Really? A crosshair for a "realistic" sim?

[7 0]

I agree with TeachDJ. Crosshairs and third-person should be off by default. The exception here shouldn't be realism, the exception should be arcade-ness.

[Alex72 1]

You get an even smaller customer base like that and this would kill companies faster. Even DCS (Eagle Dynamics who made LOMAC) has made an arcade mode to get more people in to start enjoy flight sims. They can start in arcade and gradually get interested in the realistic mode. It was weird to see flight sim so realistic go with an arcade mode, but it was a smart move as its getting harder and harder for sim makers and PC game makers in general.

Just leaving it completelly hardcore sim would probably half the buyers if not more. I wouldnt mind as i play expert - but i cant think only about myself.

Just play on expert.

[Master gamawa 0]

Yo listen listen listen everybody...

HOW ABOUT this: The game asks you, BEFORE installing, to fill a special psychological evaluation form with multiple choice questions, through which your gaming attitude will be cross analyzed with a database of gaming profiles from all over the world, in order to decide which gaming elements are least or most offensive to you and CAN or CANNOT be present in the default difficulty gameplay settings!

That's all it matters. And it's easier than.. you know... giving the player the choice to configure this through options with a couple of clicks. It's ALL ABOUT default functions!

If I cared enough about emoticons, this reply would be full of rolleyes! MILLIONS OF ROLLEYES!

[wipman 1]

Hi, the crossair haves a role that you can deactivate in the Difficulty Settings; this role is

to allow you to know better where your weapon is aiming, in the real life you know (or should

know) where your rifle is aiming and you could shot to kill at distances up to 25m more or

less. As this is a game, and you haven't the rifle in the hands, that feeling doesn't exists,

so this deactivable option of the crossair is there to assuma that you know where the rifle

is aiming, usefull in CQB or Short Range; those who dislike it should go to their options

and disable it, if you enter on a public server where they've it enabled... then quit from

that server if you dislike it so much or pay your server and stablish there your own rules.

Im fine with the crossair in all the BIS games, OFP, ArmA and ArmA2 Demo; i always disable

it on all the difficulty settings, but i like to know that i can choose if have it or not for my

SP gaming, the camapaign.. user missions... etc. Let's C ya

[max power 21]

I find it sort of weird that a guy who is claiming to be a hardcore simmer is playing it on 'easy' and then is complaining about the visual aids.

[Spellbot5000 10]

Oh no, MY IMMERSION! A cross shape on the screen has destroyed my otherwise entirely realistic simulation of war that consists of me staring into a monitor in the comfort of my home!

[Spoock 3]

crosshair in ArmA2 is not so precise for fight for long range, so I use it for DM, beause aiming is more flexible in CQB

[galzohar 31]

I can shoot fine to 25m with no crosshairs. In fact I can shoot fine to much further than that, which is already unrealistic. Having crosshairs simply helps me shoot EVEN FURTHER. There's no way anyone can shoot unsighted IRL like the crosshair-using Arma 2 soldier does. Current implementation of crosshairs (and pretty much any implementation that doesn't include random bullet dispersion which makes things even worse) make non-magnifying sights pretty useless, and magnifying sights have 0 disadvantages.

While you can tell people to play on expert, the reality is that finding a server running expert is impossible, even if such a server actually exists.

[Mickd 0]

While you can tell people to play on expert, the reality is that finding a server running expert is impossible, even if such a server actually exists.

Ofcourse there are servers which use Expert. The Charlie Foxtrot server does.

[Big Dawg KS 6]

I agree with TeachDJ. Crosshairs and third-person should be off by default. The exception here shouldn't be realism, the exception should be arcade-ness.

And when BIS sells less copies of ArmA because it turns so many people away, what then?

Come on people be practical. It seems the a lot of you are under the impression that the majority of ArmA players don't use crosshairs or third-person, but I guarantee you that is not the case.

And like I said before, such things have little to do with realism. They're there to make the game more playable. ArmA is still plenty realistic with them, and there's already the option to disable them. I don't see what the problem is...

[max power 21]

Yes. How unthinkable it is to be imprisoned by these optional crosshairs.

[callaway 0]

Try using TrackIR without a center point reference...

[bascule42 10]

My vote for the most pedantic thread of ArmA 2 goes here. "+" :rolleyes:

[galzohar 31]

Ofcourse there are servers which use Expert. The Charlie Foxtrot server does.

I didn't say there aren't any, I said they were impossible to find. Knowing of 1 server doesn't count. To illustrate:

Start a timer, list 1 server that runs expert that you hadn't played on yet, and post how much time it took you. Repeat until frustration (which may happen before you even find the first).

We need more details (specifically: difficulty) to show on the server browser.

[dayglow 2]

I agree it is critical that you can filter for more options in the browser.

Like I said before the best crosshairs where the TrueMod's for A1. The crosshair was made up of 4 dots in a diamond that was about the size of a man around 20m away. or so. Not enough to get an accurate shot off at distance as your target would be fully inside the redicle, but a close CQB contact you could put it on a target and know that you will hit it somewhere on the body close up. Can't go popping headshots even close up. It's a nice general marker of where your weapon is pointing, but not an laser accurate one.

[alan.rio 18]

Some servers such as ours, have all unrealistic things like crosshairs and 3rd person forced off for all players.

[galzohar 31]

Like I said, it's not a problem of not having such servers, it's the problem of those servers being sparse, not being default, and being hard to find.

As for the 4 dot crosshairs, I already said that with NO crosshair you can be unrealistically accurate by learning where the center of the screen is. A 4 dot crosshair simply makes it that much easier and even more unrealistically accurate.

[dayglow 2]

Turn up the weapon free-move zone or whatever it is called. That way the center of the screen doesn't represent where your weapon is pointed.

[frederf 0]

Galzohar refuses to play ArmA2 with float zone and will stick to the Counter-Strike method 'till his dying day. He also continues with the misguided notion that because his 0-float method of aiming without crosshair is fairly accurate that there is no justification for any crosshairs whatsoever.

[An Fiach 10]

The game is set to be noob friendly by default (as much as it can be anyway). Don't like the features? Turn them off. Not enough servers that fit your tastes? Host your own. It is just that simple.

[xxbbcc 6]

As for the 4 dot crosshairs, I already said that with NO crosshair you can be unrealistically accurate by learning where the center of the screen is. A 4 dot crosshair simply makes it that much easier and even more unrealistically accurate.

1. You're supposed to play with maximum floating zone, you know that, right? "Floating zone" is there because most humans don't turn their entire body when turning to the side. So using center of screen and 0 floating zone is completely and utterly unrealistic.

2. You're not even supposed to shoot with the crosshairs - you should use weapon sights. I very, very rarely shoot anything without the sights. Crosshairs are there to represent your eyes, to select objects that you interact with and to show your fatigue level. The center point is where your weapon points and that moves as you move. In real life you get all this information instinctively from your body and muscles. In the game, it's from the crosshairs. It's quite impossible otherwise. (Again, you're supposed to play with floating zone.)

[An Fiach 10]

1. You're supposed to play with maximum floating zone, you know that, right? "Floating zone" is there because most humans don't turn their entire body when turning to the side. So using center of screen and 0 floating zone is completely and utterly unrealistic.

The floating feature itself is completely unrealistic. I'll have to play with it some more but so far have found it to behave in an utterly absurd manner. I am not even quite sure of its purpose. f it is intended to simulate natural barrel sway it is a good bit over exaggerated, making the soldier appear as if his arms were naught but soggy noodles.

[xxbbcc 6]

No, it's not weapon sway. It's upper-body movement (without turning the rest of the body.) If you use 0 floating zone and turn in any direction, your entire body turns. It's quite a but slower.

If you have the floating zone enabled and turn, you only turn your upper body (or arms) inside the floating zone; it's much faster than a full-body turn. You can react to threats much quicker inside the floating zone.

[galzohar 31]

But if I turn my upper body IRL, by entire view turns. So floating zone doesn't simulate upper body / lower body movement. In fact with a crosshair it doesn't simulate anything.

The only thing floating zone can somewhat simulate is weapon not pointing 100% where you're looking when you're not aiming, however anything more than a very small floating zone is completely over-doing this.

While you can shoot with your sights on crosshair-enabled servers, the fact is that as long as holding breath isn't needed, there is absolutely no reason to obstruct your screen with the sights from a gameplay perspective, and thus sights rarely should get used under 400m.

For simulating looking at a different place than the barrel, there's freelook/trackIR. For simulating aiming at a different direction than the one you're walking to, there's freelook with sights up. They could take it even further and add a key for moving you view AND weapon while walking to the same direction, but that probably won't get used a whole lot and require an extra key (don't get me wrong, I'm all FOR having it, but it's probably not going to happen and isn't high priority).

IRL you don't look one way while aiming at another. Even though sometimes you may look at a different direction than the one your weapon is pointing, you won't be able to actually shoot anything with any accuracy if you're not looking directly at it with full focus (head+eyes lined up) - sights or not.

Also the simple fact that people CAN turn off their floating zone and be too accurate with no crosshairs, and that having any kind of crosshairs can only make it easier for them, means any crosshairs are unrealistic with the current way the game is made (and most likely any other way it could've been made).

[Master gamawa 0]

Well you are both wrong/right.

The floating zone doesn't simulate "upper body", just like that, even though the animation may look dodgy! It simulates arms that move somewhat independently of the rest of the body.

Imagine you are walking into a room with a gun to shoot the baddies. You open the door and stand there searching for targets. Your eyes scan the whole room for movement (which is simulated by the screen). You stand still. Your eyes scan what's in front of you.

Then you point your gun at the table across the room. Clear. Slowly, you move your arm and target the sofa that's next to it. Your legs don't move. Your torso doesn't (really) turn. Even your head is still. It's just your eyes that follow your arm and keep the iron sights aligned with your sight.

You just move your arm slightly. Of course (depending on the floating zone setting) when you move your arm too much, you also turn a bit and that makes perfect sense.

The floating zone represents the minor targeting adjustments we do when pointing something we hold, towards something we intend to kill!

I don't use it anymore because I use my mouse to turn left and right and a floating zone would force me to move my mouse a bit more in order to adjust my path. But in principle, it's very realistic! :)

Just remember that making a model that moves realistically is never going to be achieved through a keyboard/mouse interface. But some movements can be simulated with tricks like the floating zone.