ArmA II: Operation Arrowhead discussion thread

[Defunkt 431]

We're discussing the pro's & con's of using a rose instead of menus in Operation Arrowhead. It is entirely incidental to this discussion that the person who suggested it a page ago referred to it as being from 'OFP2'.

[LJF 0]

Surely there is a way of having a "dynamic" rose menu? I'd prefer if it wasn't so easy to use (action menu), meaning that you accidentally switch to your rocket launcher instead of shooting :\, I'm not talking about usability but accidental actions. I'd like an action button maybe, that brought up a screen with all available commands listed or ... something ... I'm not really sure.

The thing is, as has been stated already, the action menu is REALLY easily moddable, a ring menu would be much harder - even I can do an action menu entry :D

The current system does feel really awkward though, maybe just some refining would do the trick.

[mant3z 1]

why are poeple getting so excited LOL

Because soon we are going to Afganistan to kill Osama B L and we will do it sooooo many times that you can't even imagine

Edited September 10, 2009 by mant3z

[sv5000 127]

I hope BIS give us a RPD for the insurgents to use, a much overlooked weapon, and one that is readily available to and in use by insurgents.

[Defunkt 431]

My wish for OA would be better adversarial game modes, newcomers to the series are often disappointed by the lack thereof and failing to meet this expectation must have a decidedly negative influence on sales.

[ffur2007slx2_5 11]

It must be perfect if VBS2's professional functions has been added into Operation Arrowhead!

[Deadfast 43]

For all we know the rose menu can be very moddable. The BF2 rose menu is definably moddable judging by mods like PR and FH2.

You're missing my point, if you can add (in)finite number of actions using addAction where would you want to fit these with a rose menu?

[Crni-Vuk 10]

I've seen punish systems implemented via mission scripting. Truly there is no way for BIS to come up with some solution to deal with griefers aside from your first suggestion for a better voting system.

Of course there is. How can there not be? Are they responsible for the development of their own game or not. I have enough knowledge about programming and software development that I can say that there are ways to at least try working on solutions to the issue - by thinking about a punish system for example. How comes that it work(ed) with CS and DoD and STILl with Red Orchestra and its mod Darkest Hour (created by users as scripts)? As said. It can be achieved. Quite nicely and comfortable even. The question is only how much effort they will put in it to achieve some working solution. Thats the real trick.

The reason I say that is because no all missions in ArmA2 are dependent on a score system, and with the current issue of you earning negative points when destroying opfor units with opfor equipment (ala, me grabbing a abandoned t-90 and blowing up russian units with it) ...

Then this has to be solved as well as fast as possible and replaced finally with a logicaly working scoreboard and recording of kills. I still dont understand many of the issues with how scores get counted like the pilot to receive ALL TEAMKILLS from a helicopter when a member of his team shoot the engine. Of course such things have to be solved first before one can even think about a logicaly working punish system. But again. Its possible. Red Orchestra (and its mods) have such things for years now and it shows the game is a lot more fun even without admins and seriously most of the time you will NOT have admins present in public play as they dont spend 24 ours of their life on the server and even with a lot of potential (many vehicles, different weapons etc.) for "delibareate team killiers" it almost always happens only accidently which is really not much of an issue.

Dealing with griefers can only be done with human admins. No score, punishment, or other system will effectively stop them; ...

Yes it will. Red Orchestra/Darkest Hour (ROmodification) run nicely with almost no idiots around - definetly much much less compared to Arma II - particularly with the punish systems all server have in relation with the steam ID. the game will keep track about all people that run amok as well and you can report it to the admins and those will just kick the people with the Steam ID if needed. Arma would get a huge benefit from a similar system (for the case it has not some kind of ID). Of course in RO and DH you have to deal with idiots of different kind like people that drive the own tank right in to a mine field, jump in your vehicle in the midle of the fight to tourn it around so your rear is facing the enemy or they just decide to drive you directly in urban engagement and in enemy arms and people who decide to blow up gear in the spawn (without people inside). But with the punish system deliberate team kills are almost zero. Of course DH and RO have working "score boards" where all kills seem to happen logicaly and where you dont get team kills you dont deserve (like someome shoot your engine for example so that your helicopter is crashing)

I can only repeat my self. THe real question is how much "effort" they want to spend in a working protection or at least a protection that makes it "more difficult" for idiots to cause a complete chaos. That you will never have 100% savety is obvious! But you can include mechanics in the game to make it a lot more difficult for the idiots like if you even want some optional punish system, spawn protection, game-IDs (which can not be changed with the IP and are fixed to your bought game!) etc. etc.

[Apache-Cobra 0]

OFP2 can use a rose because you can't mod the game - the available actions will never change. ArmA is infinitely moddable and so must provide for an unlimited number of actions, hence the menu. I know which feature I prefer.

That's for communication and orders, not for actions.

[Defunkt 431]

That's for communication and orders, not for actions.

Fair enough, if it works for that purpose in ArmA too then well and good. I couldn't comment as I (believe it or not) never play with A.I.

[sic-disaster 311]

I can see another slow-motion video of ArmA2 popping up for this expansion, with Hans Zimmer's BHD theme song.

And though cliche it may be, it would fucking rock! :D

[miles teg 1]

I hope BIS give us a RPD for the insurgents to use, a much overlooked weapon, and one that is readily available to and in use by insurgents.

I agree. The RPD, along with the shoulder-launched version of the B-10 and the .303 Enfield rifle that I used on my Taliban pack for ArmA 1.

That and special elite insurgent shock troops simulating Al-Qaeda's Shadow Brigade (Brigade 055) also known as Lashkar Al-Zil (Shadow Army).

http://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2009/02/al_qaedas_paramilita.php

I was very saddened that the ACE mod never used them. So I hope that BI makes similar units like I made for ArmA 1. I already sent a message saying that I'd be happy to help them since my area of research is in Islamic extremists as a cultural anthropologist.

Hopefully they'll take me up on that offer.

Chris G.

aka-Miles Teg<GD>

Team Leader of the Lost Brothers-Isaac & Ishmael Mod

[That guy 10]

I for one would certainly hope that BIS takes up Miles Teg's offer for some informational support. also i hope some more "low tech" weapons are included, like miles said, SMLE, RPD, but also some SKS, RPK47 (maybe a more proper 74 as well), and Mosins.

It would also be cool if there was some Iranian equipment like the Khaybar KH 2002 assault rifle for the main govt forces or something.

[r3volution 0]

I totally agree. Often in these games there's an attempt to make the BLUEFOR side extremely realistically equipped and armed, but the OPFOR is just a mish-mash of whatever the devs could come up with. To my mind, the authenticity is lacking when both sides aren't realistically equipped & armed. More low-tech weapons would definitely add to this, as well as a large variety of civilian clothed and armed Taliban types, as I've only rarely seen Taliban wearing any military style clothing. Only having a small variety of enemy unit models really kills it for this style of insurgent force too.

[twisted 127]

I totally agree. Often in these games there's an attempt to make the BLUEFOR side extremely realistically equipped and armed, but the OPFOR is just a mish-mash of whatever the devs could come up with. To my mind, the authenticity is lacking when both sides aren't realistically equipped & armed. More low-tech weapons would definitely add to this, as well as a large variety of civilian clothed and armed Taliban types, as I've only rarely seen Taliban wearing any military style clothing. Only having a small variety of enemy unit models really kills it for this style of insurgent force too.

agree 101%.

[GoOB 0]

I remember BAS had some degree of randomisation for the civilians that came together with the Tonal Redux - As I recall it it was T-shirt motifs and trouser colours that were randomised, taking that further for the insurgents in OA would be sweet, random colour kheffiyehs, chest rigs and so on and so forth.

[Jelliz 10]

al qaeda insurgents usually wears the camo jackets or other stuff from the soldiers they previously killed on top of their everyday outfit when they'r hunting infidels

[AndresCL 10]

So far looks good

[Blake 0]

Bring on the real beards!

[Alex72 1]

Bring on the real beards!

Yes give them beards! Modeled and not only dirty 5 o'clock stub textures. :)

[Clavicula_nox4817 0]

al qaeda insurgents usually wears the camo jackets or other stuff from the soldiers they previously killed on top of their everyday outfit when they'r hunting infidels

:rolleyes:

[r3volution 0]

al qaeda insurgents usually wears the camo jackets or other stuff from the soldiers they previously killed on top of their everyday outfit when they'r hunting infidels

Ahhh. Most of the insurgents in Afghanistan aren't 'Al Qaeda' per se but Taliban (and within that predominantly Pashtun) insurgents, and as I said, I've rarely in videos of fighters in action seen them wearing anything but flowing civilian clothes/dishdashas with the odd chest rig/webbing. Even the purported armed Al Qaeda wing Lashkar al Zil don't appear to wear much in the way of camo clothing, though do show a better standard of webbing/chest rigs than the average Taliban insurgent. The only time I've seen camouflage commonly worn is by higher echelon Taliban types in their propaganda videos, but none of the footsoldiers of the type you'd usually be fighting seem to wear anything but civvy clothes.

[Flash Thunder 10]

Thanks Ohara for answering some questions. :)

All I can say is that OA is going to add tons of replayability to a game that doesn't need anymore of it :D

FLIR, Flashlights, Takistan, US Army, hopefully some updated physics and engine inhancements.

[That guy 10]

From the QA with W0lle:

Will it have proper physics implementation for units/corpses (ragdoll) and/or vehicles?

Will walking in and shooting from cargo positions be possible?

Will the hit point system for tanks be changed for some real penetration values?

BIS: I wouldn't expect such huge changes in the game engine without making completely new game instead of the datadisk, though so complex and huge.

[EricM 0]

One question I have is the following :

- BIS stated that you could merge vanilla Arma 2 units and island into Arrowhead. good

- They also plan to introduce a new FLIR technology. good

Problem is the following : I believe the flir must be based on special sets of textures and hidden selections.

So far so good for the new Arrowhead units, but what about the units of vanilla ARMA 2 (Marines and Chernarus ?) will FLIR work on them too ? That would mean edit all the units to add those new features in vanilla Arma 2 too...