How about a manual beore you further confuse us with an expansion??

[BeerHunter 0]

(attn mods: Know about so called "cross posting" but don't feel this falls into that category as I want to offer it as a Suggestions rather than a General comment. If it does fall into "cross posting" my apologies).

To me the absolute most frustrating part of this game is trying to figure out how to play the damn thing. The "Boot Camp" tutorials are virtually useless as the scripting doesn't provide any feed back and it wont advance until you finish whatever it is your supposed to be doing. Sometimes it appears that the script has even stops running (scripting error , sloppy coding or terribly restrictive scripting language I don't know).

I would suggest that BIS seriously look at providing some sort of "user manual" for the game. This doesn't have to be an in depth tutorial on editing and modding but at least detail some of the damn features in the game and how to implement/use them.

For example , according to the OFFICIAL BIS manual (High Command):

"The Interact option.....You may use it to load or unload infantry from vehicles" but no details as to how. Tried for an hour (searching and trying various methods) and gave up in frusdtration , only to find out it's bugged anyway.

My god , even the in game "complex commands" aren't detailed , only categorized.

And did you know that in ArmA2 1.01 and above there is a built in command reference in the the game.I sure didn't until I stumbled on someone pointing it out.

What are all those options about when you put a command module in your game? Sure would be nice to know what effect they are going to have on your module.

Surely to god he programmers must know what they want to achieve and how they are going to go about doing it so why can't these documents be summarized into a non-technical , easy to read format then assembled into a manual? How difficult would it be to assign these tasks to some of the existing clerical staff or hire a student to compose? (now this of course is assuming that the code is well documented which it should be if you're going to try and debug it).Hell it could even be made a down loadable PDF file so that it can easily be edited and updated.

I realize that the game has so much potential and the manual would be a huge undertaking but then again , I'd also be willing to bet that the Canadian Armed Forces , when they bought VBS2 , got more than a brief "start the computer then run the game" tutorial so the information is out there SOMEWHERE. Slogging through the various forums , sites , Wiki pages etc. IS NOT the way to inform the user and a crap poor excuse for a manual. These should be for in depth research into various features , not basic "how to load your troops into a vehicle".

[Apocal 10]

Most programmers are shitty writers, that's why.

[Defunkt 431]

I'd prefer they spent their time on the expansion, I enjoy learning the game and its capabilities by experimenting.

[Deadfast 43]

How many threads on this subject do you need?

Isn't your previous one enough?

[Zipper5 74]

So far, there is one extremely comprehensive guide:

Dslyecxi's ArmA II: Tactics, Techniques and Procedures Guide

Unless you want to start mission editing, that should be all you need. For mission editing, you have OFPEC and the Community Wiki. You can also find tutorials and explanations for almost every other form of editing related to ArmA II at those sites.

Also, OFP didn't take very long to get used to for me, and I was 8 at the time. ArmA and ArmA II have felt very much like logical progressions since.

Edited August 26, 2009 by Zipper5

[Yoma 0]

Developping is a constant battle with time.

Often the choice is between testing/augmenting/releasing and documenting.

The fun part is: it's no different from real life.

There are tons of undocumented features all over your life. Your girlfriend won't come with a manual and neither will your kid.

The important factor is knowing where to get help and if you don't know, finding out.

Damn it would be nice if I did found my girls manual somewhere!

[W0lle 1048]

(attn mods: Know about so called "cross posting" but don't feel this falls into that category as I want to offer it as a Suggestions rather than a General comment. If it does fall into "cross posting" my apologies).

1 shiny infraction point for crossposting even though you know about the rule.

I realize that the game has so much potential and the manual would be a huge undertaking but then again , I'd also be willing to bet that the Canadian Armed Forces , when they bought VBS2 , got more than a brief "start the computer then run the game" tutorial so the information is out there SOMEWHERE. Slogging through the various forums , sites , Wiki pages etc. IS NOT the way to inform the user and a crap poor excuse for a manual. These should be for in depth research into various features , not basic "how to load your troops into a vehicle".

I highly doubt you would like to pay the price the CAF paid for training in addition to the pdf file any keyboard reference.