Advanced Combat Environment

[dslyecxi 23]

Dont worry not all of us are like that!

Oh, I know. We, as a team, know that. A few negative or demanding people are to be expected around these parts, after all. The negative people will not be an influence on us.

Quote[/b] ]Sounds like you guys have been making something truely remarkable in terms of realism.

Thanks. I think it's going to really impress people. I can't wait to write my first ACE After-Action Review from ShackTac's full-scale experiences in it.

Quote[/b] ]Is there any hints of how all these features affects performance?

I haven't really noticed much of a performance impact from ACE at this point.

We'll be able to say more about performance once the beta is available. If there are any performance problems, we'll address them, but I don't expect there to be any major ones. Some things, like the enhanced visual effects, might drop you down a few frames when things are really thick (lots of smoke, explosions, etc, covering a large percentage of your screen), but other than that you should be good.

[wolfsblut_ 0]

Just 2 lines would have been more informative:

Projectstatus: x0 % (estimated!)

Launch-date: xx.xx.xxxx. (estimated!)

Phaeden goes out of his way to make a good, lengthy post about ACE, and the best you can reply with is basically a demand to know in percentage points how "complete" it is, and what the estimated date is?

:rolleyes:

I love the concept to push the wounded-and-dying-scenario in a more realistic way:

- the immediate death by a rifle-hit occurs ONLY under certain circumstances. So the after-mission-meeting will have to deal with more realistic facts, but maybe less disturbing facts.

- EACH wounded man, even when he was quick "healed" with bandages, has to reckon with (shooting)skill-restrictions. IMO a great realism-thing because an enemy-approach will be more discussed because nobody will like it to be wounded.

[mattxr 9]

For those that didnt no WGL for OFP here have a look.

WGL OFP Forum Post

[NoRailgunner 0]

Thanks for info. I have some questions:

1. Playing with ACE - will it break existing missions in SP or MP in that way mission designers have to update their work to be "ACE compatible"?

2. Are you going to make some options where the player is able to switch them on/off?

3. What about AI - will they have some "specific skills" eg. pilots are much better in air than on ground with machineguns or AT?

Last but not least:

What do AI units say about ACE improvements are they bit afraid that they get "bored"?

Looking forward to some merchandise Teaser & Trailervids!

[Inkompetent 0]

1. We aim at making ACE work out of the box, so even though we will apply ACE in all aspects possible it should work with standard missions.

2. Yes. There will be both server-side and client-side options. At the moment it is hard to say to what extent, but it will be there.

3. I'm afraid I can't answer this one, so I'll leave that to someone that might know more.

[dslyecxi 23]

Thanks for info. I have some questions:

1. Playing with ACE - will it break existing missions in SP or MP in that way mission designers have to update their work to be "ACE compatible"?

This will be minimized as much as possible. It may not ever be an issue, but at the same time, we will not sacrifice great functionality just to maintain compatibility with existing missions. ACE is such a different style of play that you will want to design scenarios specifically to account for its feature set, anyway.

The BAS Mission Framework will be updated for ACE as soon as possible, too, and that should facilitate mission making for everyone.

Quote[/b] ]2. Are you going to make some options where the player is able to switch them on/off?

Yes.

Quote[/b] ]3. What about AI - will they have some "specific skills" eg. pilots are much better in air than on ground with machineguns or AT?

I don't believe that that has been discussed in such terms. I personally don't see much use in that right now - the AI isn't really designed to work that way to begin with, it's not like they have a character sheet that gives them a +5 to piloting but a -3 to MG/AT usage. Perhaps some things will be done to give the illusion of this and get the same end gameplay result.

[Barely-injured 0]

Quote[/b] ]Thanks. I think it's going to really impress people. I can't wait to write my first ACE After-Action Review from ShackTac's full-scale experiences in it.

ehmm perhaps until that happens you could put your writing skills in doing a full in-depth preview of ACE

Just kidding sorry i dont mean to be pushy just couldnt resist

Keep up the good work guys half the forum is constantly refreshing this thread

[dslyecxi 23]

ehmm perhaps until that happens you could put your writing skills in doing a full in-depth preview of ACE

Just kidding sorry i dont mean to be pushy just couldnt resist

Keep up the good work guys half the forum is constantly refreshing this thread

How's this for a basic look at some of the features? I wrote it a few weeks ago - much has changed (in a good way) since then.

Quote[/b] ]- Robust stamina system that factors in the weight of your gear, speed of movement, steepness of terrain, weather, and more.

- Crew-served weapons. An M2 team may consist of several people - one with the gun itself, one with the tripod, and another with ammo. You can deploy these weapons anywhere (even on top of buildings), break them down to transport somewhere else, or even pick up the fully deployed weapon with the help of several players and move it to a new location.

- Detailed medical system. The current implementation takes what worked well and builds on it, and the in-development version goes even beyond that. Bleeding, self-aid, buddy aid, bandaging, transportation of the wounded, etc - you name it, it's in or being developed in.

- Greatly enhanced damage model. When you're shot, you can expect to be wounded more often than killed, as is the reality of combat. Stunning can occur, based on the severity of the injury, as can being knocked down, dropping your weapon, being rendered temporarily unconscious (ie: from an explosion). Can't walk? Stunned? Unconscious? No worries - a buddy can drag you from the battlefield and call a medic over to tend to you.

- Rucksacks & improved inventory system. The rucksack system from Wargames League has been greatly enhanced - the interface is integrated with the gear menu and is absolutely trivial to learn and use. Pack extra ammo, grenades, medical supplies, etc, in a rucksack that can be dropped when necessary to lighten your load (ie at the final staging area before an assault).

- Realistic aircraft egress. Jets have ejection seats that will propel you clear before deploying your parachute. There are no more "magic parachutes" - if you jump out of a helo and aren't packing a parachute, you're going to plummet to your grisly demise. Parachutes are an inventory item that must be present for parachute functionality to happen.

- Authentic startup times for vehicles. No more instant-on Abrams. While you will not have to wait the full amount of time that some vehicles require in reality for the sake of gameplay and fun, there will be delays to encourage proper and realistic gameplay behaviors.

- Tweaked vehicular damage, resulting in less catastrophic kills, and more of a focus on mobility kills and other non-catastrophic-explosion-causing forms of destruction.

- Authentic helicopter gunnery. Currently in the mid stages of development, the ACE Cobra features a fantastically modeled set of weaponry and functionality taken straight from the actual Cobra flight manual. More details on this in the future - we're keeping the specifics under wraps for right now, but rest assured that the end result is going to please anyone who has ever wished that the ArmA helo experience was more than just "lock-fire-rinse-repeat".

- Enhanced AI behaviors and more authentic levels of accuracy and lethality. Combine this with other aspects of ACE and you have firefights that last longer, result in more wounding and less killing, and just generally are more enjoyable to partake in.

- Other assorted cool things - backblast for anti-tank weapons, no ammo counter for rifles and such (with the ability to do a "magazine check" to get an idea of how full your current magazine is), enhanced recoil modeling, simulation of unexploded ordnance, wind influencing helicopter flight, new character types (ADF, USMC, USN/SEAL, USARMY), weapons, and vehicles, proper anti-tank rocket ballistics, etc etc etc. That's not even close to the full list, and it's ignoring a ton of things that are in the pipeline (such as the radio enhancements, map enhancements, and more).

- Over a dozen islands ported from WGL for OFP. While not as visually pretty as Sahrani, these islands provide tried-and-true gameplay that gets you off of Sahrani for some varied terrain and new combat and mission possibilities. They don't look half bad in the ArmA engine, either!

[liljb15 0]

That is a great features list right there, I can't wait.

[Jackal326 1181]

Sounds very impressive. I hope the 'Authentic helicopter gunnery' makes it so the KA50 AT Missiles (VIKHR-12 I think it is) can actually hit a target at its engagement range, or ANY range for that matter because right now the KA50 is fairly useless for extended range, and the Corba as it stands isn't much better.

All in all I'm highly anticipating this mod.

[mrcash2009 0]

This thread is huge, so sorry to slap a basic question (which will obviously be a repeat) an the end here:

Im not comparing this to ECS at all, but will it be like ECS in terms of seeing benefits if you are SP only type of player?

Ive yet to move into MP play on Arma (dont ask) .. and I will do soon, but offline will ACE be rewarding enough?

Or maybe I should ask, what WONT you benefit from if you just use it SP?

[Maddmatt 1]

This thread is huge, so sorry to slap a basic question (which will obviously be a repeat) an the end here:

Im not comparing this to ECS at all, but will it be like ECS in terms of seeing benefits if you are SP only type of player?

Ive yet to move into MP play on Arma (dont ask) .. and I will do soon, but offline will ACE be rewarding enough?

Or maybe I should ask, what WONT you benefit from if you just use it SP?

Yes. ACE is great for SP too

The difficulty level of missions that were not made with ACE in mind will be different due to gameplay changes, but that's not really a bad thing.

It is of course made with MP in mind, but the SP doesn't suffer. Things that affect the player, like the wounding system, also affect the AI.

Since my internet connection sucks right now, I run ACE in SP

But with or without mods, SP can't compare to playing MP with some decent people.

[Inkompetent 0]

Sounds very impressive. I hope the 'Authentic helicopter gunnery' makes it so the KA50 AT Missiles (VIKHR-12 I think it is) can actually hit a target at its engagement range, or ANY range for that matter because right now the KA50 is fairly useless for extended range, and the Corba as it stands isn't much better.

All in all I'm highly anticipating this mod.

We are doing our best to make all weapons systems behave as close to real life as possible without the gamer needing the real manual for the systems to use them.

Missiles and rockets in the game, from FFARs and shoulder-launched weapons, up to command- or self-guided missiles are getting a lot of attention to be brought up to a proper level.

[Blue_Flight 0]

We are doing our best to make all weapons systems behave as close to real life as possible without the gamer needing the real manual for the systems to use them.

Missiles and rockets in the game, from FFARs and shoulder-launched weapons, up to command- or self-guided missiles are getting a lot of attention to be brought up to a proper level.

Will we be able to steer TOWs into the target with a proper magnification sight?

[dslyecxi 23]

Will we be able to steer TOWs into the target with a proper magnification sight?

The Cobra has this already, and it's quite cool. As to other vehicles, it's probably WIP at this stage. Really, it's just a matter or prioritization - some things may not be in the initial release, but they are planned to be implemented, and it's just a matter of finding time to put them in.

[mrcash2009 0]

This thread is huge, so sorry to slap a basic question (which will obviously be a repeat) an the end here:

Im not comparing this to ECS at all, but will it be like ECS in terms of seeing benefits if you are SP only type of player?

Ive yet to move into MP play on Arma (dont ask) .. and I will do soon, but offline will ACE be rewarding enough?

Or maybe I should ask, what WONT you benefit from if you just use it SP?

Yes. ACE is great for SP too

The difficulty level of missions that were not made with ACE in mind will be different due to gameplay changes, but that's not really a bad thing.

It is of course made with MP in mind, but the SP doesn't suffer. Things that affect the player, like the wounding system, also affect the AI.

Since my internet connection sucks right now, I run ACE in SP

But with or without mods, SP can't compare to playing MP with some decent people.

Cheers Matt for reply on that.

This will probably be the thing that catapults me into MP Arma ... i'm having to much fun tweaking with mods and Making missions solo currently.

Im also assuming that its fully compatible with XEH mods around (i know this is probably an insult of a question! )

[Inkompetent 0]

Im also assuming that its fully compatible with XEH mods around (i know this is probably an insult of a question! )

We do use XEH, so overall it shouldn't be a problem. Be aware though that because of how much ACE alters we cannot guarantee it'll be painless to get certain mods working together with ACE. Overall compatibility is striven for though.

[nikita320106 0]

Quote[/b] ]Yes. ACE is great for SP too

sound good) but i feeling so stupid with my question...

i undestood about ai_game_engine_limitation, but i think default ai_engine is most sick part this game(and any vehicle's addon will not correct this situation)

what about AI?

when ai bot receives the order "5, engage, machinegunner" he's also will rise and run forward under fire (in the single!!!! ) ??!!!!!

what about ai_teamwork?

ai_run_from_cover_to_cover?

ai_flanking_behind_covering_fire?

ai_hit_the_dirt_under_surpressing_fire?

ai_taking_perimeter_and_cover_own_armour_from_enemy_rpg?

ai_change_to_file_formation_in_the_city?

------------------------------------------------------------

sorry my engliz) but i really thinking about this/

and search for ways of correction of these problems....

------------------------------------------------------------

maybe community_teamwork can help me or you? ))

[Enixj7 0]

I have a question that I can't seem to find an answer for. Will the animations have an overhaul or tweaked? Specifically the death animation. Not talking about full replacement more like tweaks that the PROPER mod and FFN mod did. IMO the death animation is just comical, deaths need to be faster and more realistic.

[dslyecxi 23]

I have a question that I can't seem to find an answer for. Will the animations have an overhaul or tweaked? Specifically the death animation. Not talking about full replacement more like tweaks that the PROPER mod and FFN mod did. IMO the death animation is just comical, deaths need to be faster and more realistic.

Minor tweaks are possible, but if you're expecting some miracle, you'll be disappointed. The main limiting factor is the ArmA animation system, and secondary to that is the presence of proper replacement animations to use for any given aspect.

Personally, I see no reason to spend what is ultimately limited time changing the death animations. Changing the way animations work and transition while alive and moving, on the other hand, is potentially fruitful.

[RAKtheUndead 0]

Quote[/b] ]How's this for a basic look at some of the features? I wrote it a few weeks ago - much has changed (in a good way) since then.

Quote[/b] ]

- Robust stamina system that factors in the weight of your gear, speed of movement, steepness of terrain, weather, and more.

- Crew-served weapons. An M2 team may consist of several people - one with the gun itself, one with the tripod, and another with ammo. You can deploy these weapons anywhere (even on top of buildings), break them down to transport somewhere else, or even pick up the fully deployed weapon with the help of several players and move it to a new location.

- Detailed medical system. The current implementation takes what worked well and builds on it, and the in-development version goes even beyond that. Bleeding, self-aid, buddy aid, bandaging, transportation of the wounded, etc - you name it, it's in or being developed in.

- Greatly enhanced damage model. When you're shot, you can expect to be wounded more often than killed, as is the reality of combat. Stunning can occur, based on the severity of the injury, as can being knocked down, dropping your weapon, being rendered temporarily unconscious (ie: from an explosion). Can't walk? Stunned? Unconscious? No worries - a buddy can drag you from the battlefield and call a medic over to tend to you.

- Rucksacks & improved inventory system. The rucksack system from Wargames League has been greatly enhanced - the interface is integrated with the gear menu and is absolutely trivial to learn and use. Pack extra ammo, grenades, medical supplies, etc, in a rucksack that can be dropped when necessary to lighten your load (ie at the final staging area before an assault).

- Realistic aircraft egress. Jets have ejection seats that will propel you clear before deploying your parachute. There are no more "magic parachutes" - if you jump out of a helo and aren't packing a parachute, you're going to plummet to your grisly demise. Parachutes are an inventory item that must be present for parachute functionality to happen.

- Authentic startup times for vehicles. No more instant-on Abrams. While you will not have to wait the full amount of time that some vehicles require in reality for the sake of gameplay and fun, there will be delays to encourage proper and realistic gameplay behaviors.

- Tweaked vehicular damage, resulting in less catastrophic kills, and more of a focus on mobility kills and other non-catastrophic-explosion-causing forms of destruction.

- Authentic helicopter gunnery. Currently in the mid stages of development, the ACE Cobra features a fantastically modeled set of weaponry and functionality taken straight from the actual Cobra flight manual. More details on this in the future - we're keeping the specifics under wraps for right now, but rest assured that the end result is going to please anyone who has ever wished that the ArmA helo experience was more than just "lock-fire-rinse-repeat".

- Enhanced AI behaviors and more authentic levels of accuracy and lethality. Combine this with other aspects of ACE and you have firefights that last longer, result in more wounding and less killing, and just generally are more enjoyable to partake in.

- Other assorted cool things - backblast for anti-tank weapons, no ammo counter for rifles and such (with the ability to do a "magazine check" to get an idea of how full your current magazine is), enhanced recoil modeling, simulation of unexploded ordnance, wind influencing helicopter flight, new character types (ADF, USMC, USN/SEAL, USARMY), weapons, and vehicles, proper anti-tank rocket ballistics, etc etc etc. That's not even close to the full list, and it's ignoring a ton of things that are in the pipeline (such as the radio enhancements, map enhancements, and more).

- Over a dozen islands ported from WGL for OFP. While not as visually pretty as Sahrani, these islands provide tried-and-true gameplay that gets you off of Sahrani for some varied terrain and new combat and mission possibilities. They don't look half bad in the ArmA engine, either!

Looking good, ACE team! I loved WGL (can't play Flashpoint without it now), and I'm really looking forward to more realistic gameplay inside the ArmA engine. Once this is complete (and I hope by that time that I diagnose my bug problems so I can enjoy it to the same extent as WGL), I'll be transferring my wargaming to ArmA.

[gunterlund 0]

Is the WGL like mortar system going back in?

[mr.g-c 6]

Is the WGL like mortar system going back in?

I really hope so, and as Dslyecxi already mentioned the "crew served weapons", i think mortars fall under this term....

by the way: I hope this time it will be a bit easier to set the mortars up. In WGL it was a bit to complex for the "typical" mission-creator.

Questions:

1. Will there be a AI-suppression comparable to the level that the ECS-Mod currently is delivering? I ask this because in WGL it was not that good compared to the ECS for Arma.

2. In OFP-WGL tanks could deploy smoke from smoke grenades fired up in the air and from the engine of the Tank, however the AI in OFP-WGL didn't ever used this when getting fired at.... will this be tweaked so the AI can and will use it?

3. Will there be different Ammo types for AT-Launchers/Tanks/Helicopters ? I always found it a bit poor to have only the HEAT round for the Carl Gustav in OFP-WGL, while in reality there are numerous ammo-types available. Same for AT4-M136 and others...

4. Will it ever be possible that Rounds can penetrate buildings? I think that this is one of the most annoying factors of Arma in terms of CQB and ballistic-realism.

5. Last but not least - will ACE include ALL of the WGL-features WGL had at 5.1 ?

Best Regards, Christian

[dslyecxi 23]

Quote[/b] ]I hope this time it will be a bit easier to set the mortars up. In WGL it was a bit to complex for the "typical" mission-creator.

It will be streamlined compared to WGL. Exact details are still WIP.

Quote[/b] ]2. In OFP-WGL tanks could deploy smoke from smoke grenades fired up in the air and from the engine of the Tank, however the AI in OFP-WGL didn't ever used this when getting fired at.... will this be tweaked so the AI can and will use it?

Possibly, it hasn't been worried about yet. There are bigger fish to fry currently.

Quote[/b] ]3. Will there be different Ammo types for AT-Launchers/Tanks/Helicopters ? I always found it a bit poor to have only the HEAT round for the Carl Gustav in OFP-WGL, while in reality there are numerous ammo-types available. Same for AT4-M136 and others...

Yes, as appropriate, and as time/prioritization allows.

Quote[/b] ]4. Will it ever be possible that Rounds can penetrate buildings? I think that this is one of the most annoying factors of Arma in terms of CQB and ballistic-realism.

I doubt it. There is functionality in ArmA to allow for bullet penetration already. Doing more than that is likely futile and a waste of effort, at least at this stage.

Quote[/b] ]5. Last but not least - will ACE include ALL of the WGL-features WGL had at 5.1 ?

This is a very loaded question. ACE will bring over a lot of WGL stuff and implement many new things. WGL was a multi-year project, and while ACE is taking much from it, ACE is by no means a straight port and you can expect some things in WGL to not be in the initial release.

[mr.g-c 6]

Thanks for your answers, i'm overall satisfied by them and looking forward to the release

Quote[/b] ]

Quote[/b] ]

4. Will it ever be possible that Rounds can penetrate buildings? I think that this is one of the most annoying factors of Arma in terms of CQB and ballistic-realism.

I doubt it. There is functionality in ArmA to allow for bullet penetration already. Doing more than that is likely futile and a waste of effort, at least at this stage.

Hmm and what function is this? Is it enabled by default in Arma or will you enable it in ACE?

I mean in situations where you and your squad are hiding inside a building and the enemy fires a whole load of Ammo from their BMP into it, it feels a bit bad that you can feel save inside there, like in the bosom of abraham...

Just one question though, will there be any countermeasures for air-units?

Best Regards, Christian