New S^3 Mod "All Uniforms" in development (feedback is welcome)

[dimovski]

1. Perhaps I should lock that door until the player is accepted in the organization.

 

2.- for weapon repair

- for weapon attachments (scope, silencer)

- for grenade, mine, explosive, bullet dis-assembly

- explosives assembly

 

3.- for weapon upgrades (durability, re-chamber, barrel modifications, increased magazine capacity, etc,)

 

4.- for new ammo crafting

 

5.For example: if I am to script "Dark Steel" repair,... what do we fix it with?

Another Kar-98? If so, would that other rifle's current durability matter? Would it be consumed when the repair is complete?

 

6.A piece of special steel? Where do we get it and how rare is it? Is there any other use for this special steel? (makes us choose and prioritize)

 

7.Specific components or shards? How specific? How many are needed for one full repair? Where do we obtain them? Are they used elsewhere or do we need to save them for something else? (makes us choose and prioritize)

 

---------------------------------------------------

 

8.Another example: we are taking a grenade or a mine apart...

What components do we get? Are they used in anything else? (sure, that's the point. But what?) And what's the trade off? Can those components be obtained any other way? What would make us dis-assemble a grenade instead of procuring those parts (used to make something else)?...

 

---------------------------------------------------

 

9. BTW, I am not quite sure about the components needed to produce explosives. I could use some help here.

________________________________________________________

 

 

 

10. I'm not clear about the actual application yet...

 

1. I suggest doing so. I for one find it pointless to have it open - you wouldn't be able to do anything there, and being able to go there, without being hindered would result in a big loss of immersion. (IMO)

 

2.THANK YOU! That is so epic and great and unbelivable at the same time! But bullet-disassebly sounds somewhat pointless - honestly. No one would be bothered with that, except if the bullets carried poison or (un)depleted uranium. I mean it ought to be tedious to disassemble hundreds of bullets.

 

3.Whilst that would be cool, I hope it's going to be fairly plausible alterations. Looking forward to it.

 

4.That would be tedious too, if one wouldn't have the proper tooling. I think that it would be nice if you would have to buy yourself access to that. 2000 to 6000 should be enough I think. And it would pay off in the end. The problem with ammo is that you can't really create all those fancy special ammo types just like that - so I'd say no HE filled ammo. Or maybe a special perk for the engineer to be able to make HE ammo, at best.

 

5.No idea what Dark Steel is, didn't play for a long time. And don't have the game installed on my new laptop either. If it's kar-98 based I guess you'd repair it with kar-98 spares. Depending on the parts, it could matter- changing the chamber/tube would ask for a durability check I think, but something like a trigger shouldn't have much to do with durability. I guess that consuming might be the best idea to prevent exploits - but if you could disassemble every rifle into multiple parts, which would stack together into packs - then you could use the trigger from the rifle and keep the other parts. Next time you find a rifle with a working trigger you can reassemble the old rifle. (If that's even possible, sorry if I'm dreaming or even being offensive. You decide ofcourse, and these are only my humble thoughts.)

 

6.Sure, that would work nicely aswell. But you'd have to craft it, preferably with an engineer then. You'd get it by smelting other parts of the same material, or maybe by raiding chests in some random encounters in ore-rich areas. Taking into account that any operations made by the Sentinels do not require as much equipment as a single army corps needs (in fact, I doubt they need as much equipment as a division, except maybe in heavy equipment, which is a lot more common in their ranks than in the army), I do not think that any of the resources could be depleted. But, you could use the "planning room" you created to make special sets of missions, each one becoming more and more difficult, possibly even changing locations, and in each one you could raid some material. The amounts you could take should be roughly the same or increase slightly, but the amount of enemies should rise, aswell as their equipment. (the problem is that it could be exploited to sell the enemy equipment and earn money, so to prevent that, you could make it so that every piece of metal takes up a giant part of the inventory, if not the full inventory of one member!)

 

7.Specific components, which would be part of every weapon - yes. Shards - I don't get it, sorry. Again, if the weapons have these parts in common or could plausibly use the same parts, we could use them

 

8.We get the explosive the grenade/charge was made of, aswell as a detonator. You could add sticks/triggers/empty_hull depending on the type of weapon we disarmed and disassembled. However these hulls/casings might be a bit too much of a hassle. Detonators should be mostly the same, essentially differing between standard grenade ones, those "clock" ones on dynamite charges (or whatever it was, sorry) and electrical ones for setting 'em of from a distance. The trade-off is that we disassembled a perfectly fine explosive charge we could've used otherwise (if we do not have a skilled enough engineer who could put those parts together - my guess is that disassembly should be easier than assembly). We can obtain these components from the shop, but they should cost slightly more than a preassembled charge, so that you still save some money by improvising with other parts, but can't go full-save mode and just make your own charges.

 

9.The explosive itself (either make it possible to create a specific sort of explosive by mixing the basic ones like TNT and RDX, or use existing ones from this list https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_explosives_used_during_World_War_II - I suggest the latter), a detonator (I mentioned different types above, but there's more finesse in them, obviously), and, optionally, a casing.

 

10.See six for "planning room".

[dimovski]

I just realized that I haven't been watching my politeness with the post above. Please forgive me, as I probably just tried shortening it a bit (my hands hurt from all the typing) - I didn't want to come off rude. Might be my terrible English too.

[Fishmachine]

Currently, Greenland is concentrated a large number of undiscovered deposits of rare earth metals (which are showing great interest in Chinese investors).

Palladium (as well as gold and platinum) are mined in the east of the island, uranium, in the north, in general, in Greenland where there are large reserves of undiscovered deposits of palladium, titanium and vanadium

 

By Rhodesia and South Africa: The platinum group metals, diamonds, emeralds (Rhodesia), uranium, iron, manganese, chromium, copper ore, vanadium, lithium - more, than serious for "Die Wölfe"

 

and what about confrontation with the intelligence services of other countries (MI6, CIA, KGB, China?), also investigating about "Die Wölfe"?

 

Well, the in-game world is not exactly the real world, so in-game there can be deposits conveniently placed in plot related places

[BlunterII]

Currently, Greenland is concentrated a large number of undiscovered deposits of rare earth metals (which are showing great interest in Chinese investors).

Palladium (as well as gold and platinum) are mined in the east of the island, uranium, in the north, in general, in Greenland where there are large reserves of undiscovered deposits of palladium, titanium and vanadium

 

By Rhodesia and South Africa: The platinum group metals, diamonds, emeralds (Rhodesia), uranium, iron, manganese, chromium, copper ore, vanadium, lithium - more, than serious for "Die Wölfe"

 

and what about confrontation with the intelligence services of other countries (MI6, CIA, KGB, China?), also investigating about "Die Wölfe"?

 

Thank you, Ronin. It appears Greenland and Africa have everything we could possibly need (in terms of rare fossils, minerals, etc.)

 

You are not the first person to bring up the idea of confrontation with various intelligence services.

 

Well, we are already working with Lt. Col. Mikhalev (MGB) - I don't see how we could 'squeeze' a confrontation in there, unless we encounter some rogue MGB elements...or someone pretending to work for MGB and trying to trick us, or to attack or kidnap an important character (i.e. Mikhalev or Boris or the real Major)

Later, when I introduce the next chapter - we'll be working with the Americans in the U.S. controlled sector of West Berlin, investigating the reasons behind the quarantine and the toxic spill that caused it ('Lucifer's' precursor). I assume CIA and MI6 would also be interested in preventing the catastrophe... unless we (or they) decide not to work together but to become adversaries somehow... But there have to be some really good reasons for the Sentinels and various intelligence agencies to be at odds.

 

I thought about introducing Gehlen Org. as a possible player. But that might be a sensitive issue for some... and possibly a completely different story all-together. We'll see...

 

__________________________________________________________

 

The items in the screenshot are all the yellow worded items in the entire mission. I spent 30 minutes searching all openable furniture and blowing open crates looking for more... nothing. Is it possible for any of those objective items to be destroyed from explosions or loads and loads of bullets? I did riddle the house a little and then wasted a crapload of MP40 ammunition for fun demolishing the place after I collected all the items shown in the screeny.

 

EDIT: I restarted the mission and I found the unfinished report in a filing cabinet. I loaded my old save and for somereason I was somehow able to destroy both it and the file which should be impossible but it somehow happened. I seem to have blown a hole in the under of the cabinet which caused strange things to happen. Maybe it fell through the world and despawned? Tends to happen to weapons sometimes.

 

I am not sure what happened in your game, someone64... but I'm glad you eventually figured it out.

 

_______________________________________________________________

 

1. I suggest doing so. I for one find it pointless to have it open - you wouldn't be able to do anything there, and being able to go there, without being hindered would result in a big loss of immersion. (IMO)

 

2.THANK YOU! That is so epic and great and unbelivable at the same time! But bullet-disassebly sounds somewhat pointless - honestly. No one would be bothered with that, except if the bullets carried poison or (un)depleted uranium. I mean it ought to be tedious to disassemble hundreds of bullets.

 

3.Whilst that would be cool, I hope it's going to be fairly plausible alterations. Looking forward to it.

 

4.That would be tedious too, if one wouldn't have the proper tooling. I think that it would be nice if you would have to buy yourself access to that. 2000 to 6000 should be enough I think. And it would pay off in the end. The problem with ammo is that you can't really create all those fancy special ammo types just like that - so I'd say no HE filled ammo. Or maybe a special perk for the engineer to be able to make HE ammo, at best.

 

5.No idea what Dark Steel is, didn't play for a long time. And don't have the game installed on my new laptop either. If it's kar-98 based I guess you'd repair it with kar-98 spares. Depending on the parts, it could matter- changing the chamber/tube would ask for a durability check I think, but something like a trigger shouldn't have much to do with durability. I guess that consuming might be the best idea to prevent exploits - but if you could disassemble every rifle into multiple parts, which would stack together into packs - then you could use the trigger from the rifle and keep the other parts. Next time you find a rifle with a working trigger you can reassemble the old rifle. (If that's even possible, sorry if I'm dreaming or even being offensive. You decide ofcourse, and these are only my humble thoughts.)

 

6.Sure, that would work nicely aswell. But you'd have to craft it, preferably with an engineer then. You'd get it by smelting other parts of the same material, or maybe by raiding chests in some random encounters in ore-rich areas. Taking into account that any operations made by the Sentinels do not require as much equipment as a single army corps needs (in fact, I doubt they need as much equipment as a division, except maybe in heavy equipment, which is a lot more common in their ranks than in the army), I do not think that any of the resources could be depleted. But, you could use the "planning room" you created to make special sets of missions, each one becoming more and more difficult, possibly even changing locations, and in each one you could raid some material. The amounts you could take should be roughly the same or increase slightly, but the amount of enemies should rise, aswell as their equipment. (the problem is that it could be exploited to sell the enemy equipment and earn money, so to prevent that, you could make it so that every piece of metal takes up a giant part of the inventory, if not the full inventory of one member!)

 

7.Specific components, which would be part of every weapon - yes. Shards - I don't get it, sorry. Again, if the weapons have these parts in common or could plausibly use the same parts, we could use them

 

8.We get the explosive the grenade/charge was made of, aswell as a detonator. You could add sticks/triggers/empty_hull depending on the type of weapon we disarmed and disassembled. However these hulls/casings might be a bit too much of a hassle. Detonators should be mostly the same, essentially differing between standard grenade ones, those "clock" ones on dynamite charges (or whatever it was, sorry) and electrical ones for setting 'em of from a distance. The trade-off is that we disassembled a perfectly fine explosive charge we could've used otherwise (if we do not have a skilled enough engineer who could put those parts together - my guess is that disassembly should be easier than assembly). We can obtain these components from the shop, but they should cost slightly more than a preassembled charge, so that you still save some money by improvising with other parts, but can't go full-save mode and just make your own charges.

 

9.The explosive itself (either make it possible to create a specific sort of explosive by mixing the basic ones like TNT and RDX, or use existing ones from this list https://en.wikipedia....ng_World_War_II - I suggest the latter), a detonator (I mentioned different types above, but there's more finesse in them, obviously), and, optionally, a casing.

 

10.See six for "planning room".

 

Thanks, dimovsky. Good points!

I'll address some of them a bit later in more detail...

...still working on the explosives' idea proposed by Fireman.

The external script controlling the routine and the RPG items (two sets of satchel charges) involved in the process are done. Now I need to figure out the chemistry behind it... Here is what I got so far (diagram):

 

 

 

[EDIT] The relative effectiveness factor, or R.E. factor, relates an explosive's demolition power to that of TNT, in units of the TNT equivalent/kg (TNTe/kg). The R.E. factor is the relative mass of TNT to which an explosive is equivalent; the greater the R.E., the more powerful the explosive. (from wiki)

 

The actual mixes will need to be fleshed out and some of the existing engineering explosives will have to be redone... Maybe...

 

Here is some more related stuff:

 

________________________________________________________

 

I just realized that I haven't been watching my politeness with the post above. Please forgive me, as I probably just tried shortening it a bit (my hands hurt from all the typing) - I didn't want to come off rude. Might be my terrible English too.

 

You are fine and your English is great. Don't worry about it.

I appreciate the feedback.

 

_______________________________________________________

to be continued

 

~ Blunter ~

[Ecthel013]

I'm late, as usual. Notifications weren't popping up at all for some reason. Anyway, a belated "Welcome back." and my condolences on your loss.

 

Weapon Repairs

I think using another weapon of the same type for repairs would make sense. Modified/Unique weapons would also require special components on top of that. I think these components should be somewhat easy to come by, though, perhaps a limited but replenishing supply from somewhere. Won't discourage people from using the Uniques at all, but they'd still have to work for it to keep their special weapons running.

 

As for alternative uses for these components, crafting new items and upgrading existing ones. Player would have to choose whether to use their component allotment for repairing or upgrading their weapons, or making new ones entirely.

 

Acquiring Special Resources/Components

I like dimovski's idea of using the planning room for resource grabs. I think the problem of selling enemy equipment could be circumvented by either having a one-time mission (liberating/capturing a mine/factory or something like that) or by not having missions, instead spending money and/or other resources to acquire the ones you need, or a combination of both.

 

For the first option, there are a couple of variants I can think of. In one, you get sent to help out the rightful owner of the mine/factory, which has been taken over by bandits/Die Wolfe/Thor's Hammer/etc. If you succeed, he/she agrees to divert some of the output to the Sentinels as payment, perhaps with a bigger payout if you keep damage to a minimum. In the second, you raid one owned by someone sympathetic to an antagonistic faction and change the management.

 

The second is simpler. You can choose which resource you want to acquire from a dialog menu and have several options as to how you want to acquire it. For example, there's several factories that produce the item you want, each run by someone sympathetic to the Sentinels or simply not particular about who they sell to. They'll offer you varying amounts if you do something for them, like provide adequate compensation or provide parts to fix their machines so they can actually make the stuff.

 

The third has you liberate/capture the place as in the first, but you need to spend money and items like in the second to actually get the stuff. For example, the rightful owner sells you the material you want at a discount instead of just giving it to you, or you need to feed the factory you acquired with the parts/raw materials they need to produce whatever it is you want from them.

[dimovski]

I would, in fact, suggest that a huge quantity of equipment (as in - a very big assortment of different models, not 20 thousand kar 98s) shouldn't be sellable. Millions of soldiers fought 2 (or was it 3?) years ago a world war - why would anyone want to buy a mosin or kar98 from you if he can obtain thousands at a cheaper price via a connection to the military? Heck, the military /wants/ to get rid of all those antiquated rifles. Same goes for munitions - I find it unlikely that the arms dealer in the Sentinel HQ could be bothered with buying old and nearly broken rifles and SMGs from you, if he can buy thousands of them, it doesn't make sense! It is fairly reasonable to expect that he isn't working only for the sentinels, but selling his weapons elsewhere aswell, and that he hasn't got the time to arrange deals for the tiny profit which is offered to him.

 

IMO, only scopes (not scoped rifles, if you are going to proceed with creating weapon parts, which I find really cool), unique weapons, prototypes and mid-to-late-war small-production-batch weapons should be sellable, and even those for a rather low price. And instead - you have the good ol' planning room, where you can accept various missions for money. Grenades shouldn't be sellable either, IMO. Anyone who wants a grenade just wishes to make some boom, only Die Wölfe and the Sentinels need different grenades for different purposes. And whilst you probably won't find many Panzerschreck or Panzerfaust rockets for the launchers, there should be plenty of PIAT and Bazooka rockets lying around. Taking into account that the Panzerschreck was just a copy of the Bazooka, I would guess that you could make these either "special" weapons (rare, ammo which isn't getting produced anymore, and for gameplay terms you can always argue that the Germans didn't do a 1by1 copy but added their own improvements, thus slightly better stats) or remove them completely.

 

Back to the metals: We have a couple of problems here:

a)The materials themselves are scarce and rather costly, yes. BUT, we don't need tons and tons of them, like the armor industry would need vanadium, or Die Wölfe would need to create hardened steel for their Panzerkleins. We would need a few dozen pounds, 100-200kg at most if we would build our own Panzerkleins. Even less of the other, rarer (God does that word sound awkward) metals.

b)Whilst there is enough of these metals lying around for us to acquire, it shouldn't be easy to get them, as it defeats the point of special, rare weapons. That means that there has to be a challenge in getting them.

c)If the challenge is to get enough money to buy them - then you are grinding for it and it doesn't FEEL like you worked for it and accomplished something, you just... well, collected the money and bought it. Not really exciting. Then again, it's a lot of work to create all these maps and missions.

[Ronin]

Thank you, Ronin. It appears Greenland and Africa have everything we could possibly need (in terms of rare fossils, minerals, etc.)

 

You are not the first person to bring up the idea of confrontation with various intelligence services.

 

Well, we are already working with Lt. Col. Mikhalev (MGB) - I don't see how we could 'squeeze' a confrontation in there, unless we encounter some rogue MGB elements...or someone pretending to work for MGB and trying to trick us, or to attack or kidnap an important character (i.e. Mikhalev or Boris or the real Major)

Later, when I introduce the next chapter - we'll be working with the Americans in the U.S. controlled sector of West Berlin, investigating the reasons behind the quarantine and the toxic spill that caused it ('Lucifer's' precursor). I assume CIA and MI6 would also be interested in preventing the catastrophe... unless we (or they) decide not to work together but to become adversaries somehow... But there have to be some really good reasons for the Sentinels and various intelligence agencies to be at odds.

 

I thought about introducing Gehlen Org. as a possible player. But that might be a sensitive issue for some... and possibly a completely different story all-together. We'll see...

 

 

~ Blunter ~

 

This could be implemented as a confrontation with representatives of different groups within the same organization (MGB). Imagine that Lt. Col. Mihaliov with which we cooperate on the subject, refers to the so-called "Blue" - he sees no threat Sentinels understanding of the goals and strongly promotes the common cause (investigating the causes of the emergence of a virus). At the same time, there is a radical part of the organization's employees who do not share the views with Mihaliov, the so-called "Hawks". For them, Sentinels, the same terrorist organization with unclear goals and objectives, with its own well-trained operatives and an impressive arsenal.

[BlunterII]

I'm late, as usual. Notifications weren't popping up at all for some reason. Anyway, a belated "Welcome back." and my condolences on your loss.

 

Thank you, Ecthel.

I am glad you are around.

Question for you: would you be willing to help with RRDepot, Zepernick, Potsdam Outskirts and Debrief 2 editing? I am afraid I might have made quite a bit of mistakes (the texts and the dialogues, primarily)... After writing, reading, re-writing and re-reading them for the umpteenth time I can't tell anymore... I just stare at the screen and... well, it's all a blur since I know most of them by heart already...

 

Weapon Repairs

I think using another weapon of the same type for repairs would make sense. Modified/Unique weapons would also require special components on top of that. I think these components should be somewhat easy to come by, though, perhaps a limited but replenishing supply from somewhere. Won't discourage people from using the Uniques at all, but they'd still have to work for it to keep their special weapons running.

 

As for alternative uses for these components, crafting new items and upgrading existing ones. Player would have to choose whether to use their component allotment for repairing or upgrading their weapons, or making new ones entirely.

 

Interesting. I wasn't thinking about creating them entirely from scratch... hmm... Could you give me an example of new weapons (I assume you didn't mean regular vanilla ones)? ...and wouldn't we need some sort of a blueprint for each one as well?

 

Acquiring Special Resources/Components

I like dimovski's idea of using the planning room for resource grabs. I think the problem of selling enemy equipment could be circumvented by either having a one-time mission (liberating/capturing a mine/factory or something like that) or by not having missions, instead spending money and/or other resources to acquire the ones you need, or a combination of both.

 

For the first option, there are a couple of variants I can think of. In one, you get sent to help out the rightful owner of the mine/factory, which has been taken over by bandits/Die Wolfe/Thor's Hammer/etc. If you succeed, he/she agrees to divert some of the output to the Sentinels as payment, perhaps with a bigger payout if you keep damage to a minimum. In the second, you raid one owned by someone sympathetic to an antagonistic faction and change the management.

 

The second is simpler. You can choose which resource you want to acquire from a dialog menu and have several options as to how you want to acquire it. For example, there's several factories that produce the item you want, each run by someone sympathetic to the Sentinels or simply not particular about who they sell to. They'll offer you varying amounts if you do something for them, like provide adequate compensation or provide parts to fix their machines so they can actually make the stuff.

 

The third has you liberate/capture the place as in the first, but you need to spend money and items like in the second to actually get the stuff. For example, the rightful owner sells you the material you want at a discount instead of just giving it to you, or you need to feed the factory you acquired with the parts/raw materials they need to produce whatever it is you want from them.

 

All three sound reasonable. Although, I like the last one the best (if I had to pick one).

Since I haven't found a way to generate custom shop inventory (we are currently stuck with the Arms Dealer) - it's probably going to be a dialog mode with a few menus (and sub-menus) to choose from.

Nice! Thank you, Ecthel.

 

P.S.: I am not sure what that 'planning room' is. Did I mention it somewhere? Forgive me, I am 'glitching'. (Working on the remote explosives' script too long I suppose)...

_______________________________________________________________

 

I would, in fact, suggest that a huge quantity of equipment (as in - a very big assortment of different models, not 20 thousand kar 98s) shouldn't be sellable. Millions of soldiers fought 2 (or was it 3?) years ago a world war - why would anyone want to buy a mosin or kar98 from you if he can obtain thousands at a cheaper price via a connection to the military? Heck, the military /wants/ to get rid of all those antiquated rifles. Same goes for munitions - I find it unlikely that the arms dealer in the Sentinel HQ could be bothered with buying old and nearly broken rifles and SMGs from you, if he can buy thousands of them, it doesn't make sense! It is fairly reasonable to expect that he isn't working only for the sentinels, but selling his weapons elsewhere aswell, and that he hasn't got the time to arrange deals for the tiny profit which is offered to him.

 

IMO, only scopes (not scoped rifles, if you are going to proceed with creating weapon parts, which I find really cool), unique weapons, prototypes and mid-to-late-war small-production-batch weapons should be sellable, and even those for a rather low price. And instead - you have the good ol' planning room, where you can accept various missions for money. Grenades shouldn't be sellable either, IMO. Anyone who wants a grenade just wishes to make some boom, only Die Wölfe and the Sentinels need different grenades for different purposes. And whilst you probably won't find many Panzerschreck or Panzerfaust rockets for the launchers, there should be plenty of PIAT and Bazooka rockets lying around. Taking into account that the Panzerschreck was just a copy of the Bazooka, I would guess that you could make these either "special" weapons (rare, ammo which isn't getting produced anymore, and for gameplay terms you can always argue that the Germans didn't do a 1by1 copy but added their own improvements, thus slightly better stats) or remove them completely.

 

Back to the metals: We have a couple of problems here:

a)The materials themselves are scarce and rather costly, yes. BUT, we don't need tons and tons of them, like the armor industry would need vanadium, or Die Wölfe would need to create hardened steel for their Panzerkleins. We would need a few dozen pounds, 100-200kg at most if we would build our own Panzerkleins. Even less of the other, rarer (God does that word sound awkward) metals.

b)Whilst there is enough of these metals lying around for us to acquire, it shouldn't be easy to get them, as it defeats the point of special, rare weapons. That means that there has to be a challenge in getting them.

c)If the challenge is to get enough money to buy them - then you are grinding for it and it doesn't FEEL like you worked for it and accomplished something, you just... well, collected the money and bought it. Not really exciting. Then again, it's a lot of work to create all these maps and missions.

 

Good stuff, thank you dimovski.

 

I agree, the economy might need some changes. Picking up everything we find in the world and hauling it to the Arms Dealer resembles some of the other games economy models (i.e. Dungeon Siege (I,II,III), Diablo, Titan Quest, Baldur's Gate, TES series and dozens of others). It works fine there, but in S^3 it gets tedious after a while... Perhaps we can modify it somehow.

 

Now...I would like to finish the explosives overhaul first and then revisit PK and weapons upgrades, rare parts and minerals, and S^3 economy.

____________________________________________________

 

This could be implemented as a confrontation with representatives of different groups within the same organization (MGB). Imagine that Lt. Col. Mihaliov with which we cooperate on the subject, refers to the so-called "Blue" - he sees no threat Sentinels understanding of the goals and strongly promotes the common cause (investigating the causes of the emergence of a virus). At the same time, there is a radical part of the organization's employees who do not share the views with Mihaliov, the so-called "Hawks". For them, Sentinels, the same terrorist organization with unclear goals and objectives, with its own well-trained operatives and an impressive arsenal.

 

I hear you, Ronin. What exactly are you thinking about? ...a simple difference of opinion? ...a conspiracy? ...some rogue elements within MGB?

Taking his high rank (and other factors: Col. Kuzmenko's visit, phone conversation with a general, etc.) into consideration, I doubt Mikhalev would act on his own without any approval from the top... hmm... (did you play through v2.4, BTW?)

 

(I think those explosives I am currently working on made my brain mush... Detonation vs deflagration... )

_____________________________________________________

 

Now.., I've changed a few things, added a bunch and created a base for explosives crafting.

I will post all the specifics later, when I have time.

 

I don't foresee any problems with scripting the crafting process itself I just need your guys input on the direction I am taking it...

 

Please, check out the diagrams (below) and let me know what you think.

 

 

 

The conversion ratio is probably going to be 1:1.

HMX production will be controlled by a GV. Every 5 RDXs will yield 1 HMX.

Nitric Acid requires a catalyst (Pt)... not sure if I need to implement that...or just leave it the way it is.

____________________________________________

 

 

If something doesn't make sense, please let me know.

_______________________________________

 

 

I am still unsure about the script I created for the remote charges. It works but I experienced random crashes from time to time - so it needs to be 'refined' somehow...

 

If anyone (familiar with LUA) feels like sharing their expertise - go ahead, I could definitely use some help here.

 

Here is the current script:

 

[EDIT]Never-mind.

It took me 3 evenings but I figured it out (I think...).

We might have those remote explosives after all!

_____________________________________________

to be continued

 

~ Blunter ~

[Lt.Havoc]

Those explosives look great. Cant wait to blow up some stuff!

[dimovski]

I have to agree - that is truly epic!

The... "planning room" is what I called the room you made for which you said that you haven't found a purpose, and I thought it might work out as some sort of planning room (the map on the table inspired me I guess...) which could be used for obtaining resources etc.

[Ronin]

I hear you, Ronin. What exactly are you thinking about? ...a simple difference of opinion? ...a conspiracy? ...some rogue elements within MGB?

Taking his high rank (and other factors: Col. Kuzmenko's visit, phone conversation with a general, etc.) into consideration, I doubt Mikhalev would act on his own without any approval from the top... hmm... (did you play through v2.4, BTW?)

 

_____________________________________________

to be continued

 

~ Blunter ~

 

Rather, some radical elements - of the most intransigent employees MGB, "paranoid", seeing a threat throughout, reporting directly to Beria, who uses them in the struggle for power in the USSR. Do not forget that by the end of 40s, due to the deteriorating health Dzhugashvili, began active undercover game between the various factions in the CPSU (Khrushchev, Beria), MGB and Army (Zhukov), Beria, having a significant connection with the MGB could operatives to use them for their own purposes. Besides, Beria supervised program to develop weapons of mass destruction, therefore, with a certain amount of fantasy (in our alternate history), he could search for data about "Lucifer" for their own purposes.

 

Unfortunately, did not play because 3 week'm already at work (forensic anthropology) on Bely Island (https://en.wikipedia....iki/Bely_Island), still surprised that it employs cellular! Of longing and Polar Bears saves only laptop with Sentinels with BlunterMod v2.3)

[dimovski]

Oh my God how far north that is! Didn't know that Zhukov was interested in leading the CCCP tho, you find out something new every day!

[Ecthel013]

I'd certainly be willing to help with editing. It may not be very prompt, though, since Star Trek Online has me firmly hooked and I can't slip free easily.

 

I don't think you mentioned anything about a planning room, I just liked dimovski's suggestion of one.

 

Crafting New Weapons

I actually meant crafting any item in general would use components, like the explosives and such. Though now that I think about it, you probably could assemble your own knock-off versions of existing weapons, shoddy or otherwise.

 

I don't think entirely new homemade weapons are feasible, given the fact that they would likely require custom models. If this changes, though, I agree that a blueprint of some sort would likely be necessary unless it's something very simple. I don't think it's necessary to make it an actual item, though, you could just have a dialog option that sets a flag that makes the crafting option available in the dialog menu, or something like that.

 

Weapons and the Economy

Considering the fact that there's a major armed insurgency brewing (Die Wolfe) that's much bigger than any that happened in our history around this point, I'm pretty sure the various occupying forces would be keeping a much tighter grip on any weapons they know about in the vicinity, even the cheap bog-standard ones. This in turn means that various non-government groups or individuals (that aren't saboteurs or bandits) in the areas affected would be willing to pay up extra on the black market even for surplus weapons and ammunition. Demands will be supplied, making it illegal simply jacks up the price.

[Ronin]

Oh my God how far north that is! Didn't know that Zhukov was interested in leading the CCCP tho, you find out something new every day!

 

Well, from Salekhard, Bely Island is much closer than Europe) We also have an alternative history, so why Zhukov not want to seize power? Besides, in reality it Zhukov with his generals arrested Beria, which helps Khrushchev to head country (which, by the way, "rewarded" Zhukov, exiling him to command the Odessa Military District). So why not make Zhukov (and top army), the force that secretly craves takeover

[dimovski]

Weapons and the Economy

Considering the fact that there's a major armed insurgency brewing (Die Wolfe) that's much bigger than any that happened in our history around this point, I'm pretty sure the various occupying forces would be keeping a much tighter grip on any weapons they know about in the vicinity, even the cheap bog-standard ones. This in turn means that various non-government groups or individuals (that aren't saboteurs or bandits) in the areas affected would be willing to pay up extra on the black market even for surplus weapons and ammunition. Demands will be supplied, making it illegal simply jacks up the price.

Sorry, that's unlikely. Except if you wish to say that a threat of nuclear war and the cold war itself (and we are already in that part of world history) wouldn't bother the Soviet, French, British and American armies as much as a band of criminals. (Remember that Die Wölfe would hardly bie as foolish to openly show off their force, or even to make themselves noticed by governments! If they'd have that bad org. and command chains, the Sentinels wouldn't even need to be bothered by them.

[Ecthel013]

Sorry, that's unlikely. Except if you wish to say that a threat of nuclear war and the cold war itself (and we are already in that part of world history) wouldn't bother the Soviet, French, British and American armies as much as a band of criminals. (Remember that Die Wölfe would hardly bie as foolish to openly show off their force, or even to make themselves noticed by governments! If they'd have that bad org. and command chains, the Sentinels wouldn't even need to be bothered by them.

Considering the sheer number of sabotage strikes Die Wolfe is making (pretty much every RE in the Berlin area seems to involve them), not to mention the existence of the Lucifer virus (not finished yet, but an early version literally leaked, causing the outbreak of zombies), I'd say they are a bigger threat at this stage. Also, the Allied forces don't need to know that it's just one organization carrying out all of them, just the sheer number of attacks would suffice. Especially considering the fact that they also need to quarantine a decently sized part of Germany and contain any zombies, which would require a pretty large force.

[Tsylie]

Hello everyone! Blunter's daughter here. You've probably heard of my existence from his other posts.

 

But anyways, to the point!

 

A while back, Blunter and a few of you mentioned Acknowledgements (Acks) in the game and suggested that we make new ones. Novik sent the files for making potentially new Acks and I have been creating a few new ones to develop new characters. There may be some new interesting ones, provided Blunter makes them work in the mod.

 

According to the files, there are specific condition codes that activate a certain Ack at a specific time. Here are the ones listed in the Excel File:

 

Condition Codes ~~~RABPRI ACKS

Enemy becomes visible -- Prepare to face the hand of judgement!

More new enemy characters appear -- I will bring God's light here!

That was my last piece of ammo -- This will not halt the prophet!

Successful melee attack -- Feel my righteous fury!

Target hit -- In God's name!

Badly missed target -- Oh, Lord! Guide my next shot!

Critical damage inflicted to enemy -- And so the righteous smote the wicked!

Wounds FRIEND accidentally -- Forgive me, my brethren. I am no one but a sinner.

Successful hit on a hard target -- With God, everything is possible.

FRIEND badly misses target -- Thy Holy Father shall guide thy aim.

FRIEND inflicts critical damage to enemy -- And almost all things are by the law purged with blood!

PC suffers light damage -- Nothing shall prevent me from spreading his words!

PC mocks poor aim of enemy -- The darkness clouds thy mind, godless creature!

PC has been inflicted with critical damage -- I see the light!

PC has been badly wounded, or he cannot finish dressing his own wound -- The Lord is my shepherd; he shall restore my soul.

Killed an enemy -- So may all your enemies perish, o Lord!

Final words before death -- The Lord…is my light…and my salvation. (dies)

FRIEND dies -- And so they are delivered into his embrace…

Killing <N> enemy in a row -- The Lord shall judge ALL people.

<N> PC in our group is killed -- He stands with open arms at the gate.

Character finished successfully dressing a wound. NOT their own -- Blessed is he who shepherds the weak through the valley of darkness.

Character cannot finish dressing a wound because he lacks the skills. NOT their own -- The lord helps those who help themselves.

Character finished successfully dressing their own wound -- My faith alone heals my wounds!

PC throws grenade/uses heavy weapon and kills more than one enemy -- Fear his wrath!

FRIEND throws grenade/uses heavy weapon and kills more than one enemy -- Thou ist a holy vanquisher!

PC throws grenade/uses heavy weapon and destroys a lot of structures or objects -- He will erase thy false idols; only pay homage to the TRUE GOD.

FRIEND throws grenade/uses heavy weapon and destroys a lot of structures or objects -- With holy guidance, you shall do his wonders!

Successfully interrupted enemy -- You can not beat the speed of angels!

Skill/stat increased -- It is God who arms me with strength and makes my way perfect.

Impossible to perform action -- Verily, verily I say onto you, no mortal can do what you ask of me.

Order confirmation -- In the name of the Holy Father!

Weapon is jammed -- The devil's agents have come!

PC is overloaded -- My mortal body can not carry this burden.

About to take an enemy by surprise -- Say your prayers, heathen!

Discovering a mine/boobytrap nearby -- I discovered their devilish contraption.

PC is given an item/piece of equipment he likes a lot -- I shall send the demons to hell that much quicker.

PC equipment has been changed to something worse -- Bah! This is hardly suitable for the crusade!

Enemy becomes visible in Real-time -- Another heathen!

NPC interaction. -- I will defer to my group's leader.

PC has been spotted by the enemy -- Through their master's dark eye, they have spotted me!

General Good Comment -- The Angels Rejoice!

General Bad Comment -- Hellfire.

Strong enemy becomes visible, <N> lvl higher -- The Lord is on my side; I will not fear.

Weak enemy becomes visible, <N> lvl lower -- Demons, you shalt not be spared the cleansing force of the one true God!

Long Burst -- DEEEEEEMMMMOOOOONNNNN!!!

 

If you need an in-game example, say a high level soldier is spotted by Klaus. Underneath the condition code "Strong enemy becomes visible, <N> lvl higher", he would spout "Bad Odds? I like bad odds."

The above sample Acks are from a Rabid Priest. If you note the references there, you're awesome .

 

They go in order so "Enemy becomes visible" would be "Prepare to face the hand of judgement!" and so on.

 

I appreciate comments, edits or suggestions of other characters. We have, at the moment, one for a priest, one for an escaped female convict, one trial one for Arnold Schwarzenegger (I say trial because he's kind of schizophrenic and would need to be streamlined in order to be GOOD), and one for Shade (that secret mission guy you pick up from Switzerland).

[Tsylie]

I will also show the other phrases that the priest cycles through in-game:

 

Condition Code (Phrase 2)~~RabPri

Enemy becomes visible -- You foolishly challenge the prophet of the Lord?

More new enemy characters appear -- You can't stop the word of the Lord!

That was my last piece of ammo -- I will pound the divine law into you!

Successful melee attack -- God smite you!

Target hit -- "And you will know my name is the Lord when I lay my vengeance upon thee."

Badly missed target -- For I will not trust in my bow, nor shall my sword save me.

Critical damage inflicted to enemy -- Are you ready to face the judgment?

Wounds FRIEND accidentally -- I pray for your forgiveness.

Successful hit on a hard target -- When we are strong in our faith, miracles abound!

FRIEND badly misses target -- The Lord forgives those who fail.

FRIEND inflicts critical damage to enemy -- And without shedding of blood is no remission…

PC suffers light damage -- NONE SHALL HALT MY HOLY MISSION!!!

PC mocks poor aim of enemy -- His light blinds thee!

PC has been inflicted with critical damage -- My Lord is calling upon me!

PC has been badly wounded, or he cannot finish dressing his own wound -- The Lord shall endure forever even with the delay in his plan.

Killed an enemy -- Through Your name we will trample those who rise up against us.

Final words before death -- I…am coming, Father…(dies)

FRIEND dies -- May God be kind to you, brethren.

Killing <N> enemy in a row -- REPENT!!!

<N> PC in our group is killed -- The Shepherd shall guide thee into the gates of Heaven.

Character finished successfully dressing a wound. NOT their own -- The Holy Father hath blessed the righteous!

Character cannot finish dressing a wound because he lacks the skills. NOT their own -- Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding.

Character finished successfully dressing their own wound -- Fear me, infidels! The Lord is on my side!

PC throws grenade/uses heavy weapon and kills more than one enemy -- And all the heathens and their false prophets perished from his wrath.

FRIEND throws grenade/uses heavy weapon and kills more than one enemy -- Thou certainly wreaked vengeance upon them.

PC throws grenade/uses heavy weapon and destroys a lot of structures or objects -- For thus saieth the Lord God: I make thee a desolate city…

FRIEND throws grenade/uses heavy weapon and destroys a lot of structures or objects -- The power of God is unabridged!

Successfully interrupted enemy -- Thy iniquity weighs heavily upon thy reflexes…

Skill/stat increased. -- God blesses me with skill and knowledge.

Impossible to perform action -- Only our Holy Father can do what you will.

Order confirmation -- Holy Spirit guides my path!

Weapon is jammed -- Fix my weapon so I may once again bring justice upon the heads of our enemies!

PC is overloaded -- God, lend me your strength!

About to take an enemy by surprise -- "And they shall know I am the Lord thy God."

Discovering a mine/boobytrap nearby -- The denizens of hell left their dark gift behind.

PC is given an item/piece of equipment he likes a lot -- Blessed be the giver of all things holy!

PC equipment has been changed to something worse -- I must not detest the correction of the Lord…

Enemy becomes visible in Real-time -- Greetings, unwashed infidel, from the hand of God!

NPC interaction. -- Speaketh to that person up yonder.

PC has been spotted by the enemy -- Satan's agents TOO have eyes!

General Good Comment -- It's a good day to walk in the light.

General Bad Comment -- The cherubs are burning…

Strong enemy becomes visible, <N> lvl higher -- Though an army may encamp against me, my heart shall not falter!

Weak enemy becomes visible, <N> lvl lower -- A measly satyr.

Long Burst -- RRRREEEEEEPPPPEEEEENNNNTTTTTT!!!!!!

 

We're attempting to get at least 4 phrases that are unique and individual. In the next 2 phrase lists, you may notice empty spaces. Those are ones that need to be filled. If you suggest something that is acceptable and in character, it may fill the new phrase spot and you will be credited for your assistance (that is, if you want to). Now that that is out there, here are the other two phrase lists:

 

Condition Code (Phrase 3)~~RabPri

Enemy becomes visible -- I will wipe you, evil fiend, from the face of God's Earth.

More new enemy characters appear -- God give me strength!

That was my last piece of ammo -- No longer shall I rely on crude mortal things.

Successful melee attack -- Feel the divine hand crush you, demon!

Target hit -- That's what happens to non-believers!

Badly missed target -- The devil is strong with this one.

Critical damage inflicted to enemy -- PRAY! Pray for forgiveness!

Wounds FRIEND accidentally -- Flee, demons; I shall vanquish thee for smiting my brethren.

Successful hit on a hard target -- Behold the power of the LORD!

FRIEND badly misses target -- Don't stray from the light!

FRIEND inflicts critical damage to enemy --

PC suffers light damage -- You can not shatter my steely resolve!

PC mocks poor aim of enemy -- Only his TRUE followers will be shown the path!

PC has been inflicted with critical damage -- Is it my day to join our Holy Father in Heaven?

PC has been badly wounded, or he cannot finish dressing his own wound --

Killed an enemy -- Lord have mercy on your soul.

Final words before death --

FRIEND dies -- The righteous never perish in vain.

Killing <N> enemy in a row -- THE LORD SHALL NOT BE TESTED!

<N> PC in our group is killed --

Character finished successfully dressing a wound. NOT their own -- This poor soul cried out, and the LORD heard him!

Character cannot finish dressing a wound because he lacks the skills. NOT their own -- I ask the Holy Father to strengthen you by his Spirit.

Character finished successfully dressing their own wound -- Not by thy skill, but thy faith maketh thou whole again!

PC throws grenade/uses heavy weapon and kills more than one enemy --

FRIEND throws grenade/uses heavy weapon and kills more than one enemy --

PC throws grenade/uses heavy weapon and destroys a lot of structures or objects --

FRIEND throws grenade/uses heavy weapon and destroys a lot of structures or objects --

Successfully interrupted enemy --

Skill/stat increased. -- I am guided by God's hand.

Impossible to perform action --

Order confirmation -- Thy will shall be done.

Weapon is jammed --

PC is overloaded --

About to take an enemy by surprise -- "But they lie in wait for their own blood…"

Discovering a mine/boobytrap nearby --

PC is given an item/piece of equipment he likes a lot --

PC equipment has been changed to something worse --

Enemy becomes visible in Real-time -- Their feet run to evil, and they make haste to shed blood.

NPC interaction. -- Invoke not the Lord's name in vain.

PC has been spotted by the enemy --

General Good Comment --

General Bad Comment --

Strong enemy becomes visible, <N> lvl higher --

Weak enemy becomes visible, <N> lvl lower -- Come forth, pathetic underlings of evil.

Long Burst --

 

 

Condition Code (Phrase 4)~~RabPri

Enemy becomes visible -- More infidels!

More new enemy characters appear -- Behold, the wicked brings forth iniquity.

That was my last piece of ammo --

Successful melee attack -- You heathens shall fall by his sword!

Target hit -- Convert or die!

Badly missed target -- The Lord hath spared you; I will not.

Critical damage inflicted to enemy -- And I will strike upon thee with great vengeance!

Wounds FRIEND accidentally --

Successful hit on a hard target -- Thank you, o Lord, for guiding my hand.

FRIEND badly misses target -- For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.

FRIEND inflicts critical damage to enemy --

PC suffers light damage --

PC mocks poor aim of enemy --

PC has been inflicted with critical damage -- My mortal body weakens.

PC has been badly wounded, or he cannot finish dressing his own wound --

Killed an enemy -- He that believeth not the Son shall not see life!

Final words before death --

FRIEND dies -- I will mourn thy departure.

Killing <N> enemy in a row --

<N> PC in our group is killed --

Character finished successfully dressing a wound. NOT their own --

Character cannot finish dressing a wound because he lacks the skills. NOT their own -- Your soul is in the Lord's hands now.

Character finished successfully dressing their own wound -- Body and spirit reuniteth.

PC throws grenade/uses heavy weapon and kills more than one enemy --

FRIEND throws grenade/uses heavy weapon and kills more than one enemy --

PC throws grenade/uses heavy weapon and destroys a lot of structures or objects --

FRIEND throws grenade/uses heavy weapon and destroys a lot of structures or objects --

Successfully interrupted enemy --

Skill/stat increased. --

Impossible to perform action --

Order confirmation --

Weapon is jammed --

PC is overloaded --

About to take an enemy by surprise --

Discovering a mine/boobytrap nearby --

PC is given an item/piece of equipment he likes a lot --

PC equipment has been changed to something worse --

Enemy becomes visible in Real-time --

NPC interaction. --

PC has been spotted by the enemy --

General Good Comment --

General Bad Comment --

Strong enemy becomes visible, <N> lvl higher --

Weak enemy becomes visible, <N> lvl lower --

Long Burst --

 

If you have a question about a condition code, I'll do my best to answer.

[BlunterII]

Those explosives look great. Cant wait to blow up some stuff!

 

Yes, me too.

 

It took me some time to get the script right (had to re-write it ~ 15 times), but I think I nailed it this time.

Woo-hoo!

 

Initially I used FindItem() function to find the charges on the map by their IDs... and in my first tests (with all 6 satchels detonated at once) it worked fine . When I attempted to detonate only a few at a time (while removing the 'used' ones) the game started crashing. After 40 or so CTDs I realized that the problem wasn't my script (I kept re-writing), but rather the function itself.

It seems that FindItem() creates a long list of identifiable RPG items (and possibly debris objects as well) on the current template, excluding the items in units' inventories, and stores that data in some kind of cache or temporary reference table. Any subsequent FindItem() then checks against that list... and if there is a slight change (some of the items were removed or new items were spawned or dropped) - it spits out an error and crashes. Well, at least that's the explanation I came up with based on my observations.

 

Other than that it's a great function and I'll see if I can find a creative way to use it... later...

 

So the 1st system was: have a satchel (RPG/ money item) > drop the satchel > FindItem() > Create Waypoint there > Place template with a fake decoy object there > equip the detonator (weapon) > identify the detonator in active slot > Explosion() at the created waypoint > Remove decoy object - that system is gone...

 

Now the new system is: have a satchel (RPG weapon item) > Equip the satchel in the active slot > Identify the satchel in the active slot by its durability/Identify the character holding that satchel at that moment > Remove the satchel from inventory > Create waypoint where that person is standing > Place template with a fake decoy object there > equip the detonator (weapon) > identify the detonator in active slot > Explosion() at the created waypoint > Remove decoy object...

 

So far (knock on wood) this new script hasn't crashed a single time. Let's hope it'll remain that way.

 

A few screenshots to illustrate how this system works in-game:

 

 

There was no 'normal' way to identify what a unit had in their active slot at any given time. The only way I managed to do it was through a UnitWeaponGetDurability(unit) function and a weapon(s) with unique, unchangeable durability values (durability step 0).

___________________________________________________________

 

 

Currently the player can have up to 6 explosive satchels at any given time... That's a lot of firepower!

___________________________________________________________

 

 

One of the problems I discovered was the fact that killing enemy units with remote explosives didn't give the player any XP at all. I attempted to rectify that by rewarding the party with a small ammount of XP every time they lay the charges...

___________________________________________________________

 

 

Removing those from active slots without activating them is a bit tricky... just place another weapon there. That should do it...

___________________________________________________________

 

 

___________________________________________________________

 

 

The messages are color-coded (green for Amatol, blue for Picratol, and dark orange for C-3). There is also an on-screen counter to help keep track of the remaining explosives.

___________________________________________________________

 

 

Remember to un-equip the detonator, before laying down the next batch of those...

___________________________________________________________

 

 

___________________________________________________________

 

 

___________________________________________________________

 

 

___________________________________________________________

 

___________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________

 

 

I have to agree - that is truly epic!

The... "planning room" is what I called the room you made for which you said that you haven't found a purpose, and I thought it might work out as some sort of planning room (the map on the table inspired me I guess...) which could be used for obtaining resources etc.

 

Thank you.

 

Are you talking about the lab? That's where I planned to conduct chemical and 'medical' experiments and conversions.

 

How would we 'plan'?.. (Scripting/ UI wise)... even if its in a different room... Could you elaborate a bit further?

___________________________________________________________

 

Rather, some radical elements - of the most intransigent employees MGB, "paranoid", seeing a threat throughout, reporting directly to Beria, who uses them in the struggle for power in the USSR. Do not forget that by the end of 40s, due to the deteriorating health Dzhugashvili, began active undercover game between the various factions in the CPSU (Khrushchev, Beria), MGB and Army (Zhukov), Beria, having a significant connection with the MGB could operatives to use them for their own purposes. Besides, Beria supervised program to develop weapons of mass destruction, therefore, with a certain amount of fantasy (in our alternate history), he could search for data about "Lucifer" for their own purposes.

 

Unfortunately, did not play because 3 week'm already at work (forensic anthropology) on Bely Island (https://en.wikipedia....iki/Bely_Island), still surprised that it employs cellular! Of longing and Polar Bears saves only laptop with Sentinels with BlunterMod v2.3)

 

Wow, that's way up there... Stay warm, Ronin.

So, now we have a forensic expert among us... Nice!

-----------------

 

I don't know about making Zhukov a bad guy. I happened to like him...

Now, Beria is a totally different story... I can easily imagine him doing something nasty... even harboring or financing "The Professor" and his research, directly and/or indirectly... hmm... what if Stalin got sick earlier, in 1947-48 in this case... and Beria realized he is about to be 'removed'?

___________________________________________________________

 

I'd certainly be willing to help with editing. It may not be very prompt, though, since Star Trek Online has me firmly hooked and I can't slip free easily.

 

I don't think you mentioned anything about a planning room, I just liked dimovski's suggestion of one.

 

Crafting New Weapons

I actually meant crafting any item in general would use components, like the explosives and such. Though now that I think about it, you probably could assemble your own knock-off versions of existing weapons, shoddy or otherwise.

 

I don't think entirely new homemade weapons are feasible, given the fact that they would likely require custom models. If this changes, though, I agree that a blueprint of some sort would likely be necessary unless it's something very simple. I don't think it's necessary to make it an actual item, though, you could just have a dialog option that sets a flag that makes the crafting option available in the dialog menu, or something like that.

 

Weapons and the Economy

Considering the fact that there's a major armed insurgency brewing (Die Wolfe) that's much bigger than any that happened in our history around this point, I'm pretty sure the various occupying forces would be keeping a much tighter grip on any weapons they know about in the vicinity, even the cheap bog-standard ones. This in turn means that various non-government groups or individuals (that aren't saboteurs or bandits) in the areas affected would be willing to pay up extra on the black market even for surplus weapons and ammunition. Demands will be supplied, making it illegal simply jacks up the price.

 

Thanks, Ecthel. There is no rush. I still have a lot to do with the crafting system.

I'll post the detailed encounter walk-throughs in a bit.

 

You are right, with blueprints I can just show a hint or a message and set a GV. That should take care of it...

 

Good points about the insurgency and the black market. Although, after reading dimovsky's thoughts I am wondering if we should keep the Arms Dealer at all... I am not sure why but his presence (in his current capacity) at the base just doesn't make much sense to me... except for Nival trying to implement 'economy'...

(I know, we'd already talked about it before.).. hmm...

___________________________________________________________

 

Considering the sheer number of sabotage strikes Die Wolfe is making (pretty much every RE in the Berlin area seems to involve them), not to mention the existence of the Lucifer virus (not finished yet, but an early version literally leaked, causing the outbreak of zombies), I'd say they are a bigger threat at this stage. Also, the Allied forces don't need to know that it's just one organization carrying out all of them, just the sheer number of attacks would suffice. Especially considering the fact that they also need to quarantine a decently sized part of Germany and contain any zombies, which would require a pretty large force.

 

Yes, I also thought about making one of the Allied Commanders (on the US side, perhaps) another double... who'd be sabotaging the chemical spill containment efforts by sending poorly protected US troops in the affected areas - basically creating even more zombies as the result...

___________________________________________________________

 

Hey, Tsylie. I see you added a few new Acks in there. Nice!

I can just hear that rabid priest preaching in a wailing ghoul voice (from fallout 3)

 

How about posting some of the other ones you worked on.

Arnold's were hilarious...

___________________________________________________________

to be continued

 

~ Blunter ~

[dimovski]

Regarding the "Friendly hit", here in Croatia (well, probably its known in all south-slavic countries) we say "Čudni su putevi Gospodnji", it translates to something like: Unknown/Weird are the ways of the Lord. Or maybe something from the Bible - like the "vale of tears"?

Thank you for the amazing work btw, if anything in SS was really amazing and gave flair - it was the great voiceacting.

 

Now to Blunters amazing post:

As always, I'm stunned with your work. I'd sit their crying for weeks trying to figure such stuff out. Or I'd just hammer my laptop

Is it possible to re-use the SS3 multiple-choice quest-picking GUI? And for example, from the 4 possible missions we'd have:

1)Titanium Raid I

2)Vanadium Mine I

3)Scandium Refinery Plant I

4)Plutonium Warehouse I

 

After finishing Vanadium Mine I, we get:

1)Titanium Raid I

2)Vanadium Mine II

3)Scandium Refinery Plant I

4)Plutonium Warehouse I

etc. Each time more enemies, and maybe even bigger or simply different maps. Obviously it's a lot of work to create them, so I'm just daydreaming.

 

Back to the arms dealer: How do we even know he's loyal to us?! And even more importantly... how can he be loyal to us if he's buying weapon - I mean, who wants weapons in the year 1947?(Is it even 1947?)

1)Mafia

2)Die Wölfe

3)We

4)"small criminals"

5)secret service undercover agents... I guess. If they can't smuggle weapons to their area of operations. (You'd guess it's easier to smuggle a 1911 into a factory than a human, but then again...)

6)The not-so-average-father-who-can-afford-buying-weapons-on-the-black-market-to-protect-his-children-with-them(-even-tho-he-was-in-the-war-and-probably-still-has-his-Kar98-and-a-Mauser-semi-auto)

 

So there's literally 2 out of 6 options, with them being probably the least important in volume of orders, which would be acceptable to the Sentinels - themselves and civilans. I didn't count the few high-class citizens who can afford to go hunting 2 years after the war.

IMO, if you really don't want to remove him completely, would it be possible to create a different base interface for a different difficulty setting? Then you could add "Sentinel" or "Silent Storm" difficulty, with no arms dealer. Or modify the current most difficult one (or the easiest one, which no one probably uses... or atleast would use with this mod). Or remove the easiest one and add "Sentinel". I'd go with removing him for good tho.

 

I "like" Zhukov too, but taking into account the blunder at Seelow Heights (losing 2000 tanks just to get 1st to Berlin, so that his Ukrainian comrade from the south can't sack the glory) - I'd imagine he's more than capable of acting in a ruthless way. Beria obviously doesn't sound really trustful and humane either.

[Ronin]

Wow, that's way up there... Stay warm, Ronin.

So, now we have a forensic expert among us... Nice!

-----------------

 

I don't know about making Zhukov a bad guy. I happened to like him...

Now, Beria is a totally different story... I can easily imagine him doing something nasty... even harboring or financing "The Professor" and his research, directly and/or indirectly... hmm... what if Stalin got sick earlier, in 1947-48 in this case... and Beria realized he is about to be 'removed'?

___________________________________________________________

 

~ Blunter ~

 

Thanks, I'll try! By the way, this is not so cold: about + 5 and light rain). And yet it is very beautiful, in the northern beauty...

Personality Zhukov in the Soviet military history is extremely an ambiguous: on the one hand propaganda made ​​him Marshal of Victory, but on the other hand, his methods of warfare, certain strategic miscalculations and a huge loss, make you think ... I remember a phrase that said my grandfather, come down to Berlin during World War II (as sergeant of anti-tank group, with PTRS rifles), and so, he said: "The soldiers did not like, but were afraid to Zhukov, because they knew - Zhukov, will spare no soldiers." Second Rzhev-Sychevsky operations ("Mars"), the storming of the Seelow Heights, do not add votes Zhukov.

Well, Beria has such a reputation that it is really "Enfant Terrible" of the Soviet postwar history ...What if Beria (or-someone-there-yet) "accelerated" the death of Stalin? Thus, with the death of the leader, we get some chaos in the leadership of the USSR: the acute power struggle between the army leadership (conditional Zhukov), MGB (Beria), and the Communist Party leaders (conditional Khrushchev). Thus, we have a number of domestic groups, de facto, hostile to each other

[MacNille]

Awesome mod, but I have a problem. My game crash after the Danilov mission (where you first find him with the smuggler etc and try to find out if he is a fake or not) and I can't proceed. What can I do? Anyway, Have a nice day.

[BlunterII]

Folks, I am still working on the crafting system. It's looking good so far. I'll share the screenshots and item descriptions when I'm done.

 

 

The LAB scripts are done. They include...

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Medical items (separate dialog mode):

 

- picric acid flask + glycerin container = burn medication (2) ??? (what should this be? a usable or a quest item?)

- nitroglycerin flask = heart medication (2) ??? (what should this be? a quest item?)

- opium package + ammonia (hydroxide) container = morphine kit (1)

- morphine kit + vinegar bottle = heroin syringe (1) --NEW

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Standard explosive materials (separate dialog mode):

 

- ammonia (hydroxide) container + nitric acid bottle = ammonium nitrate (2)

- toluol canister + nitric acid bottle = TNT granules (4)

- phenol container + nitric acid bottle = picric acid flask (2)

- ammonia (hydroxide) container + picric acid flask + nitric Acid flask = ammonium picrate flask (3)

- glycerin container + nitric acid flask = nitroglycerin flask (2)

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Advanced explosive materials (separate dialog mode):

 

- hexamine tablets (or powder) + nitric acid = RDX powder (2) (every 3rd time 1 HMX powder is produced)

- pentek package (or powder) + nitric acid = PETN crystals (2 for powder) (4 for package)

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

Convert raw materials (separate dialog mode):

 

alcohol (ethanol) bottle = vinegar bottle (2) -(NEW) -- through fast fermentation

ammonia (hydroxide) container = nitric acid (4)

ammonia (hydroxide) container + formaldehyde bottle (NEW) = hexamine powder -(NEW)

alcohol (ethanol) bottle + formaldehyde bottle = pentek powder -(NEW) -- skipped acetaldehyde stage... as there was no other use for it. I try to find reagents that have other uses: in-game or in reality. Acetaldehyde is an intermediate product in our case - so I omitted it entirely.

 

 

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

Note: currently, only regular and strong Blunter alcohol bottles can be used as ethanol (spiked can not).

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

 

The WORKSHOP scripts are finished. No special ammo or weapon modifications have been added yet.

The rest is ready:

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

Create standard explosives (separate dialog mode):

 

ammonium nitrate (furtilizer pack or flask) + TNT granules + fuse = industrial dynamite (2)

TNT granules + fuse = TNT charge (1)

picric acid flask + fuse = lyddite charge (1)

nitroglycerin flask + fuse = Nobel's extradynamit

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

Create advanced explosives (separate dialog mode):

 

RDX powder + TNT granules + fuse = military dynamite (2)

RDX powder + fuse = RDX charge (1)

PETN crystals + fuse = PETN charge (1)

HMX powder + fuse = HMX charge (1)

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

Create remotely controlled explosives (separate dialog mode):

 

ammonium nitrate (furtilizer pack or flask) + TNT granules + battery = Amatol satchels (2)

ammonium picrate flask + TNT granules + battery = Picratol satchels (2)

RDX powder + TNT granules + battery = C-3 satchels (2)

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

Create special ammos: ?????

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

Perform weapon modifications and upgrades: ?????

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

 

Everything seems to work. The items are 'consumed' and 'created' properly, in correct amounts... no glitches so far.

 

_____________________________________________________________

 

Regarding the "Friendly hit", here in Croatia (well, probably its known in all south-slavic countries) we say "Čudni su putevi Gospodnji", it translates to something like: Unknown/Weird are the ways of the Lord. Or maybe something from the Bible - like the "vale of tears"?

Thank you for the amazing work btw, if anything in SS was really amazing and gave flair - it was the great voiceacting.

 

I have to agree.

Those acks do look good!

BTW, that saying exists in both Russian and English. It is one of the most misquoted (paraphrased) biblical verses (from the Romans I think, about his wisdom being unfathomable and his ways being indecipherable). The Russian version goes: "Puti gospodni ne ispovedimy" and the English one: "The Lord works in mysterious ways".

 

It's a good one, dimovski.

 

Now to Blunters amazing post:

As always, I'm stunned with your work. I'd sit their crying for weeks trying to figure such stuff out. Or I'd just hammer my laptop

Is it possible to re-use the SS3 multiple-choice quest-picking GUI? And for example, from the 4 possible missions we'd have:

1)Titanium Raid I

2)Vanadium Mine I

3)Scandium Refinery Plant I

4)Plutonium Warehouse I

 

After finishing Vanadium Mine I, we get:

1)Titanium Raid I

2)Vanadium Mine II

3)Scandium Refinery Plant I

4)Plutonium Warehouse I

etc. Each time more enemies, and maybe even bigger or simply different maps. Obviously it's a lot of work to create them, so I'm just daydreaming.

 

Thank you, dimovski. You are being very kind.

 

I am not sure about the way that UI works yet (not to make substitution changes but to make independent ones, without touching the vanilla campaign). I'll need to look into that. I'd love to be able to utilize that interface or even modify it if possible. We'll see.

 

Now the various mines and warehouses (I,II,IIi, etc.) sound interesting... It does remind me of the "radiant" quest system from Skyrim. Hmm... Killing the same giant, in the same cave, for the same reward, for the tenth time...

Yes, different maps and opposition might help with that. Perhaps liberating them (or defending from attacks) and buying resources at a discount later/ or getting tribute or something could be the way to go... I need to think about it.

 

Back to the arms dealer: How do we even know he's loyal to us?! And even more importantly... how can he be loyal to us if he's buying weapon - I mean, who wants weapons in the year 1947?(Is it even 1947?)

1)Mafia

2)Die Wölfe

3)We

4)"small criminals"

5)secret service undercover agents... I guess. If they can't smuggle weapons to their area of operations. (You'd guess it's easier to smuggle a 1911 into a factory than a human, but then again...)

6)The not-so-average-father-who-can-afford-buying-weapons-on-the-black-market-to-protect-his-children-with-them(-even-tho-he-was-in-the-war-and-probably-still-has-his-Kar98-and-a-Mauser-semi-auto)

 

So there's literally 2 out of 6 options, with them being probably the least important in volume of orders, which would be acceptable to the Sentinels - themselves and civilans. I didn't count the few high-class citizens who can afford to go hunting 2 years after the war.

IMO, if you really don't want to remove him completely, would it be possible to create a different base interface for a different difficulty setting? Then you could add "Sentinel" or "Silent Storm" difficulty, with no arms dealer. Or modify the current most difficult one (or the easiest one, which no one probably uses... or atleast would use with this mod). Or remove the easiest one and add "Sentinel". I'd go with removing him for good tho.

 

I've no problem removing him. What will the player do without him?

I don't have any alternative economy set up yet...

 

I "like" Zhukov too, but taking into account the blunder at Seelow Heights (losing 2000 tanks just to get 1st to Berlin, so that his Ukrainian comrade from the south can't sack the glory) - I'd imagine he's more than capable of acting in a ruthless way. Beria obviously doesn't sound really trustful and humane either.

 

Good points.

 

I was thinking more along the lines of pushy, stubborn and ruthless vs. treacherous, cunning and murderous for the 'evil someone' job requirements. I think Beria could be more qualified to be the bad guy here...

And if he is the one behind the scenes plotting, sending assassins, etc. who's side Lt. Col. Mikhalev would be on? Initially? Eventually? First Beria's then Zhukov's?

_____________________________________________________

 

Thanks, I'll try! By the way, this is not so cold: about + 5 and light rain). And yet it is very beautiful, in the northern beauty...

Personality Zhukov in the Soviet military history is extremely an ambiguous: on the one hand propaganda made ​​him Marshal of Victory, but on the other hand, his methods of warfare, certain strategic miscalculations and a huge loss, make you think ... I remember a phrase that said my grandfather, come down to Berlin during World War II (as sergeant of anti-tank group, with PTRS rifles), and so, he said: "The soldiers did not like, but were afraid to Zhukov, because they knew - Zhukov, will spare no soldiers." Second Rzhev-Sychevsky operations ("Mars"), the storming of the Seelow Heights, do not add votes Zhukov.

Well, Beria has such a reputation that it is really "Enfant Terrible" of the Soviet postwar history ...What if Beria (or-someone-there-yet) "accelerated" the death of Stalin? Thus, with the death of the leader, we get some chaos in the leadership of the USSR: the acute power struggle between the army leadership (conditional Zhukov), MGB (Beria), and the Communist Party leaders (conditional Khrushchev). Thus, we have a number of domestic groups, de facto, hostile to each other

 

The weather you describe sounds like a really bad winter here, in California.

 

I like the idea of a bitter, underhanded, back-stabbing power struggle between those groups. MGB vs. Army vs. ??? (who?). Who would represent the CPSU in terms of physical units on the map for us to shoot at (or to defend...) A pompous party leader and some shady bodyguard characters? Special guards, special forces? Elite army units?...

_____________________________________________________

 

Awesome mod, but I have a problem. My game crash after the Danilov mission (where you first find him with the smuggler etc and try to find out if he is a fake or not) and I can't proceed. What can I do? Anyway, Have a nice day.

 

Hi MacNille.

 

Thank you for trying it out.

 

I noticed your post on GoG forums. My questions to you:

 

1. Did you install the mod correctly?

2. Did you overwrite, modify, delete anything on purpose or by accident? (BlunterMod v 2.4 installation does not require any overwriting)

3. Are you using any other mods (including previous versions of BlunterMod)?

4. Are you using any utilities? (addMod)

5. Are you using any external scripts? (anti-durability, No-PK, etc.)

6. Which version of S^2, S^3 is your game (GoG? Steam? CDs?)

7. Did you start v 2.4 from the beginning?

8. Where/ when does your game crash?..

 

_____________________________________

to be continued

 

~ Blunter ~

[MacNille]

 

 

Hi MacNille.

 

Thank you for trying it out.

 

I noticed your post on GoG forums. My questions to you:

 

1. Did you install the mod correctly?

2. Did you overwrite, modify, delete anything on purpose or by accident? (BlunterMod v 2.4 installation does not require any overwriting)

3. Are you using any other mods (including previous versions of BlunterMod)?

4. Are you using any utilities? (addMod)

5. Are you using any external scripts? (anti-durability, No-PK, etc.)

6. Which version of S^2, S^3 is your game (GoG? Steam? CDs?)

7. Did you start v 2.4 from the beginning?

8. Where/ when does your game crash?..

 

_____________________________________

to be continued

 

~ Blunter ~

I think that I install teh mod the right way by extracting the files to the mod folders.

I'm not using any other mods and addmods or external scripts.

I'm using the GOG version.

I started 2.4 from the beginning.

It crashes when I'm done with the "counterfeit" scenario and when it is loading to the meeting with the Lieutenant Colonel afterwards.

Hope I will get a response soon enough.

[BlunterII]

I think that I install teh mod the right way by extracting the files to the mod folders.

I'm not using any other mods and addmods or external scripts.

I'm using the GOG version.

I started 2.4 from the beginning.

It crashes when I'm done with the "counterfeit" scenario and when it is loading to the meeting with the Lieutenant Colonel afterwards.

 

MacNille, I checked the entire script and re-ran the map... I couldn't spot anything that would cause a crash at the very beginning of the debrief encounter...

 

Perhaps you didn't install it properly?

 

The mod needs to be extracted (via WinRar or any other ...zip program) in its entirety to Silent Storm - Sentinels folder. After the extraction it forms its own separate folder called "BlunterMod_v2.4". ( Do you have it there?)

What are those mod folders you are referring to? The "Mod" folder? As far as I know it should stay empty? Well, mine is...

___________________________________

to be continued

 

~ Blunter ~