(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.

[schuler]

@Walter

I thought there was such a script in the Editors' Depot, but I can't find it at the moment.

Tiger used that in one of his mission (I don't know if theres a script for it re-arming a m2) but I was the enemy that had the script and it was very affective in his mission! I don't know what good it would do in this mission because this is AI vs AI ,, but might help.... But yet.....

As for atmosphere I would rather see waves (in lesser concentrations) set up squad so a sergeant can call wounded to heal he will do that automatically and add to the atmosphere!!. and maybe a heli by the US come in or something to brake up the difference (troop drop) and make more for the player to have fun with instead of survival. [but keep the balance] It makes it more interesting for the player and will give you a better score, no frills missions are not going to score real high but are made for a downloader to get a straight to the action mission and are always welcome to the forums!!!
Ps good Defend the Base mission are not easy to make!

Overview
Nice pic, no boarder, not sure about the pic fitting the mission.
Intro
Told by a soldier, a nice addition to the mission. No real camera work. The words are great for the mission but camera is very shy.
Briefing
As a no frills defend the base kinda mission....... Which means straight into the action, no bells and whistles needed. It its obvious that this is the last stand by the briefing as the map shows a very small Island basically a sand bar and the ruskies are willing to fight to the end.
Map
Clear and neatly done.
Notes
Properly said to conjunct with the briefing. No overtone.
Gear
Standard Russian weapons, good!

Mission
great significance in entailing on the game with set position and the welding, also the lag, is gone on my pc,,, [but I fear the lag is still to strong for a Ofp mission on my Pc] some would find it very slow.

still working on completing the mission! Would like to see more changes to make it stand out!
Cheers schuler

[Krieg]

Thank you for testing, schuler.

I will experiment and try to do that in 1.0 version, but that might break the intensity of attack, and yet placing more squads will brig back the lag, but intensity might be back if some troops drop back via choppers near player.

I know, the pic is quite random.

I will try to improve camera, but I really do not know what to do with it.

[schuler]

Firstly look back at notes from Walter

then let the player have time to get used to his surroundings ... so delay the enemy.
cut down on friendly AI and send in enemy by waves 
too much enemy at once gets the player shot
If you use waypoints with snycs it will reduce lag a little little bit more
Add a UAZ with a MG on it to fight and take down a chopper with too if the player decides to use it
Cut down on inbound US tanks, or send one at a time
Add fences to stop the enemy make sure they are wire so they cant hide behind them
Don't fuss about the intro to much
Mostly have fun making the mission 

Check out Limmy3's Killing Fields  here
His briefing is an overkill and you don't have to make a briefing of his caliber for your mission. Although his briefing is well done.

[Krieg]

I would have been glad to look at his mission and briefing if I had 1.96, since I have 1.46, I cannot.
I know that there are updates, though.

3 squad waves, perhaps? Since there are 13 squads, it is possible to organize 4 waves and 1 chopper squad. Working on new version.

[schuler]

s**t, you might be able to get Resistance free on line now, its so old,,, then get all updates 1.75 to goty do a search on it, or order it for 9.99 from your 'locale' disco or something

[Walter_E_Kurtz]

Testing version 0.97 (1st July 2009)

Intro & Outro
 - simple, functional and working. The fact that it's based on waypoints is obvious, though. Would you consider scripting them? You could keep the running man, but the camera effects would be more impressive. See, first, Snypir's tutorial and then, if you can handle it, Messiah's.
 - should both be moved 15 or 30 minutes towards daytime. The time you've chosen is too dark - the desert looks black.

Mission
 - at the moment it limps to an ending as you search for the last living American troops. Give the US forces more waypoints so that they continue moving. You might also write the following in the init line of the squad leaders of the easternmost infantry squads:

Code: [Select]

"_x allowFleeing 0" forEach units this(I hope it works in OFP v1.46) - it should stop US units from running away back behind the hill.
 - do you want the player to be always on his own? You could have an option (in the radio menu) to "Rally troops" at which point the player can lead a counter-attack; or maybe just tell the remaining Russians to go kamikaze.

[Krieg]

I did most of improvements, but I have no idea how to tell other Russians to go kamikaze on Americans .

[Walter_E_Kurtz]

Counter-attack trigger (example)
This method works, but is not optimal. Since triggers check their conditions twice a second, this is considerably more processor-intensive than necessary. It could be replaced by a script.

Edit the current "End #1" trigger and give it the name endzone.

Create a new trigger: dimensions 0 by 0, activated by None, Once. Then the important parts - set Type to "Switch" and enter in the Condition line:

Code: [Select]

("alive _x" count (list endzone)) < 10This trigger will be tripped once there are less than ten American units in the End trigger area.


Russian charge
Give Russian units that are likely to survive (ie. those in the West) a second waypoint ("Seek and Destroy") where the Americans are expected to be - northeast on the hill, or east along the line.
Press "Synchronize (F5)"
Drag blue lines from the Counter-attack Trigger onto these units' FIRST waypoints, ie. their starting positions.

Now, when the Counter-attack Trigger is activated the Russian units will 'Switch' from their defensive aspect to hunting the remaining American loons.

[Krieg]

OK, new version is up. New stuff:

If there are less then 13 Americans, Russians will charge at them.
Added scripted camera in Intro, still working on Outro one.
Americans now charge in waves. Last wave (3rd one) has most American troops.
There is one M60 now.
If you are unlucky, you will get another M60.
Americans now do not retreat.

Check first post for download.

[Walter_E_Kurtz]

Tested: version 1.0 beta

Intro
 - much more professional, I hope you'll agree. The only improvement I can suggest would be a gentle fade at the end.

Mission
 - place markers of dimensions 0 by 0, select an appropriate colour, and write in the texts - "No man's Land", "American Zone", "Russian Redoubt" (or similar) - it should be more elegant than having to explain it in the briefing.
 - splitting the American assault has all but eliminated lag. Bravo.
 - it would be atmospheric to indicate the counter-attack in some subtle way. For counter-attacking troops insert a "Move" waypoint before their "Seek and Destroy" final destination, and place it near their starting positions. Edit the 'Effects' for this new waypoint and select something Russian from the 'Voice' drop-down menu. Your comrades will now say something as they charge the remaining enemy.

[Krieg]

- I will add markers.
- Sorry I did not understand you (I am not best at English). Did lag got back or is it eliminated?
- Will be added soon.

New version is up.
New features:

Added those markers.
Outro is now complete.
Briefing and notes changed a little bit.
Added those "charge" sounds.

Also, next version will most likely be final.

[Walter_E_Kurtz]

Tested: version 1.1 beta (Readme hadn't been updated to reflect the fact, though)

Intro: fine.

Mission: very little lag, so almost eliminated.

Could do with the objective ticking-off though. Add this to the On Activation line of trigger "End #1":

Code: [Select]

"1" objStatus "Done"
Playing in Cadet mode, by accident, honestly, I managed a score of 17600. That was 71 infantry plus an M60 and crew, but I still only got one pearl as a reward. I suggest adding the following lines to description.ext:

Code: [Select]

minScore = 5000
avgScore = 10000
maxScore = 15000So that I'd get the five stars / pearls such a performance deserved.

Outro: a suitable piece of music and not something I've heard before. I'm not sure that turning a simple mission into a 4Mb download just for some music used in the outro is appropriate. If you could re-mix it as mono, rather than stereo, you might save more than 2Mb.

I didn't get to see all of it as it faded to black after the line "Thanks to" and nothing else appeared until it ended. 

[Krieg]

Mission: I will do ticking off the objectives (I wondered how to do that anyways).
And score thing.

Outro: I will do that (or at least try) using audacity.
Whaaat ? It runs smoothly on my PC. Maybe reducing time between triggers will help?
It was suppose to fade out but with some text.
Edit: I guess Outro is still subject to change.

New, most likely final, version is up.

New features:
Ticking off the objective
More stars for more points
New pic added (American troops that are advancing, overview)

Soon I will add "Please Review" after new functions are tested on other PC's.

[Walter_E_Kurtz]

Tested: version 1.2

Outro: I saw the what was going on this time, but no text after "Thanks to:". I guess the guy misses the triggers laid for him. It would be more reliable if you scripted all the text for the outro, and probably simpler for you as you already have cameracredits.sqs. I removed the first few triggers and moved their contents to the script; it looked like this

Code: (cameracredits.sqs) [Select]

_cam = "camera" camcreate [0,0,0]
_cam cameraeffect ["internal", "back"]
_cam camsettarget b
_cam camsetrelpos [-1,4,-2]
_cam camcommit 0

~2   <--- the pauses in seconds between different texts appearing

titletext[{"The Final Stand"- Mission by Krieg},"Plain Down"]   <--- curly brackets so speech marks appear

~6
titletext["","Plain"]   <--- blank, in order to erase what went before
~4
titletext["Thanks to:","Plain Down"]
~2
titletext["schuler","Plain Down"]
~5
titletext["Walter_E_Kurtz","Plain Down"]
~5
titletext["savedbygrace","Plain Down"]

[Krieg]

Thank you Walter. I guess he misses triggers in versions higher than 1.46, so I will be using this script.
New version is up.
New Features:
Scripted text (although I had to change original script, because OFP reported some error)
All text is lowered.

Hopefully, this version will go to review.
This is STILL 1.2 version, because nothing new is added. Just text is scripted, nothing more.

[savedbygrace]

The mission as a whole is definitely looking a lot better and far better balanced than before. The one M60 is definitely easier to defend against when having to focus primarily on the infantry. The small initial wave is especially nice before the second larger wave as it allows the player to rethink his strategy after dispatching the first wave. What is frsutrating though is that the enemy targets the player rather quickly while some of the players team just stand in front of the sandbags and look bored. I noticed you have the west flank north, get behind the bags and sweep south, so I adapt by moving southward after the first wave and then flanking left to come from behind and begin sniping. The fog disrupts my ability to sit pretty and pick the enemy off at a distance(kudos for that) and so I am reduced to shoot and scooting again having to abandon my friends like the coward that I am. I have only tried it with the svd so I will attempt with the grenade launcher next time and maybe complete it. Way to hang in there and improve the mission as needed.

[Krieg]

Thank you for the test, savedbygrace.

[savedbygrace]

Attempted the mission with the grenade launcher this time and was not happy to find no grenades in the briefing and only three in the ammo crate. Is there a reason you will not place an ammo crate on each end of the sandbag wall that way when I am forced to backpeddle to the south end, I could atleast have a supply of ammo? The advance comes way too fast to be checking my dead comrades.

[Krieg]

Again, thank you for the test. I will add that later.

[Krieg]

OK, new version with grenades and ammo crates is added.
This mission is ready for review !

[Walter_E_Kurtz]

Erm. You've accidentally erased important parts of description.ext - like the definition of the music and the scoring system.

Currently the outro begins with an error: "Not found 'Music_0009'".

[Krieg]

Ohh, accidentally did that...
Fixing ti now, thank you for report!

OK, that should do it.

[schuler]

Overview
I will just give a short test so the reviewer has something to write about!
Better image, but it looks like US troop and that's ok, that's what your dealing with.
Intro
I know you can do better, but it hits the spot, ,,,, a music fade would have been nice.
Briefing
Well done. Much better for a last stand, mapping is suture to the eyes!
Notes
Also well done for a mission like this! ' sometimes its hard to think about things for a straight foreword battle!!!!!!
Gear
Works for me!
Mission
Much better done, timing is better, player can see his surroundings.    I lasted longer in the battle of this last stand!
I will like to read the review on this one. Then comment on the mission
I had a lots of fun.
Leaving it up to the crew!
nice to see a mission from you Krieg
Cheers schuler

[savedbygrace]

Gave this one another play test this afternoon. Now that everything seems to be balanced well and the mission is playing as it should we can focus on minor things like spelling. Here is a list of things that looked wrong to me. Correct them if you wish.
INTRO
When we invaded this island, Americans were unprepared.  Add "the" after the comma.

Can't remember where this was printed to screen but...
Stand your ground against incoming NATO assault.  Add "the" after the word against.

PLANWe have been pushed to ends of this. Add "the" between to and ends and remove the "s" from ends.

becuase    <<You have the "a" and the "u" transposed

approach from sea or air  <<add "the" between from and or

Americans were unprepared.  <<add "The" before Americans

We conquered most of island. But now they are back  <<add "the" before island/remove the period and make the "B" of But lowercase

Our last stand will be glorious defeat.  <<add an "a" before glorious

die in next 24 hours   <<add "the" before next

every lost men is irreplacable.   <<exchange the "e" in men for an "a" and irreplaceable is spelled this wrong

Outro is long and uneventful but atleast the player can exit out of it.

When/if your ready, I can go ahead with the review. Let me know.

[Krieg]

Updated it. Now I think it is ready.

[savedbygrace]

I'll take this one unless someone else has their heart on it?

EDIT: You never corrected the word irreplaceable in the Notes section.
         The Overview Text reads......Take a role of soviet soldier in desperate last stand.
         You may wish to change it to..Take the role of a soviet soldier in a desperate last stand

Also, as schuler mentioned, the image depicts that of an American soldier in the desert. It makes the mission unclear. Perhaps an in game shot?

I can go ahead without these changes but just wanted to inform you of them in the case that you wanted to adjust it before I grabbed the final file for upload to the review template.

[Krieg]

New version is up.


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