ArmA II: Operation Arrowhead discussion thread

[Flash Thunder 10]

What is with all these VBS posters, this is arma 2 OA discussion please take that somewhere else.

Also those are assets from OA not VBS, VBS2 is only using RV2

[hamm 10]

What is with all these VBS posters, this is arma 2 OA discussion please take that somewhere else.

Okay, but...

Also those are assets from OA not VBS

So we're not allowed to discuss OA assets? :confused:

[Wolfstriked 11]

You serious?

The smoke grenades are poking through the scar, the texture around the signpost and the road looks plain and murky and the fire doesn't look very realistic.

This picture also looks like the graphics settings are low :j:

A picture where more is going on would be more adequate like http://lh5.ggpht.com/_8IERBUA8YgM/S_Ur_krpeHI/AAAAAAAAAOk/2oLOr-WqL24/Posters_2010_posters_H6.jpg or http://lh3.ggpht.com/_8IERBUA8YgM/S_Ur8Fd9JAI/AAAAAAAAAOQ/8tzFBZY8LSc/Posters_2010_posters_H1.jpg

I'm probably gonna print out the second one and use it as my cover :D

I like them all.I do not like the OA cover sadly.:eek:

[mr burns 132]

In terms of AI pathfinding the following excerpt from the A2OA_preview_walkthrough.pdf might shed some light onto how BI see the issue. Be aware i´m not in posession of the preview version, but i somehow stumbled accross the accompaning 'manual' :D

There´s one or two more interesting lines in it, but i´ll rather wait if i get shafted for posting this first.

4. Bugs

AI is not planning routes to the terraces and sometimes goes around the block (WIP).

Which, to me, translates to something like "BI know about the issue and are working an a solution (hopefully with success!)" - in the worst case it´s just PR mumbo jumbo for the magazines.

[nodunit 397]

I like them all.I do not like the OA cover sadly.:eek:

The German cover looks much better compared to the previous, http://petergames.de/ARMA-2-Operation-Arrowhead.91.0.html

Very much like the Operatoin Flashpoint cover http://gameoftheyear.blogsome.com/images/OFPCC.jpg

I'd love to get that one if nothing else to stand beside my GOTY edition of OFP since they would match very well.

[SWAT_BigBear 0]

I agree with Mr. Burns, but after watching the AI's for so many years....I'm thinking that IF they did as we want, we do not need each other, any longer. SP would dominate.

[bravo 6 0]

I also agree.

[Adjutant 10]

Does anyone know if the minimum specifications will now be lower for the expansion game? I am asking this because I assume Bohemia had time to work with game stability and take care of any bugs/glitches that were causing issues in the past.

[roberthammer 582]

Does anyone know if the minimum specifications will now be lower for the expansion game? I am asking this because I assume Bohemia had time to work with game stability and take care of any bugs/glitches that were causing issues in the past.

Minimal system requirements:

Windows XP or newer

Dual Core CPU

256 MB RAM & Pixel Shader 3.0 or better

DirectX 9.0c or newer

9 GB free HDD space

Still same as ArmA2 ,but real ArmA2 eats alot more and will be same as OA

[bravo 6 0]

Minimal system requirements:

Windows XP or newer

Dual Core CPU

256 MB RAM & Pixel Shader 3.0 or better

DirectX 9.0c or newer

9 GB free HDD space

Still same as ArmA2 ,but real ArmA2 eats alot more and will be same as OA

Well if you are going to use those settings, you will not have fun while playing ArmA2.

The minimum specs should be other. I have the minimum specification, maybe more and i don't play ArmA2 because it lags like shit in my computer. I hate my pc! :mad:

[jw custom 56]

but after watching the AI's for so many years....I'm thinking that IF they did as we want, we do not need each other, any longer. SP would dominate.

LOL wut? if AI were is able to properly use buildings on it's own it would hurt MP :confused:

[PacX 10]

I agree with Mr. Burns, but after watching the AI's for so many years....I'm thinking that IF they did as we want, we do not need each other, any longer. SP would dominate.

It's called Coop and Warfare :P

[EricM 0]

Let's see it that way :

Minimum spec = the game will boot...

Recommended spec = real minimum spec

[Laqueesha 474]

Let's see it that way :

Minimum spec = the game will boot...

Recommended spec = real minimum spec

Truer words have never been spoken. ;)

[Maio 293]

My machine is 2 years old . When I bought it it, I payed around 700-800 $ . Only thing I changed since then was the OS and I added 2 gigs of ram , oh and my video card became unsupported by ATI when windows 7 came out ( I have an Radeon X1950 pro ) and yet Arma 2 runs just fine for me on medium-high on both Sp and MP.

[That guy 10]

i got to Manhattan on a comp that was BELOW the minimum specs!

yeah it weren't the best experience, but i done it ;)

[Laqueesha 474]

My machine is 2 years old . When I bought it it, I payed around 700-800 $ . Only thing I changed since then was the OS and I added 2 gigs of ram , oh and my video card became unsupported by ATI when windows 7 came out ( I have an Radeon X1950 pro ) and yet Arma 2 runs just fine for me on medium-high on both Sp and MP.

Processor? ArmA 2 requires at least a quad-core to run decently. A powerful GPU with a weak processor (as in my case) will not run the game well. ;)

[Big Dawg KS 6]

yea, or at least the highest rank or whatever can go to the room and the rest of the guys follow, staying back, maybe 1-2 guys in a big squad stay outside guarding the building or whatever.

I mean, it's possible, and I don't understand why the micro-AI isn't capable of doing such things...

That would mean each room of each building would have to be prepared with many positions and have some order in which to occupy them. You can't expect the AI to be able to dynamically figure it out either. Building pathing is a LOT different than normal AI pathfinding. Yes, I suppose BIS could change the behaviour of AI so that they could dynamically navigate inside of a building without needing predefined paths or positions, but as far as I'm concerned that would make the AI's navigation of buildings look even dumber, and it would limit buildings to only one floor (3D pathfinding requires even more work).

---------- Post added at 10:12 AM ---------- Previous post was at 10:12 AM ----------

I may be wrong but I believe it is because these structures are not built from the ground up with AI in mind. All windows need to be tagged and id'ed as a known object to the AI with some preset behaviours built in such as crouch or lean facing out as well as knowing when the enmy is now inside the house and it's time to reorient to CQB.

I don't think the AI are at all aware that they are inside of a structure and that requires a new behaviour skill set. Same goes for when an enemy is inside, the outside force takes no new action save for the cut-scene in which they'll smartly toss a grenade in :D

Yes, some of the things you mentioned could enhance the AI's ability to exploit the advantages of using buildings. Something akin to Men of War's cover system, where there you employ different types of cover templates (ex: crouched, standing, prone, leaning, etc...) that can be placed at various locations throughout the building that AI units can "take up" when seeking cover inside a structure. Still, that would require lots of preperation of the structure in question and might make it even more difficult for addon makers (ex: the system would be limited to only one default skeleton/animation set for units, otherwise you would have to make cover sets for each new set of animations and it would become a mess).

Also, I seem to recall Suma saying that the AI is at least aware of when they are travelling on a building path, as to prevent them from going prone in buildings.

Edited May 25, 2010 by Big Dawg KS

[Nightrain 10]

Processor? ArmA 2 requires at least a quad-core to run decently. A powerful GPU with a weak processor (as in my case) will not run the game well. ;)

I have a Core2Duo @2.26 and a Nvidia 9800GT and 4GB of ram.

I run on mostly high-med settings and on Utes and Everon (Sgt.ACE's island) and I get decent FPS even in forests but in Chernarus I get terrible lag in cities and forests.

It all depends on the map and how you play, hopefully OA will be even better for me. :)

[ziiip 1]

...( I have an Radeon X1950 pro ) and yet Arma 2 runs just fine for me on medium-high on both Sp and MP.

The game hits 25-30 FPS for me in any beefier mission, so I wonder what you consider "just fine"

[whisper 0]

We all know they capable of using stairs but doing it on their own and not being scripted by mission maker or by a mod is where i've never seen it happen.

OT and long after being posted, but I've seen them doing it (yes, on their own) since ArmA1

I don't remember the name of this long SP mission where you had to first stop a truck on a road then support assault on a nearby base, but while doing it, I entered the military complex and got on top of these big grey buildings in A1 which have some kind of ladders around the interior "court" and you can go on roof by going up some stairs then use a ladder to climb on roof.

I got up there to snipe tangos a bit, getting the ones who were trying to go up the nearby hill to get elevated enough to have LoS on me. An AI sneaked up on me from the building, ie got up the stairs, then used the ladder to climb on the roof and get me from behind (too bad for him, I heard the footsteps on the ladder).

It was certainly not scripted, but a dynamic reaction from AI (I can't see all player's possibilities being scripted in this mission), who had probably been told by its leader to get to position #X of the building to nail me, and position #X was reachable through stairs + ladder, so the AI used it.

[Maio 293]

Processor? ArmA 2 requires at least a quad-core to run decently. A powerful GPU with a weak processor (as in my case) will not run the game well. ;)

2.8 ghz Amd dual core

[jw custom 56]

OT and long after being posted, but I've seen them doing it (yes, on their own) since ArmA1

I don't remember the name of this long SP mission where you had to first stop a truck on a road then support assault on a nearby base, but while doing it, I entered the military complex and got on top of these big grey buildings in A1 which have some kind of ladders around the interior "court" and you can go on roof by going up some stairs then use a ladder to climb on roof.

I got up there to snipe tangos a bit, getting the ones who were trying to go up the nearby hill to get elevated enough to have LoS on me. An AI sneaked up on me from the building, ie got up the stairs, then used the ladder to climb on the roof and get me from behind (too bad for him, I heard the footsteps on the ladder).

It was certainly not scripted, but a dynamic reaction from AI (I can't see all player's possibilities being scripted in this mission), who had probably been told by its leader to get to position #X of the building to nail me, and position #X was reachable through stairs + ladder, so the AI used it.

Doesn't change the fact that i have never seen it, so it can't really be that often it happens after all i've been playing ArmA 2 since the demo.

I really hope AI handles buildings better in OA.

[Zipper5 74]

I don't remember the name of this long SP mission where you had to first stop a truck on a road then support assault on a nearby base, but while doing it, I entered the military complex and got on top of these big grey buildings in A1 which have some kind of ladders around the interior "court" and you can go on roof by going up some stairs then use a ladder to climb on roof.

It was called Blood, Sweat & Tears, and was included, I believe, in the v1.05 patch.

I always found ArmA's AI to be useless indoors, so perhaps you got lucky there. Arma 2's AI is improved, but it's still not great when dealing with the indoors. You need to heavily script their behavior to get them to act how you would expect in real life.

[Smurf 12]

In A1 I saw some units using ladders, roofs etc.. with and without AI mods.

In A2 saw it too, but dumber and way less often.

If I recall correctly in some video\preview someone said that the AI was using indoors and houses in a better way, anyone can confirm that?

_____________ (watch out Placebo :p )

Edit: In all those videos, never saw the steped zoom. Is in the most recent builds? :butbut:

Edited May 25, 2010 by Smurf