Rynthas

Strange problem, cropped up sometime in the last 6 months or so. When playing the beta version (seems to be any after _at least_ .102591, probably somewhere earlier), the side buttons on my MS Intellimouse 3 no longer register input in-game. It's fine in OA and base ArmA2, as well as every other app. Due to the way the mouse is configured, pushing those buttons is supposed to register a keystroke of [ or ]. Despite having these bound in-game, the corresponding action is not taken. The game literally acts like nothing has happened. If I try to rebind it, it doesn't register the keystroke. Furthermore, when trying to rebind, my mouse1 button appears to do nothing and cannot be rebound in the same way. Interestingly enough, it will still cause me to fire my weapon, though. I've tried a fresh install, running as admin, etc. It's literally just the beta that causes me this grief, and I've isolated any possibility of a mouse hardware fault -- it works fine in every other app, and fine in base OA/ArmA. It's quite maddening, since those buttons are bound to rather important functions that I need to do fast.

So what's the verdict on using Steam? It seems like the easiest and fastest way to handle things, if it allows easy modding and such. Is it generally accepted to work pretty well, or are there some big faults with Steam on the MP scene?

Next question, then: How much have the addons taxed hardware since release? I'm running an old Intel Quad 2.4GHz with 4 GB of RAM and a 1GB 9800GT. If memory serves, it was barely adequate to keep a viewdistance good enough to fly with and not be sub-20 FPS, but that may've been with an older vid card too -- can't recall. Also, how does the Steam version compare when it comes to modding? I know other games have had issues with Steam, but I'm tempted just to shell out for the Combined Arms pack, and just resell my retail DVD to a buddy.

So what's really needed to play MP? I've been out of the loop a long time myself, and as a result have not purchased any of the expansions. I remember with ArmA 1 that the expansions were not really needed at all for any multiplayer, which is primarily what I'm about, and I'm left with the choice of either upgrading my hardware a bit to eek out a few more precious FPS, or buying all the expansions and such. With a base copy of ArmA 2, retail DVD, what's really needed to get back into the MP scene aside from just patching?

Dr_Eyeball, Okay, the artillery HUD looks like what I'm talking about in part A of my original post, plus some extra. Hit detection and the laser marker and whatnot are outside of what I'm looking for (as are the built-in calculations -- do they take into account elevation of the artillery and target? If so, a seperate script to crunch the numbers using what you've got would be great). Also, any way to determine altitude above sea level? I'm suspecting that making a fire calculator is going to be outside of the scope of what ArmA can do clientside, so I'm probably going to have to find someone to code me up a small little .exe that takes firebase altitide, gun type, range to target, and target area altitude, then spits out the correct elevation for gun gun itself to reach that target, and the number of seconds the round will be in the air. I'll have to get a high quality printout of the Sahrani map itself to plot the precise bearing to point the gun at, since I doubt a client-side map calculator can be made. Thoughts? Looks like a pretty cool setup you've got. You've already worked out a lot of what I'm talking about, but I want to have to rely on spotters to have the burden of figuring out the coordinates of the target and marking it on a map or relaying it to me. Basically, I'm trying to make it as close to the real deal as possible.

I must not be describing what I'm after clearly enough. The artillery mod listed doesn't work just clientside, so it is of no use to me for this purpose. Secondly, I'm not asking for any scripts or anything that have AI, spawn guns, etc. This is strictly to enable _players_ to man artillery and place shells reliably on target using indirect fire. EDIT: Nothing in this automatically detects artillery pieces -- you have to manually select both the location of the artillery you're going to be calling the shot from, AND the target area. Just wanted to make that clear. The calculator would simply spit out numbers to feed a person manning artillery. For instance, if I had a spotter in the field, he could mark a target. I could then use the calculator to find out what bearing to adjust the gun to (in mils), then how far to elevate the gun (in mils), and lastly how long my shell would be in the air, so I could report back to the spotter how long he has until impact. I don't want AI gunning for me, and I don't want anything that does all the work, or allows me to call in arty by myself at my disposal. I just want something that will allow players using teamwork to call and place reliable indirect fire. The client-side only restriction is so that it will actually get some use. That way you could use it on Evo or any other coop mission effectively. I guess it could be used in PvP games as well, but it would only reward people playing as a team. If the admins don't like it, well, simple -- I'd like to get it signed, so they just disallow it at will.

No other suggestions, or even comments on feasibility? I'd love to use one of the previous suggestions, but SLX isn't currently a viable option for online MP (or so I've been told), and the other mod doesn't work solely client-side. If it can be done well, I may even be willing to make a small donation to the modder/scripter via paypal. It wouldn't be much, but I am willing to do what I can to compensate for time.

I was under the impression that that mod made substantial changes to artillery itself, and required that missions be edited to work with it...so no, not really what I'm after. I'd certainly love to see every mission out there incorporate it, but I've yet to see a commonly played one that does.

Is it? Would it be possible to break those tools out into a smaller mod? I've heard that SLX does not play with with multiplayer dedicated servers...

Not sure if this is in the right place, so apologies in advance if it isn't. Could any of you mod-makers give me an idea of whether or not the following is possible, and how hard it would be to do? I'd really like to see some client-side mods that would make long-range artillery possible for players in any MP game, since serverside / mission-specific stuff seems to get little use. Mod A) Heading / Azimuth / Elevation display. A simple informational HUD display that gives your compass heading, the azimuth you are looking at, and optionally your current altitude ASL. With this, a dedicated player could hop in an artillery piece, and with the help of a forward observer do a pretty fair job registering artillery. Heading and azimuth display would allow them to adjust and repeat previous shots easily. Elevation would (in theory) aid in repositioning guns, and possibly doing the math if they really, really wanted to do it. I can see two versions of this being very handy: One that displays degrees, the other mils. Mod B) Artillery calculator. A script or mod or something that would allow a player to designate points on a map as a firebase and target, then output a compass bearing and azimuth to feed to a player-controlled artillery piece at the firebase to hit the target. Not sure if there is any support for elevations built in to the map, so elevation may also need to be manually entered. I can also see the specifics of the artillery peice (D30, M119) needing selection to. I imagine that this one would be a lot more work than the previous one. Options: Same degree/mil choices. Are either of these possible to do in a strictly client-side way that would be valid across any MP games? If so, is anyone willing to take a crack at them?

D-30. One shot will ruin your day. And the guy beside you. And the vehicle he got out of half a block away. And the building behind you. It'll hit you so hard that your mother will wake up with a black eye. Extremely lethal considering all you need to fire it is one gunner. Pretty crazy accurate too, I've used it to snipe Kamovs (somebody needs to explain why a Ka-50 will lose flight control and crash after taking a hit, but not explode instantly)

Just my two cents, but of all the games/movies/whatever with sound I've encountered, the bullet sound effects in America's Army have had the highest "pucker factor' for me. If you haven't heard 'em, you may want to take a listen.

That would only stop the small percentage of people who have static IPs. IP-bans are generally rather ineffective. I for one have a new IP every day. Some of us don't have a problem with chopping off entire IP blocks. I guess it really depends on how you look at things. As far as a lack of a central banning authority, why don't we just start up a centralized blacklist? People able to validate themselves as server admins send in numbers they've banned, and somebody keeps the list somewhere open for other admins to use. Keep the banning server ID with the ID number being banned, and then the admins can pick and choose who they trust, and ban the same people.

I've had the same thing crop up in Evo from time to time with SLA vehicles that are abandoned or have only dead crew inside. Can't figure out why, as it doesn't seem to follow any pattern. I'd say it happens to about 50% of abandoned SLA vehicles I come across. It's painfully obvious with UAZs, where you can see that there is nobody in them at all.

I'd just like to point out that "Second City Syndrome" isn't due just to new players not knowing where the action is -- some players deliberately assault cities far ahead of the main front. Perhaps these players just like fighting in one city more than others, but I suspect they're really just trying to farm a city for points without competition. Corazol seems to be a popular target, and I'm assuming that's because it's a fairly short trip from base via road compared to the others. Sadly, I don't have any feedback on how to stop it. I do ask that you leave shilka spawning as it is, or revert back to the old system of all spawning up front (if it doesn't drag servers down too much). S&D missions on the AA net are always fun, and it does actively help the team as they progress later.