I ran ArmA sessions within FGM several years ago using an old 2003 server from home. I had an older laptop which got a bit laggy so I saw a performance benefit. It was mostly prior to Zeus so all the missions were scripted and I joined but took a back seat because I knew the flow of the mission and wanted to avoid spoiling the story for others.
I looked at renting a server but The group was small and it didn’t seem worth it. I also rented some TeamSpeak slots which was pretty cheap at the tIme.
Mission setup on a dedicated server was fiddly. It was a pain keeping mods updated as well. I’m sure things are more advanced now, personally the performance I get on my current computer is good enough. I think the internet connection is also important, I have quite a fast connection.
For the mission scripting, I do a mix or scripting and on the fly. All the furniture is done via Eden editor. Spawn points, any vehicles, civilians and often the static weapons, like the VC mortars on Sunday. Also if I want certain weapons on the VC, like specific sniper rifles I’ll create them in the Eden editor. The rest is done on the fly, like minefields, civilian animations, patrol routes and the bulk of the enemies.
If most of the mission is setup/scripted prior then there’s no reason Zeus couldn’t partake in the mission. I do sometimes take control of the enemy to do things which the AI doesn’t do well. This wouldn’t really be possible if Zeus was part of the players force.
Being Zeus in game is different to playing but I personally find it as enjoyable, it’s just a different type of game play. I enjoyed Sunday and
@Paleolithic Monk role play. His engagement upped the fun for me as Zeus.
@Concord have you tried playing round with the editor and being Zeus? If your concerned about performance on your equipment I’m more than happy to run the mission on my computer and you can take the Zeus role. There maybe performance issues with a remote Zeus but we can give it a go.
I’m out of work at the moment so I’m around most of the time if you want to run a trial.
@Josey Wales equipment might be higher spec, if it doesn’t run well enough with me as host you could have a chat with Josey to see if he can run something with you as Zeus to trial before investing in any external kit or rent server space.
The more people who get into scripting missions the better. It takes a bit of thought and ideas to come up with new stuff each week
Especially ‘stories’ that can be run as a mission with a varied size group and not turn into a shooting gallery or a death march for the players. Getting the balance and an interesting mission takes some practice
