What is the large red circle on the map?

[Hunter48RUS 1]

Please give me ArmA 3 invite.

Steam: http://steamcommunity.com/profiles/76561198013730869/

[Varanon 892]

Please give me ArmA 3 invite.

Sigh... is this forum being overrun by people who can't read lately ?

[Magirot 14]

Rather than "hacking it around", more constructive would definitely be to explain how, for better or worse, it affects your play-style or mission making approach (like Alwarren and apf did), so we can adjust it in the game. ;)

From general gameplay standpoint, my first reaction when I saw it was that it made the map look a little cluttered, at least in the mission we were playing, since it isn't very well differentiated from regular markers. It could profit from a different colour/style of the circle, though I have no idea what that could be. Then my secondary concerns were pretty much the same as Alwarren's. I thought it as a nice new idea for singleplayer, but I'd prefer a supported way of turning it off server or mission-side.

[viper[cww] 14]

Thats IF you have a GPS. A 2/3 Km circle IS better than nothing. Now if you want to argue that it should or should not be present in Veteran difficulty, then thats another story altogether. And don't teach me how to navigate terrain because I've done it on the real world.

I guess you didn't read my full post, that you quoted..... try again.

[chortles 263]

Oh my god... You are right.

That's ok but then GPS should also be a carried item you can drop and pickup! I hope Arma 3 soldiers don't have their GPS receivers sawn to their skulls...

Ahahaha that's not how Arma 3 works, thankfully -- don't you play Arma 3 enough to know this? ;) The Map and the GPS are both separate devices that can be dropped and picked up, although one of you said that without a Map the GPS doesn't function, and in stable build without a GPS (but with a Map) pressing RCtrl+M just results in the Map being brought up as if you had pressed M instead.

[andersson 285]

The point of this feature was actually to motivate player to navigate by his surroundings, instead of simply knowing immediately his position by reading GPS coordinates. The circle helps you to focus on a specific section of the map, but remains reasonably large, so you have to identify natural or urban dominants around you.

For me and my friends that circle is so small we could just as well have had our exact position marked. When we know our "approximate" position its a matter of seconds before we have our exact position. It's just too easy for us. If you make it bigger it loose the purpose I guess. So for me and my friends it serves no purpose at all except ruin our games.

So please remove the circle and "click to center map" from veteran and elite, or make it an option.

I have made missions where we are lost and have to find our way home. This "approximation" is ruining it completely as my group is quite good at navigating. We also play alot of missions where navigation is a key part.

Please also enable the compass in map view. It's hard to check a bearing when you cant triangulate on the map.

Right now any attempt to use any navigational skill is nerfed or impossible.

A circle like that can be an optional toggle for those who want some help. Personally I want nothing to do with it.

I would also like to see the GPS in no way connected to the map. And the GPS should not change between numbers and map as in arma2 depending on map view or not. I rather see a true representation where one GPS got the small map or only grid numbers regardless of map view or not.

The map should be, when all difficulty settings are off, just like a paper map. I would actually prefer it to not be as detailed as it's been so far in the series where you can see individual bushes. Personally I would also like to have that start position centering removed. The first time you open up the map its centered where you started. Sometimes that's enough for people to find their position in no time when they are supposed to be lost.

edit: this feature made me really afraid that you BIS have lost your bearings... Imho this is so against what this game has been all about. Sure I can understand it as an option, or a module for certain missions, because different people want different things and gameplay differ. So ofcourse you should cater for it. But DO NOT dumb you game down. Please.

Edited March 22, 2013 by andersson

[sxp2high 22]

So please remove the circle and "click to center map" from veteran and elite, or make it an option.

Linking it to the difficulty wouldn't do much good. It has to be an option like the rest.

The difficulty "presets" are just too restrictive. In Veteran, for example, you cannot lower the AI accuracy below 0.7, which makes them insanely accurate aimbots. (At the moment, anyway)

That's why we are using Regular on our server. It let's us adjust everything.

We have map markers off, crosshair off, group icons off, waypoints off, etc. Basically Veteran, but with reasonable AI accuracy.

[Guess Who 10]

Linking it to the difficulty wouldn't do much good. It has to be an option like the rest.

The difficulty "presets" are just too restrictive. In Veteran, for example, you cannot lower the AI accuracy below 0.7, which makes them insanely accurate aimbots. (At the moment, anyway)

That's why we are using Regular on our server. It let's us adjust everything.

We have map markers off, crosshair off, group icons off, waypoints off, etc. Basically Veteran, but with reasonable AI accuracy.

... except you really can't deactivate the "laser-rangefinding-command-cursor-thingy" which seems coded by cfgDifficulties and only vanishes if you go above "regular".

Edited March 22, 2013 by Guess Who

[sxp2high 22]

I think it's called "scanning" :)

Interesting, that's where it's coming from, I was trying to get rid of that, but couldn't find it...

I hate the difficulty restrictions :(

[Guess Who 10]

Yep. I feel your pain ... I guess a moded CfgDifficulties will do though. :cool:

[NeMeSiS 11]

The point of this feature was actually to motivate player to navigate by his surroundings, instead of simply knowing immediately his position by reading GPS coordinates. The circle helps you to focus on a specific section of the map, but remains reasonably large, so you have to identify natural or urban dominants around you.

Missions generally come with an insertion marker, so you know where to start already. After that you just have to keep track of where you are going, which is part of navigating.

The circle just makes it too easy.

EDIT: Also, I thought that I once saw Rocket say the Maruk liked the idea of applying real life skills to the game, isn't this exactly the opposite?

Edited March 22, 2013 by NeMeSiS

[rundll.exe 12]

I agree that this should be left to the mission maker. If they want such a script, they can add it themselves (a BIS module of this is great ofc). Adding it to the difficulty settings is also a sensible idea, but it would just be pointless with the GPS as we have it now. But in no way make this the default for everyone, it does no good for anyone atm.

[HKFlash 9]

;2350176']I guess you didn't read my full post' date=' that you quoted..... try again.[/quote']

If you actually answered in a non-sarcastic nor arrogant manner then I would. Since you did not, no thank you, our discussion ends here.

Edited March 23, 2013 by HKFlash

[andersson 285]

... except you really can't deactivate the "laser-rangefinding-command-cursor-thingy" which seems coded by cfgDifficulties and only vanishes if you go above "regular".

We need more control over our difficulties. In OFP (and armed assault?) the only difference were what you could enable. We all have our own ways of tweaking arma to our liking and many times it's not the way BIS sees it. Which is all right, until it's forced upon us for no apparent reason.

One example is this "laser-rangefinding-command-cursor-thingy" vs "AI skill lower than 0.7" (and I guess the skill and accuracy is still tied together..?)

Small things like this are annoying and unnecessary in this otherwise truly fantastic game.

[Variable 322]

this feature made me really afraid that you BIS have lost your bearings... Imho this is so against what this game has been all about. Sure I can understand it as an option, or a module for certain missions, because different people want different things and gameplay differ. So ofcourse you should cater for it. But DO NOT dumb you game down. Please.

Exactly my concerns. The fact that such a core design failure find its way to the game, even in Alpha stage, without anyone from the design/development team putting his weight against it, worries me.

I'm glad we have the Alpha and an opportunity to voice our opinions. Hopefully, it will help BIS get back on the horse again.

BIS, you must remember one thing. For every player you loose out of frustration because he is lost, blinded by the sun, find it slow and hard to climb that hill and what not, you earn three more that fall in love with the game because of the gratification they feel when they overcome these difficulties and achieve a goal.

[chortles 263]

Exactly my concerns. The fact that such a core design failure find its way to the game, even in Alpha stage, without anyone from the design/development team putting his weight against it, worries me.

You do not know this, and I'm pretty sure that Moricky won't say what exactly went on behind the scenes here, and I know better than to try to press him to.

I'm glad we have the Alpha and an opportunity to voice our opinions. Hopefully, it will help BIS get back on the horse again.

Such "sky is falling"! :lol: Why did you think that BI had ever fallen off of the horse to begin with?

I'll agree with rundll.exe -- script or module are all cool, Moricky, but the serious feedback from the non-panickers seems to be that it's not exactly serving a "best of both worlds" function as intended thanks to how the current Map and GPS implementations (as their own specific items) works as-is. :(

[Variable 322]

You do not know this, and I'm pretty sure that Moricky won't say what exactly went on behind the scenes here, and I know better than to try to press him to.

No one was asking any behind the scene information. A concern was raised by andersson and I wanted to support it, so BIS will know it's not a single voice.

---------- Post added at 12:39 ---------- Previous post was at 12:36 ----------

The reason of concern is a collection of features and behaviours that harm the authenticity and realism of the gameplay. The red circle being a prime example.