royaltyinexile
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Posts posted by royaltyinexile
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QuoteUNIT: @defwen, Level Designer, Argo
TO: Arma 3 Dev-Branch Users
OPSUM: Back to the Future: re-building Malden for 2035
EVALUATION:
Terrains have always played a very important role in our games - and a recent Dev-Branch update has brought you a new one: Malden 2035. It might sound familiar to our veteran players, as Malden was one of three islands in our first game, Arma: Cold War Assault. It's not just a simple recreation of the classic terrain, though. We've added new places, structures, and our approach was very different from the creation of our previous terrains. In this OPREP, we'd like to invite you backstage of Malden's development.-
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QuoteUNIT: @saul, External Developer, BRAVO ZERO ONE Studios
TO: Arma 3 Dev-Branch Users
OPSUM: Partnering up to bring you the best DLC jet!
EVALUATION:
Hello, my name is Joshua "Saul" Carpenter, Project Lead at BRAVO ZERO ONE Studios. Together with Bohemia Interactive, we are proud to present the Arma 3 Jets DLC. In this OPREP, we'll briefly delve into the DLC's content and its development.
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UNIT: @Edge, Combat Patrol co-author
TO: Arma 3 Dev-Branch Users
OPSUM: Introducing an experimental cooperative scenario
EVALUATION:
One of the latest Arma 3 Dev-Branch updates introduced a prototype of a cooperative scenario called COOP 12 Combat Patrol. The development of this scenario started out as a pet project by our Senior Technical Designer Josef and myself more than two years ago. It's now evolved into what might become an official multiplayer scenario/mode in the game.
However, before that happens, we wanted to share it with you and see whether you like it as much as we do.
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UNIT: Richard Biely, Programmer, Programming Dept.
TO: Arma 3 Dev-Branch Users
OPSUM: Introducing 64-bit Arma 3 - what, why, and how!
EVALUATION:
In recent years, a growing number of developers have released their games with 64-bit support. Many of our own community have hoped or suspected that, sooner or later, this simply had to happen to our beloved series as well. To live up to your hopes - we are proud to announce that 64-bit Arma 3 is knocking right at your door, now released on Dev-Branch.
But what exactly are the benefits of having a 64-bit game, what does it mean for you as gamers, and why did you have to wait until now?-
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QuoteUNIT: Petr Kolář, Project Lead
TO: Arma 3 Users
OPSUM: Cleaning the past for a brighter future
EVALUATION:
In the latest Arma 3 Main-Branch Update (1.66), we finally managed to do something that many people in the community have asked for. Instead of spending time on developing new content and features, we focused solely on fixing the various issues that had been multiplying under the hood.
This 'Clean Sweep', as we call it, consisted of a triage of issues reported in our systems, and fixing as many as possible over the course of one month. The result of this effort was Update 1.66, but what exactly is a Clean Sweep, and how does it work?
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You should also consider to use the additional time to collect more feedback.
Just to be sure, that's definitely the plan. It accidentally snuck into the RC, and has since continued to change internally.
Once it hits Dev-Branch (which may possibly be right after 166), the designer responsible for the work plans to open up a thread and collect feedback on the state (for now it's considered a bit obsolete, as I get it).
Apologies for any confusion so far!
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UNIT: Thomas Ryan, Senior Designer, Design Dept. (Mike)
TO: Arma 3 Users
OPSUM: Exploring Update 1.64's improvements to the Apex Protocol co-operative campaign
EVALUATION:
Thanks to your feedback, we've been working on some significant changes and improvements to Apex Protocol, which will be making their way to you as part of Arma 3's upcoming Update 1.64. As part of this effort, we'd like to take this opportunity to establish the motivations behind these changes in order for you to have a clearer picture - when they go live - of where we came from, where we are, and where we're going.-
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Ok, so the visual upgrade on unenterable buildings is great. Now, why are 90% of the buildings undestructable? Especially the buildings that are enterable? Mods such as ALIVE use those buildings as insurgent installations, and trigger the installation as dealt with when the building is destroyed.
We talked a bit about the balance of enterable / destructable buildings in a previous REP:
Our stance on building interiors has changed from the main game's terrains. In the broadest terms, fewer buildings will be fully enterable. You'll find more buildings that are partly enterable, and also some that cannot be entered at all. Kavala's hospital is an example of being partly accessible. There are various reasons for this approach. We all know that Altis had a great many enterable buildings, but they were void of furniture and felt suspiciously empty. We don't have the resources to solve this by producing top-notch varied interiors for all buildings. There is also performance to consider, which is helped by having more solid structures. This topic may be controversial, but we felt it better to be open about this at an early stage. We're still producing the final structures and experimenting with the balance, but it's quite clear not every building will have a full interior.
As mentioned in my above post, our artists have kicked off the process of investing time / effort into post-release updates by addressing the issue of un/openable doors. However, we're also preparing additional work, which includes planning for more ruin states, and perhaps even more besides.
Although we're not yet in a position to make solid promises, we do recognise the long term benefit of making improvements to our terrains to stand the test of time. Finding a balance between this support and planning new work is something we're evaluating carefully for our 16-17 roadmap.
Also, as mentioned, we hope to see a proper OPREP on the topic, once we can share our plans with a bit more confidence. Thanks to others for other bits of feedback (here and on twitter); there are some interesting points to share with the Art team!
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Building upon some splendid community feedback, the Art Department in MnÃÅ¡ek pod Brdy (AKA Team Mike) has been experimenting with some improvements to certain Tanoa structures. To kick things off, they've been looking at ways to communicate the accessibility of buildings more effectively. Their first goal is to make enterable and non-enterable buildings more clearly recognisable (ie avoiding situations where players to run up to doors and discover that they can't be opened).Of course, the terrain is already released and many community scenarios are already built. With this in mind, the improvements focus on the addition of simple models, such as locks, barricades, etc., placed in the immediate proximity of doors. We hope these will be consistent and recognisable, without unduly affecting any existing community content; players should immediately know whether or not the building they're looking at can serve as a hide-out.Some WIP concepts here: https://twitter.com/jaycroweuk/status/770600973437956096As the work has only recently started, we don't expect to release it with the forthcoming update (1.64); however, a few changes have started to appear on Dev-Branch recently, with more expected to appear over time. It's also worth mentioning that this is part of a longer-term, post-release effort to support (all of) our terrains. We hope to share an OPREP sharing our motivations / the possibilities in a bit more detail soonâ„¢.
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UNIT: Jay Crowe, Creative Director
TO: Arma 3 Players
OPSUM: Introducing Our 'Official' Steam Workshop Item
EVALUATION:
For more than a decade now, our series has proudly served as a platform for a broad range of gameplay experiences. In celebration of this effort - and to showcase just how easy it can be to discover, install, and maintain custom content - we're releasing our very own 'official mod'.We'd like to talk a bit about what modding means to Arma 3, introduce the mod itself, and review the official tools and resources available to creators.-
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UNIT: Pavel Guglava, Senior Artist, Art Dept.
TO: Arma 3 Dev-Branch Users
OPSUM: Introducing splendid upgrades to Arma 3's lighting and visuals.
EVALUATION:
With the aim of pushing authenticity one step further, we have decided to upgrade the visual fidelity of Arma 3's terrains.Although you are going to see the difference on first sight (available right now on Dev-Branch, and currently pencilled in - for everyone, for free - in Update 1.60, on the #RoadToApex), technology-wise, there is a lot going on under the new and vivid hood, which we'd like to share with our community.-
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Is suppression in the main build, or is it DLC ? I saw Marksman DLC mentioned somewhere.
I can see how there could be a bit of confusion.
In Marksmen DLC, one of the platform features we added was 'Suppression'. We described the feature in the release blog like this:
Concentrated fire in the immediate vicinity of an enemy degrades their ability to move and return fire. Our AI can now detect projectiles flying / impacting near them, so they'll try to avoid taking cover in areas under heavy fire, and will also receive cumulative 'dynamic aiming error' penalties (making them less quick / accurate in their reaction).
This mechanic offers a certain depth of simulation, accounting for the calibre of the suppressing weapon and the skill of the AI under fire. With intelligent planning and movement, squads can cooperate to gain a tactical advantage, out-maneuvering enemy positions - or securing a safe retreat!This laid the groundwork for more features. Now (on Dev-Branch / on Default Branch at some time on the #RoadToApex), it's possible for commanders to order their subordinates to lay down 'suppressive fire' on / around a certain area. Together, these features improve players' ability to plan / move more tactically.
If you know / suspect an enemy position - but don't have a direct line of sight - it's possible to order units to target / shoot at 'empty' spaces (there are some limitations. If AI see friendly units or civilians, they won't shoot); previously, it was only possible to target a legitimate, known, target.
Best,
RiE
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UNIT: Greg Becksted, Community Developer, Publishing Dept.
TO: Arma 3 Users
OPSUM: Reflecting on the first official Arma 3 tournament
EVALUATION:
Welcome to a special OPREP on the Arma 3 End Game Tournament.Here we'd like to briefly discuss the higher level goals of the End Game Tournament, provide a short summary of how it progressed, and share some of the key lessons learned.
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UNIT: Bořivoj Hlava, Senior Designer, Sandbox Design Dept.
TO: Arma 3 Dev-Branch Users
OPSUM: Sharing our plans for upcoming Server Browser advancements.
EVALUATION:
As the name of this blog has probably told you already, our next planned step is to overhaul the server browsing experience. Besides the UI changes, we would also like to present various new or improved functionality features.The biggest themes of our ongoing work are definitely advanced filtering and extended mod support. To achieve all this, we needed to do another significant step and move the new Server Browser into the Launcher.
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Are the Firearm 'tail' sound effects now playing back in mono(stereo emitter?)? Everything now seems very central since the last update.
No, that would be the opposite; rather: the closer you get to a sound source, the more stereo is played.
Are you experiencing this issue on Main Branch or Dev? Is it specific to the 'tails' (i.e. the part of the shot that changes based on your environment?)
We will also make additional changes to weapon tails as part of some new configuration of audio for Eden Update; so it's possible something has gone awry in the short term. I'll check on Monday.
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It is common that members within a community come and go and having this bound to the bohemia account does not seem a good idea. Otherwise I have to say it looks really good!
Definitely a good point. Group ownership and (multi-user) administration is something linked to the next steps for the Units service, related to the overall 'join' functionality.
You're right that community leadership can change / grow from time to time, and it will be important for us to support that if we want to keep an up to date directory of units.
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Sounds good to me. You will probably have less problems later on, if you use non-public/non-userdefined keys in your database from the beginning (if it is not already too late). For example a autoincremented ID instead of the squadname as pimary key and for relations (assuming you use a relational database).
It was mentioned that squad.xml replacement is a long term goal. But it can already be archieved by generating a "virtual" squad.xml by php/js/node. You should maybe considering this as an interim solution. Some communities are already using dynamically generated squad.xml. A page like arma3.com/units/player/neoarmageddon/squad.xml will simply return a script generated squad.xml (virtual file) with the A3 units data.
This way we can test the usefulness of Units serving squad.xml data (and it is really simple to implement).
From the start, the primary keys are not tied to the unit name, so we should avoid the type of issues that could arise from that. However, I did make a mistake in saying Unit tags are not unique. At the moment they actually are, but I think such a constraint could be needlessly punishing in the long term.
As for squad.xml, yes, there's the type of solution you've mentioned, and some simple form / wizard would be the simplest next step, but we're also considering how this may be integrated directly in game / in launcher to make it easier (particularly for those that may flick between units). However this may also be bound up with 'joining' units, which is a feature outside the scope of the foundation release. So some interim squad.xml creator hosted on our servers wouldn't be ruled out!
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UNIT: Korneel van 't Land, Greg Becksted, Jervant Malakjan, Brand/Community/Web Development
TO: Arma 3 Players
OPSUM: Introducing our development plans for Arma 3 Units
EVALUATION:
Over the next few weeks we'll be rolling out 'Arma 3 Units' – a web-based service for connecting Arma 3 players to Arma community groups.Via this OPREP, we would like to introduce the concept, explain the scope of its 'Foundation Release', and present our near-future development plans.
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Another problem is: Will Tags be used as identifiers? Do they need to be unique? There will definitly be collisions between tags and even squadnames!
So far, [TAG]s are not unique, but must be 2-5 chars long; but Unit names are identifiers and do need to be unique, and, yes, this could lead to some duplicity in the end.
Like most services, we'll probably have to adopt a first-come policy, but - in clear examples of 'squatting' on names / cloning, etc - we have a reporting system in place to enable us to take a look at the accounts in question.
Considering after-creation name changes vs the existing uses of identifiers etc, is certainly a valid question, and something we'll definitely have to tackle as we move past the foundation release to things like joining and events - great point!
Best,
RiE
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Just had a play around in the new End Game additions.
Thanks for the rapid feedback!
For those curious to know a bit more, we updated the announce thread with a few notes on the End Game additions.
Best,
RiE
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It's been a wee while since our last official End Game update, but today's Dev-Branch update contained a few splendid developments!For us, End Game has been a great place to try out new ideas, validate improvements to existing systems, and, most crucially, demonstrate the superiority of the Mnisek team in our internal play-tests. Nexus Update, our next major deliverable, will include new 2 instances - Feres and Zaros - alongside a bunch of improvements and additions. Let's take a quick peek.End Game InstancesAside from some small tweaks to the logic of the mode (e.g., after each side's FOB is establish, additional vehicles are air-dropped), the 'instances' have been refined with improved compositions and new models, such as the upload terminal and schematics 'tablet'. The centrepiece of the development, however, is the two new instances.EG FeresThis instance takes the existing (End Game Kavala) concept and opens up the AO. With a bigger area, more intel objectives to assault and secure, and an increased player count (16v16), our goal is to encourage planning and squad management. Successful sides will divide up into smaller units, and coordinate / prioritise their movements carefully.EG ZarosFocusing on smaller-scale tactics, Zaros is quite the opposite of Feres, more like an intense version of EG Kavala. The AO is more concentrated; the order in which to approach to objectives is less important than the ability to move quickly and effectively. Successful teams will be fast and lethal. Keeping team mates alive and maintaining a numerical advantage - particularly in the relatively exposed phase three upload sites - is the key to victory.End Game SpectatorOur scenarios have new lobby slots available, where players can choose to watch the games. It's in a relatively early state, but the good news is that - like our other MP systems - our spectator camera is being designed to be pretty modular (and extensible). We've opened up a dedicated forum thread with a more in-depth introduction (and disclaimers!), where you can also offer up some feedback!Other MP SystemsWork on Revive, Shared Objectives, and Dynamic Groups has continued (although, we must report, not as quickly as we'd originally hoped). Engine support for these scripted prototypes has been bumped back to later deliverables, as we switched around our development resources and priorities (such as recent changes to remote execution, which have brought welcome improvements to MP performance and security). Let's take a look at the progress in the mean time.ReviveWith Revive in particular, we want to take some time to get itrightsplendid. Simulating the incapacitated state and implementing robust (and consistent) interaction mechanics are the keys to further development, pencilled in for Apex. However, in the short term, we'll be implementing network traffic optimisations to the scripted prototype. Of course, we also have a backlog of additional features / customisation hooks, some of which derive from the splendid feedback discussed on these forums.Shared ObjectivesTranslating the scripted prototype to engine is under way; however, the scope of the work has increased a bit. Now, we're aiming to overhaul the entire task framework, so the objectives you see in End Game will be used everywhere (with some appropriate adjustments). We now expect it to be part of the other usability improvements of Eden Update.Dynamic GroupsOf all the scripted system first trialled in End Game's public beta, Dynamic Groups is the most stable. Although we recognise that we're still missing certain refinements and features, we've chosen to first invest programming resources in other areas, and plan to return to this system for Apex.In the continued development of End Game, our goal is to create a solid basis for future MP content, using the mode to refine shared systems, identify / solve performance and network traffic bottlenecks, and validate improvements in other areas. With your help, we hope to continue to improve and expand our platform together!Best,RiE
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As our recent roadmap (ahem, vaguely) alluded to, Nexus Update will see the introduction of some new audio features. We didn't go into too many specifics in the roadmap; in part, this was to 'keep it simple' but, also, we weren't 100% certain about the timing of the audio updates.
Since then, some features have slipped into the Eden Update; however, a few nice improvements are on the way, one of which has snuck onto Dev-Branch already.
- Tweaked: Sound - Engine core update (Stereo Emitter)
The goal of this update is to improve the richness / 'texture' of the soundscape, by playing stereo samples at close ranges. In simplistic terms, this technology enables us to define, based on distance, whether a sound source is 'mono', 'stereo', or a 'mix' of the two.
In our previous implementation (ahem, for 15 years :)), stereo samples were used, but the engine down-mixed these samples (as mono). Now, in the new implementation, the closer you are to the source, the more 'stereo' the sound is (from 0 to 100%).
- Currently, a sound source will start to 'spread' to stereo at 3 meters (which will be adjusted in future)
- This value is currently global (it applies to all sound sources with stereo samples)
- In future, it will be possible to define it per sound source
- This relates to future changes to the way sound is configured, which we'll share soon
- Once this happens, we will re-balance the ranges and volumes (e.g., a helicopter will be configured differently than a rifle)
- It's more obvious with headphones and recently improved samples, such as explosions and shooting
Our Audio lead, Dusa, will drop by the forums later to consider any feedback, answer some questions, and generally dig down into more of the technical details.
By this time, we should also have some clearer sense of the other audio development we expect to make it into Nexus. That being said, we do expect the bulk of the larger improvements to be rolled out after Nexus, on the road to Eden (and Apex).
Same here since a recent update : saving or pausing the game for more than a few seconds will stop or restart sound tracks...
Thanks for the note. We are aware of these issues (caused by the above-mentioned 'core update'), and should push out a fix to Dev-Branch asap.
Best,
RiE
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Even the less noticed addition of "more defined hit impacts" in the latest devbranch to "spot if you a hit target better". BI you're taking away the originality of Arma and turning it into another generic shooter with a big map... Is that what you want?! Before this I didn't think so. Now I see no other explanation...
Just wanted to share a quick note about this one. Part of the motivation for adding more feedback to engaging targets relates to some of the inherent limitations we face. During the Apex pre-production phase, we asked ourselves if it would be feasible to create a more advanced system, where successfully engaged target could, for example, be knocked down.
Unfortunately, our animation system, together with a number of other related factors, wasn't able to support this. We had to consider other methods. Particle effects linked to the calibre of the round are a fairly robust, intuitive, compromise (although players should be able to disable these in the game options if it's not to their taste).
We asked this question because we felt our existing solution both failed to adequately represent its real-life analogue, and to meet our design goal of letting players know when their shots connect. Indeed, the fact we have large terrains (and, therein, potentially large engagement distances) makes it more important to offer this type of feedback.
While I don't think it's pandering to a 'casual audience' to reach that conclusion, I also recognise it's not up to players to care about the constraints of our animation technology. We'll take that hit (*cloud of blood spawns*). I could go on about everything else happening under the hood when a target is struck (recently added dynamic aiming error, etc), but this topic is about fatigue feedback, and I've derailed things for quite long enough. :)
Your character simply doesn't get tired. Irregardless of the situation. The weapon sway due to non sprinting action is pretty much negligible. Very moderate, and can't seem to build it up to last more than 15 seconds even after 10km jog 95% encumbered, running up hills... gear, terrain, pathfinding, pace, planning etc.
Although I'll try to leave additional feedback to the chaps handling the feature, I'll note my perspective briefly, which relates to your above criticisms (suffice to say, thanks for the feedback). I think it's not quite clear enough that the new system has been released to Dev-Branch at an early stage. The team felt that, on balance, publishing the system 'in the wild' was the best route. It's fair to say that a number of aspects (recovery conditions, rates of decay, sway duties, etc). can - and should - be improved.
Ultimately, we have to compare the performance of the system against our originally stated design goals. In my view, if our end goal is to create a mechanic that:
- Encourages players to consider their loadout
- Asks players to plan their movement
- Rewards players that make objectively better choices
- Prohibits players from selecting unrealistic loadouts
- Is transparent and comprehensible for players
Then, bluntly put - in its current, fresh-out-the-oven incarnation - it fails to satisfactorily meet a number of those criteria. We must ask how it fails to meet them satisfactorily, and identify things to add, change, or remove.
Lastly, and it's Sunday, and it's late, so bear with me, I want to offer some sort of note of hope: although next week is going to be long and stressful and in large parts smothered in rage, we have some truly dedicated designers that will be doing little else than listening to feedback, making plans, and implementing improvements.
This is certainly one of those topic that incites a lot of passion, which speaks to the dedication of the community and devs alike, but it's one I hope that can be conducted with civility and patience. Thanks again to all for sharing their views so far.
Best,
RiE
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UNIT: Miloslav Cinko, Design Lead, Sandbox Design Dept.
TO: Arma 3 Dev-Branch Players
OPSUM: Discussing iterations of Fatigue (Stamina) and Personal Protective Equipment for Nexus Update
EVALUATION:
Recently, we've been working on some changes that will alter the in-game experience, and we'd like to make sure everyone understands our motivation for making these changes.We wish to tell you what we've changed in regard to hitpoints, hit reactions and stamina, and how you and your friends can use these improved game systems to gain an edge in combat situations.-
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Laws of War DLC Feedback
in ARMA 3 - DLC
Posted
I concede that they're similar, but - for the record - this is a new (for A3) set of actors (Dan Brown and 'Splendid cameos' aside). Nathan is voiced by Lane Davies, while the CTRG Commander from AP is Bob Boudreaux. :)
Also, generally, thanks to all for their feedback - on this, and other threads - thus far; lots of good points, and plenty of ammunition for debates inside the dev team!
(p.s. the lack of an orange emoticon on these forums must be a priority 1 fix!
)