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!

Just wondering what peoples thoughts are on this; I notice on a lot of videos on MP gameplay (Be it co-op or other) that there is a lot of coordination done by assets that normally wouldnt, and shouldnt be tasked with it. Heres what I mean; Lets say you are planning a coordinated raid on an HVT. You have multiple air assets, multiple ground assets, and many people doing many things at the same time. For a guy on the ground to fight, coordinate both air and ground forces, and move, is doable, but bloody difficult. Especially when you are flipping between your map, your first-person view, using teamspeak and switching between channels, you cant perform your most basic task - that of an infantryman. Aside of a Forward Air Controller, most guys on the ground will be involved in directly fighting the enemy. Yes, FACs are responsible for deconflicting air assets, and integrating precision fires with ground forces movements. But when you might have 3-4 helicopters, fast jets, multiple ground callsigns, vehicles, etc etc. Most Direct-Action operations have some form Command & Control (C2) element, whos task is to make sure that there is coordination between the air and ground assets. Usually, they comprise of an air element commander and a ground element commander, sat side-by-side, making the liason between the two much easier. They have FLIR cameras that allow them to watch in real-time what is going on on the ground, and a plethora of maps, radios, and communications gear. Example: See 'Spoiler' The point is that the actual liasing between the two forces, coordinating movements etc, is all done from one aircraft orbiting above the battlefield. The specific units that are actually conducting the assault only have to move, shoot, and communicate amongst themselves and to the ground element commander. They dont have to find LZs, switch radio frequencies to the air net back and forth. Things move smoothly, as they should. For an example of what I mean, watch the initial moments of the assault in Black Hawk Down - the C2 aircraft flies around above the attack, coordinating the assault and the later movements of the ground forces when something goes wrong. Granted, they dont always get it right, but they make the movements and coordination of the teams a damnsight easier. They also provide the extra ability to see "the bigger picture" - by watching the raid through the FLIR (using PIP that is now present in ArmA3, the C2 aircraft might see that ambush being set up that nobody else has noticed. They can plot it straight to their own maps, directing CAS aircraft to attack it. They can lase targets themselves, should the ground forces be completely pinned down and unable to deploy a SOFLAM. That said, having not played a large-scale game where this might be applicable, I am wondering whether or not this would actually be of use? It might provide some nice depth, and a novel new position to play in, especially when you arent on a server where everyone wants to be General Patton. So, as per the title...discuss! Matt.

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.

Would 8GB of DDR5 ram be a better shout?

Awesome, thank you!

Morning all, This may seem like a bit of a weird question, but I figure I'd ask anyway; I'm looking at a little DIY project of turning a standard "push-pull" PC throttle unit into a Collective control for ArmA 3 - the idea being, the throttle is set into a frame which is then rigged up on the side of the chair, so when you pull the collective lever up, provided the control scheme is configured correctly within the game (just a question of reversing the axis if needs be), the throttle increases and the helicopter goes up. I can then extend out the wiring from the buttons in the original throttle module so I can assign them to whatever is suitable. I intend to get a 3D printed handle for the end of the collective, within which I will mount the buttons. The frame will be made from MDF wood, with a mix of PVC plastic piping and MDF. It will remain a USB-connected device. Obviously, using a helicopter collective to control a fast-jet is going to be a bit of a pain in the backside, as "throttling up" by pulling the lever up is counter intuitive for a fixed-wing aircraft - you push the throttle forward to increase thrust. So, instead, I would have a seperate throttle module on the desk that I would use for fixed-wing. My question is, will there be any issues with having TWO throttle modules and 1 joystick connected via USB, or will I only be able to use one throttle module at a time? Would I be able to use a USB input switcher, and would this require me to leave the game in order for the newly selected throttle set-up to work? I understand I can set up different buttons and axis for different things on different vehicle types, my question is, can I have seperate 3 seperate inputs - One joystick, two throttle modules? Cheers for any help on this! Matt.

Okay, so by my understanding, I could have two joysticks plugged in (as, from further research, it appears that most of them, despite sometimes being seperate modules, are actually connected via a single USB port. Im not tech-savvy enough to start playing with electronics that much!) and assign different inputs from those two joysticks to different controls for each vehicle. So, what I intend to do: HELICOPTER COLLECTIVE CONTROL MODULE: 1 cheap USB joystick, chop it up, use the buttons from the joystick and the throttle lever but not the actual "X/Y" axis inputs of the joystick; just the throttle lever and buttons from the joystick. Effectively, the collective module is one whole joystick system, (and therefore 1 USB input), but I am only using a handful of the actual available inputs. HELICOPTER CYCLIC CONTROL MODULE : Seperate USB Joystick on desk, which would be used for X/Y inputs, as well as using some of the buttons/hat switches. This effectively means using two seperate joystick modules together, one providing some control inputs, the other providing the rest. Then... FIXED WING THROTTLE: Standard joystick throttle module on desk, with inputs assigned to the correct vehicle controls in the options on the game. FIXED WING CONTROL COLUMN: The same joystick used for the HELICOPTER CYCLIC. In effect, I am only ever using one throttle at any time. I suppose the easiest way to sum this question up; If I plugged in two USB joysticks, could I use half the inputs of one and half the inputs of the other at the same time? RE: Anologue control - the throttle would need to be analogue - most if not all USB joystick throttles are analogue, how would this affect the game/control inputs? A helicopter doesnt fly so well with either 0% or 100% throttle! Many thanks Matt.

Okay, updated idea of what specs I am going for, and therefore an updated opinion requested: Vantage Blue Gaming Case with LED Fans . Intel Ivy Bridge I7 3770K 3.5ghz 8mb Cache - Would probably OC it up to a higher but still safe level, say 4.4Ghz 16gb DDR3 1600mhz ATI Radeon 7950 3gb with HDMI 240gb SSD 1TB HDD

I for one would HATE to see that - if you cant see the sniper, you cant see him - as per the real world. His position wouldnt be betrayed by a glinting "strobing" optic lense if his rifle is set up to prevent it. Snipers for the most part are highly-trained professionals who are masters of their art, including camouflage. I have never known games turn into "sniper camp-fests" - sniping is too difficult in the game to make it "impossible" to escape from them. However, if you are talking about a pair of binoculars/spotting scope that hasnt been correctly rigged up, then yes, glinting is a good shout.

I'm going to reiterate my request that helicopter passengers can, where suitable, use small arms to engage targets whilst on the move, as I feel this is FAR too important for BI to miss out. This is bread and butter for modern (SOF) operations. Further, imagine the diversity it lends to the game in terms of options for mission editors; -Taking out a vehicles driver/tyres on a HVT capture raid (remember some of the opening scenes of Black Hawk Down? "Single shot through the engine block!") -Taking out a speedboat/skiff engine during Anti-Piracy ops -Covering a hostage rescue mission from the air -Taking out light aircraft without using jets - Taking out suicide bombers in a crowd of people - Escorting a vehicle convoy in urban terrain. The options are limitless; ShackTac showed how it was possible, and used to to great effect on many of their MP missions; go watch some of the videos of their online play. Absolutely awesome stuff, with a simple addition to the game. I'm also going to suggest that dropping guys into water from 5m or so should carry no damage with it whatsoever; imagine how cool it would look flying low and slow as combat divers dropped off the planks of a Littlebird or MH47E...

Has there been any news/evidence of a Divers/Parachutist Nav Board yet? http://img.tapatalk.com/d/13/05/12/e5ahazyg.jpg (153 kB) I know there is a specific "Wishes and Ideas" thread, but I feel this should almost be a necessity, to the point where I think "Surely they must have". BI are effectively making the first commercially available Combat Diving sim as part of ArmA 3, and to that extent, if their other titles are anything to go by, they don't do stuff by halves. Navigation with a compass and timer by day is a skill in itself. Navigation at night using a compass and timer is harder. By night, in crap weather, with a compass and a timer is bloody hard. Not wanting to boast, but I can, and have, done all three and would like to think that I am pretty good at it. Navigation at night, in adverse weather, under water, with low visibility, in a combat environment, is Degree-level stuff. If you are moving long distances from a delivery point, to a specific point on a beach, with minimal/no GPS (at the surface, you can get a fix pretty quickly. Descend more than 2 meters, its not reliable), at night, with low visibility, and are trying to be stealthy, you will NEED a Nav Board. The same applies to HAHO jumps; something like this will help guide you into an LZ. Further, look at pictures of infantry in Afghanistan/Iraq. Play a game; spot the Garmin GPS. Lots of guys are using wrist-mounted Foretrex GPS systems like this; Any evidence of these being included? I know there are very talented guys out there who can probably create an addon for these things in their sleep, but I can't help but think that BI will probably already have these built in; I'd just like to see some proof!

It should boil down to basic trauma medicine; big bleeds, respiratory/cardiac injuries, and head injuries are the most serious. The game should simulate this. Depending on what happens, you can treat some things relatively effectively using some basic medical kit: Say you get a round that tears straight through your femoral artery; there is a damn good chance you will bleed out in 5 or so minutes. Sticking a CAT Torniquet on and a FFD will generally keep someone ticking over for a while. If you can use a HemCon pad or a sachet of QuikClot, all the better. Then, you need to be evacuated - 5 minutes ago - onto a trauma surgeons table. A small frag laceration to the arm will bloody hurt, but it can be fairly effectively treated using the contents of an IFAK (Infantry First Aid Kit) with a FFD, and won't require instant evacuation from the battlefield. Sure, your aim might go a bit squiffy, and it will need looking at, but unless you're really unlucky, you should be fine. My 2 cents; if you are shot in the chest and start bleeding, step on a mine/IED, or any other major trauma, you will need more than the average IFAK contents to keep you alive - bring in the CMT/PJ/Corpsman to stabilise the casualty and prep them. You are effectively out of the firefight. You won't be able to treat yourself much more than put a tourniquet/FFD on and scream for a medic. If you are 10m from a frag grenade going off and catch a bit of shrapnel, it'll fucking hurt and your aim will go; you may even get thrown onto your backside, but you can break out a FFD and sort yourself out enough to keep on fighting until its safe to see a medic. Differing calibre of round is a whole other kettle of fish; 7.62mm rounds will take off limbs at close range, and I don't want to open that particular can of worms on this thread!