Development Blog & Reveals

[maddogx 13]

Well... to be honest I think that's just another vest model and does not represent a dynamic system. I eagerly await to be dis proven by the developes :)

Don't say you "think", just say it's not. In my experience, a dev will pop in to correct you if you're wrong. ;)

So here goes: gear items are not displayed on the character! Derp!

[markocro 66]

I really think it's neat that the gear/items you have are actually visible on the character:

http://img708.imageshack.us/img708/6658/arma3e3customizablebody.jpg

Adds a really nice touch to the character, and makes the gear look kinda unique.

that would be really great!

[Maio 293]

Don't say you "think", just say it's not. In my experience, a dev will pop in to correct you if you're wrong. ;)

So here goes: gear items are not displayed on the character! Derp!

M'kay...

I agree with you regarding the issue of gear items not being displayed on the character!

also

There is no way to select color/camo pattern for headgear, vests and backpacks !

In addition: :icon_twisted:

[Flash Thunder 10]

I just discovered quite an interesting little detail.

In the gamespot presentation, precisely in the Helicopter showcase at ~10m 56s, you can see the Co-pilot biting and deforming his lips. This precise sort of facial animation is completely new and might mean there are finally proper facial expressions :)

(In addition to the "not procedural head movement" as already known)

This was confirmed to be improved apon/new tech for Arma 3 the modeling of fingers and facial gesticulation.

[Smurf 12]

This question remains as I havent seen any weapons been manned:

hm... what about animations for stacionary weapons and stuff (M2, boarded machineguns, TOWs)? Are they planned?

[maturin 12]

I wouldn't be surprised if static weapons remained roughhewn, to a point.

The most important thing with them is letting their gunners' spotting and ai be functional and MAKING THEM TAKE SPLASH DAMAGE FROM ARTY.

Dragging CSWs would be nice as well.

[PuFu 4591]

And we've all had the pleasure of reading your whining the entire time. Its been fun.

what scub said.^^ i was expecting a metalcraze sort of post from your part for some time now...

Besides that Scuba, a lot of the other "more critical" community members are either banned or completely fed-up with the series and abandoned it totally. Now you decide if thats a good sign or not.

community members come and go. life changes, priority changes. no one is irreplaceable.

hell, i was able to play and mess with addon making a lot more 2-3 years ago. I don't have the same amount of time anymore either.

what you also seem to be forgetting is that BIS is trying to run a bussines. some things higher, some lower on the agenda. if your own list doesn't fit theirs, there is no need to go haywire i guess.

Edited June 8, 2012 by PuFu

[HKFlash 9]

what scub said.^^ i was expecting a metalcraze sort of post from your part for some time now...

community members come and go. life changes, priority changes. no one is irreplaceable.

hell, i was able to play and mess with addon making a lot more 2-3 years ago. I don't have the same amount of time anymore either.

what you also seem to be forgetting is that BIS is trying to run a bussines. some things higher, some lower on the agenda. if your own list doesn't fit theirs, there is no need to go haywire i gues.

Seconded.

[Clarkey1 10]

On tactical/dry reloads. Couldn't the extra round after a tac reload just be scripted? I mean the animations for reloading are looking really nice as they are. I don't even care if there is no charging animation but just a scripted workaround for different reloads would be cool. And as it's been said it's a simulation, it should at least be scripted to simulate a tactical reload. Animations are just aesthetic unless you really care about the extra second or w/e it would take to chamber a round after a dry reload (sort of gives us an advantage anyway :P). Eh I don't know if it will ever be done or if it's even doable but with all the little things ACE adds purely scripted workarounds for it makes me think it's at least plausible.

[instagoat 133]

what scub said.^^ i was expecting a metalcraze sort of post from your part for some time now...

community members come and go. life changes, priority changes. no one is irreplaceable.

hell, i was able to play and mess with addon making a lot more 2-3 years ago. I don't have the same amount of time anymore either.

what you also seem to be forgetting is that BIS is trying to run a bussines. some things higher, some lower on the agenda. if your own list doesn't fit theirs, there is no need to go haywire i guess.

Plus, Arma 3 may actually bring in large amounts of new players, where Arma 2 didn´t. (Right now, the driver is DayZ, not Arma per se.) Some people have been around for a -very- long time, and I can´t fault them for becoming tired with the game, and how it is evolving. New stuff can be difficult to cope with, especially if you have high and very pointed expectations from what you´d like the game to be. If those people decide to leave the game be, it´s their choice, and I completely respect that.

But kit-bashing or retrofitting half-baked implements for features that are barely relevant to gameplay, or if they are relevant would never be able to be adequately implemented without a huge effort, for the sake of a small group of very vocal community members is just not working out.

The tactilol reload thingy isn´t a gamebreaker. I don´t notice the difference when playing, never have. Looking at the game as a whole, it is a neglible feature. Advanced tank armour may not be, but there it comes back to how difficult it would be to implement.

Devs have alluded to -lots- of features being in the pipeline. For the gun-simulation, there are plans. Ditto for many other features. But they don´t want to do hack-jobs or workarounds this time, so instead of doing that for the sake of "having it", they are looking at improving/rebuilding the engine as Arma 3s lifetime progresses, as far as I understand. If this is true, I can go along with that, as long as I get a -finished-, -working-, -bugfree- and -well written- base release right off the bat.

If I have to wait another half year before the game is playable, I´ll treat it like Cliffs of Dover: it´ll go on the shelf. I have seen enough tacticool shooters that Arma 3s appeal really lies in a well told story, and all-over improvements that´ll draw my friends into the game so I can play with them. If the game doesn´t provide either of those, thanks but no thanks.

[4 IN 1 0]

Well I will atless hope they add a few lines of value modifier into the weapon config, so that we can tune the specific gun as per its spec and do not need any workaround script to change config value set in ammo class any more.

Edited June 9, 2012 by 4 IN 1

[2nd ranger 282]

at ~10m 56s, you can see the Co-pilot biting and deforming his lips. This precise sort of facial animation is completely new and might mean there are finally proper facial expressions :)

At 11:22 he licks his lips!

[Alex72 1]

Any word on the render to texture and how we can control its camera movement yet?

Thinking of what NodUnit talked about a bit back. We can see FLIR on the screen during the vehicle demonstration where Jay then goes optics mode and moves the gun/optics around, but is that gun moveable without entering optics mode you think? Maybe passangers can see where the gunner looks when he is in optics mode (camera control mode). That would be ok as it means other can help spot targets and of course understand what the gunner is talking about when calling targets etc. Maybe a modifier button + mouse (eg. shift+mouse) to turn the gun/optics without entering optics mode? But then again maybe thats too many buttons? :D

[Maio 293]

Any word on the render to texture and how we can control its camera movement yet?

Thinking of what NodUnit talked about a bit back. We can see FLIR on the screen during the vehicle demonstration where Jay then goes optics mode and moves the gun/optics around, but is that gun moveable without entering optics mode you think? Maybe passangers can see where the gunner looks when he is in optics mode (camera control mode). That would be ok as it means other can help spot targets and of course understand what the gunner is talking about when calling targets etc. Maybe a modifier button + mouse (eg. shift+mouse) to turn the gun/optics without entering optics mode? But then again maybe thats too many buttons? :D

In one of the videos it looked like he could move the turret while in "RTT mode" Don't ask my which though, cause there is a bunch of them around.

[Derbysieger 11]

Any word on the render to texture and how we can control its camera movement yet?

Thinking of what NodUnit talked about a bit back. We can see FLIR on the screen during the vehicle demonstration where Jay then goes optics mode and moves the gun/optics around, but is that gun moveable without entering optics mode you think? Maybe passangers can see where the gunner looks when he is in optics mode (camera control mode). That would be ok as it means other can help spot targets and of course understand what the gunner is talking about when calling targets etc. Maybe a modifier button + mouse (eg. shift+mouse) to turn the gun/optics without entering optics mode? But then again maybe thats too many buttons? :D

To me it looked exactly like the FLIR in the Super Hind in TOH except that FLIR in TOH doesn't stutter. You can move the camera/gun around using the PiP and the pilot can see in his MFD where the gunner is aiming.

[Booster 1]

I just discovered quite an interesting little detail.

In the gamespot presentation, precisely in the Helicopter showcase at ~10m 56s, you can see the Co-pilot biting and deforming his lips.

Thanks for pointing that out because I completely missed it. It looks really good.

[danny96 79]

At 11:22 he licks his lips!

Yes. Nice to see these details! They finally looks humanely! Not like robots!

[Maio 293]

I saw Ivan using the "tough guy" safe walk in the IGN video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tViM2BN2B8w&t=50s

I was wondering how exactly would the player change to this walking style. Is it the same as with the modified stances? Ctrl+ Key ?

[Booster 1]

I saw Ivan using the "tough guy" safe walk in the IGN video

You guys are finding some really nice details that I missed.

[Smurf 12]

I've been thinking, and this could be something really off but anyway, now that the crosshair actually shows where you WILL hit the target, this couldn´t be an open door for the always requested proper aimpoint\holographic sights thing?

[pettka 694]

M'kay...

I agree with you regarding the issue of gear items not being displayed on the character!

also

There is no way to select color/camo pattern for headgear, vests and backpacks !

In addition: :icon_twisted:

There is always some way, but You would have to ask the right question on air (*cough*dirty*cough*dozen*cough) to get the right answer :icon_twisted: Which is by the way quite an unique opportunity for community members to even change the development - I hope that the LimnosRadio would gie us all the questions at least to look at :icon_twisted:

But to help at least a bit - if You take a pink vest on Your orange uniform, it wouldn't change the colour and You would look extremely awful :icon_twisted:

[antoineflemming 14]

M'kay...

I agree with you regarding the issue of gear items not being displayed on the character!

also

There is no way to select color/camo pattern for headgear, vests and backpacks !

In addition: :icon_twisted:

NVGs are displayed on the character's helmet whether night vision is on or off (whereas before, they were only displayed when NVGs were turned on). NVGs are gear items.

[Maio 293]

NVGs are displayed on the character's helmet whether night vision is on or off (whereas before, they were only displayed when NVGs were turned on). NVGs are gear items.

I know mate, I was referring to the possibility of gear carried by the player showing up on the vest/headgear. Basically your question :) Though Edge kinda disproved our theory.

[antoineflemming 14]

I know mate, I was referring to the possibility of gear carried by the player showing up on the vest/headgear. Basically your question :) Though Edge kinda disproved our theory.

Not necessarily. There's a slight difference between customizing gear items (as in choosing whether to put NVGs on your helmet in, like, the profile screen) and gear showing up on your character's helmet (as is the current case with NVGs). He said you can really only customize your uniform, your headgear, and your vest. Meaning you can only pick those items as personalized items I guess. You should be able to still choose eyewear. That said, it's clear that NVGs show up on the helmet. You don't choose that in a profile screen. Edge didn't rule out the possibility of gear items showing up on your person.

[Panda_pl 0]

I know mate, I was referring to the possibility of gear carried by the player showing up on the vest/headgear. Basically your question :) Though Edge kinda disproved our theory.

There are obvious issues this causes with prebaked ambient lighting. Moving parts and removable parts on model cannot have their occluding effect baked on other parts of it, so if everything became optional models would probably look significantly more flat.

EDIT: You could of course add the effect as separate maps for each item, with compression taking good care of the unaffected regions and premultiply them to form current temporary AS map. It's just a lot of busywork and pretty flawed system if you consider the number of combinations of gear/vests and the fact new gear might be made in the future.

Edited June 9, 2012 by Panda_pl