I'm new and I'm lost / Some help for those new to the fold?

[mr_hanky 1]

Disregard that -server and console stuff for the time being, you can host a multiplayer game from your server browser (MAIN MENU, click PLAY, click MULTIPLAYER) within the game, just click NEW in the bottom left.

Then you'll be taken to the next screen where you enter the name of your server (that's what your friend will need to find in his server browser), then select INTERNET for the HOST option, leave the PORT as it is, set up MAX. PLAYERS to your liking and optionally enter a PASSWORD that your friend will need to enter to join the server.

Next screen lets you choose the mission you want to play and the difficulty. You can choose from 4 preset difficulty settings, each of which you can tweak back in (MAIN MENU - OPTIONS - GAME - DIFFICULTY).

When you choose a mission and hit PLAY, your server will initialize and your friend will be able to join. Then you both pick slots, click OK and have fun.

ty so much!

[Light 1]

wowwow

[chortles 263]

For any newbies reading this thread who want to just get a feel for infantry controls and get some "jump in and go fight" team deathmatch on... try looking for servers that run Tier1 Pistol Carnage.

[Brad 1]

Just been reading this thread as im new to Arma and just wanted to say thankyou to all as this thread has helpt me understand alot more to this game ... I've bought all the Arma collection apart from Queens Gambit (yet)....

Now as to learning Arma should i start with Arma 3 and go back now and again with the others or start with the others in the collection..?

Thanks again all

[skulldragon 1]

Just been reading this thread as im new to Arma and just wanted to say thankyou to all as this thread has helpt me understand alot more to this game ... I've bought all the Arma collection apart from Queens Gambit (yet)....

Now as to learning Arma should i start with Arma 3 and go back now and again with the others or start with the others in the collection..?

Thanks again all

Starting with Arma 3 and then heading back will probably kill your enjoyment of the older titles quite a lot, as they're a lot 'clunkier' than Arma 3. I'd say start with the oldest and work forwards, that way your experience will keep improving and by the time you reach Arma 3, it should be more polished and have more content. You could just start with Arma 3 and stick with it - you'll have a lot of fun, but I'd imagine you want to play all the other games you've paid for.

Quick warning - if you play the older titles and don't like them, don't give up with the series, just move on to the next game. Each new game brings quite a lot of improvements.

[representtx 3]

Hi All.

I am new coming from the BF world.

My system is 1100T 2x6970 running in 5760x1080 and i am only getting 9 FPS.

I did noticed that my card utilization is only 30-40% each card in crossfire.

No matter what i set the video settings at it seems that i can't get over 15 FPS.

Is there an issue with crossfire or 5760x1080 gaming in the Alpha build that is known and should i report it?

Is this something that will be fixed prior to release?

[skulldragon 1]

Hi All.

I am new coming from the BF world.

My system is 1100T 2x6970 running in 5760x1080 and i am only getting 9 FPS.

I did noticed that my card utilization is only 30-40% each card in crossfire.

No matter what i set the video settings at it seems that i can't get over 15 FPS.

Is there an issue with crossfire or 5760x1080 gaming in the Alpha build that is known and should i report it?

Is this something that will be fixed prior to release?

I don't think Crossfire has been optimised much (at all?) yet, but I don't think that's the problem so much as that many people are getting poor performance. Its been reported many times, so I don't think you need to and it really ought to be fixed before released (they're working on it now, but I have no idea how much progress they're making.)

[chortles 263]

For anyone who was looking for a tutorial -- check the Field Manual in the pause menu.

[WCG 1]

In the "Showcase Infantry" mission that comes with the game, when you're given an assignment to eliminate the spotters, after awhile you get a picture in a picture and someone says they're 'patching in an online feed' (or something like that). What is that supposed to tell me?

I know that someone has spotted the spotters, but that picture doesn't seem to tell me anything at all (although it's very hard to make out what it's even supposed to be). Is that supposed to give me a clue as to where they are?

That's all I was going to ask, but while I was reading the rest of the posts here, someone said:

If someone has a better weapon than you, you might want to consider swapping

How do I tell if it's a better weapon than what I've got? Is there any way to compare them directly?

Thanks!

[chortles 263]

Yeah, the picture-in-picture video feed is meant to show (however very hard to make out) the general vicinity of the spotters, specifically geographic features -- in the time that I saw an Infantry Showcase playthrough they were behind some rocks, but I wouldn't be able to place them on a map for you.

As far as "better weapon", that's difficult to define, but if you get to a downed enemy and you have the option to rummage through their gear/collect their weapon, you can mouse over it on the left panel (Ground tab) and get a look at its caliber and accessories, to see if they may be your preference.

[zoog 18]

How do I tell if it's a better weapon than what I've got? Is there any way to compare them directly?

Experience and your own preferences I guess. Of course like Chortles mentions as well, you might need or prefer a different caliber etc. But I think it also comes down to what you like, and you will only know this by trying :)

[WCG 1]

Yeah, the picture-in-picture video feed is meant to show (however very hard to make out) the general vicinity of the spotters, specifically geographic features -- in the time that I saw an Infantry Showcase playthrough they were behind some rocks, but I wouldn't be able to place them on a map for you.

Thanks. I've got the video settings set ultra-high, but maybe it's my eyes, because I can't see much of anything in that window. I just wondered if there was something I was missing there.

[chortles 263]

I took a look at someone's video of playing the showcase, the video feed is both "thermal imaging" (TI) and zoomed in pretty narrowly on the spotters, so you have the two spotters clearly indicated but the TI and tight zoom may make it difficult to make out the features surrounding them which would be better indicators of where they are.

[HKFlash 9]

Pay attetion to the radio chatter. It tells you the spotters are on the hills to the west I think. The videofeed allows you to know they are near some rocks.

[WCG 1]

Pay attetion to the radio chatter. It tells you the spotters are on the hills to the west I think.

Yeah, I found the spotters, after a few plays of the mission, so that wasn't really my question. (I do appreciate the reply, though - all of the replies, in fact.) I was just wondering about that picture-in-picture thing. It didn't seem useful in that vehicle showcase, either, but I could at least use the 3rd person view for that.

OK, how about another stupid newbie question? I decided to try multiplayer (unsuccessfully, but that's another story) and I'm wondering how I tell who is where on the map. In one (attempted) game, #1 ordered #4 (me, apparently) to regroup on him, but there were soldiers scattered all across the map. How do I tell which is which? Is there a way to tell, other than just announcing to the world, "where are you?"

In this particular case, #1 was a bot supposedly (that's what another player said, at least) and issued a constant string of nonsensical orders. I didn't stick around much longer, since it was so confusing. But I did try to see where #1 was, without success. Is that something I can tell from the map? Or is there some other way to determine these things without asking? (In the games I've tried, there's usually so much noise from the NPCs that it's hard to find room to ask anything at all.)

[Kildar 1]

Yeah, I found the spotters, after a few plays of the mission, so that wasn't really my question. (I do appreciate the reply, though - all of the replies, in fact.) I was just wondering about that picture-in-picture thing. It didn't seem useful in that vehicle showcase, either, but I could at least use the 3rd person view for that.

If the squad HUD is turned on, #1 is usually the group leader, who is identified by the 2 chevrons in his diamond? marker tag. Other units in the group will have an empty marker. Group leaders by default (at least until the inevitable field promotion occurs) are usually of the squad or team leader unit class, which can be identified on the map (if server settings allow) with a slash through their unit icon. Finally, there is also a "Where are you" question you may be able to ask through the team interface (number keys) to which the AI should respond with its grid location. I don't have my game running right now, so hopefully what I'm saying is accurate and clear.

And yes, strings of nonsensical orders are usually the results of having an AI for the squad leader, which is never a good idea to let happen if you can avoid it. With regards to the overwhelming chatter, there are mods available (noRumble or something like that) that can mute the AI chatter.

[WCG 1]

Group leaders by default (at least until the inevitable field promotion occurs) are usually of the squad or team leader unit class, which can be identified on the map (if server settings allow) with a slash through their unit icon. Finally, there is also a "Where are you" question you may be able to ask through the team interface (number keys) to which the AI should respond with its grid location.

OK, thanks. I'd missed that. Those things will definitely help!

[Hodgy 1]

Good read thanks very much guys.

[comc 1]

In the "Showcase Infantry" mission that comes with the game, when you're given an assignment to eliminate the spotters, after awhile you get a picture in a picture and someone says they're 'patching in an online feed' (or something like that). What is that supposed to tell me?

I know that someone has spotted the spotters, but that picture doesn't seem to tell me anything at all (although it's very hard to make out what it's even supposed to be). Is that supposed to give me a clue as to where they are?

That's all I was going to ask, but while I was reading the rest of the posts here, someone said:

How do I tell if it's a better weapon than what I've got? Is there any way to compare them directly?

Thanks!

Building upon the previous post, the video feed given to you is just BI's way of showing off their new picture-in-picture capabilities (I forget what kind of texturing this is called). It's better to use the map to see where they would be. They appear on the northern ridge of the valley you enter town from, less than halfway between the town and your starting point.

For figuring out a "better" weapon, you'd have to think about the situation. There are no "stats" you can reference, and no weapon is definitively "better" than the other. If you find yourself with a submachinegun, and know that engagement distances in whatever you're fighting at the moment are >500m, you'd probably pick up a scoped assault rifle if you saw it on the ground. Use your best judgement on having the weapons fulfill the roles you need them to, since most firearms are as accurate as you can make them and will rarely take more than 1 to 2 shots to drop a target (excluding pistols of course).

[chortles 263]

comc, I believe that the only stats that are immediately visible when mousing over a weapon are a weapon's attachments and its caliber, is that correct? I'm asking this re: WCG's old question of determining a "better weapon".

[Commissar 1]

Ok I will give you some tips on how to survive the battlefield.

(this goes for a real life firefight or in game)

UPON RECEIVING FIRE..

1. IMMEDIATELY drop to the prone position.

2. SEEK a covered position.

3. RETURN fire.

Your Team Leader should give you a contact report..

for example

"Enemy small arms, 12o'clock, 200m"

It's a good habit to echo the 3D's (Description, Direction, Distance) to your squad mates.

These are the questions you should now ask yourself:

1. Can squad move out
   
2. Can squad gain and maintain supressive fire?
   
3. What is the actual location of the enemy?
   
4. What is the size of the enemy force?
   
5. Is the enemy element too large for you to handle?
   
6. What type of weapons does the enemy have?
   
7. Does the enemy have crew served weapons?
   
8. Are there any vulnerable flanks to the enemy's position?
   
9. Are there covered and concealed routes to the enemy's flanks?
   

This information was gathered from my father who was an NCO Army Ranger.

Good luck out there!

Kyle

[chortles 263]

For anyone looking to get started on creating add-on weapons:

• Kiory's SA80/L8A5A2 RIS release includes the source files for you to be able to learn from.
  
• Here you can find Kiory's archived streams about this weapon and a "SCAR Mk13"
  
• ToadBall's M16A4 includes the MLOD and config files so that you may learn from them as well.
  
• Here are the official Arma sample models from BI, though using them falls under the license terms here.

[WCG 1]

This is probably a dumb question, but what do the red and green dots under "Host" in Multiplayer signify?

The red dots can't indicate password-protected servers, since I've filtered those out. They don't indicate ping, which is elsewhere on that page (not that it's reliable, at all). They don't seem to indicate modded games, or games that are already full, or anything else that I can think of. But, no doubt, I've missed something obvious.

So what do they mean?

[Alo Keen 7]

Red dots are the servers you can't join for some reason or other (incompatible game version IIRC). Or they're just red berries. Sometimes they get together with other berries, green and yellow and form a traffic light for our amusement. Whichever way you look at it, red is a no-go :)

[WCG 1]

Red dots are the servers you can't join for some reason or other (incompatible game version IIRC).

Yeah, I figured that red was bad. :p Incompatible game version? That makes sense, since the servers using the developmental game are all red. But so was almost every other server, last time I checked. The vast majority, at least. I wonder if Steam isn't updating my game, for some reason?

Thanks!