Cardhu

It's really annoying to have a new threat pop up right in the middle of reloading or switching weapons. The player is completely helpless with no way to abort. Equally annoying is the "switch to pistol or binoculars" dance without ever choosing either. The whole reloading of an AT4 (M136) animation is completely bogus. The AT4 tubes are single shot disposable, not reloadable like a bazooka. That animation is really annoying - especially getting shot while in the reload animation for a weapon that in reality is simply a matter of throwing away an empty tube and grabbing a new one. Another animation that is sadly lacking is the complete absence of the ability to duck behind cover, pop up and fire off a few rounds, and then duck back down easily. The PS3 game "Uncharted - Drake's Fortune" does this very well with a simple key combination. Every FPS game should have this ability. However, this mini-thread about animations seems off topic. This topic has to do with the needs and wants of the part of our ArmA community who like PvP play. I suggest moving animation comments and criticisms of ArmA with suggestions for fixes in ArmA2 to this topic: http://forums.bistudio.com/showthread.php?t=72353 or this topic: http://forums.bistudio.com/showthread.php?t=69535

The XBox 360 is a good overall concept with one serious problem - extremely poor reliability. For that reason, we own a PS3 but not an XBox 360. Whatever console BIS does develop their games for, we hope that they remember one crucial capability: Split screen play for 2-4 players for both offline and online play. Many game developers are completely overlooking the console game players with family and friends who actually like to play together in the same room at the same time. The mistake these game developers are making is assuming that one console = one player, whether online or offline. This is a serious mistake that we hope BIS will not make. This mistake in game design is especially incomprehensible in a market with high resolution TVs finally inexpensive enough to be affordable and the transition to digital broadcast formats driving families to replace obsolete TVs with new high definition sets.

There are many different styles in FPS play. Some like co-op play for its emphasis on teamwork with no explicit need for someone to "lose." We (the players in our home and team) definitely fall in this camp. Anyone who says that AI is incapable of posing a challenge has clearly not experienced AI smartly using cover, suppressing fire, and flanking maneuvers in executing the Sixth Sense mod and hunter scripts. Others like the challenge of PvP and Team Vs. Team play. Having played in tournament PvP team competition games ourselves, we understand the attraction of this style even if we do not share such a preference anymore. Hopefully we can all clink our glasses together in toast when all is said and done and, whether we like "lite," lagers, pilsners, ales, or stouts, we can all agree that ArmA and beers are wonderful in variety without any put-downs of one preference or another.

This mission: http://www.armaholic.com/page.php?id=499 has a critical bug. The problem starts with rescuing the prisoners. Once Mercalillo is secure and anyone approaches the prisoners, a script executes to have the prisoners follow the squad leader and take orders. The instant that script executes, the game for the player in the leader slot immediately crashes. If that player tries to return to the game and resume the leader slot, that player gets a "mission complete" debriefing screen. This mission is presently unplayable. That's disappointing, because this is a really nice little mission. Just perfect for 2-3 players who like stealth play. Can anyone please fix this mission so it works?

Exactly. Very well said.

Some suggestions I haven't seen mentioned: Please make buildings more usable for cover. All buildings should have doors that can be opened or bashed in. Please allow firing ports to be chiseled through walls for prone and crouched positions. Please allow window frames to be knocked out for clear fields of fire. Please make bunkers better cover for standing and crouched positions. Right now, they're death traps that are usable only while standing. Shooting at vehicles with an M136 from inside a bunker is simply impossible. Once the enemy has spotted a character, the bunker essentially provides zero cover as the enemy accurately and easily shoot in the view ports at any range. Some games have a special key or button to hide behind cover and pop up to shoot. The game "Uncharted - Drake's Fortune" does this very well. Please allow characters to give other characters items without having to drop them on the ground. Please allow gear to be picked up even in thick brush. Please provide a broader weapon selection, especially for silenced and scoped weapons. Please allow grenades to be simply dropped out of a window. This can be done in real life but cannot be done in ArmA. Please fix edging issues. All too often M203 grenades and M136 missiles catch on edges such as window sills when they should not. Respectfully,

We (the gamers in our family) agree. We have played PvP tournament games and are completely uninterested in PvP play anymore. We now play with a team of strictly like-minded coop players. We note that high-speed internet connections and high-end computers are absolutely critical to be competitive in PvP play. There are other games for PvP - SOCOM Confrontation, CoD WaW, and BF2, to name a few. If PVP players really want their play style in ArmA, they should consider using the mission editor tools to develop missions for their community. We prefer that the Bohemia Interactive developers remain focused on their strengths - great cooperative play against the most challenging AI in the FPS industry. This is, of course, strictly our preference. The value of a gaming community is voicing all opinions for developers and publishers to see what their customers want. Edit: No, coop players are not as a group hostile towards PVP players. No, coop players do not as a group try to assert that pvp players should not play ArmA. Such claims are strictly contra hominem (personal) attacks aimed at trying to discredit people rather than engage in reasoned discussion. The coop players posting in this thread do consistently agree that there are several other games already that cater to pvp play styles. Furthermore, if pvp players really want their play styles in ArmA, the mission editor is readily available for their use. Therefore, it seems logical that Bohemia Interactive should not divert their development resources to support a niche customer base inconsistent with BI's strengths and prior product focus.

There is a purported 1.08 hotfix patch incorporating the following fixes: Changelog: FIX (Copyprotection): Securom issue preventing game to launch on some computers FIX (Animations): some problems with ladders introduced in 1.08 (stuck on ladders, problem when going from kneel or prone on a ladder), installs animationHotFix.pbo and its signature FIX (Localization): mission M13 is localized to all languages FIX (Russian): several missing translations in russian version, UI.pbo is modified to prevent an error message displayed in Russian version of the game when entering Single mission directory System Requirements : Any original version of Arma 1.08 (Important: You need to apply the FULL v1.08 patch first in order to install this hotfix! ) How to Install the Patch : Run the patch exe to apply the patch setup automatically. There's no uninstall option for the patch itself. I am NOT providing any link since I've already been burned in this forum for not knowing which sources are legal versus illegal. I did try this patch. Â It didn't work. Â I'm right back to that same SecuROM error as before. It's the second fix that did not fix.

Hi Warwolf; Mine is actually an "old" Gateway 2.4 GHz Pentium 4 Socket 478 Intel Midway motherboard system with 512 MB of RAM. I never overclock my systems, not in cpu or vpu performance. This weekend I'm upgrading the processor to 3.2 GHz, upgrading the RAM to 4 GB, and installing a Zalman CNPS7000B AlCu cpu cooler. And that's the problem - when someone installs the game and then changes their system configuration, the SecuROM copy protection kicks in and disables the game. Check around in the forums. Â People who install the Atari version, realize how poorly the game runs with the minimal specs, and upgrade their systems to gain acceptable performance, find that they can't play the game at all. Like me, they report that they can't even uninstall and reinstall the game. Â SecuROM refuses to recognize the original CD as original. I found out just changing my keyboard and mouse. Windows Vista SPP (Software Protection Program) uses similar technology. Â It produces similar problems. Â Check here: http://blogs.zdnet.com/Bott/?p=221 http://blogs.zdnet.com/BTL/?p=3718

Now for what you should say in your complaint: <ul> [*] State your problem – the product you have been sold does not work; [*] Describe what you want – [*] SecuROM to provide contacts for customer support that aren’t red herrings; [*] A game that works. That’s what you paid for. That’s what you have a right to. My final advice – get the word out to your friends. If they really want to try this game, try the demo. If they really want this game, BUY THE SPROCKET VERSION. Other users report high reliability with the Sprocket version. Even better, Sprocket responds to defect reports with effective fixes in 24 hours, not something that might work after weeks or months. Our own conclusion is that we’re not buying any more Atari products. I’m certainly not in any mood to ever open up my wallet for another Bohemia Interactive product either.

The United States, the United Kingdom, the European Union, and the Commonwealth all have government agencies for promoting consumer rights. When companies fail to deliver goods and services and refuse to set things right, these are you next legal recourse. First, make sure that you have tried your best to describe your problem and get redress with mature reason and patience. Post your problem in: The community forums: http://www.flashpoint1985.com/cgi-bin....1149379 The Atari forums: http://www.ataricommunity.com/forums....&page=2 Look for Atari technical support here: http://www.atari.com/us....ay=MAIN But when all reasonable approaches fail, it’s time to get more formal. Atari has an American branch. So go to the US Better Business Bureau and file a complaint here: http://www.bbbonline.org/ The Atari information you’ll need to provide is their website: http://www.atari.com/us/ The European Union oversight agency is the European Commissioner for Consumer Protection: http://ec.europa.eu/consumers/index_en.htm File a consumer complaint here: http://ec.europa.eu/consumers/redress/compl/index_en.htm The company to file a complaint against is SecuROM, which is an Austrian branch of Sony DADC: Sony DADC Austria AG Sonystrasse 20 A-5081 Anif/Salzburg Austria http://www.securom.com/contact.asp support@securom.com (an invalid e-mail address) SecuROM-sales@SecuROM.com Phone: +1-866-734-3232 Sony DADC has an American branch as well: http://www.sonydadc.com/americas/ Finally, Bohemia Interactive is a company with offices in Czechoslovakia and Australia. The Australian consumer rights agency is the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission: http://www.accc.gov.au/content/index.phtml/itemId/142 The Bohemia Interactive contact information is here: http://www.bistudio.com/index.php?option=com_frontpage&Itemid=1

You have rights recognized throughout the western world as a buyer of goods from any source.  Those rights are to receive a product that: <ul> [*]  Is of satisfactory quality, [*]  Is as described, [*]  Is fit for purpose, [*]  Lasts a reasonable time. In the case of the Atari version of the Bohemia Interactive Armed Assault game, the SecuROM copy protection renders the product unusable after a system upgrade.  Upgrade the RAM, processor, or even control peripherals such as the keyboard or mouse, and the game you paid for is useless. This is a violation of every single one of your consumer rights. So what should you do?  You have a few options: 1)  Give up and throw away your game.  Would you pull out $40 from your wallet and just throw it in the trash can?  I hope not. 2)  Obtain a cracked game executable file and use that.  This approach solves your immediate problem, but creates problems for others.  If you're playing a cracked game, some other player with a legal copy can be detected as having an invalid CD key and wind up booted from the server.  So please, be considerate of your fellow players.  Please don't do this. 3)  Crack the game yourself.  This option has the same disadvantage as option (2) above. 4)  Complain.  Demand that for which you paid to have the right – a product that just plain works. In my next post, I’ll tell you where to direct your complaints.

This is a defect in the SecuROM copy protection. All users who buy the Atari version and plan to upgrade their computers to meet the game’s roaring appetite for resources are at high risk of having the exact same problem.

After updating my brand-new Atari ArmA from 1.06 to 1.08 and installing a LogiTech G15 keyboard and MX518 mouse, I had a SecuROM error: "A required security module cannot be activated. This program cannot be executed (7001). "Please have a look at http://www.securom.com/message.asp?m=module&c=7001 for further, more detailed information." So I followed the directions for a RegEdit fix. There is no problem where the directions say to look. I tried uninstalling and reinstalling the game from scratch. No joy. I tried running an analysis, zipping it, and sending an e-mail to the support address. Here is the reply I received to all of my e-mail messages: Your message did not reach some or all of the intended recipients. Subject: Armed Assault Game SecuROM Error Sent: 9/7/2007 6:26 AM The following recipient(s) could not be reached: 'support@securom.com' on 9/7/2007 6:27 AM 550 [PERMFAIL] destination not valid within DNS So I found this link in the Bohemian Interactive forums for the purported SecuROM fix: http://www.securom.com/support....rma.zip I tried renaming my ArmA.exe file and substituting the “fix.†The “fix†now insisted that my brand new DVD was not original and refused to run the game. The predicament I found myself in is as follows: I bought, installed, and registered a retail copy of the Atari version of this Bohemia Interactive game according to directions; I replaced two components on my computer and the SecuROM copy protection disabled the product’s functionality; SecuROM’s technical support is a dead end; The purported fix provided by SecuROM does not work; Therefore, the game’s copy protection denies me the right of the legally functioning product that I paid for. This is totally unacceptable.