1st Operation Flashpoint Review

[nyisles16]

I'll tweak it some more and hopefully we can try it for our poker night. If you see me online most likely I'm editing it, I have all slots set for my friends list only while I work on it, so be sure to add me if you want to test it.

sent one...

[Feanor]

In case this hasn't been mentioned yet, IGN gave it 5/10. Apparently, they also believe it's the year 2007.

"Operation Flashpoint was an awesome game for the PC... in 2001. Nearly six years later, Codemasters brings what was once an elite military simulation to the Xbox and makes us question what we ever saw in the game. Operation Flashpoint: Elite faced several delays in the last few years, and it's become apparent that some things are better off left in the past, like apartheid and disco. In fact, this version of "Flashpoint" probably refers to the amount of time this shooter will actually spend inside your Xbox."

[ProvoAnC]

they're homos...


A couple quick observations I have so far:

-the english voices trying American accents...totally gay, but funny
-I wish there were more environmental features so you could terrain associate a lot easier.
-the AI is well done, but they seem to be in the same place on each re-try
-I thought this with the PC game, but the command menu is far too complicated to command on the move. Its just too detailed to do anything fast. Its probably a "you'll get used to it" issue so I'll give it some time.

This game rocks

[Gurantsu]

Question what we ever saw in the game? What I saw was the best military simulator to have ever graced the PC before or since. What I see now is a great conversion of that game to bring it to a new audience and with much better multiplayer support. What I won't see are dudes who do nothing but cry about the graphics playing online, which is fine with me.

What they should have done is have someone who is familiar with the PC game do the review. But I don't pay attention to IGN reviews anymore, ever since they gave Circus Maximus a 3 because the reviewer was actually using the contoller wrong. Numbskulls...

[Zeppo]

Hey Gurantsu:

That link you posted to a mission creation resource seems to be broken. Any other things you've found that give good explanations, tips, and ideas on mission editing?

I've been messing with the mission editor, and man, it is nuts. There is so much you can do in terms of placing different types of enemy units, or squads, individual vehicles, or vehicle squadrons, and then giving them orders with the 'waypoint' system, and then setting their behavior and fire settings. Not just one type of enemy, either, but rebels and civilians and so on, too. Thing is, you can do the same with units on the same side as you are, but I can't figure ouy how to take command of those units in the field. Maybe I need to get my profile's rank up to commander? What's cool is you can set orders and waypoints for them in the editor, and have them engage the enemy AI. I ended up at one point creating two AI Apaches and setting them to patrol near a town where I had set some enemy tanks. By the time I got there in my Jeep, the tanks were destroyed, and the Apaches were circling the area, picking off enemies. Knocked that down to one Apache in the editor (very nice how quick and easy it is to toggle from 'preview' to edit mode, and back), and by the time I got there in another bird, that AI 'copter was trashed!

I just love how dead bodies/vehicles are presistent. That and the HUGE 'islands' are IMO worth the horrendous graphics. Of course, the quality hit animations hold it all together. It's very satisfying when you make a long distance hit, and can see the guy fall down dead and KNOW he's down. Of course, with no overlayed visual or audio feedback ("another one down"), if you're shooting at some one amid some trees, it can be very tough to tell if you've scored a hit, which is as it should be.

Anyway, the one thing I'm bummed about is I don't think I have a good enough connection to host missions, and I don't believe I could upload my mission somewhere so a master host, like Webdanzer, could d/l it and use it. So I feel like I'm just wasting my time. But it is pretty damn neat to mess with. Of course, the canvas is so wide open that you really have to have plan and a good idea what you want to do going in. The biggest drawback is the limit on units. I love the points system they use, as it's very flexible, but that limit is too low to really get nuts with.

The mission I was testing with you had two problems, IMO. First was the time of day/weather and equipment. It was way, way too dark to see anything after a little while, and with no night vision, it was just frustrating. The second is the distance needed to travel and the lack of transportation. With so large a distance, and so few potential enemy placements, it was more an exercise in long-distance running than anything combat- or tactics-related.

I tell, you, one thing struck me early in campaign mode, but I don't know how to translate it into a co-op mission. But this is the first game where I had to board a truck, and then sit with the other soldiers and wait until we reached our insertion point, and THEN get ready for combat. It struck me as wholly unique to the comsole world to have that kind of 'sit and wait' time in the actual game. Sitting in a truck with DSP buds online, looking at each other, talking pre-insertion, a chance to study the map, that is sort of nifty. Sort of like running an actual 'formation lap' in a racing game would be. Most would say 'pointless waste of time.' For me it would add to the immersion factor exponentially. Whatever.

Diggin the game, would love to do some co-op with a good group of 4-8 DSPers some time SOON! Default co-op missions would be great for us newbies to the Xbox game (all of us).

[pk500]

My fooking free copy hasn't arrived yet. If it's not here by Wednesday, as I assume we're having a Poker Night, then I'll probably break down and buy it and sell the free copy if it ever arrives.

I can't hold off on this game much longer. It sounds too damn good.

Take care,
PK

[pk500]

I tell, you, one thing struck me early in campaign mode, but I don't know how to translate it into a co-op mission. But this is the first game where I had to board a truck, and then sit with the other soldiers and wait until we reached our insertion point, and THEN get ready for combat. It struck me as wholly unique to the comsole world to have that kind of 'sit and wait' time in the actual game. Sitting in a truck with DSP buds online, looking at each other, talking pre-insertion, a chance to study the map, that is sort of nifty. Sort of like running an actual 'formation lap' in a racing game would be. Most would say 'pointless waste of time.' For me it would add to the immersion factor exponentially. Whatever.

I agree 1,000,000 percent.

I know this sounds strange, but some of the most enjoyable and interesting conversations I've had on Xbox Live have come when hanging in the "death lobby" in Ghost Recon or Rainbow Six during co-op games, chatting away with fellow DSP cats while we watch the surviving players try to finish the mission.

Take care,
PK

[ProvoAnC]

dude...but it rent it steal it, just get it for Wednesday...ITS AWESOME!!!

[Gurantsu]

That link you posted to a mission creation resource seems to be broken. Any other things you've found that give good explanations, tips, and ideas on mission editing?

Try this one:

http://www.flashpoint1985.com/cgi-bin/i ... ct=SF;f=63

Then click on the unofficial guide thread.

The mission I was testing with you had two problems, IMO. First was the time of day/weather and equipment. It was way, way too dark to see anything after a little while, and with no night vision, it was just frustrating. The second is the distance needed to travel and the lack of transportation. With so large a distance, and so few potential enemy placements, it was more an exercise in long-distance running than anything combat- or tactics-related.

I changed both of those things last night. I still want it to be dusk because the lighting off of the buildings at that time looks cool, but I pushed the time back to 1500, so it stays lighter longer. I also toned the rain down a bit towards the end, so it doesn't get as dark, but the coming darkness does make it feel like the soldiers have been lost for a long time. I also moved the extraction point to those 2 small houses by the docks. I added a BUNCH of very nasty things in that area , plus I now have an enemy BMP patrolling around (although I may change this to a tank), and also a URAL, so if the squad can find it and take out the driver they can use it to travel. Your favorite blue car is still in town too. Keep in mind though that the Mi-24 gets hungry for enemy vehicles...!

I didn't want to shorten it too much, as I wanted the feeling of a patrol sneaking out of enemy territory; but the action is much tighter now. Keep in mind too that when played on the higher 2 levels, your position will NOT show up on the map, so you'll have to use your map reading skills (although I think the extraction waypoint does still show.)

Every time I try the mission, it plays differently. Sometimes most of my squad gets wiped out in that first small town, other times they get through it without a scratch. On a test run last night, (I was not online by the way because I was heading to bed early), my squad was slowly making our way through some trees after leaving the town. Suddenly out of nowhere me and 2 other AI soldiers were taken out by an RPG; no warning or anything. After an intense firefight, there were only 2 guys left in my squad, one of whom was so badly wounded he could only crawl. Wiped out in about minute by an ambush that I didn't even realize was there, and I created the darn thing! That "seek and destroy" waypoint can be nasty, because they will execute a search pattern when they get there, so they may not be exactly where you put them. Cool!

Hopefully I'll be online for a bit tonight.[/url]

[Zeppo]

Thanks for the link! That guide is nice. Check out these tidbits:

Liven up a Town

Add a bit of realism to a town or village by creating a few civilians. I like to create a bus route with people getting on and off: Add an empty bus somewhere on a deserted road, together with a “crowd” of civvies. Give the crowd a “Get In Nearest” waypoint, followed by a couple of "Move” waypoints along the road into a town. Somewhere in the town add an “Unload”, and “Get In Nearest” waypoint and then some more “Move” waypoints further down the road. Then “Move” back into the town and issue a “Get Out” waypoint followed by a “Load” waypoint. Finally, add a “Cycle” waypoint close to the first “Move” waypoint.

I’l l leave you to work out the effect.

Sometimes you can just create a good effect by dotting a few civilian men and women around a village, and creating a couple of “Move” waypoints followed by a “Cycle” waypoint. The “Cycle” waypoint ensures they keep moving; otherwise they tend to stand around like zombies... which is another great idea for a mission!

Or this:

Player Unit Waypoints
As previously mentioned, it is not possible to assign waypoints to your player unit. Playing in “Recruit” or “Regular” mode you will only see the waypoints assigned as part of the template. However, you can design a “mini-mission” in another part of the island and join in that before coming back to the main mission:

The easiest trick is to create a soldier unit and be his mate. Give him a few waypoints and just follow him round. However, I like to travel in style.... So I hop on board a Chinook:

Create a Chinook somewhere on the island. Give this unit a “Get Out” waypoint close to a location where you are going to be (like your “insertion point”). Set the “Get Out” waypoint for the Chinook unit to “Careless” behaviour. Add a “Load” waypoint somewhere a little distance away from the “Get Out” waypoint. Add another “Get Out” waypoint close to the mini-mission action, followed by “Load” waypoint. Finally, add a “Cycle” waypoint next to the first “Get Out” waypoint. This will play as follows:

The Chinook will land close to you.
The crew will jump out, and casually wander off.
This gives you time to jump onboard, or, if you’re playing as part of an infantry squad, you would give the squad the “Mount” command.
The crew will then wander back casually, get back in and take off.
The Chinook will fly to the next waypoint, land, the crew will get out, giving you chance to get out as well.
The crew will then get back in, take off, and head back to the first point.

Your player unit can then join in the action down the road (or wherever). At the end of the battle, come back to the “drop-zone” and wait until the Chinook comes back to pick you up and take you back to the start. If you place the “Cycle” waypoint close to the second “Get Out” waypoint, the Chinook will land to drop you off, take off again, and then keep landing and taking off. This looks a bit silly.

The reason for the “Get Out” and “Load” waypoints instead of an “Unload” waypoint is as follows:
At the start, if you issue an “Unload” waypoint the Chinook will not land, and there will be no way of getting on board. At the drop zone, you could issue an “Unload” command, and the Chinook will hover low to the ground so you can disembark, but will then not come down to pick you up later, because there will be no passengers on board. The “Load” waypoint is placed a fair distance from the “Get Out” waypoint so that the crew wander off far enough to give you time to get on board. The behaviour of the first waypoint should be set to “Careless” so that the crew do not run. Again, this gives you more time to board. Instead of the “Load” waypoint, you can use the “Get In Nearest” waypoint to give the same effect. However, be careful not to place the “Get In Nearest” waypoint too close to any other vehicles, otherwise the crew will disembark the Chinook and get in the nearest other vehicle. The “Load” waypoint will ensure they get back in the Chinook.

Try this for fun:
Get a Chinook to land (“Get Out” waypoint), then create a “Get In Nearest” waypoint close to an empty bicycle. What does that pilot look like trying the ride the bike?!

Great stuff. I think maybe for your mission, a Chinook or even a Truck in a cycle as described could be awesome to get from the end of a first action zone to the outskirts of the final destination.

And this:

Fire (Lit)
Following on from the previous point about the lack of ability to assign waypoints to your Player Unit, another trick (which is quite effective in a night-based mission) is to increase the View Distance” setting slightly, and then place a lit fire at each of your waypoints. “Fire (Lit)” can be found under “Empty : Objects”. During a daytime mission, the lit fire can be spotted by its bl ack smoke. This is easier when using binoculars. However, it is very effective during a night time mission when you can see the flames from some distance. Try varying the number of lit fires to distinguish between the difference waypoints. You might then place enemy forces at each of these waypoints, or patrolling between them. Each phase of this, what I call , “mini-mission” could then be marked as completed when you extinguish (“Put Out”) each fire.

Awesome.

I didn't realize single player and multiplayer mission editors were essentially different, and I have been builidng a single player mission. So I have to start over.

[Gurantsu]

The cool thing is when you design a multiplayer mission, you can still play it by yourself, as the AI takes over any soldiers you don't control.

For my mission, since it's a squad behind enemy lines, I don't want any other US forces around. However, there is a truck available, provided your LAW soldier doesn't have an itchy trigger finger.

Don't worry, I have a few more ideas for missions. The next one I will work on will be a US squad defending a town filled with civilians from repeated Soviet attacks (even though it's a sim, it's still disturbing to see the civilians when they are lying on the ground covered in blood from being caught in the crossfire, I want to convey that in this mission). Also I have an idea for a US attack on a heavily defended building up on a hill.

I think as we get more familiar with the editor the missions will only get better.

[Teal]

Damn you guys...

[pigpen81]

wow....just awesome guys.

I absolutely love this game.

Last night I was playing the 3rd mission in single player on Mercenary and I couldn't stop playing even though I was killed 20+ times. Trying to find the best way to attack is addicting to no end.

Restarting after death is a cinch, nice and quick.

The 2nd level, the one where you pilot the copter is a rush. The first time I did evertything but I couldn't figure out how to land. During the process I banged up the copter, it strated spinning wildly, once I gained control it would start spinning again.

I took it to a high altitude and then ejected. I figured the level would end there, but no, I proceed to float in the air with my parachute. It took 4 minutes for me to come down to land, but I was 2 miles from the point of ejection because of the wind. Once I landed, the level continued. I turend it off from there but the game was going to let me continue, HOW COOL IS THAT?

Please let us know when your created missions are ready. I want IN in the worst way.