses on the town's western edge.

I decide to crawl forward (east) between the two houses. There were shrubs on both ends of the alley way. I get to the shrub at the front of the house and stick my nose out, only to confront a group of Spetsnaz units. I was literally sniffing one guy's army boots.

So I back up the alley, hoping to go back far enough to toss a grenade. But I can't go back that far because there's a patrol to the west and a tank looking around. So I went back as far as I could and tossed the grenade while prone.

I crawled straight back into the alley. As I get midway, I notice a figure prone in the bushes in front of me, alive. So I popped him. That's when the radio message appeared that the primary target was no more.

http://forums.bistudio.com/oldsmileys/smile_o.gif

Then I had to escape. Those Spetsnaz who were previously guarding the General were lurking in the back, looking for me. I took them out with the M24. I then ran towards the beach to the west and ran northward and then back east towards the mountains where my team was waiting.

They got spotted. http://forums.bistudio.com/oldsmileys/sad_o.gif Though they took out one BMP another one finished them off before I let the BMP have it with my AT4. Only one teammate survived and he was wounded.

I didn't notice the 3rd BMP that fired at me. Fortunately, I was prone and on the edge of a ridge so I was only wounded and managed to escape. I managed to make it north of the EZ and radiod in the chopper. Then I saw the squad 100 meters in front of me. I managed to take out as many as I could see between the trees and bushes but when the chopper came in, it took on fire without returning any, turned around, flew east a little and crashed over the next hill.

I cried wee-wee-wee all the way back to the base on foot. My surviving teammate got stuck on some ridge or tree and never showed signs of getting closer to the base even when using 4x time acceleration.

Had to use the ENDMISSION cheat to complete the mission. http://forums.bistudio.com/oldsmileys/sad_o.gif

theavonlady

Jun 10 2003, 10:30

Thank you young lady
Forum boors and cads, take note! http://forums.bistudio.com/oldsmileys/biggrin_o.gif

theavonlady

Jun 10 2003, 11:03

A general suggestion for a change to many of the campaign missions:

After a chopper drops you at an LZ, it should move far away, land somewhere and shut off its engines.

Hearing the choppers hovering throughout missions is annoying and less realistic, IMO.

John C Flett

Jun 11 2003, 05:57

Quote[/b] ]I have downloaded version 5.

Theres a version 5?

And I've been having to iron out so many bugs for myself! I wonder how much time I've wasted.

DayGlow

Jun 12 2003, 00:45

Well I'm stuck on the attack base mission (#4?) where you hit the base on the coast. I"m in the forest and see a nice fat T-80 just sitting there. I tell my 2 AT guys to hit it, it's like 200-300m away and in the open. They proceed to move towards it, running around like morons, and when they do finally shoot, if they ever do, they miss it every time. Kinda kills the mission for me ya know?

theavonlady

Jun 12 2003, 04:46

I tell my 2 AT guys to hit it, it's like 200-300m away and in the open. They proceed to move towards it, running around like morons, and when they do finally shoot, if they ever do, they miss it every time.
There was an earlier post on the thread about a problem with BAS AT soldiers that need their skill level bumped up in order to hit the side of a barn.

Snake Man, was this adjusted? I've also encountered this in missions. http://forums.bistudio.com/oldsmileys/rock.gif

John C Flett

Jun 12 2003, 05:58

Not according to the readme. This is still looking awfully BETA which is why I've been prodding about myself.

eg, No save points ( surely a mission shouldn't be designed for cheating ).

Mission Data - Briefing requires the player to retrieve data but victory conditions don't require the player to go anywhere near the house,

Over rapid response results in the evac helo getting shot down.

Mission Snatch - Rappel sequence has wrong helo declared. Team won't exit.

Random placement of General not activated, he always stands in the street in the same place.

Again too many machine gunners usually shoot down your evac.

Mission Morning - Assault command for second unit / snipers never activated.

Helo has a habit of tryibg to drop you too close to the enemy and getting shot down while evac tends to end up in the sea.

Briefing claims your in a Black Hawk when its actually the '47'.

Mission POW - One of the little birds always crashes enroute.

theavonlady

Jun 12 2003, 06:08

Not according to the readme. This is still looking awfully BETA which is why I've been prodding about myself.
Well.......................... it is beta.

Quote[/b] ] eg, No save points ( surely a mission shouldn't be designed for cheating ).
I use the SAVEGAME cheat when necessary.

Quote[/b] ]Over rapid response results in the evac helo getting shot down.
That's true in a number of missions. It should be mentioned in briefings that EZs should be clear before calling in choppers for evac.

I learned that leason in the Decapitate mission.

Quote[/b] ]Mission Snatch - Rappel sequence has wrong helo declared. Team won't exit.

Not the same problem but I have had several cases where I don't rappel down the rope but the rest of my team does. I just dangle off the bottom lip of the back ramp. I either have to jump or try moving around or switching between 1st/3rd person view to unjam myself.

I don't know if this is a BAS Chinook bug or a PMC scripting bug.

Snake Man

Jun 12 2003, 07:45

This is still looking awfully BETA
Its not only looking, it is.

Quote[/b] ]No save points ( surely a mission shouldn't be designed for cheating ).
True.

Or surely lower skill players should stick with Steal a Car?

Quote[/b] ]Mission Data - Briefing requires the player to retrieve data but victory conditions don't require the player to go anywhere near the house,
Fixed.

Quote[/b] ]Over rapid response results in the evac helo getting shot down.
Cant comment on this one other than, I think squad leader should not call extract when situation is too hot.

Quote[/b] ]Mission Snatch - Rappel sequence has wrong helo declared. Team won't exit.
Fixed.

Quote[/b] ]Random placement of General not activated, he always stands in the street in the same place.
Fixed.

Quote[/b] ]Again too many machine gunners usually shoot down your evac.
Squad leader should not... yada yada

Quote[/b] ]Mission Morning - Assault command for second unit / snipers never activated.
Fixed.

Quote[/b] ]Helo has a habit of tryibg to drop you too close to the enemy and getting shot down while evac tends to end up in the sea.
Uhm dunno what to say... Insert LZ was changed further and it does not appear to happen over ocean now. Extract LZ is still the same. Does the extract land on water or what?

Quote[/b] ]Briefing claims your in a Black Hawk when its actually the '47'.
Fixed.

Quote[/b] ]Mission POW - One of the little birds always crashes enroute.
I have played this mission few times, single and multiplayer. I have never seen littlebird to crash.

Quote[/b] ]After a chopper drops you at an LZ, it should move far away, land somewhere and shut off its engines.
I was already trying the helo waypoint get out, wait for call and get in. Works at least on the desert island test setup. Yet I'm so darn afraid to do ANY modificiations to the missions now in fear of breaking up something else (like happened with Snatch insertion etc).

Quote[/b] ]a problem with BAS AT soldiers that need their skill level bumped up in order to hit the side of a barn. Snake Man, was this adjusted?
Yes. Machine gunners at 100%, AT 75% and rest 60% skill.

theavonlady

Jun 12 2003, 07:49

Yes. Machine gunners at 100%
Yes, they are pretty nasty! http://forums.bistudio.com/oldsmileys/biggrin_o.gif

theavonlady

Jun 12 2003, 09:45

Butcher mission:

I get to the south of the airstrip, taking out everyone one the way.

Go into the nearby towns and take out more non-responsive soldiers.

Hear the hum of armor. Scout around to find a BMP and a tank column not moving anywhere. Let 'em have it.

Seems like trigger problems, no? http://forums.bistudio.com/oldsmileys/rock.gif

John C Flett

Jun 12 2003, 16:22

Quote[/b] ]True.

Or surely lower skill players should stick with Steal a Car?

Regardless of skill I shouldn't have to sit through a cross country flight and rappel every time I die. Its not an issue of difficulty its an issue of how long I spend waiting for things to happen.

And if my comments sound too negative don't take them that way. I've downloaded many campaigns only to delete them cause I thought they were rubbish. I'm sticking with this one cause I'm enjoying it and want to keep play it.

Besides this editing for myself is by way of an education for when I have the time to try something new for myself. Sadly thats looking kind of unlikely for the immediate future.

Quote[/b] ]Uhm dunno what to say... Insert LZ was changed further and it does not appear to happen over ocean now. Extract LZ is still the same. Does the extract land on water or what?

I've had it a couple of time skid off the flat, down the beach and into the water where it blew up. The problem of course is that the AI pilot is prone to be quite unpredictable if taking fire. I've seen this happen before in other missions, just this time he finds the water. With regards to this and the Littlebird problem I suspect precise hardware/graphics setup can also cause problems in the way the AI can vary slightly.

All the fixes listed above Snake, which version? I reported them cause they're not in the r5 readme. I might do better staying quiet if my version has diverged too far.

ting

Jun 12 2003, 19:52

Ranger Juice mission:

I start as the pilot wiht no control over the aircraft http://forums.bistudio.com/oldsmileys/wow_o.gif

I think this is a bug. I'm using version 5.

ting

Jun 12 2003, 20:40

In the briefing i have one teammate with default mp5.
If i fasten the harness, i am suddenly in command of another team. This is weird http://forums.bistudio.com/oldsmileys/crazy_o.gif

_spitfire

Jun 13 2003, 07:17

I had most of the same problems as everyone else, but forced my through errors to finish the campaign.

One problem I haven't seen mentioned:
Evac Helo has behaviour not set at careless. Example; mission "decapitate", as mentioned above, this is one that has enemy activity at the extraction point. I was fortunate enough to encounter only one enemy soldier en-route to LZ. (maybe a BMP too, if that was the same mission) Anyway, After the squad had boarded and we lifted off, an enemy machine gunner started firing on the heli.

Instead of flying off to take us home and end the mission, our wonderful SOAR pilots decide to attack the machine gunner. This would all be well and fine, but in five attempts (load from savegame) at it, they never fired a single shot. They (the Chinook with my squad on board) did countless figure-8's around the enemy machine gunner's general area, untill the enemy gunner had either shot the chinook down, or killed me through the fuselage.

I had to bail from the heli (as I was onboard when I last saved) kill the machine gunner and then re-board the chinook. Of course, reboarding involves ordering a team member to disembark and then re-mount,, so it a little punishing.

This was not the only mission that this would happen in. Basically, if there was something to distract the SOAR pilots, they were only too happy to oblige.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Below; a couple of minor things I would have liked be included.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Aesthetically, it would be nice if you would add the camo faces to the BAS units. They come with the addon, instructions in the readme. They look much better with their kit on.
It would also be nice if you would add the script to control the goggles. You need the goggles to be down when you disembark the chinook, so you don't get that vision problem. As most of the missions start inside the heli already, you cannot access this feature untill you have disembarked.
Also, I think it would be nice if in some missions, the heli would land for a regular disembark rather then us rappeling each time. Just to mix it up a bit is all.

Bottom Line; I enjoyed the campaign, good work!

theavonlady

Jun 13 2003, 10:57

In the POW mission, something crashed. It wasn't the Chinook, because it picked us up at the EZ. I saw only one Little Bird. Could that have been a second LB? http://forums.bistudio.com/oldsmileys/rock.gif

theavonlady

Jun 13 2003, 12:50

Mission Data - Briefing requires the player to retrieve data but victory conditions don't require the player to go anywhere near the house.
Yes, you should have to search the house until you reach a certain room to trigger objective 1 completion.

Speaking of the Data mission, am I the only one or is this just pure overkill when the Russians come in from all sides? Especially with dummy AT soldiers who don't seem to want to fire at the BMPs, leaving me to do it.

Snake Man

Jun 15 2003, 03:26

New v1.0b rev 6 is now out, download from the usual place. Check PMC Ranger Path campaign "Start" mission for the version number to make sure you're running the correct one.

Greetings to all those whom have been contributing with nice beta reports, much appreciated.

theavonlady

Jun 15 2003, 08:09

Played Snatch. No colonel found in either town nor in the fuel truck area further south.

One dead officer found in Province. One of my Ai killed him. If that's the colonel, the mission should at least have told me so, put an X on objective 1 and told me to extract.

edit: I even went up to Montigac, where I actually encountered a very nasty squad led by an officer.

Here, too, he was killed by one of my squadmates. Nothing changed as far as objectives or messages.

Maybe I should head up to Gravette and Tyrone? http://forums.bistudio.com/oldsmileys/tounge_o.gif

theavonlady

Jun 15 2003, 10:40

Played the morning mission. All sorts of strange things happened.

First of all, on my way SW towards Morton, flighting had begun somewhere distant to the north/north-west.

During my trek to Morton and during the distant gunshot sounds, the sounds of some sort of vehicles (at least 2) being destroyed were heard - also not immediately nearby. I have no idea if they were planes/armor/vehicles and from whose side.

Reach the east boundary of Morton from the small forest to Morton's east. Called in the atack. Cleared Morton OK.

The EZ marker is at Mortons SW corner. I called in the chopper. I saw it coming but it was taking on ground fire from somewhere to the far north of Morton, nowhere near the EZ or directly near Morton itself.

Of course Mr. Pilot and Mr. Gunner couldn't leave things be. They landing up there in the North. Once I ran their way, they were dead, of course.

I got into the pilot seat and ordered my team on board. I got a NEGATIVE reponse from them all. So I waved goodbye and flew back to the camp myself.

When I got there, the two officers around the campfire didn't even say hello. I was so frustrated, I just let 'em have it! http://forums.bistudio.com/oldsmileys/mad_o.gif http://forums.bistudio.com/oldsmileys/crazy_o.gif

Placebo

Jun 15 2003, 10:49

Not aimed at anyone directly (and I'm not saying it's not (if that makes sense)) but please try to make sure your comments are as constructive and supportive as possible, (to me at least) it seems there is a lack of new campaigns being made so we should try to encourage people to make them if we can http://forums.bistudio.com/oldsmileys/smile_o.gif

Poet

Jun 15 2003, 11:28

"Jun 6th, 2003. v1.0b rev 5
- AI Control script removed from players team (Sieg Heil! Aryan!)."

LOL! http://forums.bistudio.com/oldsmileys/biggrin_o.gif

I still think it should be an option in the radio menu. Just cause some dont like it doesnt mean all won't. http://forums.bistudio.com/oldsmileys/rock.gif

ting

Jun 15 2003, 13:20

finallly v6 is out. I now go back to playing. But first i have a few suggestions.

1. The units bas uses cannot be before 1994 since the m4 came out that year.( i'm not an expert on this).

It kinda seems a bit out of balance with the russians using 1985 gear. Perhaps you would consider using kegetys russian weapons.

I know this will cause problems since the fury campaign is based around 85 i think. And since you use the high dispersal ak47's. I think i saw a script for high dispersal somewhere wich could be imblementet for all weapons, but i havent been able to find it again http://forums.bistudio.com/oldsmileys/sad_o.gif

2.

On the missions where you start at and return to the airbase perhaps you could have som respawn and delete scripts(availiable on ofpec) for scenery. This would add scenery without to much hardware load.

These are just sugestions to changes. Which i hope you would consider. http://forums.bistudio.com/oldsmileys/smile_o.gif

John C Flett

Jun 15 2003, 13:27

Yeah Poet, with the frequency toned down it can work very well. I just had a cool moment when I was creeping up to a ridge where I suspected there were some russians hiding when I heard one of them 'speak' to another. Very nice moment.

Also, Snake. Just played the 'Bridge' mission. Like 'Serpant' and 'Butcher' it seems ( at least in r3 ) very reluctant to end. However, before getting that far I found myself stuck on a hillock when I was spotted by a patrol, before I could deal with them reinforcements came up behind me. Then to add to the fun a group of spetz naz joined the party from another direction. I made it through alive but it was one of the most intense firefights I've had in a very long time. Not nice at the time but VERY satisfying when I had survived it.

* * *

Just finished it. Overall a very nice campaign. Rather tough in places but rewarding. I'd still say the artillary is far too deadly for my tastes but still very good work.

As last comment the final mission starts off very well but having achieved my primary objective the slog back home took a very long time without many problems. Can I suggest either reduce the distance the player has to travel or provide wheels somewhere. After such an intense campaign it seems a shame to finish it with a half hour walk.

theavonlady

Jun 16 2003, 12:01

In the NoComm mission, it's silly that all the player has to do is to walk up to the comm tower to destroy it.

The player should be outfitted with a satchel charge by default.

In any case, the first objective should be set when the com tower is actually destroyed.

theavonlady

Jun 16 2003, 12:06

Just started the Ammos mission.

1. debug hint box and bell ring sound occur at mission start.

2. Just after that, I hear the sound of nearby armor and then something crashing or being destroyed.

edit:

3. Gripe about the deadly artillery, as John just mentioned. http://forums.bistudio.com/oldsmileys/sad_o.gif

Eviscerator

Jun 16 2003, 13:33

Snake Man

Jun 16 2003, 17:00

Quote[/b] ]Data mission, am I the only one or is this just pure overkill when the Russians come in from all sides? Especially with dummy AT soldiers
Any suggestions of a good tweak... Apache CAS? less enemies? A-10 airstrike?

Quote[/b] ]If that's the colonel, the mission should at least have told me so, put an X on objective 1 and told me to extract.

Good point. Will be fixed on next version.

Quote[/b] ]I even went up to Montigac, Maybe I should head up to Gravette and Tyrone?
No.

Quote[/b] ]Of course Mr. Pilot and Mr. Gunner couldn't leave things be.
Or maybe they were Mrs? http://forums.bistudio.com/oldsmileys/smile_o.gif

Ok I'll have a chat with them the next time I see them. (meaning edit fix of some sort).

Quote[/b] ]Not aimed at anyone directly (and I'm not saying it's not (if that makes sense)) but please try to make sure your comments are as constructive and supportive as possible, (to me at least) it seems there is a lack of new campaigns being made so we should try to encourage people to make them if we can
Hey thanks Placebo, but in fact I do like how this topic proceeds. I much rather have the feedback on my campaign(s) on blunt truth than sweet lies.

Many fixes are done to the campaign from the comments on this topic and I'll bet many more will be made. So keep it going guys, after all we all know this campaign sucks basically, I just wanted to make some sort of tribute to nice BAS units http://forums.bistudio.com/oldsmileys/smile_o.gif

Quote[/b] ]the artillary is far too deadly for my tastes
There will be some artillery fixes in the next version. In fact I already did some to the Command Campaign and it seems so far (crossing fingers) just OK.

Quote[/b] ]NoComm mission, it's silly that all the player has to do is to walk up to the comm tower to destroy it.
Are you saying you did not encounter a single enemy soldier from paradrop point to the comm tower or the comm tower was unguarded when you arrived after fighting off XX amount of evil enemies?

Quote[/b] ]1. debug hint box and bell ring sound occur at mission start.
What did the hint say?

Quote[/b] ]2. Just after that, I hear the sound of nearby armor and then something crashing or being destroyed.
Hmm did this come from SE from the first objective?

theavonlady

Jun 16 2003, 17:10

Quote[/b] ]Data mission, am I the only one or is this just pure overkill when the Russians come in from all sides? Especially with dummy AT soldiers
Any suggestions of a good tweak... Apache CAS? less enemies? A-10 airstrike?
Not! A10s! http://forums.bistudio.com/oldsmileys/crazy_o.gif I'll wind up a FF casualty. :P

Apaches are neat!

Quote[/b] ]
Quote[/b] ]I even went up to Montigac, Maybe I should head up to Gravette and Tyrone?
No.
I was just kidding. ;)

Quote[/b] ]
Quote[/b] ]Of course Mr. Pilot and Mr. Gunner couldn't leave things be.
Or maybe they were Mrs? http://forums.bistudio.com/oldsmileys/smile_o.gif
That's some 4 o'clock shadow those ladies have! :P

Quote[/b] ]Hey thanks Placebo, but in fact I do like how this topic proceeds. I much rather have the feedback on my campaign(s) on blunt truth than sweet lies.
In other words, Placebo, please stop spamming our thread. http://forums.bistudio.com/oldsmileys/biggrin_o.gif

Quote[/b] ]
Quote[/b] ]the artillary is far too deadly for my tastes
There will be some artillery fixes in the next version. In fact I already did some to the Command Campaign and it seems so far (crossing fingers) just OK.
Yay!

Quote[/b] ]
Quote[/b] ]NoComm mission, it's silly that all the player has to do is to walk up to the comm tower to destroy it.
Are you saying you did not encounter a single enemy soldier from paradrop point to the comm tower or the comm tower was unguarded when you arrived after fighting off XX amount of evil enemies?
Of course I encountered them. Or rather, they encountered me. http://forums.bistudio.com/oldsmileys/biggrin_o.gif

The goal is to destroy the comm facility - make it useless for the enemy. That's why it should be blown up to achieve the objective.

Quote[/b] ]
Quote[/b] ]1. debug hint box and bell ring sound occur at mission start.
What did the hint say?
"Debug".

Quote[/b] ]
Quote[/b] ]2. Just after that, I hear the sound of nearby armor and then something crashing or being destroyed.
Hmm did this come from SE from the first objective?
Not sure but I think it came from the west. Not sure.

Poet

Jun 16 2003, 18:31

after all we all know this campaign sucks basically, I just wanted to make some sort of tribute to nice BAS units http://forums.bistudio.com/oldsmileys/smile_o.gif
I think this is a great campaign, partly because of the fantastic BAS units ( like yourself I was inspired by the Addons to make missions ) but the missions are well-made and difficult enough to keep the interest up.

Funnily, I'm somewhere past halfway on the campaign now, and havent actually taken note of any bugs. I think you can take that as a big compliment, I've been too busy playing the missions to stop and think about bugs.

The only thing I did comment on, was something that I just personally would prefer the option to disable or tone down. Though the comments were meant to be tongue-in-cheek and in humour, they werent taken that way, but thats the Internet for you. I think there are lots of OFP players out there that would enjoy the Chatter from the Players AI, but I personally prefer playing OFP without. Stick it in the Radio Menu!

There are a couple of things in this thread I'd partly agree with in terms of the campaign as a whole:
- I agree that some of the missions do get a touch repetitive, constantly raiding towns and bases. I dont think as a campaign it needs any major cutscenes or anything like that, but maybe a couple of simple vehicle-based Recon missions or Support missions might help break up that sense of monotamy.

- The Rappel script, as cool as it is, is a little over-used, I'd like to see some LittleBird insertions, or Missions that use the cool KLR bikes that ship with the Rangers...

I think this is a great campaign for slightly more experienced OFP players, as well as BAS fans, just a little more variety would spice up the package nicely.

Placebo

Jun 16 2003, 20:03

*sniff* no good deed goes unpunished http://forums.bistudio.com/oldsmileys/sad_o.gif http://forums.bistudio.com/oldsmileys/wink_o.gif

Snake Man

Jun 16 2003, 21:45

Quote[/b] ]"Debug".
Fixed.

Quote[/b] ]The goal is to destroy the comm facility - make it useless for the enemy.
Oops now I get it. Ok will fix that in the, oh gosh, next update.

Quote[/b] ]Apaches are neat!
Added. Actually I added typo on the radio message, but again... will be fixed on next update.

Quote[/b] ]The Rappel script, as cool as it is, is a little over-used
True, I was planning (still are?) to add the upcoming BAS MH-60L Blackhawk into the missions too, so in the future hopefully the insertions have some variation.

Quote[/b] ]I'd like to see some LittleBird insertions, or Missions that use the cool KLR bikes
First of all littlebirds holds 4 guys, in this campaign the squad size is 9 men. So... I know we can split up the groups to the helos easily, I have never even considered having multi-helicopter group insertion. Does anyone know if this works at all?

Second, the bikes... yikes, I do like the bike for occational fun ride along the countryside, but I have no intention of using it in any serious combat missions. Sorry.

Quote[/b] ]maybe a couple of simple vehicle-based Recon missions or Support missions
Can you give me more details how Recon and Support missions would be play out, like what are the objectives etc. Any ideas are welcome, who knows I might even add a special bonus mission(s) to the campaign.

--- New update v1.0b rev 7 is now available at our web page, here is the

changelog

Jun 16th, 2003. v1.0b rev 7
- players units might get killed in outtro cutscene, fixed.
- helo lands at airbase shutting down its engine and waits for extract call.
- ranger snatch, if colonel is dead there will be radio + briefing update.
- debug message removed from Ammos. haha... so sad http://forums.bistudio.com/oldsmileys/sad_o.gif
- artillery too darn deadly, first tweak made, more later if needed.
- ranger data, added extract radio reply. added enemies Muhaha!, added gunships.
- ranger pow, bait and butcher AI backups fixed.

theavonlady

Jun 17 2003, 04:18

Quote[/b] ]I'd like to see some LittleBird insertions, or Missions that use the cool KLR bikes
First of all littlebirds holds 4 guys, in this campaign the squad size is 9 men. So... I know we can split up the groups to the helos easily, I have never even considered having multi-helicopter group insertion. Does anyone know if this works at all?
Poet's mission, Hero of the Day, Available from The FAQ's (http://www.theavonlady.org/theofpfaq/) MOM section, has a 3 unit LB insertion - very impressive!

He worked hard on it, had some fine tuning to do. I suggest you take a look at it and PM him on any q's and p's you might have.

Will restart Ammos with R7 later and test. Thanks.

theavonlady

Jun 17 2003, 08:38

Suggested change to NoComms and Ammos:

Problem: at the end of NoComms, the ruins to the SE of the forest to hide in contain one solitary Russian soldier. The next morning in the Ammos mission, the place is packed with tanks, BMPS, troops and ammo.

Solution: include in Ammo's intro a night sequence showing the arrival of heavy Soviet reinforcements after yesterday's incident at the comm center.

Problem: since they've been hiding overnight, no GEAR changes should be allowed from the Ammo mission's briefing book.

Problem: the Ranger team's weapons inventory may not be appropriate for attacking the ammo dump and then some more armor to the west, after the previous days fighting at the comm center.

Solution: With all that armor around, maybe there should be a few ammo crates around in the forrest when starting off. Maybe a low flying drop by C130? Ooooh! This could also be part of the intro or at the start of the mission and it would be optionally up to the player whether he has to resupply in the drop zone. In any case, the ammo crates should be crammed with AT weapons for the task at hand.

theavonlady

Jun 17 2003, 11:49

- artillery too darn deadly, first tweak made, more later if needed.
In Ammos, the last Russian officer spotted me. Boom! Right on me!

More NOW, please. http://forums.bistudio.com/oldsmileys/sad_o.gif

I mentioned this before: if you insist on retaining the artillery, at least have the first two rounds hit far away enough and with time in between to give the player a chance to get up and run away elsewhere.

Frankly, I could do w/o the artillery in the campaign altogether. Love the mines, though! http://forums.bistudio.com/oldsmileys/smile_o.gif Amazing how they show up out in the middle of nowhere. Is that scripted or did you just plant them so cleverly? http://forums.bistudio.com/oldsmileys/biggrin_o.gif

I loved the Ammos mission. Lots of work. A lot of patrols. Had to seriously watch my six at one point (won't spoil it).

Finished off the mission with just myself and one more squadmate. There's no way I can play the next mission, Serpent, like this and win.

Suggestion: In the campaign, there should be an ability to request reinforcements to be added to the player's squad.

If the player is down to 3 or less team AIs, he should be able to call in an LB with 4 new squad members. There should be a scoring penalty for this.

Because some missions begin in areas that are not clear of the enemy, the player should be able to designate when and where the LB+reinforcements should land.

theavonlady

Jun 17 2003, 13:39

Serpent mission gets the following error message at the top of the screen when the intro starts and when the mission briefing book is first displayed:

'uammo1="UralReammo" createvehicle [GLB_02_uammo1X, GLB_02_uammo1Y]|#|;': Error Type Any, expected Number

Poet

Jun 17 2003, 17:08

Can you give me more details how Recon and Support missions would be play out, like what are the objectives etc. Any ideas are welcome, who knows I might even add a special bonus mission(s) to the campaign.
I'm no military expert, so dont really know much about what Rangers actually do, but I'd imagine that they'd get sent on recon missions ( locating enemy bases, scouting transport routes etc ) as well as support missions for other units.

You could have a mission where you have to locate targets for DeltaForce, or even just delivering vehicles or ammo for them to use ...

Theres lots of kinds of missions you could make quite easily. It just feels at times that you are a 12 man Invasion force taking on the entire Russian Army single handedly, a couple of non-combat missions would break up that repetition nicely, and should be easy to make and slip into the campaign ...

Maybe one of the military types that hang around these forums could tell us what kinds of non-combat missions Rangers are likely to take part in?

Oh, and on the Littlebirds, as Avon said I used Snypirs really cool quick insertion script, it was actually simple to set up and use, I struggled with it because of the odd terrain on Afghanistan and where I had the choppers landing. LBird insertions are very cool though. http://forums.bistudio.com/oldsmileys/smile_o.gif

theavonlady

Jun 18 2003, 14:23

Mission Serpent won't end! http://forums.bistudio.com/oldsmileys/crazy_o.gif

1st objective checked. Destroyed all the tanks and BMPs, killed every Spetsnaz and infantryman in the area.

I ran up and down over the area east of the airfield. I even destroyed the 2 Urals and the 2 guards prone next to them.

I've set time acceleration to 4x, kept running around to find anything other than mines.

I've run around the base, to the flag pole, the tents, the tarmac.

Nada.

Is there something special I have to do or is this a trigger bug? http://forums.bistudio.com/oldsmileys/rock.gif

BTW, that was one hell of a counter attack! I lost 4 men because I was facing a distant BMP to the south when all of a sudden two tanks and a BMP come bearing in - no - charging in on me over the next sand dune.

One of my men took out the BMP and got a tank shell in return. I fired on that tank and it was smoke. The second tank was just coming up my ridge and was so close. I immediately reloaded the AT4 and let him have it. Amazingly only one of my squad AIs got wounded from the explosion.

Then there was this very nasty encounter with a Spetsnaz team. We met each other head on crawling over a dune. It was bloody. Three of my AIs died and I almost did when I saw a prone Spetsnaz behind his dead friend turn in my direction. One head shot to him saved my neck.

theavonlady

Jun 18 2003, 14:48

Bug: Get missing addon: bas_kiowapack message at start of Bridge mission intro. Intro doesn't play.

I have the BAS Kiowa files in the addons folder. So, I assume you forgot to declare it in the Intro's AddOns/AddOnsAuto section in mission.sqm? http://forums.bistudio.com/oldsmileys/rock.gif

Also, if they're in use, you forgot to mention them in the README.

theavonlady

Jun 18 2003, 14:57

A request about the Serpent mission:

When you start the mission at the captured ammo/Shilka base, you can hear the motors of the not too distant Soviet armor engines humming.

Can all the engines be off until it's time for the Russians to head over for the counterattack at the airbase?

This might be applicable in other missions, too.

SGTKOPP

Jun 18 2003, 17:11

i hat ethe ai killing mines mines suck

walker

Jun 18 2003, 17:29

Hi all
WARNING SPOILER ALERT!

Some people asked about Decapitation mission tactics. I beat it my second go (first go my AT guy zapped a BMP and it was like stiring up a nest of killer bees)

Try this:
Arm all troops except SAWs with silenced Acogs your self too. Give all troops silenced pistols, give your M203 guys AT weapons. No Hand Grenades stock up on extra magazines

Only use them as a backup though

When you disembark:-
set all squad to disengage: ALL [3,6] (or the AT guys attacks BMPs even though they are told not to)
set all squad to not fire: ALL [3,2]
set all squad to stealth: ALL [7,1]
set all squad to keep low: ALL [7,7]
set all squad to stagered column: ALL [8,2]

Head direct south to the small farm drop off all but two of your squad (Radio and Medic) leave all those at the farm as set to squad to hit the dirt: ALL [7,6]

Head NW from the farm a short distance there is a steep wooded valley.

set your two man squad to hit the dirt: ALL [7,6]
set your two man squad to column: ALL [8,1]
DO NOT FIRE ON THE ENEMY YOURSELF TILL YOU SHOOT THE MAIN TARGET!

Crawl carefuly to the bottom of the wooded valley to the main valley running North watch for MINES! on the road side.

Watch for the BMP patrol routes to the valley you are now in. One goes up the valley part way the other stops at the boulders. You need to drop off your two squad members 100m south of the end of the BMP patrol that goes up the valey make sure you put each one in a bush.

Time you moves between patrols (use the watch to time the two patrols)

At first use the west side of the road but when the elbow in the road means the road is covered switch to the east side.

Move from bush to bush beside the road down the hedge row in the big valley toward the target vilage but at some point you need to let them catch a glimpse of you so that part of the guard is moved a way. Another option is to use part of your farm squad to shake them up.

If you see a patrol of infantry put weapons to their hands get in a bush a bit back from you current pos and freeze. Use tactical view and arrow keys to make sure you can no be seen. Let them go past you it is what you want.
If you see tanks start moving get in a bush go in to a freeze. Hit fast time and have a snooze let the enemy calm down.

Try to move slowly as you get closer to the enemy vilage, the AI spots fast moving soldiers more quickly.

When you get to less than 100m of the vilage at the end of the hedge row you have been crawling down move very slow try to poke only the rifle barrel and scope out of the the end bush in the hedge the ideal situation is without optics view you cant see out of the bush.

Ahead of you you will see: Three spetznaz, An officer Main Target , two more spetnaz may be just visable in the dorway of the house the others are stood next to.

You have a save left use it. (You could also use the savegame cheat.)

Practice the shot and killing the five spetnaz when you have practiced the shot FIVE times make the shot.
Head Shot the main guy.
Double or Tripple Tap body for the spetznaz. Done right takes 7 seconds
Stand Up Run to the house they were in
Get upstairs
Get up the ladder to the attic.
Hit the dirt.
Cover the ladder.
Sit in the eye of the huricane; enjoy the thrill!
Lots of tanks BMPs soldiers running around.

Wait for the enemy to calm down.
Use tactical view to look around.
Now is the time to use up your sniper rounds http://forums.bistudio.com/oldsmileys/biggrin_o.gif
Dont Get close to the windows stay back in the gloom
Start with any tank or BMP crews that are turned out (target the gunners)
Take your time dont atract BMPs or tanks. Snipe one or two at a time then hit the dirt and make sure nobody comes up the ladder or the stairs.
If you wound guys kill the medics (Geneva convention? Hey look they are armed and willing to fire!)
Target officers and MGs
Over time Kill them all or until you can not see any from the attic. Make sure there are none near the house or in the ground floor, then move down to the first floor and finish of any others.

If there are still a lot of infantry round, slip in to one of the other houses with an attic view of them and snipe till they go away or are dead.

Time to make a break watch your flanks use tactical view but try to make it to the hedge rows without a fire fight. Crawl up them to your squad heal any injuries pick up your squad and make your way to the Extraction LZ watch out for mines and patrols.

Kind Regards walker

delaware

Jun 18 2003, 17:31

I agree with Avon regarding artillery. It's far too accurate in its current implementation ... the first two rounds usually land right on my squad. I'm no artillery expert, but aren't the first 2-3 rounds fired one at a time for adjustment purposes?

I actually like the mines, though. They're visible, so that makes moving to target much more interesting.

There is no similar warning for artillery.

Edit...

Enemy AI also calls artillery to within about 100m of themselves in my experience. That's awfully close, and they aren't in danger (even though 350-400m is danger close for 105mm) because of the artillery's accuracy. With that in mind, I have a suggestion.

Make the artillery less accurate and restrict the AI to calling it on targets 300m and beyond. This would provide incentive for the player to approach targets without being seen by using terrain / cover, gaps in patrols, etc.

Some of the missions might have to be modified, but I think it'd add a new, realistic aspect of mission planning.

theavonlady

Jun 18 2003, 20:04

i hate the ai killing mines mines suck
One thing the mines have forced me to do is to change the formation to column or staggered column while on the move.

That helps a lot.

SGTKOPP

Jun 18 2003, 21:33

i hate the ai killing mines mines suck
One thing the mines have forced me to do is to change the formation to column or staggered column while on the move.

That helps a lot.
yah i learned that too its just when your in a fire fight moving around a then your squad is boom boom gone

DayGlow

Jun 19 2003, 02:34

Just had one of the most amazing OFP moments with your campaign. I'm on the Mountain mission and have taken over the first base. I moved my squad out towards the second base. I was moving off of the road with a ridge between me and the road. Moving slowly I had just weaved my men past a claymore when I heard some russeling off to my right. I put my men on hold and hold fire and told them to wait for me as I checked out the sound. Moving slowly towards the sound I quickly froze...A Russian patrol was moving parallel beside us and was no more than 20m away, but moving down the road. I sat there and watched as they moved up the road and around 1.5km away the stopped and started to turn around. I moved into a nice little roll in the ground and called my men to me into a line formation. as the Russians got into 500m of my position I could hear the last of my guys slowly crawl into position. Closer, closer the Russians came. At 100m I let my guys loose. The ambush was over in 10sec. The SAWs and 203s made short work of the group and the rest of my men picked off anyone that survived the initial assault. I think I got 2 guys myself.

Wow. That's why I love this game. it is such a rush. Thank you for the great missions.

delaware

Jun 19 2003, 13:27

That's been the highlight of the campaign (thus far) for me, too. I haven't seen an opportunity like that in any other missions, so it was a lot of fun. As you said, it was over in 10-15 seconds and I don't think the enemy got a single shot off. Violence of action.

One small but rewarding surprise I've experienced throughout this campaign is the Ranger grenadiers. I don't know if BAS, Snake Man or someone else modified their AI, but they're using their 203s more often and they tend to drop 'em right on target.

Relying on MGs and GLs is a good thing.

Excellent campaign, Snake Man.

theavonlady

Jun 19 2003, 13:32

I don't know if BAS, Snake Man or someone else modified their AI, but they're using their 203s more often and they tend to drop 'em right on target.
This depends on the AI's SKILL setting as well as the distance to target.

If the target is way out, I've found that the AI will still launch 203s and will almost always fall short of the target.

Move in closer and, indeed, things go better. http://forums.bistudio.com/oldsmileys/smile_o.gif

delaware

Jun 20 2003, 03:22

I've noticed one negative issue about these grenadiers. When they're a good distance behind you and you're near enemies, they'll fire their 203s and often injure / kill you in the process.

Is it possible to script the AI so they consider the effects of their fire? Maybe a wound / kill radius could be defined for grenades, and before any AI fires a grenade, the radius around their target is checked for friendlies. If positive, have them use their rifle or pistol ... otherwise, proceed.

If more complexity / generalization was required, the AI soldier could search its inventory for weapons which have an appropriate wound / kill radius, starting with the most damage-inducing (read: powerful).

Implementing the checking of friendlies would have to be visually-based, in the way that AI soldiers currently "see" and identify things. This way, no indirect observations are made and things are kept realistic.

Applicable to hand grenades, mortars, shotguns and more.

Thoughts?

Regards,
Chris

Snake Man

Sep 17 2003, 20:10

When the BAS Lost Island will finally be released, I'm going to make few additional missions for PMC Ranger Path using that island.

I'm open to suggestions of mission types or other ideas anyone has.

So far I have four rough mission ideas in mind, but hopefully you guys can fill in more and better ones.

DayGlow

Sep 22 2003, 14:23

Sounds great. I've got away from OFP for a bit, but I'm back now, still working through your campaign. Find the pilot is taking awhile, but I'm slowly patrolling through the area, loving the tension of being a small unit behind the lines.

As for new mission ideas, I've always wanted to create a mission along the lines of the failed Iranian hostage rescue, but from the ranger point of view. During that plan they were to take over an airport and hold it while Delta raided the embassy. My idea was to use the rangers to take an airport then set up your squad in a blocking position. Go to a cut scene showing Delta raiding a compound and getting the hostages. But to complicate things have one of the trucks being used to get everyone out break down, so a group of Delta has to stay back to make room for the rest of the hostages. Your squad would then get an update to move into their position to strengthen it while resources are being found to move the pinned down men out. The hostage compound would have to be close enough to an airport so you can move your men there and have sportatic contact with militas as the main force is being mobalized against you. I think it would be a great mission that a Ranger group would do.