ArmA is just ... disappointing

[zulu1 145]

Quote[/b] ]Why are you posting in the disappointed thread, if you like it now?

Well I'm not prepared to say it's awesome which is the other fourm thread. Just wanted to show the people with a negitive impression that things can change.

[456820 0]

Well I used to really hate this game, when I had my old PC. I had to turn all settings to off/very low to get decent fps and this made the game look so terrible. With my new PC I can now play on full settings with good fps, the game now looks nice and enjoyment is much higher.

However there are still many things I hate about the game, the graphics have weird textures compared to other games and I just dont like this, the AI do have their good moments when they flank you and kill you but overall they suck. The ArmA GUI is terrible IMO it looks tacky and crap, I loved the OFP GUI I dont know why they kept with one simillar to that.

I could go on and on about things I dont like and how much I prefer OFP over ArmA despite OFP being 6 years old. ArmA has great potential but if you ask me far too much time was spent on making the game look good and not enough on the important things, I would be happy to be playing a game that looked like OFP if that meant the AI would be great and all otehr things in ArmA were fixed.

[.kju 3245]

Quote[/b] ]if you ask me far too much time was spent on making the

game look good and not enough on the important things, I would

be happy to be playing a game that looked like OFP if that meant

the AI would be great and all other things in ArmA were fixed.

Deserves to be quote

[mr reality 0]

However there are still many things I hate about the game, the graphics have weird textures compared to other games and I just dont like this, the AI do have their good moments when they flank you and kill you but overall they suck. The ArmA GUI is terrible IMO it looks tacky and crap, I loved the OFP GUI I dont know why they kept with one simillar to that.

I could go on and on about things I dont like and how much I prefer OFP over ArmA despite OFP being 6 years old. ArmA has great potential but if you ask me far too much time was spent on making the game look good and not enough on the important things, I would be happy to be playing a game that looked like OFP if that meant the AI would be great and all otehr things in ArmA were fixed.

My thoughts exactly.

ArmA for me is a bit of a dissapointment and i'm not enjoying it that much (i havn't fired it up in about a month now). I originally thought it was because it was too similar to the now six year old Flashpoint and that i was just tired of it all. Even with new graphics it still looks dated because of the squad control system and terrible damage modeling.

I stopped trying to make missions for ArmA as the AI was just a nightmare at times. For some strange reason i just can't get the AI to do the things i had the Flashpoint AI do.

Simple things like a squad not walking in a straight line, the staggered column formation not working (the normal column formation looks terrible as they line up too perfectly)and when the AI is set to aware they just can't seem to move very far without bringing there weapons to there shoulders. These may seem trivial, but when your trying to make an immersive mission involving patroling to the target area it becomes a labour intensive struggle that i just havent got the patience for anymore.

[Jack 0]

Hey BIS,

<table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tr><td>Code Sample </td></tr><tr><td id="CODE">"from state" <- state after last user command acknowledged by the server;

"command" <- first command after last user command acknowledged by server;

while (true)

{

run "command" on "from state" to generate "to state";

if (this was the most up to date "command")

break;

"from state" = "to state";

"command" = next "command";

};

Wow, that was tough.

[leckig 0]

hey, even though the single player sucks, it is a good practice for the multiplayer. I just started plaing multiplayer and it is great! way more fun then single player.

[njmatrix 2]

I personally think you will see a freshened up VBS2 released as the game. As I have said in other parts of this forum , if you goto arma2.com and look at the one pick you see "Blufor" barking orders... which is clearly VBS terminalogy not ofp or arma. I also think OFP2 with be the sim we have been waiting for.` just my opinion. Also as players of these sims we really need to get a grip and get the mods situation under control because I gotta tell you i aint downloading 5000 addons to play on your server. Someone needs to combine the best of the best addons as a mod or addon pack and as a community thats what we use (update from time to time of course) I was hoping that with Arma enough content would have been added the addons problem wouldnt be one... but i was wrong there.

[leckig 0]

damn, multiplayer is not so good after all, these hackers ruin the whole thing

[binkster 0]

damn, multiplayer is not so good after all, these hackers ruin the whole thing

Some servers are now hack free. Keep looking

[chops 111]

I get sick of all the bugs in Arma, and go back to OFP, then get sucked back in by Arma's prettier face. Then I get furiously angry with all the sloppy elements in this game.

I was working on a mission, pretty pleased with how it was coming along, only to have it ruined by the sloppy walking while in "safe" mode animations. The AI walks along, no problem, then as the leader gets a little further away, they sprint like Carl Lewis, for about three paces, then suddenly go back to walking again

So i return once again to my faithful, hardworking OFP. Her physical beauty may have long faded, but her heart stays forever true.

[zulu1 145]

The first tip I got that ARMA had problems was when from a distance a saw a vehicle with square wheels and as I got closer they turned round. Then I started to notice the changes from light to dark. I assumed it was some effect like cloud cover. Then after reading threads it sounds more like a bug. And don't get me started on the raido chatter. The total lack of user missions is a big disapointment, but it sounds like no one is happy with what they can produce.

Over all OFP is a much better game, if BIS had only stuck with it and made some tweaks here and there.

[nichevo 2]

Ah, so many comments about the increased difficulty of making missions. It's true!

Mission makers are suffering "death by a thousand cuts". Every step of the way they encounter a problem of some sort. Each sounds very trivial on its own, but it's the sheer amount that does the damage.

I've only made one mission for ArmA, and I've no willpower to make any more. Thank goodness it was a very small and simple mission or the total would've been zero.

I'll share two of my biggest problems. The first was that civilians would lie down regarless of scripted demands that they should remain standing. The sight of cowering civilians kind of ruined the "safe" mood I was trying to set for a particular location.

The second bug was related to multiplayer sync for a random cache of equipment in the starting vehicle. Scripts I had used in fine in OFP were being unreliable in ArmA.

Trivial things, yes I know. Able to be worked around? Almost certainly. But the end result is either a mission missing a lot of things which couldn't be implemented, or a mission-maker driven insane by constantly having to develop dodgy work-arounds.

[Sharez 0]

Perhaps the frustration is being  unable to make  half decent  coop missions, it is the biggest problem of all. I have wasted hours with always the same result,.......... delete it

They just never have a decent feel to them and although I have downloaded lots of custom missions they to have all dissapointed with a total lack of atmosphere.

I will most probably throw away some cash on Queens gambit as my expectations are so low it cannot be any worse.

I assume if Codemasters are in bed with Sony for OFP2 it will be a pretty closed shop and far removed from the golden age of community endevour as in  OFP.

 I considered buying Dirt to check out the Neon engine for modding but one peek into the forums knocked that  on the head.

Please somebody  tell me  the AI will improve, .....and stuff the eye candy.

Off to download the latest FFUR SLX pack

[dmarkwick 261]

I was working on a mission, pretty pleased with how it was coming along, only to have it ruined by the sloppy walking while in "safe" mode animations. The AI walks along, no problem, then as the leader gets a little further away, they sprint like Carl Lewis, for about three paces, then suddenly go back to walking again

If you don't mind me picking up on this rather odd little complaint, how did this ruin your mission?

[mr reality 0]

I was working on a mission, pretty pleased with how it was coming along, only to have it ruined by the sloppy walking while in "safe" mode animations. The AI walks along, no problem, then as the leader gets a little further away, they sprint like Carl Lewis, for about three paces, then suddenly go back to walking again  

If you don't mind me picking up on this rather odd little complaint, how did this ruin your mission?

I think i can answer that, by saying it ruins any imersion when the squad starts to act odd by not being able to walk in formation without getting left behind and having to catch up to the leader.

The 'safe' mode in ArmA is not the same as it was in flashpoint IMHO. My personal dislike is the 'aware' mode, as its realy more like the flashpoint 'danger' mode. It's tiny details like these that ruin any decent attempt at making an atmospheric mission.

ArmAs fine for the gunfights and so on, but when you try and get the squad to move realistically in patrol formation it becomes too much of a chore trying to get it right.

[xxbbcc 6]

There are really no words to even to begin to describe how FUBAR'd the ArmA UI is. OFP's UI sucked big time but ArmA ****ed up "default icon" UI is just worthless. I don't know who ever thought that this piece of **** is good to have, but it's not.

I couldn't find a single occasion when I thought this piece of ***** was even remotely useful, but it's unbelievably annoying when some of the menu options just jump into the center of the screen in the middle of a fight.

<s>Thanks BIS for another well done piece of work!</s>

Edit: Is there a way to turn off this cr@p for good? I keep getting killed because of it. I really cannot imagine a worse "improvement".

Edit 2: added a feature request to have this thing removed. Anyone who has similar feelings about it, can vote for it here.

[alext223 0]

The AI when FIBUA (Fighting In Built Up Areas.) SUCKS! It is a PAIN in the ass to set them up in windows and such, and if they can only stay in place when in a group! Feck me! And the scripting! Oh shit.... BIS, READ my words! NOT EVERYONE UNDERSTANDS COMPUTER LANGUAGE! (To you nit pickers, it's closer to that than any spoken language I know! ) Wow, the frustrations on that one! If only they had incorporated a similar ME like the one you find in the Steel Beasts games. Now thats a mission editor! And thats my gripes, Played OFP since '02, and to all you Fecking nit picking, don't do shit but whinge, pass the buck, got the brains but not the motivation bludgers who just throw shit to BIS. Get a life.

Besides for what I said bout the game above, LOVE IT!

And one more thing, just got QG running, And why does the M249 belt feed INTO the mag? Now, is it just me or is that a bit odd.

[Balschoiw 0]

Quote[/b] ]It is a PAIN in the ass to set them up in windows and such, and if they can only stay in place when in a group! Feck me!

this setunitpos "UP"; this disableAI "Move";

Problem solved...

BIS isn´t responsible for user´s inability to do the basics...

[alext223 0]

@ Balschoiw. Dude, i do that! And setpos middle, and the setpos getpos, setcombatmode yellow, and cut and paste, blah, blah, blah.... Its just a pain to get them right where u want them in the window ( I get a few CTD when trying to get it right. ) Yes, granted this game doesn't have the programming to put a Sqd into a building and take Pos in every window, let alone in the direction u want them to face in and take cover when under fire. TBH, I'm just going to put up and shut up, cause I can't fix the prob, I'm just going to make do with what I can do. But it would be nice!

[SeppSchrot 0]

Alex, you can start ArmA with a window option so you don't have to alt-tab all the time when editing. Maybe this prevents some CTD for you.

[bravo 6 0]

@ Balschoiw. Dude, i do that! And setpos middle, and the setpos getpos, setcombatmode yellow, and cut and paste, blah, blah, blah.... Its just a pain to get them right where u want them in the window ( I get a few CTD when trying to get it right. ) Yes, granted this game doesn't have the programming to put a Sqd into a building and take Pos in every window, let alone in the direction u want them to face in and take cover when under fire. TBH, I'm just going to put up and shut up, cause I can't fix the prob, I'm just going to make do with what I can do. But it would be nice!

maybe the building is "solid" in the inside. Ie, maybe the buildings you are trying are not enterable. I once tryed it and i couldn't like i did in OFP because of that reason.

Make sure that specific building is enterable and you can go to that window by your own feet. if you can't its because the building has noting inside so the unit don't have support to stand.

[Balschoiw 0]

Quote[/b] ]Its just a pain to get them right where u want them in the window

It´s allways been that way, even with OFP. I don´t really understand what the issue is, as it just takes time to place them right. What would be your suggestion to make it easier ? Have a buildingPos for every window in Arma ? Seriously, this is taking it a tad to far, don´t you think ?

Quote[/b] ]let alone in the direction u want them to face

The unit will face the direction you give to it via editor placement or using setdir to set the specific heading.

Nothing hard at all.

Quote[/b] ]I get a few CTD when trying to get it right.

Never got a CTD when setpossing my window troops. You´re either using malicious code or you have some technical issue with your comp.

Would be nice if you could post an example that shows how setpossed units do crash the game.

I guess a short post in the Mission Editing section of the forums

would have solved all of your problems in no time...

Quote[/b] ]because the building has noting inside so the unit don't have support to stand.

No problem aswell. Just setpos a palette right at the position you want the unit to stand on and there you go.

The only restriction you get is with buildings that are not enterable and have an obstructing invisible geolod that makes the units worthless as they can´t see, won´t fire and won´t be shot upon as it is with some buildings with balconies.

[alext223 0]

@ SeppSchrot, I do that when I'm doing scripting, etc. It helps! but thank you.

@ Balschoiw, Dude, I know, this is the whingers thred and to the building pos, awww hell no.

As to you second point, you took that out of context. That is a AI squad, as a group, acting due to a waypoint command and not placing single units in postion.

And to the CTDs', I am sorry, I should of said a "odd" insted of a "few". Just happens when I go from editor to game and back really quickly and quite a few times.

But got a idea for a mission so off to make it happen.

Happy hunting all.

Alext223

[xxbbcc 6]

Added another bugtracker entry for the Gear action command which I find next to useless. Since the gear command is completely unpredictable (no way to tell where the AI soldier will go to bring up the gear screen), the whole thing should be revamped - simply go back to the OFP behavior.

Here is the entry, vote for it if you, too, think the Gear command is atrocious:

Gear bug

[Maddmatt 1]

Added another bugtracker entry for the Gear action command which I find next to useless. Since the gear command is completely unpredictable (no way to tell where the AI soldier will go to bring up the gear screen), the whole thing should be revamped - simply go back to the OFP behavior.

Here is the entry, vote for it if you, too, think the Gear command is atrocious:

Gear bug

Simply send the AI to stand near whatever you want him to use the gear action on , and it works. At least in my experience.