[MP-Ryan]

Battuta, PM sent to you.

[Duidalus]

Normally I just lurk around here, but as with BP AoA, I need to convey my thanks to the BP team for creating this great campaign. I really enjoyed the soundtrack too as it simply is an essential part of my gaming experience with any game.

2 simple words are enough to describe the awesomeness of WiH p1: Holy ****.

[General Battuta]

Normally I just lurk around here, but as with BP AoA, I need to convey my thanks to the BP team for creating this great campaign. I really enjoyed the soundtrack too as it simply is an essential part of my gaming experience with any game.

2 simple words are enough to describe the awesomeness of WiH p1: Holy ****.

Thank you so much. It's really heartwarming to see all these people coming out of the cracks. People forget that this community is a lot bigger than it looks!

[Firartix]

Weeeeell
I told you i'd come back as soon as i had played a few missions but it was too good so i decided to finish it first D:

Anyway!
(NOTE: There's obviously more bad things than good ones, since most of the bad points i'm going to tell aren't/are crap)
EDIT: For the record, the "aren't/are crap" meant "aren't bad points/are fake ones". There, i'm cleared of guilty thoughts.

UBER-GUD stuff:
1 - The plot and all missions are good and ultra-immersive... THIS IS CRAP! Now i'm almost crying about how lame logistics on EVE Online are boring to play, and i have to write posts on HLP and listen to WiH music at same time (imported it, it was too coolz) to feel better.
2 - The checkpoint system is ONE OF THE BEST IDEA EVER!
3 - The capship playing mission is fun and all, with plenty good ideas, but a bit disturbing at start. I really liked the tactical and gunnery messages, that's immersive (In fact i almost started shouting some stuff like that while playing EVE Online then >_>)
4 - The interactive stuff. I was expecting so much from it that when you get to contact eris tacnet, i paused the game to note down the code, and then tried to write it w/ keyboard...



BAD stuff! (at least, imo)
1 - The checkpoint system, however, cause so many mission bugs D: i self destructed several times, had my wingmen go boom on load, had messages and dialog sequence replay for no reason, and even once I had simms getting gunned down in the middle of a mission (probably a SEXP not being applied or something, idk)
2 - On the last mission, CTD tends to happen when you die. Couldn't quite reproduce or debug.
3 - This campaign makes you want to threaten the mission makers so they hurry finishing part 2
4 - The capship campaign NEEDS more missions! Really, i think you should have included 2 or 3 missions instead of one - because one isn't enough at all to get a good overview of the tactical possibilities and stuff.... When i was told it was only one mission, i though this was a BoE. BoEs make perfect single-mission stuff imo, you get plenty stuff to do.
5 - The last mission definitely is too hard D: ! I could finish most of missions on Insane without (too much :°) problems, but i had to retry the very last multiple times on very easy....
6  - It was too short, i mean, story wise, i really didn't think it'd end that way (game wise it was cool too). I know it's part 1, but it's neither kindda an end or a big break imo..... well thinking about story it should be, but i sure didn't feel it that way.
7 - (WARNING: Personal POV following) The UEF ships needs more railguns and less torpedoes, they'll be more classy !
8 - Missing LODs make using debug builds on the last mission impossible, since the debug build lags soooo much and scalling down settings won't help then. I guess it can cause harm to old GPUs too - but i take it that the LODs will be done in time

[General Battuta]

4 - The interactive stuff. I was expecting so much from it that when you get to contact eris tacnet, i paused the game to note down the code, and then tried to write it w/ keyboard...

That's the one thing that we didn't make interactive that I really wish we had. But it seems like everybody thinks it is and presses the keys. 

Thank you for your review! We'd definitely like to do more capship missions and we're hard at work on R2.

[MP-Ryan]

Having finally finished the campaign, I have some more comments... BUT first, because I think criticism should always be exhausted so praise stands alone, I have a couple comments/suggestions about that last mission around Saturn (yes, even after the patched version):

Spoiler:

Battuta, I got your PM reply.  I think the difficulty in the fray after the checkpoint (prior to the checkpoint is absolutely fine) comes from a variety of sources.
1.  The testers all had extensive practice with Slammers, making the chewing up of the last 5 wings an easy affair for them.  By contrast, those of us who are playing WiH for the first time are relying on their aspect-lock, which doesn't seem to be as effective as the advice testers gave in other threads.  Those wings don't drop fast enough for your average player.
2.  Because the fighter wings don't drop quickly, it's incredibly frustrating to get an order to kill no less than 8 beam turrets while you still have somewhere between 4 (my best so far, on Easy) and 16 enemy fighters left to deal with.
3.  If the sheer number of beam cannons weren't enough, both Deimos corvettes spin rapidly on their X and Y axes, making Paveways useless (they just crash into the hull) and Archer use highly difficult.  Combined with the flak as you attempt to fly around the damn things, this quickly ruins your day if any fighters are left.  Not to mention the 70 (now 80, you've proposed) seconds you have to drop the cannons.

The patch you gave addressed the issue of the Alta dying during the Carthage-surrender sequence.

The issue which is causing mission failure is the beam cannon directive.  Rather than adjust to give you more time, I'd suggest the directive still fire when you have fighters in the sky, BUT set the two Deimos on direct courses for the frigates (eliminate the axis rotation), and reduce the number of beam turrets you have to kill (to the two front turrets on each vessel).  Following the destruction of both frontal beams on both corvettes, fire an event to roll them over and only then have the player destroy the aft turrets.  You could divide the overload sequence into two separate 45-second duration events, with 15 second spacing between them for the course change, rather than just lengthening the time given to kill all the turrets at once.  I notice there is already in-mission dialogue about execution of a roll to bring other turrets to bear, so this could be tied in.  Right now, the debrief when you fail says you need to kill all four turrets within the time-span, and the directive encompasses all four turrets (despite the fact that not all 4 necessarily will fire in an overload).

It also helps if your fellow Wargods attack the Deimos turrets.  That behaviour seems to be improved in the mission patch you gave me, as they finished up one of the Deimos corvettes shortly after I disarmed the other one.

Other than that, the rest of the mission is fine now.

Now then, having finished the campaign, here are my final-ish comments:

Spoiler:

I only recently reinstalled FSO to play Vassago's Dirge, and I'd been eagerly anticipating WiH after playing AoA (when it was first released).  I certainly wasn't disappointed.  I've already given a number of comments about the writing, but I have to briefly reiterate:  the backstory, character development, and mission writing in this mod is without a doubt the best in any FS mod I've played to date.  You guys seriously upp'ed the bar here, and you're well on par with or well past professional game studios on the writing side.  As I said early, it's almost literary.  Probably the best part about the writing is how mature it is - it's very gritty wartime drama, and the tone would be just as well suited to fiction about conventional war in this time period as it is to a sci-fi universe.  The writing had me wanting to basically forget about playing the game and just read through the plot elements - which tells you how immersive it is.

Mission design... while I would have appreciated a little more variety in the role the pilot ultimately ends up playing - as I said in another thread, most of what the pilot does is space superiority (and I hear this will be different in R2, so that's good) - the missions themselves were executed brilliantly, so much so that I didn't actually mind not doing much but space superiority.  The only small issue I had with some of them is the length - more checkpoints would have been extremely useful, though it was mentioned that you had to work within a hard-coded variable limit.  Aside from that, we had diverse settings, diverse goals, and certainly some creative FREDing going on.  And the use of music to convey emotion during the mission gameplay (and cutscenes) was pure genius.  Someone missed their calling as a music editor in film.  The missions made this one of those games (I refuse to think of WiH as just a mod) that you actually feel like you're involved in the story, which is a rarity in flight games (certainly, retail FS2 did not give this feeling nearly as well as WiH has).

The visuals were incredible, which we've come to expect - even when I was getting blown to tiny pieces or getting 'Primary Objective Failed' flashed across my screen in the final mission, I couldn't help but admire just how damn pretty this was.  No complaints on the visual end, though model optimization would be an added bonus.

One nagging drawback, which has been brought up by others, is the lack of real information about weapon choices.  I don't think I actually found a use for the Gattler, and it wasn't until late in the game that I discovered just how useful Darts can be.  Those drawbacks are easy fixes though - additional command briefing stages and tech room entries will take care of that easily.  The other slightly off-putting issue was jargon - there were a few jargon issues and acronyms that got thrown out there during in-mission dialogue that took away from the immersion factor because you can't help sitting in your chair thinking "What does that stand for?  I'm a pilot in a war, I should know what that stands for."  I wish I could remember which mission in particular made me notice that.

Lastly... the ending/cliffhanger.  Brilliant work.  I identified strongly with the Federation throughout the campaign, but I couldn't help admiring Steele in the same crushing moment that the Imperieuse jumped in and ruined the day.  The final sequences were great, and the last moments of the following cutscene when the Fedayeen [aside:  having recently read the Dune novels, this word bugged me because of its similarity to Fedaykin, which then set me wondering if that was intentional and served as a bit of a distraction every time the word cropped up] jumped in set my heart pumping.  As for the Bei's, father and son... well, all of it just makes me itch to play through R2.

In terms of overall feel and gameplay, WiH stands all on its own among FSO mods.  Brilliant work, gentlemen and ladies.

[General Battuta]

Thank you, MP-Ryan. I may take your suggestion about the beam overloads.

[Vip]

4 - The interactive stuff. I was expecting so much from it that when you get to contact eris tacnet, i paused the game to note down the code, and then tried to write it w/ keyboard...

That's the one thing that we didn't make interactive that I really wish we had. But it seems like everybody thinks it is and presses the keys. 

You... don't have to press the keys ?  So you're telling me NOW, after several dozen tries at this mission ? Oh come on. I suspected that there was something fishy with the heavy lag after I pressed the keys, but hey, this whole interactive thing is fishy in the first place. And now you're telling me I didn't have to press those keys ? DAMMIT.

[MetalDestroyer]

How many missions have WiH ?
I'm stuck on Delanda Est mission.

Spoiler:

Normally, I play on Medium difficulty, but this one make my day and I play this mission X times before decreasing the difficulty. And now, on Very easy, I couldn't progress any more. The Indus is destroyed or if I go to the checkpoint it's both the Katana/Arta Orde (spelling ??) which went go boom. I don't have enought time to neutralize those deimos beams. My Wingmens seems to ignore my order.

PS: I didn't read previous message concerning this mission, since I've just notice they are talking about tis mission.

[General Battuta]

How many missions have WiH ?
I'm stuck on Delanda Est mission.

Spoiler:

Normally, I play on Medium difficulty, but this one make my day and I play this mission X times before decreasing the difficulty. And now, on Very easy, I couldn't progress any more. The Indus is destroyed or if I go to the checkpoint it's both the Katana/Arta Orde (spelling ??) which went go boom. I don't have enought time to neutralize those deimos beams. My Wingmens seems to ignore my order.

PS: I didn't read previous message concerning this mission, since I've just notice they are talking about tis mission.

Yeah I think we need to patch this ASAP.

At the moment the player has been given ten additional seconds to take out the overcharge beams and the Katana and AO have improved active armor as well. I may further reduce the number of beams that overload, or implement a rolling overload like MP-Ryan suggested. If you have feedback supply it now.

Testing is underway on a patched Delenda Est to reduce difficulty and clear up a few mission logic bugs players have identified. Expect a hotfix in the near future.

[Infamus]

i finished my little weak, i made the DoS Archer into the Tesla, it probably really needs balancing  but i did all of the effects to make it look like a blue-lightning cannon, oh and some sounds for the weapons.

I know that the Tesla's Tech description is insanely long, but it is for post-production explanation (the low ranking pilot thing, uh, I just thought it necessary for unknown reasons

I left the patch mission in there though.

[attachment deleted by ninja]

[General Battuta]

I believe I'm observing the 'unpredictable Strike 2 arrival' bug in DE as well, and it appears related to checkpoint loads, but I can't guarantee a fix with the next patch. I believe the sequence has been rendered pretty fairly playable on Medium for the newcomer.

Spoiler:

One of the biggest problems with Checkpoint 1 appears to be the fact that it places the Indus and Yangtze too close to the Carthage, thus compressing the time available for the player to shoot down the Carthage's air wing to the absolute minimum. I'll try to recalibrate the checkpoint coordinates to buy the player more time, but it may need to wait for a future patch.

Testing underway. The patch will also contain a little tiny bit of extra content in various missions for the observant, various tiny bugfixes, and a way to account for complete jerks shooting down the shuttle in m13.

[The E]

i finished my little weak, i made the DoS Archer into the Tesla, it probably really needs balancing  but i did all of the effects to make it look like a blue-lightning cannon, oh and some sounds for the weapons.

I know that the Tesla's Tech description is insanely long, but it is for post-production explanation (the low ranking pilot thing, uh, I just thought it necessary for unknown reasons

I left the patch mission in there though.

Slight tip:
When writing XSTR entries, make sure you have either a tstrings.tbl for translations, or set the number to -1. You assigned numbers starting from 3300 for no reason.
Also, spellchecking is king.

[Infamus]

OOPS (O.O) >>

[Rodo]

SO WHERE'S DARIUS???

I demand his appearance in this thread so we can hail him properly.

and maybe send him some love kisses..

[General Battuta]

Can I get your debug log? Or did I miss it earlier?

Feel free to paste it into the post in code tags.

yep, here it is again.  Just FYI: Jackknife group jumped in before the order was given in this particular playthrough

I've figured out exactly what the problem is here; see related thread just posted.

[thedjstu]

Can I get your debug log? Or did I miss it earlier?

Feel free to paste it into the post in code tags.

yep, here it is again.  Just FYI: Jackknife group jumped in before the order was given in this particular playthrough

I've figured out exactly what the problem is here; see related thread just posted.

Nah butta, my problem was ordering gamma to disarm the leander, not the chkpoint.

[General Battuta]

Can I get your debug log? Or did I miss it earlier?

Feel free to paste it into the post in code tags.

yep, here it is again.  Just FYI: Jackknife group jumped in before the order was given in this particular playthrough

I've figured out exactly what the problem is here; see related thread just posted.

Nah butta, my problem was ordering gamma to disarm the leander, not the chkpoint.

Whoops! Should have quoted someone else.

Disarm/disable orders have been removed in the patch version too.

[Troyd]

Loving what I have played so far!

However, are there suppose to be voice overs like in AoA?  Or is that a directors cut thing

[General Battuta]

Loving what I have played so far!

However, are there suppose to be voice overs like in AoA?  Or is that a directors cut thing

If a director's cut of War in Heaven comes out, it'l have voice, but we didn't get to it for R1.