Keep in mind I am dedicated single player as far as my fh2/bf2 installation goes. Following any edits I describe may invalidate your online multiplayer game. djinn made a great post here in regard to enhancing the sp experience:
http://fhpubforum.warumdarum.de/index.php?topic=20393.0djinn mentions "historical ratios" (a great way to make the rounds more interesting) You can use that in combination with editing the ticket count in the maps init text file too which is located in the server file. Some of the smaller maps can be a blast with just as few as 12 bots. My intention with this post is to share a few interesting edits of my own I've discovered, along with some edits I'd like to figure out if possible, plus a suggestion or two to kick around.
Getting into that, I heavily customize my fh2 install suited to enhancing the sp experience. One detail that was annoying was attempting to view a demo upon completing a round. In 3rd person, your bot appears to react to bullet strikes that do not register in the 1st person round (this really spoils the replay factor) For instance, I spend upwards of a half hour evading the bots targeting me in 1st person, upon reviewing the round in demo mode, my bot is taking rounds to the face every 30 seconds or so.
What's happening is the projectiles fired at your bot in 1st person that are close enough to produce the sonic 'crack' effect are being registered as direct hits in 3rd person during demo replays. Here is the solution to eliminate non hits registering as hits during demos (and always back up your original files)
1. You need to edit the Animationsystems_3p file in the soldiers/server/common/animations folder which is located the objects server. What you want to do is delete all of the lines related to hits and save (example below)
Objects/Soldiers/Common/Animations/3p/3p_hitFrontBody2.baf
animationManager.looping 0
2. You need to edit the e_bhit tweak files located in the effects server, ie; effects/server/impacts/bhits/small
Open up the 3 tweak files and delete any text related to blood (except text related to the 'blood puddle') and save.
What this will do is remove the animations of the soldiers reacting to projectile strikes (which to me isn't a big deal, because with bf2 it's a bit over the top anyway) In fact, it's a bit more realistic. Also of course this will remove the blood 'poof' effect, which again I personally prefer. The blood puddle however will still appear beneath fallen soldiers where applicable.
Since I'm dedicated single player, I tend to customize the game towards more realism. For instance, downed bots remain on the map for the entire round (an easy edit) in the soldiers tweak file: TimeToStayAsWreck -1. I would have thought this would be taxing, but not really (and I have an aging system) Keep in mind I leave the fog and draw distance at their original settings, so if you've tweaked those, you might experience some lag. But under 30 bots for up to even a half hour round? Not an issue even on my system with visuals close to maxed.
One thing I'd like to tweak is the decals, meaning the strikes that momentarily appear on armor when taking an at round. I would like to make these stay indefinitely throughout the round (and replay demo) just like the fallen bots. Another must is sound editing, I just went ahead and deleted the squad, grunt, and commander, communications audio for all factions from the fh2 sounds folder. The death sounds remain, as they are located in a separate location.
I hope it's not too taboo to mention project reality. I have incorporated some things from pr such as the empty hands weapon (which is essentially just empty hands) It's just more believable when bailing from armor as opposed to quickly bailing with a hefty rifle or mg. Once I clear the stricken armor, usually I'll pull a pistol and use that as my primary weapon until I can locate a pick up kit and or retreat out of the action to regroup (regardless if I have the availability of my primary rifle in bot inventory) Another tweak is to remove all flags and flag poles from the map (easily done via the maps server file), just adds a touch realism. I also do away altogether with the field dressings. That way, upon wounding a bot down range, they can slowly bleed out which is oddly rewarding when you get confirmation in the 'kill' read out 30 seconds or so later with the bot out of site.
As far as suggestions, it might be neat to replace the wrench with a fire extinguisher. I like the dynamic of repairing vehicles, but the wrench seems ill suited somehow as it was with the bf2 vanilla version. What might be beneficial is a single player guide incorporating various tweaks which enhance the single player fh2 experience. Lastly, I appreciate the massive amount of time dedicated towards developing fh2 by all involved. I might describe various edits or how to swap details between mods, but I'd never upload any edited content created by the fh2 team or any other group without permission from the original author/creators. 2.5 looks impressive, but I'm holding off until the maps hopefully get a decent navmesh.
