Arma 3 Editor - What's New?

[BBrown 1]

Hello everyone!!

If you have been enjoying the Arma 3 Alpha as much as I have, then I am extremely happy for you! As an Arma 2 vet, I along with THOUSANDS of other people, have been anticipating Arma 3 for a VERY long time. I am so glad to be able to fire it up and get into a game right away! I am also glad to be able to browse through a server list that contain players actually wanting to play good ol' Arma instead of hundreds upon hundreds of nothing but those damn DayZ servers UGH!

So anyway, as we all know there have been an absolute ton of changes and improvements made to the game in this new installment, and there are plenty more mouth watering features to come! However, one question eats at the back of my mind that I can't seem to find any information on. What is new about the Arma 3 editor? Are there any new features available right now, and will there be newer features added as it progresses through alpha, to beta, and final release? I know that there are a plethora of items and features that will be implemented as time goes on, but so far I haven't noticed many differences in the editor. I've noticed a few, but they seem pretty minuscule compared to what I was hoping they would do with the editor.

Although if they aren't changing or adding much to the editor that is just fine, seeing as mission creation is almost, if not identical to Arma 2. I was just hoping for some features that would make mission editing and creation an even easier experience. Such as a built in spawn creation rather than having to create spawn points manually via the init.sqf, and an easier way to determine where INSIDE a building you'd like to place a unit. I know that now when placing a unit on top of a building, they will spawn inside, however, I feel that the user should be able to better determine WHERE inside they want them to be.

Also, another feature I was hoping for, as were quite a few people, is an actual finished, well polished, easier to use 3D editor. I know this is alpha still and they have yet to add tons of new content and features, but obviously as of now we all know that this new content and features will affect the game itself, meaning gameplay. Does anyone happen to know if they have further plans for the editor though?

[savedbygrace 2]

Well, it IS alpha mind you. They have already stated that anything is subject to modification, replacement or even removal and if the editor seems less friendly to use, they will adjust it where needed.

With that said, I'm sure you already know that the editor interface itself has remained pretty consistent through the years and BI has only added small things or tweaked the appearance to stream line it and remove the bulk from the window.

In Arma 2, they slimmed it even further and added the modules feature. They also added a visible asterisk to identify when data has been modified in the project so you don't lose progress by exiting without saving.

Arma 3 so far, has tons of changes. Most noticeable is further streamlining of the interface. All F menu phrase topics were replaced with icons, that veterans will see as sensible but newcomers may view as confusing. For that purpose, they added another feature to allow folks to choose from Streamlined view or Traditional.

Another noticeable feature is the added "elevation" field in the units dialog, which eliminates the need to type or copy/paste the most used command in the game, the "Setpos" command.

Improved Intel dialog which allows you to now make adjustments for lightning, waves and wind, how freaking cool is that?

They have also added a Debug console, A function console and a config viewer, to further ease the burden of scripting.

A smooth 3d editor will certainly make it quicker, and less frustrating for many object users(as myself), but It's almost like therapy to do the work yourself.

With the added coordinate and elevation calculations beneath the cursor on the map, I see no reason why they couldn't use the same feature in the editor to display building positions with elevations beneath the cursor to speed up the placement process.