Campaign and Bonus Mission Diary (Tips included)

[deadman1]

That would be interesting, indeed. I'm not sure if you thought I was referring to real life experience, just in case, I was referring to a more detailed tutorial I'd like to have. The game doesn't train you in commanding apart from one single action.

I think IRL experiance would give you a little more confidence that you are giving the correct order and you wouldn´t have to wonder about what order to give in a given situation. But a good tutorial is also valuable in learning just how the command system works. 

[Art Blade]

@deadman:
Yeah, here you learn by trial and error - and reloading ;)

@PZ:
The biggest difference is that you only have one target in FC2, let's call it Sefapane with 18 mercs that can all be killed. In OFP:DR, the 3rd mission for example, you have to sustain three waves (apart from all the local resistance) of enemy troops and keep your position while they send rockets and mortars down at you. You have a couple of friendly teams around, each defending their part of that farm, but usually fail to defend it. That means, a breach... and enemies inside your area killing you from behind while you attack those in front... tough stuff :) Still trying to w@&k my way out of that mess.

[Art Blade]

I can't get this third mission done :-[ Maybe I should restart it (again). Only then I'd have to go through all that fighting again just to get to the last location... damn hard stuff! Right now, that last primary, the farm area, it feels like the rest of the friendly troops is cannon fodder (as are we) and the enemy keeps overrunning or disabling and then overrunning us. :D

[Art Blade]

Ahhhh at last. Didn't restart, only a different strategy. I had my men assigned different jobs: One to operate a stationary heavy MG, the other two defend his position. Meanwhile, I went to the side of the road and kept enemy teams in check and killed them with an assault rifle until I ran out of ammo. Just moments after, I was shooting with my sniper now, the mission accomplished sounded, enemies were retreating  :-*

Hard core stuff, that. Before, I somehow told the team to defend a squadrant, or to follow me. In all flavours. We always failed. Funny though, with my different strategy, the other friendly teams didn't feel like failing either and managed... god damn idiots  ;D

[deadman1]

I just read a thread on the official forum about this mission and some ppl finished it by using an APC to take out the PLA, most were just whining about how hard it was  ;)

[Art Blade]

A few questions/comments:

I would like to reply again, now with some more experience in the game:

• When you're issued a mission, can you go do other things like you can in FC2?

No. In FC2, you can always do stuff, even during missions. In OFP:DR it basically seems to w@&k like "don't take longer than x time" which leaves you not much time and opportunity. Only what's on your chosen way. The difference between FC2 and OFP:DR is that you can choose whether or not to take on a mission in FC2 or simply drive around. OFP:DR only allows you to proceed from mission to mission.

• From the pics I've seen so far, the environment appears similar to ARMA2 - is there variation like in FC2?

I think they use some sort of low resolution textures, it isn't full of details. I am running the game on max gfx settings, yet for example a wall of a house looks boring. Then again, the sounds are really great. Sounds from walking on different surfaces are really nice, too. But FC2 is simply beautiful, still top of the notch :)

• ... and the $64,000 question: do you think might be our next "FC2" as far as general and replay value.

Since I now have played three of 11 campaigns, each comprised of several goals, I dare say "no" - of course you can try to accomplish missions using different strategies, but in FC2 you have spare time to roam and ravage... not in OFP:DR.

[Art Blade]

I just read a thread on the official forum about this mission and some ppl finished it by using an APC to take out the PLA, most were just whining about how hard it was  ;)

APC and PLA? please help me with that :)

I know I could have used a rocket launcher, but I didn't want to, and I did have an armoured vehicle that helped us, because I accomplished a secondary goal that meant keep that vehicle alive so it can help you. Only it blew up the second an enemy showed up - he had an anti-tank missile... so that vehicle didn't help us at all  :) I did it rock-solid with good old bullets, only.  :-* ;D

[PZ]

Ahhhh at last. Didn't restart, only a different strategy. I had my men assigned different jobs: One to operate a stationary heavy MG, the other two defend his position. Meanwhile, I went to the side of the road and kept enemy teams in check and killed them with an assault rifle until I ran out of ammo. Just moments after, I was shooting with my sniper now, the mission accomplished sounded, enemies were retreating ...

It's a shame that the game is not more open world like is the case with FC2.  By "open world" I mean more than just being able to travel to all parts of the map - it is nice to be able to choose what to do just as you would in real life - FC2 seems the closest to that.  However, your change of strategy sounds intriguing - a diversion from the focus where you're the "one man show" to where you need to coordinate and issue orders effectively.  Still looking forward to the game  :-X

[gvse]

Hey guys,
Long time no see ;)
With regard to this game being less open than FC2, well, it's a military shooter, and you are no lone wolf but a cog in a wheel which means you must accomplish certain objectives as others' lives depend on that. The game gives you choice how to strategically approach an objective and therein lies your freedom.
As for replayability, I think it's infinite because we have a mission editor (well, PC folks do). I am having a hard time learning it but simple skirmishes are pretty easy to pull off. The AI acts so much better in cqc than arma2 and so it's so much more fun to assault a village! :)
I'm loving the game, though I do miss my mp5sd ;)

[PZ]

Good to "see" you again gvse - you have a good point, the mission editor should add replay value to the game.  Do you know if it is possible for people to create mods like in A2?

[gvse]

Good to "see" you again gvse - you have a good point, the mission editor should add replay value to the game.  Do you know if it is possible for people to create mods like in A2?

People have started mod projects already, and if developers excluded such a possibility I guess they would have closed that section of the forum. But we will know for sure once we see an actual mod working in the game.
We should see some dlc in the upcoming weeks, and I hope it will include additional weapons. In fact, the editor has entries for e.g. shotguns, 3 other models of mp5, and other weapons than the ones we have but the models are not there so I think it might be a hint of what is coming. Or not?

[Art Blade]

Hey gvse :) good you're back  :-X

The AI acts so much better in cqc than arma2

erm, "cqc"?

[deadman1]

He probably means CQB, here´s a few abbreviations for you:

CQB = close quarter battle ie indoors and other small spaces
APC = armoured personel carrier
PLA = peoples liberation army = the enemy in OFP:DR

:)

[Art Blade]

thanks matey :-X :-X :-X :)

Now I understand why I had a CQB in a restaurant that had a huge "PLA" sign post in the front yard, which I accidently ran over with my APC, trying to park that thing.  ;D

[deadman1]

Lol good one Art. OK got the game today and have just finished the first mission. First impression: OMG this is so completely different from any other game I have played, it´s a lot harder (have died twice already) and  having to think about orders and stuff is really a new experience. I´m going to leave this until the weekend when I have a lot more time to spend on it.

[Art Blade]

Cool, you're now 2nd in command, hehehe! Yeah, it's hard, I'm telling you :)

Alright, I'm on Mission Four.

Quite cool so far, I started off to take out a couple of tanks, and noticed both me and a team mate had rocket launchers. So I switched from sniper to RL and my good man took out one tank before I could, but luckily, just behind his destroyed tank, popped up my tank which I took out a second later. "On The Double" at its best  :-X

We then marched towards some barracks occupied by the enemy, and ding! I got an artillery strike, mortars GO!, and wham! roadblock cleared. Now we are to take and hold a command tower at an airport, where I am now, and I just had a "LOL-Moment". Check the pic closely.

[smg id=1537 align=center width=400]

What you see there lying on the ground... not the guy! Those chunks of meat with bones sticking out. That was my number four. As you can see, I wanted to patch him up, when something went BANG in front of #4, who was in front of me, and he exploded in a cloud of blood, splashing all over my face, and showering down came his body parts. I was shocked at first, but the same instant Avery, the guy to the left shouted out "FOUR IS DOWN!" - and I dropped on my knees laughing   :D ;D ;D ;D

[Art Blade]

Alright, piece of cake. After bravely running across the airfield and some excellent sniper shots (I was really pleased with myself then), I took out the personnel of the control tower on my own, killed them from the outside, from afar, through their windows  :-* Sniped some riflemen on my way. I then ordered my men to assault and thereafter defend the tower. Of course they reported to me that the building was clear, hehe, and they started to defend it. Inside the tower were ammo crates and some anti-air missile launchers. I knew one objective was to take out an enemy helo... so I grabbed that weapon and waited for the right moment. Funny, after a while a radio message came through, informing us of some enemy helo, and that we should check the place to find an anti-air missile launcher... the helo was already crossing the border of the battlefield. And I was already aiming at him, with a smile on my face when I launched my rocket  :-*

Died 3 times during that mission, which were silly deaths (you know, like "I'm going in anyway") but mission accomplished after only 21 minutes. I think this was relaxing in a way. I got my team through all missions alive and unwounded so far.

Ahem, the conversation about "chunks of meat with bones sticking out" never happened, ok?  :P  ;D The glory of reloaded checkpoints (savegames)  ;)

Here is a vid by codemasters for this mission, which really looks like the actual game (apart from 3rd person views and cams flying around helos) :

[smg id=1565 type=av]

[Art Blade]

OK, a little more serious now  ;D

This game is really good. Once I'm "inside," I feel and think as if I was in fact in a hostile environment. I've learned to scan the area all the time, check trees behind which might be some hidden enemy, skim the horizon every once in a while, I walk crouched most of the time, I am always on the lookout for cover and ditches or the likes, I try to always have something behind me so I don't stick out like a silhouette with a neon sign reading "shoot me"  :) I try to understand the tactical situation and to anticipate the enemy. I actually managed to kill a few from only like 2m distance - to their complete surprise. I was so close once and that enemy didn't move I was in doubt he was a mate. But the crosshair turned red on him = enemy! And I shot him in the head. Tense moments. This is like being part of a story of a film. Good stuff.

[gvse]

Glad you're having fun with the game. So do I! I am one mission ahead of you and I think of going back to square one and starting everything on hardcore as I did some single missions on it, and it was a new and far more tense experience.
Also I am in the process of making a little mission in the editor but at this stage it's harder than in Arma2.
Btw, did you know you could kick the door in by running towards it and then hitting E? I only found out about it yesterday. Cool move.
Oh, cqc= close quarters combat (perhaps cqb is the correct variant?). OK, back to my mission :)

[Art Blade]

Glad you're enjoying it mate :) Three peeps in the boat already :)

I'm now playing the Fifth mission, too. Not bad that mission. It's a rescue mission, one of our helos has crashed and we are to get the boys out. First you help a friendly team survive an attack, then clear an enemy infiltrated and fortified farm of sorts, then clear an AA emplacement, then clear the crash site (the crash team is missing), then go to a nearby village full of resistance. Now it gets hard. Two enemy transport helos and some sort of APC drops in... bloody hell! :) I've just stopped there, I managed to shoot both helos down but I have to reconsider an artillery strike. I used it a little early... Nice though, the village was badly destroyed. What looked somewhat nice before is now a rubble field and smoldering wrecks of houses...  :-X

Cool move, gvse, cheers! Kick a door down, lol... I've got to test that move on some of my mates when they don't shoot properly  ;D

Ah, I think CQC sounds fitting, a combat in close quarters I can imagine. A "battle" might be a little too much :)

[Art Blade]

Oh, a small note on the AI. I think it's excellent. Apart from driving that is  ;) One thing I liked a lot regarding what the AI does, but didn't like it as the guy I am in the game: In the above mentioned village I was assembling that rocket launcher when I heard my men detecting enemies nearby, and I accidently hit the wrong button: I was rendered half naked in the door of a house with a cute pistol in my hands. Then an enemy rounds the corner and sees me. He and I both panicked, he shot half a mag with some assault rifle at me from like 3m distance and kept missing, I was shooting like five rounds around him, which was not even close to aiming - only I realised earlier than him and I aimed at his head and blew his brains out. Quite a thrill... Next time I'll be a little more focussed  :)

[PZ]

Cool - that guy reminds me of the guys in the bar with Little Bill  in the movie "Unforgiven" that were shooting wildly at William Muny, never hitting him once while he calmly gunned each one down.

[Art Blade]

It is damn hard to be cool in that environment. Too cool = instantly dead  :)

[Art Blade]

Ok, Fifth mission, II. Hard w@&k. I decided again to try a different approach, since the first strategy didn't add up the way I wanted.

Something about weapons and strategy here.
You have been equipped with a rocket launcher that bears HEAT and HE missiles, which are not guided and only go one click (km) max. HE has a "soft" explosion, good against people, HEAT cracks armour. Those were the missiles I took out tanks with in an earlier mission. The game briefings make us believe that "we" have superior weapons, but man... so far I only got basic guns and more than once won a battle with weapons (sniper rifles) I took from the enemy.

On an aside: I took a break yesterday, which by the way is nice -- you can quit the game amidst a mission. The next time it will reload your last savegame and you can continue. That is cool, for example in HitMan:BloodMoney you can't do that, it's either finish the mission or start over if you quit.

So this is "my" 2nd part of the mission. I was in the village to free the crashed crew which was hidden in a building somewhere. The easier way would have been to shoot the two transport helos down so the troops inside die from a high crash (mind you, if you shoot the helos down with HE missiles when they are close to the ground, the crews might bloody survive!) or shoot them with HEAT missiles so the helos would explode. That would leave me with two APC that have heavy guns which did kill some of my men during the last attempts, and that was bad. There is an artillery strike left for you if you didn't use it on the AA encampment earlier in the mission, to take out the APCs with now.

Alright, the helos and APCs arrive one after another and add up... the helos disappear though, but the landed crews and the APCs stay... adding up to the heavy resistance in and around the village. Funny how four men should defend a bunch of MIAs found hiding in a house and ocasionally defeat a platoon as a side job. Just great. But... we have to :)

I decided to keep my men near that house and have them defend that area while I allowed the helos to drop their men and disappear. Nothing as good as a good CQC :)
While my men distracted the enemy by killing them slowly, I assembled my RL and took out the first APC, then the second APC (that would have been a reward for the xbox and a trophy for the PS3 by the way). That must have frightened twelve shades of living sh!$ out of the enemy as all of a sudden no one was left... Cowards  ;D

We had been instructed to keep that position until our extraction helo arrived. After a while we heard it arrive and fly away some 500m. As if they wanted us to enjoy the extra bit of a walk over to them. Well, no enemies left, we hurried towards the extraction point and mission accomplished.

That was another thrilling mission. Starts halfways easy and turns into a nightmare :) Glad it's over. All secondary missions completed, taking a deep breath now.

[gvse]

I finished that one by shooting down the heli cause otherwise I kept dying in that village. A pretty hard mission that was.
Just did the stealth assault on oil refinery and yeah that was cool, though on the quick side. There's one surprise there which made me jump just as I let my guard down thinking it's all over.
I like the blue tint of night in this game as it's very atmospheric. Many people complain that the graphics are inferior to Arma2, but I find the ambiance much more appealing and immersive than anything in A2.