Actual combat????

[Garfield2010 10]

Hi there (ARMA II)

I have downloaded some of the SP missions in the hope of killing someone myself. For instance the "behind enemy lines" mission. I change to the sniper immediately and leave the squad leader to heal everybody etc. Now after a few restarts I realize that the enemies come from the North on the horizon. So I aim and wait and actually see the red tag that show "grenadier" or whoever is approaching through the bushes 200metres away.

So I wait and aim. And then I get killed. My problem is that it doesnt matter what mission, it seems I cannot get to shoot anyone. The enemy and my squad memebers seem to see 300 metres far, but I dont. I get shot even while lying down from the start in the bushes etc.

AM I MISSING SOMETHING HERE? Is the goal of the game to manage your squad to do the killing? Is this actually a RTS game and not a FPS?

And no, I live in a 3rd world country so playing online is not the answer......

If only they could combine 2 games like Far Cry 2 and ARMA.............

HOW CAN GUYS SHOOT YOU IF YOU ARE LYING BEHIND A BUSH AND THEY HAVE NEVER SEEN YOU BEFORE??

[maddogx 13]

HOW CAN GUYS SHOOT YOU IF YOU ARE LYING BEHIND A BUSH AND THEY HAVE NEVER SEEN YOU BEFORE??

If you are lying still in a bush, doing nothing, they shouldn't see you. Either you are shooting and thus giving away your position, or something is very, very wrong with your game and you might want to try reinstalling.

What difficulty setting are you using?

[NoRailgunner 0]

Can you make some screenshots or better a video?

Did you played the tutorial/SP missions or used the editor/armory to get familiar with the Arma2?

[Count Sessine 0]

Make sure you play on the easiest setting, recruit. Arma is quite difficult because of the ranges involved. I have played it for years and it still happens, quite often in fact ;-), that I see or hear bullets hit the ground around me and 4 seconds later I'm dead, none the wiser about who or what shot me :-)

[Garfield2010 10]

I am on recruit already. It just feels that I am disadvantaged because the AI (my squad + enemy) spot each other while still behind cover/hills etc. I want to be more hands on. I want to walk point and make 5 of the 15 kills for each mission. Currently I am hiding behind my squad and making 1 out of 10 kills. And I get shot the most of anyone...

I have version 1.05. Will updating it make any difference here?

---------- Post added at 09:54 AM ---------- Previous post was at 09:48 AM ----------

Another question............. Is their a specific resolution/graphics settings that make the enemy more visible? Currently I am running it at full specs.............

The thing is I want a classic kill. I want to walk in the bush, SPOT the enemy FIRST, line up my shot, crawl closer and the BANG.......... man down. It seems impossible as I feel now...

Also lastly, how the hell do you get the medic to heal someone? Say for instance number 8 is down injured, and the medic is number 7. What do I press???

---------- Post added at 10:03 AM ---------- Previous post was at 09:54 AM ----------

I dont know how to make a video etc. There is nothing wrong with my game. It is an original (before someone siggests FADE etc). In the shooting range everything works perfectly fine and I can shoot people. My main issue lies with the spotting of enemies before they spot me (through trees and shit)

Have anyone played the "behind enemy lines" mission???

---------- Post added at 10:06 AM ---------- Previous post was at 10:03 AM ----------

Oh yeah, actually the other day I had the perfect kill. Snuck up and all that only to hear the radio crackling with friendly fire after the perfect shot...... At least it was fun for that split second....

[D00mbuggy 10]

I suggest you update to 1.07.

[Garfield2010 10]

I will update once I get my internet next week, but surely this has nothing to do with the stealth?

[kireta21 13]

Teamwork. ArmA 2 AI is not forgiving enough to let you play one-man army. If you don't use concealment, AI will outgun you and kill you. Even at long distances they will just put covering fire and get closer. More squad members - more eyes to scan horizon. More lead flying toward enemy. More chances to hit them. Also your AI can put supressing fire as well.

Also, if they're in range - you're in range. 300m is regular engagement range for rifles IRL. Not mentioning Marines, who still practice 500 yards shooting with ironsights only.

And when all else fails, turn off grass (terrain setting) to have clean sight and set enemy and friendly skill to custom 0.0 in difficulty setting. They'll put Imperial Stromtroopers in shame.

[celery 8]

Disable grass with very low terrain and use the zoom function.

[Garfield2010 10]

Thanks guys I will do that!

[polecat.uk 11]

To get the medic to heal press back space, f7 (if thats the medic) scroll down to action and click on heal that hurt guy.

[stk2008 14]

Disable grass with very low terrain and use the zoom function.

That is a good point I wonder if he is using the hold right moue button for zoom.

Any ways as said this game is a bitch hahahaha.

[alleycat 28]

I think he has a point. If you play arma2 with Ai comrades vs enemy AI the combat usually starts with them spotting each other much sooner while you still try to figure out where they are. I think part of this is that since arma2 takes a good PC to run, most of us turn down certain settings, like AA. This however makes things far away quite pixelated and less visible.

[mosh 0]

Disable grass with very low terrain and use the zoom function.

Yep, very good advice that I use also. I mapped 'hold breath' to spacebar (default is right click) so you don't hold your breath every time you zoom.

I know it's frustrating getting the hang of it all, but it sounds like you're really trying, keep it up. This game is awesome even if you never touch the MP. And yes, when you get a chance, update to 1.07.

Good luck!

[Alpha-Kilo 36]

You could also decrease enemy accuracy. This will make them miss more often and you may be able to hit them before they hit you.

[bascule42 10]

It's also worth pointing out that just because you think you are in cover, and the rest of your team, you may not be. A2 is very unforgiving when it comes to hiding. It is very hard to do, especially with an AI squad. I would go by a general rule that if you can see them, they WILL be able to see you, and if they can see you, you're gonna get shot at. You'll also get used to spotting enemy movements as opposed to looking for enemies themselves. See something move, then look for the enemy.

Other than that, it's simply practice. Stick with it, it's a very rewarding game.

Saying this though, I do die a lot. :D

Edited September 2, 2010 by Bascule42

[JdB 151]

My main issue lies with the spotting of enemies before they spot me (through trees and shit)

This takes a lot of practice. The first few months (for me it was even years :p ), all you will see is a maze of trees. You need to train your eyes to ignore the trees, and look for anything that shouldn't be there (especially when it's moving ;) ).

[maddogx 13]

This takes a lot of practice. The first few months (for me it was even years :p ), all you will see is a maze of trees. You need to train your eyes to ignore the trees, and look for anything that shouldn't be there (especially when it's moving ;) ).

This. Arma2 is definitely not for people with bad eyesight.

[-)rStrangelove 0]

I would go by a general rule that if you can see them, they WILL be able to see you, and if they can see you, you're gonna get shot at.

I'd take this a bit further and say that its not a good idea to engage any group without having any cover.

I see a lot of ppl opening fire from a mountain top down into a valley and are forced to totally retreat within seconds after their 1st shot. As you can see into the valley, the whole valley can see you and will open fire on you.

It's save to expect to be shot at in ArmA, so you're first thoughts before engaging should be which cover to use. If you dont have any cover get back & flank until you can engage 1 guy while still having hard cover from the rest of the enemies.

Corners are good, engage the 1st guy you can see, make sure he's dead (2 shots minimum) then get away from the corner.

[BeerHunter 0]

A couple of other pointers...

Seems everyone runs everywhere (run being the default forward movement for some odd reason). Don't!!

Also when you move your head to track an enemy you are shifting your entire body (like other normal FPS) and possibly exposing yourself. ArmA2 gives you a free look option allowing you to move only your head , as well as a floating zone option which allows you to adjust your aim without moving your entire body.

The AI doesn't "see" you but becomes aware of your presence by some factor passed to the AI's algorithm , something like noise , percent exposed , type of cover etc. There's an entire post dedicated to this subject.

Also , get your hands on Zeus AI. This vastly improves the AI's behavior and allows you to adjust their aim as well as abilities so you can have really smart AI that takes cover but can't hit the broad side of a barn! Makes firefights loads of fun.

[Psilocybe 3]

Beer: how do i adjust them to do that? I have Zeus..

[Windexglow 10]

Re-read instructions, it'll tell you how by modifying a file.

For me, I'd turn Post-Processing totally off, or at least on the lowest. Bloom makes it feel like I have chlorine in my eyes, DOF isn't especially pretty and SSAO isn't terribly noticeable. Take things slow, in some cases sacrifice your men to the gods by sending them in first. You aren't a 1-man army, always have a plan to back up.

[BeerHunter 0]

Basically ..To change the settings you have to open your player profile in ArmA2 (OA if you have it) in the documents folder then find the level you want to play at (recruite , regular , veteran etc.) then adjust the

skillFriendly

skillEnemy

precisionFriendly

precisionEnemy

to the recommended settings and try it. You can then adjust them to suite your likes.

The profile will probably open in Notepad (if not , select Notepad to open it.)

Watch when you save to make sure the profile isn't written back as a simple txt file but as the profile.

Might not hurt to back up the original (make a copy of it somewhere) first just to be on the safe side.

Hope that helps...

[alleycat 28]

's also worth pointing out that just because you think you are in cover, and the rest of your team, you may not be. A2 is very unforgiving when it comes to hiding. It is very hard to do, especially with an AI squad. I would go by a general rule that if you can see them, they WILL be able to see you, and if they can see you, you're gonna get shot at. You'll also get used to spotting enemy movements as opposed to looking for enemies themselves. See something move, then look for the enemy.

Other than that, it's simply practice. Stick with it, it's a very rewarding game.

Saying this though, I do die a lot.

Why is everyong talking to the original poster as if he just needs some tactical advice? It is a wellknown problem in ARMA2 that the AI is way more proficient at spotting people than the player, even the player auto spots things in view that the person in fron ot the pc cant even see.

[Grizzle 0]

I want to walk point and make 5 of the 15 kills for each mission. Currently I am hiding behind my squad and making 1 out of 10 kills. And I get shot the most of anyone...

First, stop trying to be Rambo. I felt the same when I began playing but soon learned it's better to be alive at the end of the mission than to have lots of kills. Sometimes I get most of the kills out of sheer chance, other times my AI squad mates do. You'll learn to not care so much about that soon enough.

Another question............. Is their a specific resolution/graphics settings that make the enemy more visible? Currently I am running it at full specs.............

The thing is I want a classic kill. I want to walk in the bush, SPOT the enemy FIRST, line up my shot, crawl closer and the BANG.......... man down. It seems impossible as I feel now...

The AI is much better at spotting through vegetation and trees than I am. I'm not saying the flora doesn't impact the AI sight, it does, but they have much better eyesight when it comes to spotting you in the woods etc. Start checking your map when you AI squadies begin calling out enemies. They'll show up so you have some idea of where they are when you can't actually see them.

THat being said, you WILL become better at spotting, it just takes time. When I first started I rarely ever spotted the enemy before my squad did. That's not the case anymore as I have 'trained' my eyes for what to look for.

Also lastly, how the hell do you get the medic to heal someone? Say for instance number 8 is down injured, and the medic is number 7. What do I press???

I personally select the medic using the F keys then hit 6 and usually the heal option is first in the command list. There's more than one way to accomplish as someone else already pointed out. You can point at the medic, select him then point at the injured party and issue the heal command that will pop up in the context menu of the injured man.

I dont know how to make a video etc. There is nothing wrong with my game. It is an original (before someone siggests FADE etc). In the shooting range everything works perfectly fine and I can shoot people. My main issue lies with the spotting of enemies before they spot me (through trees and shit)

Have anyone played the "behind enemy lines" mission???

Oh yeah, actually the other day I had the perfect kill. Snuck up and all that only to hear the radio crackling with friendly fire after the perfect shot...... At least it was fun for that split second....

I think I've tried BEL when it was first released. Don't remember a whole lot about that mission, but your issues aren't with the mission itself, it's just that you're in that adjustment period. Once you get beyond it you'll learn to appreciate the fact that enemies can be deadly and killing things in this game isn't as easy as most other modern FPS make it.

You should try Cipher mission if you haven't already and of course there is always the editor where you can lay down some enemy units and your squad to get some practice spotting and killing.