DnA

With regards to certain pure Reskins being marked as Contact or even being premium for it, we will still be doing a clean-up pass of that (some of it possibly post-release). This can be caused by developing the data in the Enoch / Contact addons (which marks them such), and us not not yet having merged / moved them back to the source location (such as the platform or another DLC). It does not apply to everything, but we'll look into it.

Unfortunately not. In the very beginning of the project we wanted to make it co-op, but we are doing so many 'slightly crazy' things with the technology that full multiplayer-compatibility became a casualty. Another reason being that we wanted also to tell a story, which is much harder in any co-op game (people have their own pacing and perspectives for example). We then focused on making the campaign a very cool and atmospheric singleplayer experience.

20-06-2019 EXE rev. 145791 (game) No new Launcher EXE Size: ~1.2 GB DATA Added: CBRN Suit (Blue / MTP / Tropic / White / Woodland / AAF / LDF)* Added: Combination Unit Respirator* Added: Self-Contained Breathing Apparatus* Added: NATO APR* Added: CSAT APR (Black / Olive / Sand)* Added: Regulator Facepiece* Added: LDF Combat Fatigues (Standard / Officer / Rolled-up / Tank Top)* Added: LDF Heli Pilot Coveralls Added: LDF turret / drone backpacks Added: Advanced Modular Helmet (Standard / Olive / Ear Protectors / Chops)* Added: LDF Beret Added: LDF Crew Helmets (Standard / Soft / Heli Crew / Heli Pilot / Pilot) Added: Booniehat (Green / Taiga / Woodland / LDF) Added: Military Cap (Green / Taiga / Woodland / LDF) Added: Assault Pack (Geometric / Woodland) Added: Carryall Backpack (Geometric / Green / Taiga / Woodland) Added: Field Pack (Green / Taiga) Added: Kitbag (Green) Added: Radio Pack (Black / AAF / LDF / Green Hex / Hex / MTP / Tropic / Urban / Woodland)* Added: Modular Carrier (Rig Geometric / Rig Olive / GL Rig Geometric / GL Rig Olive / Lite Geometric / Lite Olive)* Added: Granit Suit (B / B Weathered / T / Tracksuit)* Added: Kipchak Vest (Standard / Tactical Radio)* Added: Avenger Helmet (Standard / Cover B / Cover T)* Added: NATO Combat Fatigues (Woodland / Woodland Tee) Added: NATO Recon Fatigues (Woodland) Added: Woodland Combat Helmet (Standard / Light / Enhanced) Added: Woodland Carrier (Rig / GL Rig / Lite / Special) Added: Farmer Outfit* Added: Looter Leather Jacket* Added: Looter T-Shirt (Black / Olive / Skull / Sport) Added: Scientist Outfit (Formal Blue / Formal White / Informal Red / Informal Black)* Added: Tin Foil Hat* Added: Blindfold (Black / White)* Added: LDF soldiers and groups Added: NATO (Woodland) soldiers and groups Added: Spetsnaz operators and groups Added: Looters and groups Added: Scientists Added: 24 Character faces Added: 3 Polish radio protocols Added: 3 Russian radio protocols Added: LDF / Astra / Exercise Electron / Spetsnaz insignia Added: Livonia / LDF / Looters / Spetsnaz / Russia / Astra map markers Added: Ability to hide caps on power cables and liquid hoses Added: MRD (Black) editor item Added: Initial translations for Contact texts (WIP - feedback here please) Known Issue: new drone / turret backpacks don't work (the vehicles are not yet available) Known Issue: various new faction loadouts are still undergoing tweaks / fixes Known Issue: 2 Looters have 'unknown uniforms' Known Issue: CBRN Specialists don't automatically show the correct hose / filter by script (preview here) Tweaked: Improved environment reflections on Water Spill props Tweaked: Reduced mass for the sawed-off Kozlice variant and adjusted several parameters to properly show stats in Virtual Arsenal (General Discussion - Dev-Branch) This data did not make it in yet after all Tweaked: Improved shotgun pellet characteristics so they bleed off speed in a more realistic fashion This data did not make it in yet after all Tweaked: GUI of the colors menu (category is now a drop-down menu instead of a list box) Fixed: Missing SCBA Cylinder textures Fixed: Micro-freeze after confirming Game Options caused by scanning the whole config instead of a specific GUI display Fixed: Scopes, suppressors, bipods and lasers in inventory containers resulted in disabled loadouts in arsenal (General Discussion - Dev-Branch) Warlords Added: 48-player version of the Whole Altis Warlords scenario Changed: The subordinates limit for 32-player versions of Stratis and Malden Warlords scenarios was raised to 6 Fixed: Garrison vehicles would spawn inside a building in the large Altis Warlords scenario * Restrictions apply to those who don't own Arma 3 Contact. ENGINE No significant EXE changes

The window opens later this week, but disclaimer: it depends on various factors as always. If not Thursday, then it slips to next week by default ... but we're preparing for it 🤠

17-06-2019 EXE rev. 145769 (game) No new Launcher EXE Size: ~1.6 GB DATA Added: Default hiddenSelections to Kozlice Added: BIS_fnc_parseNumberSafe as a safer alternative to BIS_fnc_parseNumber Fixed: Some assets were missing the author tag Fixed: Kozlice muzzle flash Fixed: Error when loading Showcase Tank Destroyer from a save (a restart of the showcase may be needed as old saves could be corrupted) (https://feedback.bistudio.com/T140469) Fixed: Reflective stripes on Van (Ambulance) were missing from the camo1 selection Fixed: Script error when choosing a random Arsenal loadout (General Discussion - Dev branch) Fixed: Miscellaneous Livonia object issues Fixed: RPK-12 texture glitches ENGINE Fixed: Crash in the dynamic simulation

It's mostly just that Arma 3 is 6 years into its life. Thanks to the on-going support of the game from players, we've had a chance to actively support it far longer and with greater resources than was initially anticipated. This is great for everyone! Meanwhile the full-time development team is very much reduced as compared to years ago. On the platform-side we primarily focus on critical issues, things caused by new third-party software updates, multiplayer security, etc. In addition there are still Bohemian devs who occasionally jump in to work on an internal or external request. Then there's of course a team focused on finishing Arma 3 Contact, but that means they are busy with that most of all at the moment. We want to cater to as many as possible things, but less is feasible now (also since backward compatibility with the full game and mod library is increasingly challenging). After Contact's release, we will give some more insight into this 'Live Ops' state / team of Arma 3 in a future SITREP 🙂

Arma 3 will not pursue a separate development app; it's too late into the game's life to make such major pipeline changes. We will of course be following DayZ's results and evaluate how to improve the concept of Dev-Branch in the future. Major changes to Arsenal are also not likely at this stage, but people like killzone_kid occasionally get a moment to address concrete bugs.

I'll at least add it to the list to look into, thanks for the reminder.

13-06-2019 EXE rev. 145765 (game) No new Launcher EXE Size: ~1.4 GB DATA Added: MAAWS HEAT 55 round Added: Sprinkler sounds for the large Decon Shower Tweaked: RPK-12 and AKU-12 front iron sight positions Tweaked: Promet family muzzle velocity to accommodate for it having a longer barrel than the basic MX Tweaked: Durability of Cheetah and Panther engines (https://feedback.bistudio.com/T134770) Tweaked: Muzzle flash colors Fixed: Character collision on a part of Church (v1, Ruin) Fixed: Decon Showers were not initializing properly after shutting down via the action menu Fixed: Removed depleted uranium from 12GA slugs after the Livonian military found their dummy targets disappearing on hits Fixed: 100 round magazines no longer count as required items for The East Wind missions (https://feedback.bistudio.com/T140220) Fixed: Glass impact particle effects now also take into the account surface normals, instead of just flying straight into the player's face ENGINE Fixed: The PathCalculated Event Handler would fill each path node with [X, Z, Z] instead of [X, Z, Y]

12-06-2019 EXE rev. 145757 (game) No new Launcher EXE Size: ~1.8 GB DATA Known Issue: Shotgun Slugs are a tad OP after the zeroing fix 😇 Added: Black variant of MRD optics Added: Glass destruction to WY-55 Hellcat, CH-49 Mohawk, and PO-30 Orca Added: Field Manual topics are now labeled by a DLC icon Tweaked: Adjusted the roadway LOD of Barn (Brick) Tweaked: Applied minor corrections to Russian, German and Polish warning sign texts Tweaked: The RPK-12 bipod was clipping with side rail accessories Tweaked: The AK-12 hand animation when used with a uniform without gloves Tweaked: BIS_fnc_locationDescription now recognizes named locations of type Hill Tweaked: Visual iteration of the Rugged Desk Chair Fixed: Weird lighting on Radar Complex (HQ) debris Fixed: Corrected Livonia town name signs from Gieraltow to Gieraltów and from Sobotka to Sobótka Fixed: Promet MR accuracy was incorrectly shown in Arsenal Fixed: 12GA Slug ammo ballistics when an optic is attached Fixed: Removed temporary 'magic boxes' from AK-12 models (Contact Expansion Asset Feedback) Fixed: Promet SG is now using a shotgun aiming cursor when the TSP-12 is selected Fixed: The Kozlice reload animation now shows the correct color shells Fixed: NATO Pacific Light AT soldiers were using the wrong MX magazine Fixed: NATO Pacific Team Leaders were missing GPS Fixed: SPAR-16S is now using a proper reload animation when loading STANAG 30rnd magazines Fixed: Duplicated magazines in Zeus ammo box UI Fixed: Hidden magazines (scope = 1) are no longer automatically added when selecting a weapon in Arsenal Fixed: Randomizing loadouts in Arsenal can no longer add hidden weapon attachments Fixed: A looping error caused by an undefined variable at the start of Paradise Found Fixed: Various inventory icons of Contact equipment Fixed: Incorrect object placements and other issues on Livonia Fixed: Miscellaneous Livonia object issues Fixed: Cover Map module was broken (https://feedback.bistudio.com/T140558) Warlords Added: Filter for Global Mobilization assets in Arsenal Added: Mass dismissal of subordinates Added: Sector scan cool-down parameter Changed: SAM site costs were significantly increased Changed: createVehicleLocal replaced with createSimpleObject (with local parameter) Changed: Garbage Collector update Changed: Player's icon is now shown on the map as well as AI players Fixed: Various script errors Fixed: Consecutive friendly fire is no longer ignored ENGINE Fixed: Headless Clients are no longer taken into account when switching server states (https://feedback.bistudio.com/T139685) Changed: unsafeCVL is now turned on by default (old behavior for createVehicleLocal) Tweaked: Default values for timeout were changed back to: votingTimeOut=1 min, roleTimeOut=90 s, briefingTimeOut=1 min, debriefingTimeOut=45 s Tweaked: The default value for lobbyIdleTimeout=0 s (turned off by default)

RC testing of Update 1.94 has concluded - thank you for the feedback! Steam branch access code: Arma3Update194RC Arma 3: ~9 GB / Arma 3 Server: ~2 GB Areas of focus (pseudo-changelog - see Dev-Branch for more details) Added: Contact expansion (limited components - specific expansion feedback here please) Added: Livonia* Added: Livonia objects Added: Decorative props Added: Contact's weapons** Added: Contact's character equipment** Added: Contact's vehicles** Added: Contact's faction characters and groups Added: Contact's insignia and markers Added: Russian and Polish radio protocols Added: Livonia MP scenarios* Added: Server Browser protocol support for Optional DLC Tweaked: Improved AI tank path-following (thanks CUP team) Tweaked: Server vote-kick improvements Fixed: Script command return values on failure Known Issue: The Launcher PLAY CONTACT button and DLC section Contact toggle do not do anything yet Known Issue: Several texts mention the ability to play the "First Contact" campaign, but it is not yet available * Content requires ownership of Arma 3 Contact expansion. ** Restrictions apply to those who don't own Arma 3 Contact.

10-06-2019 EXE rev. 145746 (game) No new Launcher EXE Size: ~693 MB NOTES Please leave your feedback about the new weapons in the asset feedback thread - cheers! With the new weapons, the attachment arrays have changed, so not all mods will yet be compatible. DATA Added: Promet 6.5 mm (regular / GL / MR / SG) (olive / black / geometric / sand)* Added: Promet Modular Sight (olive / black / geometric / sand)* Added: Kozlice 12G (regular / sawed-off)* Added: Mk14 7.62 mm (classic)* Added: AKU-12 7.62 mm (black / arid / lush)* Added: RPK-12 7.62 mm (black / arid / lush)* Added: AK-12 7.62 mm arid / lush spray paint variants (regular / GL)** Added: Mk200 6.5 mm black variant*** Added: RPG-42 green variant*** Added: Titan MPRL geometric / olive variants*** Added: 4-five .45 ACP green variant*** Added: Mk17 Holosight arid / lush variants*** Added: ARCO arid / lush variants*** Added: ARCO AK-zeroed variants*** Added: DMS old variant*** Added: DMS Kir-zeroed variant*** Added: Sound Suppressor (7.62 mm) arid / lush variants*** Added: Bipod arid / lush variants*** Added: Compact NVG green variant*** Added: UAV Terminal [LDF]*** Added: IR Grenades for LDF / Spetsnaz*** Tweaked: AK-12 family reload animations Tweaked: Improved AK-12 textures, materials, and model LODs Known Issue: Kozlice shotgun shells can be the wrong color while reloading Known Issue: TRY from the Content Browser may not yet work for weapons Known Issue: The MRD black variant is not yet reskinned Fixed: Replaced placeholder textures of various black and sand colored rugged Apex props Fixed: GL magazines were not removed in Arsenal when a weapon was removed Fixed: Incorrect object placements and other issues on Livonia Fixed: Miscellaneous Livonia object issues * Restrictions apply to those who don't own Arma 3 Contact. ** Restrictions apply to those who don't own Arma 3 Apex. *** Some of the weapon, gear and accessory reskins currently require Arma 3 Contact ownership, but we intend to merge those back to where the originals were added (platform or Arma 3 Apex for example). ENGINE Fixed: LODs could glitch when a weapon is using hidden selection materials (https://feedback.bistudio.com/T121534) Fixed: Headless Clients are no longer taken into account when voting

07-06-2019 EXE rev. 145745 (game) No new Launcher EXE Size: ~4.0 GB DATA Tweaked: LODs for the PO-30 Wreck parts Tweaked: Geometry of Barn (Brick) Tweaked: Muzzle flash colors slightly Fixed: Rogue AI position on the Airfield Control Tower Fixed: Story subtitles no longer ignore the subtitle options Fixed: There was not enough space for the DLC icons in the main menu Fixed: Missing editor preview for the Burnt Garbage Fixed: Miscellaneous Livonia object issues Fixed: Floating pixels on the Garbage Barrels ENGINE Added: "#exec clearkicks" and "#exec unkick" commands for server admins (equivalents for clearbans and unban to complement the kickTimeout server param) Added: Optional local parameter for createSimpleObject so it is possible to create local-only simple objects in MP in order to compensate for the restricted createVehicleLocal Changed: RVExtensionRegisterCallback provides three arguments now: extension name, function name, and data Fixed: DSCheckSignature did not always work correctly with v3 signatures Fixed: lobbyIdleTimeout kicks are now registered as kickTimeout's type 1 issue (connectivity issues) rather than type 0 (bad player behavior, kicks, hacks)

This the approach we've taken with all Arma 3 terrains. It has pros (clean scenario creator spaces / performance) and cons (less 'alive' world by default). We'd love a technology that would allow both options, for example to toggle furniture on / off, but we don't have it in Arma 3. Also: 👽 😉

A blocking issue is one that is too severe even for experimental Dev-Branch release, in this case it was a rendering issue that glitched weapon LODs. We then prepared a normal update with fixes to existing content, but it got blocked by a EXE building pipeline fault. A fun day at Bohemia 💥 🙂 Both issues are now resolved, so we again hope today to publish a fix update, and early next week the weapons.

Our plan was to add the weapons today, but yesterday we discovered a blocking issue. Now we are re-testing with a fix, but this means it will push over the weekend (since we don't typically release big updates on Fridays). Instead there should be a regular maintenance update today.

According to the team it's partly intentional for having been abandoned as military area for a long time, but they are going to take a look at the areas to see what small additions might make sense. Thanks for the pinpointed areas. Meanwhile internal QA is still going over many sectors, but the extra reports in this thread for misplaced objects are very useful.

04-06-2019 EXE rev. 145729 (game) No new Launcher EXE Size: ~3.7 GB DATA Known Issue: Missing preview picture for Burnt Garbage Added: Regular Jets DLC fighters to the CAS module options Added: User actions to turn on and off the small Decon Shower Tweaked: Iterated on Burnt Garbage (removed redundant variant) and Garbage Barrels Tweaked: Iterated on the Books Fixed: AO transparency on the large Decon Shower Fixed: Rugged Portable Cabinet and Rugged Portable Desk drawer animations Fixed: Character orientation while climbing ladders of the Airfield Control Tower, adjusted the width of the ladder to match the climbing animation, and added some extra AI positions in the Path LOD (https://feedback.bistudio.com/T139704) Fixed: Missing string RPT errors Fixed: Wrong preview picture for Dome Panel Stack (White, Open) (https://feedback.bistudio.com/T139702) Fixed: Many incorrect object placements and other issues on Livonia Fixed: Miscellaneous Livonia object issues Fixed: Missing power line display names Eden Editor Added: Eden attribute to disable user actions on Decon Showers (can be also activated via script by typing the following code: nameOfDeconShower setVariable ["bin_deconshower_disableAction", true]) Fixed: Faces, voices, and insignia are ignored when checking compatible loadouts in 3DEN or when loading custom loadouts in 3DEN ENGINE Added: script commands removeDiarySubject, removeDiaryRecord, and setDiaryRecordText Added: calculatePath will now support both generic presets such as "car" or "man" and vehicle class names Added: RVExtensionRegisterCallback and "ExtensionCallback" mission event handler Changed: createVehicleLocal was restricted in multiplayer - enterable vehicles, shots, explosions and similar are no longer possible to spawn (the old behavior can be turned on via "unsafeCVL=1" in the description.ext or server's config) Changed: createDiaryRecord now accepts additional parameter showTitle, which can hide the typical Date, Time of entry format title Fixed: ctrlChecked would not return a Boolean Fixed: addWeaponWithAttachmentsCargo(Global) would not always work if an empty string was used with some of the parameters Fixed: RPT spam randomly caused by a broken network message Fixed: Setting of a value for briefing/debriefing/role/votingTimeout using a number Fixed: The RVExtensionVersion function definition not matching the Windows one (the "int outputSize" function arg was missing)

We've focused on the factions we needed most for the campaign, and then quite significantly buffed the package to bring as much as possible useful gear for Livonia as a sandbox terrain. There is no specific woodland CSAT content added. While their Pacific gear works reasonably well in Livonia, we'd love to have the capacity to create specific woodland gear, but we have a limit to our resources. Instead we focused on the LDF, NATO, Armaverse Spetsnaz, and a massive set of props. As to doerBoer's point: Contact expansion is not of interest to everybody, we know that. It's something we simply wanted to create for a long time, and now we felt was a good time in the game's life. Some players will enjoy the 'spin-off' content, some people will not. It's not an indication of Arma's overall future, it's a branch for some interesting fun. The Arma 3 team has a very different skill mix available these days than during its primary development years. Many of the things that would be cool to add / tweak are no longer possible 6 years down the line. Adding a new feature takes a different developer than adding an asset. There's still loads of content in the package if you take away the aliens in our opinion. And thank you for your support of the game so many hours in!

There was an update on Tuesday, and we'd like to push another soon. Meanwhile we're also preparing an early RC-Branch with the same content. New additions may arrive as early as next week, but it depends on testing progress. I'm afraid we're not going to divulge much about ET ahead of release, since discovering them is a big part of the experience. The clues are out there ... 👽 Thank you! There are newly composed music tracks for this expansion indeed.

It appears to be mainly the doorways on several buildings indeed. We're investigating, but as you point out, changes to buildings are quite tricky at this stage. Apparently some Livonian house builders grew up on high energy diets.

If you mean the middle stage (textures / materials), we are doing an inventory of which ones are not having it functional, and seeing what can be done with that.

28-05-2019 EXE rev. 145702 (game) No new Launcher EXE Size: ~2.6 GB DATA Known Issue: Missing power line display names Known Issue: Missing SCBA Cylinder textures Known Issue: Missing SFX for the large Decon Shower Added: Camo selections to the PO-30 wreck Added: Garbage Barrels (WIP - known issue: missing textures) Added: Burnt Garbage (WIP) Tweaked: RPG-42 reticle zeroing at 500 meters Tweaked: Improved AI tank path-following (using re-tuned AITankSteeringComponent PID controller settings provided by CUP - many thanks!) Fixed: Several prop functionality scripts were missing (e.g. Decon Showers and Military Cargo Platforms) Fixed: Many incorrect object placements and other issues on Livonia Fixed: Various Livonia RPT errors Fixed: Miscellaneous Livonia object issues Fixed: Polish writing on a large warning sign Fixed: Missing display names for the Rugged Desk Chairs Fixed: Mechanic Clothes had a visible scarf in first person view (https://feedback.bistudio.com/T139556) Fixed: The terrain class name was shown in the death screen instead of the display name (thanks POLPOX and https://feedback.bistudio.com/T139749) Fixed: The ADR-97 magazines author name in Virtual Arsenal was incorrect (https://feedback.bistudio.com/T139683) Eden Editor Added: Eden Editor now offers a summary of all entities used in a scenario, which can be accessed via Scenario > Statistics Fixed: Various new prop Editor previews ENGINE No significant EXE changes

Even so, I think it can be fair criticism of this expansion compared to older ones, that it focuses less on platform features. It's different, it's "spin-off", and Arma 3 is in another phase of its life cycle. We're trying to be open about that by disclaiming it, so you can determine if Contact is for you. Who knows, maybe you'll change your mind the more you see of it. We believe we've also built in a lot of other platform value (both premium and free), but perhaps not all of it is yet clear. And of course there will also be a unique playable experience that we hope you'll enjoy 🙂

Maybe, but playable content was always published to Dev-Branch last. Let's first get all platform components out to you all, then we can see where and when we are. Pre-release feedback will certainly be appreciated when the content is ready for it 😎