Operation Northstar Modification

[Abs]

Hello everyone,

I must say that I'm a little bit intimidated to post this on these forums, but I thought that this might catch the interest of a few of the people on here. My name is Abs, and I am the co-leader of a game modification called Operation Northstar (ONS) for the unreleased game Armed Assault. We have also added the Canadian Forces to Armed Assault predecessor, Operation Flashpoint.

I'm posting here today because I'm in need of some help. Since we are just a group of hobbyists with absolutely no affiliation with the army, the only access to information we have essentially comes from Google searches. Needless to say while there's a vast amount of general information out there, some of the stuff we're looking for can't be provided by just reading. I am hoping that some of you will be able to help me out with some technical drawings for any of the equipment in use by today's forces. At the moment, we have information for the following: LAVIII, Coyote, Mamba, LSVW, HLVW, M113A3, Gwagen, and the Grizzly. For an example of the type of drawing that could be of use, please take a look at the attachment below. Even if there are two sides, I ought to be able to create the model. For an example of our work, please click here.

Again, like I said, this is intimidating for me to post here. For some of you, this is your life's work...and we're trying to put it into a game. I can only hope that we can do justice to the CF and create a modification that is a reflection of what you go through.

Thanks for reading this.

Abs

 

[George Wallace]

1st.  What is your question (if you have one)?

2nd  Welcome to Army.ca

    A few things that may set you in the right direction for garnering the information you may seek:


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Recruiting FAQ - http://forums.army.ca/forums/threads/21101.0.html

Infantry FAQ - http://forums.army.ca/forums/threads/21131.0.html

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To summarize. Welcome to Army.ca, start reading.

 

[Abs]

Thanks for the warm welcome. I don't have a question, it's more a request. The goal of ONS is to get Canadian stuff into Armed Assault. We've got to build the 3d models all ourselves and, in the interest of accuracy, we need some technical specifications for the vehicles used by the Canadian Forces. We've got a few already, and I think that I've scoured the net for all that I could.

If anyone has any line drawings like the one I posted above, I would love to get my hands on them so that I could get them in the game.

Thanks in advance,

Abs

 

[George Wallace]

You should keep your eyes open for CF displays and visit them.  They usually have little playing cards that have the vehicle specs on them.  You may even find some at the Recruiting Center nearest you.  They have line drawings and descriptions on them and would not be considered OPSEC.

 

[orange.paint]

Suggest looking at coyotes in Pics to see where stuff gets stowed/missing equipment i.e an antanee on the rear right side of hull.I'm being anal but there are a few things I personally would change.(That is if I actually had talent like yourself).I can't really think of any Canadian vehicle you wouldn't be able to find the dimensions etc on line.Any in particular?Not that I would give such info,just that I can't see it not being on line.

Now if the make an age of empires 2006 with Canada that would be cool.

 

[George Wallace]

This is the Armour School Image Bank.  It isn't much, but has some photos.
http://www.army.forces.gc.ca/Armour_school/imgbk_e.asp

 

[orange.paint]

You will note one coyote has a antennae mounted in front of the driver by the headlight.This is no longer there but mounted on the back as I said.A good example is the pic of the coyote with the surv gear deployed.

 

[Shamrock]

Also, make sure you have the right vehicle.  The line drawings you have are for the LAV-25 but not the LAV-25 Coyote/LAV-R.  Basically, you have the American LAV up there.

 

[Abs]

Shamrock: You're right. It's not our Coyote, but it's close enough for me to build it and modify it to match what we have.

099*: Feel free to nit pick on whatever you see fit. The thing is that I've left some things out on purpose. The way that games work is that I can't add every detail on there or else it would be too much for video cards to handle, and slow down the framerate if the model becomes too complex. I'll follow your advice and find out where stuff gets stowed. I know that it's pretty inaccurate right now, and that they don't just carry jerry cans.

Also, finding dimensions is the easy part. It's the line drawings that are REALLY difficult to find.

George Wallace: Thanks for the link. Interior pictures would are be a great help! I didn't know that recruiting centers might have line drawings of our vehicles. I will go and check some of the stuff out.

Abs

 

[Rocketryan]

http://www.army.forces.gc.ca/lf/English/2_5.asp?cat=1

Click a picture,and click it again, and scroll to bottom and there is information there.
It has stuff like crew capacity, armor, armament,engine,range, and it has the pictures that you need,and probably any other information you would need.
Also,don't base anything of wikipedia,only use official sites.

Also,is this for Armed Assault or OFP or both?

 

[Abs]

Hey...sorry for the late reply. It's for Armed Assault, which has been released in Czech republic today...hopefully we'll get our copies soon

Abs

 

[Rocketryan]

I ordered Op Flashpoint like 2 months ago from Codemasters but it hasnt came yet....Guess I should order Armed Assault?

 

[Abs]

So far ArmA is only out in a few select European countries. They don't even have a publisher for NA yet. Hopefully they'll allow people to download it through an online distribution site.

Abs

 

[Abs]

Hello again!

It's been a while since I've posted, and I wanted to thank everyone who has helped us out with information so far! I'm back again because the game Armd Assault will be released in North America by Atari under the name "ArmA: Combat Operations" and with its upcoming release, Operation Northstar is stepping up its efforts to produce a Canadian modification for the game.

To that effect, we still need help! Since we are concentrating on making the vehicles used by the Canadian army, and none of us are actually IN the army, I was hoping that maybe a few people from these boards would be willing to give us hints and tips on things like vehicle markings, colours, etc. If you are interested in helping us out, please let me know through MSN or the Operation Northstar Forums.

Thanks for your time.

Abs

Thanks Al!

 

[ZipperHead]

Abs, you need to add an 's' to 'forum' in your link, as it is causing a 404 error.

Al

 

[Abs]

Hi!

It's been a while since I've posted here, but I have been lurking around . I just thought I'd take a minute and show you guys the work we've been up to. I hope you guys like what you see, and I'm open to all sorts of feedback.

The Mamba:

LAVIII:

HLVW:

81mm Mortar Launcher:

MMEV:

Mounted TOW Launcher: (Please note, these are work in progress textures )

Coyote:

M113:

Browning Hi-Power:

C3A1:

Remington Police Special:

If we've made any mistakes on the models or textures, please let me know! I really wouldn't mind fixing it up.

Our work is still continuing...our texturer is busy texturing the models, and I'm hard at work trying to finish up the Nyala. If you guys have any requests for something you'd like to see us make, just give us a shout here.

Cheers!

Abs

 

[Schifty]

Awesome man!!! Keep good working on that. I hope to see more screen!! Have  you plan to do de VSLR  and the MLVW :threat:?

 

[Abs]

Thanks Schifty

We'll be posting regular updates in here from now on (once we have information to post). We do plan on doing the MLVW...but I'm not sure what the VSLR is...is that the LSVW?

Abs

 

[Mojo Magnum]

I don't know what a VSLR is but I know if you put an LSVW in your game, all my fellow Sig Ops will probably buy it just to blow them up  ;D

 

[Abs]

Haha...sounds like you guys need some stress relief. It'll definately be in there.

Abs