PacUK

We've been a bit taxed for time and resources (namely people) to spend as much time on I44 as we would have liked. There is a planned release still to come for A2 I am hoping to get out pretty soon, it is likely to be a bit buggy due to limited testing possibilities these days so it won't quite be the v2.7 we had planned for, but it should be a relatively solid build. Expect a bit more A3 news too soon!

Hey guys as some of you probably don't watch the A2 thread anymore I thought I better post a mini progress update here to let you all know where we are officially with the A3 version... Currently the active team is VERY small due to real life commitments, and those of us still working are SOLELY focused on getting 2.7 out for A2 at this stage. Mainly due to the fact that the work on new features going into 2.7 will translate over the A3 so by finishing them there first, they will plug in much easier to A3 post 2.7's release. The screenshots and videos posted so far covers most of what we have ingame and playable in A3 so far. Once 2.7 is out of the way we will be looking at getting a very small release for A3 out so you guys can play with what we have working so far. As the future of its development is still very much in the design and development stages do not expect anywhere near the wealth of A2's content to be part of the A3 release. Again the A3 version is NOT a port of the A2 content, though some content will transfer over, a vast amount of it is just too out of date to port well into the new engine. Unforunately the early split of the team between A2 and A3 has meant we did lose a lot of momentum and when problems arose with A2 it only set us back further. So at this point we are freezing A3's development until that work is completed. I know some may say this is a bad idea as everyone is playing A3, but as I still get daily requests on A2's update and our desire to leave the mod in A2 in playable and feature complete state it has been decided this is the best course of action for us. So TL;DR - A3 is not dead, just on hold. 2.7 is our primary focus and should be out soon. When we have new info to post we will. Until then know we are working on getting back on track and something playable out to you all ASAP. Thanks for your continued interest and support!

Hey everyone, long time no post! As anyone still tracking the mod knows we've been pretty quiet with the build up to 2.7's release there's been a number of reasons for this, but the main cause has been some issues that arose after implementing Gnat's plane overhaul when we went back to integrate some new features to the tanks we started having some severe issues with the mod and have had a hell of a time locating them. As a result we have decided to do a mini roll back and are now in the process of reimplementing the features to a relatively bug-free version which should smooth out the process and hopefully mean we'll have something ready to release soon (I know its been said before, hopefully this time soon does mean SOON and not a few months down the line). Currently the plan is to release a test 2.69 version to get something mostly playable out to you guys that we can get some feedback on, as our team size has now dwindled to pretty much two active members working on A2 we are VERY limited in what we can do, so please do not request new features or units at this stage, we just do not have the time or manpower to do it. Our sole focus is on getting the final version out for A2 that features our advanced tank and plane damage systems so that you guys have something solid to play with. In regards to A3 things are very much still in the development stages and we will post news on it when we have some to give so please do not bother us with questions on it as any time we take away to answer those requests and questions here is taking time away and delaying 2.7's release. We have not forgotten nor abandoned the mod, we just do not have the time or people to dedicate to its production that we used to have, and as we aren't paid for any of this work, other things do take priority so I hope you can understand the delays and keep feeding positive thoughts our way. We really want to get 2.7 out as it is a lot of fun to play! Thanks for all your patience and look forward to seeing you in the skies soon! Cheers, Pac. PS you may have noticed our official forums have been spammed to hell and back by kitchen posts, we still have no idea how to block these as every attempt we've made has been bypassed. I am doing my best to clean the forum but with around 11 pages of the buggers it is gonna take some time :)

Cheers for the remind SCFan42! I'll be sure to get this implemented with 2.7!

It's a new feature for the mod that didn't feature in ArmA2, holding down the fire button maintains the view down the rifle before the bolt action takes place so you can track your shot. Rather than a forced animation state immediately after firing, which can make it difficult and unrealistic. As an update on the progress yes it is a way of showing the community that development is continuing beyond just placing existing and new models into the engine, actual game features exclusive to the mod are coming along great as well! Though on the contrary most of the team is now active on A3 with only a few hands left on A2 to finish up the last minute bug fixes, the content itself is all in place and once thoroughly tested all members are expected to move over to A3 work after its released. We have attempted this previously to varying degrees of success, ultimately the terrain and models have to be designed together to work and then AI will always have an issue with them as the engine really wasn't designed for them. As a player they add a lot though so I'm sure we'll be looking to add a range of natural and man made fortification suitable to the environment(s).

No plans for anything I'm afraid, even a basic map takes quite a bit of development time and we've been too focused with getting A2 I44 completed so we can do more work on the A3 version. There are plenty of 3rd party maps available that can be fun with I44 though so you shouldn't be short of places to bomb!

Thanks I know Gnat has done some work on the planes insignia as part of his 2.7 update that nearing release for A2 but as A3 will be using a slightly altered roster we may well need that info so keep it handy! I call mine Macolik :D

The characters used in these screenshots are models from ArmA1 converted to A2, and now A3, there have been some enhancements with each iteration but they are really at the end of their usable life right now. Macolik was using the old models as test cases for bringing new infantry equipment (as now they are effectively uniforms not character models) so we could begin testing how we would gear up our units using the various clothing and armour inventory slots. At some point we plan to implement completely new models which are already in production. With regards to civilians, simply we haven't had the time, people or resources to add them. We're primarily focused on combat, Allied Vs Axis producing civilian gear and equipment takes up as much time as military hardware. There's plenty of content we'd like to add ourselves and that people are asking for that have a higher value to the gameplay than any civilian units could provide so they remain a lower priority. Its not that we wouldn't want civilians cars, or resistance units etc, simply that in the areas we've focused on so far, they just weren't necessary. Sometimes I think people believe this is how we actually work :D I'm tempted to write up a breakdown of what actually goes into adding a unit to I44's roster!

Those are missing some transitions which can make things look even weirder. Definitely the sort of thing we'd love to do, if we had access to the facilities to produce motion capped animations... but we don't, yet. As Gunter said, we don't have any CURRENT plans to cover that part of the war, but that's not to say we might not in future, or that a map similar to Stalingrad won't happen. There's plenty of ruined towns and cities that were in the areas we do plan to cover in the immediate future so there may be something similar, if not exactly Stalingrad :) We have no plans to currently, but things can always change. However we are more inclined to cover some less well covered parts of WW2 with A3 so we won't say never, just not yet :)

At some point we certainly hope there to be. For a long time. We just don't have the resources to carry it out especially with A3 the only real way to do it would be with a full mocap session and the animation work to do the post work on the recorded data. We might be able to rig something basic but for now its not something we are able to do much about. There's some differences which means it won't plug directly in, but we might be able to use a large portion of it still its not an area we've explored vastly yet.

It's not something we have planned mainly due to the production required to achieve it, if you're offering to help make one though we wouldn't turn our nose up at one :) Trust me development didn't all happen in the past few days, it just got to a point where we could show off a lot more :) There are a few extra hands that have joined, and a few old members that have become active again (or just had some spare time to do some I44 work outside of RL responsibilities). We're looking at a mediterranean setting, though no pecise locales have been decided on yet but we'll look to be making use of as much of A3's content (such as foliage) to reduce initial production time, with more varied regions coming in further down the line. Health system is still up for grabs, we may convert our current system, start from scratch from the new one, or just tweak the existing A3 systems. Now that we have infantry running about and shooting each other we'll probably be discussing this as a team more now. The new options provided by A3's inventory will be used to increase the gameplay options yes, what specifically these will be we don't really know yet once we have more information and have had time to try various options we'll be able to provide more information on how we'll use them. Thanks everyone for the continued interest and support, don't forget to visit our moddb page http://www.moddb.com/mods/invasion-1944-v3!

Sounds like a weird error, not something I've seen, if you can run some specific tests on those units you've seen affected and give us a list/screenies it might help. Its possible some further LOD's might be missing crew proxies, or it could be a conflict with one of your extra mods on that note: STHUD and STMovement are both already included in I44 so you don't need to load them :) 2.7 is a complete overhaul of all aircraft primarily. There will be some smaller features and enhancements such as a few additional improvements to the Armor Damage/Penetration systems and a couple of bug fixes but we won't be producing any new weapons etc beyond those already mentioned as there simply isn't the time, interest, or resources to do so anymore. Perhaps for A3. Searchlights don't really work in A2 there is no light beam created except those on the ground and objects actually in the line of sight, there are already infantry resistance units included its doubtful any more will be added to A2 though. I'm pretty sure if you look back over the past 4 years of development I and every other member of I44 has put into A2 you can see we don't ignore ideas from the community. But making a list of things isn't so much an idea, as just a long list provided at a point when we have stated we won't really be expanding A2 beyond what we've already discussed. We as a development team are well aware of what units were involved but we simply can't recreate everything ever... we have a very small team, production of one single item can take months of man hours to finish and with no suggestion as to why a specific unit should be added, its just a list. Yes I could go through and say why we won't be including each one, or we could keep working on A2 and A3 and actually produce real things in the time that would take. When suggesting units, try suggesting one at a time, with a case for why that unit should be something we work on instead of "it was in ww2 so make it" which really just feels like a demand from a team who have already produced one of if not the biggest modifications for A2, for free. But thanks for the input. Actually a pretty good example lol, and something we did discuss (well ski's not so much the Finnish troops) but there was no satisfactory way to really add them, would have ended up being a vehicle type object with a static animation which glided troops across the ground and really wouldn't add much to the gameplay. Maybe A3 when we get to the winter stuff! I'm back from a short break away so catching up with Gnat's progress, we'll be looking at releasing as soon as possible once we've had a thorough testing period to minimise the need for post release patches so we can focus on A3's I44 development without leaving you guys with a buggy mod :) Hope to have some more news and maybe some media in the coming week(s).

Not really the place to ask, as we have no plans to expand the scope of the A2 mod beyond the upcoming 2.7 patch. With regards to the map I'll just warn you that most of those rubble/ruins from A2 don't contain visual/geometry/hitboxes which mean AI see right through them which is generally why no one made big rubble city maps. The ones we used for Merderet had to be ripped, fixed and reimported. Nope again, the A2 mod is really nearing "completion" at this point so there are no further plans to expand the scope of the areas covered at all. Perhaps for A3 but really its dependant on having the members to actually produce new content.

It's been a while so trying to hit as many as I can here, most have already been covered but here's some "official" answers for you all as well I'm in a typy kind of mood! Please don't paste huge pointless lists of items. I think most people are aware the mod doesn't include every unit ever involved in the conflict. Just those that we have time to make. No I44 has always been a Total Conversion modification, if we didn't include one side that would be a bit pointless. My guess would be to use with other mods. However as all our units are customised to work with I44 exclusive features even if they were you'd still have conflicts running with other mods. Use Play withSix as recommended and you can resume your download later. We can't make them any smaller, and supporting multiple installation methods is highly confusing for the user and immensely time consuming to put together, document, and provide download links for (let alone how long it takes to upload them as well). The mod is HUGE and we have had no time to optimise files as you would with a commercial product once content was complete, this is just the nature of a free mod. If you really have trouble downloading at home, you could always use a library or internet cafe connection to download and place the files on a usb-stick to take home if your home connection can't handle the size. No it requires A2+OA for combined operations. We use stock A2 objects thats are NOT part of OA, and we use OA's enhanced engine and coding to make the features possible so both are required to play. Again, we're a total conversion not a single pack release, there would be no point to release them seperately as well as combined and as Gnat mentioned there's huge amounts of inter-depencies between the files that go beyond the models and textures that if split would mean may textures would have to be doubled up to be available to the other packs when used standalone, and coding for both would be a nightmare! You are not placing the Armor Penetration Module so the new damage system is not being used hence the exploding tin cans. In the editor press F7 for modules and place it (its the [i44] module right at the top of the list). The new system is HIGHLY detailed and the version coming with 2.7 even more so thanks to Animosity's awesome work. Gunter's site! I believe he tracks almost every I44 mission available so if its out there its most likely on there :) Have been hoping to integrate his work somehow in supporting the mod as that really is the definitive site for community made I44 missons! Progress with 2.7 and 3.0 for A3 are still going slowly, but progressing all the time. We still don't have any dates or firm plans set, but things are in motion and hopefully 2.7 isn't too far off the horizon now a lot of it is just finding the spare time in our schedules around real life and jobs, all those fun things! Thanks for everyones continued support!

Not quite sure what that means, from what I've seen though a number of people aren't even aware we have basically a fully fledged tank sim damage model in ArmA2 with custom destruction effects (which we'll be enhancing with more visual damage systems for A3 where possible) this may in part be due to it using features only available in the Beta patches (and 1.63 if it ever gets released, c'mon BI!) and without it tanks tend to just pop on the first hit. Or on the flip side those used to A2's standard tanks explosions thinking our tanks are now invulnerable when they're shooting HE on the front angled plate of a Panther ;) On that note there are further enhacements coming to the A2 system in 2.7 that will of course carry over as well, such as the new feature of having someone in the 'Loader' slot actually decreasing reload time :) A couple of Vex's tank models do actually have interiors already though not fully textured/modelled yet (Pz IV and Tiger). We hope to bring these into use at some point, time just made that impossible for A2. They may not be in the initial releases but its something we've all wanted for a long time but time-constraints have always led development and we'd rather get a unit out and playable than add a feature that while pretty, does little to add to the actual gameplay.