Combine half-spent magazines into one full

[andersson 285]

Not needed? I have been stuck with several almost empty magasines many times and I dont really want to drop the few precious bullets to get empty slots for other ammunition. The other thing this feature suggest is the possibility to check how many bullets you have in one magasine, I had nasty surprises when I thought I had 3-4 good loads and it turns out its 7-8 bullets in total..

[4 IN 1 0]

The more realistic way is to have x amount of ammo place in your backpack, then add reload magazine function in gear menu. I am not saying the op idea is unrealistic, but it is not a effective way.

[max power 21]

Not needed? I have been stuck with several almost empty magasines many times and I dont really want to drop the few precious bullets to get empty slots for other ammunition. The other thing this feature suggest is the possibility to check how many bullets you have in one magasine, I had nasty surprises when I thought I had 3-4 good loads and it turns out its 7-8 bullets in total..

Bullets aren't really that precious in this game. If you run out for your current weapon and can't get some from a couple of team mates, then pick up another weapon off of the battlefield.

[NoRailgunner 0]

I would like to see this feature with real time for reload + animations. No need for ridiculous and gamey instant refills.

[whisper 0]

Not needed? I have been stuck with several almost empty magasines many times and I dont really want to drop the few precious bullets to get empty slots for other ammunition. The other thing this feature suggest is the possibility to check how many bullets you have in one magasine, I had nasty surprises when I thought I had 3-4 good loads and it turns out its 7-8 bullets in total..

Yes, we all did, and in most scenarios you wouldn't have had time IRL to combine your mags either, and would be stuck with you near empty mags exactly like you are in game. All good.

Time to implement vs in-game gain is far too low for this to be considered.

Now, having proper script functions for counting ammos and setting ammo in mags, this would be usefull! And let us script the whole system if someone really feels the need for it

[Pulverizer 1]

OT: Like others have said, I would like to see this as long as it takes an appropriate amount of time, such as 30 seconds per pair of mags you combine. If it comes down to realism versus gameplay, screw gameplay. If I want super fast reloads/auto combining magazines or the like I would play Battlefield, or CoD. I play ArmA II because of the realism aspect, the simulation aspect, not the fast paced gameplay. :p

Gameplay always comes first in a video game unless it's designed by a complete lunatic. Otherwise Arma would have gunshot wounds heal for months real time and respawn delay was hard-coded to 20 years. And the game would consist mostly of sitting at a guard post in 12-hour shifts, then one day a sniper shoots you dead out of nowhere.

[wolfbite 8]

It would be nice when in gear to hover over the mag and it would say "Full" "Heavy" "Light" "Empty" Then you can chuck the light ones and pickup heavy ones...

[x3kj 1247]

A way to judge how much (approx) is in a magazine would already be enough imo. I tend to not reload until all rounds are fired, to prevent bloating inventory with 1-4 round magazines.

[CarlGustaffa 4]

A way to judge how much (approx) is in a magazine would already be enough imo. I tend to not reload until all rounds are fired, to prevent bloating inventory with 1-4 round magazines.

I would want the ACE way to always be shown, instead of on demand. And accurate display on demand, as most magazines can show with pretty good accuracy the amount. Spring position indicator (most modern magazines?), semitransparent magazines (G36), or even a digital counter (XM8 accessory). Or at least accurate when inside the gear dialog.

Gameplay always comes first in a video game

It's always going to be a balance/compromise between realism and gameplay, and luckily Arma tends to bring in more of the realism aspect than any other. You think we would be happy if we got heat seeking M136s? :p I tend to not like it very much when gameplay is given too much importance. BIS decided to remove NVGs from scope (which I'm happy with, a move towards realism), but keep it for iron sights and non scoped sights (which I'm not happy with, but I guess I can understand it).

[Dead3yez 0]

This is useful for weapons like shotguns etc...

[Pulverizer 1]

This is useful for weapons like shotguns etc...

Indeed. I didn't even think about that. There's also sniper rifles with small magazines. Even if some would actually have internal magazines, the ammo is always treated as detacheable magazines in Arma.

---------- Post added at 10:06 PM ---------- Previous post was at 10:01 PM ----------

It's always going to be a balance/compromise between realism and gameplay, and luckily Arma tends to bring in more of the realism aspect than any other.

Yeah, that might've been a bad choice of words. What I meant that where realism would make gameplay extremely boring and tedious, gameplay comes first.

In this case, I think taking 30 seconds to get one half-empty 30 round mag filled, would be way too tedious except maybe for ACE mod.

[maturin 12]

Because its army property you've signed to be responsible for. Every piece you dont bring back means paperwork and in some cases you have to recompese the financial loss. Magazines are not THAT cheap at all that you just litter the ground with it.

http://englishrussia.com/index.php/2009/09/16/ak-47-lane/#more-5181

[no use for a name 0]

The main reason I want it is because towards the end of some missions when I've already had to engage several hostiles, I usually have a bunch of mags with less then 10 rounds left in them; and if I get ambushed or have to engage more targets I might get only a few shots, maybe enough to kill one guy before having to reload and usually getting killed. If I had a full mag I could have possibly taken several guys out before having to reload, increasing my chances.

And yes, most of the time I would probably be able to find some extra ammo, or switch out my weapon, but not always.

It would just be nice to have it as an option (there's nothing forcing you to use it so you can still play just like w/o it)

[CarlGustaffa 4]

@Pulverizer: Hehe, yeah, I know :) As I said earlier:

I don't mind faster than real, but I tend to always mind instantaneous.

30 seconds per mag I think would get tedious. But I think most could live with 10 seconds. Thats less than a minute to fill up to new full 6 magazines (typical loadout).

What is now far too instantaneous is the engineer repair. After all, you damaged the vehicle, you deserve to pay a little for it. Currently if you just have an engineer you're pretty much good to go again. Naturally simulating a few hours in the shop won't do any good, but he is repairing a vehicle, and I think it should take a couple of minutes to do it (say, 30 seconds per part?). Not enough to cause anyone to log off, but enough to cause a little swearing. A lot more interesting stuff can happen during that time, compared to what can happen during the current five seconds or so it takes now.

I love the new engineer capability. It's not realistic (but the repair truck isn't either), and it doesn't halt the game for a considerable amount of time to get the needed support trucks on site. A couple of minutes penalty is enough to make you annoyed about the guy who damaged the vehicle, it leaves you vulnerable to attacks from approaching forces (pressure is good :)), it still slows down the gameplay without halting it completely, and the known penalty makes you try harder not to damage equipment.

It should at least be possible to use special "repair" animations based on having a module present (like the heal animations taking a lot longer). Animations that you can break out of if needed (like the heal animations).

[LJF 0]

I don't think you quite understand the process... You can't walk while your using both hands to dump rounds out of half empty mags, load them into other mags, and then put the mags back into your pouches.

OT: Like others have said, I would like to see this as long as it takes an appropriate amount of time, such as 30 seconds per pair of mags you combine. If it comes down to realism versus gameplay, screw gameplay. If I want super fast reloads/auto combining magazines or the like I would play Battlefield, or CoD. I play ArmA II because of the realism aspect, the simulation aspect, not the fast paced gameplay. :p

This game is all about taking a ride to a LZ/DZ/Drop off point, humping it for 10 minutes, and then getting into a firefight with an enemy that outnumbers you 2-1 or more, struggling to reload fast enough while bullets snap by, watching your air support get blown out of the sky, and then spending the next 2 hours trying to get the hell out of the hostile area with the remnants of your unit. You have to have patience to play it. Add the feature, but make it take time.

Absolutely, but personally I don't think it's needed, too much work for very little return in either fun factor or realism.

[CarlGustaffa 4]

Give us the commands to read and manipulate magazine contents, and we can do the rest on a per mission basis. Playing with something for a while gives a better chance to have a solid builtin implementation down the line.

[Evil_Echo 11]

+1 to CG's idea.

[Pulverizer 1]

-1 :P

I think it's such a basic function that all missions should have it automatically. If the functionality (scriptable drag-and-drop handling for inventory, magazine manipulation) was there, they might as well go all the way.

[TRexian 0]

Give us the commands to read and manipulate magazine contents, and we can do the rest on a per mission basis.

+1 to this

Maybe return a nested array of all the unit's magazines, [classname, number].

_mags = player magazineContents;

Might return something like...

[[30Rnd_762x39_AK47, 30], [30Rnd_762x39_AK47, 30], [30Rnd_762x39_AK47, 25], [30Rnd_762x39_AK47, 7], [30Rnd_762x39_AK47, 2], [8Rnd_9x18_Makarov, 8], [8Rnd_9x18_Makarov, 3], [8Rnd_9x18_Makarov, 1], [1Rnd_SMOKE_GP25, 1]]

I think automatically combining them would be unrealistic. Maybe allow an addaction to do it, like once there is a lull in the fighting.

[whisper 0]

-1 :P

I think it's such a basic function that all missions should have it automatically. If the functionality (scriptable drag-and-drop handling for inventory, magazine manipulation) was there, they might as well go all the way.

But as seen in the discussion above, some want it done gameplay oriented but unrealistic (ie, rather fast and simple), others want it realistic and less gamey (takes long time, only to be used when plenty of time ahread ... )

Who's wrong, who's right? I'm not one to tell, thus the scripting way is a far better way to acheive it => give true ammo scripting commands, leave it to the players to adapt it to their taste

[frederf 0]

There are no scripting commands to "add round to magazine" or "remove round from magazine." I have no idea why but there you go. If there was the ACE CSW magazines wouldn't be "10% 20%.... 90%" approximations. There are ways to do it anyway, but really inelegant. It would also be nice to have empty magazine objects.

Not everyone plays the same but I often have 5min+ doing jack all where I could happily switchMove sitDown and collate rounds. I could even fill magazines from a box of "loose."

[Darkhorse 1-6 16]

There are no scripting commands to "add round to magazine" or "remove round from magazine." I have no idea why but there you go. If there was the ACE CSW magazines wouldn't be "10% 20%.... 90%" approximations. There are ways to do it anyway, but really inelegant. It would also be nice to have empty magazine objects.

Not everyone plays the same but I often have 5min+ doing jack all where I could happily switchMove sitDown and collate rounds. I could even fill magazines from a box of "loose."

Hmm... Empty magazine objects would be a very nice addition. It would offer players a way to track enemy players/AI by their litter. :)

[SpectreTim 10]

This game is all about taking a ride to a LZ/DZ/Drop off point, humping it for 10 minutes, and then getting into a firefight with an enemy that outnumbers you 2-1 or more, struggling to reload fast enough while bullets snap by, watching your air support get blown out of the sky, and then spending the next 2 hours trying to get the hell out of the hostile area with the remnants of your unit. You have to have patience to play it. Add the feature, but make it take time.

Well Said

It would be nice if you could do this while riding passenger in a helo or whatever, that is where there is a lot of waiting time.

[Ulanthorn 10]

Hmm... Empty magazine objects would be a very nice addition. It would offer players a way to track enemy players/AI by their litter. :)

Again...no army on this planets teaches to throw away magazines. magazines are personal equipment and do not get replaced all the time...lilltering the ground with magazines...thats hollywood, not military procedure...you need the magazines to rearm since Ammunition is given to you in cardboxes...not in magazines.

Where do you put your ammunitiion in when you have thrown away all your mags each costing around 15$?

You're basically asking for Hollywood features here.

A tip for rearming...If you have a Vehicle just put spare magazines into...in cargo seat just put weapon in cargo and take it back...now all mags will be full...works with weapons crates too.

Edited October 23, 2010 by Ulanthorn

[CarlGustaffa 4]

If you have a Vehicle just put spare magazines into...in cargo seat just put weapon in cargo and take it back...now all mags will be full...works with weapons crates too.

Uhh, what? :( That has got to be a bug!