Arma 3 Apex: Old Man Feedback

[pierremgi 4737]

3 minutes ago, mmm said:

Now I've seen similar in other scenarios after extended run time, is this kind of degradation inherent with ARMA and fundamentally unsuited for single scenario campaign without refresh?

 

Yes and no. The Arma engine manages scripts with a scheduler for scheduled ones. They can run in parallel but the 3ms limitation can be a barrier for heavy scripts. On the other hand, in unscheduled environment, the codes run one by one and you can experience severe lags waiting for them to be done.

As already said above, this false campaign stacks too many data while the player is traveling on the whole Tanoa world, letting spilled objects in houses, enemy units spawned and forgotten, weapon holders everywhere...

The Beta version of "old man", more a trial than a polished release, should allow console. This way the performance monitoring could be accessible.

 

IMHO, we are very far from the performance of the East Wind Campaign, or even the Apex Protocol solo played. Not the same price.

 

[remi6 18]

On 12/27/2019 at 10:07 PM, br2600 said:

I tried this, but I got the message "Can't wait with enemy nearby".   I suppose I have to retreat a distance, then try again until I can successfully "wait".

 

i found being 300m away always worked for me. i havent tested closer to any more extent but that's really not that far away.

[kameradbot 10]

On 12/18/2019 at 9:16 AM, Mandastan said:

This may seem like an incredibly basic question, as I don't play much Arma - but what do I need to bind controls to in order to be able to skip time? The hint just tells me CONTROL1 and CONTROL2, which I don't know what that is.

 

Had the same question, until after some more missions thin dotted lines appeared in the map indicating available locations to fast travel to. Then simply left mouse clicking the location in the map brings up the dialog.

 

[darkChozo 133]

On 1/6/2020 at 4:42 PM, kameradbot said:

On 12/18/2019 at 3:16 AM, Mandastan said:

This may seem like an incredibly basic question, as I don't play much Arma - but what do I need to bind controls to in order to be able to skip time? The hint just tells me CONTROL1 and CONTROL2, which I don't know what that is.

 

Had the same question, until after some more missions thin dotted lines appeared in the map indicating available locations to fast travel to. Then simply left mouse clicking the location in the map brings up the dialog.

 

Waiting is a separate system. To wait, press the sit key ( ' by default, I believe). I think CONTROL2 is just the left mouse button, that part of the tooltip is telling you how to set the clock.

[mmm 35]

Recently I witnessed something that although hilarious, yet in a few ways also highlighted what I think are the contradictions between this "Old Man" mission design, and what ARMA is. So here's how it went.

 

So I arrived at the Syndikat stronghold of Doodstil. A Bloodied smuggler(UGL) appeared, sporting a modified loadout of Type 95 GL. He then proceeded to limp towards a pile of equipments I stashed away earlier in the town, and stole a number of my 5.8mm drum magazines. Bewildered, I went on to use a FAK to heal him up, for some reasons...

 

In hindsight it's clear he appeared damaged due to some sort of spawn bug or collision, by design no conflicts ever take place in safe zones and any events are only suppose to take place within a few hundred meters away from you. It's also clear that due to an oversight the weapon loadout was changed from AK-12GL without providing 5.8mm ammo, so the fully simulated AI routine actually decided for itself to pick up whatever compatible ammo it finds. However both the act of AI picking up ammo and me using FAK on it are made to have no practical purpose by this mission design. And the unintended behavior would have been easier to avoid had it not been the high fidelity of ARMA AI, like in the games that this particular is trying to recreate the experience of.

[zozo 104]

Hello to all Old Man players!

Firstly, thank you all for the feedback, for the positive and even for the negative 
We've already been able to fix several issues you've reported, and we're also actually working on some of the suggestions you've provided!

We're going to soon update the Old Man beta scenario on Steam Workshop.

However there's one little annoying, yet necessary topic related to that. You'll most likely loose your progress.
This is due to the single-scenario nature of Old Man's open design. It's why we're doing rather infrequent, but larger, updates.

Before the new upcoming update is released, you might consider backing up the current version and also your saves, in order to finish a current play-through.
Unfortunately Steam Workshop does not itself support a revision history.

1. The addons are stored here:
   "\Your Steam library\steamapps\common\Arma 3\!Workshop\@Arma 3 Apex- Old Man (Beta)"
   (This folder can be found from the Launcher > MODS > Arma 3 Apex: Old Man (Beta) > ... > Open folder in Windows Explorer)
2. Your saves should be stored here (usually in Documents):
   "\Your Arma 3 profile\Saved\a3\Missions_F_Oldman"

 

It's strongly not recommended to use the old saves with any newer version of the scenario, even if they seem to load. The resulting behavior is unknown and you may experience unwanted issues ⚠️

Thanks for your patience and stay tuned for further updates!

[PURIFICATEUR 1]

The game automaticly update checkpoint location and enemy base on the map, can we have an option that remove that on veteran walkthrough ? I like having my own markers

[Morbo5131 16]

Changelog?

[alky_lee 276]

9 hours ago, Morbo5131 said:

Changelog?

Added: Savegame settings dialog at the start
Added: Missing voice acting to some characters
Fixed: Temporary voice acting replaced by final versions
Fixed: Typos in localization string keys
Fixed: The static M2 optic is now hidden upon destruction
Fixed: FIA crews of the static M2
Fixed: Missing assembly string on the static M2
Tweaked: Compositions in some locations
Tweaked: Increased the minimal hit value on static M2 and increased shield protection so it can deflect MXC rounds from >20 meters
Tweaked: Static M2 gunner get in positions and fixed the floating animation on getting out

Spoiler

Fixed: The task to meet Arthur is canceled if the player kills him
Fixed: Keystone's SDV could get stuck
Fixed: The Transport Plane task could not be finished
Fixed: Tasks Escape Tanoa and Destroy Silos communications
Fixed: Tasks Destroy Radar and Destroy Silos could not be finished

 

[Predator14 17]

 

will there be a tutorial for the use of hold man modules in the editor?

[remi6 18]

11 hours ago, alky_lee said:

 

  Reveal hidden contents

Fixed: The task to meet Arthur is canceled if the player kills him
Fixed: Keystone's SDV could get stuck
Fixed: The Transport Plane task could not be finished
Fixed: Tasks Escape Tanoa and Destroy Silos communications
Fixed: Tasks Destroy Radar and Destroy Silos could not be finished

 

 

[MrPlank83 1]

Hi,

Firstly im loving this new dlc.

Spoiler

I have restarted a number of times and found that some bugs have not happened a second time (wheter they have been fixed at that actual time??) however i have tried a number of times to do the mission for Samjo to blow up the silos. After either letting the AI guerrilla blow them up or blowing them up myself the mission does not advance. There is no completion for doing this leaving the mission active. It still says blow up silos. Even if i escape the area and sleep till daylight, the mission still remains open. Annoyingly i saved in a safe house just before the mission so if the bug happens again i can load previous save and not do the mission at all, as if you dont do this optional mission it carry's on and successfully completes without your help. But it auto saved when you arrive on the beach, overwriting my previous save now im stuck and  frozen out from this point.

 

As Samjo no longer contacts you, im guessing as this mission is not complete?? please fix 

Edited January 17, 2020 by Dedmen
Moved spoiler into spoiler.

[zukov 483]

Old man adds a lot of stuff on inventory, this items are just cosmetic?
An example are the bandages, what sense does it make if you have a first aid kit? 
maybe an animation from DayZ? another example are the medicines, we will able to make a areas with  diseas? in this case the CBRN suit and decontamination tools are very useful......

[remi6 18]

On 1/15/2020 at 4:54 AM, MrPlank83 said:

Hi,

 

Hey MrPlank. In the future please put any sort of possible mission spoilers within the spoiler function located here:

 

 

thanks

[Godis_1 63]

I've started a new game after the update and faced an issue (check the spoiler). Also the music/radio volume in cars seems to be decreased. It's really hard to hear it while driving. I'm pretty sure it was louder in the prior version (I'm playing with my studio monitor speakers, well balanced at all freqs). Anyway, lowering sounds volume in the game settings helps with it.

 

Beware, SPOILER!

 

 

 

the mission where you have to take photos for Keystone in Oumiere seems bugged. I'm able to take all photos, escept one. There used to lay a piece of paper of some sorts - or a photo, Idk anymore. Usually it should be on that chair near the tent. But it doesn't spawn and cannot be found anywhere. Reloading the game or a save did't help the first two time. After the third time it worked. This time I used another road to approach the location.

[darkChozo 133]

On 1/17/2020 at 5:59 PM, Godis_1 said:

I've started a new game after the update and faced an issue (check the spoiler). Also the music/radio volume in cars seems to be decreased. It's really hard to hear it while driving. I'm pretty sure it was louder in the prior version (I'm playing with my studio monitor speakers, well balanced at all freqs). Anyway, lowering sounds volume in the game settings helps with it.

 

Beware, SPOILER!

 

  Reveal hidden contents

 

the mission where you have to take photos for Keystone in Oumiere seems bugged. I'm able to take all photos, escept one. There used to lay a piece of paper of some sorts - or a photo, Idk anymore. Usually it should be on that chair near the tent. But it doesn't spawn and cannot be found anywhere. Reloading the game or a save did't help the first two time. After the third time it worked. This time I used another road to approach the location.

 

Spoiler

I think the paper can spawn in multiple places. My first playthrough it was near the chair, but I just found it in one of the buildings near the camp.

 

[MSgt Main 1]

On 12/22/2019 at 4:42 AM, Bobrus said:

2 Silos destruction mission is broken. 

  Hide contents

Yes, AI is fine, blows up the silos, Samjo is calling me, retreat, but! The task is stuck at the stage before attack, it never switches to next stage of task, so the task is never completed.  

 

 

leaving from Cerebus has this been confirmed, I am having the same issue?

[daiBanana 0]

A summary of issues regarding what I've played through. Certain information contains SPOILERS, BE AWARE. 

 

Spoiler

1) The Rescue Insurgent member mission (optional). In the room on the second floor of the police station in Vagalala, there are two laptops for intel extraction. However, I accessed this first laptop for "stealing money" mission, then immediately accessed the other laptop. The mission "rescue member" could not be updated and showed on the map. Not sure if this was related to the sequence of accessing these two laptops or the short time interval between these two actions. In another game, I accessed the "rescue member" first and then accessed the other. And I only got the "rescue member" mission in the task list and I never see "steal money."

 

2) The silo mission. I could complete the mission but with a small glitch. It seems like the bomb was triggered by the distance between the player and the silo/bomb (or something else?). After Samjo calling for run-off, those AI units moved really slow, and they ended up in the explosion. This is not supposed to be a suicide mission for them, right? 

 

3) Get Doctor Medicine? Hold space and pass the antimalaricum to the Doctor with no reply from him and no change in the amount of supply for the medication (stays 2-5 hours). It seems this system is not running properly for my game. 

 

4) One of the options for the end-game scenario is to deliver the counteragent to the Syndikat blue van. However, with the current version (updated Jan. 13th), there's no action triggered after dropping the item in the cache. Not sure if the game content is incomplete or the EH was not fired correctly. 

 

5) The "Research paper" task. When Howard finished his talking, the question mark icon showed on the map. The description for that label is "description of the location." (Not yet edited?) Also, as the player chooses this branch of the game. The player has already turned against Syndikat and become a rebel state. This makes selling the research paper very tricky. The seller will flee soon as they recognize the player. I succeeded once by sneaking up from the back and selling it asap before he left. It will be much better if they could be fixed in the position. Once they moved away from the original position, there's no way to interact with them. 

 

6) Unexpected vehicle deletion upon leaving sites. For example, the player takes one vehicle from CSAT bases or checkpoints and drives off for a certain distance. Then the vehicle disappears, and most likely, the player will drop and die. I am not certain whether this happens constantly or not since I wasn't monitoring this in the early game. But it becomes a headache in my late game. Especially for the ending mission "Escape Tanoa,"  I set away with the hard-fought SDV and suddenly found myself sunk in the sea after a few hundred meters. 

 

Above all, my gameplay runs with minimum mods settings such as @CBA_A3, @enableDebugConsole, and a few weapons mods which do not contain any executable scripts. 

CHEERS! For the wonderful gaming experience you provide in the Armaverse. 

[mmm 35]

Hmm, anyone notice that vendors have their inventories depleting by itself for no good reason? Without me making any purchase the initial shop had its inventory dropped to just 1 RPK and greatly reduced ammo availability after a few hours of play, noticeably several Carl Gustaf rockets disappeared. I can't pin down what exactly triggers it but it happened both prior and after patch, so now that I'm certain it's happening for some reason.

 

So now my option is to use the item flipping exploit and buy everything from shops 1st time generate the initial inventory before the really important items are gone forever...

[R0adki11 3945]

3 hours ago, mmm said:

Hmm, anyone notice that vendors have their inventories depleting by itself for no good reason? Without me making any purchase the initial shop had its inventory dropped to just 1 RPK and greatly reduced ammo availability after a few hours of play, noticeably several Carl Gustaf rockets disappeared. I can't pin down what exactly triggers it but it happened both prior and after patch, so now that I'm certain it's happening for some reason.

 

Maybe its to show that the vendors are been visited by others to buy various wares.

[mmm 35]

3 minutes ago, R0adki11 said:

 

Maybe its to show that the vendors are been visited by others to buy various wares.

Did it happen to your walkthrough? If you have any idea what could have caused it to happen it would be very helpful if you can share.

 

I personally find it vastly more likely to be some sort of bug or oversight, than "to show that the vendors are been visited by others to buy various wares"? A shops inventory is not created until your first visit AFAIK, or at least they appear to have proper full inventory on first visit. It's akin to saying low frame rate in town area is due to CSAT sonic weapon affecting your brain.

 

Speaking of which... It seems probable to be connected to how many "revisits" you had? Probably something goes wrong when it tries to respawn the indefinite quantity items like medicine and sleeping bags? Everytime it happens maybe some finite quantity items get erased.

[Rochambeaubeau 4]

4 hours ago, mmm said:

Hmm, anyone notice that vendors have their inventories depleting by itself for no good reason? Without me making any purchase the initial shop had its inventory dropped to just 1 RPK and greatly reduced ammo availability after a few hours of play, noticeably several Carl Gustaf rockets disappeared. I can't pin down what exactly triggers it but it happened both prior and after patch, so now that I'm certain it's happening for some reason.

 

So now my option is to use the item flipping exploit and buy everything from shops 1st time generate the initial inventory before the really important items are gone forever...

Yeah, same here on both versions, particularly the camp close to Keystone.  I now buy everything I can and store it.

 

When you buy the rebreather, you get a hilarious TTS comment from the NPC when you purchase the hat. "Mon chapeau!"

[Rochambeaubeau 4]

After completing the Silo mission, I'm being spammed with 'Support Attack' missions. The missions occur in series and with a 5-30 minute gap between tasks. I've completed at least 5 missions, and tried to 'rest' until daylight with no letup in the tasks.  I'm ignoring them, now. They don't appear to affect the amount of men that will support my mission requests.

[dmaziuk 3]

Finally solo-playable content for AIII! I thought BI, like most everyone else, has abandoned solo players, and was about to give up hope... My faith in humanity is restored. Thank you!

 

Bug report: upload virus task is stuck for me.

Spoiler

I get the flash drive, and a CSAT ID, get to a CSAT computer -- there is one at lumber yard just South of RV point -- "insert flash drive" option comes up and can hold space and get it done. Nothing happens to CSAT ID, the drive is gone from my inventory, nothing happens to the task. Now I can go back to MIller and thumb drive is respawned on the log. I can pick it up again, go Miller's suggest CSAT base, but then "insert drive" does not come up at the computer there.

 

I haven't tried going to MIller-suggested base first, but considering the other poster had the same problem there, I'm not expecting that to work either.

 

General comments:

- if fast travel disappeared, I wouldn't miss it much. It's a handy cheat in its current state, it'll be less handy if the time skip is fixed. It makes far more sense in DUWS where you have to get to that remote base NOW to defend it... Here, without it I'll have to waste a lot of time in a driving sim, but wasting time is why I play computer games in the first place. The only problem would then be is I have a better driving sim. 😉

- Flood of "Support Attack" tasks is a bit much. Also, this can be considered a bug:

Spoiler

the task gets completed if you clear the target at any time before Samjo's attack. Even if it was not an attack target (not a task yet) when you cleared it.

 

[Rochambeaubeau 4]

5 hours ago, dmaziuk said:

Finally solo-playable content for AIII! I thought BI, like most everyone else, has abandoned solo players, and was about to give up hope... My faith in humanity is restored. Thank you!

 

General comments:

- if fast travel disappeared, I wouldn't miss it much. It's a handy cheat in its current state, it'll be less handy if the time skip is fixed. It makes far more sense in DUWS where you have to get to that remote base NOW to defend it... Here, without it I'll have to waste a lot of time in a driving sim, but wasting time is why I play computer games in the first place. The only problem would then be is I have a better driving sim. 😉

- Flood of "Support Attack" tasks is a bit much. Also, this can be considered a bug:

 

That's a fair summation.  Having the trains function on Tanoa would make Old Man really shine.  I don't have any idea of the hit in performance that would incur, but it would add a new dimension.  Perhaps you could load cargo, vehicles, or even drop the Taru pod on a flat rail car.  Just use the same 'Load vehicle' function as the Xi'an.