instagoat

Well, from my uneducated perspective, the whole arma thing is one big compromise at every corner. The original engine dates back from before 2000. The first game was released in 2001. (btw the original tech demo can be found here: https://community.bistudio.com/wiki/Poseidon it has really cool music, tanks and choppers.) We are now in 2012, and the basic engine is STILL being used. The reason why we had to wait so long for features like ragdoll and advanced physics was that the core was made in a time before both were fully developed in the gaming industry. I find it pretty miraculous that they´re actually able to still advance and improve the engine, though by now I imagine it´s a pretty big, chaotic behemoth on the inside. https://community.bistudio.com/wiki/Real_Virtuality RV on the biki. If the cryengine were to be developed in as many applications as RV, and for as long a time as RV, it would become similarily complex and capable. It´s rare that a company sticks with one platform for such a long time, however. Most invest tons of money into new, cleaner, streamlined platforms dedicated to fitting the current technology (plus some futureproofing). Instead, BI have chosen an evolutionary approach.

It´s not gonna compare. Crysis is and always was a rather bland, graphics heavy, linear shooter with GPU based physics so people can post youtube videos of blowing up 10.000 cars at once. Arma 3 is an open world battlefield-sim, so the graphics are not gonna be as mindblowing. But with the new physX, I guess you can now blow up 10.000 cars at once too. On that note, I once sent an M1 into low orbit in OFP using three ammo boxes worth of satchel charges. I´ll have fun with that in A3 too when its out, and I actually buy it. Right now I´m not convinced. Unless the SP will be amazing and the game will be bug-free and tightly made on release, my immediate interests lie elsewhere. But, I´ll hold back my opinions until I´ve tried the game at gamescom.

I am wondering if there´s a way to handle large mixed-class units. For example, in one of my missions, I am running a company assault where the platoons are actually single units (so about 40 Units + 5 vehicles of different types in one group.) Right now, the AI commander seems very reluctant to use these units, instead resorting to little 5 man SOF squads or units with few or no vehicles at all, or non-mixed vehicle units. So the bulk of the force gets left behind or LMCU´d while the recon squads do all capturing and fighting. I am currently trying to make a workaround by forcing the units trough the init.sqs with the RHQ_firsttofight thing to actually be used. Have to say, I love this mod. Probably the greatest addition to Arma in ages for me.

I am so making Arma3 fan tabs for my ACU and cover all the velcro! Just bought the tickets, will be there for sure.

DayZ isn´t a sellout game just because it´s successful. It´s risky, and by no means guaranteed success just because the mod was successful. As far as games go, the formula is as good as untested in the mainstream (basically a MMO roguelike zombie apocalypse survival simulator). The last games of a similar type were made in the mid to late 90s and then died off because nobody wanted to put up with them anymore. I think Arma 3 will remain BI´s main stud in the stable, but right now I´m afraid for its success for other reasons than resources being switched over to DayZ. My main worry is that it´s a game that, basically, nobody really cares about because the game concept of "military battlefield simulator" isn´t appealing to anybody. (If it were, people would be searching them out on their own more.) That, and there is no marketing apart from really dry and a little bit boring videos from what amounts to tech demos. Granted, the game is still in alpha, but I am still worried. Features have been taken out: that´s a normal process of development, and I´m not surprised. What surprises me is the amount of effort some of these features seem to take, despite marginal impact on gameplay. (At least I don´t see massive gameplay impacts possible by a 3rd party physics engine, ragdoll or improved amount of lightsources). The only two BIG changes that´ve been somewhat prominently featured are the new movement/animation system, and the gear and inventory layout systems. About the story, we know next to nothing, and what we know is in flux. That is another point of anxiety for me: I am an SP person. I am hoping for a decent campaign (missions at least to the standard of BAF/pre-warfare Harvest Red missions or CWC/Resistance missions. Then there´s the AI, etc, etc, etc. To be honest, I´m a little bit scared of what I am going to see at gamescom, if I manage to get hands on with the game at all.

Question, is there an addon somewhere that doesn´t add Unit markers, but NATO/OPFOR type TASK and situational markers? ie, Markers for frontlines, recced and suspected defensive positions, fortified areas, objectives, blocking positions, IPs, OPs, Casevac locations, things like that? There was an addon like that for Arma and for OFP, however, all marker addons I could find for Arma 2 are only adding Unit markers.

The characters were not as important in OFP as the whole mood and feel. Good voice actors (important!) really contributed to that. What was important in OFP was this sense of something -really- going wrong, and that you had to survive against the odds. It worked because the OFP campaigns were LONG. Harvest Red/OA sucked in comparison because there was literally no time to tell the story. Harvest Red had like 7 missions. 7th OFP mission was "After Montignac". That was when the game only really -started-. Overall Mission count (depending on how you count) was either 39 or 41 (!) missions. A lot of these were just short and to the point, but that was what made them great. Them being to the point. I´ve not played the ACR campaign beyond mission 1 yet, but the first mission, with its procedurally generated nature, seems interesting enough. I hope the glitches will be ironed out in short order, though.

Sometimes, I feel the same, but I keep coming back to put in my two worthless cents. Mistakes happen. As long as they´re ironed out, I don´t mind: ACR is not a full game. If this were Arma 3, it´d be different, but getting upset over the price of a large McDonalds meal is a bit far out there, isn´t it?

I think with the AI, best thing to do to test their behaviour is set up "clean" arenas like I did way back when with my Arma 2 AI videos: Right now it looks like I´ll be at gamescom. Are visitors allowed to peek into the Editor, or is the showcase scenario the only thing you´re allowing us to play with? Because if I could get into the editor, I´d set up something like this just to see what your tweaks so far have done. :P The AI is super-important to me, because I am on terrible net and more often than not cannot play online, especially large-scale and pvp scenarios. So I kind of need to use what´s in the game, and I appreciate every AI mod that I -don´t- need to use (because they can screw with vanilla content, like campaigns or missions). As for the screenshots, I can set up really tight CQB screenshots in OA (or even Arma 1) in twenty minutes, using the editor. Screenshots prove nothing, only video does.

There´s multiple screenshots around with soldiers from both sides using the EBR. Either BI are going for "universal weapons for all sides" Modern Warfare style or it´s a placeholder.

Wow, lots of anger abound. I am happy with the content for 10 bucks, basically. It´d just be nice to see the things that aren´t right be fixed. 15 ish Missions and tons of vehicles and troops are nothing to scoff at. It just shouldn´t have been rushed as it was. Another month or two devtime should´ve been alright.

While the quality of the units is uniform and very very good, I have to concur with the config problems, as well as glitches. I suspect we should make Devheaven tickets if we want to point attention towards things we´d like to have fixed? I paid full price for the DLC, so I´d be very happy if the problems were adressed. What I found so far: BVP-1 Malyutka seems to be borked (aimpoint way above crosshairs.(Seems not to be tab-lockable after all.)) Dingo MG3 sights are on wrong side of turret (Are right side, should be above and left of weapon). Dingo GMG seems to be using Arma 1/OFP muzzle smoke instead of Arma muzzle smoke. T72CZ KORD hinges incorrectly, clips trough its mount or hangs in the air depending on how high/low you aim. Commander optic below the barrel of KORD: no optic modelled there. Should be on top of the hatch? All ACR soldiers speak czech by audio, but actually seem to be configged speaking ENGLISH. Is this intentional to facilitate talking to blufor soldiers? All ACR soldiers have the same face texture. http://imgur.com/hqXJu,msXNk,qDAql screenshots to doc the faces, english speaking ACR and T72 commanders gun hinge. Was this rushed to free up resources for Arma 3? I was surprised at how hastily this seemed to have been released, especially seeing the hitches and glitches around. I´ve also found some typos in the mission descs of the campaign and elsewhere, though right now I can´t recall any specific places. I will check later.

I think nowadays, infantry that has to deal with urban combat puts a lot of training time into transitions and reaction drills involving secondaries. You can be -very- quick with your handgun if you have the right setup and trained hard. Latter is important. I have read an article regarding police that said that to learn how to instinctively draw their firearm, officers have to draw and re-holster the gun blind for about 1000 times before they can do it quickly and reliably, and without fumbling. It´s all about muscle memory. In the heat of battle, conditions are less than Ideal, obviously, which is why military units also train using distruptive training environments to put more stress on the individual soldier, so they learn how to react correctly and quickly even under stress. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L03RJyHAeH0 Not quick, but gives an idea. Obviously specops who do this 40 hours a day would be faster than your average tactilol dude. What´d be cool would be different speeds for actions depending on unit experience/training. Better video.

As one of the old fanatics, I agree. But, if I want to play OFP, I play OFP, not Arma 3. I hope the A3 will actually be massively changed in almost every regard for the better, while still revolving around the core gameplay concept that made CWA/CWC so great to begin with, and allowed the series to carry a dedicated community to this day. I know if the improvements have been successful if my friends pick up the game and say "Yes, I could play this." instead of "How do I play this?". Also, stating that it´s about profit and sales is redundant. The BI founders kind of are living the dream, and to do that you need money. I don´t mind any change for Arma 3, as long as a good game is the result: if you want to play hardcore milsim Arma, stick with A2+ACE2 until ACE3 rolls around. And if you want OFP, play OFP. The only thing A3 should get from OFP:R is a good, -long- (!!!) campaign, with an enjoyable story, a well told story, and interesting but not overly complicated mission design.

Noticed so too a while ago. Apparently they´re just going to be an office force, though. They have an interesting history, at any rate. Difficult to find their march, though. Arirang is easy to find, but they apparently have a special version of it to suit the purpose of a march.

Even a stab into the spine will likely just paralyse them, unless it´s dead on the first time. People are -tough-. And usually, they fight back, so getting that perfect hit is difficult, especially with clothes in the way. I don´t see how a melee option would be useful. I´ve never managed to sneak up on somebody so close that I could´ve knifed them. Try doing that in real life, tell somebody to stand there and say when they first notice you. Try it with them being allowed to look around, and with them only allowed to stare ahead. Even at night, it is -supremely- difficult to get close enough to somebody, with all that gear on, to knife them. And if you do get close, it probably was because the other guy was really distracted (thinking the blackhawk down movie here, where the delta force guys strangle the SPG gunner.). I´m with the motion to focus on proper CQB firefights and AI behaviour, before attempting to put stuff into the game that´s not even going to be used 99% of the time anyway.

Newbies who don´t know how to play the game, terrifying. Seriously, I had no clue wtf I was doing back in 2001 when I got OFP, and it took me a long, long time to figure out how to work the game properly. That was before we had internet even. I welcome the new people. Those who aren´t up to the game will gradually get bored, and a new generation of dedicated players will join the community. Stop combing everyone over the same brush. And if you´re really that upset, lock the server and put a password somewhere where your regulars can find it. Those who are dedicated to your platform will seek out the access codes, so to speak. Make people work a little, if they can´t be bothered to put in the time to do the basics. That said, one problem is that some tutorials are still broken to the point of being unplayable. So, people are learning by doing, and to get good at the game, again, it takes time. Help the noobs, be nice, and ignore the asshats instead of baiting them. Try to be mature about it, too. Most of the time when I see "old timers" "talk" to noobs, they stoop down to the same level as the cowadoody forumites. ie, lots of namecalling and bashing. I had hoped this community was above that, but apparently, that is not so. So far these forums have been without that kind of anger, and I´d rather have it stay that way. My two cents on that. Also DayZ is a great mmo roguelike and a great mod overall. Just not my kind of thing.

The DayZ people are all newbies. And wherever you look, people are being angry at them or whining or complaining about how BIS is focusing on them only. The community doesn´t care about the fact that they´re potential new members, they´re all immediately brushed off and brandished as "casuals". Their behaviour now won´t reflect their behaviour in a years time, and people getting angry will only incite new anger from their side. If we could turn these internet arguments into energy, we´d have a perpetual motion machine going. I´ve been seriously disappointed in the milsim arma communities behaviour towards these new people. And saying they started it is also not an excuse. Arma as a game isn´t successful because it is not really a game, it´s a toybox for military hobbyists and programming experts. The learning curve is extremely steep, the game design is often sub-par and mission design after OFP has often been lackluster (my biggest gripe is extreme complexity, while still failing to provide adequate information flow to the player (what am I supposed to be doing, how do I get there, what is my progress), with some egregious examples in the Arrowhead and TOH campaigns. I wouldn´t even know -how- to advertise this as a game right now. I hope Arma 3 will correct all the major problems, not so much on the feature side, but on the design and gameplay side. Because that´s where people are drawn. Not with rucksacks, realistic tracers and correct sowing-lines on shirt sleeves. My two cents.

Hello, Occasionally, I am getting bad lockups, freezes and graphical glitches. Every time I look around (especially on maps dense on objects) the game freezes anywhere from a couple of seconds to multiple minutes. This happens both when running the game vanilla, and running beta patch (not release candidate) + merged with Arma CO. http://imgur.com/jczpi Any help would be appreciated.

Never got written because I took another look at the location in google earth and found that for any kind of military advance, it didn´t make any sense. Plus, the location of the OP is bollocks, they maybe have a kilometer view down the valley on a four hundred meters wide strip of the border and the hill on the other side. I might write up something new at some point, if Inspiration strikes. These are really intended as little mood-bites to give a feel of how the troops on one or the other side are living prior to the conflict kicking off.

Nothing happening at 8:36. I like the MG reloading anim too, despite the clipping issues with the sight.

Looks like I´ll be there. Be prepared for awkward conversations, BI! I am very very bad at talking to people irl. Also I will be extremely critical and unforgiving and asking uncomfortable questions. :< I hope I´ll get hands on too, and not just look over someones shoulder.

Actually, that looks like the heavy vest also worn by the guy in the background on this screenshot: http://www.armaholic.com/datas/users/doupe_cz_e3_2012_1_4.jpg <- the EBR marksman. Either that, or we´re collectively hallucinating.

I see! The addon is giving me itches in the fingertips. The rumours I also heard in interviews elsewhere makes me kind of anxious to try it... I hope it´ll be as polished as the BAF DLC, which kind of is the gold standard right now. Maybe you can one-up that even. I will be clear on my finances this month in two weeks, and if I have the spare cash, I´ll preorder this fo sho.

http://a3.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/243720_10150921995246017_1300156644_o.jpg What is that black stripe on his back. Shader error? Looks good so far, tempted to preorder like the other DLCs. Just after the so-so model quality of PMC, I´m a little bit hesitant.