JohnTC02
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Posts posted by JohnTC02
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Oh, I'm sorry... I meant starting bots off near the location of Trigger 3, not using that Trigger to spawn them. Indeed, that would be an irrational place for bots to suddenly appear out of nowhere.
No problem, it was my fault I did my last post in a hurry as we keep getting power cuts, I almost finished it and the power went off so I lost the lot, had to do it all again this time in my word processor with auto save on, but it didn't turn out as good this time.
Oh, I was thinking of spawning them before Ghosts have a chance to push towards the Laptop. If Ghosts haven't crested that ridge dividing their start zone from the Laptop, then I think you could safely spawn them anywhere behind that ridgeline but in front of the entangling wreckage.
Yep, I see what you are saying now, sorry sometimes I'm a bit slow on the uptake, I will look into this I just need to find the best time to spawn them, if I do it at the start they will rush in to join the action with the first wave of AI, maybe another trigger just for those few bots would do it. The only problem I can see here is if you were to take ADAT A first it's possible to approach the wreck from that side or even continue round the map and attack it from the rear then spawning more AI in front of the wreck would serve no purpose unless you are killed then you would spawn from the start again then it's more lightly players will move to the front of the wreck, then you are back to the hot spawning issue if there are other players still approaching from the rear (oh my poor brain)!!
I didn't know you have to create a fresh Havoc every time; back in another thread someone said it was possible to have the same one come back repeatedly. Have multiple Havocs only making a 30 second appearence would indeed be annoying. If it was the same one that kept coming back, though, it would create incentives for Ghosts to attack it rather than simply wait it out.
Yes you can respawn the same havoc as many times as you like even if it's destroyed, this is what I have done here I just placed one on the map and recalled it from the mission script, so if you were to destroy the first one then the second will still appear. If say you wanted to have just three on the map and when one was destroyed it wouldn't come back, you would need to place all three on the map and give them all unique names, then you could have each one fly in/out the map when you want until they were destroyed.
Hee... sorry I got carried away in that last report. I think a lot of these strategy discussions - including my suggestions in this post - are for future reference rather than for reworking this particular map
This is my downfall, I'm not to hot on the strategy side of mission making so I need all the help I can get, I have to read your posts at least once to take it all in even then I don't get it all, don't get me wrong it's not your fault it's just the way my brain works, I'm quite good an the coding side of things (used to code software a lot of years ago), I have been told I think like a PC one's and zero's, to logical which can be a bad thing when making missions.
Hear from you soon,
John
P.S...
Just wondered if you have Skype, you will find my contact info in my profile.
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Thanks Rocky.
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Thanks for the reply Zero, it's good to know you are still out there testing missions, I allways welcome any comments you may have no matter how small the issue/complement may be.
Thanks Sighreader, WOW! what a detailed report, it must take you as long t write it as it dose playing the mission.
In defending the Village, I think it's important to position some bots in the region of what appears to be Trigger 3; that is, the hilltop above and to the left of the Village behind that line of barbed wire.
I see what you are saying regarding the AI near trigger 3, the problem here is I would need to expand the trigger location so much they would overlap so you would have the problem of triggering two sets of AI causing lag, I will take a look though maybe I can spawn some bots behind the barbed wire fence without changing the triggers.
As far as counterattacks go, I think the most effective route is to spawn bots at the Wreckage (somewhere near the Intel point) then charge for the Ghost spawn point, much like they do at the beginning of the mission.
Again it's difficult to spawn the AI near the laptop, I did try to do this having them rush out from inside the plane wreck but there are so many angles you can approach the plane it's very difficult to hide them plus as there is so much debris there and a large crater made by the plane the AI kept getting stuck around that area, they were running but getting no were, so the best I could do was to spawn them from under the wings but even then they seem to be a bit slow of the mark. I made the trigger locations there as large as I could to give the bots time to get themselves going but they are still a bit lethargic. I will see if there is anything I can do here.
I recommend using it as a more defensive/surpression tool rather than as an offensive tool: in other words, keep its visits very brief - not more than 2 or 3 passes - before tucking it away for a while. Believe me, even a single Havoc pass is enough to force a nervous Ghost to give up a great position, and may even get him killed by the bots he was trying to pin down.
I don't know if you destroyed the Havocs but they don't stay to long, they are on the map for 110 seconds before they fly off, there are two of them and the second one comes in 50secs after the first one leaves. Maybe reducing the time a bit more would help and having three come rather than two what do you think? I don't know if it's possible to randomize the time they appear I will have to check the scripting tutorial.
If you get a chance to test it again with your mate then let me know what you both think, I don't want to get to bogged down continually changing the mission as there is a limit to what we can do with the AI's movements, saying that though I want it to be the best we can get it so keep the reports coming.
Thanks,
John
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This is odd. Perhaps I'm the only one who likes the idea of retrofitting levels? I hope not... if that's true, then I'll have an enormous guilt complex of being the only person served by all this work!
No need to feel guilty Sightreader, I'm rather enjoying revamping my old missions, when I look back at what I did then you really notice the mistakes and bad code that I put in the missions, the AI graph on this map was terrible so I did it all again it makes me wonder how any of the bots moved.
If only one person tests my missions then it makes the effort I put in worth while, looks like it's just you and me mate!!
Thanks for retesting I look forward to your next report.
By the way, I'm currently revamping my Urban War mission. the AI graph and code is even worse than this one, I must have learnt something over the past few months.
Calling all beta testers, don't let Sightreader do all this testing by himself, he will be a nervous wreck by Christmas!!!
John
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Ok, v2.2 is ready for testing.
There are a few changes here, mainly to the Rebel Leader objective at the Village, thanks to Sightreader's feed back I have come up with something else for you to try.
Changes to this version:
1. Added some extra cover in the form of some extra fencing at the village as you approach it from the initial spawn area, the way I have placed the fencing should not cause a bottle neck effect for players but will make it harder to massacre the AI here.
2. Removed the heli drop as it served no real purpose and it was to easy to kill the passengers while still in the heli, however I have added something else that might make it a bit harder to attack the village.
3. Changed the AI patrol paths to try and keep them from moving into the open at the Village, this has made a small difference but it's not as good as I hoped, those bots seem to have a death wish.
4. A couple of AI have been repositioned at the crashsite.
Sightreader, if you have time it would be good if you could test this part of the mission again taking the same route as before, just to see if you think there is any improvement.
Thanks for your help so far Sightreader. There seem to be a lack of beta testers around at the moment do you know if this is normal this time of year or do they know something I don't. I know Bogie is very busy for the next few weeks, have the rest deserted us for Arma 2.
Thanks,
John
Link:
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Thanks for the detailed report Sightreader,
Sorry if I seem a bit dim (wish I had a better education) but regarding my question about the AI flanking your position, I think you are saying that what I have done in this version, having the AI make their way around to engage you rather than spawning them just sitting in the bushes is much better. Like you I used to think the bushwhackers were a lot of fun but the novelty has worn off so do you think the few I have placed around the map is still to much.
It's very difficult to control the AI's movements once they have spawned, as you noticed at the Commanders Village, they are hell bent on coming out into the open waiting to be massacred by the Ghosts, as you said the "engagement arc" there is very narrow, maybe adding some more fencing or trees there to force players to move into the Village to engage the AI would help, I did notice this problem when I attacked the village from this direction as your position is quite high making it easy to see the enemy.
The heli drop is a leftover from the original mission, I did consider removing it completely as it is very easy to kill them before it even lands, due to the fact that it is a small map I'm not sure where else I could have the heli drop, I was thinking of replacing it with a attack heli having it fly up from behind the buildings at the Village, this might make it harder to massacre the AI there.
Thanks again,
John
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Thanks Sightreader,
Did you have any AI try and flank your position, what I did here was to make a couple of triggers span across the whole map so when triggered it spawned AI a fair way back and they would slowly make their way to your position coming around the rocks to the side of you and giving you what for.
This seemed to work quite well for me playing lone wolf so I was wondering how it went for you with more than one player.
I know that my nick name is the Bushmaster but in practise this idea is becoming a bit tedious so I am trying to avoid placing to many AI in the bushes, as you mention the AI do tend to use them for cover so the AI I placed are near the bushes and not right in the middle (got to keep my nick name)!!
I will take a look at that bullet spitting bush you found and shift him a little.
Thanks,
John
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Ok, I think the mission is ready for release.
Only one change here that Sightreader pointed out, I have added a warning message to inform players that there are mines along the shore, I don't think you will miss it!
There are four missions in the bundle, day and night multiplayer missions and day and night lone wolf missions.
This mission has the same storyline as the current public version but will be a new release as it has been completely revamped, it has been designed to be installed alongside the old version and should not cause any conflicts.
Link for the Bundle, Screenshot included in the zip file:
Mission Author: JohnTC02
Map Author: =TanAtoS= B52
File Size: 9.2 Mb
Version: 2
Description:
DEVILS ISLAND REVISITED v2
The Island is in turmoil, An unknown General and his men have taken the Island, a very important out post in the area. The General has installed Control systems on the Island and is going to use them to launch a missile strike on our bases nearby. Intelligence suggests these missiles are chemical and biological so he has to be stopped at all costs.
Your Mission:
1. Find and destroy the Control Panels.
2. Destroy the transmitter so the General is unable to radio for reinforcements.
3. Destroy the Littlebird the Generals only means of escape.
4. Eliminate Adats nearby.
5. Hunt down and kill the General,
6. Extract.
There are four missions included in the bundle, a day and night multiplayer mission and day and night lone wolf version, as usual the lone wolf version has "sp" (single player) in the name of the mission.
Special Instructions:
This mission has the same storyline as the current public version but is a new release as it has been completely revamped, it has been designed to be installed alongside the old version and should not cause any conflicts.
The map has been opened up so all objectives are available and you can now complete them in any order. All textures have been optomized plus 99% of the xag props have been replaced so this should reduce the lag compared to the old version.
Special thanks goes to =TanAtoS= B52 for the use of his map Island.
I would like to thank the Beta Testers for all their help:
Sightreader, Rahnman and Zero_G
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Thanks for the reply Rahn,
The boulders you mention are dynamic ones placed around the map, they are held in place by some planks of wood if you shoot the wood it will splinter releasing the boulders, these where the only xag props I left in as I thought they looked quite cool.
I think this mission is done, I have spent the last day or two getting it finished, it will have my usual day/night and lone wolf missions.
I hope you like the Crashsite mission.
Thanks,
John
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dr_who, it's been fixed see my last post
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Thanks Sightreader,
When I uploaded it to MediaFire it verified ok. I have just downloaded it myself, it downloaded ok but when I extract it says broken file.
The zip file I have on my pc extracts ok so it didn't upload correctly. I have had this problem with MediaFire before, it's a pain in the ****.
I will upload it again and update my link then inform Rocky.
I have also updated my first release post (again).
Not having a lot of luck here am I!!
John
New link:
PS...
Just tested it three times, it works ok now.
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Crashsite Escape Revisited v2.1 is ready for testing.
I have completely recoded the mission script and opened up the map to make all objectives available, all AI needed to be replaced as the old placements were not suitable for the new mission but the objectives are the same as the public release version v2 apart from one new objective which I have placed where the original extraction point was, the extraction point has been moved to a new location.
I have placed the AI here a bit different, when spawned they will spread out more and try your flank your position, so look out for them coming around the rocks behind and to the side of you, there is no AI spawned from outside of the trigger locations so when you trigger them they are all spawned in front of you but there are some locations that span the whole map and spawn AI across the map which will then make their way around to your position these are the ones that you should lookout for. I hope this works ok.
Thanks,
John
Link:
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Many thanks for retesting Sightreader,
I'm going to call this one done, I will update my release post with the new version and inform Rocky of the changes.
I will make the new public version v3.
Thanks,
John
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No Problem,
I don't know if you intend to make a lone wolf coop mission as we could do with some more mission modders out there for GRAW2.
Anyway hope it all goes well for you.
John
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Hi,
Hope this is what you are looking for.
Have fun,
John
Link:
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Thanks for testing again Sightreader,
Never seen that error code before, Isn't it fun making missions!
This is v2.1 and I have added my usual password.
I have made some changes to this version:
1. The location at the helipad is now much larger covering all the landing pad.
2. The extraction waypoint is now in the centre of the extraction location.
3. Made some small changes to the mission code.
I know you have tested this mission over and over and I am very grateful for your time spent here, if you have had enough of testing this mission and want to call it a day that's fine, but I thought I should do a new version so if you want to test it you can.
Many Thanks,
John
Link:
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The mines are a great addition, but to avoid false bug reports about random explosions, I think it would be wise to warn players with something like,
"Keep your eyes peeled, Ghosts: there are landmines along the shore!"
Thanks for the help Sightreader, I will add the message for the next version.
Oh yeah, one more issue I saw in our playtest. For some very strange reason, isolated bots would wander way out to the sea. This happened to at least 5 or 6 of them. Since they were out near clipping distance, it was hard to tell what they were doing out there: just standing around, maybe even pedaling trying to walk out further, nor could we tell if they were pointing back at us when we started shooting at them.
Strange one this, not sure what they are doing out there as the AI graph ends just at the waters edge, I can't think of any way to control the AI's movements to stop them wondering out to sea other than placing movers right around the island and that would be quite some task.
John
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Hmmm... I don't remember that Blackhawk... was it up on the bridge? One of the other guys cleared that bridge, so I wasn't there. Down below all I remember was a Mule, 2 Fuel Supplies and 2 ADATs.
When the game ends and you trigger the Blackhawks by waiting on the helipad three will fly in, the middle one will head for the helipad and hover over it, once the heli is there it will trigger the end of the game.
I'll see if my friend is around again tonight. We've played this several times but never seen that happen before.
I checked the code for the extraction from the last version and it's the same as this one so nothing has changed.
Thanks,
John
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Hi Sightreader,
Thanks for the reply, I need some more info from you.
At the end did you see the extraction waypoint, also did the heli's fly in?
It's the Blackhawk in the middle that ends the game, when it hovers over the landing pad it triggers the end of the game.
I had a look at my code and trigger locations, I noticed that the location there dose not cover the whole landing pad so all players must be at the front half of the pad to trigger the heli's which will end the game, so if you were all at the extraction waypoint then it wont trigger the heli's, so if you try it again make sure all players wait at the front half of the landing pad.
I have just played the mission in god mode so I was able to complete the mission without killing any AI and it all worked as it should (even with all the lag from not killing any AI), I tested it with a online server and lan.
I think the issue here maybe that you were waiting at the extraction waypoint marker and not at the front of the landing pad.
I'm sorry you had this issue, it was my mistake of not making the location there large enough to cover the whole area.
I would appreciate it if you could test it one more time doing what I suggested above, if it works ok I will post a message on the downloads section explaining this issue.
Many Thanks,
John
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Hi Rocky,
Thanks for adding the mission to the downloads,
To date I have released 9 missions, I'm now in the process of revamping my first few missions and intend to make a Campaign mod with all the missions so far.
John
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I was searching the Wiki looking for narcom vids to add to my mission and found this.
Ghost: "Like a ghost town"
Mitchell: "Then we should be right at home. Okay, people. Look alive"
This reminded me of something but couldn't think what, then it came to me.
These Forums!
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Ok, v1.4 is now ready for testing,
Got this version finished sooner than I thought.
Just a couple of changes for this version:
1. Added some cover for the AI around the map, I hope this will make it a bit harder to pick off the AI from the high points.
2. Added a bucket load of mines around the map so mind your step.
If anyone wants to retest the mission I would be very grateful but I think were almost done.
Not sure how to release this map, as there is already a public version out there do I make this a separate download or have Rocky replace the existing one as it will have the same story, I might PM Rocky and see what he thinks.
Thanks All,
John
Link:
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Thanks, Rahn,
I'm currently in the final stages of testing my revamped Crashsite Escape mission like this one all objectives are now available, I have left them the same as the public version plus I've added one more. Hope to post it here in the next day or two.
My campaign will be a while before it's done, I have to revamp more of my missions as yet, so it's not even started, did you see my single mission campaign (Bushmaster Campaign) I posted here a while ago, it was just a test to see if I have got things right as I haven't done one before.
I will be posting a new version of Devils Island here later today, after your comment of being able to take out the AI from the high points I added some more cover to help reduce this the best I can, also added some dav mines to keep Zero happy.
Thanks,
John
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Allied Force is now finished and ready for public release.
Due to the issues Sightreader found at extraction I have released a new version v3.
There are a few minor changes from the last version.
1. Done the spelling errors on the waypoints and screen massages.
2. Fixed the issue of not being able to plant c4 on the Fuel Supply panels after blowing the fuel tanks with grenades.
After TripleX found the issue with Fuel Supply A, I tested both of the panels and found that Fuel Supply B was also difficult to attach c4 to after using grenades there. So I moved the panels out a little then retested them and it all seems fine now.
There are four missions in the bundle, day and night multiplayer missions and day and night lone wolf missions.
Link for the Bundle, Screenshot included in the zip file:
Mission Author: JohnTC02
Map Author: [sPH] Bionic
File Size: 7 Mb
Version: 3
Description:
ALLIED FORCE
Fort Horizon was a complete success, for now the threat of chemical weapons targeting the US is pretty much zero, unfortunately we have a new problem.
Intel suggests there has been a raid into the US by a small number of elite Rebel soldiers, they have captured a Government Official who has top secret information regarding the development of our weapons program he also has a laptop with blueprints of our latest weapon designs. We must get to him before the Rebels can extract this information from him.
His kidnapers transported him by train to a location near the US border, they then destroyed the train on a bridge blocking the line. Ghosts we need you to go in and secure the hostage plus you need to clear the area and destroy all air defences so we can send in our troops to clear the train line as it's an important route to transport supplies into the US.
It goes without saying the Rebels must not get the top secret information about the development of our weapons so you must succeed at all costs.
Your Mission:
1. Secure The hostage.
2. Retrieve The Laptop.
3. Destroy Fuel Supply A.
4. Destroy Fuel Supply B.
5. Destroy The Mule.
6. Destroy Adat A.
7. Destroy Adat B.
8. Extract.
There are four missions included in the bundle, a day and night multiplayer mission and day and night lone wolf version, as usual the lone wolf version has "sp" (single player) in the name of the mission.
Thanks goes to [sPH] Bionic for the use of his map Arroyo v2.
Known Issues:
The night versions have a problem with the mountains in the background for some reason the appear fairly bright compared to the rest of the map. I was unable to fix the problem, they are most noticeable at the start of the mission and when on the bridge but do not effect game play in any way.
SPECIAL INSTRUCTIONS:
After releasing the mission some of the beta testers found a issue where sometimes the game would not end, So I have released a new version which has a updated extraction routine. So if you are experiencing these issues try the new version v3.
Special thanks to the Beta Testers:
Rahnman, Sightreader, Zero_G, SixGunsLoaded, Porter & Twix from the Army of Lion Guinea Pigs, TripleX, Anthony, Viper and his team @ AGB (agbgaming.com).
Crashsite Escape Revisited
in GR:AW 2 - Mod Beta Testing
Posted
Version 2.3 is ready for testing.
I have made a few more changes here thanks to the input I have received from Sightreader.
Changes:
1. There is now only one Havoc, it will fly in and out of the map a few times when you attack the Village, this time if it is destroyed it will not return.
2. Added some cover for the AI at the Village, let's hope they have the brains to use it.
3. Added something for you to play with at the Antenna Sightreader!!
4. Repositioned the AI and changed the patrol paths at the Plane Wreck, hopefully there will be less bots out in the open here.
I did try to have the Havoc return more times at the village but it just wasn't having none of it. I tested the havocs several times, on one occasion it did not return for it's third passover but went in a completely different direction, the vehicles/heli's are very temperamental and sometimes have a mind of their own so this is the best I could get it, anyway it adds to the suspense if you think it's coming back but ends up somewhere else and shoots you from behind.
As you seem to be the only one testing at the moment Sightreader, if you have time give it a go, all the pressure is on you mate the Ghosts all around the world are counting on you!!!
Thanks,
John
Link:
Crashsite Escape Revisited v2.3