This post will detail changes to our TWC configs & framework. Not everything will be logged here, in an effort to reduce additional workload but also because it'll overwhelm the more important information by sheer quantity.

Information regarded as important is either a noticeable change in how operate with that mechanic, or an issue that was reported to us by multiple people.

Multiple updates may be summarised in one post, say covering that of a week or so. We'll try our best to match that of a repo update, but again, some repo updates may simply be a minor fix of no-note just required to fix a back end issue, or even a key update.

Medical changes for the time being will remain separate in the medical adjustments thread, as minor fixes in that can be regarded as being significant.

If you're interested in following even the small updates, you can follow the git updates either via the Github website or the dedicated channel in Discord. Be aware, some messages may be cryptic or a crying emoji due to frustration.

CHANGED: Airborne - Parachuting.

In order to now do a drop, the pilot has to ace interact with the aircraft and "Prep Jump". This will open the ramp. Passengers will now be able to jump if it has been "prepped" and the aircraft is above 150 meters. You now jump by ace interacting with the aircraft, and hitting jump out.

Individuals will be thrown out the back like before, but there's a bit more variance in spacing off the ramp to help avoid collisions. You are able to redistribute your weight, in order to affect the drop. You should avoid landing on top of objects. A bad drop will result in leg injury, this includes your speed/angle. Keeping hands off should be fine. Landing on an object may result in being ArmA'd, will require further testing.

Once landed, you'll find your parachute on the ground behind you. The pilot can ace interact with the aircraft and cancel the jump, closing the ramp and preventing people from jumping. Whilst in the parachute, you can ace interact with it and cut it. Currently, there's no reserve. This is to help avoid a potential issue where individuals get stuck in their chute, be that in say a tree or on the ground due to ArmA.

CHANGED: Vehicles, excluding WW2.

All the vehicles that we operate are now found under their respective force type within the editor, both COIN and symmetrical variants. This should hopefully help mission creators identify what options we have available, as well as make it easier to prep missions/be consistent with training.

As part of this, I've also added equipment to the vehicles storage. There should mostly be medical supply in every vehicle. Most ground based vehicles will also have some section resupply in them. The main method of resupply is still predominately the ammo-boxes. I will remove the non medical equipment from vehicles if individuals just take from vehicles without asking 2ics. The potential havoc in an operation where a resupply comes up with a 1/4 filled vehicle when desperately needed won't be a laugh.

FIXED: Knocking. You should now be able to knock on vehicles again.

FIXED: @twc_bloodlust. Fixed texture alpha channels. Was displaying as black instead of being transparent.

ADDED: ace_fixes. New PBO to house fixes for ACE3 related issues. Introduced to prevent paradropped items going through the ground, as witnessed on an operation a few weeks ago.

ADJUSTED: @twc_config_public: Field testing some AI spotting changes on the public, in the hopes of making more aggressive and long range engagements. If this goes well, these changes will be mirrored in operations.

ADDED/ADJUSTED: @twc_config/@twc_framework: I've added several back blast/overpressure parameters to weapon systems that didn't have it prior, or did but were wildly underwhelming, including but not limited to: Land Rover Milan, Challenger 2, LAW 80, and ILAW HEAT/HEDP.

ADDED: @twc_config: I've given more "feels" to being near the Challenger 2 and Warriors, when they're under-way. Think Mastiff for the effect. I'll be doing this "feels" pass on more vehicles, as I come by them in the future and tweaking previous "feels".

ADDED: @twc_framework: We've reworked the ammo-boxes system. Fed up with those that constantly break the rules, and cause greater downtime because of it, we've added an in-game limitation to their access, blocking those that don't go the proper route of enquiry.

Now, 2iCs/Section Commanders will need to ACE interact with the Platoon Sergeant to request an ACE report form. This is an item in your inventory, that you can either double click to fill out, or do self-interact -> reports -> fill out. This will pop up with an interface, where you will need to select on the drop downs the piece of equipment you need, as well as specify the quantity needed.

Once filled out, you will need to get these back to your platoon sergeant in a timely manner. As over time these forms sustain damage, and may be lost - weather greatly affects this, to simulate it either blowing away in the wind, or being destroyed by rain.

Once submitted, the Platoon Sergeant will then need to go over it, confirm it, and then submit it to the updated ammo box object. This will allow the 2iC/Section Commander to access the crate, where there will be some of the items requested, in random quantity, as well as some that weren't requested. You will have around 10 seconds to grab all the gear you need, at which point the inventory menu will close, and the box will become inaccessible again.

We've removed all the items and weapons from non-player units, so you cannot loot them to circumvent this realism restriction. You're probably now thinking about what to do when you run out of ammo in an emergency, well, we've implemented an untrained ACE report system for that. You will be able to request one of these forms from the Platoon Sergeant or Platoon Commander, which will call in an aerial resupply mission, at the expense of attachment raffle chances.

We'll be tweaking the numbers of this after we get a good sample size of 52 operations to go on.

ADDED: @twc_framework: Better Sling Loading (hopefully). The vanilla sling loading system is quite awful (quite frankly doesn't work for us), and as per Timmes request, I've located our old Advanced Sling Load script and ported it to the framework. Whilst doing so, I did some minor optimisations and customisations as well.

For instance, only the helicopter pilot can deploy/drop/retract ropes, all done via ACE interaction from within the helicopter. Attaching ropes is still done the old way, via scroll wheel interact. Please note, it is a little buggy at times when picking up the rope. I haven't sustained injury doing this yet, but I will keep an eye on this moving forward, making adjustments as needed.

This is still in a very early state, but I wanted to get this out as soon as possible. That way we have a functional replacement for the current non-functional system, and allows for people to train on an important aspect of Utility duties.

Currently planned expansion: changing entirely to ace interact, shorten/extend ropes function, multiple sling-load points (for Chinook), sound feedback where possible (for example, a winch hitting its limit if the rope is too far to attach), making it possible for guys on the ground to detach the object and a blacklist system to disable the capability on certain helicopters, like the Gazelle. I do not have a time-line for these at the moment, and the blacklist/rope extension/shortening functions are my highest priority.

ADDED: @twc_framework autothrow_disposables. I've brought back a function that we used to have in RHS, whereby once a disposable launcher was used it was thrown away automatically. I've ported this, and tweaked it a bit. It should work with any launcher that supports the ACE_Disposable system. I think this helps with removing the immersion breaking part of having to go into inventory and dropping it, or running around with a used tube.

FIXED: @twc_framework parachutes. Our overly starched parachutes would occasionally not lay flat when we hit the ground. So now it shouldn't spawn in that scenario. If you catch this happening again, please tell me.

FIXED: @twc_framework ropes. Some fixes have gone out to bugs noted in the sling load script, there's a few that do remain and are being worked on.

ADDED: @twc_framework UI. I've added the bearing readout to the Foxhound vehicle. If you come across any of our vehicles that don't allow you to read out the bearing, please tell me so I can add our UI support to it.

ADJUSTED: @twc_config ammoboxes. I've changed the model of the launcher boxes to visually match that of its contents, to aid immersion and game-play. It totally wasn't an oversight to begin with... As I write this I remembered, I'll also make the section launcher resupply boxes per era/force type, that come pre-mixed.

REMOVED: @twc_framework ropes. Despite best efforts to fix problems that showed themselves, it unfortunately was to no avail. For the time being I have removed the ropes from the repo so we don't get action menu gore interrupting play. I have taken this an opportunity to do the much wanted overhaul anyway, so it'll come back functionally a bit different too.

ADDED: @twc_framework framework. I've added a module "Movable Units", that can be triggered to set synced stationary units to move again. Ideal say for units to relocate from a defensive position to counter-attack after a trigger fires.

ADJUSTED: @twc_framework framework. I've adjusted "CommandMessage" to be better at choosing the top two online ranks, as well as to correctly form a diary entry when received. Testing to be done tonight.

ADJUSTED @twc_config_ww2 twc_ww2_faction. I've increased the size of some vests and a bag at the request of Crow to be in-line with our standard equipment.

ADDED: @twc_framework framework. Intel Action Hint with Variable. This is just like the standard action hint, with an additional box for the name of a GLOBAL variable to set to true once someone has triggered the hint. This means that you could have a trigger condition on the variable, so it'll activate once you're certain someone got the intel.

ADDED: @twc_boys_at_rifle.

Introducing the Boys for all your early World War 2 anti-tank needs! Grenades are a thing of the past with this sweet 13.9mm anti-tank rifle. Operated by only a single unlucky guy. Detrack those pesky half-tracks, knock the gun off that silly Panzer III, or send Panzer II's to an early grave with this bad Boy(s)!



Disclaimer: Use responsibly. Management is not liable for bruises, dislocated shoulders, or a Panzer IV.

ADDED: @twc_framework/twc_framework | Enhanced Movement Blacklist. I have worked out a way to disable enhanced movement being used on certain objects. I have put in a selection of barbed wire/razor wire class-names, so you can no longer climb over them. Give me class-names of objects that should not be climbable/walked on, and I can easily add them in.

ADDED: @twc_framework/twc_ui | Removed AI Radio Messages. Should no longer appear in the chat under the weird circumstance that appears. Should still be audible though, if you're near the unit.

ADDED: @twc_framework/twc_map | Beginning of the TWC map project (will feature better map markers (NATO standard), a non-global in-game marking system, and an in-house unfold map that should work for us). Currently this just hides the player rank on the map screen as it's incorrect anyway.

ADJUSTED: @twc_framework | New recoil profiles for SLR, SA80, GPMG, Minimi and the public faction AR's/AK's/PKM's. Main effect is stopping the weapon returning to the exact point of aim after each shot, so long range shooting is a bit more difficult.

CREATED: @TWC_Compatibility - This is an optional JSRS compatibility patch for the various pieces of equipment that we use. Currently the main infantry and vehicle weapons have all been overhauled to use JSRS assets:
L85/L86
L110 Minimi
L1A1 SLR
L129A1 DMR
L7 GPMG (pintle, coax, tripod and infantry variants, CUP/3CB)
L111A1 .50 HMG (pintle and tripod variants, CUP/3CB)
RARDEN (Scimitar/Warrior)
This will be expanded over time to include the weapons we use more rarely like LAWs etc. You can use this mod by ticking it along with JSRS in the optionals section of TWCSync after updating the repo.

ADDED:
New suspension, tire, damage and rollover physics for the mastiff and wolfhound. They can no longer climb huge hills or perch sideways on steep slopes. They also have braking distances proportionate to the 3CB vehicles and roll over if you try and turn heavily at speed. On balance to this their armour is heavily increased. They can be disabled with a single rocket to the engine block and severely crippled if they lose wheels, but otherwise they are very well protected, here’s a demo:



0:00 - high speed turning and suspension. The max speed of the vehicle on flat ground is about 80-90kph. Wheels look janky because CUP didn’t animate the suspension past a tiny length of travel.
1:15 - low speed suspension. Small bump course then some more jumps. I made the suspension to emulate a pneumatic style setup with lots of damping like the real Cougar/Mastiff, which also happens to be similar to a Dakar racing truck but with less travel, hence the jump testing.
2:00 - hill climbing/rolling. From a standstill the new Mastiff simply would not be able to climb a hill like this, hence the runup. At 2:50 there’s a better example of the flipping on the incline, this slope is way too much for this vehicle now at any speed.
3:20 - hill climbing from standstill. Showing how difficult it is to get the Mastiff up an incline. If it’s a road incline it has a better time of it, but off road it will lurch and jerk and not go anywhere fast.
3:55 - threshold incline roll. This is about the point where the Mastiff cannot hold itself upright at a standstill. Going at any higher speed and turning into the slope will result in rolls at much lower inclines.
5:00 - RPG resistance. The valley was lined with RPG gunners and the vehicle sent through at a medium speed. Over time gunners got lucky and there are separate moments of light, medium and heavy damage as well as a final shot to the engine which completely immobilised the vehicle. These are at 5:23, 5:27, 5:34 and 6:07 respectively. After the last shot the vehicle is completely unable to move.

ADDED: @twc_acefixes. Despite being called ACE fixes, I've included an ACRE fix. It should now no longer be possible to communicate with the unconscious on an intercom without a Ouija board, or with.

ADDED: @twc_acefixes. The ability to have statics and advanced artillery ammo handling on at the same time. If a static has an AI in it at the mission start and the mission module (or public medical module) is placed, the weapon should retain its ammo. If not, it gets emptied out as it does now to make space for the advanced handling.

ADDED: @twc_config/*. Suture kits have have been added to cold war medics, ammo boxes and medical vehicles. Medics carry one, there will be one in a resupply crate, and two inside the medical vehicles. Scarcity will be emphasised by the mission maker, and how many resupply crates they supply.

ADDED tools. An export script for exporting section load outs to mark down format, for use on Github and the new site. I will be sharing the export here shortly. Currently only valid for cold war, as they're the ones utilising the new config rewrite standard. Will export others once they're up to date as well. Vehicle and medical value export scripts are planned.

ADJUSTED: Mastiff and Jackal spring rates. Arma doesn't simulate anti roll bars (there's an antiroll variable in config that equates to a god force instead of a suspension component) so values that worked in heave were causing too many issues in roll. Rollover speeds and gradients are unchanged.

FIXED: Sterling sound when used with JSRS. The spearpoint devs appear to have attempted some sort of JSRS compatibility which has backfired and caused the sound to break. I've made our own fix for this and put it in the twc_compatibility optional pack, make sure to load this as well if you use JSRS to have a working sterling.

ADDED: Weapon safety on by default for operations. Don't forget to turn it off.

FIXED: Static weapons and ACE artillery should now be able to coexist. Previously static weapons were emptied out when ACE artillery ammo handling was enabled, but I have overridden this to work for Public/Operations.

FIXED: Disconnect Gear. Those that disconnect on the briefing screen should no longer provide meat for the stew at mission start. I have no idea if this will prevent the death screams in WW2. We might get haunted by the dead - just in time for spooktober.

FIXED: Several small fixes have been made, including grammar/spelling.

ADJUSTED: Several tweaks made to TWC_Parachute, that should better prevent scenarios that resulted in players being safe-ported. Increased the sound of landing as well.

ADJUSTED: Performance pass on the framework.

REMOVED: Suture Kits from vehicles. They will always be in the medical crates. Easier to balance out their scarcity.

REMOVED: Non-functioning loose ammo. There's a rewrite of this in the works, that adds better compatibility for other eras (90's!) and will integrate with the ACE repacking function.

ADDED: Add To Group. If you have a higher rank the person you're interacting with, and they aren't already in your group, you can now add them to your group. This will allow anyone reassigned within an operation to get white names of those in their new group, helping them familiarise in quicker.

ADDED. TWC Map Unfold. I have incorporated r_unfold's code, cleaned it up and fixed a few issues with it. It should now be better at placing down the map, it should close the map for everyone when it's picked up, and it shouldn't duplicate maps. Please note, it does not check if the area is clear. If you unfold a map facing a rock, and it disappears, well that's kinda of on you.