VILAS ADDONS, VILAS ADDONS Options

[vilas]

answers:
- this is not M249, this is european FN Minimi, US army adopted changed variant called M249 in 1985, few years earlier probably Dutch, Belgian, France armies had FN Minimi machinegun already , RACS had contract with Fabrique Nationale, they bought all army in FN, FN-FAL, FN-MAG, FN-Minimi, FN-Uzi , FN-Browning HP maybe they should have FN-FNC too
- Swedish issue : weapon pack is vilas_svw, Swedish infantry is vil_swe
infantry was released to the public for the first time, before that it was given to Swedish mod and Swedish community in MLODs and multilayer textures
now it was published as "weapon holder for Swedish weapons"
- German and other infantry addons were updated because my old addons had problem with shining wounds in NVG (due to binarising models with Ca\Characters\Data\..... prefix
- grenadiers , hmm.. even in German , British , French army in 80's there was no counterpart of M16 M203, AK GP25 weapons types
so only special forces of RACS bought G3 TGS ;] reglar army haven't bought HK79 underbarrel Grenadelaunchers , like Norway forces bought
now modern armies have greanadelaunchers under rifle, in 70-80's not too much countries had such weapons
- concernig M249 counterpart... hmmm do you think Russian army and my Polish army and etc easter armies have light belt-feeding weapon ??
answer is NO, we had never "lightweight machineguns", we had only machinegun, assault rifles, assault rifles with heavier barrel as lmg called in our eastern armies "rkm" "reczny karabin maszynowy" "hand-cary machinegun"

there was difference between east and west infantry weapons equipment
example:
western armies had in history of cold war:
- full heavy rifles like G3, FN FAL, L1A1
- submachineguns for some other forces like UZI in all europe (drivers, crew, other personell)
- sniper high quality precisious rifles for special skilled soldiers (sniper rifles)
- machineguns like M60, MAG 58, MG3 and light machineguns as Minimi, M249, now MG4
- single-use light anti tank weapons like LAW M72
eastern armies have other philosophy of equipement:
- one universal assault rifle weapon in multiple role AKM with butt fixed, AKMS with folded for crewman, paratroopers, heavy barrel RPK as "squad support weapon"
- machinegun like PK
- cheaper than western, less precisious, but also deadly rifles like SVD, but more often present than in wester armies
- heavier, multiple use RPG 7 launcher
for example : how many snipers were in US army in 1985 for 20 soldiers ???
well snipers were high-trained super-soldiers
in our eastern armies doctrine SVD was more often present, cause it wash cheaper and more soldiers could carry SVD than counterpart snipers

so if you talk about counterparts in cold war addon of RACS and SLA you are forgetting about differences
if i had to be deadly realistic
than in team of RACS there would not be a sniper, eastern crewman should have the same rifle as army (AKMS) and every team should have guy with SVD

[Rewan]

Okay okay ^^

Another one, about the Carl Gustav.... shouldn't you making the munitions larger in the unit Gear ? (4 spaces instead of 2 spaces maybe)

[vilas]

okay, sory for making mess:
new version of bonus vehicles is on FTP
inside not only Police/Militia vehicles but also ambulances

WPH addon now contains Militia Biker (screen above), RACS Police SWAT operators (no screen yet)
some more classes

http://ofp.gamepark.cz/_hosted/vilas/upd/vilas_wph.7z

http://ofp.gamepark.cz/_hosted/vilas/ftp/vilas_milbonus.7z

[vilas]

just 2 screens, as i remember here is no 100 kb limit, but 150

SLA 85 and SLA 99 ;]
and vehicles from P85, KRAZ and surprise ;]

[vilas]

http://www.armaholic.eu/vilas/last1.jpg
http://www.armaholic.eu/vilas/pkrzut1.jpg
http://www.armaholic.eu/vilas/pkrzut2.jpg
http://www.armaholic.eu/vilas/pkrzut3.jpg
http://www.armaholic.eu/vilas/pkrzut4.jpg
http://www.armaholic.eu/vilas/pkrzut5.jpg

in Project85 soon will appear new, high quality and very realistic models of PK, PKM and bonus PKP, they will be included in my addons too (of course) , so i just screens now to tease how PK, PKM will look :]

[vilas]

P85 addons released in P85 mod topic

[Blackbuck]

Keep the two topics of your own addons and the P85 ones to separate topics please. Unless you want them merged?

[bulkington80]

In the newest P85 armor pack enemy soldiers armed with M16s fire at BTR-70, as if it was a regular car, i wonder why?

[vilas]

in this game AI fires to targets when AI knows that it is weak enough to their weapons
for example:
if you will make man/soldier and you will give it armor=1000 , AI soldiers will fire to him only from launchers and only tanks will fire at him
noone will fire to him with AK/M16
it is stupid engine of game behaviour, AI "knows" armor of vehicle
if i would give BTR70, BTR60, SKOT more armor - AI will not fire to it, but than those apcs would be overpowered
if you will make in config your own Abrams with armor=100 , you will see that AI fire to it with AK/M16 too
thats why AI wastes Stingers at BMP, BRDM ... but probably AI will not launch Stinger at Abrams (i haven't checked it)), but as i noticed vs. BMP for sure

This post has been edited by vilas: May 7 2009, 08:35

[bulkington80]

I know. But AI won't fire at any BIS APCs. So, shouldn't BTR-70\60 have a bit more "armor"?
Becasue right now the BTR is a peacemaking unit - it can "disarm" infantry units very well.
Also, the US Self-propelled gun has an interesting feature - when you are the commander, you can't use the M2 m.gun (even when you turn out) AND you can't give orders to you team. Actually, the ammo of all self-propelled gun in the P85 mod probably should be a bit stronger.

This post has been edited by bulkington80: May 12 2009, 07:19

[vilas]

BIS APCs?
i don't care that BIS APC is too strong, P85 aims in more realism, than overpowered BIS M113 and BMP2
how many 30mm series you need to kill M113? have you tested it?
it is easier to destroy T72 than M113 and BMP2, nonsense
i don't care also that other mods have so strong APCs, real APC like M113 is easy to destroy by 12.7 mm weapons
of course infantry should not fire to it, maybe i will change "damageresistant", but i think it is AI bug like many bugs of Arma

[Eddie]

BIS APCs?
i don't care that BIS APC is too strong, P85 aims in more realism, than overpowered BIS M113 and BMP2
how many 30mm series you need to kill M113? have you tested it?
it is easier to destroy T72 than M113 and BMP2, nonsense
i don't care also that other mods have so strong APCs, real APC like M113 is easy to destroy by 12.7 mm weapons
of course infantry should not fire to it, maybe i will change "damageresistant", but i think it is AI bug like many bugs of Arma

I would not worry about it Vilas, In the US Army i have spent plenty of time inside a M113..... and the enemy definately still shoots at it with small arms.....think of it as even more realism.

[wipman]

Hi, the M113-A1 and M113-A2 are very vulnerable to the 7'62x51 sustained fire, in the M113-A1 a 7'62 bullet may pass by the other side of the cargo space
wall; even if you don't do nothing to a OPFOR veicle with the small arms fire it stills beeing a usefull tactic; it makes the crew and passengers nervous and
force 'em to be erratic, because if you open fire to an APC or a MBT with small arms... that means (in the crew's mind) that a RPG or RPGs are about to be
shot at you, even if it's false it produces a certain degree of panic on the crews and the troops on the cargo. But the ArmA don't needs of this to be applyed
because the APCs and MBTs act in a erratic way without the need of be under small arms fire. Anyways, you'll never open fire on a MBT or an APC/IFV
without one or more AT weapons in different possitions (better doing a V with the target) and some quick scape route. Let's C ya

[Toma]

I love your addons, Vilas. The models are very nice without being resource-heavy and the 1985 units provide a nice "OFP" feel to ArmA. The German infantry models in particular are great... makes me want to create East German vs. West German missions.

I did some testing, and have prepared a partial list of issues in the P85 release. I'm sure that you probably know about most, if not all, of these already. I think that, once they are a little more polished, these addons will be the coolest ones for ArmA.

* In M109, nothing happens when "turn out" action is performed.
* AI voice identifies M60 as "Abrams."
* Similarly, LAVs are identified as "Stryker."
* On M151, steering wheel does not move and appears partially translucent.
* When characters with backpacks sit in US jeeps, the packs stick through the back of the seats.
* On most of the cars, character hands are often sticking through the steering wheel or in a strange position.
* GAZ69: when accelerating, speedometer needle goes down instead of up.
* KrAZ: when wheel is turned, a texture on the driver-side door flashes. Also, the speedometer needle looks strange.
* Nysa Ambulance: steering wheel is partially translucent
* PM63: It may be better to set this weapon as a pistol rather than a rifle, as the left hand is practically off the gun.
* BTR 60 and BTR70: When sitting in passenger seat looking out the front window, outside terrain turns strange colors and looks washed-out.
* MTLB ambulance: nothing happens when "turn out" action is performed. "Gunner" and "Commander" positions are buggy.
* When accelerating in SCUD Launcher, speedometer needle goes down instead of up.

[Toma]

There are some other small issues, like inconsistencies in the quality of some interior textures. Not a big deal, but it is strange to see really high-res textures in some vehicles and then very low-res textures in others. The exterior modeling and texturing, on the other hand, is all very consistent and nice.

I haven't done any work with texturing since the early days of OFP, so I'm sorry to be such a critic and then be unable to help fix the problems I find. However, I have done a fair bit of config work and have been looking at your config and stringtable files. I noted a few inconsistencies in the translation and transliteration of some names, and would be happy to correct the English for you.

[bulkington80]

"When accelerating in SCUD Launcher, speedometer needle goes down instead of up"
Oh my God!!
"When characters with backpacks sit in US jeeps, the packs stick through the back of the seats"
Try putting a soldier with SVD or some other looong weapon in the 5T or Ural

[vilas]

* In M109, nothing happens when "turn out" action is performed.

fixed in config few days ago

* AI voice identifies M60 as "Abrams."

Arma "name sounds" , BIS enging

* Similarly, LAVs are identified as "Stryker."

the same as above

* On M151, steering wheel does not move and appears partially translucent.

oops, must fix

* When characters with backpacks sit in US jeeps, the packs stick through the back of the seats.

matter of game, the same happens in all vehicles made by enyone

* On most of the cars, character hands are often sticking through the steering wheel or in a strange position.

animations lacks

* GAZ69: when accelerating, speedometer needle goes down instead of up.

oops

* KrAZ: when wheel is turned, a texture on the driver-side door flashes. Also, the speedometer needle looks strange.

i must check it, really strange

* Nysa Ambulance: steering wheel is partially translucent

sometimes Arma engine has problems with grey tones

* PM63: It may be better to set this weapon as a pistol rather than a rifle, as the left hand is practically off the gun.

but than AI animation of movement will be problematic, AI moves other way with pistols

* BTR 60 and BTR70: When sitting in passenger seat looking out the front window, outside terrain turns strange colors and looks washed-out.

i don't like Arma HDR too

* MTLB ambulance: nothing happens when "turn out" action is performed. "Gunner" and "Commander" positions are buggy.

oops, remains of ... changes in config, i will change it and soon new fixed config will appear with small updates

* When accelerating in SCUD Launcher, speedometer needle goes down instead of up.

heh, after binarisation of model, okay

thanx for this report
we found other bugs too: there was lacks of few sounds of Guerilla weapons
also fixed few days ago, but now i work on small update (Leopards will have olive drab not green-grey colour tones, and some more things
i don't know if i will find time to make Marder
i made muzzle-flashes to 25mm M242 canon
i also plan to add more guerillas

There are some other small issues, like inconsistencies in the quality of some interior textures.

in future as i will find some time, cause most of things were done by very small number of people

This post has been edited by vilas: May 27 2009, 08:16

[OFPCAT]

I fully agree with your P85 addons. Almost all soldier and vehicle packs are very nice in top quality and also don't occupy PC source when in game. And these addons really could be called P85 for cold conflicts in 80's with large variation for almost all major NATO and Warsaw Pact groups. Really surprised you could make so many fantastic things in such a short period.
Suggest to add more details or some modificatons for every troop one by one when you've got enough time in future and make the large addons much more perfect.

[Toma]

Thanks for replying. A few thoughts, though: couldn't you change the "nameSound" variable in config.cpp so that the AI just says generic terms like "tank" or "APC" as opposed to "Abrams" and "Stryker?" Also, not all vehicles have the backpack issue; I realize that you probably don't have the time or the inclination to make custom animations for all drivers, but some adjustment of the proxy positions could help.

Also, something I thought of today... how would you feel about including Polish units on the Independent side as well as East? It would be interesting to play a hypothetical Poland vs. USSR engagement, like what would happen had the Soviets invaded during the Gomułka-Krushchev dispute in 1956 or had the communist government fallen during the strikes and uprisings of the early 80's and the Soviets invoked the Brezhnev doctrine.

Just a thought. If I'm the only one who is interested in this, I'll just code a config.cpp for my own use.

@OFPCAT:

Almost all soldier and vehicle packs are very nice in top quality and also don't occupy PC source when in game... Suggest to add more details...

If he adds more details, then it will use a lot more system resources!

ARMA addons don't need to be a perfect high-poly work of art. Too many of them take too much memory to render and load. I like how VILAS's addons look decent but I can still have huge battles and my FPS is still really smooth.

[vilas]

backpacks issue:
Alice is bigest backpack here
concerning optimalisation, i tried to do all to receive higher FPS on large battles and i succeded, cause it works for players
i always prefered good, high FPS gameplay with large number of units than placing 5 models and had lag
but in P85 all is optimised and along with high quality models, just look at Leopards, soldiers pouches, backpacks like Alice new boots etc. my T80 has rope modeled etc. gunners have ammo belts around them etc.

Poles on RES side:
they are doubled in new config
now new version is under tests, new config, new vehicles pack
of course you can download new config, new vehicles pack again, i just not noticed about update, cause there might be bug somewhere else:

changelog:
Config: some sounds changed, fixed mission sounds, fixed missing path to models of 2 Galils,
Vehicles: added "MF" muzzle flash vehicles, recoloured Leopards, added 2 reskins of T80
there is a game engine limitation , you cannot make vehicle with multiple "muzzle flash" on 1 turret on different weapons (for example Shilka has muzzle flash, but it has 1 type of weapon)
but in night missions it looks stupid, when you play and BMP2 (BIS) or other vehicles are killing you and there is no visual sign of fire, cause there is no flash/fire from barrel
so i doubled BTR, SKOT, BMP2, Bradleys - now they are in 2 versions, muzzle flash (one weapon) and standart - M240/PKT + automatic cannon KPVT, M242, 2A42 ...

concerning name sounds - yes i must fix it , cause on BIS configs examples i couldn't find more "namesounds"

http://forum.armedassault.info/index.php?showtopic=1945

links to addons, but it is under test still
i must add Marder IFV, i must add more guerillas, we all P85 must release more missions, cause Macko released already some OFP missions on Everon , EJAY released campaign:
http://forums.bistudio.com/showthread.php?t=72968
other people released more missions:
http://forums.bistudio.com/showthread.php?t=72606
http://forums.bistudio.com/showthread.php?t=72482

This post has been edited by vilas: May 28 2009, 08:33