(Review Completed) [SP] The Final Stand

[Krieg]

Mission Description

Soviets had invaded Desert Island almost a year ago, they had conquered most of the island. But now, NATO forces had returned stronger then ever. They had pushed Soviets to very edge of the island. Now Soviets are preparing a massive last stand. Play as Soviet soldier, help them repulse NATO attacks... Or die trying.

I made this long ago, but I improved it in last few days.

Required addons

None

Version of Operation Flashpoint

I made it in 1.46 CWC version, works fine in higher versions.

Version

Final Version 1.5

Known Bugs

It might lag on older PC's (Reduces as much as possible)

Link

Size: 1735 KB
http://rapidshare.com/files/259156151/The_Final_Stand.Intro.zip

Edit: This mission has been reviewed and is available from the Missions Depot.

[savedbygrace]

Welcome to OFPEC Krieg. We'll give this one a test tonight or sometime this weekend.

BTW, I thought the GOTY version included Resistance(1.75) and the 1.96 patch?

[Krieg]

My version of GOTY which I buyed somewhere in 2005 from SoldOut Software had even lower version before I upgraded it to 1.46. I can't remember which, but I think it was something like 1.06 or something  .
In "box" where CD was placed, it says: Operation Flashpoint GOTY and serial number.

By the way, game can get really laggy until you kill some enemies but it might not get laggy. I just played and it runned perfectly yet other time it lagged like 'ell.

[schuler]

note: game works with 1.96 goty
nevertheless it is a good defend the base mission and idea with nice setpos on obj's, but lag is overcoming , pretty much unacceptable sorry to say, its like 300 hamsters in a wheel
if you want to use AI like that you need to spawn them! there seem to be over a hundred enemy.
mission
i stayed behind the destroyed M113 (i think is was) after time i fired on a US tank taking it out then i had my back to the enemy and someone shot me in the ass 'yank bastards' 
overall: [find a way to reduce lag]
cheers and welcome to the forums, schuler   

[Krieg]

Thank you schuler.

About M113/Ural mix:I accidentally put it on M113 when making the level, but when I spotted it, I did not remove it... It was kind of symbol of mission.

About lag: Maybe I should cut down on enemies a little bit? I mean, I putted in some M1A1's which make mission impossible to survive, and maybe I should reduce number of enemy squads attacking positions where player is not present.

Still, until making new version, I will wait for some more tests (1 or 2 more).

[Walter_E_Kurtz]

Well, there were no downloads when I came by an hour ago so I thought I'd give it a quick try.

1. I'm sure people hate writing them as much as me, but a readme included in the zip would be nice - just cut-and-paste the info from your first post, including version number.

2. Do the same for an overview.html - I think Chris' Editor can create one as well.

3. (My favourite bit of pedantry: spelling mistakes): Comrades, ... the Americans were ...
Maybe change the punctuation also: "One thing is certain: We will stand and fight ... and die."

4. Loadout - consider adding some heavier anti-tank rocketry: the AT4 or Carl Gustav

Instead of including binoculars in the description.ext, give them to the player from the start: write the following in the player's unit's init line

Code: [Select]

this addWeapon "Binocular"
5. Mission - the M113/Ural wrecks are making the beast with two backs and obscure much of the players view at the start. Place the player's unit further back by a few metres and let him walk up to take his place on the line.

Trigger - this should be Once WEST present, in order to get the message.

Lag - horrendous. I was down to 2-3 fps improving to 7-8. Take out the majority of US squads that are attacking other positions, leaving two plus tanks. If you want to reduce the number of defenders to compensate either reduce their Health/Armor to nothing or type the following in their init line:

Code: [Select]

this setDammage 1They will then be dead bodies from the start.

Ending - none at present. Create a trigger covering the area: Once, West, Not Present, and set it to be End#1. Like the other trigger, you can include a message if you like. You will also then have to create a debriefing section for briefing.html

[Krieg]

Thank you for test, walter,working on 0.85 version right now.
Done with creating new version. Check first post.
is it any better than previous one?

[Walter_E_Kurtz]

I should have mentioned that I'm using version 1.96. Since no addons are required, I've no problems.

Readme and overview are now present. If you're willing to admit responsibility, you might include your (online) name.

Problem with the overview picture though:

dimensions 268x203: not 2 ^ n

so it didn't display. This can be remedied quite simply - use a graphics program to adjust the size to 256x256: either crop or resize.
(All images/textures used by OFP need to have sides that are 'a power of 2' pixels long eg. 128 (2^7) by 256 (2^8) )

I forgot to point out last time that the date in the diary (1st Feb 1985) is at variance with what's shown once the mission starts (Wed, May 1 0730). You should be able to change this on the same screen in which you gave the mission a name: click on the cloud in the top-right of the mission editor.

Addition of binoculars to player's inventory was accomplished successfully.

Lag has not been substantially improved, for me at least. All I can do is repeat my suggestion from earlier, to have fewer groups attacking the other positions.

The End trigger is not correctly set yet: it needs to be WEST, Not Present.

[Krieg]

Again, walter, thank you for test.

ReadMe: And I will add that to ReadMe (I did forgot to do it)
Picture: I did not know the dimensions, I'll fix it right away.
I knew about date, in earlier version of mission when I changed the date game lagged even worse, but I changed it now.
Lag: Now there are only 4 M60's and they all attack player (there where a lot more platoons including some M1A1's), I deleted few squads that where attacking most eastern part of line, so I deleted that part too.
Trigger: I know how it was suppose to be made, it seems that I deleted "WEST" part in accident, but thanks for spotting!

Just to fix ReadMe & Overview, and I will release 0.87 version of mission.
Done. Check the first post.
Hope that lag will be at least reduced.

[Walter_E_Kurtz]

Congratulations, you've made a mission

Good News: the score I'd give it has trebled
Bad News: it's only gone from 1 to 3 out of 10

Lag - noticeably improved: now bottoms at 8 and climbs rapidly back through the teens. For me it was playable.

Others - what else has been mentioned, works: the overview picture displays, the message appears, the mission ends and is debriefed.
   The ending was somewhat abrupt, so I'd suggest putting in a small delay. Edit the Ending trigger and enter a small number of seconds in the 'TimeOut' boxes: 3,4,5 will give a random delay of 3 to 5 seconds; 4,4,4 will mean a consistent delay of 4 seconds.


Now comes the hard work, if you want it: balancing.

I accomplished the mission in 8 minutes with no real difficulty: too many fellow Russians survived (except when I killed them whilst RPGing the tanks - I managed 6 friendly kills one time!).

Your options:
1. Skill - raise that of Americans, lower Russians'
2. Remove Russians, or as described above, make them start as corpses

[Krieg]

At last! Lag has been reduced.

Now, I will do balancing tomorrow, I personally do not think balancing is hard as long job.
OK, new version is ready. I increased skill of Americans, so now you fight veterans of Counter-Invasion of Desert Island.
Also, now there are less fellow Russians defending the line.
Some modifications must be made, so download is removed.
Download is back online.

[savedbygrace]

I played version .90.
Overview
Hmm, I remember that pic from Trevors defensive strike, good pic. Text is elusive at first as it does not tell you what your up against.
Intro
None
Briefing
Weapon selection is okay but the ammocrate in the mission does not contain enough rockets for the rpg.
Mission
I attempted this mission several different times in several different ways and found the balance off by quite a bit in favor of the west side. The only way I stood a chance was to abandon my post and flank the approaching force. I loaded up on svd mags and sprinted to the shore and then circled around where I dug in on a rdige on the south side, picking off unsuspecting infantry. This went well throughout the attack. Once things calmed to a stand still, I relocated to survey the situation and found that 2 M60's were still operable and about 20 or 30 troops still stood around. I began a shoot and scoot tactic where I was able to dwindle their numbers but there proved too many for me as I had nothing to combat the armor with and I could not get close enough to the dead to search for launchers.
Outro
none
Overall
I would recommend to aid the balance, replace the tanks with M113's. This gives the east a better chance to survive and it is more believeable for an amphibious assault on that island. Place some more cover at the east position to provide a sense of occupation. Add a few more ammo crates here and there to permit the player to relocate. Give the player some flank cover and maybe a medic tent further away from the lines.
It's a straightforward mission but could definitely use some spicing up.

[Krieg]

Thank you, savedbygrace.

I am thinking about combination  of 2 M113's and 1 M60 perhaps.
And I got that pic quite random of internet.
OK. Version 0.95 is up. Check first post.

[Walter_E_Kurtz]

Without knowing quite where you're going with this mission, it's difficult to be sure what sort of advice or suggestions you're after. Is it a practice excercise or are you aiming to submit it for review?


Anyway, testing version 0.95. At least I think it was v0.95 because the change in number was not reflected in the readme (or on the overview).

I generally approve of the changes you've made: the hyperlink in the Plan works, amongst others. I played in Veteran mode and found it to be very tough but beatable - that may need a second opinion though.

I would suggest that you give the attacking forces at least one more waypoint, so that once they flank the line, they try to roll it up.


I warned you there may be hard work involved, and if you want it, it starts here: East Machine Gun Emplacements

At the moment, you've placed M2(East) which already have a gunner in them. On seeing this, the Americans aim for the gun itself, eventually killing the gunner, but they continue shooting at the gun until it blows up. This has two effects: Americans expend effort shooting at an unoccupied gun rather than Russian soldiers; but, on the other hand, it adds a lot of atmosphere as bullets fly over the sandbags and hit the ground some way behind. (If you've never done it, look South while the battle is raging).

The alternative would be to place empty M2s with a few more soldiers nearby. Then you'd use a Script to man the machinegun - once the gunner is killed, another takes his place.

I thought there was such a script in the Editors' Depot, but I can't find it at the moment. Let us know if you're interested. As I hope I have warned, it may change the dynamic of the mission somewhat, after which it will need re-balancing, and then you'll get another idea ... and so it continues ...

[Krieg]

Well, I will send this mission to review when it is ready for it. I think it will be around in version 1.3.

It was  version 0.95.

Glad I made it at least more difficult.

I will work on that in 0.97, which is next version.

Hmm... That makes Americans waste their lives and ammo on machine guns, yet adds to atmosphere...
I mean, I do not want to kill atmosphere, it adds to mission itself. Yet placing more enemy squads will make everything more laggy... I do not think I will do that. Also, I searched for that script, and wasn't able to find it too.   And making them not waste their lives on MG's, will cause them to waste their lives on player, making game harder. It is "very tough but beatable", as you said, so I do not want to make it tougher.

New version is up. Check first post.
I added intro and outro.