Help on installing Combined Ops

[Westsailor 10]

I'm in the process of downloading Combined Ops from Sprocket.

I was under the impression Combined Ops was ONE game (i.e. an integrated Arma 2 & OA). That confused me since I'm downloading TWO separate games (Arma 2 & OA).

OK, now I discover CO is in fact ArmA 2 & OA 'combined' (or more accurately, can be): According to another thread CO contains an alternate .exe that launches CO.

My question is, do I install Arma 2 and OA in separate directories or the same directory. Unfortunately there are no installation instructions (that I can see yet).

It appears I'm not the only one that has trouble sorting it all out. Without checking the forums, asking/getting help I would have thought simply buying Reinforcements would give me all previous versions & expansions to date starting with ArmA 2. Per BIS website :

"Arma 2: Reinforcements is a standalone expansion pack to Arma 2. It does not require the original Arma 2 or Arma 2: Operation Arrowhead."

Obviously if you want 'any & all' of the 'Armaversum' that isn't true. IMO BIS really needs to explain the expansion packs and how they work (together & separately) a little more thoroughly.

[Tonci87 163]

Install Arma2, then install OA into the same directory.

[pooroldspike 129]

I'm in the process of downloading Combined Ops from Sprocket.

I was under the impression Combined Ops was ONE game (i.e. an integrated Arma 2 & OA). That confused me since I'm downloading TWO separate games (Arma 2 & OA).

Yep it confused me too and I was on the verge of telling them "hey you've sent me two separate download links for AA2 and OA, but I only bought Comb Ops as advertised!", then I realised we're supposed to combine them ourselves!

After a couple of tries I succeeded, sorry I can't remember exactly how I did it, (probably as Tonci says) and it went smooth as silk, I'm the most computer-illiterate person around, so if I can do it anybody can, I seem to remember I just followed the prompts and they combined automatically and put a brand new 'Combined Ops' icon on my desktop for me..:)

Edited April 24, 2011 by PoorOldSpike

[rtka1234 10]

Install Arma2, then install OA into the same directory.

and then install the latest patch for oeration arrowhead. and tadam! there is the co icon this is how it worked for me;)

[Westsailor 10]

OK, I installed Arma 2. Then I installed OA. According to the readme OA should have automagically found my Bohemia Interactive/Arma 2 directory. However, it wanted to install OA into what I thought was a new location: c://Bohemia Interactive/Arma 2 Operation Arrowhead.

Since it is supposed to install in the same (Arma 2) directory I changed the target to point to the original Bohemia Interactive/Arma 2 directory.

Now I have OA installed under Arma 2, i.e.

c://Bohemia Interactive/Arma 2/Bohemia Interactive/Operation Arrowhead

I installed the patch with no problem (it found OA fine) but I still have no CO shortcut.

Install Arma2, then install OA into the same directory.

When you say 'install OA into the same directory', which directory do you mean, the 'root' Bohemia Interactive directory? Or the Arma 2 Directory. I've tried both ways and neither seem to result in anything but two separate games.

I guess I will uninstall OA, reinstall and take it's word for where it needs to go.

Update: I reinstalled OA using the default location (Bohemia Interactive/Arma 2 Operation Arrowhead) then reapplied the patch. No joy... I still do not have a CO icon. Just ArmA 2 and ArmA 2 OA launchers.

Edited April 26, 2011 by Westsailor

[pooroldspike 129]

..but I still have no CO shortcut...

Open your AA2/OA directory to see if the CO exe icon is tucked away in there somewhere and click it to see if it works.

Incidentally my own first attempts at combining AA2/OA were a time-consuming disaster, I remember now that I was using downloads and nothing I did seemed to work, so I gave up and bought disk versions instead which for some reason were easier to work with, and I combined at only the second attempt.

That means I bought AA2/OA twice, once as downloads and again on disk!

I love solid atoms-and-molecules disks..:)

[Westsailor 10]

I already checked to see if there was a CO icon in the OA directory. Nope

I also posted this in the sticky 'ARMA 2: CO (how to combine ARMA 2 into ARMA 2:OA and use together)'.

Other person had the same problem with CO from sprocket and discovered that "The problem was the Arma II install via sprocket didnt setup the registry paths properly, so it didnt detect that the game was installed. (neither did the patch) So each game was installed in its own folder. However, after fixing the registry paths manually and reinstalling AO via the sprocket setup, it detected it and sent it to the Arma directory."

I have no problem editing the registry but I just don't know what entries to edit, etc..

---------- Post added at 09:30 AM ---------- Previous post was at 08:25 AM ----------

Success! OK, the 'problem' is with the Sprocket installer.

Even though I purchased Arma (Combined Ops) and Operation Arrowhead (Combined Ops) the installer for OA defaults to installing them as separate games, i.e.

Bohemian Interactive/Arma 2

Bohemian Interactive/Arma 2 Operation Arrowhead

If you know that OA needs to be installed under ArmA 2 folder (which isn't explained in any installation/readme files) then when the installer asks where you want OA installed it's easy to 'browse' and just select the Bohemian Interactive/Arma 2 folder.

However, if you do that (and are not paying attention) then you get an OA installation of

Bohemian Interactive/Arma 2/Bohemian Interactive/Arma 2 Operation Arrowhead.

The 'problem' is, the installer forces an extra Bohemian Interactive 'root' folder for any OA installation.

What you have to do is 'browse' to point to the Arma 2 folder then manually edit the extra 'Bohemian Interactive' out of the install path. i.e.

from:

c:/Bohemian Interactive/Bohemian Interactive/Arma 2

to:

c:/Bohemian Interactive/Arma 2

Not sure if this is an issue with other download sources (steam, etc.) or DVD versions but it's definitely the reason CO doesn't install properly with the Sprocket version.