Just came back to A3 - Disappointed

[linkin93 5]

I am a really big fan of ARMA, I loved 2 and OA, especially with JSRS/ACE2/Blastcore. Have clocked up maybe 2000 hours over the years. I was very sad to see my clan shut down their A2:OA server and move it to A3 after it was released, though.

 

So I left the game since release, and came back to it a few days ago. It was immediately obvious that I would still not enjoy the game as much as A2:OA.

 

Please don't get me wrong - there are a lot of great improvements to core mechanics. I love the stance adjustments, weapon deployment, the arsenal, and modularity of weapons and attachments.

 

 

I'm going to break down my gripes with A3 into categories below.

 

 

GAMEPLAY MECHANICS

 

Fatigue system - ARMA 2 was better for gameplay, but not very effective at game balance

Weapon sway - Far too excessive, completely unrealistic

Weapon recoil - I feel like I'm playing as an untrained skinny wimp who's never handled a firearm

AI - Spots you from ages and murders you with pinpoint precision in one shot. You need at least 2-4 shots to take them out with any weapon except bolt action or semi auto heavy calibre rifles. Fatigue and weapon sway/accuracy make you useless at return fire.

 

VISUALS

 

Why is the fog blue?

FOV is zoomed out too far for ironsights when not zooming/holding breath

Blastcore is still a worthwhile addition

 

AUDIO

 

Still have to run JSRS because the standard sound system is not good enough

 

SETTING

 

I personally just do not like the made up futuristic junk - give me real settings with real equipment.

 

 

PS: I was really looking forward to ARMA3... until the release... as is evident I have the supporter edition of the game. I feel as if ARMA 3 is catered to suck in the CoD and Battlefield crowd, instead of improving on previous releases, and was really undercooked and lacking content on release. Strictly in comparison to A2 and OA + expansions.

[jone_kone 158]

 

 

PS: I was really looking forward to ARMA3... until the release... as is evident I have the supporter edition of the game. I feel as if ARMA 3 is catered to suck in the CoD and Battlefield crowd, instead of improving on previous releases, and was really undercooked and lacking content on release. Strictly in comparison to A2 and OA + expansions.

 

Have a look at CUP? :)

 

https://forums.bistudio.com/topic/179326-community-upgrade-project-cup/

 

What I´ve heard the sway should be a little better in the hotfix coming up within a week.

[inlesco 233]

• Stamina: it was changed just recently for the worse. All was good several weeks back. So, wrong time to return to Arma I'd say :D
• Sway, recoil - obvious problems. Been there since launch in 2013 Sept. Muzzle climb is ridiculous.
• Content issues: play RHS or CUP (mods with real-setting content).

There's lots of small / bigger issues that require a rewrite of various modules, but it ain't that easy in gamedev.

 

You fix one bug, you introduce 5 more at the same time. Good luck catchin' 'em all!

[donelsarjo 60]

I would have taken the time for writing this nonsense post to adjust the game according to my preferences. Every single point can be "fixed" (lol) by simply starting a mod or adjust settings. Be happy you have the liberty to do so. And if you are still unsatisfied play a better game. Good luck finding one.

[PiZZADOX 47]

Come play ArmA 2 with us @ the 86th if you don't like ArmA 3. Its not so much that ArmA 3 is a bad game, it is a good game in general, but I agree with the OP, there are simply too many strange decisions (especially ones halfway through the development process) that alter the game mechanics a little too much from the style of ArmA. Remember that fully replacing the content requires you to run extremely large mod packs, most of which have to scale back their visuals or have extremely aggressive LODs in order to perform correctly in the ArmA 3 iteration of the engine. ArmA 1 and 2 were far less graphically demanding titles, which put far less strain on the engine in terms of its rendering capability, something that cannot be fully fixed with simply a faster computer, so the modding potential threshold for ArmA 3 is smaller, unless they switch to a new rendering system via dx12 later on.

 

There are many people who prefer the old system, and theres nothing wrong with that. There's nothing wrong with anything here, as long as you are buying and playing games made by bohemia interactive :P We use some edits of ACE 2, fixing a few bugs found in 1.63 and some new additions like music from vehicles and a custom grenade and door system. You can find the 86th recruiting post over at the squads section of the A2 forums, or you can add "StateBDog" on steam.

[Wiki 1558]

One thing that disappoints me is that AI is still able to spot you, even if wearing ghillie suits and silenced sniper rifle, 500 meters away.

And of course, they can one shoot you with their AR no scope....

[nettrucker 142]

You could experiment a bit. Click configure, go to game, then click difficulties and choose Custom AI Level and then turn down Skill and precision settings to your liking. I found a pretty good balance. The AI is not a terminator anymore and it prolongs firefights significantly. Nice seeing bullets closing in on your position without being killed at the first shot. Try that Wiki and you'll see the game is more balanced without being less challenging. I found a pretty good setup I'm still experimenting myself since I got ArmA 3 only for 2 weeks now. I'm ok with the new stamina system since I don't know better. Sway is quite unrealistic and I'm having a hard time hitting the enemy. I rarely sprint only in danger of being killed but you move 10 meters in sprint and your player is already worn down. It's hard for me to adjust the aim. Well I think BI screwed on the weapon sway but for the rest I have not much to complain so far. After 2 years there are already tons of addons and MOD's, downloaded some 60 GB of stuff.

[chortles 263]

Well I think BI screwed on the weapon sway but for the rest I have not much to complain so far.

Tried it with today's hotfix?

[nettrucker 142]

Nope, just updated gonna try it tomorrow . . . let's see if the sway has been reduced. I stopped playing the campaign for the time being hoping they would fix it somehow soon.

[caboose816 38]

Nope, just updated gonna try it tomorrow . . . let's see if the sway has been reduced. I stopped playing the campaign for the time being hoping they would fix it somehow soon.

Significantly better with todays hotfix patch.

[froggyluv 2130]

AI - Spots you from ages and murders you with pinpoint precision in one shot. You need at least 2-4 shots to take them out with any weapon except bolt action or semi auto heavy calibre rifles. Fatigue and weapon sway/accuracy make you useless at return fire.

 

 

 Part of the problem here is that the default values for combat skills like AimingAccuracy are just too high to start with. Recruit is something like 0.2 and Elite 0.9 or 1 but those are all too high - dont let the fact that they are fractions fool you. Ive found literally sliding all values over to the right by 1 slot ie .02 minimum to perhaps 0.2 for the very elite troops a far better experience with gunfights actually lasting minutes rather than seconds -much like real life. Sure this sometimes makes them abit stupid but for the most part a better experience.

 

 Other problem is as you mentioned "they take 2-4 shots" and return fire no problem. This is a pretty serious situation needing resolution. As the game at this point has no real "Fall Back" behaviour -they either are staying in the fight or fleeing with little room in between. Firefights simply cant be played out faithfully without fallback, or tactical retreats as that is a huge ebb and flow of real battle. Thankfully there is now a suppression mechanic which does alter their accuracy though apparently not at the subSkill level. Back to first point, this requires a better wounding and visual/audio feedback -"Goddammit Im hit!", drop weapon, stagger, duck,  middle finger -any thing really that better conveys AND slows down there counter attack which as of now looks like an irritated itch. Highly recommend TPW's mods especially Fall, and Bleedout which gives high chance of dropping after being shot and potentially dying while still in the fight.

 

 Honestly sway wouldnt be as bothersome (tho im pretty much a fan) if we could also experience the fruits of our first shots on the antagonists side -letting us know that despite the swayed reticule, we have the upper hand.

[cecilsmith 0]

Significantly better with todays hotfix patch.

Sorry if I'm hijacking your post but I created a forum account to post for support but I can't even create a topic (LOL big time)

this post seemed similar to my issues.

 

I've just fired up ArmA 3 after several months AWOL from the game which was running great without problems at a steady 30 to 40 fps

before a 2.5GB update patch which was automatically (forced) downloaded to my disk via steam. Now all content including campaigns, scenarios

and even user made missions are all now premium content which I can't play without a purcahse. (I purcahsed the game off steam 2 years ago BTW).

 

Steam has updated my installation to 1.54 and it now runs like a slideshow (8 fps). I have everything set to low usually and before update payware crap

I cant even use the game anymore.

 

Why has all this payware content been forced fed onto my computer when I do not want to use it and why isn't there an option

to choose what premium payware content is installed? I have over 25GB of wasted space and bandwidth from the last update.

 

Why would an update degrade the graphics frame rate so bad that it is now unplayable? I don't have a super dooper

video card but it was good at 30fps before the update.

 

How do you get an approved post if you can't even create a topic to post one?

 

update...

 

decided to give A2 OA another go and...wow...the performance and overall playable experience in game is excellent. it's been a few years

since I played A2 and the visuals, AI etc.. are step above A3.

 

Why is there premium content "mario carts" in A3, I got this on my nintendo.

[I give up 152]

You people can complain whatever you want but one thing I can assure, Arma is unique and ARMA 3 still is the best game out there. About personal beliefs, nothing we can do, not even a game.
 

[cecilsmith 0]

You people can complain whatever you want but one thing I can assure, Arma is unique and ARMA 3 still is the best game out there. About personal beliefs, nothing we can do, not even a game.

 

well I'm not complaining and there is nothing personal about my post so don't get upset about it. I was puzzled by the 2.5GB steam update which

contained mostly premium payware content.

 

A3 is the best, if it helps.

[jone_kone 158]

well I'm not complaining and there is nothing personal about my post so don't get upset about it. I was puzzled by the 2.5GB steam update which

contained mostly premium payware content.

 

A3 is the best, if it helps.

 

You can actually turn of automatic updates in Steam. That way you can choose when and how to update.

[St. Jimmy 272]

I wonder what's the big difference between OA and Arma 3 sway. I tested vanilla OA a week ago and the sway was pretty crazy and twitchy when tired. I say it's even harder than the current Arma 3 sway because of hold breath control. OA sway is twitchy but it remains at one point for 0.1s (I don't really know the time but it's short) so that can help compared to the constant moving sway that Arma 3 has.

[cecilsmith 0]

You can actually turn of automatic updates in Steam. That way you can choose when and how to update.

true, but the option to turn off auto updates in steam also prevents you from starting the game.

As with all steam games, you have to update them before you can actually play them.

 

does A3 even support multiplayer online games where different steam versions of the games

are being used, I doubt it.

 

anyway, I can now create a new forum topic after "hijacking" this topic to get approval to post on the forums

I have to break the forum rules  :huh:  (LOL big time)

[devilslayersbane 28]

true, but the option to turn off auto updates in steam also prevents you from starting the game.

As with all steam games, you have to update them before you can actually play them.

 

does A3 even support multiplayer online games where different steam versions of the games

are being used, I doubt it.

 

anyway, I can now create a new forum topic after "hijacking" this topic to get approval to post on the forums

I have to break the forum rules  :huh:  (LOL big time)

You'd have been fine creating a topic in the Questions and answers section.

 

On topic:

 

​Please don't get me wrong - there are a lot of great improvements to core mechanics.

...

I feel as if ARMA 3 is catered to suck in the CoD and Battlefield crowd, instead of improving on previous releases.

Conflicting statements are conflicting.

 

I understand that you may be upset with the fatigue system and setting (although, the setting isn't actually that off​ and most of the equipment actually does exist irl). However, that doesn't mean that A3 is catered to suck in the COD and BF crowd. The devs just probably wanted to do something different than "Russia's being a d*ck. America, stop Russian tyranny" or "Fight the jihadists because terrorism" (and yes, I'm aware that the stories are more in-depth than that, but you get the point). Now, there ARE other things they could have done, but it is their game. There are plenty of mods that offer contemporary equipment and vehicles, and then you also have Unsung for your Vietnam fix. :)​ T​he setting isn't perfect (could use a bit more lore development and equipment) but it is something new without providing us with jet-powered ospreys like COD. The modern stuff is great, but sometimes I need something different. And the sounds are a WIP, btw.

[rob1 4]

I was puzzled by the 2.5GB steam update which contained mostly premium payware content.

huh?!?? There are 3 dlcs (reasonably priced dlcs i might add) which are nothing to do with nexus as far as I know,  the core mechanics released with the dlcs are available to everyone for free (weapon resting, advanced flight model etc.).  I really don't understand where your coming from, unless I'm missing your point?

[Greenfist 1863]

huh?!?? There are 3 dlcs (reasonably priced dlcs i might add) which are nothing to do with nexus as far as I know,  the core mechanics released with the dlcs are available to everyone for free (weapon resting, advanced flight model etc.).  I really don't understand where your coming from, unless I'm missing your point?

He's just misunderstanding everything. All user made content, campaign, and scenarios isn't now premium content. The DLCs aren't 25GB, only 0.9GB. Etc.

[cecilsmith 0]

He's just misunderstanding everything. All user made content, campaign, and scenarios isn't now premium content. The DLCs aren't 25GB, only 0.9GB. Etc.

no, you are misreading what I posted. the game was working fine until a mandatory 2.5GB update trashed my install and now all scenarios, capaigns and user missiions

are locked with a premium content button. steam does not allow to start the game without download updates. I don't give "two toots" about DLC's, I dont' use them and choose to download what mods I install.

 

I came to the forum to seek advice but couldnt create a topic as I had a "rookie" user account. all for that I'm now faced with hostile replies to my post

and idiots who think I'm don't understand anything.

 

anyway, I've reinstalled A2 now and is a much more stable and performance is great! :)

[Greenfist 1863]

no, you are misreading what I posted. the game was working fine until a mandatory 2.5GB update trashed my install and now all scenarios, capaigns and user missiions

are locked with a premium content button. steam does not allow to start the game without download updates. I don't give "two toots" about DLC's, I dont' use them and choose to download what mods I install.

 

I came to the forum to seek advice but couldnt create a topic as I had a "rookie" user account. all for that I'm now faced with hostile replies to my post

and idiots who think I'm don't understand anything.

 

anyway, I've reinstalled A2 now and is a much more stable and performance is great! :)

I'm sorry if my reply sounded hostile, but you really sounded like you had badly misunderstood something because there should be only a couple of premium missions. And all user missions are free for everyone.

 

I guess you're game is really messed up then. Have you tried reinstalling it? Completely clearing the installation folder and deleting/renaming profiles in your Documents folder?

 

You really should post a troubleshooting topic. If you still want to play A3 that is. :)

[cecilsmith 0]

You really should post a troubleshooting topic. If you still want to play A3 that is. :)

 

hey, I'm cool and thanks for listening.

 

decided to have another go at sorting this out and I've noticed that my Player ID in game profile is showing as ERROR.

I've just gone into profile folder and opened log file, it is showing mostly lines as follows:

20:02:03 Unable to initialize Steam API.

20:02:03 SteamAPI initialization failed. Steam features wont's be accessible!

 

I think this is maybe why my game runs like crap and I have only 8FPS. When the game is booted up

to main screen the FPS is 60FPS for about 2-3 seconds then drops down to 8FPS without any

CPU or GPU usage.

 

a search on google links this to a steam problem. I will try updating steam and report

back the results.

[cecilsmith 0]

result!! back to a solid 60FPS.

 

the problem was caused by the steam client that didn't update in line with

the A3 update. all I can say is...what a ball ache, I never did like steam.

 

salute

[linkin93 5]

Well I'm going to bump this because of the update that occurred. Sway and innaccuracy is better, but still not good enough.

 

I have CUP installed and my clan uses it along with the arsenal. We do multiplayer so this is not an issue that can be fixed by tweaking my gameplay settings.