Development Blog & Reveals

Another E3 Showcase and another comment section turns into a battlefield between ARMA II fans and DayZ fans. *Sigh*

Another E3 Showcase and another comment section turns into a battlefield between ARMA II fans and DayZ fans. *Sigh*

Youtube commenters are generally idiots. It happens.

Could someone point me where we can see PhysX impact in this video :confused:

We can't see much of it really. :p

Although, since BI has announced that they are currently migrating from a old version to the most recent one of the PhysX API, it is possible that what we are seeing is still the old/Arma 2 driving model.

Another E3 Showcase and another comment section turns into a battlefield between ARMA II fans and DayZ fans. *Sigh*

Exactly. It's really sad to see how "Arma fans" complain about these people playing and enjoying this mod. They are not "ruining your game". Day Z isn't a game for "COD retards" (all actually said in the comments) Actually, I wish for new people coming to Arma have the qualities Day Z broadcasts.

You walk around for hours doing nothing. You learn to appreciate small things. You fear death and thus act upon trying to prevent it. You learn how to move tactical and unseen. You get to know the advantages of operating in a team. You build friendship and companionship.

It would be awesome if the people who have played a game with these principles would try Arma. And from my own experience, I think once you learn how the game and its mechanics work and you are able to survive, it's becoming more like Arma. People realize it's easier to survive in a team and natural squad formations evolve. Eventually, you decide to assault the airfields or sweep some towns with your bandit crew. At these moments, I see no remarkable difference to Arma other than the occasional zombie.

I like Day Z. I like its concept and I like Dean's philosophy. I also like the patches it has brought for the Arma 2: OA engine. :)

OnT: +1 for da Sea Turtles!!

We can't see much of it really. :p

Although, since BI has announced that they are currently migrating from a old version to the most recent one of the PhysX API, it is possible that what we are seeing is still the old/Arma 2 driving model.

Indeed. Who knows what weird physical effect hitting that rock or goat would have had :p

BTW I like beginning of the soundtrack playing in the background.

We can't see much of it really. :p

Although, since BI has announced that they are currently migrating from a old version to the most recent one of the PhysX API, it is possible that what we are seeing is still the old/Arma 2 driving model.

The vehicle driving is now PhysX and it looked OK. One has to wonder what would happen had he hit the rock and the goat, still wip I suppose.

You could see Ragdol working quite well, with bodies no longer flying high after grenade exploded nearby. I suspect things got tweaked.

The vehicle driving is now PhysX and it looked OK. One has to wonder what would happen had he hit the rock and the goat, still wip I suppose.

You could see Ragdol working quite well, with bodies no longer flying high after grenade exploded nearby. I suspect things got tweaked.

Sorry but i fail to see PhysX in this driving part, and there is no obvious ragdoll either (mainly dead animations).

This showcase introduces the Strider, outlining some of our plans for vehicles, including the PhysXâ„¢-supported driving model, new sound effects, Forward Looking Infra Red, and more

Could someone point me where we can see PhysX impact in this video :confused:

"our plans"

Would be real nice to include manual transmission and the clutch

"our plans"

"Outlining our plans"

Anyway, if they said it, it must be here, but i don't really notice.

at around 1:00 you can see the suspension (wheels moving up and down)

at around 1:00 you can see the suspension (wheels moving up and down)

I think that's been present since Arma, possibly OFP.

I think that's been present since Arma, possibly OFP.

Maybe watch the wheels more closely in A2 and OA to spot the difference, the A3 ones are actually following the terrain correctly and independently unlike A2's fixed axles. ;)

I think that's been present since Arma, possibly OFP.

well physics was always part of the game but it never worked properly

Really like the work they did on the hands on the steering wheel the fact that you can see the fingers moving independently and the camera going back when you accelerate (inertia) I like that.

Would like to see more then some slight changes in the footage though show off some more areas BIS!

Sorry but i fail to see PhysX in this driving part, and there is no obvious ragdoll either (mainly dead animations).

Dead animations? I forgot what this could mean since we have rag(e)doll, could You, sir, kindly please, try to remind me? :icon_twisted:

....

Yes..it's funny how when you peel away the zombie layer that aside from some extra survival things the two are nearly the same, just military vs civil with their own agendas.

I think W84EM said it best, people are most likely just tired of hearing about DayZ in everything Arma 3 and the attitude, hell even some of the DayZ community dislike those people.

Loved the new hand animations, especially since the driver dabbles rather than keeping fix glued to wheel, the ragdoll was nice as well, glad to see that guys weren't be propelled by the 50 call or flying everywhere from the grenades, but for a vehicle demonstration I'm not sure it flaunted as much as it could have. I don't know, it could be the move from physX 2 to 3 but it just feels like they were hiding lots of things, sort of like applying for a porn video because you have big junk but then not showing it at "audition".

Vehicles in most games are just boxes with wheels, the chasis doens't shake, wheels are all drawn to one axis so climbing terrain much less navigating can be a pain becuase there is no weight distribution or footprint, so they slide, slip or get stuck. (which would open gameplay dynamics to having rescue vehicles) when vehicles come careening from a tall height they either do nothing or BLOW UP rather than break and are no longer functional, these things would change the dynamics of vehicles a LOT, and if you have them, you definately should not hide them. (I say hide becuase we saw the vehicle suspension moving more dynamicly but it wasn't particularly focused on or put to a few tests)

well physics was always part of the game but it never worked properly

Ah okay, I never noticed any problems with it but it's good to have it improved regardless.

I noticed the ragdoll affecting directed action of a units body. Look at the unit on the left after he fires the first burst of grenades. He falls flat to the ground, wounded, and then comes up to a prone ready position. That component type will be sweet ingame goodness. I looked at the opening of the video and damn if it isn't getting hard to tell the difference from live video and this engine, especially when your eye gets use to the cloud 'turbulence' when looking around. The words -Looking forward to the final product- do not convey the level of desire to play in this sandbox. Keep up the good work! :D

The new video was okay... I just think Physx 3.0 is useless without a proper damage model. Otherwise Arma 3 is going to feel like Arma 2.5 in that respect.

what do you mean by proper damage model? APEX? vertex based deformations?

The ragdoll animations are looking great, good work BIS. Will animals have ragdoll animations?

The Vehicle Showcase unfortunately seemed to have no substantial new content to demonstrate gameplay differences in vehicles compared to the E3 version; the bit about "individual axles" moving is nice visually but doesn't noticeably affect how the vehicles such as the Strider RWCS handle -- unless it does? It would have been nice for the narrator to have pointed this out... Likewise, if the vehicles actually have modular turrets (for different loadouts), knowing this would be nice too...

In contrast, the Night Ops showcase was THE best at what I'm looking for! We got to see a pistol in use both suppressed and unsuppressed, and we got a greater sense of what's intended with the "super dark" settings of night combat when not using NVGs or flash suppressors by setting up an actual nighttime engagement instead of "oh hey, this is what nighttime and lighting looks like" in the E3 version.

Therefore, here's what I'd like to see out of the remaining showcases:

HELICOPTERS:

How is the Take On Helicopters flight model ported into RV4?

How does this different flight model change the helicopter gameplay compared to ARMA 2/Operation Arrowhead?

So far it looks like the action menu and controls appear generally identical to ARMA 2, i.e. no need for a pre-flight nor a chance of a systems failure for skipping pre-flight, so the flight model is THE big announced change about ARMA 3 helicopters that I'd like to know more about!

INFANTRY:

How does the tactical pace change the infantry small arms combat, both indoors and outdoors?

How does the stance modifier system ("new leaning mechanics") in turn substantially change the small arms combat?

We've already seen player vs. AI infantry and the new stances and tactical pace at E3 (I liked the changes)*, but indoors is how we'll see that ARMA has FINALLY "overcome the hurdle" that was CQB! You teased us with the exclusive screenshot on Facebook (in the Report In: Lighting!) of a soldier stepping and leaning leftward with his body around a corner INDOORS aiming a Kel-Tec KSG... let us see this stance/tactical pace use in combat action, let's see how the new animations systems -- thank you Smookie :D -- makes indoors fighting/CQB play out, and finally let's see how the AI fights indoors!

For the infantry showcase though, it really MUST include INDOORS fighting of player vs. AI! We've already seen player vs. AI infantry and the new stances and tactical pace at E3 (I liked the changes)*, but indoors is how we'll see that ARMA has FINALLY "overcome the hurdle" that was CQB! You teased us with the exclusive screenshot on Facebook (in the Report In: Lighting!) of a soldier stepping and leaning leftward with his body around a corner INDOORS aiming a Kel-Tec KSG... let us see this stance/tactical pace use in combat action, let's see how the new animations systems -- thank you Smookie :D -- makes indoors fighting/CQB play out, and finally let's see how the AI fights indoors!

Get your head out of the clouds mate, your daydreaming. The AI behaviour will be no different indoors then it was in ArmA2, I can already tell that by the way the AI behaves outdoors in the E3 footage.

Seeing is believing, but even if AI behavior is no better, I'm still absolutely interested on indoors combat as THE key change to ARMA 3 CQB and infantry combat, and it is what I want to see as the primary focus of the Infantry Showcase. After all, Smookie's anim pack was named as being for PVP, and I myself was rather happy with it when -- after me and three other players tried out the features of his pack -- we then engaged in four-player free-for-all deathmatch. ;)