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Actually, experimental and later block F16's do have a delta wing, very much like that J-10. It could well be a copy.

Its an example of where the 'put it in if its realistic' metric leads, and therefore why it is the wrong metric. Its also accurate - you really would have NO HOPE of flying a helicopter or driving a tank as a common soldier. Since you will reach a point where you no longer desire realism, the force of that argument is weakened - and it becomes clear that realism for realism's sake leads nowhere. Thats exactly what i think seat switching delays would add. If anything is a strawman, its that 'single-player-crewed tanks' in multiplayer need addressing. They dont. A fully crewed human or even AI tank will do much better

The amount of extra work required for more realistic vehicles, their physics and their weapons systems, as well as various get in/out animations for each of them (all of them has different ways of getting in) is simply too large a task for one infantry sim Having said that, i think you are only asking for moderate improvements, such as penetration based armour, no life bar vehicles and better animations. Those are reasonable changes; but introducing a seat-switch delay is not part of that

The best way for anyone to discern for themselves is to try it. And after trying it, i mostly agree with Luhgnut. And its definitely not a 90 degree FOV

I really think this has something to do with Track IR. Im not familiar entirely with where Freetrack got their API from, but if its decrypted from Track IR (and even if it isnt) Track IR could be placing pressure on a small developer like BIS (who have traditionally relied on Track IR for their headtracking, and would stand to lose from lack of support) to NOT support Freetrack else they will withdraw their support. This might even be part of their agreement (an agreement would certainly need to exist, its just a matter of whats in it) and it is very likely something confidential that they are not able to disclose. So people are best advised to read between the lines and try and get more information on this before assuming its BIS doing it on purpose

Listen, i see no purpose in arguing. In fact i am completely placid about your tongue-in-cheek taunting. Heres the thing. While you can get a second hand PC or even new built for well under $2000 if you know what youre doing (i can find a good machine for $400AU, that will handle all modern games through other enthusiasts forums) you are absolutely right that consoles (at least untill the recent reliability issues such as Red Ring of Death issues) are a much simpler, 'fire and forget' gaming solution. Theres no controversy here, if you dont have the time, wherewithal or energy to commit to keeping everything running then console is the way to go. However, us PC players DO have the best hardware owing to the effort we put in, and we also happen to be able to play and compare PC games such as Arma 2 or Crysis against multi-platform titles such as OFP: DR. I can understand you have no choice, since Arma 2 is not on consoles (would be nice if it was) but it is silly to be unrealistic about it. Dragon Rising does not look as good as Arma 2, not even close. You wouldnt even know, since by your own admission you have not played it (merely watched videos, and the way you write, it shows). However ive played Arma 2 extensively, and the Dragon Rising Demo. I know which looks more pleasing to my eye. Dragon Rising has got a weird field of view, the textures and models are second rate as are the natural environments, and its got a very strange and overdone lighting. It doesnt particularly bother me about either game however, since both look considerably worse then something like Crysis (now THAT is impressive graphics), although Arma 2 does look more 'real' then that game (but far inferior engine to Crysis). What DOES bother me is all the little details that Dragon Rising gets wrong, and the blatant way in which CM has conducted its business. This should bother everyone Lol! Only just noticed this gem! If you dont mind my asking, when would this event be?

Not by a mile, Mr Console player who is unlikely to have even played it (do you have a PC powerful enough to run it?). Arma should never again be compared to OFP: DR. Dragon Rising, as a 'simulator', competes with games like Crysis - and loses. I am completely serious

It aims for meaningfull realism. Otherwise you would not be part of these elite units and operations, you would be sitting back folding boxes. The whole idea is that its realistic in what counts, but it wont waste your time with useless 'features'. Adding a 5 second delay to switching inside a vehicle would be exactly such a feature. For starters such a delay can vary, and to begin with a common soldier would be unable to drive a tank, let alone a helicopter. So by your logic, anyone but crew should be locked out of heavier vehicles to begin with (is that what you want?). But moreover, most of the time you are switching seats to alleviate some other issue that you just wouldnt have in reality, such as poor crew (AI), or lack of teammates to cooperate with (multiplayer). Or some bug or other crazy issue. So before you pipe up about realism mandating stupid features, consider what that actually means and where you draw the line. Painting anyone who opposes this as 'the impatient' is quite hypocritical

I want this game to fail at this point. I truly do. The worse it fails, the better in my opinion. Why would i hold what many might consider an inciteful view? Isnt competition a good thing? I now hold the view i do (post release, when it became clear just how badly theyd behaved) because unlike ignorant consumers who 'only' want the right game, and are willing to sacrifice all other principles as long as they get 'what they want', i recognise that good things are built on good principles, and the right game can only come from the right groups of people. Codemasters are the WRONG people. To have this product succeed despite all the immoral actions theyve taken, including hijacking the license (we won awards for the previous game, this is our official sequel), misleading and downright false advertising and the innumerable lies and willfull exploitation of consumers theyve undertaken - well that would betray the very principles that lead to success in human endeavours. I say Codemasters ought to suffer the full consequences of their actions. That means Commercial FAILURE. Too bad banks havent suffered the same fate

First off, the only known Heli vs Heli battles were between Iranian Seacobras (AH-1, ingame) and Iraqi Hinds (Mi-24 and Mi-25, in game), and they were haphazard affairs that largely came down to who got the jump on who. So trying to counter helicopters with helicopters is foolish in the first place, and helicopters are not supposed to fight such battles. Second of all, you are comparing apples and oranges. The AH1 and AH64 are more properly compared to the KA-50 and KA-52, not the Hind. The Hind has long been considered unique with no NATO equivalent as a very fast, very well armed flying tank uniquely capable of also carrying passengers, albeit making it large and not very agile. The fact that its heavily armed should not be mistaken for it being superior, as although this gives it a great close support capability, modern helicopters like the KA52 are better and most air forces, including the Russians, have chosen not to pursue such designs for various reasons. If you cant quite find the equal of the Hind in the USMC arsenal it is because there is none quite like it. Only if you focus on firepower at the expense of other factors do you conclude it results in air superiority, however

This would be the kind of 'totally useless but annoys the hell out of you every time' feature that turns people red with anger. Apart from the one conjectured positive of silly players in multiplayer no longer rushing alone manning a tank single handed (who with this change would rush TWO handed, so to speak, instead, producing little change in gameplay - and honestly, how difficult is it to dispatch such lone wolves?), i cannot find a single other reason to have to twiddle your thumbs for 5 seconds at a time - but unless this brought new animations, i can readily see this enraging people on a regular basis. I think there are far more important issues to resolve

For a limited subset, no they cannot. Blur optional is fair enough, as even without it its difficult to turn it to your advantage. However HDR to me seems an absolute must because modern monitors are not High Dynamic Range - they cannot display the full range of intensities you encounter in real life (not even close), and as a result a game that wants to simulate modern combat, including things like masking against the sun, needs to use it. Making HDR an option would lead to something like counterstrike syndrome, where anyone with HDR still on (in CS thats gamma at realistic levels while online) is hopelessly disadvantaged against those who have turned it off, and consequently the game devolves into a high gamma multiplayer where shadows and fighting against the sun are meaningless. EDIT: NVG's are certainly an issue however, they are both too powerful (lack of blur, high resolution, no need to focus as in real life apparently) and too restricted (in terms of going dark all the time and not being adjustable) and probably need to be reworked

Im fairly sure Track IR is at least partially involved in the Freetrack issues. There could be exclusivity agreements or other such machinations on their part to swing support their way. And i doubt they would tolerate support for both

Yes i do see the concern so i would keep the 'ai specific' information fairly general and limited. The real meat of it would be something like a Sniper/Spec OP/Stealth guide, with a focus on real world concealment techniques and player vs player tactics. I think these guides do exist in the real world militaries (ive seen a sniper manual) and if i were to think how to broaden the current guides, thats what i think would be best to cover

I forgot to mention that theyve even gone to the length of dividing the country across ethnic/cultural lines, with the more northern civilians not speaking 'Chernarussian' (Czech) but Russian (oddly Cooper, who seems to understand Russian when he translates radio broadcasts, is not able to communicate with these villagers, that ive seen anyway). I think its a pretty fine job theyve managed here and the accents from English<->Czech really suprised me - not only do Czechs have a realistic accent in English, but Americans have a realistic accent in Czech! Thats excellent work, and id love to understand the Russian as well to see how accurate that is Unfortunately, i dont know anything about making language packs for units. Glad to see you like the quotes, i loved the irony and humour in them even though their messages are fairly true

Ah sorry, i didnt understand that aspect of the point. I guess i am, albeit my post shows id like something that gives more in depth advice about how to deal with the AI I guess it MIGHT be incorporated simultaneously into a guide about real life stealth (deadspace particularly) if you give advice about how to use stealth against players. So youd have some advice about stealth against AI (detailed stuff that really helps you understand what you need to do) and also stealth tactics from real life that you could use against players (id love to see someone pull off deadspace, but also where to fly and drive, how far away to stop and get out of the vehicle to avoid detection, noise propagation and masking with terrain, how to use shadows, etc) Id like to see it, but it would be a massive undertaking and i guess it doesnt fit with the basic riflemen duties Shack Tactical are trying to give new players. I guess the more advanced stuff youre expected to learn as you go

Budget cuts! ->prod Never that important anyway :D (Yes, a sydneysider!)

I think a lot of people either want a dumb enemy to kill or mistake 'realism' for only simulating their favourite army kicking ass.

Thanks but i meant 'advanced'. I have no trouble manouevering in among guards even at ranges under 50m. However, there are many things you might want to know, like: Upon firing the enemies' senses are greatly heightened to the point where lying in grass/hiding in bushes is not effective - how long before you can resume doing so? When engaging a group you must kill with a single shot and when the target is not within 10 or so metres of his friends (even when silenced) for a good chance for the rest of the group not to notice. Even two shots in quick succession will alert the group to you if the first fails to kill Do AI see muzzle flashes, and from how far? Do shadows affect your visibility to the AI? What transparent objects (such as fences) can the AI see you through, and which cant it see you through? Is the AI less likely to spot you when you are stationary? What part of you does the AI 'spot' (ie, does it need to see the top, bottom, head etc of your model?) IF all, then how much of you does it need to see to spot you? Does the AI get 'suspicious' before it positively identifies you, or is it immediately alert? (ie, can you 'dash' between trees yet have them investigate, not start firing) How far away can the AI hear unsilenced gunshots/supersonic cracks and how many does it take to alert them? What do they do once alerted by gunfire? Can the AI hear your footsteps, even when walking? What effect does difficulty/AI skill have on their ability to spot you? Does AI 'focus' on a spot to identify targets better (ie, if it hasnt noticed you immediately, is there a chance/does the chance rise even if neither of you moves, but you stay within its vision) etc etc Lots of questions basically when you want to use stealth to the maximum possible extent (like trying to pass Cipher 1.40 as a lone Spec OP) And as you mentioned, against people a guide is even more important, like a basic introduction (and examples) of how to use deadspace, when to use vehicles, how far they propagate their noise, how low to fly and how close to players you can land without their being likely to hear or spot you, and whether valleys/hills mask these vehicle's noise and movements. Stuff like that

Chernarussian is literally Czech. I was born there and speak the language fluently but currently live in Australia, so im not an expert on dialects, however i know the more common ones and this does not seem to reflect one specific dialect - rather it reflects whatever dialect the voice actor spoke. The Czech is obviously very well done in this game (seeing as the developers are mostly Czech) to the point where Cooper (not a native Czech speaker) has a very realistic and thick accent when speaking Czech. English and Czech are very well spoken in this game (aside from those automated barks) and frankly i dont know of many other games that try and use multiple languages like this.

Excellent guide. However, this game could use an advanced tactics guide. Particularly the proper way to use stealth, the right way to use and position units and how to give orders to the AI, and whatever other Arma 2 specific tricks a player might need. Just the stealth could use a guide to itself Thanks for this excellent resource though!

Actually i think they are the only ones not doing the whole 'lets mimic the USMC' routine. I just dont see the value in toeing the american ideological line, having millions of players run through virtual Iraqs and Afghanistans fighting small assymetrical battles 'for freedom' (Geopolitics and control of the Middle East). Ok, we still play as the USMC (practically a necessity for sales) but its still not 'America's Army' packed with ideology as a recruitment tool Without passing judgement on what is happening in the real world, there have been quite a few conflicts in temperate regions and the terrain tends to make them more challenging and interesting scenarios. The latest of these is Georgia, but you can also think Yugoslavia or Chechnya. The last title struck a balance with Sahrani but i for one prefer a move to a more European/Eastern European setting and a more complicated war, rather then yet another assymetric insurgency (often in Arab countries) as portrayed in the newer Call of Dutys', Battlefield 2, Black Hawk Down, Delta Force etcetera etcetera. Weve had enough titles that mimic the current preoccupations of American gaming audiences If i did have to pick an Afghanistan war to model id have to say it would be the Russian invasion, which would make for infinitely more interesting material then the latest war. However, if i had my pick id generally leave it to modmakers in the first place. However, i would agree that Afghan mountains are still far more interesting then the desert country of Iraq, which seems to be the unfortunate setting we are going to be getting with Operation Arrowhead. As for assymetric warfare 'showing balls' by 'gunning down (poorly armed) insurgents', it would seem thats what well be getting with Operation Arrowhead, although i have to wonder why it appeals to you so much

What scale is this to? Thanks for including the sunburnt country

They dont see through trees or bushes, but you have to make sure none of you is visible. They also have a hard time spotting you in grass, but seem to be able to see through it when they lie down (ie they still shoot)

Got 100% first time and thats starting with next to no knowledge of what the big dipper or north star is. How would we navigate in the Southern Hemisphere? (Australia here, so its more useful to me) EDIT: Ah right the Southern Cross! Everyone knows that one here! Not as easy as the North Star but not overly difficult EDIT 2: For those that are wondering, you locate the Southern Cross, project a line along its axis from the bottom, then find either the more prominent but slightly less accurate pointer stars Alpha and Beta centauri (very bright) or the more difficult to find but more accurate pointer stars of the Triangulum Australe (fairly dim but close by) to project a perpendicular line from between them toward the line you projected from the Southern Cross. The points where these lines cross are close to the Southern Celestial Pole - the Triangulum Australe lines are easier to visualise and closer to the SCP, but harder to find, while the Alpha and Beta Centauri lines are more difficult to project and thus more prone to error, as well as being a bit further off, but much easier to find At least thats my take. Ok, its not the Dipper and the North Star but it works