An-225

We have seen a video of suppression, in fact, it was in the ChDKZ video. Unless you mean a video dedicated to suppression. I think it was the section where a Russian MG (DSHK or Kord) was being fired, and you get a brilliant example there.

I would think that that is the commanders job. To command, and focus on commanding. The commander could simply buy a large ammo crate, place it in the base so that it is accessible only by...Squad Alpha, for example. You wouldn't be told to wipe out some tanks but unless you cough up $2500 you don't have access to a Javelin or AT4. I can see where it would get tedious if the commander had to purchase every magazine for a soldier, so a squad restricted weapons crate would do nicely. For vehicles, it isn't as tedious. One squad of 4 people only need one HMMWV. But the soldier should at no point be restricted access to equipment required to carry out the mission simply because he does not have enough money.

Hmm...I wonder if the commander will have complete control over the finances this time? Warfare wouldn't be as bad if the soldiers did not have to finance their own weapons. The commander should be the one purchasing vehicles or weapons. A rifleman does not walk up to Lockheed Martin, so he can say: "One F-16 please" only to get it a few seconds later. That is done by the higher-ups in the military, and so should be reflected in warfare.

But, even though its a game, there are things that are possible to do in order to depict reality, however hard it is to code the Javelin in two separate parts, like creating an accurate CLU with targeting sequence. It seems a little too difficult to actually make the Javelin in separate parts, but in the end, you can carry a maximum of two missiles (and that eliminates the chance to have a loaded rifle), I would say that balances itself out to an extent, as it is almost a guaranteed hit on the armour, however, its destructive power is somewhat limited. Although I do not view it this way - even one of the moderators here has stated that ArmA is first and foremost an infantry simulator. Therefore, at least the infantry weapons should be simulated in the most accurate way possible?

My doubt for the new console comes from the economy at this point in time. Microsoft axed 50,000 people. Included in those people, was the ACES team, the team that brought us several iterations of Flight Simulator. If the team developing Flight Simulator was axed, that surely cannot be a good sign, and I don't think Microsoft is up for experimenting with a new console when the X360 is surely good enough for now. To cut off a proven franchise like Flight Simulator removes a lot of doubt that it will be a while til a next gen console.

Those are good points Philipp. What I'm worried about, is that we won't get the capabilities of a few vehicles/weapons in vanilla ArmA 2, and therefore we will have to get mods to add them in, mods which will likely not work on 90% of the servers out there. The Javelin is a big issue, because it is terribly unbalanced, and can be balanced in a natural, realistic way, so that it will no longer just be a case of pointing it over a tank for a second and firing. The optics not being authentic (this can probably me modded in and used on most servers) also detracts from the high standard set elsewhere in the game, IMHO. Not having FLIR on certain vehicles is to undermine their capabilities, and prevent them from doing what is possible in real life. They have done a great job in terms of realism in the actual gameworld. Its just that some features of the game do not seem to be on par (from the preview footage).

What a varied topic. It is just a real shame to have such a realistic and free premise for the game, and then several features or capabilities such as FLIR or the CLU are missing. I think, that realistic capabilities would not drive players away at all... I would like a substitute for the TAB lock "crap." But when you take a look at the N001 or the APG-63, and you see how many times you must pan the radar left, right, up, down, in a joint arms simulator TAB lock then seems fine. It seems that some people do want the capabilities without overly complex systems.

"ArmA's real strongpoint is FREEDOM" There is an interesting point to think about. If anything though, I would argue that it has two strongpoints - freedom and realism. I've never really liked the ACE mod (without trying it). Its kind of hard to explain...they have added subjective features, such as stamina when loaded with an MG or AT weapon, which really is variable on an individual basis. It is a little hard to know what constitutes "gun porn" or not. I don't think any civilian would truly want realistic vehicle procedures in a non-dedicated-subject game like this. But the capabilities of certain vehicles should not be undermined, as with FLIR or an FCS.

I should elaborate, my experience with PvP in ArmA has only been a disorganised one. Horrible mission designers placing tonnes of obstacles and objects just to "spruce" it up, which is really what ArmA is not about or should really be about. Today I had a brilliant PvP experience. Today I took on a friend in a scenario where we both had a squad of five people, four computer controlled units and one human. The town of Pesto was being contested. Through superior placing of each of my units, I was able to conquer the city and destroy his squad. I can only imagine how much fun this would be with other players in my squad. But mission designers tend to think otherwise. They spam useless objects, repeating the same ruined buildings/water towers/barrels/walls over and over, making gameplay extremely sluggish and unrealistic. Deathmatches quickly degrade to CoD 4 run and gun gameplay, and to repeat myself, ArmA is not twitch friendly. I should have elaborated more on my experiences with PvP earlier, and to summarise my point, most are simple deathmatches with horrendous object placing, which the game does not handle well.

I also want this to be modified. I've never looked down the sights of an M16, but the zoom seemed to be far too weak in ArmA.

Something I loved about the CGI trailer for DR, the one where artillery was called in onto the small town, were the atmospheric effects in addition to the view distance. It was an amazing render, to see snow reflecting sunlight off on a distant mountain. There were even distinguishable clouds which gave it a very cold feeling, and this served as an organic method of cutting off view distance. IronPyramid, that is most certainly, not an exploit. If you can see the enemy base, chances are they can see you too, if they look hard enough. A large VD would help improve tactical gameplay, as the player would know what they would be dealing with at that base, and could plan accordingly. :smile:

I believe it has been discussed before - I'm no expert on ground forces, but I believe the developers decided to leave them labeled as Force Recon, as they both serve the same purpose.

I really hope we can turn off the part that lists speed and altitude, I want to look at my (hopefully legible) instruments this time. That A-10 looks like its stalling...I'm also hoping they fixed its acceleration..

In a way, Microsoft and Sony did a "shock and awe" on us and impressed a lot of people with their consoles. A lot of people still consider the Xbox 360 and PS3 to be the cutting edge of consoles, and for that reason, people still consider them next gen, especially considering how long they should last. I doubt that Microsoft and Sony are up for developing a whole new console right now, so current gen consoles will probably last a while. The 360 and PS3 also have not been around for a long period of time, so I guess that adds to the reason. Don't worry, it will definitely come to the 360 if they still intend to bring it to consoles, and possibly, hopefully, PS3.

I think the main problem right now, would be the optics. A round scope with a mil-dot system on it is simply not right for a Javelin! I doubt many people would have the need to switch between direct and top attack (although I would love the option to) though simply having an accurate CLU with a real targeting system and possibly DAY/NIGHT modes would be brilliant (CoD 4 handled the switch between DAY and NIGHT by wearing/removing NVG).

If there is no long weekend on during its release, I will make my own long weekend. :D

Most of the stealth projects I have seen now seem to be half-assed jobs. Its that mentality, stealth at an affordable price, that makes me think that the quality will be lower. Will the J-XX, PAK-FA, F-35 or ATD-X match the F-117s stealth (which itself was shot down in Kosovo)? That is an interesting question right now. I guess we will have to wait and see the foreign designs for ourselves...

I don't think BIS fears it will lose the casual players - but are they willing to spend time on the CLU? AT4 multishot must also go. The SMAW must have some advantage over the AT4, other than actual optics perhaps, and this is not only organic balancing, but it is more realistic this way. As I said before, DR allegedly has an accurate CLU. Why should ArmA not have a CLU, after all, BIS started this all. Why should they not beat their competitors in terms of realism, in a genre they started. :smile:

Remember in Armed Assault, when you would have a target so far away, that it would be spotted as: "Unknown unknown, at, very far meters." I still hope that Javelin is a WIP, because DR (allegedly) has an accurate (but not necessarily fully functioning) CLU, which would be good enough for me. To add a simple CLU background with a realistic targeting sequence would just add another feature that helps ArmA 2 excel above and beyond DR.

Thats a fair enough point. What I don't understand though, is why said communist countries waited until a few years ago. It would have been logical to build them while the Cold War was active (although China may not have had the technology).

Well, I guess since lead is so dense, it will simply stop or reflect radar, not absorb it. Thats why China will never manufacture stealth fighters. In all seriousness, why are other parts of the world only now beginning to develop stealth aircraft? The Germans apparently applied RAM to the Horten flying wing. The F-117 has been around since the early 80s. Since the advent of the F-22's introduction into service, many nations seem to be showing signs of independence, and building their own stealth fighters - such as the J-XX, PAK-FA and the ATD-X. The Germans and British did attempt to build their own.

I have played PvP in ArmA. I thought that was clear. My point was, that hardly anyone actually worked as a team! Don't counter with a "but you are not playing in a clan" argument. There is more teamwork in public servers in BF and CoD. I've seen numerous geometry problems, as well as difficult handling in close quarters. I'm sure everyone here has gotten stuck while navigating through a house. ArmA just does not excel at being a twitch game. For a game that I just want to play out of the box, without the hassle of clans, BF and CoD seem far superior.

I would prefer it if they did something other than go prone. It seems that is all the AI can do, even squadmates on the way to a waypoint - go prone every few seconds. It would be nice to see them take cover around a wall, also without just going prone, and perhaps return fire instead of wasting a few seconds hitting the floor.

But there is a problem with modding features in - on most of the servers out there, they turn out to be incompatible with the server. If a 3rd party could mod them in, why can't BIS? To have an inaccurate scope on the Javelin is a bit of a let down after all the realism we have seen attached to the ArmA name. Even if the CLU didn't function, something other than a bunch of mil-dots would be BRILLIANT. Let me state again, as I have said elsewhere on these forums - I love realism, and I understand where cuts may be made for gameplay purposes. I don't expect to have avionics that are 100% realistic, nor have tank systems to rival Steel Beasts. But to have a proper sight for the Javelin would improve gameplay - not harm it.

Ah, what a shame about the Javelin...CoD 4 had it relatively close as well, from what I can see when comparing it to America's Army. Is it possible to mod the CLU in?