MattWales

1) Elcan Spectre DR (I appreciate its in the OpFor optics selection, but I'd like to see it available to all) 2) Eotech 553 with and without the flip-up optical zoom 3) Aimpoint T1 Microdot Cant really think of a 4th - maybe the Trijicon ACOG. The SRS is also a good shout. My 2p. Matt.

Agreed, I noticed this with the Littlebird - when you come in and touch down with any sort of forward air speed, you instantly stick to the ground and stop dead. Helicopters dont do that; if you are on a suitable surface (grass etc) with skids, you will slide for a short distance. Likewise with wheels - if you are on concrete you can actually do rolling landings with a helicopter. This is especially useful if you've just lost your engine and are autorotating in - you cant really get away with coming to a perfect hover when you pull in the collective at the bottom of the dive, so its a flare with an element of forward speed on landing. Again, I refer you to the assault landing performed by the MH-6s in Black Hawk Down - they come in, flare, then set down with maybe 10kts of forward air speed. They slide along the ground a short distance, the SF blokes hop off, and the MH-6s lift and go into the pattern.

Completely agree; having the "perfect green filter" NOD display is wearing a bit thin these days; grainy, and having to take into consideration things like light sources etc - it means a player could use their flashlights as a tactical advantage if they know their opponents are using NVGs. I want that Zero Dark Thirty feel...(GPNVS-18s would be sweet)

Cheers mate!

Shooting from the planks of an MH-9 is a good start though, the framework is there. Thank you BIS - gutted I didnt catch the livechat but I was on shift. This is all sounding awesome, cant wait for the final product...

Daytime, you probably wont see much of a flash. I think it looks pretty close to the mark actually. I dont know about anyone else, but I have noticed that you can get the ocassional round that does produce a bit of a flash. I cant say I have ever seen much of a flash when I have used the L85A2. The flash hider on the A2 is pretty good; I havent used the Vortex flash hider that the newer "gucci" rifles that have the rail systems and newer optics. At night; the flashes are f**king bright - brief - but bright. After heavy use, the barrel will also glow dark orange-red on LMGs/GPMGs. Current military-grade ammunition produces very little smoke in my experience. The only thing you will get is a big smoke ploom from a freshly cleaned rifle that has a bit too much oil residue in the barrel; whilst ArmA 3 is realistic, I think expecting BI to replicate that is a bit much! Now... a rifle that is fresh out of the water would produce a bit of steam, so there is the potential that you could simulate that. The only other thing I'd like to see is the weapons start to produce a bit of smoke from the barrel when they overheat after heavy use - you watch any of the "AK47 Tested to Destruction" videos on YouTube (there are lots) and you'll see this. A rifle barrel gets incredibly hot pretty quickly - I've burnt my hand on one (when I was younger and less experienced - its only something you do once!) and I can only describe the sound as like bacon hitting a hot pan - its not pleasant, but the main thing is, a smoking barrel/handguard looks cool.

Okay, so I'm bored at work and I've started looking at the maps that are coming for A3; They look awesome. And these days, lots of people out ther have iPads, iPhones, or other Android tablets. That got me thinking... Are there any plans for BIS to bring out a selection of maps and/or tools for iOS/Android tablets that integrate with the game? Even something as simple as a map application that you can move around, get a GPS coordinate from, and maybe place a marker down on. Even better would be the ability for "group maps" on the application, so your mates can see the marker you have made. Even better would be it actually being sync'ed with the game, so that youre movements in the game world would automatically be updated on the iPad screen. You could eventually take this to the extent of having different screens for different modes; displays for aircraft such as weapons stores, fuel states, systems checks. For infantry, you could have your radio on one side of it, allowing you to freq swap using the tablet. Submarines/divers could feature the "Nav board" I spoke of in the "Confirmed Features" section of the Arma 3 News Catagory. It could even be tagged onto the existing ArmA Firing Range app. Suppose it would be a simplfied version of a "Blue Force Tracker": Just an idea; are there any ArmA 3 players who dabble in apps for this sort of thing? I have seen the Apps for DayZ so I presumb people use tablets during gameplay. Cheers, Matt.

You want to make an omlette, you gotta break a few eggs... ;) No I completely see where you're coming from, its not an easy undertaking. Whats worse is that there arent any "hard and fast" rules when it comes to what happens - a headshot from a high-calibre round will probably mean they are dead before they hit the floor. Likewise, a round that goes straight through someone and takes out their spinal column might not neccessarily kill them, but they will again go limp pretty much instantly. That of course depends on where it hits them in the spine - if its below the waist, their arms might reach out to stop them from falling, but their legs might not work at all. Even getting hit in the plate of Level IIIA body armour is apparently like being hit with a sledge hammer; you're almost certainly going on your backside if you take anything more than 9x19mm rounds. Its a tough call guys. I personally would say that it should be ragdoll, influenced by the movement/position of the player at that particular moment - if you're leaning around a corner, and you take a round, your centre of gravity will just carry you on over until you fall onto that side. If you are sprinting full-whack down a road and you take a round to the head, you'll probably be moving forward, leaning forward, head down. That way, odds are you'll end up falling forward and crumpling, as well as skid along for a bit as your momentum gets slowed down. That said, if you have a heavy load on your back, such as a rocket or backpack, then chances are you'll fall backwards, but still slip along. I think whoever mentioned it before (forgive me, I cant remember who) but a slightly "less floppy" ragdoll, influenced by CoG, movement and position, would be the best bet. Its never going to be perfect, unless you actually go and find someone willing to get shot in the face for Mocap!

Ah, good point, didnt think about that!

I completely concur with what Capulet has said - I am pretty sure the guys at Magpul Dynamics have done work for the games industry before. If you want to see good examples of animation of tactical movement, go play the latest Medal of Honor offering. I know I'll likely get stoned to death for mentioning that here, but you know what, they're actually pretty accurate in terms of tactical movement. Reading through the thread again, my overriding feeling on it all is this; if you are having to sprint with your pistol, something is badly wrong. Okay, if your rifle has just blown apart in your hands, had a catastrophic failure, bent a firing pin or whatever, fine, I can understand that. If not, holster that f*cker, bring your primary up as you run, and reload it on the move, whilst telling your teammate that you are reloading. If you cant reload on the move, you have no place being an operator. I refer you back to that rule I posted before; "If you arent shooting, you should be moving, reloading and communicating". The point is, you're in a rifle fight, you want your pistol out for the shortest possible time because it just wont cut the mustard when push comes to shove. Now, granted, its a players decision whether he runs with this pistol or not; its part of the gameplay for him/her, however, most of the time, people sprinting with pistols have them back in their holster, because they are working with something else as they run. Chortles; Okay, BIS might not have got it right yet, but the whole point of an Alpha, as Capulet said, is to give feedback in order to help BIS polish off what is already looking to be an excellent product. If they didnt care, they would have done a brief Beta, then slung out the product. I dont know why you think that giving the Costa/Haley methods as an example is a narrow view - have you actually watched any of the series? "Art of the Dynamic Carbine" for example teaches the fundamentals - its giving you some more options for your tool kit, some new ways of looking at things, and being efficient with your weapon. At no point do they say "You MUST do it this way, or else" - they show how they do things and why. They are both experienced operators, and they are trying to impart some of their knowledge for the benefit other people. Not all of their students are ultra high-speed, low-drag SF operators; some are law enforcement, some are just guys wanting to be able to defend their loved ones. The basics always apply.

Supersonic crack does exist; the bigger the round, the bigger the shockwave, the bigger the crack. 7.62mm sounds like a fair sized firecracker. Not sure about .50 Cal and above; I've only experienced the crack of 7.62mm at about 300m - was still pretty loud. That was on a firing range, it was about 2m above my head, still pretty loud. I did notice on some videos of it in ArmA 3 that suppressed pistols firing subsonic ammunition (at least, I hope it was subsonic; from the shooters perspective it sure sounded like it was) still had the supersonic crack when listened to from the muzzle end. If its subsonic, you'll still get the "zzzzzummm" sound (the "angry hornet") but no supersonic crack. If you're reading this BIS, might be worth looking into that.

Most nerve agents, along with some blood agents, yes, however, less advanced stuff (phosgene, chlorine etc) does have an obvious cloud - it is still just as viable. Besides, if you are operating under the chemical safety rule, and you experieince a bombardment of any kind, you mask up until it is proven all clear.

Could be cooling for the computer systems integrated into the HUD - that said, could just as easily be filters for a respirator - should be interesting. Would be neat to see donning a respirator rapidly well simulated - the whole 9 second drill, how it affects a persons fatigue when running, trying to aim whilst wearing it etc; would be a sweet new angle. Imagine a gas attack being simulated on a small scale, especially with the new fog effects BI have got going? I've got visions of an explosion in a town from artillery, followed by a white fog slowly spreading from the impact. That'd be creepy... and awesome.:cool:

Right, let me clear something up, so people don't get the wrong idea about me. My tactical experience is a limited, but fairly comprehensive bit of rifle training as part of my military training (I am NOT an infantryman, I am a trainee Aircrewman). That said, I always pay a lot of attention to weapons training in particular, because if I need to use it in anger, I am having a really shit day already, and I don't want to have to put much thought into utilising my weapon. I have a strong interest in tactical weapons manipulation. With tactical movement and stuff of that nature, I think there's a lot of the old "We draw like this to get the pistol out faster" or "We do that to get the magazine out quicker". You have to look at it from a fundamentals standpoint; there's a reason you want your pistol out quickly- to take out a threat. Why do you want to take out a threat? Because the more threats there are, the more likely you are to get hit. Why quickly? Because once you've taken out one bad guy, you can move to putting rounds onto the next. Why do we want to reduce threats quickly? Because its about exposure time; the more time you're exposed to a threat, the probability of you getting hit goes up, meaning your survivability goes down. But the WHOLE point of being in firefight is so often misconstrued; people think its all about killing bad guys. And yeah, I suppose to a limited extent it is. But the reason you are shooting back is because you want to live as long as possible right? Otherwise, why bother? If your rifle goes tits up, jams, runs dry or whatever, and rounds are coming back towards you, which do you think you are going to live longer behind; a pistol, or hard cover? Cover, every time. If there's no cover available, then the next best thing is to at very least make the other bastard shooting back have to get behind his. If you shoot your pistol in a rifle fight, you're probably (I say probably) shooting at ranges over 75m- maybe more. At this range, you'll be doing well to physically hit what you're aiming at. But, if you start shooting back, the other guy will probably go "Oh Christ" and want to get his head down, because he probably wants to live to. If that gives you the split second you need to run to that low wall over there, DO IT! A rule I strongly believe in (because, like it or not, it's true!) is: It's not the first shot you fire that counts; its the first HIT you make that counts. I'll sum it all up by saying this; Putting cover between you and the enemy is good. Putting bullets between you and the enemy is good. Putting both between you and the enemy is excellent. Below are some rules, that I have blatantly ripped from the Internet. I have removed some of the less applicable ones for brevities sake. That said, most of these make complete sense. Rules of Gunfighting Have a gun. Preferably, have at least two guns. Bring all of your friends who have guns. Anything worth shooting is worth shooting twice. Ammo is cheap. Life is expensive. "Why did you shoot only once? There's no additional paperwork for shooting someone twice!" -- Firearms Instructor P.O.J.D., MOS debriefing after a shooting. Bring ammo. The right ammo. Lots of it. Only hits count. The only thing worse than a miss is a slow miss. If your shooting stance is good, you're probably not moving fast enough or using cover correctly. Proximity negates skill. Distance is your friend. (Lateral and diagonal movement are preferred.) If you can choose what to bring to a gunfight, bring a long gun… and a friend with a long gun. In ten years nobody will remember the details of caliber, stance or tactics. They will only remember who lived. If you are not shooting, you should be communicating, reloading and running. Accuracy is relative: most combat shooting standards will be more dependent on "pucker factor" than the inherent accuracy of the gun. Use a gun that works every time. "All skill is in vain when an Angel pisses in the flintlock of your musket." (In other words, even Navy SEALs have bad days where things go wrong; What makes the difference is how you react) Someday someone may kill you with your own gun, but they should have to beat you to death with it because it is empty. Always cheat, always win. The only unfair fight is the one you lose. "If you find yourself in a fair fight, you didn't plan your mission properly." This is the law: The purpose of fighting is to win. There is no possible victory in defense. The sword is more important than the shield and skill is more important than either. The final weapon is the brain. All else is supplemental. Have a plan. Have a back-up plan, because the first one won't work. Use cover or concealment as much as possible. Flank your adversary when possible. Protect your own flank. Don't drop your guard. There is no such thing as a lull in a firefight. Just an opportunity to reload. Always perform a tactical reload and then threat scan 360 degrees. Decide to be aggressive enough, quickly enough. Deciding to get involved in a fight 10 seconds after it starts is no good to anyone except your adversary. The faster you finish the fight, the less shot you will get. Your number one option for Personal Security is a lifelong commitment to avoidance, deterrence, and de-escalation. Nothing handheld is a reliable stopper. Carry the same gun in the same place all the time.

Can I also make another observation; when transitioning to a pistol, the character slings his weapon onto his back; this NEVER happens. There's the old saying "Don't bring a knife to a gun fight". Travis Haley says in his video "Art of the Tactical Carbine", when talking about pistols "I'm in a rifle fight, I don't want this thing out". A pistol is a back up; its there to be pulled out when your rifle jams or goes empty and you still have an imminent threat presenting itself. It is something you shouldn't willingly use during a rifle fight. If you are going to your pistol whilst in a rifle fight, you want to draw your pistol instantly; don't fanny around slinging your weapon on your back. You dump that bitch (your rifle) as quickly as you can, let it drop in front of you, so it hangs down the centre of your body to your front. At the same time your left hand is bringing your rifle/"primary" weapon down, your right hand is already moving down to your belt/leg to draw your pistol. You then bring it up as your left hand comes up to meet it. Push it out in front of you, front-sight-focus, boom boom. Take out the imminent threats. If you can, get into cover. If safe to do so, put your pistol away, get your primary back into the fight, then continue smoking bad guys. Here are some examples; - This is a very interesting piece on how pistols should be drawn, and why.I appreciate that re-animating is not easy, especially if you have been using live-action actors to record the anatomical movements. However, if the characters are meant to be highly-trained SF operators, door-kicking and ass-banging, then the basics of tactical movement and manipulation of their main tools - their weapons - is vital.