ALL DISCUSSION and QUESTIONS

NICE!

Docwagon is perfect!



Gecko is as close to perfect as we can get. Yes, he uses pistols and blades, but I am fine with him as built given the limitations of the system.

navyik wrote:1. Run the road block drawing fire towards civilians
2. Charge the sentry with one truck and provide cover fire with the other. (Targeting any clear RPG weilders).
3. Exit the trucks to keep them from getting shot up and take our chances trying to take the field.
4. Send Bollywood at the sentry while Gecko rolls out to help take the field.

1. sit tight and wait, we may not need to engage at all.  pull the trucks forwards, for now, as if just queueing up  (see map for new positions)



2. if we need to engage, I suggest the following:


2.1  Gecko (orange) goes up the hill towards the sentry, using trees as cover.  he is significantly faster than anyone else on foot and can cover difficult terrain.  He is also more lethal in 1v1 and silent kill scenarios.  Let him eliminate sentry or until spotted or until fight breaks out on its own.  

2.2 Docwagon +1 (blue) go right to russian tank wreckage, ASAP, dash and move.  Smoke grenade for LOS cover and to draw focus here

2.3  (yellow) 1 goes forwards behind civ trucks as cover, more LOS than using them as human shields.  


Docwagon wants to draw the fight AWAY from the civies while still creating a flanking\pincer situation.  

Gecko will come down to help the 1 by the civ trucks after sentry is eliminated and ridge line is clear, ideally using tree cover to get in behind them while they are looking elsewhere

Chris wrote:NICE!

Docwagon is perfect!  



Gecko is as close to perfect as we can get.  Yes, he uses pistols and blades, but I am fine with him as built given the limitations of the system.  

Glad you are happy with it. We'll be able to feature blades and pistols at some point (no pun intended)!

Standing by for declarations. You guys post up when you are ready.

just giving Alan a chance to post

otherwise, Docwagon will pull forward and wait
Gecko will prepare to slip out the back of truck 2 at the signal that something is going sideways

Chris wrote:just giving Alan a chance to post

otherwise, Docwagon will pull forward and wait
Gecko will prepare to slip out the back of truck 2 at the signal that something is going sideways

All good, just giving Alan time as well.

Huah Doc.

navyik wrote:Huah Doc.

Doc played Close Combat and remembers smoke grenades

Chris wrote:

navyik wrote:Huah Doc.

Doc played Close Combat and remembers smoke grenades

 

Love it gents, will have the new round posted by end of day.

@ Chris, ARMA 3 is on serious sale right now on Steam, basic game is $7.49  and you could get out the door for $30 with all the DLCs (though some of them aren't really worth grabbing, some really are core IMO). The piles and piles of Mods are free in the steam workshop and other sites. Just check your rig specs before you pull the trigger, its a beast.

I am having a real meta-self conflict here.... Doc would try to avoid a fight, but Chris really wants to see combat

Chris wrote:I am having a real meta-self conflict here....   Doc would try to avoid a fight, but Chris really wants to see combat

Lol! Its hard not to be a murder-hobo sometimes...

Will have update posted by end of day. Have some VA friction I need to focus on. Grand Junction VA was well run to the point I questioned all the stories. Rockford VA has been a mess as per all the stories, they didn't inprocess me right and now my rxs are all messed up.

MAS wrote:Will have update posted by end of day. Have some VA friction I need to focus on. Grand Junction VA was well run to the point I questioned all the stories. Rockford VA has been a mess as per all the stories, they didn't inprocess me right and now my rxs are all messed up.

sorry to hear that, no rush on the update

Chris wrote:

MAS wrote:Will have update posted by end of day. Have some VA friction I need to focus on. Grand Junction VA was well run to the point I questioned all the stories. Rockford VA has been a mess as per all the stories, they didn't inprocess me right and now my rxs are all messed up.

sorry to hear that, no rush on the update

Appreciate it, Ive found myself in the middle of a situation with my meds, Got straightened out, but identified larger problem that my records have not followed me from CO. Very disruptive. Par for the course.

ah yes, a familiar foe, the dreaded Paperwork Boss and his Red Tape minions!

Ok, so Ive spent all day trying to troubleshoot a tech problem with ARMA, the scenario wont load. I think its an addon update thing but I gotta work the problem. Its a lot of loading/unloading and it takes a bit of time. 

Sorry for the delay. The additional friction of adding software into what is usually a mostly analog system/experience is noted. 

Was a weird weekend as well. Admin glitches made for a disruptive stop to a med Ive been on solidly since 09. The stability Ive been building the last 6 months was wiped in 48 hours. Can be re-established but hell it was jolting. Ive been getting 6+ hours of sleep a night for several months now, kicking back to 2-3 hours in bits over 24 hours was brutal. I dont know how I kept going for the years I lived like that. Really no wonder I lost a few marbles along the way.

Hope you guys are well.

Patiently waiting. No worries. I’ll be right here.

same here, take care of yourself!

Appreciate it gents. Here is where we stand.

Id created what I thought a stable "build" package of mods that I was using, but it got geeked up by the game itself getting an update last week. I have to rebuild the scenario from the ground up again. its going to take a day or so, but I should be able to put everything in place the same. Might be some changes to your character models. 

Otherwise, Im sleeping again and things are smoothing out. 

Really appreciate your continued patience and support, brothers.

Anthony deals with the same issues in Minecraft. Every time Mojang does a client update, it borks his datapacks and mods.

I am glad to hear you are sleeping better.

Chris wrote:Anthony deals with the same issues in Minecraft.  Every time Mojang does a client update, it borks his datapacks and mods.  

I am glad to hear you are sleeping better.  

thx -

Sounds like Anthony is already doing adult level simulation analyst work. Version control, troubleshooting, all that good stuff. Does he have designs on a career making games in some fashion ?

Okay. I’m easy.

MAS wrote:
thx -

Sounds like Anthony is already doing adult level simulation analyst work. Version control, troubleshooting, all that good stuff. Does he have designs on a career making games in some fashion ?

Yes, absolutely. We keep subtly mentioning things like cyber security and even all the simulation and coding that went into the Mars landers, which he also follows. But if his heart is in games, that is fine too.

His German client usually has 2-3 rounds of debugging and\or modifications per data pack. We had to create a German-tax compliant invoice for him, as an international contractor. And he is slow af to pay, so lots of real world lessons, lol.

Chris wrote:

MAS wrote:
thx -

Sounds like Anthony is already doing adult level simulation analyst work. Version control, troubleshooting, all that good stuff. Does he have designs on a career making games in some fashion ?

Yes, absolutely.  We keep subtly mentioning things like cyber security and even all the simulation and coding that went into the Mars landers, which he also follows.  But if his heart is in games, that is fine too.  

His German client usually has 2-3 rounds of debugging and\or modifications per data pack.  We had to create a German-tax compliant invoice for him, as an international contractor.   And he is slow af to pay, so lots of real world lessons, lol.  

I am living proof that “relevant experience” has a broad definition.

@Alan - Brother, you are exceptional in many ways! 

@Chris, Wow that is impressive and great learning for him. A lot of skillsets in those fields are multi use, so he'll be able to fine tune things down the road as interests and opportunities come along


Will be re-launching/continuing play this weekend.

Ok gents, have the scenario rebuilt, but am still polishing up your individual models and the NPCs. Have some filming and editing to do and well be back along. You cant rush quality. 

I have seen some really cool Arma3 star wars videos on youtube like an entire Clone Wars battle that played like an episode from the cartoon

Chris wrote:I have seen some really cool Arma3 star wars videos on youtube like an entire Clone Wars battle that played like an episode from the cartoon

Cool! Feel free to pass along a link if something stands out. There is a ton of really well done "machinima"  - Ive been watching quite a bit of it just to see how they film and flow things. 
When Im not balancing my builds for this project I plan on diving into the Star Wars stuff!

New update in the Road Rage thread!

Is Gecko up or can we all declare actions?

Sorry for the confusion. Its a new round, you are all declaring actions. 

made the statement re: Gecko, as Chris had declared that he was prepared to slip out stealthily from the back of the vehicle if/when things went down, which I was condersing a readied action in effect. Gecko will still need to make stealth check and such on his turn.

sorry for the delay on me now. crazy couple work days here and we are currently in another snow squal, if you recall the video from last time

Chris wrote:sorry for the delay on me now.  crazy couple work days here and we are currently in another snow squal, if you recall the video from last time

All good brother, hang tough, Ive seen models for Denver getting somewhere between 20 and 79 inches this weekend!

MAS wrote:

Chris wrote:sorry for the delay on me now.  crazy couple work days here and we are currently in another snow squal, if you recall the video from last time

All good brother, hang tough, Ive seen models for Denver getting somewhere between 20 and 79 inches this weekend!

distance estimate from the back of the truck to the ridge enemy?

MAS wrote:
250 yards at 8 High

250 yards?  wow, ok.  the map looks like about 100 ft, not 750 ft

if a truck length is ~10ft, I count about 10 truck lengths up the hill, granted it is difficult terrain maybe


that would totally change the plan then, there is no way anyone can cover that distance in less than..... 12-15 rds, make that 24-30 if difficult.  

750 ft is also double max rifle range, so I guess he isn't a threat either


so the lead trucks are also 750ft ahead of us then?   since it is about the same distance on the map.  that just doesn't look like 7 1/2 football fields to the eye

See your POV. Notes:

I am loading things up right now to hand measure some distances with the system tool, so stand by on system ground truth. 

Been doing my best to eyeball reasonable engagement range, initially the ranges were laid out in the original brief/video as such from your original starting point. Id say you closed some distance to the sentry, caveat: The range to the Sentry target included/includes an eyeball on elevation differential, as the sentry is on top a 4 story building, on the top the ridge. As satted though, stand by for "scale" results that are coming.  

I guess I hadn't looked too hard that ranges listed for weapons on the tables; they are insane, must be a result of trying to keep the game on the play table, Im supposing. They have sniper rifle listed as 400 ft max range, for example. This will not do. 1000 yards is a common military sniping distance, Army qualifies at ranges up 300 meters (900+ ft) and USMC at up to 500 yards for standard rifle qualification. 


My initial thought is:

The ranges listed are now considered yards instead of feet for firearms. 

Shots beyond the first number incur disadvantage. The second number begins to stack penalties like cover/concealment, for an additional penalty range band. 

U5 RAW lists Assault rifle as:
100/400

Beyond 100 yards, shooter incurs disadvantage
Beyond 400 yards, shooter incurs penalties akin to 1/2 cover.
Beyond 800 yards, Shooter incurs penalties akin to 2/3 cover. 
These penalties stack w/ existing cover/concealment penalties. 


This gets a bit wonkier with pistols, so maybe pistols go by feet and rifles/heavier go by yards? 

Thoughts?

MAS wrote:

Thoughts?

this is why we use grids with obvious 5ft squares


I don't really care what you do with the ranges of weapons.   I agree they were made for game scale not real life scale.  If we start playing with maps that hundreds of yards long, 30ft of character movement is going to be so insignificant that movement is essentially non-existent.  

if we are not going to have a grid with clearly identifiable distances, then we need some kind of scale on each combat map that stays consistent for the POV of the map.  

for example




you were eyeballing the scale in the corner and I was eyeballing the size of known item on the map.  neither of which may be accurate, but we can't play on the same map if we don't share an accurate idea of scale.

Agreed, a scale on the map is a critical addition. Kind of an embarrassing oversight for me. -10 Scout points, -10 GM points. Beavis and Butthead on the Serengeti Plane.

Measurements taken with "in game" tool

Front team vehicle right corner to Female reporter, 52 meters/ 56 yards. 
Front team vehicle left front corner to sentry, 76 meters/ 83 yards. Not sure if that accounts for elevation difference but we'll roll with it. 

I'm going to go back and build the cross reference chart I used in the warm-up encounter, like I should have for this, and completely spaced. It will list Cover/Concealment (colored stars) and range to target in yards. Ill also add some scale lines to better portray the space in context. 

IMO, I see some conditions as preventing me from using a grid overlay like we usually do, one being I cannot guarantee the same camera shot is made from the same X-Y-Z coordinate every time, and that means it isn't scaled and framed the same from round to round. Im looking for a mod to set and shift between saved camera points, which would create the consistency between rounds to do so. 

Its also limiting for outdoors encounters with open terrain, it is impractical if I want to portray your ability to both drive or move on foot, and to engage at realistic ranges, and work in 5 ft squares. There are some interesting challenges in shifting from portraying action that occurs primarily at melee-50ft, and portraying the possibilities of modern weapons and vehicles. I don't feel like it is something that can't be overcome. 

30ft is still a realistic standard move on foot at a tactical pace, 60 with hustle/DASH, IMO. 

Not all maps/terrains are open enough to permit longer range shots like this one is. Encounters on foot, or in urban environments, inside buildings, caves, etc - will work well using a grid or hex. 

I know this is probably a bit frustrating, but I think its got great value - shaking things like this out will result in a practical and refined outcome. 

let me whip up this chart, you can edit declarations if needed, we will proceed.

don't be too hard on yourself, that's our job

but, yes the distance\cover chart is SUPER helpful

I like the no-grid trial and the use of the ARMA tech, its just got stuff we need to iron out, which we are doing. Distances look realistic now, thanks!

I don't want to get into retcon every time something comes up, so I am willing to go with the flow, even if it isn't ideal. Doc and\or Gecko mis-judged the distances, it happens


GAME ON!

NEW PLAN:

Gecko will be the forward assault going down the line of civi trucks
Doc will use his rifle on the ridge target next turn and coordinate from our trucks
Mime and Bollywood go to the tank for cover and flanking


*all plans subject to change*

Its good have some \body pushing ya once in a while, lol! 

Good stuff guys, will have it updated tomorrow.

sadly, there is a new body that was found in the next county over, outside Craig. hopefully it was just an accident and it doesn't turn into a client, but I may get really busy this weekend

Chris wrote:sadly, there is a new body that was found in the next county over, outside Craig.  hopefully it was just an accident and it doesn't turn into a client, but I may get really busy this weekend

Yikes. Hope its nothing. And with the snow on top of it? 

We just had one discovered in a storage unit last week, and then one on the bypass offramp on 11th street right off the road. Plenty of shooting going on around town too. Gotta get my IL license and ccw squared away.

It was found on a county road, with the car off the road in the snow\mud. I am thinking it was an accident during teh snow squall. Jamie stopped driving to Craig and cancelled her class on Wed, the conditions were so bad.

Chris wrote:It was found on a county road, with the car off the road in the snow\mud.  I am thinking it was an accident during teh snow squall.  Jamie stopped driving to Craig and cancelled her class on Wed, the conditions were so bad.

Wow, nasty all around. Could see getting stuck in that being easily deadly. How much did that system enbd of dropping on you? 

All of our snow melted this week, but we are slated for another 4+ inches on Monday when the remnants of that storm hits us. Its ok with me, Im still officially hibernating until the 20th anyway. Planning a ceremonial/celebratory day of emergence from my den on the equinox. 

Should have everything filmed by end of day. 

Know you guys are patient, but still like to keep you in the loop.

MAS wrote:

Chris wrote:It was found on a county road, with the car off the road in the snow\mud.  I am thinking it was an accident during teh snow squall.  Jamie stopped driving to Craig and cancelled her class on Wed, the conditions were so bad.

Wow, nasty all around. Could see getting stuck in that being easily deadly. How much did that system enbd of dropping on you? 

All of our snow melted this week, but we are slated for another 4+ inches on Monday when the remnants of that storm hits us. Its ok with me, Im still officially hibernating until the 20th anyway. Planning a ceremonial/celebratory day of emergence from my den on the equinox. 

Should have everything filmed by end of day. 

Know you guys are patient, but still like to keep you in the loop.

Yes, please communicate so we don’t let the thread fade when life is hectic. But no expectation that you must keep a schedule.

navyik wrote:Yes, please communicate so we don’t let the thread fade when life is hectic. But no expectation that you must keep a schedule.

Will do.

UPDATE IS POSTED!

So do we just declare again?

FYI, Bollywood doesn’t have proficiency with long guns yet. Not until 3rd level. Mime excels in close quarters.

navyik wrote:So do we just declare again?  

FYI, Bollywood doesn’t have proficiency with long guns yet. Not until 3rd level. Mime excels in close quarters.

Yes sir, that was a round, a new one has begun

agreed, no expectation of a schedule, but communication is appreciated

storm mostly hit Denver, we just got a couple inches, which all melted away in 24hrs. snowing again today, but typical for spring - snow, melt, snow, melt

Doc has long range capabilities.  He will attempt to take out the guy on the ridge as the others excel at close combat duties

My guys are declared.

LOVE the video action!


declared