ClaytoniousRex
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Posts posted by ClaytoniousRex
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We have not received any logs with this scenario in them. This might mean that when you're hitting the "Send" button on the error report the report is not mkaing through to our server (it tries to FTP the report to our server, so if you have any firewall protection against port 21 that would stop it).
So, yes, go ahead and crash it again and send the DropTeam.log.
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Konstantine, what platform are you on? What does the DropTeam.log look like?
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Could use some feedback on a work in progress scenario which you can download here.
I've been exploring ways to make scenarios that are less "open tank country" and require more maneuver (and offer more cover for light units) without making something that's a pain in the butt to navigate.
This one doesn't have structures or roads yet but the basic idea is in place. Most of the water is shallow and fairly easy to traverse but the corresponding speed penalty for heavier units will hurt. Some of the water is too deep (and steep) to traverse. For once, there is actually interesting bathymetry, too, instead of flat empty space under the waves.
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That's correct. Those variants have had their crew bays converted for other uses.
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We only included Dark_au's scenarios this time, Hub. That was because he asked us to so he could have some feedback (plus, of course, they're really good!) Your "Bloody Iwo" is really good, too, as is Mace's "Rolling Hills", but it didn't even occur to me to roll those into the update. We're juggling so much that without Dark's direct reminder I wouldn't have remembered to include his, either. I'll make sure that Bloody Iwo and Rolling Hills make it into the next update, though!
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To use this new feature in 1.1.2, simply walk your squad up to the rear crew door of a friendly Paladin. Your squad will board the Paladin. When you're ready to disembark, use the "Special Action" key ('B' key by default). The Paladin must be stopped or moving very slowly in order for you to disembark.
If you're controlling a Paladin that a friendly squad has boarded, you can also use your own "Special Action" key to force them to disembark.
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...is now available via Update. You should be prompted to update automatically the next time you run DropTeam.
Important: If you were not already up to version 1.1.0 and had customized controls then you need to go BACK to the default keyboard or default joystick controls and recustomize your control set with this release. If you don't do this then many new commands from the 1.1.0 release won't work for you.
Fixes in 1.1.2:
</font>
- Fixed CTD caused by OpenGL rendering bug</font>
- Fixed voice chat crash on Mac OS X</font>
- Infantry squads may now board Paladin IFV's for transport by other players or bots</font>
- Infantry can no longer walk on water</font>
- Point Defenses now properly target whichever projectiles they can instead of always hitting certain types of projectiles. This means it is now easier to "roll back" point defenses by putting concentrated fire on them (heavier rounds like mortars and ATGM's can now make it through with enough other supporting fire)</font>
- Bots now suffer from "fuzzy spotting" that more closely mimics a player's ability to see enemy units. If you're jammed then it is now possible to "sneak up" on bots just as you can on human players. Foliage, distance, the bot's facing, scenario haze, and other factors affect the bot's chance of "seeing" you.</font>
- Bots have much better fire discipline and smarter selection of ammo types</font>
- Bots are now able to move, attack, defend, and otherwise properly control infantry squads</font>
- Bots are now able to properly use mortars</font>
- Fix occasional server crash caused by client disconnects</font>
- Added Objective game type to several scenarios</font>
- Included Dark_au's scenarios</font>
- Fixed a small memory leak</font>
- Improved performance while on tac display</font>
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Simply because, when weighed against other things we could apply our limited time and resources to, it's not as interesting as the others. The same basic game, but with glowing green "thermal imagery", wouldn't give as much bang for our development buck as some of these other things would.Why no night fighting? -
Yes, we can add those. They won't make it in time for 1.1.2, though.
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You definitely want the latest Catalyst drivers from ATI. And finding out for sure exactly which Radeon this is will help, too. (Is it a Radeon 9600 for sure?)
Do you have HDR, shadows, or foliage turned on?
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Also, in the next update, the following scenarios finally have Objective modes so they can also be added to rotation on the Objective game servers:
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- Treachery</font>
- Slug Fest</font>
- Hot Drop Zone</font>
- Recon in Force</font>
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Delta Pavonis is now strictly Objective.
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I'll post a single download pack with all of them.
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Ham, try deleting the file called DropTeamSettings.dat in your home directory (usually c:\Documents and Settings\your_username). This will reset all options to defaults (so be sure to remember your username and password because they will be erased).
If this still doesn't get it going again then email me your DropTeam.log from the \bin subdirectory of DropTeam.
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OK, Down with CTF then. I'll pull some off this evening on Delta Pavonis.
We also want to host some of Dark_Au's scenarios. Do most of you already have them installed (you can download them from the Mod forum)? Does anyone need any help getting them installed? We don't want to lock a bunch of people out of playing because they don't have the new scenarios. (Yes, that's a good reason to implement live content update...)
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Sure, you could use the Elimination victory condition along with 2 proximity victory conditions with limited inventories as a start.
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What are your system specs, Corbeau? You can turn off the option called "Texture Cache" on the Options tab to greatly improve load times. However, the price you pay for this is a lot of stuttering for the first 30 seconds or minute or so of gameplay (because textures and objects will be loaded as you encounter them in the game).
If you're above the minimum requirements then the load time shouldn't be killing you like this, so let us know the specifics of your machine first and we'll take it from there.
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One of the most important things you can do in a scenario like this is dig in some good fighting positions. This is because the primary way the attacker is going to win is by pounding the objective hill with HE from fire missions and mortars. If you take that away from him then all he's left with is frontal assaults up a hill into your own hull-down units. You should be able to win that fight.
So take advantage of the deployment phase! Most servers have a good 5 minutes of usable deployment time - more than enough to dig some good fighting positions for AA turrets and jammers:
You want at least 2, preferably 3 like this with a jammer and an AA turret. Sunk into that hole, you will be amazed at how survivable they are. Positions like the one pictured above have survived the entire game more than once, even in the face of multiple fire missions onto the hill. The same turret and jammer outside on exposed ground will get destroyed on the first fire mission.
But even more imporantly, you want at least two positions like this:
This is what's really going to keep those enemy mortars in check. Yes, you are basically using 2 bots as glorified turrets. Nothing beats a couple of Hermes sunk into foxholes so they don't die in the first fire mission that comes along.
You can do all of the above mentioned positions with 2 competent players using Cutters within a 5 minute deployment phase. If you're working alone then you can definitely dig 3 good ones. Either way, it does take some practice at making good, quick foxholes.
Your team commander should stay in a command track and be vigilant about dropping replacement turrets throughout the battle. As fire missions stack up, there are even more craters to place turrets and jammers into so take advantage of them. The commander must also keep those "dug in" Hermes in their holes, even going so far as to take manual control if necessary to push flaming wrecks out of the way and get the shiney, new replacement Hermes back into their holes. Then he should immediately switch back to the command track and keep doing his job. If the commander gets bogged down in a firefight somewhere then that distraction costs dearly.
Needless to say, a Galaxy should be on station the second deployment ends and for as much time as possible throughout the game. It supplements the PD from the two Hermes nicely. Land it to the rear, though, or in a hole if a wide enough one eventually opens up (as they sometimes do on this hill).
Dark is right about using the other hill, too, but I would use that as a supplement to the main defense with well dug-in forces as the mainstay.
[ August 01, 2006, 09:46 PM: Message edited by: ClaytoniousRex ]
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You can install the demo alongside your retail install. This way you can play either one at any time. Of course, you won't have infantry, multiple weapons on vehicles, or any of the other nice stuff that's been added since the demo.
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Hi, Zorcky. Yes, there is a demo server up. It's the one called "Arpinum" in the server list.
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The only thing we're not interested in at the moment is night fighting. We are interested in rain/moisture that can change the friction of terrain types and also cause vehicles to bog (one more perk for infantry). We're also interested in snow, which would also cause slipping. Both rain and snow could randomly occur in scenarios to add some variety to otherwise static environments and they would both reduce max spotting ranges (and also play a role in the new "fuzzy spotting" for bots which Grappler is now completing).
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That's up to each developer, Aittam. Throughout the industry in general, most developers aren't insane enough to do it.
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The hull indicator is absolute just as the turret is. So if the hull is facing toward the upper left then that means your chassis is facing northwest.
I think you're right, though, that fixing the chassis to bearing 000 would be less confusing for most people and since you already have a compass elsewhere, the extra information conveyed by making it absolute was redundant anyway.
Poesel, the problem with making the forward key act that way is that you would lose its current behavior, which is sometimes quite good (especially with wheeled vehicles). Doing this with an entirely separate key might be good, though.
Scenario Creation
in DropTeam Modding Forum
Posted
Then I throw that away and start on the "real" version. I usually begin with a low amplitude fractal across the entire terrain. This gives us a mostly, but not perfectly, flat plane to start working with.
Next, I add the major features. If the major features are hills then I simply plop in some big blobs in the right places (and with the right heights and shapes), then add one of several kinds of fractal noise to those blobs to make them actually look like geological features instead of perfect mounds. Then I do some blurring and blending to make those new hills blend into the original fractal ground plane.
The same idea goes for rivers or other features: first I hand-edit them into place, then go back over them by adding or multiplying the right kind of fractal noise and blending the result into the base terrain.
Sometimes I take advantage of the advanced tools that Leveller offers: it has features that place a random variety of craters, or procedurally grows cracks from seed points, or does nice erosion, etc.
I then use Leveller to create roads and improved ground using its "power line" tool, ramp tool, and whatever else is needed to get the job done.
Now the heightfield is complete, so I import it into Terragen for rendering. You can spend a lot of time playing with surface parameters and it's worth it to get a good look.
For good looking foliage, it's really important to make the foliage color match the ground color. Otherwise it looks terrible. You can just copy one of the existing foliage textures and colorize it in The Gimp or PSP to match the ground color.0
It's important not to saturate the ground with detail textures so the colors in your mask shouldn't be more than about 70 or so per component (out of 255).
It'a also important to really have some variety of color in your base texture rather than having a grayscale base texture and relying entirely on detail textures for color. Doing this gives the whole terrain an artificial look because the detail textures are always the same color. In reality, the color of ground features (whether they be dirt, grass, stone, etc.) varies across the landscape - all grass is not the *same* green and all rocks are not the *same* gray. Your base texture is the best way to modulate these variations of color. You can look at the base texture for Black Pearls to see what I mean.