Bohemia Interactive please comment on whats hindering you to introduce Ponds to Arma3

[fabio_chavez 103]

For ~1,5 years now, the Arma 3 community is struggeling with an extensive pool of quality maps, that can not be used properly because of a few but fundamental issues with forward compability.

Some can be fixed by community modders other are persitent due to apparent engine limitation.

Most notably there is the bug that breaks all maps that contain ponds, the result is that we are incapacitated to use almost any of the a2co maps properly.

I think i speak in the name of the majority of users, when i hereby invite you to comment on the issue, we have been waiting a long time and there is no progress apparent on the issue.

http://www.armedassault.info/ftp/pics/news/pics1/arma2_water_2.jpg (2698 kB)

thank you for your time.

p.s. to emphasize the appeal please everybody vote for these related tickets:

1. Pond Bug

http://feedback.arma3.com/view.php?id=15579

2. Infinite Terrain Crash

http://feedback.arma3.com/view.php?id=9437

3. screwed sattelite texture

http://feedback.arma3.com/view.php?id=15629

4. i didnt find a related ticket but the lack of physx for map objects (fences, trees, walls, etc etc etc etc) is a major issue and should receive an engine side fix

Edited September 11, 2014 by Fabio_Chavez

[sgtsev3n 12]

I agree. this is a step backward. i mean, in arma 2 ponds were supported but why not in arma 3?

also, 10 years old problems deserve an answer too. i talk about these problems:

low CPU utilization & low FPS

AI bugs like bad driving

64 bit support

and about terrain: we live in 2014. most of us use modern pc which could handle arma 3 easy (if there wasnt the low CPU utilization problem)

why not increase the max. amount of objects? currently it is at 5,000,000.

why not increase it to 10,000,000 or more? it would allow us to create good detailed huge city maps or island.

look at the n ziwasogo jungle map. 400km2, mostly trees and alone the trees are almost 3,5 million. there are a few small towns with few objects and a part of the map is water.

with this limit we cant make a huge decent map. no matter if jungle or city or anything

[fabio_chavez 103]

i agree but please dont derail the topic, its about map COMPABILITY and we want to hear a statement on the issue so lets not fray the subject please!

p.s. for anybody unaware what we have been missing out for more than a year now, multiply the awesomeness of the following by 100, thats what you have been missing out:

(watch fullscreen, HD)

[bullet purveyor 85]

I find this strange as well, no word from the devs on this in a year. Except a hint by Ivan Buchta in a Dayz interview, that he maybe was working on small rivers/streams.

Lakes and ponds are a big part of terrains, and proper rivers and streams should be expected by a "next gen" title shouldn't it?

Vietcong did good looking ones in 2004, ten years ago. (jump to one minute mark)

[smokedog3para 365]

They did look good for their time in vietcong and arma terrains badly need a river stream system.

[Sterlingarcherz101 15]

They did look good for their time in vietcong and arma terrains badly need a river stream system.

Sorry for tread derail. Did you make sanguine map? Probably spelt wrong.

[CaptainAzimuth 714]

i second this x Infinity. Streams, Rivers, Ponds, and Lakes, are a MAJOR part of Terrain, and to not have them in is like creating an Infantry focused game without infantry. It's like making a BLT, but leaving out the bacon! Seriously, this needs to be addressed. Hopefully they fix this issue and implement it in an official map.

[Juhansson 1]

Posting for support. River system like mentioned somewhere in the feedback ticket in my sig would be THEBEST. Terrain i'm working on needs this.

[iceman77 18]

Ahh a river / stream / pond system would be very welcomed. That would be fantastic.

[novemberist 2]

this and underground structures is what arma 3 is missing the most in terms of terrain. i doubt we will see any work on this soon since Altis and Stratis are pretty much finished (I guess?) and they probably won't put a lot of effort into making unofficial maps compatible. But once there will be a new official terrain at some point, I really hope it will have more variety in this regard...

[the_demongod 31]

I certainly agree that rivers and ponds would be a very welcome addition to the game. However, I disagree with those feedback tickets. AiA and A3MP are 3rd party mods, it is not BI's job to try to fix things like this.

[roshnak 41]

I certainly agree that rivers and ponds would be a very welcome addition to the game. However, I disagree with those feedback tickets. AiA and A3MP are 3rd party mods, it is not BI's job to try to fix things like this.

Yes, but why does Arma 3 lack functionality that Arma 2 had, especially given the devs' professed commitment to backwards compatibility?

I mean, I'm not the biggest fan of Arma 2's method of getting ponds and other bodies of water above sea level in game, but it was better than nothing.

[tpw 2315]

Inland water (puddles/ponds/streams) and wet textures would be a very welcome addition.

A3MP and AiA may be 3rd party mods, but I'd wager they're responsible for quite a large number of people continuing to play A3. It would make sense for the devs to allow A3MP/AiA maps to be used to their full potential (hydrologically speaking).

[fabio_chavez 103]

Guys, guys, AiA and A3MP are kind of interface mods to make OFFICIAL BI MAPS playable, among other things.

That is the requirement to be able to play user made terrains but its not merely "a 3rd party mod to which BI has no responsibility".

Please dont argue that way because its wrong, locking out the userbase from a huuuuuge amount of high quality content, which is basicly good to go, should have a little more of a solid reason in my opinion!!!

BI has got to comment on these tickets for they are important, reasonable and of common interest.

it merely requires 2-3 fixes to make all this stuff fit for proper use as far as the gamebreaking bugs are concerened and its been like this for 1,5 years now... whats keeping you back BI?

p.s. i too find the idea of new features like streaming water and tunnels etc extremely appealing though this appeal is not even about new features, its merely to make arma3 able to keep old features that have allready been there.

[Defunkt 431]

I certainly agree that rivers and ponds would be a very welcome addition to the game. However, I disagree with those feedback tickets. AiA and A3MP are 3rd party mods, it is not BI's job to try to fix things like this.

Let alone providing minimal backend fixes, I think they should be paying kju for the work he does in forward-porting A1/A2 content. A3 with a seamless integration of the series' previous content will sell a whole heap more over its lifetime than A3 with just its implausible and unlikely 'near future' content.

[fabio_chavez 103]

Let alone providing minimal backend fixes, I think they should be paying kju for the work he does in forward-porting A1/A2 content. A3 with a seamless integration of the series' previous content will sell a whole heap more over its lifetime than A3 with just its implausible and unlikely 'near future' content.

i got the feeling that despite the release of the datapackage they left the whole compability project, and the people that are commited to it, high and dry.

given the disproportionately greater benefit that this endeavour is promising, compared to the costs which are mainly beared by the modders, sheer economic opportunism should have been reason enough to

support the project with a minimum effort but with the determination to at least fix some fundamental gamebreakers that are impossible to fix by the community and that require engine side updates.

at least they could comment on that, nobody has time to waste to wait in vain for fixes that will never happen.

[Alwarren 2767]

AiA and A3MP are 3rd party mods, it is not BI's job to try to fix things like this.

It's not that these addons are causing the crashes, they just expose them. You see, "not working" is one thing. Outright crashing the game is another one. Something is causing that, and frankly, at the very least BIS should investigate these.

The argument "It's not BIS job to fix this" comes up ever so often, but it is a bogus argument. Arma 3, as any Arma or Flashpoint game before, relies HEAVILY on user content, in the form of missions, but also addons. And it isn't like these are just some random addons, it's actually mostly BIS' own stuff adapted to run on the new game that makes their engine crash.

I am currently working on the Arma 2 weapons for CUP. I have seen multiple instances were a straight port of a weapon crashes the engine and I have to go through hoops to fix it. As I said, this is BIS own content we are talking about. It's in their own interest to fix this, more so if it isn't the fault of the addons.

[subunit 31]

It would be nice if, at the very least, the "swamp" areas on Altis did not sound like the ocean coastline.

[superpower 16]

It would be nice if, at the very least, the "swamp" areas on Altis did not sound like the ocean coastline.

Now THIS is a good reason for Bohemia to fix the ponds, and to use them on Altis.

[Alwarren 2767]

Now THIS is a good reason for Bohemia to fix the ponds, and to use them on Altis.

What other reasons are required? Lakes are supported in about every game I know. User content is the fuel that makes Arma run. As it is now, we will never see any user mail with lakes, am I really alone in thinking that is a grace loss? Didn't I read once that "no feature will be removed that is already in the game"?

[Grumpy Old Man 3545]

Didn't I read once that "no feature will be removed that is already in the game"?

Go tell that to female civilians, shotguns, horizontal freefall speed during halo (only 55km/h? come on BI!), ambient civilian modules (which made civs have conversations in OA!), ambient animal modules, first aid and battlefield clearance modules, tractors, buses, motorcycles, bicycles etc.

Maybe we will see some of it added in the near future, but as of now, I doubt it.

[haleks 8212]

However, I disagree with those feedback tickets. AiA and A3MP are 3rd party mods, it is not BI's job to try to fix things like this.

This has been answered already, but I might add that it also affects people working on creating new terrains. ;)

[superpower 16]

What other reasons are required? Lakes are supported in about every game I know. User content is the fuel that makes Arma run. As it is now, we will never see any user mail with lakes, am I really alone in thinking that is a grace loss? Didn't I read once that "no feature will be removed that is already in the game"?

The swamp area issue is a good reason to implement ponds if we look at things from Bohemia's perspective: Arma 3 is their current product, and it is flawed because this swamp area breaks the game's immersion with its ocean shore water and effects. So they should fix this issue.

I too would really hope that user made content and old Arma 2 ported content could have a bit more support from BIS.

[CaptainAzimuth 714]

The swamp area issue is a good reason to implement ponds if we look at things from Bohemia's perspective: Arma 3 is their current product, and it is flawed because this swamp area breaks the game's immersion with its ocean shore water and effects. So they should fix this issue.

I too would really hope that user made content and old Arma 2 ported content could have a bit more support from BIS.

Another reason to fix ponds. Is the nagging potential of terrain. I looked at a few good use made terrain. Bornholm Denmark, Ukraine, and X-Cam maps. Now, from the pictures, the amount of realism that stands out is staggering, compared to Arna 2 Terrain possabilities. Now imagine a map that looks that good, with ponds and rivers, that BIS could make themselves. It would probably send Altis to a grave (temporarily, it's still a breathtaking map), though Altis is still pretty good, a master piece, but with flaws. Arma 2 had flaws too, but they didn't have much time to work on Arma 2 like they are doing now for Arma 3. I can't recall how much more years of support Arma 3 has, but if they can fix things like this, it can only get better from them, and us, and everyone would be happy. Now, as for the AIA and A3M Pack, those are community mods. What we want, is what they exposed. The misdeed revealed that Ponds are not possible in Arma 3. That is good enough, because what I needed is a Vanilla fix for ponds, and not a mod that fixes ponds. Could you imagine downloading a mod just to have ponds enabled in other maps and Altis? Not a favorable thing, really. My 2 cents.

[fabio_chavez 103]