MP Regular level & Map helpers

[Tanaka_ 0]

Hello everybody,

Very few post with this ID but I’ve been around since OFP early days…

The topic I bring here is far from the importance of other topics mainly the ones regarding havocking of public servers.

(btw, my opinion regarding this subject… good/active administration and server setup is and always will be the best option against cheating… no “auto-anti-cheat†system will ever give a permanent/good protection… and on contrary, will ban

/kick players that most likely only wanted to play a game with us)

Now to the point and let me start by saying sorry for the long post

When I played my first AA MP games I noticed that with contrast in relation to OFP MP, all servers (even on “Vet†level) played with “weapon crosshair†ON. I fail to understand why, but I decided I could leave with it; I just had to outfox my adversaries more, since I always use the weapon aim to fire (for hip and Rambo firing I play CSS).

Now, and lately I’ve came across a generalized option that I find very hard to accept (though my post), I would like a conscientious and mature user of that option to come forward and explain me in a logic way, the advantage of the system since to me it totally ruins most of my game experience.

I think the said option name is “Extended map infoâ€, what it does is that friends are represented by green arrows and enemies are represented by red arrows/red circles in the map. This is done to a point, that for a prone “non-moving†player (with a rifle or a tank) it is better to be at “map view“, since enemies will be marked there, and only then change to 3rd person view then to be on the lookout in 3rd person view in first place.

Many servers run with this option on (most of them clan servers)!

They play CTF (and infantry only) games with this option on… Just image those small CTF maps with red markers allover the map…

I know when an enemy will be after that corner, I will spam that bush since I’ve an enemy marker there… lol, not.

I’ve tried myself to understand the psychology behind the “why†“they†like it… in order for me to try to accept it.

A few ideas come to my mind… but none of them won me over, lets see:

1)People don’t know the option and what it does…

2)People forget that if I can see them, they can see ME too…

3)People plan to camp at far distances (with vehicles or sniper rifles) and then the system favors them since the markers don’t show up so readily on hidden far targets.

4)People don’t know that when they vote for a map, they can vote for the level too (I’ve yet to find a server with this option ON in Vet level), so the level remains at Regular.

5)Aircraft spammers (aka scenery destroyers), since an occasional red arrow will show up and they can unload 10 rockets on that urban area… and most likely TK a few and, with luck, the said “arrowâ€.

6)People vote regular level because they are so traumatized by the boots (aka AI soldiers), that they only played the campaign in regular level and FORGET that there are NO AI soldiers scoring miraculous 300m night AK shots, or shooting through fences/bushes or yet, going full auto with a sniper rifle in MP non coop games…

All this options require some education, but if people think a little, they will see any of them are far from good for the game play…

Options 1 & 4 are for the new guy, if he stays in the game, he will eventually know about them…

Option 2 is for the, lets say… for the more distracted ones.

Option 6 … lets admit servers also run coop (most of them) need regular level with this option ON so players can kill dumb boots at will when playing coop.

That is why in non coop games a vote for “Vet†level is needed, and so we are back in option 4.

Option 3 and somehow 5… this are the SMART ones, although I’ve to admit I don’t particularly like them, I know they are part of the game.

These players come normally from a young “mental age†group and fell good by having lots of easy kill mostly noobs and respawners.

Guys, although as said I don’t particularly like your style of play, I can admit that you belong to the players I most enjoy hunting… now, having said that, let’s stop for a minute and use our brain:

If everybody played like you, would there be a game? Let me rephrase, if everybody didn’t go for the objectives (CTF/C&H/CTI/RTS you name it), would there be a game?

I know you guessed the answer… thanks.

Guys you know that when a game is a well fought battle it really feels like a GG. Not when we frag a bunch of zombies… (btw there is a coop map for that).

So, please, as most of the rewording things in live, they came after some effort (a degree, a project, a victory, a relationship, whatever, you name it), may I ask you to increase your effort and camp/hunt for players and not for red map markers. I assure you, it my take a bit more effort, but it is more rewarding… try it!

Now that I've explained, in more or less clear way, my thoughts, I would like some valiant defender of the “map helpers†(or what is called) and as I pointed in paragraph 5/6, come here and add something new to what I pointed out, and win me over to the "map helpers" side so I can enjoy MP more!

Thanks in advance

[celery 8]

Long story short, you don't want noob markers on the map? Personally I've never been on a CTF server with such an option, and servers that have it aren't worth it anyway.

The crosshair is there to balance the handicap of a 2D monitor and no feel of the rifle itself. It's not that hard to shoot without aiming down the sights for real first because of two eyes that give 3D vision and your hands that know which position the gun is in. The aiming bead could just as well go away to prevent surgeon-like accuracy, but the crosshair is essential.

[.kju 3245]

In my view the main reason for this is the bad documentation of

the dedicated server. In the BIKI there isn't even a site about

xxx.ArmAProfile (class Difficulties) - the place where this setting is made.

(To my shame i was about to create this page for weeks..)

So basically too few server admins know about it and even less

players notice this at all i guess.

[mattxr 9]

Haha, i know what you mean and totaly agree, Ive been on a hex map and used my little map to know if there was a enemy around the corner as the server had it enabled lol.

[Michael_Wittman 0]

Well let go back to earth,

1.- This game has no match so most people base their MP human vs Human in other 1stperson shooters.

2.- Like in many other games, knowing the map is the key to start doing anything in any game...the map in this game takes hundred hours to meet.

3.- People are used to play in (compared to this) tiny maps where 32 players/map size make the battles quite dense. So they are much faster, and frentic.

4.- Even belonging to a clan and playing coop (the main reason to play this) it´s hard to keep people chill and follow the plan (i mean...proper coop game). And I say this as my experience as clan commander.

5.- As you cant shot in movement this game has no balanced players...you got frentic spawners or ultra-camping...nothing in bettewn.

6.- Its hard to learn the map, its hard to learn the weapons, its a die hard game, its a simulator more likely for LOMAC or Silent Hunter players than for CS:S or COD2 players.

7.- Until there are proper company size clans, fighting each others in 100 vs 100 battles (with computers&banthwilth that can handle it) it all will stay the same.

This game is not for today....this game is for tomorrow...I think "BIS" will be the nest "Valve"...as players are coming different age...and tomorrow ARMA will be the standard, today it is not.

[the unknown 0]

I believe Q has a point I remember that I suggested to have it removed and we couldnt find it anywere in the file. Then we just decided what options we wanted and I set them like that in my game then we copy pasted it to the server.

[Commando84 0]

to me the worst i dislike is that i cant use 3rd person view to look at my beatiful tank or car i drive in... or when servers disable the white aim or rifle pointer stuff on the screen, but worst is when im without my 3rd person view, and thats even on servers that do coop's , imo on those servers its very vital sometimes to spot the evil a.i soldiers..

[Tanaka_ 0]

Q, you are probably right, and BIKI would probably help, thanks.

I just did about a week of AA playing about everyday... I managed to overcome the problem a few times being the "voted admin." and selecting Vet. lvl. & guess what: not a single complain, everybody played and I bet most players never noticed the difference.

C84, yes, some servers have at Vet. lvl the 3rd per. view OFF, although I can also say many of them still have them on... Being a "purist" I admit I don't like 3rd person view (a “hull down†tank shouldn't be able to see infantry at ground level behind the hillcrest for instance), but I do reckon its indeed beautiful and also a somehow needed feature against the AI at coop.

As I stated in my first post in relation to “weapon crosshair†ON, "3rd person view" ON is a feature I don't like, but I can easily go along with it/them... now "extended map info", give me a brake

Wittman, I'm not sure I follow your post...

I play CS/CSS since 1.3...

So, when I want a quick, less brain intensive, shoot from the hip, aggressive and having myself treated like a referee at a football (soccer) match kind of FPS, I fire up my CSS; wish BTW I do with some regularity (specially when I had a dull day ).

If I want a more brain intensive, real (OFP/AA excel at infantry & soft vehicles battles), furtive approach to FPS... I play AA.

Trying to make AA into a classic enclosed FPS (in likes of CS/MoH/CoD and others) is not for me... that's why play very few times little maps in likes of “hexsomethingâ€

(and there we go into another problem, many of this small CTF maps don't have a well protected respawn area and also don’t have a script preventing fire into/out of the respanw area wish makes respawn control a valid tactic for many of them, wish as you may have guessed, is not to my liking)

Back to the topic…

If a server doesn’t do much coop (mainly those large Evolutions), easy solution: At server setup “define†“regular†lvl. with extended map info" OFF.

As many of the servers run coop, "extended map info" ON is a somehow needed feature to counter the “all seeing eye camping AIâ€. Here the solution in not an easy one… because it requires player “education†to the problem, but there is hope… since we only need to bring to attention the owners/renters of the servers to play coop in "regular" lvl and MP in Vet lvl

Btw, as most of you know, vet lvl can have all those "noob" helpers activated (I’m refereeing to “weapon crosshair†ON, "3rd person view" ON) and still don’t have "extended map info" ON.

Hmm, another long post… well, at least I train my English