New to Arma II -- What mods/tools should I absolutely get?

[Tunedbeats 10]

Hello everyone!

As mentioned in the thread title, I recently accuired Arma II and Operation Arrowhead, and I can't wait to dig into the game this weekend :)

Ive been reading the forums a bit here at work the past few days, and I have come to learn that player made mods and tools play a huge part in the Arma II community, which I think is amazing. I do, however, have a few questions before I start learning the game in the single player campaigns and whatnot.

First off, let me please mention that I have browsed through the stickys and the "newbies look here" threads I could find, however I havent found any real answers to my questions in these.

So, my question is, what mods and/or tools should I absolutely get with Arma II/OA to enhance my enjoyement of the game? Which ones do you recommend highly? And why? Also, will a mod like ACE enhance my Single Player experience? Or is it pretty much ment for online play only? Also, can I use it while doing the campaign missions?

Hope I can get some suggestions, and I am looking forward to become an active member of this community!

Many thanks in advance for any input!

Edited May 13, 2011 by Tunedbeats

[dmarkwick 261]

My advice is always to play the game with no addons or mods for as long as you can stand it. Then when you add stuff, you are able to make a judgement as to whether it adds anything for you, and whether you prefer it over some other solution.

[Iroquois Pliskin 0]

If you're new to OFP/ArmA, unmodded stock will last you for a long time, complete the campaigns, all the missions, get online & get used to the game. ;)

[aussieterry84 10]

Yeah go stock, its best to start off stock then start with sound mods when u get into it.

In fact i only use sound mods, pretty cool game with how u dont need many addons to enhance it with BIS does it with patches!

[Westsailor 10]

I'm certainly no expert having only started playing Arma CO a little over a couple weeks ago.

But when I first bought Arma I had the same question thinking if it's this good then the addons/mods can only make it better.

I got the same advice... start with the vanilla and grow from there. I think that is good advice. You will find that in fact Arma 2 OA really doesn't NEED anything. That said, you will become much more selective in what you might want to add.

Besides, there are a ton of mods out there and if you start adding them 'willy nilly' you might find yourself not being able to play online (and/or maybe flaky gameplay if you put them in the wrong order, etc.).

Get a feel for the vanilla game first. In the meantime keep reading the forums and play online. After a while you will begin to see what other mods people lean toward. I'm just now starting to 'beta test' some of the more popular ones (WarFX: Blastcore adds some nice eye candy).

If you just have to tinker right now the sound mods are the least 'risky'.

[Daniel 0]

My advice would be start off simple, learn how pbos and mod folders work before diving into things like ACE. Also find out how to tweak the skill and accuracy of your friends and foes using the game's config.

Also bear in mind that addons can break official and user missions aswell as other addons, and that they're not allowed on some servers (learn how to enable and disable them, or use separate shortcuts or launchers).

[Maio 293]

Hey tunedbeast ! I also suggest that you find a clan/squad to play with tactically . That is the only way you can get the best out of multyplayer .

The group I am part of hosts public games on Fridays and Saturdays and we don;t use any mods so that anyone can join . Send me a PM if you are interested .

Cheers !

[Psilocybe 3]

A good start is to start fairly simple. I'd recommend a sound mod, my preference is csm2 (quick search here or on google/YouTube) and after a bit of vanilla play a AI mod, either slx or zues.

Welcome to arma!

[Daniel 0]

This is an excellent thread to scour. http://forums.bistudio.com/showthread.php?t=96591

[Tunedbeats 10]

Hey everyone!

Thanks for the replies, it's much appreciated. I had a blast playing so far this weekend! Already purchased the two expansions (BAF & PMC) as well :)

Took the general advice of playing add-on free so far, and its awesome :) A bit overwhelming at first (In a good way) but once I had all the general key bindings memorized it made things much more smoother.

Have to say though ordering my squad around in a effective and non-suicidal manner is giving me some troubles. (And keeping a airplane airborne without auto-hover :P)

I will definitely try out some simple mods at first, and then move on to the bigger stuff. Thanks for the link Daniel.

[maturin 12]

A soundmod is all you really need at first.

[Tonci87 163]

Yep, go for a Soundmod, I recommend JSRS 1.2

[jblackrupert 14]

After playing stock sounds for a few months switching to J.S.R.S soundmod will turn you into a nervous wreck on the battlefield for awhile until you get used to it.

Some sounds are kinda clunky and weird but it opens up the battlefield bigtime

you can just delete or replace the sounds with others if you like.

[The Hebrew Hammer 10]

I use:

JTD Fire and Smoke

WarFx

Real Warfare Soundmod for sonic cracks

ACEX_SM for all other sounds, however to use RWS sonic cracks I had to remove ACEX_SM's sonic cracks from the PBO.

ACE2

Zeus AI

DAC, this is a major one to most of my missions, once you get the hang of it, you can use the tool to spawn random groups of AI

3rd party maps I use are typically Thirsk, Fallujah 1.1, and Kunar

also a variation of scripts for air support, artillery, medevac, etc.

It can be frustrating at first, a lot of the people in the community will just tell you to read some guide or wiki article about it, but typically they aren't very clear. You just got to hope the right people are online and willing to help you when you ask a question.

[icebreakr 3159]

Next step for you could be new islands to test out.

Check http://www.armaholic.com/list.php?c=arma2_oa_files_addons_islands

[Mr. Charles 22]

Singleplayer->Editor

But say goodbye to the RL

[jonneymendoza 10]

If you're new to OFP/ArmA, unmodded stock will last you for a long time, complete the campaigns, all the missions, get online & get used to the game. ;)

Many servers and clans use ACE so he will miss out if he just plays the vanila version.

Also, Arma 2 campaign/mission is buggy to the point where its unplayable

[markocro 66]

im playing arma since it was out, and i must say im playing only vanila arma, no addons at all.

go trought campaign and missions then you will get iin shape, then i sugest go multyplayer online and i recomend gossamers warfare mission, or benny warfare

if need any help or got something to ask fell free to PM :)

[dale0404 5]

Many servers and clans use ACE so he will miss out if he just plays the vanila version.

Also, Arma 2 campaign/mission is buggy to the point where its unplayable

Wrong, there are many public servers that do not use ACE, more than that do...

Campaigns / missions are buggy? Utter twoddle.

I use:

JTD Fire and Smoke

WarFx

Real Warfare Soundmod for sonic cracks

ACEX_SM for all other sounds, however to use RWS sonic cracks I had to remove ACEX_SM's sonic cracks from the PBO.

ACE2

Zeus AI

DAC, this is a major one to most of my missions, once you get the hang of it, you can use the tool to spawn random groups of AI

3rd party maps I use are typically Thirsk, Fallujah 1.1, and Kunar

also a variation of scripts for air support, artillery, medevac, etc.

It can be frustrating at first, a lot of the people in the community will just tell you to read some guide or wiki article about it, but typically they aren't very clear. You just got to hope the right people are online and willing to help you when you ask a question.

Theres an idea, the man has just go into Arma 2 and your telling him about scripting? Let the man enjoy the game first and if he wants to go down that road I am sure he will ask...

[zoog 18]

Hey everyone!

Have to say though ordering my squad around in a effective and non-suicidal manner is giving me some troubles. (And keeping a airplane airborne without auto-hover :P)

Consider using a 3rd party voice-command software for ordering your AI, works like a charm! There are several software packages available, for most of them you can get pre-programmed settings for ArmA 2.

But the real fun is with coordinated tactical teamplay in multiplayer with a group of decent people. I cannot play single player any more :( MP is where it's at.

[Warstick 10]

Hi Tunedbeats,

I myself am new to these forums despite lurking virtually for about 3 years, my advise if you are new to the game is to setup small engagements in the editor, you will be suprised at how quickly you learn the various nuances of how you AI team work and what their limitations are. I've only really been serious about the BI series since ARMA1(bought CWC in hindsight after) and have played the hell out of all the various iterations for both and still new things are being learned, only today I learned how to order coloured fireteams as a group instead of as individuals. My point is there is so much depth to this game that after 5+ years of playing them you'll still find somthing new and that's before you even start on the mods.

[jonneymendoza 10]

Wrong, there are many public servers that do not use ACE, more than that do...

Campaigns / missions are buggy? Utter twoddle.

Theres an idea, the man has just go into Arma 2 and your telling him about scripting? Let the man enjoy the game first and if he wants to go down that road I am sure he will ask...

If you include the empty servers then yea, most are vanilla arma 2 :p

And no, the missions campaign from arma 2 is buggy. many have complained about it!

[Tunedbeats 10]

First off let me thank everyone for all their great responses. Its been over a week now playing Arma II and I must say its been a blast so far. The single player content is amazing! I love it how it doesn't hold your hand through the various missions, giving it a much more "sanbox" feeling then a themepark which so many games seem to focus on nowadays.

I've had an amazing time so far trying out different stratagies and tactics in various missions.

Regarding the comments and tips I have recieved about mods, I have started by installing a soundmod as has been recommended by multiple posters, and I must say it made my gameplay experience much better.

In addition, I have installed ACE a few days ago, wanting to see what all the hype was/is about. I'm still somewhat confused about it's various features, but so far I love the additional aspects its brought to the game. Even something as small as blurred vision when standing close to a running Helo. Amazing mod, and very fun.

One thing that is still very confusing to me however, is not beeing able to join certain servers eventhough I think I have the same mods (Ace beeing an example) -- The other day I tried joining one but got kicked out quickly for not having specific files, eventhough judging the data list I had the same mods running. Ah well, must have been a fluke?

Furthermore, I have one final question: What would be the best way to start looking for a good squad to join? I have tried out various online servers so far, and I must admit I'm not liking the "bigger" ones much. It's all not only very confusing (Sometimes I spawn on the egde of a map having to run 3 kilometres to the closest town, and even then there is nothing really to do there. And spawning a vehicle makes it appear on the other side of the map at some factory? It all feels a bit too much BF to me. I love the vastness, weapons and vehicles, but its hard for a new player like me to find out what excactly is going on, no one really talks much nor is taking command.)

I have tried looking for some smaller servers where squads might be playing/recruiting but all these servers seem locked or have weird mods I can't find anywhere on the net. I've only had a few good online sessions (And granted, those were amazing, smaller teams, some people taking the lead, etc) and would love more like those!

So, any tips in that regard? I don't want to just randomly apply for squads, but I would very much like to join a squad who emphizises on realism, and is taking in complete noobs like myself :)

[pipscouse 10]

We at [-44-] are very welcoming of everyone, be they new to Arma or battle hardened vets. You don't need to join the clan to enjoy playing on our server. We only run co-op missions and the server is not modded so it is good for finding your feet and getting used to working as a team. Best time to catch at least a couple of us is about 11.00am on Sunday mornings UK time

---------- Post added at 20:15 ---------- Previous post was at 20:13 ----------

Oh and if you haven't already have a look here;

http://forums.bistudio.com/forumdisplay.php?f=90

[Tunedbeats 10]

Thanks for the heads-up Pipscouse, much appriciated. And I looked through that forum, maybe I'll get some ideas. Many thanks!