User Add-On Guide for more Realism and Immersion (ACE2-based)

[bearking19 10]

Still can't decide which sound mod would be best for me. Still trying between ACE 2-SM , HIFI SFX, CSM 2 and TR vehicles. Definitely use TR vehicles sound for vehicles. i like the CSM 2 gun sounds but there a little soft and i would also like loud explosion sounds. Anyone know of a way to combine these together ? Trying this out myself but the difference in sound level is kinda irritating for example ur guns sound so soft and the jets and explosions are so loud they blow ur speakers away.

[twisted 127]

fantatsic! missed the arama2 version of this thread and now here it is. thanks man!

[the.d 0]

This guide's mostly a subjective suggestion on how to properly align several mods, but I am glad you find it helpful! The real work, of course, was done by - and all the credits should go to - the respective mod's author/s - they made ArmA2 what it is today.

bearking19: Uhm - not really, sorry. But did you try loading HiFi's explosion sounds after loading the CSM2 mod in the loading order? That might work, although it may also just mix up the different effects and sound weird at times.

[galzohar 31]

AFAIK CSM2 lets you configure (in the userconfig folder) which sounds of it you want to use/not use.

[snkman 351]

Just wanna to say "Thank you very much" The.D for helping and explaining the community how to get multiple modifications working toghetter.

[Cannon Fodder 0]

Also a big thanks to The.D for his efforts - as I've been exploring the mods available at the moment, your guide has been invaluable in letting me know what is and isn't possible. Without it, I would have wasted literally hours and hours upon testing different combinations. I've already wasted way too many!

My findings echo yours - SLX isn't really that modular but brilliant if you can somehow integrate it, GL4 is fantastic but needs to be tweaked and lots more besides. I've taken a look at your GL4 config and changed a few things around for my own purposes;

I've put the friendly AI advance and suppress feature on, re-activated the dubbing feature (and increased its distance to 500m and likelihood to 100%), and also re-activated the blood FX. Other than that, I can't fault your choices as they ensure that the game remains relatively faithful to whatever the mission maker intended.

Your difficulty settings are also quite nice - both you and the enemy can survive under fire (most of which seems to be suppressive!) long enough to move tactically and turn the situation to your advantage. Coupled with the AI enhancements, this makes combat much more dynamic and interesting. That said, you still have to stay behind cover or keep your head down long enough to stay safe - every bullet is still something to be feared!

I've got a few suggestions - most of which have already been mentioned...

* VFTCAS is absolutely vital to ensure the survival of choppers. Pilot error is far too common a death in ArmA 2 without it. The amount of times I've seen choppers pile into the treeline without it makes using it a necessity.

* TopolkaDamFX by Clay - check it out, increases immersion quite nicely.

* I also use RUG_DSAI on occasion, but I find that some of the chatter can be quite immersion breaking as it seems, at times, to be quite inappropriate. Some of the barks are too specific when the 'dubbing' feature of GL4 seems a little more vague and therefore less likely to break the immersion.

Here's what I'm using from SLX:

* SLX_ACE_MISSILEFIX (1 & 2) (For UAV Hellfires)

* SLX_AI_TURNMOVE (For more naturalistic AI movement)

* SLX_ANIM_GRENADETHROW (For quicker grenade throws, looks natural)

* SLX_ANIM_IDLE (For more and longer idle anims)

* SLX_ANIM_INJURED (Stops warping of injury anims - like long arms)

* SLX_ANIM_JUMP (Quicker vaulting, looks natural)

* SLX_ANIM_TURNSPEED (Stops AI turning too fast)

* SLX_ANIMALS (Animal death noises)

* SLX_ANIMS (Non-warping hand signals)

* SLX_BIS_BC_FIX & SLX_BIS_XEH (Fixes)

* SLX_DIALOGUE (Fixed missing words in radio dialogue)

* SLX_FOV (Vital!)

* SLX_HELICOPTER_AI_FIX (Fix)

* SLX_MIMICS (Fix?)

* SLX_NETCODE (Needed component for pretty much everything else)

* SLX_NOFIRSTAID (Needed to stop conflicts)

* SLX_NOMOVEOBJECT (Feature I never use)

* SLX_RAGDOLL (Needs testing, but I'd rather have it than not)

* SLX_UAV (Stops UAV crashing all the time in SP)

SLX's wounds system WILL NOT integrate satisfactorily with the other mods you've recommended, no matter how hard I try! The AI_Dodge features also cause warping on the units to which the animations are applied - very noticeable and immersion breaking.

I also left out SLX_ANIM_DEATH, as it would occasionally cause some death animations to be played twice - again, very noticeable!

I'm just in the process of trying various sound mods (the HIFI mod, while sounding great, caused some distortion at my end. Maybe it's because I use a soundcard intended for music making rather than the usual gaming fare, but it wasn't making friends with my sensitive ears!). CSM next, with the TRSM packs. ACE's SM is quite nice to the ears, too. I'm not looking for authenticity (as I'd have no way of knowing what is or isn't!), just believable.

Anyway, you can waste hours on this sort of thing - so thanks for saving me a few, The.D!

[soldaten 0]

Im using this modification and I always have enemy AI dismouting vehicles when under fire..what can be causing this? plz help

-nosplash -map=empty -mod=@MISC;x\caa1;x\oac\oac_core;@opx;@CBA;@ACE;@ACEX;@GL4;@zcommon_ace;@Extra;@WarFX_Particles_Beta_1.4;@ACEX_SM;@CSM2

[pwnage_51 10]

Are we talking about vehicles with guns or just cargo vehicles? The ai has always dismounted from cargo vehicles when under fire.

[Kommiekat 11]

VFAI Smoke causes soldiers to play "weird" animation as they throws smokeshells up. looks very immersive-breaking.

and rearming didn't work for me at all with this compilation of mods. Soldiers, who was wounded and lost their weapons, after healing just ran away and nether attempted take back their weapon nor take one from deads.

---------- Post added at 14:04 ---------- Previous post was at 13:56 ----------

and about multiple "healing" options in actionmenu.

try to play as medik, and when you wounded, you'll have 2 or 3 such options. even with SLX_NoFirstAid.pbo and without SLX_wounds.pbo.

Thanks, Kommiekat - as Velzevul stated, as great as VFAI is in itself, the integration wasn't entirely possible (at least for me). That's mostly due to the fact that GL4 can be configured to let soldiers behave in almost the same way (I disabled it in my predefined configs due to performance reasons and to enable a more "sneaky" approach for enemy troops with flanking and ambush strategies).

Copy stance might be very interesting! I don't have much time at the moment, but starting next week I am on "semi-vecations" :-)

GDTMods are generally advisable, but I won't include them in detail - will set a link sooner or later, though.

NV sensitivity adjustment is already included in ACE2 (try *page up / page down* by default while wearing them)!

Velzevul: I tried it, it seems to be working without errors for me using the given "SLX_lite" setup in the first post. SLX is a bit weird and seemingly "random" at times, though, so I might have been "lucky". Thanks for your input!

OK guys, I'll disable VFAI. I think I have seen GL4 having similar thing going on and yes, the animation is a bit weird at times.

[soldaten 0]

Are we talking about vehicles with guns or just cargo vehicles? The ai has always dismounted from cargo vehicles when under fire.

No all vehicles, I have AI mounted on a Mk19 or M2 dimounting and running around like crazymen..could it be gl4, ace or zeus causing this behavior..I see no one else is complaining..im using all new versions..

[cool=azroul13 14]

I'm not sure but maybe it's GL4.

What is the type of the unit dismouted?

Try with Crew men. I thinck it's one of the feature of GL4 you infantry go to the ennemy point and disembark automatically while the crew member stay in the vehicle.

[soldaten 0]

I'm not sure but maybe it's GL4.

What is the type of the unit dismouted?

Try with Crew men. I thinck it's one of the feature of GL4 you infantry go to the ennemy point and disembark automatically while the crew member stay in the vehicle.

I will try the GL4 config created by "D" to see if that fixes this issue...any other ideas are welcome...thank u all

[PTV-Jobo 820]

Does the config work with the latest update of GL4? I had some performance issues again and ditched it but want to try one more time and noticed there is an updated one released like a few days ago. Figured best to check first.

[cool=azroul13 14]

@ Zoldaten

i think this is a normal issue of GL4, In the script only crew man or pilot class can stay in vehicle, and infantry man automatically disembark as you try to put crew man??

[stevedrumsdw 10]

Does anyone know what files in SLX mod are related to dismemberment and will they work with this setup? I have been messing with this for a few days and can't figure out this among other things.

I have been away from this game for awhile, then I found this thread randomly one day. Many thanks to the modders and the awesome dude who started this thread, God bless you man.

This has made my game top notch, I am still having the issue with the "Go I'll cover" repetitive phrase. I tried to use the @map mod but still have issues. Has anyone fixed this with a different mod? I think there is another mod called voice disiplcine which is of the same nature, I am not sure if having SLX first in the mod order nullifies these though? I always thought it was files from the slx that cause excessive voicings.

Here is what I am running:

@CBA,@ACE,@ACEX,@ACEXPLA,@GL4,@ZCOMMON_ACE,@SLXLITE, @mma,

@mma_xeh,@hifi,@warFX_particles,@JTD,@sakulightfx,@LandTex,@map

[the.d 0]

SNKMAN: that's very kind of you - but truth be told, we all owe you one for GL4 ^^

Cannon Fodder: Cheers for that very helpful post! I'll definitely link it in the first post - seems you invested quite some time into choosing your add-on files!

I replied to the "VFTCAS and RUG_DSAI" input once but I somehow screwed up the whole post by accidentally editing it the same night with nonsensical gibberish (no, don't ask...)

As for VFTCAS, back then I claimed the AI piloting improved with the latest beta patch - which is, as it turned out, only partially true - they indeed still crash whenever they can. Didn't have the time to test it much, so it took me a while. I am going to add it in - thanks!

RUG_DSAI is an outstanding add-on, no doubt, but you already said it: GL4 takes care of this feature in almost every regard and keeps things more "generic".

soldaten: As many others already said, this could very likely be GL4 (definitely not ACE2 not Zeus AI), though I am not able to reproduce that "bug" in any of the standard missions or custom coops.

Betsalel: I keep updating the configs each time a new GL4 version is released. I try to be on time, so usually the delay is less than a day. Check the front post for the latest v.1.1.87 configs - though I definitely recommend just making your own custom set-up :-) Nice signature, by the way!

Kommiekat: I tried the "Copy Stance" mod, but it seems to have an annoying (albeit not too important) bug. I decided to leave it out of the list for now. Thanks for the input!

Edited March 30, 2010 by The.D

[PTV-Jobo 820]

D, cheers for the info. Figured it was better to ask first just in case, hehe. I'm going to try you're first and then, like you suggested. Trying to get the most out of it without the performance hit, since most times me and some friend who play tend to experience weird lock-ups (especially poor Mark when we were testing HiFi on our little server). So hopefully this time we'll see success. :p

(btw thanks for the compliment--one of my personal favorite ones I've done. ;) )

[jpinard 10]

The.D - I'm getting an error message when running Scenario: Benchmark #2.

Can you run it a couple times as well and see if you're getting it too? I'm using the latest version of GL4 and your config files. BTW - the error does not show up in Benchmark #1. Make sure you're using the -showScriptErrors as a startup parameter so you can see issues pop up.

Thansk! :)

[velzevul 32]

Does anyone know what files in SLX mod are related to dismemberment and will they work with this setup?

it is SLX_wounds. and there is SLX_NoGibs to use SLX_wounds features without dismemberment. yes it works (i sucsessfully torn up one soldier by direct hit from gp25, yesterday), but along with "multiple healing options" issue.

[stevedrumsdw 10]

Has anyone had any success with this by chance?:

zgb_stick2gether (Stick 2gether)

Makes AI stay in formations when overwhelmed.

Based on Mr Centipede's addon

Edited March 30, 2010 by stevedrumsdw

[snkman 351]

@jpinard

The.D - I'm getting an error message when running Scenario: Benchmark #2.

This happend if you use the "Special FX" feature of Group Link 4 which needs up to 3 seconds after mission start to initialize.

If something of the "Special FX" gets executed bevore the "Special FX" feature was initialized completly you will get this error message.

Guess this happend directly after the Scenario: Benchmark #2 was started.

[jpinard 10]

@jpinard

This happend if you use the "Special FX" feature of Group Link 4 which needs up to 3 seconds after mission start to initialize.

If something of the "Special FX" gets executed bevore the "Special FX" feature was initialized completly you will get this error message.

Guess this happend directly after the Scenario: Benchmark #2 was started.

Correct! Thanks :)

---------- Post added at 01:11 PM ---------- Previous post was at 12:39 PM ----------

This thread really needs to be stickied. Very important.

[jpinard 10]

ignore this post - sorry.

Edited March 31, 2010 by jpinard

[TOTAL22 0]

Hey people.

Could anyone volunteer to put up a central addonsync server where we can download this compilation package and maybe updated regularly when some of the mods in the package are updated.

I would so much like to see a addonsync server where I can download this compilation from, because it is quite a pain in my butt to ask everyone comming to my server to download every single addons from different servers and put them together for them selfs.

I could have built the addonsync server with this feature myself, but as I have already too much in my hands and have low bandwidth, I thought if theres anyone with open hands and high bandwidth, they might do a better job then me. :p

After all, its just a suggestion and if anyone thinks I'm talking rubbish, plz ignore me ;)

I just like the idea of putting the best of the best mods out there and compiling them for to be used as one package.

I think The.D is doing a supperb job!

Edited April 1, 2010 by TOTAL22

[the.d 0]

TOTAL22: Yeah, this is an excellent idea! I thought about that for quite some time now - the topic came up back in ArmA1 as well but this time we actually have all the updating abilities we need.

Defunkt already suggested using a catchy acronym for easier identification.

Unfortunately, I have no idea how SIXUpdater (which would probably the best system to use) really works.

However, my friend [GIBF]-BadBoy kindly provided the Casual ArmA Players Group with a Yoma file repository using this guide's file set-up and configurations!

He even trusted me with server access so I could set it up and keep it up to date.

I am currently not at home, and I haven't talked to him recently (my fault, I was very preoccupied with rl stuff, to say the least) but as far as I could see, BadBoy set it all up and even wrote instructions on how to use it. I really owe him much, he's a great guy!

We will have a talk about the server's connection capabilities and if it could be used as an open "public" file repository - that's probably rather difficult, I would presume.