General Discussion (dev branch)

[Bobylein 1]

If the devs make an option to choose your flag in the player profile, please make us able to choose nations that are currently NATO members, because according to this: http://fc02.deviantart.net/fs70/f/2012/087/7/3/europe_2035_by_arma3-d4u7kvd.jpg Croatia is no longer a NATO member in 2035.

Yep that idea sounds really good

Could have been worded a bit more tastefully but I agree, even a US citizen I'm tired of playing as the US military in games all the time, seeing the Merkava and other none US vehicles really had me excited for A3, especially the involving of NATO not "US" hinting multi nationals, seems a bit wierd to see guys with old glory operating all vehicles including foreign ones.

Anywho, this may interest you http://feedback.arma3.com/view.php?id=13202

Yea you are right, it could have been more tasteful, sorry

It's just... you are always playing US vs "evil" anything. It's boring, and not everyone likes the US

Also I would like to have name badges and that squad logos you can create on your uniform

http://feedback.arma3.com/view.php?id=11679

[simon1279 51]

The flags are on the uniforms as they should be according to Geneva Conventions (hey, someone wanted authenticity but dislikes a random part of it). Modders are not prohibited to make their own variants as both hiddenSelectionsTextures and hiddenSelectionsMaterials work. Our programmers know about the wounding materials issue and may work on that but don't count this as a promise. As for me, I don't see a reason to change the flags :icon_twisted:

Because you are european, can this be a reason? and looking to the opfor look, why don't think something new such as European army, wich will happen in the future

[Bobylein 1]

Anyway, did anyone find that entry: ADDED: Field manual now correctly describes ways to steal UAVs ?

[danny96 79]

Anyway, did anyone find that entry: ADDED: Field manual now correctly describes ways to steal UAVs ?

It's probably meant sarcastic - there is currently no way to steal UAV.

[Sniperwolf572 758]

Well, in general it does not matter, obviously.

I just personally find that logo uninteresting, and I do not think that much time was invested to generate it. Facebook had their own typeface designed for the logo, it was staked out, and an entire PR handbook designed around it. Same for Coca Cola. The Nato logo doesn't immediately tell you what it is about, but it is only one out of dozens of such organizations. For example, look at the SCO logo. It clearly has the member states on it, as well as the name. Another logo example of an international alliance would be the league of arab states (which CSAT is a successor to?) who have pretty clear symbolism on there too.

I realize that time was short, but if BI want to do completely unique and fictional entities, there should be some substance to them. The logo is the top cover, so to speak, and if the rest of CSAT is as unimaginative, I dread the background for the campaign.

As far as game opponents go, you need to have some kind of powerful symbolism and "PR" so to speak behind your enemy, otherwise they become pretty unimpressive. None of the previous games needed that because you always could refer back to US vs Russia, and especially the soviet union is a powerful enemy that people immediately identify and associate with a clear and imminent threat.

Even the name "Canton Strategic Alliance Treaty" doesn't tell me anything. A Canton is the equivalent to a county in switzerland, for example. What is it, a regional organization made up of rebellious arab counties? I grant that we have 0 info about them right now, and I actually do not expect it to be as bad as I am painting it here.

I'd have just wished for an MGS style, HQ banner for the enemy, and not just six hexagons. Nevermind that the logo on the opfor uniforms looks... I don't know. Unappealing. Unimpressive. This small change turns them from a highly advanced, powerful, national military into some sort of Bond villain mooks pretending to be alien invaders. Sorry, but that's what the whole CSAT thing looks like to me right now.

A good story stands or falls with an interesting enemy. What do you identify the brotherhood of NOD with? The logo. It's not just a logo, it could be an icon. What the CSAT logo seems to say to me is BI saying "We are creatively burnt out, we gave up, this is all we can give you.". A fantastic game, with boring native story content is a dealbreaker for me. Especially since the original premise for A3 was so promising for me.

Logo doesn't define a organisation, the organisation defines a logo. All the logos you list wouldn't be worth jack if the stuff behind them hasn't made them popular and recognizable.

GDI is great because of all the characters that make the GDI, not because it has a scorpion tail for the logo.

Coke is coke because coke.

Foxhound and other MGS organisations are once again sums of it's characters.

I prefer Switzerland to Mozambique, even tho one has an AK on it's flag and the other one has a plus sign. :p

And so on.

[GottyPlays 10]

Yep that idea sounds really good

Yea you are right, it could have been more tasteful, sorry

It's just... you are always playing US vs "evil" anything. It's boring, and not everyone likes the US

Also I would like to have name badges and that squad logos you can create on your uniform

http://feedback.arma3.com/view.php?id=11679

I don't want to start an "I hate this country" argument, but i agree, im tired to see the US always depicted as he world savior...

i would like to see the story from different sides, and to have something different from the usual "KILL THE TERRORIST!!! SAVE THE WHITE HOUSE" storyline.

it would be nice to add some depth in the storyline by seeing the motivations between the countries waging war to eachother, in equal manner.

i can't wait to see what bis come up with :)

[antoineflemming 14]

I don't think you understand. Every retexture now has a semi-transparent US Flag on their arm. It doesn't care what unit is depicted in the campaign.

Then the solution is for BIS to remove the US flag from all but the _co.paa texture. Problem solved. Enough with the US hate. If it were a British flag, no one would be complaining that all NATO nations aren't represented. Regardless of whether there's a flag on the uniform or not, it was ALWAYS the plan for you to play as US forces, even way back in 2011. Only difference then was that the main character was British and was working with Americans. So get over it. Simply petition for BIS to remove the US flag from the _nohq, _smdi, _ti, and/or _as textures instead of making useless posts about how much you all don't like the US. Oh, and @GottyPlays: Tell me of another country that sticks its nose in other countries' business more than the US.

Edited August 23, 2013 by antoineflemming

[progamer 14]

Doesn't NATO have its own flag?

[royaltyinexile 175]

Well, in general it does not matter, obviously.

I just personally find that logo uninteresting, and I do not think that much time was invested to generate it.

Not really. Our Top Beer Lifter spent some weeks working through various prototypes before we agreed on the current CSAT flag. We did research and put together various ideas. Each symbol represents a treaty member signatory and the clean lines reflect something like the new technocratic focus. You might be surprised how many weird and ugly symbols are out there! E.g.:

• Shaghai Cooperation Organisation
  
• Union of South American Nations
  
• CSTO
  

In my view, using arabic/persian/eastern symbology would be cheap and rather pointless. CSAT isn't a product of a religious or particularly ethnic grouping, per se; rather, as the name suggests, it's a 'strategic' alliance of economic and geopolitical interests. A power bloc extending from the Pacific to the Mediterranean.

Even the name "Canton Strategic Alliance Treaty" doesn't tell me anything.

That's not quite the name. It's Canton Protocol Strategic Alliance Treaty. The 'Canton Protocol' was treaty signed in Canton by the member states. It was written in the previous back story information, I believe. We still need to extend the background/faction/context information on the web. Recently we've been focused on/consumed by getting the basic structure of the factions/ORBAT up to speed (note first bullet point) and getting the sandbox platform and features performing better. This has been our top priority up to this point, alongside Altis, and I can make little apology for that, given the circumstances of the development, and this has been part of the renewed focus of development. :)

Especially since the original premise for A3 was so promising for me.

Despite the other issues we've faced, I think that, anyway, Iran invading France and Germany didn't inspire much. Iran invading Western Europe - why? Because they're foreign bad guys? Ok. :j: Much of the original story must remain in place, though, so if you liked it, the campaign is somewhat still rooted in the early decisions made; some decisions and assets are rather set in stone, but the focus has pivoted away from special forces operators and so on.

Anyway, the situation we're looking at now is where traditional powers in Europe are looking inward at their flat-lining economies, mass unemployment, and broken societies - decades of recession in the west. We're talking about a situation that's seen major civil disorder across European capitals, the fall of governments and economies all along the Mediterranean rim.

Altis is something like a nation the size and scope of Malta. It's strategically important because it's the new 'front line' between growing CSAT influence and diminishing NATO authority and resources. This is a nation that's experienced brutal civil war. Previously a part of the EU, its economy collapsed, which was followed by a period of violent rioting and disorder. In the midst of this, the armed forces seized power and put down down the rioting with a heavy hand.

It was at this point in time that NATO moved in and put a stop to the brutality: an enforced cease-fire with boots on the ground. Partly under the auspices of humanitarian motivation - and partly because the new military regime were moving closer toward CSAT's sphere of influence - NATO observation bases on the island were considered to be important, and - before Altis broke away from the EU - The British used to have Sovereign Base Area agreements in place, with Altis having been part of the Empire up until gaining their independence in the 60s.

As time passed, the US became more concerned about strategic interests and influence in the Pacific, while European powers struggle with serious domestic issues and investment. Traditional strategic enemies aren't going to march through the streets of Paris and Berlin, but angry, disaffected citizens might well. Consequently, the US-led force based on Altis is now in the process of a staged drawdown, tasked to decommission the bases and coordinate the scrapping of military equipment and vehicles that they can't afford to ship back home.

I actually do not expect it to be as bad as I am painting it here.

Well, you're doing a lot of work with that paintbrush of yours at the moment! :cool:

AnyHOO... I think I've derailed the development branch discussion for long enough. As Pettka stated, he'll investigate what might be done about some of the technical concerns of the flags on the soldiers, but makes no promises. I believe there's another thread for the story related discussions somewhere!

Best,

RiE

Edited August 23, 2013 by RoyaltyinExile

[progamer 14]

Will Altis still make Monday?

[royaltyinexile 175]

Will Altis still make Monday?

It's still the plan, yes. We'll test the data on monday morning I'd expect.

Let's see what I can break today and tomorrow. :icon_twisted: (sorry, Pettka!)

Best,

RiE

[dale0404 5]

It's still the plan, yes. We'll test the data on monday morning I'd expect.

Let's see what I can break today and tomorrow. :icon_twisted: (sorry, Pettka!)

Best,

RiE

It had better be the ONLY plan!

[Steakslim 1]

It had better be the ONLY plan!

The other plan involves a gimp suit and tennis rackets, but it's best if BI explains.

[da12thMonkey 1943]

Regardless, you just know that on Monday, the forum will be spammed with dozens of annoying "What time (hours, minute second) will Altis be released", "Why isn't it out yet?" type posts/threads in the hours between dawn and the dev-branch update going live.

Then when it is live, there will probably be those making tedious updates informing us on the status of their Steam download progress, complaints about the download speed etc. etc...

Such is life on the internet. :D

[progamer 14]

Regardless, you just know that on Monday, the forum will be spammed with dozens of annoying "What time (hours, minute second) will Altis be released", "Why isn't it out yet?" type posts/threads in the hours between dawn and the dev-branch update going live.

Then when it is live, there will probably be those making tedious updates informing us on the status of their Steam download progress, complaints about the download speed etc. etc...

Such is life on the internet. :D

Hopefully we can get the exact picosecond that Altis comes out.

[MissionCreep 12]

I don't want to start an "I hate this country" argument, but i agree, im tired to see the US always depicted as he world savior...

i would like to see the story from different sides, and to have something different from the usual "KILL THE TERRORIST!!! SAVE THE WHITE HOUSE" storyline.

it would be nice to add some depth in the storyline by seeing the motivations between the countries waging war to eachother, in equal manner.

i can't wait to see what bis come up with :)

The reason I prefer to play as Americans is not because I love America, but because they tend to have better weapons, gear and equipment in the game (which mirrors the real word, to a reasonable degree). I suspect most other people do it for this reason. Similarly, I don't think people play Germans or Russians in WWII shooter games because they are Nazis or Soviet Communists but because they have a preference for equipment or tactics or logistical support and the situations evoked in the game.

[maturin 12]

Not really. Our Top Beer Lifter spent some weeks working through various prototypes before we agreed on the current CSAT flag. We did research and put together various ideas. Each symbol represents a treaty member signatory and the clean lines reflect something like the new technocratic focus. You might be surprised how many weird and ugly symbols are out there! E.g.:

OPEC would be the case in point. Anyways, I love the missing hole that is Mongolia. :p

*snip*

Best,

RiE

This all sounds like such an improvement. Minus the removal of Greece, but we all know the reasons for that.

[insumsnoy 4]

I'm a big fan of the CSAT logo. What's wrong with it?

I like it too.

[Victim9l3 11]

Does anyone here use the user mod that allows you to use Opfor in urban camo? After one of the updates this week the Urban uniform is gone from the inventory list. They still wear them but they don't show up in inventory. And that causes them to lose most of their ammo. Once they spawn, their leader tells them to resupply somewhere.

[themaster303 22]

i hope that bouncing vehicle when they are standing close to each other, and also flip over sometimes is fixed for the finale version.

that is a real game breaker. (not the logo of some units ;) )

Edited August 24, 2013 by themaster303

[kylania 567]

Me and my friend were crashing consistently while playing Workshop missions tonight. Not sure what was causing it, but after months of no crashes then 5 in one night all from Workshop missions, I dunno. Too sleepy to get details though. :)

[novemberist 2]

In my view, using arabic/persian/eastern symbology would be cheap and rather pointless. CSAT isn't a product of a religious or particularly ethnic grouping, per se; rather, as the name suggests, it's a 'strategic' alliance of economic and geopolitical interests. A power bloc extending from the Pacific to the Mediterranean.

Could you elaborate a little more on which real life countries are supposed to be part of this coalition in particular?

Even for a fictional scenario set in 2035, I still can't really see a coaltition of Iran and some Arab states (and possibly Russia and China?) as realistic in any way (even disregarding religious, cultural and ethnic differences and tensions). I don't see what common economic and geopolitical

interests those ressource-rich countries would have to form a coalition agains the declining "west" and fight alongside each other, moreover as subordinates of the apparently spearheading Iranians.

Personally I would have found a scenario with a split among NATO nations much more interesting than the old clichéd "east vs. west" paradigm.

[danil-ch 165]

Added sounds of bodies falling (based on surfaces)

Still no sound. Any clarification from devs?

[Alwarren 2766]

It was at this point in time that NATO moved in and put a stop to the brutality:

I really wished for once that NATO didn't mean US. I know that the US are mostly notorious for this, but for once I would have loved to see a game that doesn't equate the US as the main "good guys" but someone else - Brits, Germans, French, Czech, Polish, or a mix of those. In a future, mostly fictional scenario, that would have been possible.Or Israel, for the matter, after all, they're using their tanks and their rifles.

In any case, thanks for shedding some light on this, interesting read.

[leonardus 9]

I'm sorry if I have sounded any wrong, I didn't want to blame anyone (especially not Varnon, I would have quoted him if it was directed to him). We are trying to do our best at least in things manageable well within the data-lock, authentic flags are one of these. I have tried to explain that the change-ability of hiddenSelections didn't suffer, hiddenSelectionsMaterials is even a new parameter that I wanted to point at. I was not trying to offend anyone as it might seem, just show the way how to handle new stuff and use it for possible better content :icon_twisted:

I'm going to investigate the BLUFOR lads, it might be possible to correct them before the launch, but again, I won't promise anything as it might backfire in such spectacular way.

---------- Post added at 08:30 PM ---------- Previous post was at 08:29 PM ----------

I would point You to the mentioned ticket if You don't mind :icon_twisted:

Thx m8! :)

Very good solution for the material-stuff! Works like a charm!

I'm sure you guys will find a solution for the missing blood.