Arma 3
[SP/CAMP] Dying Ember
کC_Ne٥ 10 Feb, 2019 @ 5:09am
Feedback - comment section allows only 1000 letters so i am posting this here instead.
So, i just finished the campaign,.....i absolutely agree with the sentiment of the rest of the players....it is one of the best SP campaigns for Arma 3, actually more enjoyable than the vanilla campaign storywise. And, 95% of the voice acting is really, really good. And that is something most community made missions and campaigns fail. I applaude you!

Some feedback; i played with no mods. I usually have access to the VA at all times, but actually trying to get things done realistically with what you found was quite fun. Really made you feel like you had to be really smart and Guerilla like on what and when to attack.

So, in the first proper fighting mission, Point of No Return, i feel it is kinda unrealistic that you are left alone to go into the compound, clear that out and place the explosives while your team leaves for the rally point already. If they really wanted to succedd, would they not go in with 2-3 people and leave one-two standing guard or overwatch? You have to go in alone and take out at least 2 aaf infantry, jeopardizing the goal of placing the explosives.

The cutscene afterwards, Decisions, really is one of or the best cinematic in Arma 3 i have ever seen. Can't even remeber the last movie that captured the futility, distress and overpowering agony of war so well like these couple of minutes. Kudos to that one!

Weeks later indeed was a bit long or too much in one ride. You really have to be smart with your pcmls. Additionally, if a mission has so many quests or objectives, you likely end up running into that typical role playling game problem where you have to suspend believe and do sidequests although the main quest is of way higher importance. But thats really just a minor issue.

During the Contact mission, i kinda felt it a bit unrealistic that Pavlos really would go and deal with the generator problem and promising instead to do it the following days and forcefully asking for the keys to rescue his men if need be. Yes, the intention of helping surely is to build networks and support for the cause with the altian people. Still, i think it would highlight the unpleasantness of civil war even more if Pavlos had to make hard choices, like even hurting locals to achieve his goals. Civil war seems to be a very messy business, and the story would be even more powerful if Pavlos and his men were not able to remain on the 'just side of history' so easily. In the end they are killing a lot of altian soldiers already,....presumeably former commrads with families of their own. I believe morally and practically it wouldn't be easy if you were an active member of an army that stands to make a choice whether to leave the service (if thats even an option legal/contractwise) or stay during an unfolding civil war.

On my way back to the island in the dinghy, i ran into a bug after the team was regrouped and team switch was activated. They wouldn't follow my orders and move to the boat. I could order them to chance stance etc. but they were all stuck and wouldn't walk anywhere. I had to take control over each one individually and walk them down to the boat. Worked out fine though.

The last mission, The Picture,....thats one of those arma missions i hate the most. The cutscenes leading up to it are fantastic and i get what you were trying to achieve. That mission really makes you wanne play chapter two and three for sure. But once you have to flee the Photoshoot at the crossroad,....arma being arma means this is just an exercise in frustration. Trying to drive and run out of there without being insta-shot, reloading this 5-10 times is just not fun. But i managed to get out of there with the car intact and that was that.

Overall, again, one of the best campaings for Arma 3. The civilian side of modern warfare is totally underplayed in arma 3 and you achieved to bring this actually alive as best as can be expected withing the confines of the game. I know you hae stated to not go back to making chapter 2 and 3 happen (yeah, years have passed). But if you did, i sure as hell would play them. Not just because they surely would flesh out the events prior to the East Wind, but i really want ot find out what sinister networks are at play and who that murderer you were supposed to ID in the last mission, and how all of this ties to the Dark Father and how those different groups are linked or opposed to CSAT.

May i ask, what is the main motivation killer for you to not finish the campaign? Just the tedious work of building the missions, or do you think you would not get the old voice actor gang together?

Anyway, you efforts are really appreciated and you have my gratitude for some of the most enjoyable hours in Arma 3 i have had! Cheers mate.
Last edited by کC_Ne٥; 10 Feb, 2019 @ 5:10am
< >
Showing 1-4 of 4 comments
Undeceived  [developer] 10 Feb, 2019 @ 11:39am 
Wow, that was awesome feedback, thanks a lot!

I'll tell you what - that Dark Father plot with all these sinister things happening in the background of the resistance war is what again and again motivated me to try to get back to it. But unfortunately every time I tried it, the burnout from the Make Arma Not War contest times kicked in. Pretty interesting as I never felt something like this in my other projects (whether be it finished ones or WIP). Yeah, this pretty much sums up the reason why I decided to ditch this campaign (the emotional side of things). What I learned from that contest is that I never ever want to feel pressure and strain when it comes to editing (at least "normal" editing - don't ask me what I'd do in another contest. :-D ).

Your points regarding the single missions are all true and justified.

Point of No Return: Absolutely true, but here the AI was the problem (I don't remember if it was the pathfinding or its general stupidness. Anyway I had to gain control over them as for the approaching reinforcements, so this was the best solution for it.

Contact: Yeah :-D You know what - to be honest I never thought about this possibility before releasing the campaign (e.g. Pavlos saying "No, I have a gun, you don't, and now give me your f***** boat key!!") :-D I only noticed this after someone gave me the same feedback as you did and thought: ♥♥♥♥! The guy is right. :-D
The AI can't move in this steep terrain btw. so it is "intended" behaviour that the player has to control every one of the guys.

The Picture: I agree 100 %. :-) Sorry about that.


Thanks a million for your great feedback, also saying what went well and what you liked!

I'd be happy if you checked out my other stuff in my Steam Workshop. So far everything I made is story-driven with emphasis on the characters and the plot. Upcoming stuff too.
کC_Ne٥ 10 Feb, 2019 @ 12:29pm 
Cheers mate. Yeah i have added your other stuff to my list of 'things to play'. Speaking of which...i have setup themed collections (diving, helos, campaigns, night ops, combined arms scenarios and such as private steam collections) so i can quickly subscribe to stuff whenever i feel like playing a particular type of scenario (since arma 3's steam workshop scenario is one big un-ordered list and gets quite messy very quickly). So my 'campaign collection' contains a good deal of released campaigns, and right now i am playing through them in 'proper sequence' as per their individual description. Yours being the first obviously, next one will be ''Deliverance'', then ''In Our Time and Bell Tolls'', then from the opposite view the ''Persian Tale'' and ''Call Sign Minotaur''.

Just a thought on bringing closure to Dying Ember; you could drastically cut down on the length and number of missions, scrap chapter 2 and 3 so to speak, and totally focus on doing a handful of mission that explore and tie-up the story. Maybe totally forget about making great armaesque missions, and simply focus on the story. ambience and scenary part. Arma 3 is quite unique in that this sandbox and the community made campaigns allow to explore a conflict from multiple sides and flesh out a world in a level of detail very few developers can themselves.

But, its absolutely fine to let things rest and stand on its own! Schönen Sonntag Abend noch :)
Undeceived  [developer] 11 Feb, 2019 @ 10:09am 
Callsign Minotaur is top notch and I assume you already played Resist. These are must have. The other ones are great too, some of them were released for the MANW contest, Deliverance getting the third place.
Oh, and one other recommendation for your list - something a little bit different (only two episodes out so far unfortunately): Last Tango in Tanoa. 😊😊

Even though your idea regarding Dying Ember is good, I don't think I'll get back to it again. Thinking about it makes me a bit sad to be honest but I'll spend the time well and I believe that it will be worth it. 👍

See you and thanks again for getting back here.
کC_Ne٥ 11 Feb, 2019 @ 10:20am 
No worries mate. Yeah i played Resist a while back i think. Thanks for the tip "Last Tango in Tanoa"...and sure enough, i found this already bookmarked in my Non Military Scenarios collection :)

God there is so much stuff to play in arma....
< >
Showing 1-4 of 4 comments
Per page: 1530 50