ATTN NOOBIES! - New to ArmA II or OA - Here's the place for your questions

[Gunter Severloh 3948]

A guide for you for future questions:

text with pics

http://forums.bistudio.com/showthread.php?t=81123

video tutorial

http://forums.bistudio.com/showthread.php?t=107231

[rta53 10]

First of all I can't make this a long message because I have to head off for work. I am playing ARMA 2 and I am about at the 4th or 5th mission where you are searching for a couple of enemys. I am on my way in a vehicle to search in a couple of towns. I get to a point where there are some soldiers and if I try to go past I guess I am getting shot and the vehicle crashes. If I get out and proceed on foot I just get shot. I tried a different road and the same thing happens. The town I am near is Gorka. I tried sending one of my units to a house and then switching to him but after I switch I still get shot after a few seconds. I've tried hiding in the grass, behind a tree, behind a building, but nothing helps. Every time it's 3 shots and I'm dead. It's like the game is not letting me go any further. Do I need to backtrack and try another route?

Edited November 13, 2010 by rta53

[Carl_D 10]

First of all I can't make this a long message because I have to head off for work. I am playing ARMA 2 and I am about at the 4th or 5th mission where you are searching for a couple of enemys. I am on my way in a vehicle to search in a couple of towns. I get to a point where there are some soldiers and if I try to go past I guess I am getting shot and the vehicle crashes. If I get out and proceed on foot I just get shot. I tried a different road and the same thing happens. The town I am near is Gorka. I tried sending one of my units to a house and then switching to him but after I switch I still get shot after a few seconds. I've tried hiding in the grass, behind a tree, behind a building, but nothing helps. Every time it's 3 shots and I'm dead. It's like the game is not letting me go any further. Do I need to backtrack and try another route?

Hi rta53

Sounds like you may have the difficulty settings too high. Try going into Game Options -> Difficulty -> Edit and make sure "Super AI" is OFF. This turns enemy AIs into "AK snipers", one-shot kill at 500 metres.

If you enter the term "AK sniper" into the search engine you'll find lots of posts.

Also I suggest you look in the BI Wiki, especially the Hints and Tips sections of the BI Wiki:

http://community.bistudio.com/wiki/Category:Hints_%26_Tips

http://community.bistudio.com/wiki/ArmA_II_Hints_and_Tips

Not sure it's in there but unless your vehicle is an APC or tank, either drive into cover then disembark everyone the attack from cover; or if there really is no cover nearby, get everyone out & lying down. Then pick the AI off from a distance. Bur get to caver if at all possible.

By cover I mean something really solid that will stop a bullet, not bushes, long grass or trees. Pop up from behind your cover, observe, kill an enemy, drop down, move, repeat till they're all kaput.

I'm no expert; I've been playing on & off since March & I still get killed of a lot, lol.

I'm drafting a post with lots of links to guides on shooting & tactics, etc., from a new player's perspective. Won't have time to finish it until maybe next weekend. Don't get discouraged, this is an amazing game once you've learned just the basics.

BR

Carl

[rta53 10]

Carl,

Thanks for the tips. I will try turning off the Super AI tonight. One thing I still don't understand is I don't see any enemies on the map so I have no clue where the shots are coming from. Also when I send one of my team ahead he doesn't get shot until I switch to him. I tried searching for AK Sniper but it threw out the AK and just searched for sniper.

[Gunter Severloh 3948]

Theres also Dslyecxi's guide

http://ttp2.dslyecxi.com/

[Carl_D 10]

Carl,

Thanks for the tips. I will try turning off the Super AI tonight. One thing I still don't understand is I don't see any enemies on the map so I have no clue where the shots are coming from. Also when I send one of my team ahead he doesn't get shot until I switch to him. I tried searching for AK Sniper but it threw out the AK and just searched for sniper.

Oops, sorry; I forgot about the limitations of the search engine. For short words/abbreviations such as AI or AK, one has to use an external search engine like Google and enter, for example:

"AK sniper" site:http://forums.bistudio.com

Anyway, this is a thread worth looking at:

http://forums.bistudio.com/showthread.php?t=73900

I still don't know what you have set up in "Difficulty". Please would you post the settings including where you have set the sliders for Friendly & Enemy.

I suspect you are playing on one of the harder settings like veteran, which is why you don't see anything on the map. If so I suggest you drop down to "Regular" ("Recruit" puts red and green halos around enemy and friendly units which many players find dumbs down the game way too much).

To see enemy & friendly icons on the map, "Extended map info" must be set to "Enabled".

Ciao

Carl

[rta53 10]

Supposedly I am playing on the normal level since that is what I picked at the beginning. However when I checked, Friendly was set at 1 and Enemy was set at .75. Should I change these numbers or just select Normal for both of them? Before getting to the mission where I was having the difficulty I was seeing the enemy soldiers on the map. Extended map is enabled. Anyway after installing the new update my save points in this mission are all gone so I have started over. This time I am visiting the red X positions. Maybe things will go better this time. By the way, Super AI was not enabled.

Even though I am just starting to play ARMA 2 I have previously played Operation Flashpoint DR so I was already somewhat familiar with this type of game. I do enjoy the slower pace of this type of game although sometimes it's somewhat tedious.

[Carl_D 10]

Supposedly I am playing on the normal level since that is what I picked at the beginning. However when I checked, Friendly was set at 1 and Enemy was set at .75. Should I change these numbers or just select Normal for both of them? Before getting to the mission where I was having the difficulty I was seeing the enemy soldiers on the map. Extended map is enabled. Anyway after installing the new update my save points in this mission are all gone so I have started over. This time I am visiting the red X positions. Maybe things will go better this time. By the way, Super AI was not enabled.

Even though I am just starting to play ARMA 2 I have previously played Operation Flashpoint DR so I was already somewhat familiar with this type of game. I do enjoy the slower pace of this type of game although sometimes it's somewhat tedious.

If I recall correctly, F=1, E=0.75 are the default settings on Regular. You might want to lower the enemy slider until you gain more experience. Try setting it to the same level as "Recruit".

Um, FPDR [the game that shall not be named here!] isn't anything like ArmA. Despite the name it is not related to any BIS game. It's crap.

ArmA takes some time to learn the basics; the 'tactics' in most FPS games will just get you very dead very quickly in ArmA. Proper use of tactics is an essential skill - I speak from the experience of still getting it wrong quite frequently & getting killed off :eek:

Cheers

Carl

[RedMonkey 10]

A guide for you for future questions:

text with pics

http://forums.bistudio.com/showthread.php?t=81123

video tutorial

http://forums.bistudio.com/showthread.php?t=107231

These are great,bookmarked immediately,thanks very much Gunter. I see some studying ahead for me!:D

[MadMuppet006 10]

uhm I installed @ace, @cba and @cba_a2 on my fresh install of arma2 .. put the -no splash -world=empty -mod=@cba;@ace_v1.3.0.373;@cba_a2 in my target box on my shortcut for arma2.

it seems to work fine ..

big question is how do I use it??

[NinjaKirby 10]

Hey folks, newbie here, having a little trouble adjusting to this beast of a game.

I don't have any direct questions to any game mechanics, more-over I surprise myself wondering, is Arma II operating normally on my computer?

It's taken me by surprise, it's a bit clunky. On Medium graphics settings it looks kinda blurry, despite the 1920x1080 resolution. It's all washed out in similar colours too, I don't expect a rainbow on my screen, but it's very... mouldy?

I dunno, maybe I'm used to more run of the mill FPS games like BF2, or the smooth (albeit less realistic) Half Life engines.

I'm trying to take it easy by not jumping into this game, so I'm starting with the Boot camp and working through it. I had to replay the Weapons training (Mission 3 I think?) about four times because various unusual glitches got me (Targets for Grenade Launcher appearing like 1000m away!? Or all movement is suddenly 10x as fast like I'm on dodgy substances, should have seen my arms moving when I was running normally, I was a fish outta water flapping around).

I did eventually complete the Weapons training though, but took a few goes. Instead now, I've just reached the Night Operation mission (Boot camp stuff still), and at the very beginning it asks me to go to a way point. The Map, the Notes, nothing on my screen suggests WHERE it is, so off the bat I just... don't understand where the game is asking me to go.

I don't mean to bash though, honestly. In fact I want to enjoy this game, I purchased it hoping for an awesome War Simulation game, but this is a helluva rocky start. I patched to version v1.5.5 before I actually complete the Weapons Boot camp mission, so hopefully that rectified some matters, but ugh... am I doing something wrong? Do I actually need to RTFM before I play this game to perhaps grasp aspects that just aren't covered in Boot camp?

I'm not sure what Answers to expect from my questions, as it's... not gonna be easy to respond to without being able to see and understand my experience thus far, but perhaps I'm not alone?

To clarify my questions, I guess I'll consolidate and simplify them now:

1) Boot camp levels, should they be of a limited colour spectrum? With medium settings, should it appear this way? (I can raise it much higher without FPS problems, but increased mouse movement lag makes it very sluggish)

2) Should the Night Ops boot camp mission look like this and this? I love the true darkness, but the way it... feels, is like "wat".

3) Way points utilised in the game, this isn't actually addressed in the boot camp? Like I say, I'm stuck on the Night Op boot camp mission.

4) Dare I say it: Compared to other mainstream War FPS games, is the movement supposed to be this clunky?

5) When I'm performing first aid, am I supposed to wave my hands around and punch him in the stomach? Kinda seems like it O_o I'm not trying to... ugh, joke around, it just looks... "wtf".

Maybe I've been raised on games that Hand Hold too much, but this is surprising how this is panning out right now. Am I being unreasonable to say this feels almost unpolished, the way the game fairs?

I'm just... a bit jaw dropped, at just what is going on. Feels like I'm playing Battleground Europe or something. I know this isn't a pick up and play game, and will potentially take some time, but this is leaving me kinda speechless (Which is kinda why this post is in fact so long, because I can't properly articulate the rare kind of reaction this game is eliciting).

The best way to perhaps describe it, at the risk of being labelled a troll, is it feels "Beta"-esque, rather then the regular product I'd pick up off the Shelf.

Seriously, I want to enjoy this game, but what is going on T_T

EDIT: Okay, I played the Night OPs mission on maximum Graphical detail. It looks and makes sense, and does not feel like a Beta, although I still don't understand the way point issue, I will just read the damn manual. On a different note, is there seriously always music playing in-game? I don't think I've ever played an FPS/Battle Sim where there's Guitars and that going off in the background. (Admittedly, I haven't played a lot of battle sims though).

Edited November 15, 2010 by NinjaKirby
Some errors/typo's fixed

[rok 0]

Hi NinjaKirby and welcome to the forums.

Some quick answers to your questions.

Night Ops mission looks in your screenshots as it's supposed to be, pitch black.

There seems to be a bug in the mission introduced with latest patches. Just tested it and I didn't see a waypoint either. I played this mission when OA was released and had no problems then.

Anyways the invisible waypoint is about 50m front of the humvee. There's a big ammo box which should be easy to find with flashlight.

"graphics settings it looks kinda blurry"

Make sure your 3D resolution and interface resolution is the same in video settings.

"clunkyness"

Compared to other games ARMA sure feels clunky. You'll get used to it. :)

Double tap SHIFT to make default moving speed walk. That way it's easier to maneuver then when needed hold shift to run.

"Or all movement is suddenly 10x as fast"

Maybe you clicked time acceleration key. Check your key settings.

And yes, first aid animation looks kind of silly.

[NinjaKirby 10]

Hi NinjaKirby and welcome to the forums.

Some quick answers to your questions.

Night Ops mission looks in your screenshots as it's supposed to be, pitch black.

There seems to be a bug in the mission introduced with latest patches. Just tested it and I didn't see a waypoint either. I played this mission when OA was released and had no problems then.

Anyways the invisible waypoint is about 50m front of the humvee. There's a big ammo box which should be easy to find with flashlight.

"graphics settings it looks kinda blurry"

Make sure your 3D resolution and interface resolution is the same in video settings.

"clunkyness"

Compared to other games ARMA sure feels clunky. You'll get used to it. :)

Double tap SHIFT to make default moving speed walk. That way it's easier to maneuver then when needed hold shift to run.

"Or all movement is suddenly 10x as fast"

Maybe you clicked time acceleration key. Check your key settings.

And yes, first aid animation looks kind of silly.

Thank you for taking me seriously T_T I was afraid my post was gonna look like a big joke, I appreciate your time & patience! :)

Black OPs Mission: Ah, so I'm not going crazy then, it is actually a script error or whatever. I'll check that out though, and see if I can finish it (I've just been trying the Campaign just now, kinda fun!).

Graphics Settings: Yes, wow, this might sound weird but I've not dealt with Resolution AND 3D Resolution in a game, but raising the latter certainly helps clear up the overall image. I dropped to 1280x720, and matched the 3D Resolution and my FPS is higher with less Mouse lag. I think I need to accept my PC still isn't hench and won't run it with all the pretty extra's, so I need to toy with the settings some more.

Clunkyness: I'll try that, I find moving around in buildings requires a lot of Shift-key work to walk, so making it default is a good idea. Trying to descend some steps in the Airstrip Communications Tower was a nightmare, can't seem to strafe/sidestep down them. Guess walking forward and using ALT to look around is the way to go.

Acceleration Key: wat. lol, I'll look into that one, I guess I button mashed it or something, I spose it exists in this game to cross large terrain faster. If everything increases in speed, then it's the same result regardless of 1xSpeed or 10xSpeed.

Animations: Right XD

Wow... right... so I'm not going crazy, lol, this game is starting to grow on me now, the visuals are cleaning up, it's not just me perceiving things quirky...

Well, I'll stick with it, and see how I get on! Thanks Rok :D Your response has been invaluable~

[Gunter Severloh 3948]

uhm I installed @ace, @cba and @cba_a2 on my fresh install of arma2 .. put the -no splash -world=empty -mod=@cba;@ace_v1.3.0.373;@cba_a2 in my target box on my shortcut for arma2.

it seems to work fine ..

big question is how do I use it??

You should have a shortcut on your desktop correct?

Ok, right click your shortcut, and go to the bottem where it says properites, then you should get the properties of your shortcut.

At the top there is a space, and to the left of the space it is called Target, also known as the command line.

After the exe you should have something like this:

-nosplash -world=empty -mod=@CBA;@CBA_A2;@ACE

CBA needs to be loaded first then the size of the mod that is largest to smallest.

for any mods you want to add onto that line you will seperate the mods with a semicolon ;, as you can see in the target line.

But based on what you listed, and installed that should be your target line.

If you could post your whole target line so I can tell you if you have it correct.

As for the 2 codes in the target line:

Game Loading Speedup

-nosplash Disables splash screens.

-world=<string> Select a world loaded by default. Example: -world=Utes.

For faster game loading (no default world loaded and world intro in the main menu, only at game start, disabled): -world=empty.

-skipIntro OA 1.55+ only: Disables world intros in the main menu permanently.

taken from this page:

http://community.bistudio.com/wiki/Arma2:_Startup_Parameters

Any other questions then dont hesitate to ask.

Edited November 16, 2010 by Gnter Severloh

[MadMuppet006 10]

this is my target line ..

F:\gamerz\Bohemia Interactive\ArmA 2\arma2.exe" -no splash -world=empty -mod=@cba;@ace_v1.3.0.373;@cba_a2

I have been playing the game for a couple of hours today .. Im not sure whether ace works out of the box or I have to tweak it somehow?

[Carl_D 10]

Clunkyness: I'll try that, I find moving around in buildings requires a lot of Shift-key work to walk, so making it default is a good idea. Trying to descend some steps in the Airstrip Communications Tower was a nightmare, can't seem to strafe/sidestep down them. Guess walking forward and using ALT to look around is the way to go.

Greetings NinjaKirby

Moving in buildings & other narrow spaces is a PITA in the vanilla game (at least in Arma2; I gather OA is a bit better). However, Rg at Shack Tactical has just released a tiny mod that makes a huge difference:

http://forums.bistudio.com/showthread.php?t=109628

If you haven't installed any mods yet, please read this clear how-to first:

http://www.armaholic.com/plug.php?e=faq&q=18

and also follow the advice re loading order that Günter Severloh posted just after your message.

Cheers

Carl

[Psycho78 10]

this is my target line ..

F:\gamerz\Bohemia Interactive\ArmA 2\arma2.exe" -no splash -world=empty -mod=@cba;@ace_v1.3.0.373;@cba_a2

I have been playing the game for a couple of hours today .. Im not sure whether ace works out of the box or I have to tweak it somehow?

If ACE2 is working you should know. It effects many many things in ARMA2. ACE2 should be mentioned in the startup messages (in fact aren't the loading screens different?), your on-screen HUD should be different, and on the Map screen ACE should have a menu entry.

[RANKER 10]

Hi people

This is not a reply per say but a question....

I have purchase (trough Ebay) ArmA 2 & ArmA 2 OA

until I receive the games, I suggested all my friends

to download the demo ArmA2 OA and try it, which

they all did.

Some of them ask me if it was possible to play co-op

(US vs AI) with the demo (I can make a mission with

the editor) while waiting our official games??

(n.b.We use EasyVPN an play on LAN)

all the very best

[applyforce 10]

I was thinking of buying this game, but dont know what one to choose. Could somone say the biggest pros/cons with arma 2 vs A2:OA vs A2:OC,

thanks!

[Psycho78 10]

I was thinking of buying this game, but dont know what one to choose. Could somone say the biggest pros/cons with arma 2 vs A2:OA vs A2:OC,

thanks!

A2 came out first of course. OA is a separate EXE and is generally where the development is happening these days. You can run OA and include the maps and unit resources of A2, when you run like that it's called Combined Operations.

If you like to download mods and/or play multiplayer, get Combined Operations. That way you have everything you'd need.

There may some good holiday sales coming up over the next month.

[royaltyinexile 175]

I was thinking of buying this game, but dont know what one to choose. Could somone say the biggest pros/cons with arma 2 vs A2:OA vs A2:OC,

thanks!

Arma 2 only contains content from Arma 2 (yes, that's a tautology - move on!). To clarify: you will have the campaigns (Harvest red, Eagle Wing), single player missions and the maps, (Chernarus, Utes). Also, obviously, the editor, and the ability to play on multiplayer.

A2:OA does not contain content from Arma 2. To clarify: you will have the campaign (Arrowhead), the singlemissions, and the maps (Takistan, Zargabad, Desert). Also, obviously the editor, and the ability to play on multiplayer with other people using A2:OA or A2:CO.

You will also be eligible to d/l the recent BAF (Operation Crimson Lance, British objects, and Shapur map) and upcoming PMC (Operation Black Gauntlet, PMC objects, new Map) addons, which require A2:OA.

A2:CO contains data from both A2 and A2OA. So you get all of the above, in one package. I'd recommend this because most online servers require AT LEAST A2:OA, the expasnion, because of the new objects, etc, as well as crucial engine extensions, but, of course, I would say that. Oh, and if you get a boxed version, the box is much cooler.

Personally, I'd suggest A2:CO because it means you can play the Eagle Wing concept-campaign, and because Chernarus is a really, really beautiful environment. Honestly, I stared at Takistan's Visitor 4 environments for three. solid. months. Then I opened up Chernarus - and was gob-smacked by just how lush it is - and this was in the developers tool set, not even the fully rendered environment!

With this - and multiplayer on Takistan - its an epic game for a really decent price. And that's not marketing bullshit. Well, its not exclusively marketing bullshit. Its just the facts of the matter wrapped up in it. ;)

Hope this wall-of-text helps. I need to get back to the PMC-polishing grindstone.

Best,

RiE

[broadsword56 10]

Newbie boot camp question: On the shooting range in boot camp, I do fine with pistol and M16 but can't get past the M249 SAW station -- can't seem to hit a thing! I fire from kneeling position, as directed. I fire through the sight (without RMB click to hold breath/zoom, otherwise I can't traverse fast enough to hit the pop-up targets). I fire short bursts, aiming for the center of mass of each trio of targets. But the muzzle climb on the SAW is wicked. So I try aiming low, for the sandbags, and to allow for muzzle climb. Should I do the opposite and aim a little high to allow for the distance, more like spraying a garden hose over a wall to some flowers on the far side? Any other SAW tips that will get me past this #@$% station? (My DI is getting very impatient with me!)

[Major SNAFU 10]

Hi all,

Am thinking about purchasing this, but I am mostly interested in flying airsupport and mostly in single player.

Is it interesting and engagin to do this?

Is there a demand for people to fly airsupport in online missions?

Thanks

[MadMuppet006 10]

the ace mod is working but it is crashing my game to desktop .. I don't know what is causing this ..

its a beauty while it works w00t!!

I have downloaded the latest graphics driver so it not that hopefully ..

I think I may have incompatible versions of cba cba_a2 and ace for arma2 standalone .. any hints on which versions and where to get them?

currently using CBA_v0-7-0 which I have split into @CBA and @CBA_A2 and @ACE version 373

I have changed my target info in the desktop icon to "F:\gamerz\Bohemia Interactive\ArmA 2\arma2.exe" -mod=@cba;@ace;@cba_a2

thanks for any help much appreciated ..

Edited November 16, 2010 by MadMuppet006
version numbers

[Carl_D 10]

I think I may have incompatible versions of cba cba_a2 and ace for arma2 standalone .. any hints on which versions and where to get them?

CBA/CBA_A2 should be from release 0.7. This worked fine on my Arma2 v1.07 & also appears to be perfectly happy on v1.08.

The last release of ACE2 for Arma2 was v1.3; the ACE version # 373 is correct. Curious, why don't you just name the folder "@ACE"?

Your startup line isn't correct IMHO, the loading order is wrong. You should load like this:

-mod=@cba;@cba_a2;@ace_v1.3.0.373

AIUI, ACE initialising correctly requires CBA & CBA_A2 to be loaded first.

Try that. If it still crashes, post the last run entry of your .rpt file (open it with notepad). In XP it will be in

C:\Documents and Settings\user-name\Local Settings\Application Data\ArmA 2

The website for both CBA & ACE is dev-heaven. You'll find the precise links in the read-mes in the packages.

Let me also point you to the invaluable Armaholic site - www.armaholic.com - which hosts practically all of the mods for the Arma series all the way from OFP to OA/CO. Has FAQs, forums, news, etc.

Ciao

Carl