A different type of "what do you want" thread.

[Rayers12 19]

I am not talking individual game aspects such as individual sounds, rifle flashes, or voice acting in this thread. This thread is about concepts. I personally would like to see additional capabilites added to the game, such as fast roping, AI squads coordinating with each other. If AI had the capability to use smoke grenades, was able to share ammo with each other without orders, provide stronger resistance (not make them smarter, this is somewhat intangible). Furthermore, if we want this game to progress in terms of popularity, the way stances are changed on the battle field needs to be overhauled, as it currently makes for awkward firefights.

And while we are talking about that, lets switch over to the overall combat feeling of A2. Right now, it feels a bit bland, dry and empty. To fix this, I would recommend a (massive) overhaul of all sounds ingame, along with many sound-causing events to be added. These include sounds for being shot (a bone-crunching, wet thud), units that call out when not equipped with radios, and stronger sounds for the weapons. The default weapons in A2 feel pretty horrid. This could very easily be fixed in a patch. What is needed is to strengthen or add the recoil effect back to the weapons, but in different ways. These range from shaking the camera, actually moving the weapon and shoulder back as well as up (think HL2), and restoration of the sorely-missed dexterity value (maybe) from ArmA. Also, the combat immersiveness would be greatly increased if units ran farther for cover and asked their squad commander for support, or what to do.

TL-DR: This is not a hate thread, it is a discussion of improving gameplay in a way that warrants a new thread. This is more of a"game theory" thread.I believe that BIS needs to focus on adding capabilites to existing units (FLIR), instead of making new ones. Also, the dry feel of combat should be brutalized.

Discuss.

[dmarkwick 261]

I think I should like to see CQB improved. Close-in fighting has always been a weakness of OFP/ArmA/ArmA2, and I think its high time we could effectively navigate inside buildings more effectively.

Also, I'd like to see deferred lighting introduced into the rendering engine, to bypass the hardware lights limit.

[celery 8]

I'd like to see an animation system that is kind of a hybrid between normal FPS and Arma 2. A2's strictly animation-based controls can sometimes be very stiff and glitchy, and things like mantling and jumping over obstacles is one silly animation short of nonexistant. Make the player movement and controls match real life capabilities and build a flexible animation system around the concept of controllability. Realism doesn't always have to mean clumsiness, and IMHO pixel perfect animation-movement relation comes second to playability.

[ebanks129 10]

Well i know for a fact SLX does some of the ai things you've stated walts. You should give it a try:)

[KeyCat 131]

Some of it is already handled by the ArmA II engine...

...AI squads coordinating with each other.

Try using the GUARD WP in the editor and they will support each other if need be. This is not as refined as the DAC/GL4/UPSMON/SLX scripts/addons but it's there in vanilla form and very simple to use.

...was able to share ammo with each other without orders

Also there but may not be obvious at first. Try placing a group + a simple ammo crate near the group and have them engaged at distance.

Place yourself in the group (not as a leader) and stay nearby or use TroopMon 2, when group members starts to run out of ammo you will hear your AI groupleader automaticly order them to pick up ammo from the ammobox and/or dead bodies (have patience it may take them a while to find the ammobox/body).

TroopMon 2 (made by Charon) is a wonderfull tool to use when observing AI things, give it a try...

http://forums.bistudio.com/showthread.php?t=88670

/KC

Edited June 6, 2010 by KeyCat

[Rayers12 19]

However, this thread is for concepts. As you said, the AI coordination is not very sophisticated, as it should be for a war simulator.

And yes, CQB needs to be improved. But how so? I would like to see much more soundwork for combat. I would like to hear the bullet smacking into my leg, would like to see ground-blood effects. Also, the animations need better transitions between the stances. Furthermore, squad coordination is key to CQB operations.

[KeyCat 131]

Wasn't my intention to kill the discussion just wanted to point out some of the "not-so-well-known-features" already in ArmA II - so keep discussing :)

/KC