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#4035217 - 11/12/14 09:42 PM Pilgrimage Redux...  
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 24,314
BeachAV8R Offline
Lifer
BeachAV8R  Offline
Lifer

Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 24,314
KCLT
In my last attempt at Pilgrimage HERE!, I was moving along nicely until a Steam Arma 3 update ruined my fun. With Steam in offline mode, I was drawn back into completing the Pilgrimage. So here is Pilgrimage Redux….

Once again, we land on the west side of the island. This time, unfortunately, we are even further north and the area is pretty desolate. With no vehicle transportation, it takes a bit of hiking to get to our first few buildings.



After a bit of hiking, I find my first church to check to see if my brother’s body is around. No such luck. Only a couple hundred more to go…



Unlike my previous run through of Pilgrimage, the data system is working since I uninstalled a debugging mod. When the first offer for intelligence on a vehicle comes up, I use my fuel fund money for the information. The location is marked on the map and it’s completely useless to me since it might as well be on the moon since I’m on foot. Such is the nature of the intelligence you buy – it’s a bit of a surprise what’s behind the door..



As I continue hiking toward the west, I get another message. I take up a heading toward the northwest and find a small enemy encampment. Just a few soldiers, but my paltry weapons are no match, so I bypass them for now…



Up at the castle however, I run into a foot-patrol and quickly take them out. From the bodies I retrieve a better rifle with a scope and an empty rocket tube..



With the scope, I have a little better chance..so I creep down to the enemy camp and move around to approach it from behind cover…



I lob a grenade I took off the troops I ambushed earlier and plop it down in the middle of the camp. They don’t take kindly to that and they drop prone and start shooting. It is a bit dodgy, but a second grenade does the trick…





The camp is clear. Now I can use this camp as a hideout of my own and I can return to it, keep inventory at it, and heal and sleep at it (things I had not done in my previous Pilgrimage attempt)…



Even with the camp though, I still have no wheels, so I have to take the brutally slow approach of walking everywhere…



Along the way I find loot boxes. I keep what I can (which is not much since I can’t carry that much) and sell the rest on the open market for additional fuel fund cash. I also take every opportunity to quiz the locals on the whereabouts of my brother. Most of the time they don’t have anything to tell me, but occasionally the questioning pays off with information..in this case, there is nowhere to go BUT east, so that info isn’t all that useful…



Yet another guy gives up some areas where my brother definitely ISN’T.. Those areas, as well is a little light intel on the enemy is automatically marked on the map alongside my notations…



I head south toward the coast to try to pick up additional resources and hope to spot a vehicle down there. Enemy resistance on this run through is phenomenally hard.. As I get to the first town I poke my nose and and a dozen troops come out of the woodwork. The guide alludes to enemy forces garrisoning in towns, which is what I may have run into. I take some injuries as I try to run as fast as I can (which is not fast at all) back out of town to the north and into the hills. Rounds chase me up the hill and smack into the dirt until I make the ridgeline. I’m forced to retreat to my hideout. Once you break contact with the enemy you can fast travel back to the hideout…





Once I’m all patched up and rested, I head back out. This time I go for the stealthy approach and bypass the coastal town along the beach. The enemy troops are all scattered around the east side of the town, so my passage goes by unnoticed. I’m able to check a few houses on my way and sell some additional gear and ask a few more questions…





I’ve worked my way south and continue to be frustrated by the lack of a vehicle. I’ve purchased more vehicle intel, but all are beyond my immediate reach….



In another small town I get into a fierce urban firefight with about five enemy troops. At one point I’m holed up in a house firing from the window. I manage to take out one soldier and his commander immediately throws up his hands in surrender…





I walk down and try to get some information from the guy surrendering… He gives up some additonal information on places my brother’s body is not at…





Further up above the town another of the enemy has surrendered. I move in to interrogate him and sort through his gear…you never know what kind of information or gear you might get…binoculars are a good score!





After dealing with the prisoners (cough), I head back out, on foot once again. I run across this factory complex that becomes my deathbed for about 80 reloads of the game. As I’m exploring within, an enemy tank platoon moves into position around the complex. I can’t move, can’t budge, can’t escape. Time and again they blow me to smitherens. I have no anti-tank weapons, and even if I did, there is almost no opportunity to move enough to use them..







Eventually, after many, many, many tries, I’m able to find a gap and low crawl out of the factory and to my freedom. Holy cow..



The next small village I come across has a guy that offers me up a contract. These are usually good for information, so I head out to take down the mark...



A bit of crawling around and a few well placed shots and the deal is done. The information that is brought forth is invaluable – it basically elimates the entire western half of the island. Now, if I could just GET to the other side of the island!



As I slowly work my way eastbound through villages, I occasionally get in skirmishes with troops, but I try to keep myself out of trouble. I’m perched on top of a hill above a village scanning for pursuing troops when my scope passes across something and I do a double take..





No F-ing way! Way!! I make my way down to the available M2A3…



I boost it and head out of town with a big grin on my face as I explore my new ride..



All is not perfect though. I spend some money to make some repairs on it, and as a lone driver, I don’t have the benefit of a crew working for me, so I have to hop from station to station to use the gunner, driver, and commander features. Plus there is only limited ammo, buti it’s still pretty cool after having walked for so long. I take up position on a high hill and survey the scene out to the east…



From my vantage point, coupled with the awesome IR optics of the vehicle, I can really scope out the lay of the land. I spot the platoon of tanks that had me surrounded at the factory making their way up to the north, away from me and not a threat…



Across the valley I can see another enemy position with an MRAP parked and idling…



I head down into the valley intending to cross to the other side to engage the MRAP. As I’m clanking around the valley floor, feeling very conspicuous, another MRAP comes hauling tail down the road. I quickly change to the gunner position and start laying rounds into him…





Having learned my lesson in my last run through of Pilgrimage (that I don’t want to lose my vehicle to a helicopter gunship), I park my M2 and head up the ridge on foot. I come up behind the enemy position and quiety take out the sentry with my silenced rifle..



In a curious standoff – the two men inside the MRAP can’t drive away (apparently I killed the driver outside?) and their gun is out of ammo.. Not a great situation to be in! My problem, however, is that I can’t get high enough to put rounds through the window to take them out.





In a burst of inspiration – as I’m looting their buddy, I realize I can stand on top of the loot box! Their gun tracks me, but doesn’t fire…



I fire several rounds, finally penetrating the bulletproof glass, and then take out the poor guys inside.. I’m then able to open the door and commender the vehicle..



I quicky come upon another unarmed MRAP (no roof turret).. I hop out and shoot at it and the guys inside give up!



Their MRAP is absoutely chock full of weapons and rounds. I set up a loot box to sell much of it, and transfer a good bit into my own MRAP to take with me…



I would return to the M2A3, but it is slow, bulky, clunky, and doesn’t offer a lot as far as mobility is concerned. I mark the position I left it on the map in case I need it as a backup plan and head out toward the central portion of the island…



The nice thing about being in an MRAP with a turret is that you get the sensors on the roof, which are great for scoping out the area ahead. Using the optics I spot another vehicle near the port facility and mark its location as another possible backup plan in case I lose my MRAP…



Near the port are some enormous towers (cooling?). I know the airport is just to our north, so I climb up the towers to get a good looksee around…





From the high perch, I can see a lot of units at the airport, but not much in the way of infantry or really dangerous ground units (like BRDMs)…





When I climb down and reenter my vehicle, the world around me explodes as shells rain down on me. Apparently I’ve hit one of the mission features – I find the vehicle that my father designed, and that my brother was apparently here investigating or trying to stop or something (there is a bit of back story to the mission). This little rover rains death and destruction at a limitless pace..it is called a “Stomper”..and yes, it blew me away multiple times..



I finally adopt a brute force tactic. I use my MRAP as a battering ram, rounding a blind corner in the port and pinning the Stomper up against a wall. When I climb out, the Stomper cannot depress the gun far enough to shoot at me. I shoot out all the Stomper’s tires, leaving it mosty immobile, then climb back in the MRAP and quickly wheel back away around the corner before it can shoot me…





I hop out of the MRAP (it is still out of ammo) and load my grenade launcher with some sort of HE round…(never shot one before)..



I stay hidden by the edge of a cargo container and aim for the back of the immobile Stomper, and fire.. Holy crap! The explosion is massive. I take a little bit of injury. I had no idea the HE grenade would pack such a punch…





The Stomper..has been stomped.. I climb back into my MRAP and head for the airfield to dole out some more punishment. I zip across the runways. I hear a few small cracks and pops as some scattered infantry takes shots at me but thankfully no AT soldiers take a shot at me. I cross behind the hangars and spot a couple of trucks idling there. I’m in no immediate danger from fire from anything, so I hope out of my vehicle and use my rifle to take out the truck drivers. Oh, wait a minute, those are GRADs! I hop into one of the still idling GRADs, assume the gunner position and just start shooting the rockets at random over the airbase! Woohoo!



My aim is sporadic, but effective enough to destroy some other vehicles at the base…



It is starting to get pretty dark now (I’ve been at this mission for probably ten hours now) and I walk across the airfield like some movie character dropping grenades into the remaining trucks…



I’m not crossing into the radius of the zone where the intel has indicated my brother’s body is…



Darkness is falling. I wish I could stop, rest, and heal up, but I don’t want to fast travel back to my hideout because it is clear on the other side of the island. I have no choice but to continue…



Near Rodopoli the enemy presence is very strong. Roadblocks are evident outside of the town with large caliber weapons behind sandbags. I elect to bypass the town. My intention is to head to the near center of the intel circle and try to query more civilians. Since they sometimes give indications of which direction I can search, I figure I can elimate almost 75% of the circle with one good piece of intel from the center. On my way, I continue to check churches that haven’t been crossed off the list…





When I find some civilians, I start using the tactic of paying for information instead of just asking for it for free. At this point, my fuel fund is up to almost 8,000, so I have money to spare…



The first guy gives up some locations my brother is definitely NOT at..



I see two more blue (!) symbols indicating other civilians that might have information. I pay both of these money and one gives me what I’m looking for…





I head to the northeast section of the circle, zoom the map in, and start down the road looking in all the churches and chapels…


As I check the third one. It happens…





My brother’s body lies in the grass outside of the chapel. I kneel down – and I can almost imagine what it would be like…



I load him into the back of the vehicle. Now, all I have to do is get back to the boat. All the way across the island. Damn..I need one of those Taru helicopters about now!



I hit the road. I stop for nothing. I try to retrace my route through somewhat safe areas. When I come across enemy patrols on the road, I run them down. Not stopping. I don’t need loot, I don’t need guns. All I need is to get to the other side of the island…





It takes me twenty five tense minutes, but I make the drive with only a few additional bullet holes in my vehicle. I pull off onto a side road that leads to my hideout in a field…



At my hideout, I take off all my gear, stow all my weapons in the vehicle, and sit down next to the fire. I’m not a soldier now. Not a mercenary. Just a guy going to spend one more night out with my brother.



Having spent the previous 20+ hours or so of gameplay on this mission (including the first run through), I can sort of appreciate the accomplishing of the task. I go to sleep, rest, heal, and in the morning I wake ready for the last little bit. I douse the fire, pack up the camp, and climb in the vehicle..



I stay off the roads and take the scenic coastal backcountry route to where I had arrived on the boat…







We arrive in ten minutes. I pull up on the beach and load my brother in the boat… It’s done.







The debrief reads like a laundry list. You can see my number of reloads (111)! 80 of those came from the tanks at the factory. A dozen more from the Stomper. It would be interesting (possible?) to play this as a “one life to live” mission..it would certainly make a stealthy approach reasonable. Of interest are the civilian casualties..of which I did not intend to happen. My guess is that my wild spree with the GRAD might have caught a few people in the crossfire..



Fantastic mission – very immersive and fun for a single player looking for a fun sandbox to play in.

BeachAV8R

Apologies for typos – written quickly and not with an eye toward grammar or spelling.. <g>



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#4035283 - 11/13/14 12:47 AM Re: Pilgrimage Redux... [Re: BeachAV8R]  
Joined: Aug 2000
Posts: 1,458
Smithcorp Offline
Member
Smithcorp  Offline
Member

Joined: Aug 2000
Posts: 1,458
Oz
Very cool!

#4035329 - 11/13/14 04:43 AM Re: Pilgrimage Redux... [Re: BeachAV8R]  
Joined: Dec 2002
Posts: 4,429
enigma6584 Offline
Senior Member
enigma6584  Offline
Senior Member

Joined: Dec 2002
Posts: 4,429
Wisconsin, USA
Most excellent! If I may ask; when you add in graphics to your screenshots, what program do you use?

#4035379 - 11/13/14 01:36 PM Re: Pilgrimage Redux... [Re: enigma6584]  
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 24,314
BeachAV8R Offline
Lifer
BeachAV8R  Offline
Lifer

Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 24,314
KCLT
Originally Posted By: enigma6584
Most excellent! If I may ask; when you add in graphics to your screenshots, what program do you use?

I usually use Photoshop to crop, add a bit of vignette, and snip and paste text if needed. I edited the SP mission to allow me to use the in-game camera, which helps a lot in setting up good screens. I like to think I died 111 times simply due to the fact that I'm always screwing around with camera angles and not paying as much attention to my character's personal well being as I should.. <g>

BeachAV8R



#4036101 - 11/15/14 12:35 AM Re: Pilgrimage Redux... [Re: BeachAV8R]  
Joined: Apr 2001
Posts: 7,365
Stratos Offline
Hotshot
Stratos  Offline
Hotshot

Joined: Apr 2001
Posts: 7,365
Amposta, Spain
Excellent AAR mate! Thanks for sharing, will get ArmA3 just to play this.


-Sir in case of retreat, were we have to retreat??
-To the Graveyard!!

sandbagger.uk.com/stratos.html
#4036422 - 11/15/14 10:01 PM Re: Pilgrimage Redux... [Re: BeachAV8R]  
Joined: Dec 2002
Posts: 4,429
enigma6584 Offline
Senior Member
enigma6584  Offline
Senior Member

Joined: Dec 2002
Posts: 4,429
Wisconsin, USA
Thanks Beach.


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