Project Sentry volume 1, number 1

[H-Hour]

I'll soon be releasing a 5-mission mod about a CIA paramilitary unit that spans three modified versions of my Airport map, Deleyt's WSV and mine and Oso's Outpost. The mod is designed to be story-driven, with the player returning to the battlefield for successive missions, and there is already a storyline planned for a successive 5-mission campaign which will complete this deployment (though the maps for it are, as always, a long way off).

I've cobbled together weapons, characters and vehicles from throughout the GR community to provide a unique set of specialists, each with their own weapons and capabilities (that means cross-specialties, like a sniper/demolitions expert).

Each of these missions is fully polished, and I'm really happy with them. I hope they'll come off well. While I'm putting all the final touches on them, I wondered if there is anyone willing to give them a quick test on a dedicated server. They'll all been thoroughly tested for functionality, I just need a crash-test to make sure none of the custom material is causing unexpected behavior on a dedicated server.

And while you wait, here's the unit's background:

Project Sentry: Unit Background and Purpose

During the Russia-Georgia war of 2008, the agency identified a key weakness in our ability to effectively deploy and operate behind enemy lines in a high-tech, mechanized battlefield. After years of rescaling the agency's assets for the low-intensity requirements of the War on Terror, the agency's paramility force no longer had the skills necessary to conduct vital intelligence and operational actions in a top-tier battlefield where the opponent has strong technological skills and training.

In 2009, the agency enacted the Force Deployment Renewal Strategy to regain the agency's lost skills. One of the primary aims of this project was to train a unit within the agency's paramilitary wing in the needed skills. After eight months of preparation and selection, it was determined that the agency did not have a unit leader appropriate for the expected mission parameters.

At this time, the Project to Secure Enemy Territory (SENTRY) In Top-Tier Warzones was created with a new mandate to seek out and recruit a team leader who could deploy with a small, specialized fire-team dedicated to this task. After extensive consultations, the agency settled on Lindy Cohen, one of the few members of the US Special Forces's GHOST squad still serving. She was given broad range to select and organize the training of a small fire-team.

Selection began in March 2010. Cohen initially selected 12 soldiers to form the squad, but soon whittled this down to just 6 soldiers with the proper experience and aptitude for rapid training. Deemed a pilot project, Cohen's team was intended to cultivate team leaders which could transition more of the agency's soldiers into the new force deployment.

On June 23rd, while Cohen's team was participating in a covert training operation in Georgia, Georgian rebels -- likely backed by Russian interests -- threatened a nearby outpost in the agency's logistical relay. Though Cohen's team was still in the early stages of Project Sentry's training, they were immediately deployed to protect agency asset.

Unintentionally, the pilot project became the agency's frontline in a rapidly evolving battlefield.

[Rocky]

Can't wait. Which reminds me, I need to put more time in on Red Storm Rising mod first ....

[KRP 56]

Sounds good. Had a blast playing countless times on your airport map.

[migryder]

this does sound good H-Hour!

mig

[Hammer]

wow that does sound good, and very well thought out

[Variable13]

Awesome, wish I had a dedicated server so I could help out. I Look forward to playing it!

@Rocky, I am pretty confident in the Red Storm mod and am considering just releasing it (I've fixed a few minor bugs since it was out for beta testing) soon. I'll let you know when I get things ready to go.

Edited February 16, 2010 by Variable13

[H-Hour]

One of the odd things about this mod, something I'm not sure everyone will like, is that it's entirely dependent on a consistent team of specialists. Rather than playing the missions as a campaign, where specialists who die would no longer be available, you'll be playing it in quick mission mode, choosing from the seven available specialists.

Each specialist has a preferred primary, and then secondaries based on their cross-training. This is true for coop, too, where players will choose to play as one of the specialists rather than as a "class". I'm hoping this team of specialists will be a core on which I can build later add-ons to this release.

I just finished drawing up their bios, which is part of an intel pack that will include more detailed briefings and information for those that enjoy that aspect of their gaming. So, I thought I'd share:

Note: I didn't create the characters, but have drawn them from other mods (with permission)

Lindy Cohen

Team Leader

In 2008, with the U.S. military's assets in Iraq and Afghanistan stretched to their limit, the Ghosts' operational mandate was changed. Their skills in operating behind enemy lines were not in high demand in these theaters, where front lines didn't even exist. The unit was tasked with the protection of high-profile members of the U.S. government and became long-term residents in the military compounds of Baghdad and Kabul.

Angry over what they considered a misuse of their experience and capabilities, many of the unit's older members took the opportunity to retire and transition into private security. The departure of Buzz Gordon, Klaus Henkel, Dieter Munz and Jack Stone left the unit demoralized. In the next six months, Henry Ramirez, Scott Ibrahim, Astra Galinsky and Susan Grey were transitioned out of the unit to other services not specified.

The Ghosts were barely a shell of their former self and a new influx of talent did little to compensate those still in the unit. Cohen was particularly angry when Will Jacobs was promoted to lead the team. She felt the position was hers and the decision was made because she was female.

It was at this time that the agency came calling, and Cohen jumped at the opportunity to get back into the field. Promised a long leash and the agency's commitment to building up the team, she agreed to take the lead of Project Sentry.

She expected more resistance from the agency's paramilitary men, with her coming in from outside to lead what would be one of the most prestiguous squads in the unit. But from the beginning she had been surprised to find Jacob Owen, the ranking senior in the unit, receptive and dedicated to supporting her in the field and in the barracks.

She immediately recognized his skills both as a team leader and a soldier, and he was her first pick for the unit. She relied heavily on his advice in choosing the initial 12 members of the unit, but in time she found only 6 of them were reliable on and off the field. In her years with the Ghosts -- and seeing them fall apart in the offices in Baghdad and Kabul -- she valued a unit that functioned well in the field and on base.

Jacob Owens

AT, Demolitions, MOUT

The unit's senior member, Jacob Owens has experience in deployment around the world and is admired by most of the other members of the unit. Unusual for his position, Owens is modest and doesn't always enjoy the authority he's acquired in his unit. Initially picked to head the team, he declined the offer. He spent a few years in the 90s as a team leader and found he didn't like the extra burden of responsibility the position required.

When the agency decided to bring in Cohen, he quickly recognized her talent and went out of his way to smooth the transition to her leadership. As these things go, he prefers being her right-hand man to being her commander, and enjoys his role in bringing the team behind her decisions. In return, she's been very receptive to his advice.

Owens is one of the agency's most thoroughly cross-trained soldiers. Preferring his old M4, he's picked up skills in anti-tank weaponry, demolitions engineering and urban combat. As one of the unit's most flexible members, he's always one of its most deployed. He finds his experience on the ground to be the most important learning and is eager to get the unit working together in combat.

Ian West

MOUT

One of the agency's youngest members, Ian West was surprised to be chosen for this unit. Coming up through the Army Rangers, his commanders lauded his quick thinking and reaction under fire. He's a shooter and a mover, and works best in the urban combat roles he was tasked with as part of the Rangers.

Since coming on with the agency, he's mostly been on training expeditions, trying to adapt his talent to the sometimes slower demands of surveillance and support. He's also been excited to be able to deploy the SCAR MK16, finding it a nice balance of weight and impact. But he's eager to see how it performs in the new roles he's been given.

Jeffrey Sampson

Sniper, Demolitions

Unlike many snipers, Jeffrey Sampson prefers being attached to a unit. He's not a fan of days on end living in undergrowth with no one in sight. He didn't come up through the sniper system. He was initially trained as a demolitions expert and attached to a 12-man Special Forces team.

It was during one of his unit's shakeups after receiving casualties that Sampson's skills with a rifle were called upon, and he was sent to cross-train as a sniper. In time, he came to prefer his M21 and the lighter load he had to bare as a sniper, but he never lost that spirit for the unit -- or his demolitions training.

He's not surprised at being chosen for Project Sentry. Few things can match his arrogance, but his competence in the field might be one of them. He considers himself a de facto trainer for some of the younger members of the unit, a role Ian doesn't mind but Ryan has little tolerance for.

Ryan Walker

Marksman, AT

A new member of the agency's unit, Ryan Walker is not exactly an inexperienced soldier. He came to the agency through the Marine's Force Recon. While with the Marines, he found their distaste for other services excessive, but now that he is in a unit with mostly former-Army, he's begun to understand the rivalry.

Even though he's been deployed in combat operations for both intelligence and direct action, he's often treated as a more inexperienced member of the force because of his age. He often reminds other members of the unit -- especially Sampson -- that he was deployed with Force Recon at an age when they were still regular infrantry still learning how to shoot on the range.

Smaller than most, he's also tougher than most. He's had difficulties with others back on base, but in the field his talent for observation and long-range marksmanship has shut up his opponents. Cohen recognized the value of a Force Recon soldier immediately, and Walker is happy to have his commander behind him.

Adam Barnes

AT, Demolitions

Adam Barnes is a former Navy Seal, recruited into the agency's unit when a personal spat with a commanding officer threatened his career. Almost as old a member of the unit as Owens, he has failed to garner the same admiration. Aloof and uninvolved with the unit's off-duty activities, Barnes has developed few strong friendships in the unit.

This contrasts sharply with his behavior in the field, where Barnes goes out of his way to work as part of the unit. He carries a light MP7 so that he can carry an extra AT rocket or demo charge to protect his unit or accomplish the objectives, and in turn he trusts them to keep him safe. Often he won't even return fire when being shot at, preferring to allow his better equipped partners to handle the problem. And he always seems to keep track of his team members and their threats, so that an enemy tank and his AT barrel are never far away.

This tension between his on- and off-duty behavior may have made him few friends, but it's made him a valued asset on any team. Cohen knows intimately the value of a dedicated explosives expert on a hostile battlefield with a high-tech enemy, and she's been happy to find he knows how to shoot his gun -- even if he isn't always doing it.

Eric Saunders

Automatic Weapons Support

One of the most under-valued members of the agency's unit, Eric Saunders' expertise with a support weapon has not been used much in their delicate and often quiet operations. In the more organized battlefields that Project Sentry is anticipating, though, his ability to lay down suppresive fire can be an important insurance policy when things go wrong.

He's not yet convinced of Cohen's leadership, but has deferred to Owens' judgement. He's been pleasantly surprised to see he's not just tacked on to the unit, but is being deliberately brought into consultations both on and off the field. After years of being an accessory for his commanders, a reserve backup, he's excited to be in such a small, tight unit.

[H-Hour]

But enough of that malarky. Here are a few shots showing some of the new build of HH - Airport, with some details that help polish it off.

The roads/runway are painted now, and I've thrown in some electrical boxes for good cover.

Just one of several foxholes added along the island's southern and eastern perimeter.

Power lines, lights, and street signs. And here's the rainy version, perfect for the heavy slog of the final mission.

More foliage throughout the map, but especially around the northern compound, where it was really lacking.

[Tinker]

Good luck with the mods H-Hour and Variable.

Also big fan of Airport map, look forward to new release. (Have 2 missions still for that map, will leave in bag until rainy day.)

[Rocky]

And here it is!

PROJECT SENTRY DOWNLOAD

Can't wait to get stuck into this one! Thanks H-Hour!!

[Hammer]

Download button's not working ? just takes me back to main DL page

[Tinker]

Link is being fixed at present, downloading here in the mean time!

Thnx H-Hour, look forward to it.

[JohnTC02]

Link has been fixed and should now be working.

[Hammer]

Thanks for the fast fix

[H-Hour]

Thanks for the fast turn-around Rocky!

Those of you who downloaded HH - Airport when it was first released will recognize the first mission, but it's been changed quite a bit so you may want to give it another shot since you've got new characters/weapons to get used to. Still, since the missions are to be played in Quick Mission mode, you can skip it if you want.

[Rocky]

Oops sorry about the download error. Thanks for fixing it John, I guess I just forgot to paste the download link in the form?

[KRP 56]

Thanks H-Hour. Off for 2 days starting tomorrow so I'll indeed be having some good old GR fun!

[twcrash]

Great post about to play it tonight. looking forward to a new piece of play time.