Topping off vs Mag management

[RadmusPrime 1]

One feature i have always found "irksome" is topping off in FPS shooters. I can't blame people for doing it thought. In context of the game it tactically makes sense. But in reality this is a poor thing to do as you are discarding a magazine with ammunition in it to get a FMJ in there. Is there a mod that tracks how many rounds are in a mag rather than having the ammo count magically adjust to remaining mags you carry? I've looked to see if ARMA series offers this feature but I can't find anything.

This may sound like something that is a bit of a nit pick thing but I'm all about being drawn into the "experience" of a game.

[Mr. Charles 22]

The mags are all single entities and don't count like in BF3 as a single ammopool. The ammo gets saved for the magazine and you will reload the full magazine automacally.

[Mac 1]

Each mag has it own ammo count and they do not top off automatically. Ace has a feature where you can repack your mags, for example from 4 half empty ones to 2 full ones. Hopefully it makes its way into A3

[Silent_Thunder 1]

Yea hope it does too. Nothing irritated me more than the fact that in some cases I'd have 2 or 3 half mags, and couldn't do anything about it on the 10-15 min walk after I manage to flip the transport (Man vehicles that can actually oversteer and flip take getting used to. I miss my glued to the ground Hummers)

[Iroquois Pliskin 0]

The mags are all single entities and don't count like in BF3 as a single ammopool. The ammo gets saved for the magazine and you will reload the full magazine automacally.

This. The current system is great: say you have 2 x30 rnd mags, fire off 14 rounds with the first one, reload - you now have 30 rnds again with the second mag, and if you reload again, you're back to 16 rnds.

Armed Assault/ArmA II taught me not to be a reload monkey after firing off 1-5 shots. :cc:

Edited March 30, 2013 by Iroquois Pliskin

[RadmusPrime 1]

That is awesome to hear.

[chortles 263]

Just remember that you won't notice the "mag management" until you've already used each of your carried magazines at least once, and that afterward your character seems to always select the magazine with the highest remaining ammo count.

[ak1287 1]

This. The current system is great: say you have 2 x30 rnd mags, fire off 14 rounds with the first one, reload - you now have 30 rnds again with the second mag, and if you reload again, you're back to 16 rnds.

Armed Assault/ArmA II taunt me not to be a reload monkey after firing off 1-5 shots. :cc:

I think that is the single hardest habit I've had to break in any FPS game.

[Iroquois Pliskin 0]

Heh-heh - the systems define & shape the playerbase, i.e.: atm currently, I have a hard time not utilising Sprint against AI in ArmA III, just because it's so damn fast and effective.

[roguetrooper 2]

Ace has a feature where you can repack your mags, for example from 4 half empty ones to 2 full ones. Hopefully it makes its way into A3

When it comes, I hope that it won't be a magically instant action. In RL it also takes a minute or so (taking out the bullets and press them into the new magazine).

Since Arma is a military simulation focussed on infantry (BIS' own statement), all the RL details concerning infantry weaponry should be considered.

[Mac 1]

When it comes, I hope that it won't be a magically instant action. In RL it also takes a minute or so (taking out the bullets and press them into the new magazine).

Since Arma is a military simulation focussed on infantry (BIS' own statement), all the RL details concerning infantry weaponry should be considered.

It takes at least 3 or 4 minutes with the current ace system in A2 and longer for machine gun ammo.

[chortles 263]

Since Arma is a military simulation focussed on infantry (BIS' own statement), all the RL details concerning infantry weaponry should be considered.

Actually...

Arma 3 is a unique military game with an infantry focus.

:p

Your point is sound though, though I'd qualify by conditioning support on whether or not the action/animation may be freely cancelled, albeit with the magazines' ammo counts left at whatever they were when the "consolidate ammo" action was cancelled -- after all it's supposed to be a rally point action, not something to be doing in the middle of a firefight that you accidentally choose to do. At minimum I'd say that to minimize risk of "accidentally consolidating ammo", perhaps the action can only be done through the inventory menu?

The current "concessions to video game fun instead of hard realism" are more in that your character won't risk a failure to feed (i.e. double feed, dropping a magazine from the hand, etc.) or loading a magazine with less-than-highest-remaining ammo, though this may simply be a representation of a trained character's muscle memory and organizing their own ammo retention/carrying.

[4 IN 1 0]

The two problem I have with the current magazine management system is that magazine in gear menu do not show its current ammo count , and that the system don't simulate tactical reload 100% correctly, I do also like a system that allows non magazine loaded ammo (e.g. boxed ammo or clipped ammo) in backpack to be allowed to replenish magazines, not that it is absolutely needed though.

[RadmusPrime 1]

A Tactical reload would be a nice feature. However as long as the system balanced the faster reload with the fact that there would be no magazine retention.

I don't know if that's something the system could track properly with the possibility of 100+ players dropping empty mags around the island. Though I fully admit to not knowing a damn thing about programming. :-)

[Wolfstriked 11]

4 in 1,yes it does show how many bullets in each mag by a white bar on side of icon.The game also pulls magazines out of the backpack so thats most likely why it looks that way to you.This is a big issue for me though (most likely just not implemented yet).So when you press reload and your using your mags on your jacket/tactical vest at some point they run out and the game automatically starts pulling from backpack.I hope BIS go the realism way and force players to go into gear and manually transfer mags over.

[mordeaniischaos 3]

When it comes, I hope that it won't be a magically instant action. In RL it also takes a minute or so (taking out the bullets and press them into the new magazine).

Since Arma is a military simulation focussed on infantry (BIS' own statement), all the RL details concerning infantry weaponry should be considered.

No need to worry, it takes a good long while to repack mags.

[machineabuse 11]

FWIW, I scan and reload after finishing an engagement regardless of how many left I have in the mag (An ACE habit from living without HUD ammo count). Since ArmA prioritizes mags from most to least full this guarantees I've always got the most loaded magazine in the weapon. If I am still alive after going through all my magazines once; then I have the luxury of worrying about partial mags.

What I don't do is try to anticipate when the guy I am shooting at is going to die to instantly hit the reload key, which is the typical FPS gamer habit.

[outlawled 9]

Hey, guys. I just thought I'd let you know that I created a magazine repacking mod for ArmA 3...in case you wanted to give it try.

http://forums.bistudio.com/showthread.php?151402-Mag-Repack

[gliptal 25]

You might also want to take a look at this: http://forums.bistudio.com/showthread.php?151402-Mag-Repack

Don't forget to thank the Modder if you decide to use it!

Yay!

EDIT: Now just HOW didn't I notice that post just above mine, sorry for the repetition, this post can be deleted!