Arma 3 Units - Feedback thread

[BohemiaBeck 305]

Welcome to the new Feedback thread for Arma 3 Units. Here we would like to collect all your feedback, suggestions, and ideas. For more information on Arma 3 Units, a new service which aims to connect Arma 3 players to community groups, please be sure to read the OPREP.
 

 

 

Arma 3 Units - Open Beta
Due to the overwhelming response and requests for participation to the Arma 3 Closed Beta, we have decided to now open up access to all. Your feedback is still valuable to us and appreciated so please keep it coming. I have put all the feedback from the initial thread here in a summarized list. Please also be sure to use the Arma 3 Feedback Tracker with category "Units" to submit your bugs and issues.
Arma 3 Units is still very new and there are many items in development. Major changes and feature updates will be announced as they become available. I will be maintaining this page and keeping it up to date as developments continue. Check back here for updates!

 

 

Summary of feedback

 

• An API the community can use to access the data in A3 units.

This is planned as we intend to make an API available.

 

• Use the API to access the server polling feature of A3 units. Maybe a simple REST request to get server info and status as JSON.

We will look into it.

 

• Upcoming events should be pushed ingame and/or to the launcher.

We have longer term intentions to integrate EVENTS and PLAY NOW into the launcher, but this is not confirmed at this point.

 

• Integration of a live chat?

When we implement that 'PLAY NOW' system, we hope to also have some basic web chat functionality.

 

• News updates/feeds? Global stat tracking?. After mission statistics or even After Action Review?

We will look into it.

 

• The clan tag - 3 characters is too short. Our clan uses upper and lower case characters. Squad.xml allows up to 64 characters for clan tag.

The clan tag can now be 2 to 10 characters in length and can be mixed upper or lower case.

 

• Arma 3 Units should generate a virtual squad.xml that can be retrieved by the game based on a URL.

This is planned.

 

• The icon and banner specifications.

We have made available a PSD template of the banner specifications.

 

• Unit description. H1/2/3 markdown applies to lines above and below. Difficulties with the wysiwyg editor. Would like paste as plain text.

We will look into it.

 

• Request for separate file for thumb list background other than header file.

We are discussing it, for now please refer to the PSD template file for the banner specifications.

 

• Arma 3 server live status, updating status like player counts online.

We will look into it.

 

• Multiple admins for a unit? Different levels of admins?

Yes this is planned. We're planning to have Unit Leaders (Admin), Operations Managers (able to post events/announcements), Recruitment Officers (able to review applications), and regular members (no special rights). There will probably also be some limit in how many people can have these special rights.

 

• Another profile field (dropdown) with "Type of Group" with entries "Community", "Squad", "Event", "Clan", "Server".

We will look into it.

 

• The size limit for a Unit name.

The Unit name is limited to 30 characters.

 

• Established date older than 2001? Sort by established date?

We set the earliest establishment date to 2001 as a nod towards Operation Flashpoint: Cold War Crisis' release date. As we are particularly geared towards the Arma series with this service, we might want to keep it, but it's something we'll discuss with the team. We will look into it to see if sorting by established date.

 

• Mods listed also in sub-fields from the server list?

We will look into it. One note, when we implement EVENTS, we plan to have the option to communicate different mod sets per event.

 

• Mods tab. says "Steam Workshop".

If all of the mods you enter have a Steam Workshop url, the group info will say "Steam Workshop".

 

• The apply to a unit email address, unique or from Bohemia Account as it is currently?

We will need to look into this and it may be available when we implement the actual Join A Unit functionality.

 

• Unit member levels like recruits and full member, etc.

This is definitely something we can consider. we will generally start out as simple as possible - and then as people use the service see if it's worth adding more roles.

 

• Custom option for setting the age in unit characteristics.

It looks like we're covering most of these age categories. We might not want to go below 16+ because of ethical/age-rating reasons (e.g. give an option for 14+).

 

• Smartphone app for Unit notifications and status updates.

This might be something we will look into it further down the road.

 

• Games servers by domain name instead of just IP address

We will probably support this in the near future.

 

• Button to apply to my unit appears for me.

After we've implemented joining units it will be be properly displayed for just users not in your Unit.

 

• Default sort of Units.

This was changed to newest first and we might change it again to something else in the future.

 

• Show actual number of members instead of range.

This will be looked at when Join A Unit is implemented to get the actual count.

 

• Game servers status of 'offline' or 'on standby'.

We will look into it.

 

• Name a game server (like Public Server and Private Server)

We will look into it.

 

• Will other sites be able to use Bohemia accounts as an Oauth service (i.e to sign in with)?

We're planning to support login/creation with third party Oauth services so users can then connect their Steam Account to their Bohemia Account.

 

• Creating unit, cannot go back to a previous page.

After you complete the forms, you can then go edit any section.

 

• Providing basic information about squad in 2 languages. Community is multi-language, option to add basic language and native language.

Currently you can select a primary language, one option is "International", it is suggested to use the Bio to explain in more detail a Unit's multi-language situation. Also, we will be looking into localizations and language options, so it may be updated in the future.

 

• Finding Units that have a similar style, like minded Units.

Arma 3 Units Events will allow for others to see what Units are playing planned events and if they are open to other organized Units to join with them. The details of what mods they are using will be included. Also, we intend to make an API available, so it might be possible that some more specific features could be co-developed with the community.

 

• Put the established date in Unit picture on the browse page. Top left corner.

We will look into it.

 

• Captions for screenshots.

Captions for screenshots is something we can look at.

 

• The box "mods" is it possible to Play withSIX collections?

For linking to Play withSIX collection: the easiest way to do this is simply by linking to a modset on another website.

 

• For drop down menu of comm channels, add tsviewers.

We will look into it.

 

• Will events tab be able to run off an RSS feed?

We will look into it.

 

 

 

Please feel free to add your feedback in this thread and/or use the Feedback Tracker category: Units.
Best regards,
BohemiaBeck

[donelsarjo 60]

I really like the Units project. But I would like to suggest an addition. It would be nice if you could add the option of the prefered/played side : Blufor, Opfor, Independent, Civilian, All.

[bang from arma 16]

I CANT MAKE A UNIT, doesnt give me option to continue 

[phoenix_za 23]

Since the feature to have Applications be handled completely through an external link was added and the fact that there will be a truly massive body of players that are already members of often huge communities, I would like to put forward the following feature request:

 

The ability for admins to add unique identifiers for their players common to both their own platform and Units (i.e: Steam User ID and\or Email address) to a list in the Units admin page that would mass invite those players to become members, such as with an email link.

This way, you get consent from both sides, administrators can be more proactive in managing their members and syncing both platforms is much easier for said admins.

It will also have the added benefit of pushing players to the Units platform, as if they don't have a BIS account, then they will be asked to make one and if they already do, they will be made more aware of the Units platform and have a stake in it with little to no effort or thought needed on their side

 

To be clear, this isn't the same as asking those players to click on the 'Apply' button, but rather allowing the admin's to pre-approve new members and then allowing those players to accept and skip the Application process (or whichever part is being used on Units).

[J. Ratliff 11]

I cannot delete a unit. The Delete Unit button does nothing.

[AHenneUK 2]

How can I accept a member's application? I have received it and it's come to my email but I have no clue on how I can accept this.

[Korneel 115]

How can I accept a member's application? I have received it and it's come to my email but I have no clue on how I can accept this.

At the moment you can't yet manage applications through the Units website. This is planned for in the future, when people will be able to 'join' a unit with their Bohemia Account. For now, we ask people to handle applications via their own channels/methods. Sorry for any confusion!

[AHenneUK 2]

I'm confused as to how I would accept members in, using my own methods. Do I need to create a website and somehow manage it through there, or can I simply receive the applications via an email and have a button to accept or reject?

 

Also could I ask that the profile header be downloadable in a different format? I don't have photoshop but I do have paint.net, which can't seem to open .psd files.

[R3vo 2654]

I'm confused as to how I would accept members in, using my own methods. Do I need to create a website and somehow manage it through there, or can I simply receive the applications via an email and have a button to accept or reject?

 

As Korneel has already mentioned, something along those lines will be possible in the future.

[Korneel 115]

I cannot delete a unit. The delete Unit button does nothing.

We can't seem to replicate this issue. Could you try it once more? Are you getting any error message? The only thing we can think of is that it's a connection issue, so it might be that it just takes a while to process. Please let us know - thanks for reporting!

[DaddehGhost 6]

OK! So as a way for smaller groups to be noticed (not that they all want to) it may be beneficial to POSSIBLY set another search filter besides the already listed stuff like PvP etc... Maybe something along the lines of TYPE like say for instance mine, Rapture's LLC, is a Merc/PMC group. Sure there are tons of them but they get mixed in with the rest like Marine, MARSOC, Army, Ranger, etc. Possibly adding keywords to the search may prove useful for people looking for a specific type of unit.. Food for thought!

[SpenPenTV 0]

I really love the idea of Arma Units. My one issue with it so far is that there is no way to accept new members. I know this is being worked on and everything but I feel as if it should be one of the top priorities with the Units development. My reasoning is this; It's been said everywhere now that Units is a place to meet like minded players and join communities. This isn't really possible yet. Other than that, I feel like it will be an amazing thing to have. Could even open up possibilities for events or Survival Games, Unit vs Unit with qualifiers. 

 

Anyway, My question is this: is there a time frame for the development of Units? When can we expect to be able to advertise our Units fully and have access to be able to utilize them!

 

Thanks,

 

Spenny

[Endalaner 6]

When editing\creating unit you sometimes get erros like "Slug must be unique" - and there is no shortcut for this field, so you must browse throw all the fields to find this error. Any way to make this error messages click-able so it will show some info about posible error or maybe move you to the posible place with error?

[J. Ratliff 11]

We can't seem to replicate this issue. Could you try it once more? Are you getting any error message? The only thing we can think of is that it's a connection issue, so it might be that it just takes a while to process. Please let us know - thanks for reporting!

 

I've tried it several times, from 2 different computers that were in different locations. No error message. I click it and it just does nothing. It doesn't even refresh the page or anything.

Please delete this unit: http://units.arma3.com/my-units/1534

[tonny747 1]

I currently have the last word missing from my unit's bio when viewing it in chrome 46 http://units.arma3.com/unit/tfd. It looks correct in firefox.

 

Also the character count for the bio is a bit off. It says we can have up to 3000 characters, says I have 2694 characters but only says I have 204 characters left.

 

 

Would it be possible to have the text input be written in markdown? It is decently widespread in more recent years with box reddit and github using it extensively.

[semiconductor 309]

It appears that if you have set recruitment e-mail address and then changed it later, the system starts to send application messages to both emails instead of sending them only to the new one.

[Korneel 115]

I really love the idea of Arma Units. My one issue with it so far is that there is no way to accept new members. I know this is being worked on and everything but I feel as if it should be one of the top priorities with the Units development. My reasoning is this; It's been said everywhere now that Units is a place to meet like minded players and join communities. This isn't really possible yet. Other than that, I feel like it will be an amazing thing to have. Could even open up possibilities for events or Survival Games, Unit vs Unit with qualifiers. 

 

Anyway, My question is this: is there a time frame for the development of Units? When can we expect to be able to advertise our Units fully and have access to be able to utilize them!

 

Thanks,

 

Spenny

Thanks! This is our next top priority. I'm hesitant to give a timeframe since we have the Christmas holidays coming up, but realistically I think the 'joining of units' should be ready in 1-2 months from now.

 

When editing\creating unit you sometimes get erros like "Slug must be unique" - and there is no shortcut for this field, so you must browse throw all the fields to find this error. Any way to make this error messages click-able so it will show some info about posible error or maybe move you to the posible place with error?

We'll be looking into this. Thanks for reporting!

 

I've tried it several times, from 2 different computers that were in different locations. No error message. I click it and it just does nothing. It doesn't even refresh the page or anything.

Please delete this unit: http://units.arma3.com/my-units/1534

We'll continue to investigate, sorry for the troubles!

 

I currently have the last word missing from my unit's bio when viewing it in chrome 46 http://units.arma3.com/unit/tfd. It looks correct in firefox.

 

Also the character count for the bio is a bit off. It says we can have up to 3000 characters, says I have 2694 characters but only says I have 204 characters left.

 

 

Would it be possible to have the text input be written in markdown? It is decently widespread in more recent years with box reddit and github using it extensively.

We'll need to look into this. Thanks for reporting/suggesting!

 

 

It appears that if you have set recruitment e-mail address and then changed it later, the system starts to send application messages to both emails instead of sending them only to the new one.

That sounds like a bug. We'll take a look at it as soon as possible. Thanks for the report!

[janus0104 3]

- 100+ as the largest unit size category seems unwise in terms of scaling. Maybe 500+ as the largest and then some more steps between 100 and 500?

- Identity theft, copyright infringement and troll content seem rampant. I had to report a hand full already, no response or action so far.

[RoDeX 11]

The experience so far is awesome. The page's design is well done!

 

Few things in my mind that will make things great in the future:

• When you will let players join the units with the BI accounts, the main admin will be able to grant admin premissions to other players as well.
• In the Region, to add Middle-East
• Maybe to add a spacific countries, it will help for the localization.
• Add "Hebrew" to the Language
• Add an option to admins to see how many people viewed their unit's page.
• Add an option to mark "Collaborate with" area, to mark other clans we are playing with. 

I also have a bug which says the website can't reach our unit server, which is 212.29.241.50:2302. Seems fine on our end. The TS server works fine.

 

Just to understand why all the requests and to see what is happening to the server, this is our unit page: http://units.arma3.com/unit/isrtg

 

Thank you, great work on the new update!

[BohemiaBeck 305]

- 100+ as the largest unit size category seems unwise in terms of scaling. Maybe 500+ as the largest and then some more steps between 100 and 500?

- Identity theft, copyright infringement and troll content seem rampant. I had to report a hand full already, no response or action so far.

 

We will look into adding more unit size options. Also, when joining a Unit is implemented, we may also implement an accurate Unit member count based on the number of joined members.

 

We are currently working on moderation, it will be a bit slow at this beginning stage, but the response will increase once we have some the additional moderation functionality implemented.

 

[Elch2070 0]

Dear Development-Team,

I recognized that the redirection to my new created group was wrong, the target site existed not.

Good look, Elch2070

[BohemiaBeck 305]

Dear Development-Team,

I recognized that the redirection to my new created group was wrong, the target site existed not.

Good look, Elch2070

 

Sending you a PM to get a better understanding.

[odium 12]

Someone with too much time did a fake of my clan. Bohemia provided a solution within hours - and that's good work. Thanks guys!

[janus0104 3]

- Localization. Can we please have the option of entering fields with multiple values specific for language?

Say, a short description in language 1 and one in language 2, same for the full bio, same for website link for those who offer localized websites, etc. Most clans who are not from an English-speaking country may for example have one text in their native language and one in English, the default language being a.) the language set by the user if one is logged in or b.) if not logged in, or not specified, go by browser location I guess? or c.) use the language the unit states as their "operative language", i.e. the language spoken while playing and thus is required for participation.

This may also help with international cooperation. "Hey, we're a french unit, but we'd be happy to try playing against/with units from elsewhere aslong as we can find a common language to speak (when in doubt, English)" etc.

[Endalaner 6]

When editing\creating unit you sometimes get erros like "Slug must be unique" - and there is no shortcut for this field, so you must browse throw all the fields to find this error. Any way to make this error messages click-able so it will show some info about posible error or maybe move you to the posible place with error?

Seems like older version of my unit page still exists. Doesnt allow me to create another one. Double checked the fields and "slug error" all the way.