http://ballisticaddonstudios.com/nucleus/ en-us Nucleus CMS v3.22 Weblog http://backend.userland.com/rss http://ballisticaddonstudios.com/nucleus//nucleus/nucleus2.gif http://ballisticaddonstudios.com/nucleus/ http://ballisticaddonstudios.com/nucleus/index.php?itemid=14 here.]]> Game Tech http://ballisticaddonstudios.com/nucleus/index.php?itemid=14 Wed, 8 Feb 2006 02:13:45 -0800 http://ballisticaddonstudios.com/nucleus/index.php?itemid=13 here.]]> General http://ballisticaddonstudios.com/nucleus/index.php?itemid=13 Wed, 5 Oct 2005 00:52:59 -0700 http://ballisticaddonstudios.com/nucleus/index.php?itemid=12 here.]]> Ballistic News http://ballisticaddonstudios.com/nucleus/index.php?itemid=12 Mon, 3 Oct 2005 05:00:59 -0700 http://ballisticaddonstudios.com/nucleus/index.php?itemid=11 Dashboard Widget is in the works.The widget will contain the latest updates to this blog, important links to BAS2, screenshots of the day and perhaps a countdown timer for BAS2 projects with announced released dates.

We are still playing with some ideas but expect to see beta sceens in the next days.]]> General http://ballisticaddonstudios.com/nucleus/index.php?itemid=11 Wed, 21 Sep 2005 07:18:45 -0700 http://ballisticaddonstudios.com/nucleus/index.php?itemid=10 RSS feeds using Firefox (the BAS 2 team's preferred Internet browser) or other news collation tools, this BAS 2 blog also comes as an RSS feed for your convenience. You can access the feed by clicking this link.

]]> Ballistic News http://ballisticaddonstudios.com/nucleus/index.php?itemid=10 Sun, 18 Sep 2005 04:36:15 -0700 http://ballisticaddonstudios.com/nucleus/index.php?itemid=9 game scripting with Python over at Sylphis3d.com. It talks about how game engines should be structured as operating systems with actors being the processes. The proposed design is based on a special version of Python called Stackless and already successfully implemented in their own Sylphis3D game engine.]]> Game Tech http://ballisticaddonstudios.com/nucleus/index.php?itemid=9 Sat, 17 Sep 2005 00:57:00 -0700 http://ballisticaddonstudios.com/nucleus/index.php?itemid=8
A few years ago the British Army ran some rather thoughtful recruitment adverts on television. In the most memorable the viewer sees through the eyes of an officer on the ground in a nameless African country. During an obviously tense situation an African soldier is shouting at the officer and beginning to wave his rifle about. Then the whole colour balance of the picture changes abruptly and we realise the officer has removed her/his sunglasses to make eye-contact with the soldier, who appears to calm down almost instantly.

The advert was an attempt to illustrate the human aspect of modern soldiering, and to play upon the viewer's natural prejudices, but I think it also holds some valuable lessons for our community as well.The AI in OFP understands threats. The AI understands that if most of an infantry squad has been decimated, the survivors are likely to run away. Conversely, the AI understands how to be merciless when enjoying numerical superiority. The AI does killing pretty well, and it's not bad at crawling (away) either. The AI does 'afraid' and it does 'murderous'. However, what if the AI could extend its repertoire to include such postures as 'menacing' and 'as nervous as you'?

Picture the following scenario:

Your convoy of NATO trucks has reached a Resistance road-block. The fighters on the barrier are no more than militiamen: young, poorly-armed and with hardly any training. But there are twenty of them, and fewer of you, and whilst you sit stationary in soft-skinned vehicles they are all around you in half-cover. These boys - for they are no more than that - are nervous, but under these circumstances they are more likely to opt for 'fight' over 'flight', and at this range anyone can be effective with an automatic weapon.

You dismount, and walk over to speak with the one in charge. The Resistance is officially neutral - but in this situation the adolescents with rifles hold the upper hand, and quite possibly suspect your trucks are carrying some supplies they would like. Perhaps they would let you pass if you could accidentally misplace a few crates, but you cannot allow that to happen. Since shooting is not an option, you must smile, make a few jokes about the your navigator's map-reading skills, and then back your trucks away. Slowly.

There might be another road through this forest, but now you are kicking yourself for refusing the offer of an armoured escort earlier in the mission. Two APCs would have been enough to alter the balance of power at the road-block, and convince the boys to wave your trucks through with a smile. You might have thrown chocolates, they might have thrown stones; who knows? Nobody would have been shot, and you would not be here staring at your map again.

Something that set OFP apart (and still does), was its remarkable capacity to offer the player non-linear solutions to missions. However, just as future versions of the software promise higher standards of visual simulation and physical modelling, something many of us would like to see is a more in-depth approach to the psychology of AI controlled actors.

As a mission-maker I have long wanted to explore peace-keeping scenarios; situations where a buttoned-up APC will evoke a different response from a foot-patrol; where switching your squad from the equivalents of 'aware' to 'danger' could cause the neutrals to panic and start shooting.

Even in cold-war scenarios such as the original CWC campaign, more nuances of human interaction would open up a realm of new possibilities: soldiers that surrender, wounded hostiles that cry out for help and to which your medics may attend and be spared from enemy fire.

Going back to our scenario with the trucks and the road-block, one can envisage scenarios where success is gained by making astute choices, adopting correct postures and saying the right things, rather than through violence.

Over the coming weeks and months this blog will, amongst many other things, attempt to explore this topic and make some suggestions for developers, mission-makers and modders.

Hopefully one day soon there will be more options than killing and crawling.]]> OFP2 Ideas http://ballisticaddonstudios.com/nucleus/index.php?itemid=8 Tue, 13 Sep 2005 17:45:11 -0700 http://ballisticaddonstudios.com/nucleus/index.php?itemid=7 BIS Forums submitted by FatNinjaKid. Thought it was interesting enough to make mention of it in today's blog entry.From the post:
First you assume the role of soldier 1; you hit the "record button" and then the editor will record every action that you perform with that single soldier; next you assume the role of soldier 2 and record his behaviour; then you record the behaviour soldier 3 etc.... until you have recorded a complete behaviour macro for your whole squad (essentially scripting behaviour- but in a more humane way). Obviously the AI would still have to be able to make minor adjustments like selecting targets or avoiding obstacles.

Expect to see more ideas (both homegrown and interesting ideas from the community) being posted in future blog entries.]]> OFP2 Ideas http://ballisticaddonstudios.com/nucleus/index.php?itemid=7 Tue, 13 Sep 2005 01:31:28 -0700 http://ballisticaddonstudios.com/nucleus/index.php?itemid=5 "Even within the genre of pseudo-military simulators, there are clear differences from game to game to what the nature of conflict actually is. Put simply, Flashpoint's world is a world away from Battlefield 2's."A while ago I stumbled across this very well designed and stylish online gaming magazine called The Escapist. What attracted me was a link to an article called "Culture Wargames". The whole magazine however, is very well put together with extremely well thought out articles and excellent commentary from many industry pundits and observers.

Its presentation is nothing short of gorgeous and once again it is difficult to believe that something of this kind of quality is sitting out there on the Net for free and for all to enjoy.The Culture Wargames article focused on the current media attention and focus being placed on war games and their perceived threat to current societal values. Surprisingly there is reference to both Operation Flashpoint and Bohemia Interactive in the piece.

If you would like to read about a more human side to the Bohemia Interactive team the article provides this and a lot of intelligent discussion of the FPS genre.

A small extract from the article:

"Bohemia is actually one of the more idealistic groups of developers I've met. They talk about their moral discomfort in creating a game about a real conflict, recalling a specific project based on Vietnam. The team disposed of months of work because they thought it impossible to make a game that was both accurate and enjoyable."]]> Site Watch http://ballisticaddonstudios.com/nucleus/index.php?itemid=5 Sat, 10 Sep 2005 03:39:00 -0700 http://ballisticaddonstudios.com/nucleus/index.php?itemid=2
There were several reasons for this, some understandable, some perhaps simply due to BAS being a team of perfectionists each with a drive to out do the last effort only to then react (some may say poorly) to community feedback.

It is always a fine line when creating new material for an online community. Addon making began to (and perhaps still does) polarizes the community into those that are grateful for the efforts of anyone who contributes and those who believe that if you can't stand any form of minute criticism then you probably shouldn't be releasing stuff for the public to use. Both camps have their points but I don't really want to open up that can o' worms in this post.

With the impending release of Armed Assault and the community looking to the horizon for a hugely anticipated OFP2 it is time to look to the future. More importantly, I would like to address the question; What does the future hold for Ballistic Addon Studios with the promise of a new OFP engine to work with?Enter Ballistic Addon Studios version 2. Soon we will have a new logo, a new image and hopefully with this blog, a new approach and philosophy for BAS. The hardest part of any endeavour is to re-invent what you are doing. To build upon the successes of previous ventures but at the same time to re-evaluate what you are doing. Look over yourself with a critical eye and ask yourself the hard questions.

Recently, BAS has been doing this and what you are reading now are the first steps on the journey (which we hope you will continue to travel with us) in which we will discuss where we have been, where we are, where we are going and what we think is the best way to get there.

We are calling ourselves BAS2 in order to emphasise that we want to fundamentally change our approach to our work, the community and how we share our contributions with them. We are going back to basics and hopefully like the mythical Pheonix that rose from the ashes of its fiery destruction, we will transform ourselves into a studio that once again recaptures the essence of what it is to be a great contibutor to what is a phenomenal game.

So what is BAS2? Put simply it will be the new portal for our work and thoughts. The new BAS2 will not just be a place to download our addons and read about our work. It will also be a place in which we share our thoughts on a variety of topics that grab our interest in the context of addon making and OFP.

This blog will be an important part of that portal. In the coming months we will share perspectives on addons we like, sites we find valuable, reminisce about the old days of OFP and talk about what we would like to see in future OFP products. We also will share our opinions on a variety of OFP related topics and the happenings within the community.

The new portal will also share more of the techniques and tools we use to make our addons. We want to pay more attention to tutorials, share the research we do and make BAS2 a repository of knowledge for all the resources that are used to make up our addons. What I hope to personally see is BAS2 becoming a more open and transparent studio and recapture the respect of the community that once held us (and hopefully still does hold us) in high regard.

Expect to see more posted on our manifesto; the ideals to which we want to subscribe in order to make our addons the best they can be. We hope you continue to read this blog and share with us the journey that will take place to re-invent ourselves in the run up to both Armed Assault and OFP2.

Does this mean BAS2 will definitely come back and make addons for AA and OFP2? This is a difficult question to answer. A lot will depend on whether we can recapture what we had and whether the team can once again be motivated by our new approach and philosophy to try and relive the glory days of some of the great addons of which we are very proud. At this stage, I can't promise anything. The one thing I'm sure of though is whether BAS returns to addon making or not, the BAS2 portal should provide a lot of food for thought which other addon makers or community members may find valuable for their future projects.

My hope is that, if BAS2 cannot give to the community in the forms of addons anymore, the least we can try is to give the community the benefit of our experience, knowledge and insight and leave it to them to either disregard our ideas or take them on board in their own activities and creations.

The future for OFP certainly does seem bright despite the obvious aging OFP has been showing lately. My hope is the BAS2 will be a vehicle that helps make that future even brighter.

This blog will be an ecclectic mix of observations, trips down OFP memory lane and opinions on OFP and the activities within the community. A lot of the material posted here will eventually make it onto our new website as content there once we have it up and running.

We are also recruiting new members under the leadership of Deadmeat and some of the old A-Team have been rubbing the sleep out of their eyes and thinking about what we can do with the new tools on the horizon. Again, not making any promises at this stage but part of the idea of BAS2 is to recapture the enjoyment of modding for OFP and through this enjoyment I hope BAS will lift itself out of it's hibernation and get back on track with the addon making process.

Expect to see this blog and other elements of the BAS2 site change frequently as we experiment with new designs and look and feel. This is one giant beta experiment at the moment. A public beta you could say as you will be witness to changes as they happen and as we decide what we think works and doesn't work.

I hope you continue to enjoy this blog and whatever site eventuates for BAS2.
]]> Ballistic News http://ballisticaddonstudios.com/nucleus/index.php?itemid=2 Fri, 9 Sep 2005 01:11:25 -0700