Wow, really surprised LSPDFR.com would begin to endorse paid mods. Won't be downloading.

59 minutes ago, StealthHazard said:

Wow, really surprised LSPDFR.com would begin to endorse paid mods. Won't be downloading.

The mod will be available for free to everyone when it's complete. It's currently still under development. Many other mod authors offer early access to donors. I'm sorry if that offends you, and if you don't wish to use the mod when it's released that's really just fine by me. 

Coastal Callouts livestream with @BuddaRocks, with live commentary by myself, starting in a few minutes! 

 

I have seen a lot of pursuits with the 33' response boat, will you be adding that. 

2 hours ago, Mbarnwell said:

I have seen a lot of pursuits with the 33' response boat, will you be adding that. 

The 33' is right between the 25' and the 45', both of which we already have, so it's not a high priority for me right now. It'll depend on whether any vehicle modelers want to contribute some time towards working on such a model, and whether someone can find a purchase a model for conversion. 

On 3/26/2017 at 2:10 PM, StealthHazard said:

Wow, really surprised LSPDFR.com would begin to endorse paid mods. Won't be downloading.

its actually the author that seems to delay release of a fully functioning mod but says "its still being developed," or "I still need to solve some bugs I've found," just to get more people to donate to get more money on a mod that ends up being free anyway....if you watch the videos by the developers who have these "loyalty programs" the mods work well enough to give to other people, but they cant release to the public for 3 more weeks...

4 minutes ago, Quakex64 said:

its actually the author that seems to delay release of a fully functioning mod but says "its still being developed," or "I still need to solve some bugs I've found," just to get more people to donate to get more money on a mod that ends up being free anyway....if you watch the videos by the developers who have these "loyalty programs" the mods work well enough to give to other people, but they cant release to the public for 3 more weeks...

It's damned if you do, damned if you don't. Release a mod early in its progress, and people complain that it doesn't have all the features they expected or that it has bugs. Release updates too often and people complain that you are just trying to get more downloads. Release a mod before it has a lot of variation in the callouts and people complain that it's boring. Wait until a mod is actually polished and release-ready and people complain that you're being greedy. Quite frankly, I'm tired of people who have never contributed a useful or complex mod in their life complaining and acting entitled like this. I will release my mod when I am happy with the level of polish. That's my decision to make. But since people seem to feel the need to attack the legitimacy of having an extended beta, let me share some additional information with you: 

• I have not yet finished making an automated installer for the DLC that comes with the mod. The installation process is very complex; most of my beta testers have had some sort of issues with the process, and I've had to give support to most of them. If I released the mod to the public now and had 1000s of users, there would be no end of complaints about how difficult it is to install. A limited beta controls the number of people who need to be helped. I don't feel comfortable releasing something with such a convoluted installation process to the public at large, both because it's unfair to users who expect a released mod to work properly, and because I don't have time to support the inevitable numbers of people who wouldn't be able to figure it out. 
• I have released 25 updates to the beta since it started in January. I often release multiple updates in one day, in fast response to issues that beta testers have encountered or as I add new features. That kind of update frequency isn't compatible with a public release. I have methods in place to ensure that beta testers are updating frequently, but with released mods people a) don't like to update once they get a stable setup, and b) often don't notice that a new update is available on the site. 
• Videos show the best parts of a new mod. People don't record the bugs, the hours of frustration trying to get something to install correctly, the features that aren't complete yet, the game crashes, etc. 

But none of that really matters anyways. I don't owe you or anyone else anything. Those of us who develop mods do so for our own enjoyment and enhancement of the game. Usually we choose to share those mods with others so they too can have that enjoyment, but it's our right to choose what to share, when, and with whom. If a developer feels their mod isn't yet complete enough to release, that's their right. I've noticed that the only people who complain about this are people who have never actually developed anything themselves, and simply expect the community to give them everything now, for free, working perfectly, with free support, etc. Honestly, if we wanted to, we could make all our mods only available to people who buy them. Many modding communities are like that! I'm proud of the collaborative spirit among lspdfr plugin developers, and I'm glad that mods have always been freely available to anyone who wants to enjoy them, once the mod is ready. I've said before, and I'll reaffirm now, Coastal Callouts will be freely available when I feel the mod is ready, because I want you to all be able to enjoy it. Just be patient. 

 

I'd like to get back to the topic of actually discussing the mod that's under development, so if anybody else has any issues with the concept of people getting rewarded by mod authors for choosing to donate to support their work, feel free to send me a PM or post a separate discussion topic elsewhere. But please stop whining about it in my WIP thread. This has gone way too far off-topic, and frankly I have no interest in continuing to belabor the point with people who have no idea how much time and effort it takes to make a good modification. 

 

25 minutes ago, Riverside Patrol said:

I just don't believe including (Begin Opinion) these two controversial groups (exit opinion) is a good way to attract donations. The fact that those were the first two on the list bothered me, and so I explain that I would donate but won't because of (begin opinion) a poor choice of donation options (exit opinion)

 

The very first option presented on that post is to donate directly via paypal through my website. The second option presented is to donate a 3D model to support the project. The third option presented is to support non-profit organizations whose missions I believe in. If you don't support those organizations, that's fine - there's no obligation to donate to them, even to participate in the Benefactor Program.

 

There is no political agenda here, and I have made good friends with many people through this site who have very different political opinions from myself. We respect each other, learn a bit about other people's lives and how others look at the world, and we share an enjoyment for modding GTA and emergency services. What we don't do is start fights in public forum threads. I politely request that you abstain from political discussions here. There are plenty of venues on the internet to argue with people about politics; this is not the place. As I said just a few hours ago...

 

6 hours ago, PNWParksFan said:

I'd like to get back to the topic of actually discussing the mod that's under development, so if anybody else has any issues with the concept of people getting rewarded by mod authors for choosing to donate to support their work, feel free to send me a PM or post a separate discussion topic elsewhere. 

 

So, today I discovered the "no boundary limits" mod on gta5-mods.com, which gives you access to pretty much all of the ocean areas as far out as you can imagine. For those who haven't tried this themselves before, without this mod your vehicle won't let you go more than about 1km off shore usually, and if you try to swim out you'll get eaten by a shark. Well, this obviously opens up a lot of new possibilities for Coastal Callouts! I spent several hours this evening trying to improve some of the code that makes NPC-driven boats drive. The good news is, it works fine in the far-off-shore areas. The bad news is, I'm still having issues getting NPCs to drive properly when they're near shore... as you may have noticed in some of the youtube videos, occasionally boats will just sit there and not do anything until you get close enough. I've been able to get them to work a bit further from the player, but still not all the time. I'm planning to continue conducting more research on this matter, but in the meantime, enjoy a couple screenshots from my testing today:

 

 

 

 

il y a 2 minutes, PNWParksFan a dit :

So, today I discovered the "no boundary limits" mod on gta5-mods.com, which gives you access to pretty much all of the ocean areas as far out as you can imagine. For those who haven't tried this themselves before, without this mod your vehicle won't let you go more than about 1km off shore usually, and if you try to swim out you'll get eaten by a shark. Well, this obviously opens up a lot of new possibilities for Coastal Callouts! I spent several hours this evening trying to improve some of the code that makes NPC-driven boats drive. The good news is, it works fine in the far-off-shore areas. The bad news is, I'm still having issues getting NPCs to drive properly when they're near shore... as you may have noticed in some of the youtube videos, occasionally boats will just sit there and not do anything until you get close enough. I've been able to get them to work a bit further from the player, but still not all the time. I'm planning to continue conducting more research on this matter, but in the meantime, enjoy a couple screenshots from my testing today:

 

 

 

 

I can't wait to see it working! Keep it up, you're the best! Don't care of harmful comments, they're not worth it!

4 hours ago, Myrphac said:

I can't wait to see it working! Keep it up, you're the best! Don't care of harmful comments, they're not worth it!

That is true and this is the internet. People use it as a cover and switch their personalities. I personally feel like PNWParksFan deserves everything he gets and more. This mods so far is amazing ans is still being developed. Good job so far mate.

Love this dlc or plugin whatever you guys want to call it I'm great full to be a part of this and thanks parks for all the work you do its looking good can't wait for the next update

Just curious - do you see yourself including other types of helicopters employed by coast guard/rescue stations around the world ?

2 hours ago, MarcusR29 said:

Just curious - do you see yourself including other types of helicopters employed by coast guard/rescue stations around the world ?

 

I am working on adding features to support customization for non-US players, including the ability to configure some of the text displayed in the callouts, as well as vehicles and which ones should be used for what. I'm not sure yet how exactly I'm going to handle distribution of non-US vehicles. I've recently started discussing with some modelers and texture creators about creating some of the common SAR and maritime law enforcement helis/boats from other countries, but I don't know yet how exactly I'll distribute those mods. But long story short, yes, I am working on making coastal callouts compatible for non-US players.

il y a 54 minutes, PNWParksFan a dit :

 

I am working on adding features to support customization for non-US players, including the ability to configure some of the text displayed in the callouts, as well as vehicles and which ones should be used for what. I'm not sure yet how exactly I'm going to handle distribution of non-US vehicles. I've recently started discussing with some modelers and texture creators about creating some of the common SAR and maritime law enforcement helis/boats from other countries, but I don't know yet how exactly I'll distribute those mods. But long story short, yes, I am working on making coastal callouts compatible for non-US players.

Great idea! It's nice for modders, I won't have a lot of mods to do for this plugin, we do not have coast guards in Switzerland....because we have no...well...coasts... Anyway, I'll try do my best!

On 3/28/2016 at 11:36 PM, PNWParksFan said:

Complex, dynamic, interesting callouts take a lot of time to develop. Albo's Assorted Callouts bank heist callout took months to develop, and he's got a lot more experience modding than I do. So, it will be quite some time before these callouts are available. But, when they are ready, I hope they are worth the wait!

Hi @PNWParksFan Can I get the coastal callouts beta please so I can try it out early

I am excited to announce that PNWParksFan Modding and Coastal Callouts have been acquired by a private defense contractor, for use as a virtual reality military training simulator. As a part of this multi-million dollar acquisition agreement and related non-disclosure agreement, I will be required to remove all of my modifications from public access at midnight tonight. Government entities will be able to license the Coastal Emergency Simulator for $1000 per employee per year for training purposes, but the system will not be available to private individuals. For more information please see this press release from the Federal Operational Organization Liaison. 

Edited April 1, 20179 yr by PNWParksFan

il y a 24 minutes, PNWParksFan a dit :

I am excited to announce that PNWParksFan Modding and Coastal Callouts have been acquired by a private defense contractor, for use as a virtual reality military training simulator. As a part of this multi-million dollar acquisition agreement and related non-disclosure agreement, I will be required to remove all of my modifications from public access at midnight tonight. Government entities will be able to license the Coastal Emergency Simulator for $1000 per employee per year for training purposes, but the system will not be available to private individuals. For more information please see this press release from the Federal Operational Organization Liaison. 

Noooo so sad...At least you'll be rich...

I feel bad but I'm hearing a good song to comfort me...

I felt clever before, you proved the opposite...

Edited April 1, 20179 yr by Myrphac

So sad to see such an amazing plugin go.  I was really enjoying the beta and all the amazing features you've worked on.

I suppose it's worth it to have such an advanced training simulator for our military, though.

Hello! I understand that I will not get access to Coastal Callouts? Sorry for my English.