eem

Excellent tool and great example of an Eden Plug In!!! A possible bug... not sure if it would be with your tool, Eden, or a combination of both...? I'm subscribed to the CT_Dev instance... While using the CT Object Browser and scrolling pages with the mouse wheel in Eden 3D view, the view behind the CT Object Browser zooms in and out also. is there any way to force focus mouse wheel scrolls to the Object Browser so the view behind it does not scroll/zoom at the same time? Cheers! eem

Excellent Idea this one!!! I created a Feature Request in the Feedback Tracker:​ http://feedback.arma3.com/view.php?id=27452 Cheers, eem

1) Zeus UI - +1 For All Waypoint settings available 2) Zeus UI - +1 Ability to change group leader icons - at least to match symbols on map and High Command 3) Drop Tactical View and replace it with Zeus analog... 4) Drop High Command and replace it with Zeus analog... 5) Zeus UI - Ability to join two or more groups 6) Zeus UI - Ability to split groups 7) Zeus UI - +1 for spawning at altitude 8) ...

That makes a ton of sense! How I tried to tackle this...place two different Zeus modules on the mission and assigned a blue and a red player slot to each one. That keeps each side from knowing what the other has in it's force composition and location. At that point, I don't think Zeus is providing much more in terms of commander's battlefield or player's situational awareness than what we can already do with most of the CTI/Warfare versions. I can already see a complete strategic view of my forces with High Command which allows me to set waypoints and assign orders at a strategic level. I can also toggle my FPS view and zoom out and control individual units assigned to me in 3D using Tactical View. The UI for both though are way clunky and we have to sift through two modes, and like 4 menus to get them to do anything right or face a certain direction or get into a certain mode or stance...anyway, IMO, the Zeus UI is way better than High Command or the current 3D we get with Tactical View (press . on [NUM] pad when you have any AI in your group). That's also a great point! Although, I'm thinking this will depend on the mission implementer. For example, instead of allowing players to use the Zeus "omnipotent" UI to just plop units, the factories should be producing the Zeus units while the UI is used just to manage and edit them. Some Zeus items may never need to be made available in CTI/Warfare which can also help maintain the current feel of the mission. For example, continue to use mission's current Fire Support system and disable Zeus modules for things like mortars etc... The other piece of this point I think though is players will do things that just aren't part of doctrine. But we should just have to vote a new commander to kick someone from the role who is doing a sucky job at it or just plain griefing... I've seen a few other players with this same concern and one that shouldn't be lost on mission makers while they try to figure out ways to integrate Zeus. Again an excellent point! How I tried to work around that was to not let the player use the Zeus UI to create Zeus units. They still have to go through a factory. But they can edit units in the Zeus UI... which allows them to change formations, stance, and set waypoints etc....then, my commander (which is also the Zeus curator), instead of creating units in the Zeus UI, uses factories and other current mission implemented assets. I just had to make sure that when a player created unit was spit out by the factory, it was also added to Zeus and then execute a Zeus cleanup to remove them from the battlefield after a period of time after they had been neutralized. I was able to leave the FSM code untouched and they (the AI Commander and AI players...) seemed to execute without issue. Zeus objectives and tasks show up just like existing ones from taking towns etc.. so those were not effected either. They just showed up in the map with the existing tasks. Of course I had a ton of questions too (like client/server sync of Zeus units, etc.) and it wasn't perfect... just a POC.. but it works.. :)

I also spent some time over the past coupla' days getting Zeus to work with a version of BECTI... I was able to get each player and also player/AI created units to show up under Zeus. Newly created groups/units would just automatically enlist in Zeus by me adding a couple calls to the addCuratorEditableObjects [] method at the right places inside the mission.. Here are some of my comments... 1) Zeus = CTI absolutely makes sense. The Zeus role and Commander role in CTI are very similar. The commander would be his team's Game Master/Admin, but also with Zeus players can also be given limited power to edit units etc. The Commander creates Zeus units and places them under the charge of players as rewards for side missions, following orders, hero play, etc... you don't have to allow the players access to every power in Zeus, only the ones that make sense. 2) The way the resource system works in CTI with cost of items/upgrades, etc. also make sense. Zeus comes with modules that would make it really easy to assign Zeus combat points to players in the same way players earn cash to buy things from factories. items that players buy would reduce their cash, and also spend their Zeus points. 3) Zeus points give the team the ability to bring in support right away within reason based on cost and availability. This can make it easy to generate for example a quick transport or other service. 4) Zeus UI makes a great tool for putting AI on the right path and makes it easy to free up that one pesky truck always in the way of some intersection... 5) if I was building BECTI from scratch today... I'd probably start with Zeus because much of the framework for BECTI that makes the game work (dynamic objectives, PVP and PVE at same time, RTS/FPS style gameplay, teamwork, player roles, realistic player driven scenarios, etc...), can all be done with Zeus. The real power of BECTI anyway in my opinion is the AI Commander/Take Towns, etc...logic in the FSMs... Downside: 1) Would need to implement Fog of War to prevent the Zeus role from being an overpowered Spy Tool/Satellite Mode ... 2) The Zeus UI for commanding is still too weak to make it realistic choice to completely replace BECTI system for managing teams and orders. The Zeus UI would need to expose at a minimum everything that High Command does... (EDIT: There is a work around for this... I was able to add a HC module and a Zeus module to the same mission. Zeus UI to assign waypoints, etc, and then bring up HC to refine the type, settings... Now I can do a CYCLE on patrol route ... :) 3) There should also be controls for things like Attach Zeus groups to existing groups, or attach Zeus Unit to exist group... etc... basically an attach/detach module... would be even better to have a Zeus window to build complex chain of command structures (with automatic radio channels!) very quickly!!

One thing I have noticed is that in this alpha build of ArmA3, the infantry AI (vanilla) will do things that previous versions (vanilla) did not do at all or barely.... so from my perspective, ArmA3 feels better already. hint... and this really goes more for players with no prior combat infantry training...(or those with but are new to the game.. :) Your AI will be a lot smarter if you don't do things that break it's trained doctrine... remember this game derives at it's core from a real military simulator sold to militaries around the world to train their troops. If you put yourself in the right position as a team leader, your AI will do all kinds of cool stuff for you, you will live longer as they will be watching the right sector(s), and call out threats relative. Also, when your player calls out threats to the AI they will already be in halfway decent position to respond. Just a little bit of knowledge goes a long way in this regard... I recommend studying a little on infantry formations and the roles of each position, then know which commands in ArmA will put your team in a decent stance and formation for a given situation the AI will react accordingly. One thing that is fun for me is in the editor, create a skirmish but put yourself in a non-leadership position. This can be done by making yourself a lower rank than the group leader. Then you will receive orders from the AI team lead and can give a more organic feel to what might have otherwise been a pretty static mission... :) of course the above is more about the AI you are commanding...The other side of the discussion around the AI is more about presenting a threat to players that is believable enough to think there might have been a human performing that action instead of some "bot". Although, I don't know many humans who can with some degree of effectiveness jump from driving a tank, to flying an A-10, to providing the proper amount of force and circumstance in a firefight.... with that I think the AI in ArmA (any version) is topnotch compared to anything else I've seen in the consumer gaming world... (private and government is another matter.. ;)

Ok..should have read 73 task list first.. Heh. I see this mentioned as implemented in 73. Can't wait to try it out.. :).

Any chance 73 or 74 will take advantage of the new 1.62 public variable functions publicVaribleClient/publicVariableServer? Have you had the chance to analyze the impact of these new functions on performance? Seems like these could make a huge difference...

Not sure if this is it...but... If you are both internal to your local LAN/WLAN connecting through the same router/modem using NAT, then when you both try to connect to your clan's server, it could appear as though both connections are coming from the same IP Address (same computer). L8r, EEM

Agreed! I should be able to give orders to "stack up", then have them execute the breach and enter appropriately. If I could also fall in with them, that would be even better! This has always been one of the main downsides to ArmA... L8r, EEM

What you can do if you don't like "paying" for the fire mission is this... before starting the mission, one of the parameters sets how much you like to pay for it.. set this to None and you will have free fire missions. Not sure if that is what you were trying to accomplish though... Cheers, EEM

hi.. :) A coupla' things... 1) Try the new Warfare in OA!! It appears to have vastly improved over the ArmaII versions in both gameplay and interface. 2) You can get your own squad AI to man an artillery piece and you can call in indirect fire, but other squads will not as mentioned. 3) Te repair/refuel/rearm using AI, you need to build a Repair Truck, and Ammo Supply Truck, and a Refuel Truck. Then bring them to the disabled asset. 4) I've seen AT soldiers do better with AT weapons when you tell them to "Stay Crouched"...

Hi Thanks for responding!.. :) Doesn't this get kind of tricky if I am already a member of a group/heirarchy? How do I tell which units were already assigned to me and which ones were the reinforcements when telling the units to leave my player? I think your idea will work... I'm thinking outloud...bascially in this case, the pattern would be to create a new empty group local varibale to the code var, assign this new empty group to the global you will add? For Example psedo code as I can't remember syntax off hand.. mando_airsupport_re_action = { create local varibale for _mygroup; _mygroup = CreateGroup("name"); [i]new MMA Global Group name to Join = _mygroup;[/i] player hcSetGroup[_mygroup]; //this would add new reinforcements to High Command from the code var }; Thanks for the warning!... :) L8r, EEM

I was able to get this to work.. although I had to make a one line code change in MMA scripts to get it work properly. Since we don't know the units or group names being dynamically generated inside the script as they are jumped out of the helo, it made it difficult to use the mando_airsupport_re_action extension inside the init.sqf. Inside the following script: mando_airsupportdlg.sqf on line 4720, there is a statement that tells all the created units of the new group arriving via the chopper to join the leader (player) as a unit. if ((({alive _x} count units _group_i) > 0) && (alive _leader)) then { [b](units _group_i) join group _leader;[/b] }; Changing it to this makes the newly arriving reinforcements join my existing High Command Bar and I now control the team via High Command instead of individually: if ((({alive _x} count units _group_i) > 0) && (alive _leader)) then { //(units _group_i) join group _leader; [b]_leader hcSetGroup [_group_i];[/b] }; This is changed only in the dialog based version of the script. The same change could easily be made in the non-dialog version as well on line 897 of mando_airsupport_nodlg.sqf. A few things to note: 1) I am using the script versions and not the add-on in my mission. Those using just the addon will not be able to add newly arrving troops to their HC...(hopefully Mando will set me straight...:) 2) In my mission I already have High Command modules at startup placed on the editor so the one line code change is all that is needed. L8r, EEM

1: How do I assign roles for squads like in Arma 1? Everyone starts at, and always stays in, Infantry Only Mode. I want to make some AT, some AA, some Armor later on, put some in helicopters, etc like in Arma 1. You can't with "in the box" Superpowers... 2: How do I assign tasks to the AI squads like attacking cities? The Targets and Actions menu's are blank when selecting squads and I can't figure out how to do this. You can't with "in the box" Superpowers. You can assign an action to the waypoint though (IE Patrol, Guard, etc...). Hover over a waypoint then right click on it... 3: How do I put some squads on "Defend Base" mode like in Arma 1? I like to keep reserves. You can't with "in the box" Superpowers. 4: How do I divide the pay between squads from loot? In Communications menu, there should be an option for "Give Money", however, I think it's bugged...Warfare BE edtion has this... see below for download link. 5: And, lastly, any idea how to force soldiers to buy more troops? AI squad leaders don't buy many at all. Another bug with the default "in the box" Superpowers. I suggest you download and use BE Warfare edition .44 or later... It has all the features you are asking about plus more (especially things like UAV and Artillary).. The default Superpowers is too buggy... http://dev-heaven.net/projects/list_files/warfare-be L8r, eem

I had a local LAN dedicated server running Warfare BE version .42, @CBA, @JTD, and @VoP up in same game for maybe 16-18 hours straight.. I let AI run it over night and while at work and when I came home it was still going strong. No other human players were connected and no JIP... The BLUFOR AI commander had built factories around every major installation and all but three squads were stuck at one of them. After some major micro-management by voting myself commander, I was able to de-tangle the blob and re-task them. ALthough, they never reached full combat effectiveness no matter what role I assigned them.. at least the squad leader moved out. I think it may have been funds related but could not figure out how to transfer from my whopping $214,000 and over 33,000 supply .. heh .. the upgrades had been completed as well with only the super weapons left... I never finished it as I shut down the client I had attached for something else. ALso, I didn't capture any logs really (except for maybe the .rpt, but haven't checked...)... L8r, eem

... I've had this happen on a few occasions during Warfare matches. I've even tried to run the bugged enemy over with a Ural and he just sits there. Good news is at least he is not firing back at us... heh.. L8r, eem

Make sure you are on the correct chat channel in game too... you can do this this by pressing the UP/DOWN arrows when typing in the chat window. When I first started, I remember typing away for hours only to find out that not one person on the server saw what I was typing since I sent it to the wrong channel(s). Try the ones that say Global and Side. Also, sometimes no one on the sever you are on speaks english. ArmA II has a lot more players in Europe than in US, so you may have been on a non-english speaking server. BTW... Due to the number of threads surrounding this topic (New player woes)...I think it would be worth while for some one to write a MP tutorial mission similar to the Boot Camp mission, but for some of the more popular game modes. L8r, eem

...Hmmm, travel time... What about using the ACM (Ambient Combat Module) to spice up travel times a bit? The ACM could be used to generate random encounters en-route. This would make the engress a lot more interesting with the possibilty of a random encounter. Just thinking out loud.... L8r, eem

Could it be more buildings are already enterable, but just no "open doors" yet? That might help explain the CPU while rendering question. Or it might be destructable with alternate entry though a breach tool or something.....Is there a way to check this in one of the mod tools (ie enterebale, but just no open door.)? I was hoping to see the AI take cover in buildings also. I saw someone posted a script to get it to do this...haven't tried it yet though. It appeared to only work on objects that have mapped position #s... L8r, eem

Hi.. Actually, I've never used it in the editor, so not sure... But, here is the link to the Game Logic Modules documentation to get you started... http://community.bistudio.com/wiki/Category:ArmA_2:_Editor_Modules L8r, eem

I will repeat that statement... this is largely due to the fact that the engine in ArmA II has decended from a full on military training simulator. It doesn't hurt to have some level of former military trainging either. Some ArmA II players probably even used VBS while in the service which drew them to this game and they will have some distinct advantages. Even with that said though, there are some annoying opposing force AI bugs/undocumented features that give them sometimes superhuman situational awareness and responsive behaviour(s). That is the part I think is frustrating most players at this point... For me, I just make sure I am even more cautious when engaging. I have seen all kinds of really cool things from infantry AI that ArmA1 never did and for me that is worth the price of admission.. :) L8r, eem

All this talk about fps is making me dizzy.. :) ... ArmA II is more CPU bound than anything. Faster CPU speeds equals smoother gameplay when on servers that have larger player/unit counts. The point about methodical gameplay is lost on most players who are still trying to play ArmA II like BF2 or CoD or something instead of playing it like an infantry simulator. I saw someone post at one point if BIS added a module that would explode your head and kill you for real, then players might slow down and see the difference in their K/D ratios... :) CQB type online play can work in ArmA II and it will render it just fine at playable speeds but due to the way the engine applies damage, weapon sway, your stance, your current injuries, breath control, etc. it's just not that much of an advantadge to have uber-FPS. Ping is WAY more important than FPS in my view...look for servers that have under 100ms ping. Your gameplay experience will improve dramatically. For some of our community members this may be very difficult depending on your region. For that I empathize... L8r, eem

The default Superpowers mission has this built in. It can be played SP by hosting your own local LAN match and playing against an AI commander, or hosted MP allowing commanders to manage the battle from this interface assigning tasks and waypoints to subordinates. To enable the High Command interface, you must be voted as commander. As mentioned above, you can then enter or leave the HC interface by pressing CTRL-SPACE or ALT-SPACE depending on your key bindings. L8r, eem

If map markers are off (ie. Veteran mode I think...), it also helps to learn how to read the coord given on the GPS device shown as a handheld when in Map view.