H&D Deluxe; the ultimate mod; Mission overhauls

[p.jakub88]

The info-bar during the campaign selection says that we will be wearing German uniforms and will capture Steiner. Wearing the uniforms makes sense, as we will need to approach with stealth to avoid anyone calling for help on the phone or radio.

Perhaps, we can make a compromise, by giving players a choice; we start off with our red-beret-SAS Uniform, and on the ground next to us, are the captured uniforms. Putting them on is optional.

As for the key, I think Steiner's secretary should be carrying it, and all three doors to Steiner locked.

Steiner's secretary should also be wearing the Gendarme uniform.

Let's say that we cutted-off the communication just before the attack on the Steiner's villa or the reinforcements came too late. Wearing a German uniform makes this mission too easy. That way you could bypass the sniper without problems. While my man was dressed in SAS uniform the sniper on the villa's terrace was able to kill him by just a single well placed shot. In addition the villa's garrison is more or less "sitting ducks" after all with those breakable glass windows that i made some time ago. I will try to find a way to make them "safer" inside the villa - actually being a threat to the player.

I will give the key to the Steiner's secretary and lock all doors leading to Steiner's room.

However, i see no reason to give Steiner's secretary a special uniform. His actual uniform is good enough.

[p.jakub88]

Those are further changes that i implemented in the Germany 2 mission:

-> the key is now in posession of the Steiner's secretary and all doors of the Steiner's room are now locked;

-> re-positioned some of the enemy soldiers inside the Steiner's villa;

-> changed behavior of some enemy soldiers inside the Steiner's villa.

[Myron]

Good thing about locking the doors to Steiner's room; there was a bug where the mission auto-complete if we came near him. He would tell us to "give ourselves up" at the same exact time we would tell him, "you're in our hands".

As to his secretary wearing a unique uniform, well, I like it for cosmetic reasons. All the other men inside the manor already have the same, exact uniform.

[p.jakub88]

OK Myron. So here you have my newest Germany 2 mission update with all the changes listed in my previous posts (posted on "Wed Aug 21, 2019 9:38 am" and "Thu Aug 22, 2019 4:36 pm").

Please download also the models.mod.rar archive uploaded below (unpack the models.mod folder from that archive into your main H&D Deluxe directory).

Please give me later some feedback!

[Myron]

Oh, I forgot to clarify about the bug, we could basically capture Steiner without killing his guards. Did you find out how to fix that?

[p.jakub88]

Oh, I forgot to clarify about the bug, we could basically capture Steiner without killing his guards. Did you find out how to fix that?

I fixed this bug.

Now you will need to kill all enemies first and then "capture" Steiner. This will initiate scripted "conversation' sequences and will end the mission successfully.

Please download the updated Germany 2 mission and all related files from my previous post.

Please give me later some feedback!

[p.jakub88]

OK Myron. I made it back to Poland in one piece from my vacation.

Those are further changes that i implemented in the Germany 2 mission:

-> removed some unwanted sounds found inside and outside the Steiner's villa;

-> replaced 2 default radio models with destroyable versions;

-> replaced all guards outside the Steiner's villa with the mountain ranger model (6 men in total - some of them armed with MP-44);

-> added 2 BMW motorcycles parked outside the villa with fuel and ammo (see attached pictures below);

-> tactical map updated.


Below i uploaded an updated Germany 2 mission with all the changes listed above. Please download and test it.

I am currently working on the Germany 3 mission (i already added few changes into it while still being on vacation in Italy), so unless there will be noticeable bugs to fix i would like to focus on the Germany 3 mission.

[p.jakub88]

So now i will look again into the Germany 3 mission.

Changes that i implemented in the Germany 3 mission so far:

-> endurance skill of all enemies set to 50%;

-> added more lamps to the Steiner's office ceiling (the room next to the one where we start the mission - see attached picture below);

-> added 4 Panzerfausts (brown wooden crate) and 4 MP-44 (2 laying on the table and another 2 in the grey crates - one in each crate) - see attached picture;

-> optimized static collision volumes of various objects;

-> added a metal gate model at the end of the railroad (see attached picture below);

-> replaced the default locomotive model with the edited version (the same as used in my modified Italy 3 mission).

[Myron]

Sad that this is a V2-Rocket factory, and not, say, a tank factory.

If it was a tank-factory, I would recommend that you find a way to add the "railroad ramp" that you see in Italy 3, you know, the one where the Panzers are?

Also, I think that gate you put over the tracks doesn't look tall enough for the locomotive to pass under.

P.S. For Germany 2, is there no way to roll away the "fog of war", if you know what I mean?

[p.jakub88]

Sad that this is a V2-Rocket factory, and not, say, a tank factory.

If it was a tank-factory, I would recommend that you find a way to add the "railroad ramp" that you see in Italy 3, you know, the one where the Panzers are?

Also, I think that gate you put over the tracks doesn't look tall enough for the locomotive to pass under.

P.S. For Germany 2, is there no way to roll away the "fog of war", if you know what I mean?

I know what ramp you mean. I used it in one of my addons. I could add a loading ramp along the tracks with train. Good idea!

I measured it up and the locomotive with all connected wagons could pass under. I placed the gate only for visual purposes to explain why the tracks are there (lets say that the gate leads outside).

As i mentioned before i am done with Germany 2 changes - besides that, the visibility range is set to 100 meters in that mission and i see nothing wrong with the visibility.

[p.jakub88]

Those are further changes that i implemented in the Germany 3 mission:

-> loading ramp added along the train (see attached picture below);

-> replaced previous shelves with archives in the Steiner's office with destroyable versions (like the ones from the Germany 1 mission);

-> added new destroyable lamps to the factory (see attached picture below) and fixed some problems with existing ones;

-> added lamps to the corridor that leads to the factory entrance (mission escape point) - see attached picture below.

I had lots of work with adding new light sources into the Germany 3 mission, but now the factory it's not dark anymore - like it was before.

[Myron]

The problem with the visibility in Germany 2 is that we are in the dark, looking at a house with all the lights on, anyone standing near that house would be very well illuminated, such as the man with the spotlight and the sniper next to him.

I am happy you illuminated the factory; the sheer darkness was nonsensical.

Still, we need some kind of assembly line; the facility looks more like a warehouse than a factory.

Normally, those orange metal cans with the X that you see in the bottom picture aren't destroyable, but in Danube 3, there is a truck and trailer with those cans, which is destroyable. A trailer alone can only be destroyed, but not set on fire, but the one with those cans can destroyed with fire.

Overall, the original developers blew it, as I failed to see anything related to the V-Rocket program, other than the blue-prints you see in the office.

Also, why would the Germans keep explosives in a rocket factory?

If there was a V-2 rocket in the facility that we could destroy, then then you could bring back those huge rubble piles that used to be in this map.

[p.jakub88]

Still, we need some kind of assembly line; the facility looks more like a warehouse than a factory.

Also, why would the Germans keep explosives in a rocket factory?

Maybe this factory only produces components for V2 rocket that are put together elsewhere. Germans divided their production during WW2 to make it difficult for the Allies to find and destroy production plants.

The explosives serve probably to blow up rocks in order to expand the area of the underground factory (just like in the mining industry back then).

[p.jakub88]

Here are the next changes that i implemented in the Germany 3 mission:

-> i made the Steiner speech louder to actually hear it clearly;

-> optimized the tactical map: it is now brighter than before to makes it more comfortable for viewing by the player (see attached picture below);

-> fixed problems regarding tactical map: restored missing objects like 2 pieces of the tracks and crane elements plus removed some unwanted objects;

-> made the "power generator" model destroyable (see attached picture);

-> the storage with explosives is now guarded by a soldier armed with K98 Mauser standing on guard tower (see attached picture below).

[Myron]

What were these "unwanted objects"?

And how do we destroy the generators without killing the forced-labor-prisoners?

I always wondered, especially in the default map; aren't the trucks parked rather randomly, and well... crap... I don't know how to explain it. This is supposed to be a factory... the developers REALLY blew it.