(Review completed) [SP] Operation Dawning Hope v.1.0 RC out!

[Wolfrug]

  Aw poop. I'll add them to the post, that should do it.

And thanks for picking this up!

Wolfrug out.

[LeeHunt]

hey Wolfrug, busy for the next few days but should be able to give version .2 a spin as well by next week

[johnnyboy]

Hey Wolf, finally had a chance to give this a go.  Its very ambitious man!  I suck at squad control so this is tough for me...

Overview

Picture to dark for me.  Can't really make it out.

Intro

-Starts in 3rd person view of man first before going black to narrative. I don't think you want that.
-Narrative cool.  Voice over would be better though.
-UAV very cool.  Short voice over here, or music might help.

Briefing

- Wow.  You obviously worked hard on this.  Very well written.
- On the various tabs, I would make links for all discussed items that have markers.  That way, you don't have to flip back to main page to use the link again to see where something is.  May seem redundant, but linked markers while on the context of a particular tabbed page makes life easier for the player. 
- Squad names in radio menus.  I would add text to squad names in menus so I can remember who is who without re-reading the briefing.  For example, I'm supposed to move the engineers up close to the radio (nearest objective), but I had trouble figuring out which squad was the engineers.
- Squad control with dynamic waypoints is a cool thing.  But it would be nice to have the squads also do the smart thing if you do not exercise that level of control.  For example, I would like those engineers to just do their job by the radio tower, rather than me have to micro manage getting them close enough. 
- That radio tower objective never ticked off for me, and I'm guessing its because the engineers didn't get close enough?  I know I killed all the enemey there.

Estrella

- Really enjoyed my fight here.  Cat and mouse with BMPs.
- I got the radio message that Estrella was cleared, and I destroyed the one shilka I could find, but the objective did not tick off?
- Called in November1, and was switched into chopper.  Tried using radio to get back out, but that option was now anavailable.  Finally noticed an Action to switch off Camera.  It was confusing to have to use a different method to switch back to Blue team.
- Got a script error when used action to switch camera off from November 1.  See attached screenshot.
- November1 got shot down before getting near Estrella.  Never saw where.


D130s
- Shot sniper and guard near a tower, and then had to skirt a long fence.  Went in 4X speed for that.
- Moved up to bunker near end of fence, and killed a few guards there.  Then did long range shooting of many enemies milling about.  Did notice a squad not far away that was still in Careless mode though (circled in second screen shot).  We had been shooting for a few minutes, so they should have been alerted.  There was a sniper in this squad.
- Got this error message too:  "Radio Message Fail Warning Not Found".


Overall
I really like the scale of the mission, and the feeling of being part of something larger.  The voice acting is quite good, especially that Alpha character!   

I was confused quite a bit of the time though, eventhough I read the entire briefing.  A little more hand holding in the way of radio messages or dialog with team mates to prompt me along to the next objective would be helpful (eventhough I know this is open ended, and you choose the objective order).

Looks great so far....will try and complete it later.  I confess to not using the squad control waypoint menus to their full potential yet...

Thats all i have time for this go around.

[Wolfrug]

 

Thanks for your BETA report, johnny! And I agree: that Alpha character really was great. 

Response:

Overview: It's supposed to be three RHIBs towing two M113s, with an aircraft carrier in the background (edited there with my less than perfect Photoshop skills >_<). I'll work on removing the black borders and making the piccy a little larger.

Briefing: Most pertinent places have links, but I admit to getting lazy and not linking EVERY mention of the objectives. Sometimes for some reason I cannot comprehend the links are indistinguishable from the normal text (they're black), but they still work.  Once again, the actual format of the briefing was stolen from the Chain of Command OFP missions, so they're to thank for that.  Found any spleling erorrs?

Squad names: Blue (you), Green and Red should be fairly self-explanatory (with markers according to colour). I suppose I'll just have to drop the "Auxiliary 1" and "Auxiliary 2" names though and simply go for "Engineers" and "November 1" instead.

Squad control: Did you manage to get it to work otherwise though? I mean - picking up and moving the waypoints etc? I suppose I don't explain this well enough, but basically both November 1 and the Engineers have ONE waypoint capable of being simply picked up and moved around, which will make them move to that location (thus the "limited" control). I -could- also allow equal control over them as over your regular groups (i.e. adding and editing waypoints etc.), but I don't know if that's strictly necessary. Opinions?
->Engineers: they need to be within about 10 meters of the big radar (just position their one HOLD waypoint straight on top of the objective marker), upon which they'll leave your control and do their own thing.
->November 1: Crashed? Strange. As to control: selecting November 1 (Auxiliary 1, I think ->you're right, I'll change the naming) will indeed put you in the cockpit of the chopper [reason for different method is due to the fact that November 1 is a vehicle, and the camera is centered on the gunner when selecting vehicles, who does not have access to the radio] upon which you can use the map to move the chopper's waypoint around. Also be mindful of the fact that since later versions of ArmA, you can direct Hellfires with a Laser Designator...
-> Estrella objective not ticking off: Argh. Weird. I'll check on it.  But since you got November 1, I guess everything ELSE worked as it should've...

D30s:
- I added the big blue "ATTACK" arrows which point at the holes in the chain link fence (and also added thin black markers that marked the fence itself, since it's nigh invisible on the map). As you noticed, these obvious entryways will be guarded. Of course, there's nothing stopping you from making your own hole...
- Careless squad:  I'll look into it. Weirdness. Did you try shooting at them?
- Radio message: I'll check the trigger & the message itself, I figured something like that would come up! Basically though, that message was telling you time was running out. 

Overall:

Glad you liked it! Sorry about it being confusing - that's what I need BETA testers for, to see what is obvious and what is less obvious! On my todo list is spiffing up the briefing some more with pictures and the like, maybe even a little tutorial on how to use the Squad Control System (particularly in regards to the Auxiliaries), which will hopefully alleviate some confusion. But generally, it IS a pretty extensive mission with many objectives, so you shouldn't be surprised if it at times feels a bit confusing.

Now some questions:

-> Difficulty? Was it too hard/too easy? You seem to have just used your own squad, leaving the rest behind. But considering you were sniping people by the D-30s when the fail warning came, you probably moved pretty slow too.  Remember what the briefing says: those artillery units need to be knocked out before the attack on the airport starts! (at 8 AM).

-> Artillery? Were you ever even attacked by the artillery?  You don't seem to mention it anywhere, and since MrN was splatted by it repeatedly, I figured it SHOULD have made its entrance on you as well. For instance when engaging the D30s, were you never attacked by the artillery while you were shooting?

If the Engineers are killed (or reduced to less than 2 men) or you for some other reason don't want to waste manpower on the radar tower, you CAN just bomb it to hell as well which will make the Poseidon start its approach and put you within range of the naval guns pretty soon. And once that happens -> was THAT artillery useful?

Oh, btw: did you ever pick up a laser designator? I don't know if I made it clear enough that one of those might be useful. 

Thanks again for your BETA report!

Wolfrug out.

[johnnyboy]

Found any spleling erorrs?

spleling  <=== just this one matey!

Careless squad:   I'll look into it. Weirdness. Did you try shooting at them?

LOL.  My squaddies totally hosed them down.

Difficulty? Was it too hard/too easy?

Probably just right.  I survived quite awhile.  But I did run out of time as I was on foot the whole time, and when Alpha requested assitance, I had to comply (as his voice is so compelling).  I should have used the Ural by the Radios to cut down on time wasted.  Also, I took quite awhile in Estrella, as the BMP was tricky.

Were you ever even attacked by the artillery?

Artillery came in by the Radio Tower, and near Estrella.  It looked and sounded great, but seemed sort of random.  It did not hit me or my men.  I encountered no artillery when near it.  But I did take that long skirt the fence detour (if that has anything to do with it or not I don't know).

within range of the naval guns pretty soon. And once that happens -> was THAT artillery useful?

Due to my earlier confusion of who the hell the engineers were, I never put the engineers near the tower, and I never blew the towers, so no naval guns for me.  Next time I will know!

ever pick up a laser designator?

I remember reading about the ld in the briefing, but forgot to pick one up.

Honestly, I read the entire briefing, but there was so much to know that I didn't retain it all once in-game.  I did refer to the map and briefing a few times during the mission, but still, once playing, I didn't want to spend much time re-reading the briefing whilst trying to survive.

I look forward to trying again.  Is there a new Beta version in the offing I should wait for?  My time is limited these days, so you might want me to save another detailed review for your next version...

[Wolfrug]

Lee said he'd look into the mission at some point during this week, so I'll at least wait for his review before churning out 0.3 - but rest assured, I AM still working on this. Also I'm learning some more of the secrets of dialog-making, so maybe, just maybe, I might even update that little part (although it seems to be fairly little used. Hm  )

The artillery is either "random" or extremely deadly I've found. Nasty stuff, overall.

Thanks again! If you find anything else, do tell me.

Wolfrug out.

[LeeHunt]

yep i'll be able to take a look Saturday morning (New York time).  i'll have extensive feedback later that day 

[DarkAngel]

Hi Wolfrug,

Have just given this another go. Engineers do their job this time, but I think Johnnyboy might be right in that there's no real need to micromanage them. You could just arrange it so that once the area round the tower is clear they move in and do their job.

Some problems -
- Cleared Estrella and the radio tower but objectives didn't tick off
- November 1 keeps crashing and I can't seem to move his objective
- Where are the laser designators for the artillery? Some sort of hint or maybe a conversation with one of the rescued Alpha soldiers might be useful here.

Really enjoying the squad control idea now I've got the hang of it - this is going to be awesome...

[Wolfrug]

Thanks DarkAngel!

-Laser Designators are needed to call down artillery, once the radar station is in our hands. Alpha and the Lt. has those. Hope there won't be any need for us to get our hands on them...

Alpha Squad will bring several Laser Designators with them inside boxes that will be unloaded on the LZ. These will then be used to direct the artillery.

^ Quotes from the briefing. The important part here is hidden in the second quote, as it were: boxes on the LZ. If you followed the radio chatter and checked out the location Alpha mentioned being the spot they were pinned down, you can bet that was their new LZ. Just off to look for some crates then, eh?  (I know that scene misses a voiceover - my bad).

But you're right, maybe just a "talking/thinking to himself" might be good as well at some point there.

Darn November 1! I'll have to look into him, I might've fouled something up there. 

Objectives not ticking off: Once again, darn. But that's mostly a cosmetic detail, I guess.

Continue having fun! And do give me negative criticism on the ease of use/whatever you can think of as well!

Oh...and WHEN is someone -actually- going to manage to finish the mission?  C'mon...where are all the hardcore ArmA/OFP gamers who said they could beat stuff like the (un)Impossible mission? This can't be THAT hard. Just be prepared to use the saves too! 

Wolfrug out.

[LCD]

when i have taam d00d ill beat it 4 sure...

LCD OUT

[LeeHunt]

Ok, betatesting version .2, here we go, more to come over this weekend but wanted to post something right away:

Dawning Hope is still awesome and still raising the bar of excellence for the rest of us  .  The waypoint and squad control is much improved, almost there (still needs more simplification, but much better). 

Squad Control: I like the dot and squad # as markers on the map. 
Green Team got stuck. I don't know how. I tried everything.  This makes me wonder if there is a way to "refresh" them?  Without Green Team i was in trouble (because Red Team got plastered by the arty

Suggestions (to some extent personal preferences, though i think many of these are valid regardless):

1) Add a "bring me back to myself" hotkey. I know this may sound silly and you can do it but by pressing Blue Team or Go Ahead, but it may be nice in the heat of combat to have the player be able to just instantly be himself again and fight.

2) The OPFOR arty runs too much.  And this isn't a complaint because i got plastered by it several times  , its just that they wouldn't have so much ammo and the time between barrages seems too short.  Maybe a larger amount at first, then spaced out more as they conserve ammo.  Maybe also they need to spot more than one BLUEFOR to launch a barrage?  Like 3-4?  Just an idea...

3) When the player is re-selected and "himself" again, you could have "settime accel 1" kick in. Many times i was still in slow-mo.

4) The Call signs for sidechat, globalchat etc are currently "Bravo Green 1", but it would be better if they could just be "GREEN TEAM" for simplicity's sake.

5) The briefing, though good, is still quite verbose and could be shrunk down dramatically. 

6) the Long Range comm tower and Short Range Comm markers are overlapping and could be changed...

7) I think the engineers could carry a Laser Designator for the Poseidon Arty. It doesn't make sense that only Alpha Squad in Estrella would have them. Its motivation to rescue them but maybe Poseidon would act to help Alpha alone if you don't rescue them?  So you get the same result but without the Designator issue?

I didn't like the on death player music, too jarring. You've just been killed, and you've been jarred by the bullet that got you anyway haha.

9) minor bug report that didn't seem to affect my mission: RUG_Group Radio setTriggerAct (flashed by before i could write it all down). This was after i got the November 1 helicopter pilot. Who I promptly ordered to attack the Shilka 

10) This is still fantastic Wolfrug.  I really enjoy it. 

Ok I'm restarting the mission because i got my butt kicked. Took the tower at first but Red Team got plastered by Arty, then half of my Blue Team and Green Team wouldn't move.  Giving it another go now 


EDIT AFTER PLAYING MORE:

Ok, I restarted, took the comm towers, long & short, then moved into Estrella.  Green & Red Teams froze, i tried changing their waypoint menu around, hitting halt, go ahead, moving things etc, no luck.  So i saved Estrella almost singlehandedly  and managed to nail the enemy APC reinforcement (the one calling the arty shots).  Got the leftovers from Alpha Squad into my blue team and moved SE towards the enemy bases.  DIdn't use the arty or helicopter yet, holding them back.

Improvements (and again, this is a really well designed mission so these are given in the spirit of wanting to improve things to make it even better):

1) "Radio Message Fail1Warning" not found... i'm guessing this was the line to warn me i was going over the time limit?

2) A marker or hyperlink to the laser designators?  I couldn't find them and ran around Estrella aimlessly till after 20 minutes or so i found the crates and wounded soldier.  Then i had the laser binoculars, but by the time i got to the fence of the unknown base my time ran out...

3) ...the mission stopped and i was shown a massive gravesite.  I didn't know why the mission stopped exactly, time limit i guess.  I would prefer no time limit as this mission is quite large etc. 

But things are on the right track.  An even simpler squad control interface and sorting out the minor growing pains will make this even better 

[Wolfrug]

 

Thank you very much for your beta report, Lee. I'll get to work on some of the niggles you've found.

Time out -> I guess you're right. It IS a bit hard to manage everything within the time frame! I think what I'll do is implement a difficulty checker at the start -> "Hardcore" with timelimits, no LDs with your team from the start, possibly more armor movement (right now there is exactly one armored unit, and that's the BMP, in the whole mission. Rest are UAZ and BRMDs), and "Easy" (maybe with a medium in between) that hasn't got a timelimit, gives you the LD from the start, makes the artillery shoot slower and less etc etc. 

Groups getting stuck -> Bloody hell.  Did you try teamswitching into them and telling them to "return to formation" and so on? Although this HAS happened to me quite a lot as well, very annoying. I -think- it can be solved if I give their waypoints the "fast" movement speed : that means they won't wait for their teammates before moving on, which they'll otherwise do with normal or limited. Did you see if the reason they didn't move was: a) Stuck in buildings/trees/other objects, b) Their teammates were "engaging" or "away"? If a), try teamswitching and then unsticking them. If b) well...I don't know.  I'll work on it.

-> finding the LD. Right, right. I'll put in a hint or somesuch telling you where to find them once Estrella's clear. 
-> time running out. This is partly my laziness. First, I wanted to script in a "lose" outro, but I didn't get around to it. Strange though that you seemed to have gotten the regular outro. Did you hear the general speak and get the credits, etc? Also, regarding time running out, I guess in your case the reason was partly the fact that you ran around Estrella for like 20 minutes looking for LDs.  The time cannot run out any more after you've disabled the D-30's.

Thanks a lot for the Beta report! I got some questions for you:

1) The chopper didn't crash and you figured out how to control it? 
2) Did the objectives tick off at all?
3) How could the Squad Control System be made even more intuitive?
4) Difficulty, once again. What were your losses taking the comm tower/taking Estrella?
5) Was the briefing weapon selection adequate? I noticed there were some silly things there (20rnd STANAG mags, for instance >_>, and no M9s). I'll see about cutting down the lenght of the briefing as well. 
6) If I do implement difficulty settings at the start, what things should I change? -> Amount of enemies, amount of artillery, time limit, equipment, friendly forces?

 

I'm waiting eagerly for the next version of Punishment Battallion, incidentally. Surely THAT will be a mission raising the bar of excellence if anything! Thanks for taking an interest in my little Beta here. I'll start changing things and building up a new changelog soon for 0.3. 


Wolfrug out.

[LeeHunt]

hey Wolfrug,

As i mentioned before, this is a very fun and well designed mission that could be used as a platform for many more like it, so all my criticisms are positive minded.

I think the difficulty level options you mentioned are a great idea.  I'm a slow mover in ArmA, trying to play like i would to some extent in real life.  (A point someone mentioned that real life style IS the way to win Abandoned Armies and similarly Punishment Battalion, by running away like you would in real life and only fighting when you are 95% sure you can win).  But anyway, the options you mention should be easy to setup; if the player selects an easier difficulty level you could just deletevehicle Tank1 and Tank2 and deletevehicle TriggerTimeoutFail or something like that, otherwise they stay.

The groups getting stuck always seemed to happen when the group got to the end of a waypoint, and usually not under combat conditions.  They were in the open as far as i could tell, not stuck in trees.  I did not try teamswitching into them and telling them to return to formation--- and though that may work its not enough solution for the casual player unfortunately (though maybe enough for the hardy betatesters).  Maybe a "Refresh Squad" hotkey that clears all their waypoints and re-runs the script with their markers and waypoints?   I haven't looked "under the hood" of your mission yet to keep it a surprise for me. 

A marker for the LD location would be good. 

I heard the General speak and i got the credits, so it didnt' seem like a "lose" outro.  It happened just as i got close to the Unknown site south of the fences and west of the RACS base.  The camera shot into the eye was a bit creepy I must admit  .   I hadn't seen the gravesite yet so i was shocked, so that effect did work as intended.

Additional:

The chopper didn't crash and I figured out how to use it. 
The objectives did not tick off, though the map markers changed from red to green (i liked that)

How the squad system could be made more intuitive...hmmmm... the initial dialog boxes for changing to combat mode red, blue, yellow etc could have a word in them saying what's in them, "combat mode", "movement mode" etc.  Most players are used to Command & Conquer style unit orders, you click on the unit, tell them where to go on the map, and they go.  The waypoints are great to allow flanking and coordinated attacks.  My biggest simplification request is that the waypoints are somehow refreshed, i still think that my squads got stuck at waypoint 3.


Difficulty changes:
Time limit and Artillery frequency is the biggest difficulty effects, the rest are fine as they are i think.  You could adjust the # of enemies easily by deleting some of their units if the player does select "Easy" mode at the beginning, but i think its fine really.

My losses on taking the Comm Tower were-- all of Red Team (plastered by arty) and half of Blue Team during the counterattack  .   Green Team got stuck the first time.  The second restart I moved Green & Red towards Estrella right away, though they got stuck and never arrived. Blue Team was decimated by the end of my rescue of Alpha Squad at Estrella, maybe 2-3 guys left.  I then incorporated the rest of Alpha Squad, half of whom got blown up in the APC shortly after  . 

That's it for now 

[LCD]

i finished it... even tho ill have 2 admit i cheated  i took over enemy jeep and da enemy didnt realy like 2 shot me (its a bug in ArmA... im not sure if it can b fixed tho  )

but lets start from start

package

1) da radio problem (mentioned in readme) is solvable... use showradio and shownradio comands
2_ it seems da two editor upgrades were not included in da rar file

overview

1) picture is lil fuzzy
2) picture cud also use a border

Intro

1) da whole diary text is writen in da middle of da screen while da last line is writen at da bottom

Briefing

1) i think it shud b "0600 hours" and not "06.00 hours"
2) da markers are too close to each other, u may b wanting 2 make em smaller 4 more elegant look
3) i think da esterella objective shud b start hidden (its objective 4 alpha not 4 us...) nd become unhidden only after dat
4) i dont like da whole weather and AA-gun thing.... its like da planes dont fly cuz deres bad weather but da weather will change 1ce we destroy AA bateries ? do dey magicly control da weather ?
5) all my squad r experts... even soldiers dat r ranked private

Mision

1) did u do somin 2 da aiming of soldiers ? dey seem 2 shot realy bad... dey take ages 2 kill enemies (and enemies 2 kill me...)
2) It seems dat couple of enemies run away from da big com center after i killed somin like 4 of em (nd after i took da nearby short-comm center)
3) I brought da enginers 2 deir designated position (dis part was strangly easy... mebe its cuz i was on cadet ? but it was realy realy easy....) nd da objective didnt tick off
4) Try changind da USS posidon name from USS posiedon 1 to just USS posiedon (use [west,"hq"] kind of thing instead of group 4 deir radio msgs)
5) also kill da leder of alpha group b4 dey say dey have problems (i think it said he died ? not sure tho...) cuz it was da same man who radioed b4 and after....
6) after da engineers get in place u shud hide da radio option... (it doesnt work but it still apears...)
7) U shud give alpha squad a medic or somin like dat... dey had my medic runing all da way towards em alone askin 4 him 2 heal dem...
I dont know what alpha needed help with... by da time i got dere dey overwhelmed esterilla and blowed up da command BMP (dat orders arty) all by demselfs
9) It seems 1 of da radio msgs was saied twice in a row (player asking about air support)
10) After alpha joined my group da leader of team green changed and became 1 of da officers from alpha
11) I had some trouble w/ da choper... i didnt figure out how 2 use it... (tried movin its WP but it was stuck in place... and da radio didnt apear when i was dere...)
12) when i switched da choper cam off i got error msg saying PUG_groupradio setactivation... (didnt get da rest sory)
13) also when i switched off choper cam da world stayed in slow-moation
14) Esterilla objective also didnt tick off...
15) u also forgot da hint dat says camera terminated when we close choper camera...
16) When a team is elimanted it cud b nice 2 get some radio text (player tryin 2 contact and dont get answer ?) and also removing da radio option from da radio menu
17) Dere was a group of soldiers from alpha dat stayed in esterilla and didnt help me (nd i did need help)
18) da D-30 seems 2 die real fast from da UAZ w/ MG fire... somin like ghalf a mag makes it explode
19) Of course dere is da jeep bug.... 1ce u get in an enemy jeep da only ppl 2 shot u r soldiers who got out of da D-30
20) da destroy D-30 objective is redicuosly hard compared 2 both objectives b4 it (who were too easy to b true) 2 continue walking 1ce 1 of da D-30 targets u is hell... mebe have em not shotin directly at player but only arty fire or somin like dat cud make it more normal....

after i destroyed all da D-30s (dat objective did tick off) i tried last time da choper nd tried 2 move it WP in many difrent wayz... and i accidently crashed my comp  not conected 2 ur scripting tho... so i didnt have time 2 return 2 esterilla... but i may do dat tomoz

LCD OUT

[Wolfrug]

Thanks LCD! 

Briefing: You're right.  Of course you can't know the weather might get better. Let's put it like this instead: the weather might get better at any time, except they can't send you any air support in the south ANYWAY before the AA base is destroyed. Maybe your character is just being hopeful in the notes? 

Expert soldiers -> The AI is a big enough hassle as it is, making them poor shots would just make things even worse. I think some elite USMCs deserve the rank of Expert. I mean, it's not like its the rank that determines how good they are at soldiering.

Intro: I know, conscious choice. I wanted it to be a sort of "end of page" thing. But really I should replace the titleText with some kind of custom resource that might look prettier. We'll see.

1) Most enemies are very low skill, but otherwise I've done nothing particular to them? Sure you haven't been messing with your .cfg values?
4) Maybe I will  I'm not terribly bothered by it though.
5) Simple case of logistics. Didn't want to bother having two different people radio in and out. Let's just say that the Platoon LT. used his nearby sergeant or whatever to relay the orders instead of talking himself. The lt. is indeed wounded - you should be able to find him close to the boxes with Laserdesignators.
6) Will do.
7) Huh. There's a medic tent in the enemy base, and Alpha already has a medic or two. Weirdness.
Guess that happens sometimes too ^^ it's a thin line between "getting pounded to hell" and "kicking ass by themselves". You don't HAVE to go save them, remember (also, Alpha will join you whether you personally go help them or not, so if you want to leave it to chance...)
9) Will check this.
16) It -should- tell you "Green eliminated" or "Red eliminated", and you also should be unable to use the cameras. However since it's possible for you to reinforce the teams (via Alpha), I didn't want to fiddle around TOO much with making stuff visible and invisible.
17) Yep. Security detail. They'll patrol the town UPS-style.

20) Why is it harder? Because the D-30's target and shoot at you? I do know that >_< I actually tried making them "careless", but they don't seem to respond to that. Sigh. Basically, though, the artillery you get is what you should try using to remotely destroy the D-30's the best you can. Going head to head with them is perhaps not always the best idea. Also, it IS the main objective. Estrella + radar are mostly things designed to give you some help in completing main objective, so they -should- be easier. But yes, I understand. 

Thanks for that Beta report as well! I'll see about burping out a new version in a while. I've also taken the original mish-mash of scripts that made up the Squad Control System, and revised them a bit. Or, well, just put them into a prettier package, really (and added some features).