The Soldier

[guyguy1 0]

there's been talk of this before but there hasn't been a thread dedicated to this, so i'll start it.

In OFP, the player could somewhat customize their soldier. The player could select the face of the soldier and voice. The player could also choose the weapons, ammo, and types of optical assistance (binoculars or nvg's). In ARMA, since many of the interviews mention that Sahrani has different climates and thus different terrain, I think that we should, in addition to being able to choose our weapons and optical aids, be able to customize the uniform that the soldier is wearing and have that affect the AI's ability to spot out enemy troops. Having just one color of camoflauge in an island with many types of terrain and two seperate climates wouldn't be a very calculated decision on the US army's part. Enabling the player to choose from the new ACU's in service with the US army would be much more believable IMO. In addition, i want to see the ability select whether or not body armor should be worn because it can save your life, especially from explosions, but impair mobility. Same for weapons; its more  realistic to be issued an m4 but have the ability to pick what you wanna put onto it (different types of scopes/sights, silencers, flashlights, grenade launcher) than to just choose from a pre-configured weapon loadout. For vehicles, I just wanna see the humvee with the armored plate in front of the gunner if hes manning a .50 cal because seriously, when was the last time we saw a humvee with a gunner completely unprotected (besides somalia)?what do u guys think about my ideas?

edit: i know that it seems a little late for suggestions but i truly believe that these options should be in the game beacuse it gives the player much more freedom and many more possibilities

[coderdfox 0]

I think you missed the thread four spaces down titled "Faces / Uniforms". But while customizing sounds great shouldn't it be up to your class? I don't see alot of customizing in the military other than shades(OFP does) skin/face(OFP does). But as far as that what do you really want? Does alot of customizing go on in military?

[guyguy1 0]

well the faces/uniforms thread was more about importing user created content and user created content in general than it was about the ArmA that will be released soon. in iraq there are a few soldiers who choose not to wear their ACU, some also do not wear their body armor. if you look at the US soldier's weapons too, most of them have sights and grips and all these custom things that don't come with the issued weapon.

[CameronMcDonald 146]

Would you believe it, most regular forces (including the US) don't get the choice to choose their camo.

Note that I used the word "regular" and not "unconventional" or "special" anywhere.

Show me those pictures of US regulars not wearing their ACU fatigues (note I said fatigues and not load bearing harness or helmet cover) on duty, and show me those brave souls not wearing the IBA (body armour) when out on patrol (as opposed to garrison duties, when wearing body armour can be restrictive).

US troops are, as far as I know (ask olemissrebel for confirmation) allowed to customise their weapons to a certain extent, but uniforms are inviolable to a certain extent. Plus you weren't even allowed to be deployed in Iraq this year if you didn't have an ACU OTV cover.

[guyguy1 0]

unfortunately i dont have any photo of the guy who didnt wear his vest or without his ACU, but i was watching CNN this august and they interviewed him and he explained why he and a couple of his mates chose not to wear his OTV. also, there are many clips of troops in iraq on guard duty without their ACU's but those are mainly in graphic clips you find on sites like ogrish (u can go see for yourself) and there are also many clips in the show "gunner palace" which aired on discovery military channel that showed the troops going on patrol in the early evening without their ACU's (just in their brown PT t-shirt).

[benreeper 0]

Believe me: you will not be allowed to customize your character in that manner. You will be whatever unit model the mission designer decided to use.

--Ben

[coderdfox 0]

Here is the down side to this all.

I wanna dress in sniper gear and drive a tank.

Or

I wanna dress as a captain but I'm some newbie.

I personally believe ArmA should not allow you to change anything but your face and maybe sunglasses.

[chipper 0]

OK

1. US Army requires troops in combat to use ACU.

There is no choosing to wear it or not you have to.

2. US Army requires troops in combat to wear body armor. There is no choosing to wear it or not you have to.

Being able to choose optical sights such as aim-point, acog, etc would be realistic.

and

yes the hummers should have armor.

[tangogg705 0]

yeah it would be nice to still be able to customize your face

[CameronMcDonald 146]

Chipper said what I said, in about 300x less words.

[chipper 0]

yeah it would be nice to still be able to customize your face

It is nice that we can still customize our face.

[meyamoti 0]

Indeed,one of OFP's best points was the not so clone wars that games have these days where everyone looks the same regardless. I also strongly agree with coderdfox,doing what he said would make no sense at all.

[Sepe 1]

I think the mission/addon maker should decide a choice of stuff availabe for you weapon and choices of equipment, similar to how the squad leaders can select their team's weapons in OFP if the mission maker has given them any choices.

And after all, think about mods like The Unsung. What would be a Nam mod without customisable helmet covers?

[sanctuary 19]

Quote[/b] ]I think that we should, in addition to being able to choose our weapons and optical aids, be able to customize the uniform that the soldier is wearing

-If - the "role switching" feature in the preview of the campaign allow to really switch between different soldier models (not possible in OFP) and not just different weapons (possible in OFP), in a mission with a simple script and ingame dialog it should be possible to "change" the equipment/camo of the soldier.

But that would be all in control of the mission maker, if it fits his mission concept or not.

[Metapoxa 0]

Well... We should really get HMMVS with CROW´s system, instead of the regular .50 cal and gunner peeking from roof.

[Death006 0]

What about using different atachments on the vest? The rig is pretty versatile and can take a number of different attachements and arrangements, although things like mag pouch placement wouldn't come into play much in AA, I guess.

[CameronMcDonald 146]

Could be done with setobjecttexture. But in ArmedA the soldiers have different MOLLE loadouts to begin with, and although they mightn't change dynamically during play, the fact that a SAW gunner now has SAW pouches whereas a grunt has his good ole M4 mags strapped on is enough for me... for now.

[SOG 0]

In Iraq it depends on the unit SOP ie. The engineers from across the road from me all had to wear their gear in the same spot ammo pouches nades their first aid pouch containing their combat casualty card and pressure dressing. Their commander belived that this uniformity would ensure that if somone one is injured or KIA his batttle buddy would know excatly where and what he was carrying. Now my unit allowed us to customize our general setup of Molle Gear to promote speed and effecency per each soilder. As a gunner usually in the top of a 1114 Hummer and a saw gunner My ammo pouches were set to either side and contained not ammo but headspace and time gauge large bottle of CLP and usually a few unbelted .50 rounds from charging and clearing the weapon. As for the versitility of how a troop sets his gear Id have to say for the game just set the loadouts and the gear to coinside. Oh the best thing would be to allow a soilder to carry as much ammo as he or she chooses.. Ie I carried between 12 thousand and 24 thousand rounds for my saw and yes they were on my person If I dismounted the vhecile I bought a Assult Pack (Black backpack with lots of space) and filled it with as much ammo and flares as I could. That makes it more realistic the army may not let you change your outfit so to speak but they let you carry all the lead you want.

[benreeper 0]

Welcome SOG, great post.

I still hope for more proxies. I want to see me pearl handled Colt holstered.

--Ben

[Balschoiw 0]

Quote[/b] ] Ie I carried between 12 thousand and 24 thousand rounds

That would make a total of over 400 pounds just for ammo

Do you look like this ?

[urbanwarrior 0]

24 thousand rounds, where did you stick the replacement barrels you would need after shooting out the old ones

[Messiah 2]

24 thousand rounds, where did you stick the replacement barrels you would need after shooting out the old ones

do you really want to know

[urbanwarrior 0]

24 thousand rounds, where did you stick the replacement barrels you would need after shooting out the old ones

do you really want to know  

on second thoughts, no

[frederf 0]

Surely you mean 1200 to 2400 rounds?

[Garcia 0]

Come on...customize uniform would have to be so restricted that it would be useful...I mean, if it was set to be somewhat like the custom face, I could just imagine people running around in naked-skins and such...