Best way to learn navigation?

[BittleRyan 10]

Not sure how deep navigation goes into arma 2, but is there a document or video that teaches the basics and extremely advanced ways to navigate in arma 2: OA?

thanks

[larsiano 12]

This is nice: http://forums.bistudio.com/showthread.php?t=90008 it teaches you how navigate without a compass at night.

But Arma2 you can use a compass (K), you can use GPRS (CTRL+M if you have one in your inventory) it show you your direction, coörd. and where you are on the map. you can also use grid coörinates that are numbers besides the map horizontal first the vertical like 011.011.. Or you can move by waypoint directing to where you have to go. All of them are easy to use and you can use them without a univerity degree :D

Edited February 12, 2011 by larsiano

[Noraf 0]

gprs?? thats for cellphones, think you meen gps ;)

If you zoom in on the map, you can see rock formations, hight lines and all that stuff, that can be used for rough navigation. And ofcourse the sun, if you can see it.

[ScareCroweb 10]

make a mission in editor set yourself in as a rifleman, they usually dont have gps's, and make a random placement radius as large as you want, preview make sure youre running at expert dificulty and you get spawned in at a random location. mission is find your location, simpler ways to learn it the hard way simply doesent exist. test yourself set goals like I need to find out where I am in 10 minutes or 30 or 5 minutes or 30 seconds :) trust me it works. just make sure that your spawn circle does not include very large landmarks like buildings or roads.. it makes it too easy imo have fun

[johncage 30]

star navigation is pretty effective, especially during daytime. sun always sets in the east and rises in the west so you get a pretty good bearing from looking at shadows.

[MissionMaximus 10]

That's my biggest problem when turning off all the aids, I don't know where in the hell I'm at or where to go. What I really need is a new GPS different from the game like the garmin I have in my truck to tell my Noob A$$ where to go. You guys are talking about reading the stars and stuff, man I'm no astroligist just give me a dam M16 and point me in the right direction.

[lugiahua 26]

you have to understand how MGRS and Azimuth to use the map and compass in Arma2 as well as real world.

I learned it through the ROTC. I guess the fastest way to learn it is by someone who is serving/served in NATO military.

[Horus 83]

If you want to learn how to navigate using stars you have very useful

Swedge's Star Navigation tool :bounce3:

[Cowboy Pilot 10]

In the past using ACE Mod and disabling the magic position on map marker I taught mounted and dismounted land navigation, going over day and night, use of a compass, how to read your map, terrain association, and how to shoot azimuths, back azimuths, intersection, etc.

Guys had a lot of fun with it. Even had a guy who was also military but was not good at land nav learn some good things that he never understood as well before from his time at Army Basic Training and more.

[pooroldspike 128]

In the past using ACE Mod and disabling the magic position on map marker I taught mounted and dismounted land navigation...

I haven't got ACE, but I'm wondering if there's a way to disable the magic "you are here" icon on the map in the standard game?

[Zipper5 74]

I haven't got ACE, but I'm wondering if there's a way to disable the magic "you are here" icon on the map in the standard game?

Disable "Extended map info" under your control options.

[Daniel 0]

@OP

Try to spot 3 easily identifiable landmarks: towers, forests, roads, coasts, radio masts, hill tops, etc. Now find them on the map. Now read off the direction they are to you using your compass. This should give you a rough idea of your location. This can be easier or harder depending on view distance, terrain variety and other aspects.

But it's a useful skill if you're ever without a GPS.

[columdrum 11]

I haven't got ACE, but I'm wondering if there's a way to disable the magic "you are here" icon on the map in the standard game?

Use veteran dificulty or higher

[pooroldspike 128]

Re disabling the maps magic "you are here" icon:-

from Zipper- Disable "Extended map info" under your control options.

from Columdrum- Use veteran dificulty or higher

Thanks guys, this opens the way to creating "Orienteering" fun training missions, or even throwing in enemy infantry patrols to create "Manhunt" and "Downed Pilot" missions where you have to evade them as you make your way from A to B with just a map and compass by day or night..:)

[Cowboy Pilot 10]

@OP

Try to spot 3 easily identifiable landmarks: towers, forests, roads, coasts, radio masts, hill tops, etc. Now find them on the map. Now read off the direction they are to you using your compass. This should give you a rough idea of your location. This can be easier or harder depending on view distance, terrain variety and other aspects.

But it's a useful skill if you're ever without a GPS.

That will work, the term for it is called RESECTION

Re disabling the maps magic "you are here" icon:-

from Zipper- Disable "Extended map info" under your control options.

from Columdrum- Use veteran dificulty or higher

Thanks guys, this opens the way to creating "Orienteering" fun training missions, or even throwing in enemy infantry patrols to create "Manhunt" and "Downed Pilot" missions where you have to evade them as you make your way from A to B with just a map and compass by day or night..

If anyone here is interested in setting up some stuff like that I will be more than happy to have one of our sections (which is for arma2) work on hosting a cool little public event.

[ScareCroweb 10]

btw you just need two landmarks to triangulate your own position, its called triangulation.

[walker 0]

btw you just need two landmarks to triangulate your own position, its called triangulation.

Hi ScareCroweb

In the main true but...

When you are on or near the line between two points you accuracy decreases.

You can also use 3 points with no map and only memory or a sketch map to decide the positional features that bound your position. Eg you know you are somwhere between road x valley y and mountains z. Once you have that you can start refining your position.

Generally speaking the more points you can ID the better your positional accuracy. I am a climbing instructor and have navigated with and without a compass and with and without map all over the world.

Surprisingly I find it easier to get lost in ArmA than in the real world. I have little bump of direction, nothing special, just that little bit of internal inertial navigation many people have. But of course it don't work in ArmA! :D

ArmA is almost an ideal tool for learning navigation though, heck you can even use it to learn pace count navigation with it!

One thing to learn is using road and relief feature alignment directions. With a map and compass it is easy; once you see a road or significant relief feature, just point you compass parallel to it. Then find what features on the map lie on that alignment but you can even use it where you have no compass and from memory without a map.

One good thing about ArmA now is you can remove the Map as well as the GPS and compass. You can then use scripts and a JPG to give your self a sketch map. Making things way harder!

It would be nice if BIS were to release a free-be version of the ArmA engine with no weapons just the navigation tools as a download for schools to teach navigation in geography classes.

Even better would be if the islands could be national parks.

Kind Regards

Edited March 5, 2011 by walker

[pooroldspike 128]

Thanks guys i've followed some of your suggestions about creating simple "Manhunt"/ "Pilot Down"/ "Orienteering" missions and here are some of my dabblings-

In the Editor place a guy in the middle of the map, then set a 'Placement radius' of about 6000 metres around him so that he appears at a random point inside the circle every time you start a new mission-

Then disable his icon so that he won't appear on the ingame map (that'd be too easy)

Run the Preview a few times just to check that he really does appear at different spots each time like this-

Edited March 6, 2011 by PoorOldSpike

[pooroldspike 128]

You can even set night and navigate by the stars.

Hey you innocent noobs, remember the Big Dipper (or 'Plough') always points to the north star like this-

"I am constant as the northern star, of whose true-fix'd and resting quality there is no fellow in the firmament."- Shakesp's J. Caesar

BUT- at the moment I'm trying to find a way to work around the annoying fact that the map's red crosshairs tend to zero in on your position even though you've disabled your icon, meaning you still know where you are, and there's no fun in that...grrr.

(one way round it would be to print out the map and play the game with it on your knee)

[BittleRyan 10]

Is the mode set on 'expert' I only ever had the red crosshair thing when flying in a vehicle.

[Dropper 10]

I must try to navigate by stars in game.I never really payed attention at nigt sky in Arma , although I noticed Orion, Ursa Major and I think Canis Major.

Well, since I like to call myself "astronomy expert" this navigation should be peace of cake.

[NeMeSiS 11]

I must try to navigate by stars in game.I never really payed attention at nigt sky in Arma , although I noticed Orion, Ursa Major and I think Canis Major.

Well, since I like to call myself "astronomy expert" this navigation should be peace of cake.

You could try to get the old OFP, it had a mission where you actually had to use it to find your way home.

[JdB 151]

Let's throw in a pinch of geekness by using real world objects! :D

For navigating in a mission where the map, gps and compass have all been removed: (Beware: in an "escape and evade" scenario this means inserting the watch in an awkward place to prevent it from being taken from you! Not that you have to simulate that part as well of course ... :j: )

For this technique to work you will need an analog wrist watch. Point the hour hand in the direction of the sun. Synchronize your real life watch with the ingame time when the mission starts (check the ingame watch).

Find the "12" on your wrist watch. Half of the distance between the "12" and the hour hand is south. For example, if the hour hand is at "6", south will be half way between the "6" and the "12", that means that due south is in the direction of the "9".

Once you have used your watch to find south, you can easily find the other directions. To find north, add six hours. To find east, subtract three hours. To find west, add three hours.

In the Southern hemisphere, this technique is the same, but south and north are reversed.

Edited March 6, 2011 by JdB

[pooroldspike 128]

Yeh there are various ways to play nav missions, I should imagine the hardest are making your way through enemy terriotory crawling with hawkeyed AI bots because the chances are he'll see you before you see him and crackle!- you're dead meat.

Unless of course you improve your chances by moving through thick woods, low ground, along hedgerows, gullies and peoples back yards etc as much as possible.

I suppose you could also have a friendly helo orbiting overhead to warn you where the bad guys are.

Alternatively have no friendly helo and no enemy ground troops, but give Opfor a few chopper gunships to hunt you down instead so you can dive for cover when you hear one coming and enjoy the bowel-churning thrill of wondering if he's seen you.

PS- I'm no astronomy whizz but this looks like Orion to me; correct me if I'm wrong but I swear I heard in Star Trek that Spocks home planet Vulcan is in Orion's belt..

[ryguy 10]

Yea the thin part there is definitely orions belt, three stars.