Starting out - Questions/suggestions

8 years ago

R

Reddog
6 May 2016

I'm just returning to ArmA and ALiVE after many months of not being involved at all and not playing the game.
What I'm trying to accomplish is a fairly simple Afghan type scenario which up to 20 or so friends and I can play.
I've picked a map (Kunduz), and some unit mods (Massi's MiddleEastern and UKSF stuff) I've also downloaded ACE, mainly for the medical stuff but other modules look quite interesting.
Q - Should I expect any issues with these mods, I'm concerned ACE might interfere/conflict with some of the ALiVE functionality?
I've used the Eden editor (took a bit of getting used to from an OFP vet!) but wow, it's pretty neat stuff, and have added a bunch of sangars and objects to a compound which looked a suitable candidate for a small outpost. I've put a marker over that area (about 300x300) and called it BASE.
I've then put a marker over the entire map called TAOR, thus BASE is within TAOR.
I've then used TAOR as the OPFOR area, blacklisting BASE in all the modules I've used.
Q - This sounds right?
In all the modules I've used, I've set the faction to a massi one (can't remember off top of my head the exact syntax). I've used the appropriate one for the civ modules.
Q - Should the two civ modules (population and placement) be synced to each other? It appears they did that automatically?
I've used a Military AI commander set to asymmetric, a Military AI civilian placement, a CQB module and an IED module all synced to the commander, and set for the OPFOR.
For the friendly forces, I just want base security personnel, I don't really want AI trying to do anything in the main theatre. So I set a Military AI custom object placement at my base but have not synced that to anything else. Thus it seems the patrols just wander around the immediate locality as desired.
My main Q is more around whether I'm missing anything, have overlooked anything or should be on the lookout for anything specific with the mix of mods, modules and set up I have. We had a quick hour long test last night, mainly to make sure everyone had the right mods and could connect to my locally hosted server etc. We drove out and found some enemy, but they didn't seem particularly aggressive, nor particularly occupied with anything, they were just standing around waiting for us to show up I guess.
With the asymmetric mode, should we be looking for specific stuff to blow up? We came across a roadblock in the middle of a field, but it was unmanned. Should we do something with it? Is it going to take some time before the full insurgency gets going?
Many thanks for the mod, it is such an ambitious piece of kit, I just wish I knew how to use it better.
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HeroesandvillainsOS
6 May 2016 Moderator

Edited 8 years ago by HeroesandvillainsOS

I'll answer the ones I can piecemeal:
1. All of those mods are fine with ALiVE but the last I checked, even with the vehicles versions of Massi's units, I could never get any vehicle units to spawn. This may be fixed now just keep an eye out for that.
2. Yes, that's pretty much exactly what I do; a small base marker for my side and a large TAOR for the opposite side. Though I tend to not overlap the two in most cases bit sometimes do out of necessity, especially if I have multiple respawn points. What you did is probably fine, just make sure to blacklist your base in the enemy civ/mil obj modules unless you actually want enemies spawning in your base. :) Same goes for the civ placement module.
3. The two civilian modules do not get synced to anything. Just put them on the map. In the population module, it sounds like this is an Afghan insurgency mission so set the civilian population to eastern roles.
BRB after I read the others.
H

HeroesandvillainsOS
6 May 2016 Moderator

Edited 8 years ago by HeroesandvillainsOS

Ok, reading on I'm wondering if things are set up correctly. Did the enemies engage you when they detected you?
The rough way to play an Assymetric mission like this is to patrol, talk to civilians (which can lead to Intel), blow up weapons caches/IED factories/recruitment HQ's (you'll see tables with ammo and IED's in the building. Blow the building up. This takes away resources from the insurgents and takes weapons away from the civs they are recruiting), and in general, obliterate OPFOR.
What I like to do is use a C2ISTAR module and set the TRACE option to vertical. This will put red grid all over the map which represents areas for you and your team to clear. Once they are clear, they turn green. I also use that module to occasionally request a task as well which is great if you are short on time or want to mix things up. I usually leave auto-tasking off and just request one from the commander tablet mid-mission if I'm feeling frisky.
I also just added the Intel on dead bodies option in the OPFOR military commander module. This will reveal those insurgent factories I was talking about above, the same way talking to civs can.
DaVidoSS
6 May 2016

Edited 8 years ago by DaVidoSS

1. All of those mods are fine with ALiVE but the last I checked, even with the vehicles versions of Massi's units, I could never get any vehicle units to spawn. This may be fixed now just keep an eye out for that.
You need mas vehicles and optional config addon for that faction because they are not standalone.
2. Placing a base is not that easy . You need to debug the map objectives and find its priority and size.
This will give you a clue how the reinforcements movement are would be. All depend to your scenario.
3 They should not be synced.
4
Playing insurgency is complicated.
You need to gather intel from civs (and now dead bodies) about insurgents installation and attack them.
If you find a building with you need to blew it up. There will be no information about what just was happen.
The installation is removed from intel pool. But there would be more new one.
The insurgency slow down as long you making something against.
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HeroesandvillainsOS
6 May 2016 Moderator

Oh I had no clue about that with Massi. If that's the case I'd image it would need to be done every time he played if he was using the Workshop version. If so he should make sure to download a mirror for it instead just for convenience sake if I'm understanding you right, Davidoss.
R

Reddog
6 May 2016

We have the mods fine. No drama there. What i meant by the question is whether ace, alive and the massi mods interact ok.
I was in a rush to get the mission done so i havent debugged it and checked everything is working and spawning. Will do that tonight. Does debug show on the map?
As for the AI, yep they engaged alright. We are using the massi HD units so thankfully we didnt get wasted straight off but they were not exactly tactically astute either.
I dont understand what you mean about the base "not being that easy". I dont care about reinforcements or priorities. I just want the base to be defended.
H

HeroesandvillainsOS
6 May 2016 Moderator

Edited 8 years ago by HeroesandvillainsOS

Yes those mods should be fine.
Lots of modules can be debugged and show various things on the map when in the mission.
Personally, for that kind of base, I manually place units just so there's a presence there. This also keeps them from being controlled by the military AI commander as long as they are not set to be virtualized (meaning, not synced to the Virtual AI module with the default settings).
The mil obj module has an option to create an HQ close to the module placement, as well as using your current method of the custom obj module could work too. What Davidoss is saying I think is that you need to set the priority of the module high enough to reflect the size and priority of the physical base itself if you want BLUFOR units to stay there and no go out on mission. Again, I personally manually place units in my bases to avoid having to tinker with the modules like that so Davidoss would have to elaborate on exactly what he means.
R

Reddog
6 May 2016

Well if i manually put units down i guess i could get rid of the mil commander entirely for the Blu side? As i say, i only want players out in the field, although we do have some support, cas, mortars etc.
Am I right in thinking that an IED module synced to a opcom will produce ieds at some point in the future, but an unsynced one will place immediately?
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HeroesandvillainsOS
6 May 2016 Moderator

Correct on both thoughts. Just note that using a synced IED module only will take quite some time for IED's to get planted by the insurgents. Sometimes I like to have two (one synced and one not synced, the not synced one for ambient IED's) but recently I have started removing the unsynced ones in an effort to not use duplicate modules.
A dev would have to confirm if using two IED modules is ok or not.
SpyderBlack723
6 May 2016 Moderator

If all you want is AI at your base, then you do not need a commander for your side. Just a placement module spawning units in that location will work
R

Reddog
6 May 2016

Perfect. Thanks @SpyderBlack723
@HeroesandvillainsOS  i hadnt thought of using two of any module. Interesting.
Tonights job is to debug and see what is happening and then fix anything thats not working. And then try and tackle getting a dedicated server running on my server box. Urgh.
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HeroesandvillainsOS
6 May 2016 Moderator

https://forums.bistudio.com/topic/101123-tophes-arma-dedicated-server-tool-tadst/
TADST is an excellent tool if you run solo or with a small group. There should be an install guide on the wiki here too.
R

Reddog
6 May 2016

Thanks. Im trying to set it up on my server, fo i need another install/license to run a dedi?
R

Reddog
6 May 2016

Oh and i got the debug running. I have black dots and green dots with "regular" next to them. What are they?
I have a screen shot which ill post later.
H

HeroesandvillainsOS
6 May 2016 Moderator

Edited 8 years ago by HeroesandvillainsOS

The dots are apart of the the normal debug process so don't worry. They'll go away once you turn debug back off in the modules again.
What you're seeing, I think, for example would be what would happen if you debugged the CQB module. For instance, let's say you set CQB to populate 10% of the time. You'll then see a lot of "regular" marks on the map and after a moment, some of them will turn a brighter green. In fact, 10% of them would if I understand things correctly. Those indicate the 10% of currently active CQB locations while the others are the remaining 90% (which at that moment wouldn't have any units there).
At least that's what I understand. I may be wrong on the particulars but that's how I think it works.
HeroesandvillainsOS
6 May 2016

Deleted 8 years ago by HeroesandvillainsOS
R

Reddog
6 May 2016

Ah right. makes sense. I was trying to work out if they were IED's or something.