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WhoCares

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  1. WhoCares

    Media Coverage | No discussion here!

    Unfortunately I don't have a proper link, but today there was a reportage on German-Swiss-Austrian TV on computer games, and it also covered BI/ArmA3: 3sat: Videospiele - Revolution einer Generation There was a part on various computer games and how they portrait violence, e.g. GTA V and Call of Duty, with scenes of torture and murder, and soldiers ignoring laws of war. The latter part was explained and discussed by Christian Rouffaer, whom we know from http://makearmanotwar.com/jury/christian-rouffaer. He then travelled to Prague and together with Ivan Buchta they showed alternatives like they are in ArmA3, e.g. that when the player kills civillians, he gets attacked by his squad/allies (something we already have since OFP ;) ) Overall, a quite interesting and objective reportage, also discussing some positives in computer gaming; not the usual stereotype-bashing. Edit: Link to the reportage (german): http://www.3sat.de/mediathek/index.php?mode=play&obj=51770 The "relevant" part described above starts at ~31mins, ArmA3/BI start at ~34mins.
  2. WhoCares

    Ukraine General

    One TEL. That's all. And to use Buk on its full abilities you need radar too. Where's it? So you accept the possibility that the separatists may have at least some components of a Buk system. Alas, you made a little mistake in your attempt to identify that vehicle in the picture, it is not a TEL but a TELAR, so a launcher with radar, capable of autonomous operation:
  3. WhoCares

    Best other military simulators?

    I don't know about the financial possibilities of the OP, and how he would rate the value he gets for his money with the various high end simulations. And whether he is interested in deep and serious but rather expensive simulators, or still looking more for high fidelity entertainment in the sim genre. And neither for others that may read this thread with a similar interest. I am not really the right person to speak for SBProPE or compare it with VBS2 or DCS, as I have very little experience with the first, and none with the others. I think the price tag on VBS2 is ~500$, and when it upgrades to VBS3 owners of VBS2 will not get it for free either, I guess. Same as we had to pay for OFP, Resistance, ArmA1/2/3, Arrowhead and the other expansions. And when I look at the DCS price tags I will also quickly reach 100$. What I actually get and whether SBProPE is worth the 100$ for me, well, I am currently evaluating just that for 9$. But I think the fact that it is "derived" from a professional simulator that is used by defense agencies around the world qualifies SBProPE for an entry to the list of the best other mil sims, next to others like VBS and DCS. Oh, and I just remembered a very special mil sim, and very different from all the other stuff that has been mentioned here before: SAM Simulator A "realistic to the switch" simulation of russian SAM system from the cold war era. Photorealistic graphics ;), historical missions, 3D AARs via Google Earth, ... And the best: It is for free! Costs nothing! It helps if you can read russian in cyrillic letters, but I can't and still managed to be successful... well, sometimes, ... a little bit, ...... Just yesterday an interview with the creator has been released: Hpasp interview Last but not least, I already linked to it above: if you want to have a look on different military simulators, the SimHQ forum is a good address to get an overview. Its primary focus is on flight sims, but it also covers other (military and civilian) areas as well. And a very last (I hope): as the OP also opened the door for space sims, Kerbal Space Program deserves to be mentioned. While maybe not that serious on the surface (the Kerbals), with the underlying mechanics it is still a fairly accurate simulation, ... ... or so they say, as this is the third simulator I am talking about, but that I have never touched myself. But I guess that's the level of expertise that you have to expect on an internet forum :cool:
  4. WhoCares

    Best other military simulators?

    Another mil sim worth mentioning is SteelBeasts Pro Personal Edition (SBProPE), basically the tank sim equivalent to VBS2 with a version for governmental organisations and the PE for the public. For 9.50$ you can get a monthly license, for 115$ a perpetual license (with USB dongle). I am just testing it based on the monthly license since last weekend and while just scratching the surface I can already say that it has a lot of depth. Offline and multiplayer, it covers small skirmishes with a single tank up to ~battalion size engagements. For that purpose it also models a lot of other units, IFVs, APCs, infantry, helicopters, artillery, recon, ... apparently most also providing different levels of player control (but I haven't touched that aspect yet). You can have some quick 5min action, but even basic platoon level missions often last more than 30mins and there are many youtube videos of battles that last well above 1h, in rotarenegs youtube channel is a good range of different missions. The graphics are not ArmA3 standard, but as a battlefield simulation that focussed on vehicle combat it seems to be very good. But as I am just testing it about a week, I 'd better leave it to somebody else to praise its merrits...
  5. WhoCares

    Bohemia Interactive @ E3 2013 - DISCUSSION

    Yepp, ToM looks actually quite nice. But Mars? *cough* there is no Mars without *cough* Olympus Mons *cough* Just think of it, Olympus Mons + those armed rovers => ultimate "King of the Hills" :rolleyes:
  6. Thought after almost a year it is worth to post another update: RoF has just been updated to v1.030, also adding 3 (or better 2.5) new planes, Halberstadt D.II, Roland C.II and a british variant of the Nieuport N.17 (overwing Lewis gun instead of fuselage mounted Vickers). Since the last post, there have been a number of other interesting additions, esp. the Channel map, with a flying boat (Felixstowe F.2A) and a float plane (Brandenburg W.12) - with the last update also supported in the career mode, with Belgian units and Gotha's over England. Right now there is a big sale ongoing (until 3rd of April), with a significant discount on most of the content (except for the latest additions). But be reminded that you don't need all the planes and gimmicks to enjoy the game, be it in single player or multiplayer.
  7. I am sure they had valid reasons to hold them back, but I would have loved to have the "Shooting Range" and "Night/Lighting" showcases they exhibited at last years game fairs - both focussed on infantry as well, so... :(
  8. There is one very positive thing regarding the future setting - there is little to no discussion with respect to the performance of this or that unit/weapon/vehicle. And no discussion of NATO 5.56 shall do this damage compared to WarPac 5.45, or 7.62x51 vs 7.62x39, or how many rounds are required for a kill, etc... Silenced all those wannabe weapon experts with one shot :p The only ones who might still bother are the PvP balance fanatics - and by "virtue" they don't argue on the base of real preformance but are more concerned on whatever kind of relative balance.
  9. WhoCares

    Funny & interesting videos

    On monday they found an american 500lb bomb at a construction site in Munich/Schwabing. As it could not be disarmed ("booby trapped" fuse, maybe M123A1) they brought it to detonation this evening. This is a video of it from ~300m away: http://vimeo.com/48399328 :popcornsmilie: Google maps has a fairly up-to-date sat image of the area, you can already see the gap where they now found the bomb. In the past there was a cellar bar that I visited occasionally - in Streetview it is still there. First reports indicate that some of the nearby buildings might be fairly damaged, despite all efforts to dampen and direct the blast. The building vis-a-vis has been constructed just a few years ago - I guess the Starbucks might be a bit rearranged... :ill:
  10. WhoCares

    Model size limit 128m?

    If you just want to have platforms to start and land planes from, I guess you can just as well build those carriers as static models. A problem I see with any seaborne vehicle is with the damage model. i am no expert on the subject, but I think in ArmA2 we dont have fluid mechanics and the vehicle damage model does not support damage to the hull in a way that it would affect buoyancy. With the revisioned damage models in ArmA3, a different water handling (do we get rivers?!) and PhysX, there might be more possible- ah well, one can dream... :rolleyes: For simplicity reasons I'd suggest to "seal" a simple container maybe with some "interior" - put it on the sea and shoot some holes in its wall below the waterline from inside. If you get believable results for that, you can start with your destroyers, carriers and submarines...
  11. WhoCares

    Empty TDM and DM servers?

    Check out the multiplayer section - others have already asked the same question. => Ninja'd by Placebo... I'd assume he has ArmA2 CO as that's what is required for DayZ. As others already said, MP is mostly COOP = PvE(nvironment), and that usually in closed groups on locked servers, as it can easily be spoiled by random players. Popular modes on open servers are often largescale "Capture the Island", either as TvT (Warfare) or TvE (Evolution). Smallscale squad/platoon sized and in a small confined part of the map are nowadays mostly left for other games - in the past there were also things like Team Capture the Flag (Hexenkessel); you will also find some such missions and templates in your MPMissions folder and when you host on your own (you can do that on your own by "hosting" a LAN session - some missions can also be tested/played alone and against AI) or check the editor, but you will have a hard time finding a server that runs such missions... After you familiarized with the MP commands, you might join a free public server and vote to run such a mission - if you are lucky you get more to join you; sometimes it just need someone to start a game to attract more to it...
  12. Posted this over in the DayZ forums, but fits here even better... If there is just 10% of DayZ players that try ArmA and 10% of those actually like it and become "Armaholics", then I don't see the bad thing in that. Attraction of CoD kiddies? They will come anyway, as they came with the launch of ArmA2, ArmA, OFP - media coverage and the like always did that with the launch of a new game - some stayed around and adapted, the others left after a few days/weeks/months. And DayZ has already done that "damage", as it already attracted those and some (hopefully many!) will get ArmA3 anyway, disregarding whether DayZ will come as a mod for it or as a standalone game based on the engine. Flooding by Noobs? We were all newbies 11 years ago, but one of the most friendly and helpful communities got us around the rough edges and the learning curve - I hope there is still something left of that community instead of looking down as a simmer on those ordinary gamers... I also hope there is still some room for new players in the ArmA community - disregarding of their background! In fact, I think the sim in ArmA needs more players, and DayZ is a chance to attract people and convince them of its qualities, that would otherwise not look at it. The only valid concern might be that the development might get more and more influenced by DayZ, disregarding the sim. But with VBS2 behind, I don't see that happen either. Eventually, there might be that step that ArmA and DayZ become different threads of the engine, but I hope that day is still far away, as I see them both benefiting from each other, more so then I see a negative infulence...
  13. It would be nice to have a chance to make private markers on the map. (Direct channel markers can still be seen by nearby players) While it is inspired by DayZ, it would also be benificial to any such concept of a persistent world, carrying the same character over to different days and on different servers. In such environments it would be nice if such (or even any) markers made by the player character carried over as well (but that might be out of BIS "responsibility", but in the hand of the mission/environment creator).
  14. WhoCares

    Army of the Czech Republic DLC

    Not sure whether somebody has brought this up already, but there is a real region called Bukovina, nowadays part of the Ukraine and Romania. Could make sense to send the czech to their brethren from austro-hungarian times. And when you have a closer look on this old map (click to enlarge), you can find a city called Bistritz in the lower left corner of the map, nowadays Bistrita in Romania. So it could be an area map and an urban map again, like Takistan/Zagrabat. Maybe the map designers are still in an early phase of their work (filling the gap that is a result of the ArmA3 delay due to PhysX3 update).So instead of showing an unfinished map, they replaced the fall vegetation of (parts of) Chernarus with the new summer vegetation - just a wild guess, of course. The question of the opposition is a good one, considering that the ArmA2 models are not fully compatible with OA (thermal imaging).
  15. WhoCares

    Paradox Interactive Games

    Originally not Paradox games, but as Paradox has bought AGEOD I am owner of some of their products, AGEODs American Civil War (AACW) Rise of Prussia (RoP) Both based on the same engine, free demos with limited scenarios available. Not playing them lately, but while they have a steep learning curve, "Easy to play, hard to master". they can be a lot of fun (also against AI).
  16. Playing DayZ just for two days now, but really like many of its aspects and novelities. Most notably the persistant character and the server environment - a great proof-of-concept. Regarding the current hype around it and its influx of "fresh blood" to ArmA2, one might consider it a bit like Counterstrike to Halflife (okay, it hasn't reached that magnitude - yet?!). I actually consider it an interesting opportunity to pull a (next-gen) cross-platform release of the RV-engine. Hardly any need for AI, simplified interface (no squad management), limited vehicle models, best suited for an island (Limnos could be big enough). In its current alpha stage it is lacking any story and background, but there are lots of options discussed. I see something like this: Background: - playing on a quarantined island (difficult to close the border North and West of Chernarus/South Zagoria :rolleyes:) - Zeds are a result of an infection (mutated rapies?) - survivors are immune to infection but carry the virus and could infect others (=> always new survivors arriving at the island, people that carried the infection away from the island before the quaranatine, or were infected by those - as such there might be multiple quarantine zones=islands) - anyone trying to leave the island on sea or air would be free game for the patrolling Navy that keeps up the quarantine. For "storytelling" I could imagine something like this (a bit of Stalker and I am Legend/Omega Man, I admit) . government-affine . local "Pirate" organisation . bandits (non-affiliated hostiles) . NooBs After you found a receiver you hear tasks via broadcast radio transmitted by the governement or the pirates that you can do or not. Completing such tasks might give you access to equipment or other advantages, the government might even transfer you to a new island. Maybe the government is also working on a vaccine (cheesy, if that was the goal, but as a persistent MMORPG game that will never happen anyway). The "Pirates" might search for evidences that the mutation is a result of governmental experiments, ... Governmental (harbour, airfield?) and Pirate (bunkers, radio stations) bases would be natural camping spots for bandits waiting for the respective "affiliates" to pick up/deliver their goodies. btw: Over at SimHQ there is currently a banner promoting TrackIR, that has jumped on the DayZ hype Edit: I hope BIS/Rocket have already registered DayZ as a trademark :581:
  17. Quoting straight from the RoF page: RoF:ICE (Iron cross Edition) gives you access to nine flyable aircraft: Nieuport 28, Fokker D.VII, Sopwith Camel, SE.5a, Nieuport 17, Pfalz D.XII and Fokker Dr.1. Of course, the SPAD 13 and Albatros D.Va, which are anyway in the Free2Play demo incl. their Field Mods, are also part of RoF:ICE. Last month RoF reached v1.024 with the release of the Halberstadt CL.II with two engine variants, the standard Mercedes 180HP DIIIa engine and the introduction of the overcompressed DIIIaü with 200HP. The addition of the latter gives hope for some new and long awaited variants of the Albatros D.V, Pfalz D.XII and most important the Fokker D.VII (but no promises there!). The release of the next update v1.025 is already in preparation (actually shifted from today to next week), adding the Airco D.H.4 to the plane set - a total of 28 already available planes, some incl. sub-variants like Spad 7 150HP & 180HP, and three pre-orderable with a discount (e.g. D.H.4). Two of the pre-orderable planes, the flying boat Felixstowe F.2A and the float plane Hansa Brandenburg W.12, are subjects of the development plans for 2012, centering around the addition of a channel map. But there is even more in the pipeline than that, as a number of Weapon Mods for various planes have been announced as well and shall become availabe later this or next month. See you in the virtual skies above the western front!
  18. Right now there is a big aircraft sale for Rise Of Flight (RoF) until 17th January - every available plane at a 50% discount! The discounts also apply to the Field Mods! RiseOfFlight.com Store (note that the Halberstadt CL.II is "just" a pre-order discount and the plane is not yet in the game!) If you don't know RoF yet, you do not have to buy the cat in the bag, but you can test RoF with the free demo, giving you the full game with two flyable planes (Albatros DVa, Spad XIII) - Rise of Flight Demo. All other planes are also in the Demo - non-flyable. The demo also allows you to join the normal Multiplayer and you can even man the gunner positions of the two-seaters and bombers that way! Rise of Flight has now reached v1.023b with several interesting updates since the last posts (v1.019): New planes: Spad 7 150/180HP Bristol F2.b FII/FIII two-seat fighter R.E.8 Recon/Light bomber In the work and currently available as pre-order is the Halberstadt CL.II. They lately also started to revise some flight models, with fully reworked S.E.5a reworked Nieuport N.17 minor updates to the Fokker DVII/DVIIF (reduced adverse yaw by fixing the aelerons) There is also a new campaign available in the shop, based around the battle of St. Mihiel (can't comment on it, as I have not yet played it). They also added some other little nice-to-have gimmicks for the dedicated fans, Personalization (don't have them myself - yet... :rolleyes: )
  19. While not directly related to rotary wing aircraft, but fixed wing propeller driven WW1 planes, in the Rise of Flight forum is a nice "treatise" on response handling, comparing joysticks and real life: About wrong elevator position" and "pitch sensitive" Some facts are valid disregarding the vehicle (e.g. the facts about the joystick, duh :rolleyes:); what applies from the "real-life" facts or other differences that would require optional adjustments will have to be commented by our real pilots, soon-to-be instructors and the like. I guess the discussion here can be summed up with this quote form that post: In the end, in a later patch they came up with a response setup described in their wiki: Responses
  20. Nobody forces you to buy all the planes. But now with the way they handle the upgrade from the demo to the full game by just buying the plane(s) that you like you get 10 playable planes (8 bought + the two from the demo) for the price of a full game in a store. That's even better than the ICE edition that I bought a few weeks ago for ~50$/35€ (9 planes of which some would not have been my first picks, like the Nieuport 28 or Pfalz DIIIa and the DVII vs DVIIF). And there is absolutely no need to buy any field mods (okay, maybe except for the Nieuports - did they really come w/o compass :eek:) Let's see, if I had to pick, all the "early ones", Fokker EIII, Airco D.H.2, Nieuport 11 or 17, and for the mid to late war, Fokker Dr.I, Albatros DII(I), Sopwith Camel, Fokker DVII(F), SE5a. Not to forget the freebies from the demo, the Albatros DVa and Spad XIII, already incl. field mods. I'd consider that a solid, varied and also balanced collection at a modest price of 42.67$/29.4€ (8-13 planes have a 30% discount, not 35% as written in the store :rolleyes:). Finally I would have added at least one bomber, preferably a Central one as some Entente scouts can already carry bombs. Most likely the Gotha G.V for the bigger change. That would add another 10.5$ (already incl. the 30% discount). If you really felt like buying all planes at once to get the maximum discount you would have to pay ~105$/73€ - actually not that bad. And future planes get offered as a preorder with discount, so no need to pay the full price either if you really desperatly need all the planes.
  21. Well, the internet connection requirement is still not completely removed for SP (e.g. the SP career requires online login). I didn't have any problems with their account system, but I also had little interaction with it, esp. as I did never play the demo but started with the ICE Edition. But they seem to be very responsive in case of problems, e.g. http://riseofflight.com/Forum/viewtopic.php?t=20561&sid=31afcf387eedc06bd1728e48ba48b5f0 I am not the greatest fan of the business model either, but considering the content they added with the latest (free!) patch, content that itself might have warranted a price tag, one can also consider it an investment in the continued development, as quite some people here have done with BAF and PMC. Now with this demo and the changed full license upgrade path you have a fairly easy and cheap way to evaluate and "customize" the game as you like. Nobody forces you to buy any other component but with just the "demo" you can still play the game in all its aspects if you are content with the Spad XIII and the Albatros DVa. They give you the full game, just limited to two playable models but with all other models included and all game modes, maps, etc. in the unlimited demo. Regarding the demo download, they just updated the game yesterday to 1.019, so it might have taken them some time to update the references. Anyway, the link to the torrent seems to be working now. Still no video, but I am not sure why one would be needed anyway ;)
  22. Today they released a new version v1.019 with a load of new content, changes fixes... Most notably a completely new Career mode, SSAA, SLi/Crossfire support, changed handling of draw distance (planes now visible up to 8.5km if your hardware allows), new missions like artillery spotting and photo recon, and countless other stuff, check it out yourself: http://riseofflight.com/Forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=20511 But most interesting for most of you will be the unlimited Free2Play demo: Playing the game now for little more than a month I can already say that for a flight sim fan, if you haven't yet (or were turned away for whatever reason), this is now a great opportunity to give it (another?!) try! The strict online requirement has also been slightly lifted in the past, allowing some offline action. See you over the frontline!
  23. WhoCares

    So Some guy in My town got arrested

    Which Army would be so stupid to invade a country where the population is well armed? Ecept the U.S.Army(Well, i guess thats irony) And this is where I see the fundamental mistake in the 2nd Ammendment. Instead of giving everybody a weapon or fifty, there should be a mandatory military service where everybody is trained for combat. To a proper military unit, a trained lot of 500 or 1000 men is a much bigger thread than a mob of 10-50000 armed men. The way it is, a dictator that is backed by most of the regular military and police forces will have little to fear, no matter whether you have 1 or 100 guns in your basement. But then, a trained and armed mob of 50000 might be too much of a threat to democratic governments :D Similarly, if there was an invader capable to defeat the regular US military services in conventional warfare, it will change little if you are armed or not if you are not trained. I'm fairly certain, in the time it takes to train the new-raised troops the US-weapon industry would be able to hand every recruit a brand-new weapon without ever touching your private caches :p
  24. WhoCares

    Grounded British Sub

    They also do it between NATO forces. E.g. in a reportage on the U-Boats they had some british sub hunter helicopter trying to collect data on the german fuel cell boats. Well, at least that's what they said/assumed...
  25. WhoCares

    Attacking Helicopters seems to be too weak.

    I guess it was something like this: Mujahedeen1/2/3/4 to CIA: I shot down a Mi-24 with a Stinger. Please send more. And every fifth went like this: Mujahedeen5 to CIA: Shot Stinger on Mi-24 but missed. Please send 10x more. And out of that they made that 80% statistic. Like every Mujahedeen reported back right after he shot a stinger... :rolleyes: And if I wanted more support from someone that has an interest in me inflicting damage to his enemy I would just report hits, hits, and more hits... Maybe occasionally a miss to make it sound a bit more realistic.
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