Automatic Mod Downloading

For clarification, this discussion is about mod downloading from a separate file server, NOT the actual game server.

Guys,

Arma 3 is still a long way off but I'd like to share an idea that has been bounded around alot & has even been requested in Arma 2. I believe the single main issue with regards to the Arma games becoming as popular as they should be and deserve to be is that new users don't know how to..

1. Find mods

2. Download & Install them correctly (not easy for a beginner!)

3. Keep a mod up to date.

4. Work out which mod is missing or which mod they hav loaded that the server doesn't allow.

Right now the situation in Arma 2 is terrible, for a game that claims to be all about the modding community it is very very difficult for a new player to work out what to do, usually your effort is rewarded with being kicked from server with no warning message or one that means nothing to the average gamer. This means they either give up and play something else or they end up on a vanilla server without ever experiencing the amazing mods out there.

It's not impossible to implement this, other games have succeeded, half life 2 for example. What ever mod you require but don't hav installed is downloaded within the game before you join. This method ensures everybody has the latest version of the mod and it is installed correctly for you.

I realise there may be some issues with this for Arma 3, alot of arma mods are quite big so it would take a while to download. You would also require a decent few few servers to host the mods but surely BI have enough $ now to afford some good file servers?

BI please implement this, the confusing and convoluted approach to mods currently is not acceptable for the new playerbase you will pull in with the mighty Arma 3. Implement mod filtering within server browser so you can easily find no mod servers if you don't want to wait. Also once server is selected, allow player to choose which mods to activate before joining is initiated.

I dream of the day when servers are all full, with mods running and nobody being kicked because of mod issues :)

Rory

Edited June 22, 2011 by rory_pamphilon

Pretty impractical i think considering the file sizes of e.g. ACE2 with more than 1.5 GB data and especially with constant updates etc...

Plus it would stress the servers even more if players download the mod while other players play online. Expect lag spikes, more hardware failures etc etc..

I wish there was a way to do this, but this way wont work, sorry.

Pretty impractical i think considering the file sizes of e.g. ACE2 with more than 1.5 GB data and especially with constant updates etc...

Plus it would stress the servers even more if players download the mod while other players play online. Expect lag spikes, more hardware failures etc etc..

I wish there was a way to do this, but this way wont work, sorry.

Absolutely those constant updates should be automatically downloaded.

Perhaps the mod management should be changed like, you download the mod and then whenever a mod gets an update, the server owner can decide whether to upload the patch to the people joining in your server.

Yeah could just limit it for small mods only or you could choose.

Every addon could have some kind of property containing url (or list of urls) where to download it from. So every time something is missing server sends list of urls to the client and then the list is used by some kind of Addons Download_and_Install Manager.

Maybe BIS could work on some sort of ArmA3 launcher, similar to the various ArmA2 launchers around, that specifically look after this side of things? Some sort of central addon repository would be beneficial too :) wherever that ends up being located, I think a seperate launcher would probably be the best method.

Edited June 17, 2011 by DMarkwick

That's a good idea DMarkwick.

I know there are exceptions, large mods could maybe be send to download in the background, maybe a little progress bar at the main screen so you can play with editor or single player till it's finished. Enough of exiting out and into file explorer, that is not the way forward IMHO.

Servers would not be the same as the game host server. BI should hav a dedicate file server that the mod downloads from and then when finished connects to the game server which has no real lag issues as it's only mission code going back n forth.

Maybe an alternate way would be a torrent engine built into arma so mods are shared amongst those in the game but not currently in a multiplayer session. So if your editing or in SP arma could be sharing ur complete copies of a mod with others who are trying to download. A little riskier but would sidestep the need for a BI file server.

Edited June 17, 2011 by rory_pamphilon

Six Updater has come a long way and it handles all the mods I care about bar IVD and OktNoBlur while ArmA II Launcher allows me to choose what I run. No complaints here :)

Many games have this feature

In server config, you can indicate :

* what mods server is running and requires for client

* For mods, what method of download is used : from server itself and from inside the game, from server itself through HTTP dowload, from HTTP download on external source

* For each mod, the url (local or remote) from which the mod can be downloaded

Clients connect, mod download starts with a dialog showing progress, that client can stop anytime. when download is finished, the game is restarted with the correct mod loaded.

voila ....

With external source for download, you have zero stress put on game server. Best of both world.

all this has already been asked numerous time to BI

I think their stance currently is that it would require too much change on the game to be done, but that was with A2 dev. Maybe A3 is more tailored for this, and it is something they can accept to do, who knows?

@ El Muerko : Yeah but your one of the few users who has learned how to navigate the minefield that is mod installing. If this game is to get bigger then u need to be able to support the new fans who don't wana use an external downloaded / launcher. How many potential fans get put off by this do you think?

The minute you hav to doanything that is external from the game or undocumented you probably loose half, if not more of potential players on that server.

@ El Muerko : Yeah but your one of the few users who has learned how to navigate the minefield that is mod installing. If this game is to get bigger then u need to be able to support the new fans who don't wana use an external downloaded / launcher. How many potential fans get put off by this do you think?

The minute you hav to doanything that is external from the game or undocumented you probably loose half, if not more of potential players on that server.

That moment those half of players are not going to grief on your server.

Do you seriously think those people actually bring anything good to your server if they aren't going to even install mods.

Do you seriously think those people actually bring anything good to your server if they aren't going to even install mods.

Yes. I know several people which play rare (since OFP) and have better things to do than remember weird commands in shortcuts or installing additional launchers. And playing with them is a plesure.

Everytime they come they have to download tons of addons and it takes some time to download it from different source and setup all the things. And next time when they come will be in maybe 2 months.

If this game is to get bigger then u need to be able to support the new fans who don't wana use an external downloaded / launcher. How many potential fans get put off by this do you think?

The minute you hav to doanything that is external from the game or undocumented you probably loose half, if not more of potential players on that server.

Quoted for truth. Learning how to install mods in ARMA is confusing and frustrating for newbies, it can be very discouraging and I'm certain that it has detered many potential customers.

@Primark : Being an Arma / Windows / Mod install geek does not mean your valuable player. And not knowing how to install a mod when there are no official guides does not mean your of no use once in the game.

Arma series is IMO the greatest creation ever let down by two things..

1. Small player base

2. Bugs

Bugs get fixed over time so isn't so much of an issue, player base however dwindles over time so you need as many players as possible. If half (IMO more) get put off by silly things like how to install mods or keep them up to date then that is a real shame.

Empty servers are no fun!

@ El Muerko : Yeah but your one of the few users who has learned how to navigate the minefield that is mod installing. If this game is to get bigger then u need to be able to support the new fans who don't wana use an external downloaded / launcher. How many potential fans get put off by this do you think?

The minute you hav to doanything that is external from the game or undocumented you probably loose half, if not more of potential players on that server.

This!

I hope BIS do find an easier way of installing mods for new players I really do, have no idea how this would be achieved though unfortunately.

@Primark : Being an Arma / Windows / Mod install geek does not mean your valuable player. And not knowing how to install a mod when there are no official guides does not mean your of no use once in the game.

Arma series is IMO the greatest creation ever let down by two things..

1. Small player base

2. Bugs

Bugs get fixed over time so isn't so much of an issue, player base however dwindles over time so you need as many players as possible. If half (IMO more) get put off by silly things like how to install mods or keep them up to date then that is a real shame.

Empty servers are no fun!

It weeds out the idiots and people with an attention span of a potato. (read: dedicated CoD/Battlefield players)

I'm sure that BIS would like as many people as possible to play ArmA3 :)

perhaps an official tool for mod downloading would be beneficial to the community, but with so many mods out there it may not be so manageable.

** Elitism crap **

Speaking of attention span (of a potatoe), did you actually read what you quoted?

"Being an Arma / Windows / Mod install geek does not mean your valuable player"

It weeds out the idiots and people with an attention span of a potato. (read: dedicated CoD/Battlefield players)

1. Your logic makes no sense. If someone was dedicated to CoD/BF, they would at least need some sort of extended attention span. It's what the word "dedicated" means, you see.

2. I'm not an idiot and I have a pretty good attention span. I don't like installing mods myself, not because I have no attention span but because I'm absolutely terrible with computers and have a download rate of 150kb/s on average.

I had to be walked through how to use Addon Sync and 6Updater, but the person who did that by no means thinks I'm stupid. (Username on here is secludedsfx, ask him if you want to know....) I'm not good with computers at all and I have trouble with the mod scene. That doesn't mean I'm a "griefer" or someone who won't follow the rules.

You, sir, need to keep your elitist views to yourself. What you're doing is equivalent to me saying, "I expect you to know De Moivre's Theorem because I do. If you can't, your an idiot and a vegetable-head."

@OP: I would welcome that system with open arms. If something could do all the complicated mod-installing for me, I would really appreciate it. I have enough troubles with just ACE, ACRE, and I44 as it is.

"Streamlining" this process I think is welcomed becuase this is one area that may put people off.

Speaking of attention span (of a potatoe), did you actually read what you quoted?

"Being an Arma / Windows / Mod install geek does not mean your valuable player"

You have to be a geek to understand simple english language, that is always presented in notepads in major mods?

If you fail to read a notepad, how likely you are going to be a valuable player in a dedicated game series such as ArmA?

Did you actually read what you quoted? It weeds out the idiots and people with no real interest in playing the game with mods.

By the nature of the game, BIS will not most likely get much larger audience no matter how simple the mod downloading is. The series is tedious to people who are used to fast, simple, easy and arcade games.

Then again I don't play on public servers so my view can be different from many other views but it is still my opinion and you must accept it.

You have to be a geek to understand simple english language, that is always presented in notepads in major mods?

If you fail to read a notepad, how likely you are going to be a valuable player in a dedicated game series such as ArmA?

Did you actually read what you quoted? It weeds out the idiots and people with no real interest in playing the game with mods.

By the nature of the game, BIS will not most likely get much larger audience no matter how simple the mod downloading is. The series is tedious to people who are used to fast, simple, easy and arcade games.

Then again I don't play on public servers so my view can be different from many other views but it is still my opinion and you must accept it.

Like all mod were updated easily via notepad notes ...... Read 160thSOAR post for explanations.

OFP attracted even Quake players who enjoyed the game immensely. I don't know where you get your facts about people playing other kind of games when they try OFP/ArmA/ArmA2, you apparently don't know much of said other genres. Broad statement, easy labelling of people foreign to you.... nice behavior.

And finally, the top of it all :

Then again I don't play on public servers

So how is easier mod usage, and different people coming to public servers, going to affect your game in any way?? oO You wrote on this post with what purpose exactly? Prevent the development of a functionality that will never change your game, or just generally diss players that dare play ArmA differently than you do? Edited June 17, 2011 by whisper