Arma 3: Totally Not a Zombie Simulator

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Chortles: Dec 29, 2008

Have my favorite ARMA 3 moment yet :black101:

Switch this to 1080p for the closest I've seen yet to the so-far default ARMA 3 keyboard layout

Here and here you've got a good animation showoff; for the second one, at 15:03 he shows off the "campaign hub" Camp Maxwell, at 16 minutes he shows off infantry combat, at about 19:50 there's a bit of "sidestep" instead of leaning, and at 21 minutes he shows off the hint system!

If you take endorsements, the best sign that the animations are better is a BI forums :spergin:

complaining that they were "too smooth, too fast" and another raging at the idea that a guerrilla (I guess he was thinking "guy in a dishdasha with Kalashnikov") could go into "Last Stand"...

KennyLoggins posted:

I remember reading that the Aplha was planned for around September but then DayZ craze happened so maybe it got pushed back.

The original plan was a post-E3 release, but then they decided to go from PhysX 2 to PhysX 3 so it became "some time after Gamescom" (mid-to-late August)... then either something's going on under the hood, priorities got shifted to the DayZ standalone (where the "need" to get it out the door before the end of the year seems to be forced by The War Z, or so Rocket would have people believe) and frankly, I wouldn't be surprised if the jailing of the ARMA 3 creative director and map designer has to do with why there's no community alpha talk since Gamescom.

As for the campaign... apparently the "taking uniforms off of enemies" is SP-only, since the devs supposedly ran into issues when trying to implement it for co-op/versus.

The heresy of game balance? Sounds like it... later, some campaign talk from Karel "Gaia" Moricky, i.e. scavenging weapons and sometimes being separated from 7th Infantry Division, and at about 9:30 of this he compares it to Operation Flashpoint: Resistance; the "story" of 7ID is told in part through the "ORBAT", shown off at this point and here. (More infantry small arms action here, then at about 6:30 sniping, and at 11:55 doffing gear in realtime, and watch him take a KRISS Vector but not the ammo.)

A bunch of my notes on the state of ARMA 3 as of Gamescom are cribbed from BI forums users InstaGoat:

InstaGoat posted:

When I talked to him he said that in terms of mission scope and campaign design, they want to do something that will be similar to OFP:R and OFP:CWC, in terms of story twists and such. I think it�s likely we�ll see a progression from reconaissance, to invasion, to some sort of SNAFU and people being scattered into the woods, guerillia fighting, and counter invasion towards the climax of the campaign.

I was also told that they were more interested in gameplay driven missions, rather than story driven missions, so everything they�ve set up basically is intentionally geared towards allowing the mission designers to work free of constraints. In a sense, they�re going pretty much tactilol � la Call of Duty, except they�re actually trying to get people to feel how warfare in such a setting would actually feel. That kind of "justifies" choices like giving the Iranians a cool operator style rifle with the tavor, or the use of the merkava as MBT.

OFP:R had a system where you had to carry over weapons, ammunition, vehicles and men from one mission to the next. I would expect something similar to occur again in Arma 3.

Chortles posted:

I'm not sure how exactly this would work considering what was said that sometimes the player will be cut off from 7th Infantry Division, but I've seen it at moments in COD4/MW2 -- depending on the mission, if you were playing the Campaign sequentially (i.e. one mission into the next) you'd carry over the same weapons, since that mission would be an immediate continuation of the scenario that you had just concluded (i.e. break into a base, next mission starts you inside the base), but you'd have a default weapons set if you instead selected the mission manually from the Mission Select menu screen instead of seguing into that mission; I wonder if ARMA 3 will do the same?

InstaGoat posted:

I imagine it�s something like that, but not just carrying over the weapon, but carrying over -everything-. Ammo, individual magazine roundcounts, vest, clothes, helmet, eyepro, attachments, as well as teammates and all the gear on them. I doubt you�ll be completely alone at any point, unless there�s some sort of "after montignac" style mission in there.

Arma 3 has a rather complicated gear system, much more thorough and realistic than any other game I�ve seen so far. Most games reduce themselves to gun mods, or at best different suits plus kit like NV goggles. At GC I�ve seen the following specifically: three slots for gear on your weapon, two slots on the secondary (maybe three, but I think pistols can only take muzzle attachments + underbarrel attachment like laser/flashlight), eyepro (functional as protection.), vest, backpack, suit and helmet. All of these things will affect you differently, for example civilian clothes will probably lower your camo value and have less slots for gear, while advanced military suits will be heavier but also provide some degree of IR camouflage for example. Vests will have a carrying capacity as well as body protection. I don�t know how this works, and I can�t imagine it either because there�s so many possibillities, but Gaia assured me that bodyprotection will be modelled this time, and it will be affected by vest, helmet and goggles.

Obviously there�s also specialty gear like rebreathers and stuff like that, all working properly. Without a rebreather, you dive, you drown. Without swimming glasses, saltwater will burn your eyes. ACE2 style sunglasses should also be easy to implement.

As far as the campaign goes, I could imagine that you�d need to do gear management for yourself and your squad, especially in a situation where your force is hard pressed and without resupply/reinforcements, so you�ll have to scavenge weapons and gear. I don�t think they�ll implement gear degradation, but that would certainly add another fun level of kit management.

I've also got more on him on the state of ARMA 3 as of Gamescom if anyone wants me to post that? (Not PMs, but posts that I can link to.)

Oh yeah, have the summary of a BI survey on social networking features of ARMA 3 with 633 responses.

# ¿ Nov 17, 2012 10:50

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# ¿ Apr 19, 2024 17:17

Chortles: Dec 29, 2008

Mederlock, the "infantry animations and shooting" bit links to the same video you'd already posted, why not use some of my other links/timestamps? My linking to 4:13 was just for that one moment of "OH MY GOD this could never happen in ARMA 2". As for the controls video, I'd use the timestamp so that that video goes straight to 18 minutes in (I recommended 1080p because that was the only way it was visible for me).

Note that the campaign is SP only, no co-op option, but from InstaGoat's initial "back from GC, first impressions" report:

InstaGoat posted:

As far as mission design goes, gameplay will trump screenplay. Contrary to most big games studios (thinking specifically of the COD developer types here), BI are fully aware that they are making games, not movies, so they are trying to create cool missions first, before trying to tell a convoluted story. OFP:R and Arma were mentioned as examples, as well as a handful of other titles from the past that did it right.

This seems to be a summary of what's new compared to ARMA 2 so far as basic gameplay:

InstaGoat posted:

Now, these are things I have seen at gamescom that are implemented right now.

Dynamic stances/additional movement modes.
Weapons modification.
Personal protection gear (Bodyarmour, Helmets, Gasmasks/Glasses, Rebreathers.)
Weight modelling for all equipment, fatigue and encumberance modelling, slot limitations based on type of Loadbearing equipment.
Additional difficulty selections (Hint system, class specific HUD indicators)
New Muzzleflashes and according AI changes (Flash suppressors vs Recoil compensators vs Silencers affect AI visual/audio spotting differently as far as I was told.)
Improved AI (No new features, but completely spring-cleaned build with corrected and improved settings, as well as streamlined AI navigation and world perception. This was mentioned in a devblog too.)
Obviously, vehicle physics. Physics also affect smoke (Rotor downwash, wind, blastwaves) and will probably also be used to implement stuff like fastroping/vehicle towing.
All existing Arma 2/OA features where they have not been replaced with improved/more advanced substitutes.
Improved vehicle damage system, building on the existing one. (No penetration modelling so far, I believe.)
Performance enhancements.
Improved 2D editor with new features (briefing manager, possibly gear manager and other tools.)
New features/improvements regarding mod support.

Chortles fucked around with this message at 14:09 on Nov 18, 2012

# ¿ Nov 18, 2012 14:06

Chortles: Dec 29, 2008

ToastyPotato posted:

Honestly the only downer for me about this game so far is that near future setting, just because this game seems to fix 90% of what I disliked about Arma and the old OPFP games. I kind of want a regular modern setting, so I can play with regular weapons and vehicles. With the graphics fidelity taking a nice step up, I worry that it will be difficult for modders to keep up with the quality. I don't want to be stuck with lame pseudo-future stuff, unless it is going to be really downplayed and basically all the normal modern stuff will also still be in the game...

Err, ToastyPotato, the BI forums' "Is Arma 3 authentic?" thread reveals that besides the Mi-48 "Kajman" (or as I believe Ham dubbed it, the "Hamoc") among vehicles plus the MX rifle and the SDAR among small arms... yeah, a lot of ARMA 3's supposed "psuedo-future" stuff is modeled off of stuff that's been produced in real life.

Re: future "notes from InstaGoat", how should I go about putting that information together for the purposes of this thread?

# ¿ Nov 19, 2012 03:26

Chortles: Dec 29, 2008

Just The Facts posted:

God I hope the interface and controls are better than ARMAII. I really want to like that game but it just feels so clunky walking around.

To address this without directly quoting InstaGoat, which interface are you talking about? If you mean the inventory, instead of one scrolling list with everything both on the ground and on your character (with numbers to left and right to differentiate) and a number of boxes on the right, you've got three large panels; the right and middle panels should be self-explanatory (the blank tab above the middle would be for a backpack) while the left panel is stuff on the ground, and the bar under the middle and right panels represents your character's encumbrance, which effects your character's stamina that was mentioned in the OP.

# ¿ Nov 19, 2012 04:08

Chortles: Dec 29, 2008

ToastyPotato posted:

That's all well and good, but are the things they are modeling off of in wide circulation? Because if they aren't, I would hate to see things that actually are used not be in the game and be left to modders. Unless there was a modern DLC pack, which I would probably buy.

Wide circulation alright -- just mostly not with the US military :haw:

Out of the small arms, only the Mk 14 has been in what I'd call "wide circulation" (just look at the years of "EBR" appearances in video games such as MGS4) with the US military, and out of the vehicles besides the HEMTT (a cargo truck) there's the Osprey; the AH-6 and SDV are special ops, while the F-35 has yet to really circulate.

# ¿ Nov 19, 2012 10:23

Chortles: Dec 29, 2008

Control Volume posted:

So will it be possible to create James Bond scenarios where people are shooting at eachother underwater with harpoon guns?

I might have to pick this game up if so.

You'll have to pick this game up then... but replace "harpoon guns" with "underwater assault rifles".

Also, two minutes earlier in that video, the new "tactical pace" movement speed, which is also visible in some other videos.

# ¿ Nov 20, 2012 01:53

Chortles: Dec 29, 2008

Mordaedil posted:

I disagree with your assessment, but that's because I don't really consider Arma "games" to be enjoyed to play, in the same way you enjoy playing Counter-Strike or Quake or Half-Life.

Sounds to me like "VBS2 Personal Edition" is what you're really looking for. At least you've got a more reasonable take than answers like this.

Sniper Party posted:

Making the inventory system not offensively obtuse and having the soldiers be able to switch targets in less than an aeon won't turn the game into a fast-paced game with dudes headshotting foes while spinning in the air. It's not even a question of realism versus gameplay since the current lack of movement fluidity and aiming responsiveness makes urban warfare and CQC in particular almost impossible to perform realistically.

This is pretty much why both Arma 3 and DayZ (standalone) are dumping the Arma 2 inventory menu, though there's only imagery/footage of the Arma 3 one that I linked earlier, and why Smookie (of "Smookie Animations" fame) became a BI animations dev whose work is almost certainly the lead influence behind the current Arma 3 movement system, alongside Vespa, and who apparently mo-capped the majority of animations mo-cap for Arma 3 (with Rocket pre-DayZ doing a third of the mo-cap).

As far as the mouse controls, from lead animator "Vespa":

Vespa posted:

I have a hunch that mouselook/aiming in Arma3 will be just like in CoD.

Vespa posted:

So far, in E3 build, there is mouselook 1:1 with no weapon lag - player's avatar aim is directly linked with mouse movement, with no artificial limitations forced. If you draw a square with your mouse by any speed, your character's aim describes the same square too. (in Arma2 it was totally unpredictable - see OP)
This means Arma3 handles like a standard fps in regard of mouselook (so yeah, like CoD too) It will undoubtedly create lot of controversy, mainly by increasing the pace of close range combat (actually measured) So far it was well-received among BI team members, testers and consultants, however I can imagine this being a nightmare come true for some people (I won't be pointing fingers, metalcraze )

Vespa posted:

Everybody relax, Arma3 mouselook is FPS standard. Smoothing/acceleration is optional, default off.

As for movement speeds of infantry in the ARMA 3 videos at E3:

Vespa posted:

Actually both running and sprinting in Arma3 are slower than in Arma2. Walk is about the same speed, and tactical pace is precisely inbetween walk and run.
All movement animations are mocap, just cleaned up, but not artificially stretched or sped up in any way.

Perhaps the feeling of faster movement is because of lower stance, better ground detail and broader FOV in Arma3?

My still-favorite quote on the subject:

quote:

Bohemia has tightened up the shooting mechanics to make it feel much more like a traditional shooter when you�re on the ground; there�s a sense of responsive twitchiness to the infantry combat that ARMA has lacked before. Which is not to say it�s been dumbed down � getting into a firefight and getting rounds on target is still a much tougher proposition than any other game, and there�s a mess of layers to it as well.

# ¿ Nov 20, 2012 02:26

Chortles: Dec 29, 2008

Funny thing is, that metalcraze who was cited/called out by a dev? His favorite twitch shooter-to-mock-in-comparison-to-his-fantasy-idea-of-ARMA is BF3.

Seriously though Mederlock, how would you like me to go about posting more information from InstaGoat for use in the thread and in the OP?

# ¿ Nov 20, 2012 03:18

Chortles: Dec 29, 2008

To emphasize, reposting one of an Arma 3 lead animator's quotes from further up the page, about movement speeds relative to those of Arma 2:

Vespa posted:

Actually both running and sprinting in Arma3 are slower than in Arma2. Walk is about the same speed, and tactical pace is precisely inbetween walk and run.
All movement animations are mocap, just cleaned up, but not artificially stretched or sped up in any way.

I don't recall if weight/encumbrance actually affected stamina/movement speed at all in unmodded Arma 2.

Mordaedil posted:

soldiers are mortal and that combat is chaotic

I agree here...

Mordaedil posted:

and you will most likely die because you can't move as fast or agile as you'd like if you were playing a video game.

... and disagree here, since it is playing a video game, albeit one that happens to simulate bullet drop and encumbrance-as-stamina (as opposed to an arbitrary sprint duration as in usual shooters) instead of encumbrance-as-moving-clunky. Then again, I've tended to view the clunkiness as less stemming from realism/authenticity than from the engine's roots in pre-9/11 assumptions about infantry, albeit based on mid-1980s doctrines, all back before CQB was "a thing", and not in a way that reinforces "thinking tactically".

Mordaedil posted:

Realism doesn't really come into it, because that's a pretty subjective and impossible-to-create goal for a game.

For what it's worth, posters in this thread such as Mederlock seem to be all too used to seeing spergs with far less self-consciousness and recognition of subjectivity than you fortunately display here. (As the ACE thread OP puts it about its own topic, "generally populated with a bunch of sperging retards that like to pretend they're the real military").

# ¿ Nov 20, 2012 12:57

Chortles: Dec 29, 2008

FUN WITH ANIMATIONS

See 1:42 of the infantry animations/shooting video for a look at the new tactical pace after a second or two of the new "Arma run", plus 1:57 has shooting (both hipfire and ADS) while moving!

Mederlock posted:

Sorry to be the bearer of news that'll be bad to you, but it's using Arma 2's control scheme for helicoptor's, with the more fluid flight model(Not the sim parts, it's just less janky)+6DOF with TrackIR that Take On:Helicoptors.

Hey now, "less janky" is already an improvement over Arma 2's control scheme; for that matter whenever I was a helicopter pilot, I found that I tended to similar keybindings as BF3 helicopters anyway.

For more lulz (and BIS forums sperg rage)... Arma 3 has urban prone and Last Stand/Second Chance/Final Stand :haw:

also demonstrated here by Ivan (rewind to 11:42 to see the whole of the drill)

And here's Rocket modeling some positions, including Last Stand, prone and urban prone with a sidearm.

Vespa posted:

And who's the lucky chap that gets to act out these animations for you?

Vespa: There are two, actually! Most of animations were recorded by our animator Pawel "Smookie" Smolewski, who also happens to be a military enthusiast. It's an ideal combination, because acting for mocap requires experience from both fields. Not only you must move in proper military manner, you also need to respect a quite restrictive set of technical rules for in-game animations.

Our other man is Dean "Rocket" Hall, who works for BIS as a multiplayer designer, but is actually a serving member of New Zealand military. He recorded about a third of the moves, and provides his insight with other animations and features. Thanks to these guys, you can look for most authentic moves ever done in Arma series..

As far as the controls for this, which unfortunately the "controls" video frame doesn't show:

InstaGoat posted:

ctrl+w/s to switch stance increments up/down
hold shift to tactilol paec
there was a modifier too that allowed switching from tactical pace to slow walk for controlled, silent movement.
ctrl+somekeysaroundwasd for urban prone, last stand, and different types of lean. Some of these are in flux, I was told, and may or may not be in the final version of the game depending on playable alpha feedback/cost-benefit issues.

Mederlock, let me be clear, Mordaedil is not :spergin:

here; he's got positive reasons for his preferences, which he recognizes to be not universal but rather subjective, and thus not making complaints like infantry now being "too smooth and responsive".

It doesn't help that, according to a previous Arma 2 thread (a post-DayZ thread in PGS for Arma 2?) ACE was originally more spergy and clunky/slow -- until the modders were rebutted by actual shooters or veterans who complained that the vaunted realism mod's infantry and small arms were unrealistically slow and clunky.

I think part of the reason I've been liking Arma 3 so much has been that (before the arrests) the devs seemed to be aware of and even poking fun or directly rebutting the spergs both on the threads and sometimes in the media videos...

# ¿ Nov 20, 2012 13:22

Chortles: Dec 29, 2008

Mordaedil posted:

Glad you guys are being so nice about it, but I'm willing to see things from your perspective and certainly agree on several aspects.

For me the argument (against what you believe Arma is "meant" to be) would be more difficult if VBS2 Personal Edition didn't exist.

Mordaedil posted:

I could perhaps suffer from a bit of nostalgia from the original Operation Flashpoint, though I sucked royally at that game, so maybe some changes are definately necessary to improve the experience.

From the mouths of the Arma 3 creative directors, "Rocket" (Hall) and Dyslecxi...

quote:

Actually, even with stepping up the process of playing the campaign, what you�ve seen today, it�s a productive idea� This new approach to campaign, it�s something fresh. It�ll be a pleasure. I�m really confident that the campaign can be interesting. But there will be some people, certainly, bitching about this� �It won�t be the traditional� Nothing beats old-time Flashpoint�� It�s bull*#&. Flashpoint is a terrible game. I�ve played it recently. I�m a bit sentimental about it�

Crowe: We need to quote that. Ivan Buchta: �Flashpoint is a terrible game!�

Buchta: But yeah, let�s face it, it�s a terrible game. Terribly inaccessible, hard, frustrating�

Hall: And people love it! I still get people saying, you know, when they found out I was working on Arma 3 multiplayer, friends of mine, one of my friends, he was like, are you going to make the campaign like Flashpoint? He�s like, seriously, I still play the campaign in Flashpoint�

Dslyecxi: They so over-romanticize it.

# ¿ Nov 20, 2012 17:08

Chortles: Dec 29, 2008

Ivan Buchta and Martin Pezlar's plight has made it to the presidential level.

On pistols, from a "CQB?" thread:

Smookie posted:

Movement with pistols has been greatly upgraded and is just as smooth as (or even slightly more than) with rifle. Transition on the move is technically possible (to some limited extent - like only during walk; also will consume huge ammount of animational resources) and its implementation will be considered.

And from InstaGoat's initial report on the Gamescom build (boldface is mine):

quote:

What I learned about the AI was pretty surprising. The gist of it is that previously, the AI was being expanded instead of being properly configged, while now they are specifically working on making the configs work out so the AI stop making baby mistakes. (Snipers getting stuck with their handguns out, or soldiers refusing to throw grenades, for example. The AI in A3, as far as I could see, now use grenades very often when they are trying to get at an opponent they can�t directly see.)

More reporting from InstaGoat to follow...

# ¿ Nov 22, 2012 12:19

Chortles: Dec 29, 2008

Turin Turambar posted:

The difference, I think, between the original Flashpoint and their games now, it's the focus. I think the focus of Ofp was the single player experience/campaign (even if it had lots of extra functionality), while now the focus it's on making a "toolbox game" with editor, modules, custom content, multiplayer, etc, and the campaign is more a (relative) footnote.

In fairness, with plenty of twitch shooters the campaign is as much a footnote, but I believe that in the case of Arma this neglect has as much do with, as you cited, "lots of fans in the official forum", and the "modding has kept this game alive" argument ironically makes things worse, for what you described next, "modding/the toolbox is the excuse for negligence (however involuntary) and the lack of fan pressure to fix things". Can you say "echo chamber/bubble?"

Turin Turambar posted:

And while you can download user made missions to skip the "make it yourself", it's not exactly ideal, you have to search for it, sometimes with the addons requisites it's a pain in the rear end to run them, and more important, lots of user made missions just SUCK.

I remember this response to a :spergin:

DayZ hater complaining that he couldn't find non-DayZ servers:

Chortles posted:

somehow in three years, no mission maker in the community had a "big idea" that even vaguely approached the impact of the DayZ concept; it's with reason that =-=seany=- called it "the most popular PVP game mode OFP/Arma has ever had"... who's more at fault, Rocket for the DayZ concept or everyone else making missions for three years or more (with OFP/ARMA) before him for not coming up with something?

sperg misses my point posted:

DayZ was the first "big idea"? I don't think so. I could compile a list of mods that > DayZ (my opinion of course). Some of the starwars mods for OFP were better than DayZ!! And it's been ~12 years not 3 since the franchise started with Operation Flashpoint (the original Arma). There's been plenty of outstanding mods and game modes over the years besides DayZ, which frankly isn't that great in my opinion. Just because loads of people play a certain game doesn't make it "great". For me and many others who have pretty much been playing for the last decade feel the same way, it's taken over and ruined the game.

I didn't have the heart to explicitly tell him "it's the fault of everyone before Rocket whose ideas were even shittier or spergier than his, or just frankly too milsim". (I'm of the belief that the elephant in the room as far as the official forums is that "true milsim" always has a popularity ceiling.) Then just to wrap up the sadness of this guy's obsession:

him in PM posted:

Here's the thing, from 01' til 10' I ate, slept and breathed ofp/arma. There were always plenty of servers going, be it pvp or coop (wf came in late A1). Now that DayZ has taken over, the servers have dwindled down. Sure you may find one or 2. But it raped the population, by that I mean the actual arma population .

GoldenNugget posted:

Yep it is. It's OFP and Resistance. Unsure if Red Hammer is included. Name changed because of licensing issues with Codemasters who have driving the name into the ground.

From what I recall, for existing copies of the first OFP the v1.99 patch (the previous patch was v1.96 from 2006) does two things: rename the game from Operation Flashpoint: Cold War Crisis to ARMA: Cold War Assault... and remove Red Hammer altogether :haw:

# ¿ Nov 22, 2012 20:48

Chortles: Dec 29, 2008

LP97S posted:

I seriously don't get people who enjoy the ArmA campaigns, I can't even get through them half of the time because they're so drat clunky.

That thing you just posted? If it weren't for you specifying that it's from Cold War Crisis/Assault, "lots of their fans in the official forum" would call it too Call of Duty :rolleyes:

Again though, Gaia said that the Arma 3 campaign is supposed to have elements of Resistance.

# ¿ Nov 23, 2012 04:00

Chortles: Dec 29, 2008

A Sloth posted:

Can't you say that about ArmA in general?

Until I saw the infantry videos for this one, hell yeah!

Now, as far as protective clothing goes:

InstaGoat posted:

About the infantry, I also learned that the types of protective gear you can wear will influence where and how much damage you take upon being hit. That means that bodyarmour and helmets are no gimmicks, but have actual gameplay impact. The only thing that�s not implemented right now (another nice to have but not high on the list feature) was working HUD glasses.

When I asked about diving goggles:

InstaGoat posted:

I talked about this with Gaia. The goggles, depending on the type, do not alter the UI, but give protection benefits. For example, if you remove the diving goggles while you are under water, your vision become blurry to simulate the saltwater burning in your eyes. The HUD glasses do not have any effect on the UI right now, this would be a "nice to have" feature, but low on the priority list. I would imagine protective eyewear makes you more resistant to injuries (flying shrapnel or riquochets, for example). I have seen photos of eyepro from soldiers in a-stan that deflected flying things.

Vests and Helmets already influence your protection levels, which is why I think the glasses do the same, if they don�t do anything else. I would imagine that with the new HDR and post-pro systems, we could also see working sunglasses. That�d be a nice thing.

These next two are both from the same post as the first quote in this post. Class features?

InstaGoat posted:

There�s also new general HUD features being implemented for various units, regarding their specialty professions so to speak. For example, engineers can lay mines and can (provided the difficulty feature is enabled) see where they have placed their mines via HUD overlay. Their non-engineer teammates can�t, however, so the engi will need to communicate his minefield positions with his teammates. There are a variety of mines, which apparently can also be set down in different modes, movement trigger, radio triggers and I also saw a booby trapped house door using a tripwire. All in all, those were pretty exciting to see.

READ FOR INSTAGOAT'S REPORTING ON THE AI AS OF GAMESCOM

InstaGoat posted:

I was told that one problem with developing the AI so far has been that new features had been added, while old ones basically were carried over. As old developers went and new ones came, documentation was neglected, so at times, the people currently working on the AI themselves don�t know what part does what. The result of that is the AI in Arma 2 is as clunky as it is sometimes: it�s not because it is bad, it�s just that it is made of lots of parts that were left unadjusted. So, what they are doing with Arma 3 is apparently one big spring-clean trough the AI framework, building and confirming documentation, constructing up-to-date tools to adjust and test the AI, and iron out the bugs.

To elaborate on the AI:

InstaGoat posted:

The AI in Arma 3 will not be including any new features. Devs have said this on the forums, and I�ve talked to Gaia at Gamescom who also confirmed this to me. What they are instead doing is making what they have work properly first, before trying to slap on more stuff that may break even more parts than are already in wonky shape.

Many of the AI�s general problems right now are not for lack of features, but appear to be that way because of misconfiguration. There also seem to be problems with documentation, which means that current AI devs have to work trough the system to figure out how the AI works and why first.

There are a lot of things the AI would need to do, but for basics, they should do what they�re already programmed to do properly, rather than do stupid things all the time. Snipers pulling out pistols all the time, Units not going prone or quickly taking cover when fired upon, AI using grenades properly, etc.

Vespa posted:

The documentation apparently IS incomplete, however, many problems of the AI don�t result from absent but misconfigured features. They are spring-cleaning the AI, updating, correcting and expanding documentation and stats to make everything that already exists work as intended.

Previously, the AI was continuously expanded while existing systems were left unadjusted or maladjusted. So instead of tacking on more stuff that will make the thing even more complex and convoluted, they are correcting and tweaking the existing AI to make it work as it should.

Also, even if they didn�t know the code at all, somebody could go through it and figure it out. It�s not like the Arma AI is the Voynich manuscript of coding.

And some final AI opinionating from InstaGoat here.

# ¿ Nov 24, 2012 09:41

Chortles: Dec 29, 2008

Dyslecxi outright works for BISim, which is behind VBS2, and its 2.0 upgrade (basically porting VBS2 from the Arma 1 engine RV2 to the Arma 2 engine RV3) outright uses the "arc of travel and impact point/blast radius" method seen in games like Gears of War or Metal Gear Solid 4... so I'm not surprised that the depicted grenade concept is coming from him.

By the way, Mederlock, I hope that that big post of quoting was usable for the OP? Here's another...

READ FOR INSTAGOAT'S REPORTING ON THE GEAR SYSTEM AS OF GAMESCOM

InstaGoat posted:

What�s also interesting is the new gear system, which is pretty nice to see in the videos we�ve gotten from E3 and Gamescom so far. It takes a bit getting used to, but you get used to it faster than the old system, which is good. There�s new highlight features, and you can see pretty well how heavy your loadout is, and where you�re carrying your gear. For example, in the current iteration you can carry a single mag on your person, and a number of mags on your chestrig (didn�t test how many, but I would expect at least as many as you can in Arma 2). I wanted to check wether your loadout changed the look of your vest, but unfortunately I got too caught up in playing to actually pay attention to that. If they are using memory points like for the rifles, for example, one could easily imagine different ammo causing different pouches to appear on the rig. Modders could, probably, go as far as limiting which pouch can be used with which vest (ie, MOLLE compatabillity).

Encumbrance is cooked into vanilla Arma 3:

InstaGoat posted:

The weight/encumbrance system is being worked on, but was fully in place at GC. All items you carry, including your fatigues, vest, helmet, binocs, ammo, medkit, etc, counts towards your encumbrance. The fatigue system is gradual, so as you get more fatigued, you will turn unable to sprint, run, get reduced to a slow walk and possibly even collapse to the ground when you�re overloading yourself. There�s also a hard limit (representing the physical abillity of the individual). I didn�t have the time to find out wether or not this was dynamic and/or depending on Unit type, but I�d imagine that a soldier can carry more to a further distance than an untrained civilian.

Does that mean carrying capacity accounting for "volume" and weight? Maybe:

InstaGoat posted:

Amount that can be carried also seemed to be limited by the type of load bearing system (amount of slots, basically). I couldn�t play around with it enough to test different vests (Only ones available were opfor webbings and crye cage vests with full plates.) to see if it did that, but I would expect this at the level of complexity they are aiming for with Arma 3. The inventory system and its management will become more important than they have been. People kitting themselves out with a SMAW, three rounds, eight 7.62 20 round mags and a DMR, armoured vest, helmet, NVGs and Binoculars will make them virtual cripples on the battlefield. More realistic loadouts like we see from afghanistan, where people sometimes are running around with as little as three magpouches and maybe a dump-bag and trauma kit and sideplates/neck protection removed to save weight will allow people to stay more mobile. What interests me is wether or not this fatigue system will be permanent, or difficulty dependent. I hope it will be permanent, so even the arcade servers stay on the side of realism.

# ¿ Nov 24, 2012 10:35

Chortles: Dec 29, 2008

Could you include my "new inventory" screenshot OP with maybe a description? To "wrap up" my InstaGoat posting...

CONTROLS

InstaGoat posted:

If I recall correctly, the modifiers at GC were as follows.

ctrl+w/s to switch stance increments up/down
hold shift to tactilol paec
there was a modifier too that allowed switching from tactical pace to slow walk for controlled, silent movement.
ctrl+somekeysaroundwasd for urban prone, last stand, and different types of lean. Some of these are in flux, I was told, and may or may not be in the final version of the game depending on playable alpha feedback/cost-benefit issues.

Edit: I have to add, I was at GC and played the demo for a short while. The new controls in general are smooth, but take a little bit of getting used to: you notice that I can�t completely recall anymore what did what. I also learned from the devs that they have multiple control schemes in the pipeline, and will test which one works best with the new animation system and for the players. The system used at GC was basically vanilla Arma2 + movement modifiers for Infantry.

DIALOGUE

InstaGoat posted:

At GC it was mentioned that they are using internal statistics systems to determine which sentence and segment combinations occur most often, so they can then record tailor made, non segmented sounds for those sentences. That should make them more natural. The problem is the sheer amount of information any given sentence could convey, and it�s already less complex than OFP, for example. In OFP, every vehicle was Identified individually (BMP, M113, T-80, etc) as opposed to generic "Tank" or "APC".

It has also been said (i.e. by Ivan) in Gamescom videos that the action menu and command systems are also up for revision, although the nature thereof has yet to be even hinted at; the Supports showcase and videos were still using the number row comm menu for calling in the artillery and helicopter CAS.

And finally, the list of what's new that I posted on the first page but expanded on with what I thought were important aspects now boldfaced, and (hopefully this is real and not just speculation) InstaGoat's take on the devs' behavior as of early September before Ivan and Martin's arrests:
EXPANDED LIST OF ARMA 3 FEATURES

InstaGoat posted:

3D Editor is not cancelled, it will be carried over as-is from Arma 2. Underground structures, idk why this is important. AI can�t even use buildings properly, and you want to add even MORE useless terrain that cannot be used by anyone but the player? Helicopter flight model: this is already developed in TOH, but a lot of things have been mentioned as being in flux when I talked to dev peolpe at Gamescom. They are doing proper development: instead of tacking poo poo on that ends up half-finished like they did with Arma 2, they started with a big list and now are in the process of throwing out everything they cannot get to work as it should, to AAA game standards.

Again, they will -not- implement anything they cannot get to work without hitches and falls, and things that are already in but too difficult/time consuming to develop are being left as is (ie, 3D Editor for example.).

Now, these are things I have seen at gamescom that are implemented right now.

Dynamic stances/additional movement modes.
Weapons modification.
Personal protection gear (Bodyarmour, Helmets, Gasmasks/Glasses, Rebreathers.)
Weight modelling for all equipment, fatigue and encumberance modelling, slot limitations based on type of Loadbearing equipment.
Additional difficulty selections (Hint system, class specific HUD indicators)
New Muzzleflashes and according AI changes (Flash suppressors vs Recoil compensators vs Silencers affect AI visual/audio spotting differently as far as I was told.)
Improved AI (No new features, but completely spring-cleaned build with corrected and improved settings, as well as streamlined AI navigation and world perception. This was mentioned in a devblog too.)
Obviously, vehicle physics. Physics also affect smoke (Rotor downwash, wind, blastwaves) and will probably also be used to implement stuff like fastroping/vehicle towing.
All existing Arma 2/OA features where they have not been replaced with improved/more advanced substitutes.
Improved vehicle damage system, building on the existing one. (No penetration modelling so far, I believe.)
Performance enhancements.
Improved 2D editor with new features (briefing manager, possibly gear manager and other tools.)
New features/improvements regarding mod support.

Not to mention a brand new, OFP:R styled campaign, missions, and we�ve got a fair chance of also seeing an overhauled MP, a wide range of new models, units, weapons, improved modelling for all of those too. The weapons for example use memory points for the attachments, so -any- weapon in the future will be able to take -any- attachment added to the game and allowed for use by the mission editor. I am sure the community will expand on this by adding new mounting systems that limit which sights can be mounted on which gun (Russian dovetail rails vs picatinny rail for example.), but generally, weapons packs will now only need to contain the weapons system (ie, complete rifle.) And all attachments can be added by the player. That means an M16 weapons pack will not need to contain multiple hundreds of differently configured weapons, but instead only 1 rifle for each type/weapons system setups (For example, M16A3, M16A3+M203, M16A4+Foregrip, etc) and any number of attachments, plus the native attachments from the game.

idk.

Same thing for bodyarmour, rigs, combat fatigues and helmets.

Speaking of that bit about the dev attitude and weapon attachments...

# ¿ Nov 24, 2012 12:08

Chortles: Dec 29, 2008

A DEV ON ATTACHMENTS FOR A USER-MADE WEAPON

Vespa posted:

You take your bare weapon model, fit it with appropriate proxies in O2, define which accessories are allowed for it in config, and you're good to go.

Up to three attachment slots per weapon, and magazines will still look the same even if you're using a C-MAG:

Vespa posted:

3 slots for now, as I'm aware (not exactly my area)

Nope, the mags look the same, at least for now. Classic case of development cost / benefits ratio - more important things to focus on.

Then he confirms that he wants to implement a tools/tutorials pack for would-be modders for Arma 3 small arms, optics have their own eyepoints, and compares Arma 3 to Duke Nukem Forever:

Vespa posted:

Definitely, I would like some pack of tools and tutorials to help people with weapons modding.
rstratton posted:
what about memory points? will each optics model have its own eyepoint?
yep

http://kotaku.com/5920572/the-trouble-with-the-never+satisfied-gamer :p
We can't make all the things, or we'd end up in developer hell - together with Duke Nukem Forever.

Then when RobertHammer (yes that RH) complains that that "arma is about weapons" and "Don't tell me that those small weapon features are waste of time", then that "I never said that those features are easy to make or add ,but they are worth to the game and mainly for future mods." and that ""ArmA 3 is still missing a proper weapon resting and proper breathing simulation", Vespa pushes back against RobertHammer despite his Internet 'fame' from his Arma 2 weapon packs in one of the best posts I've ever seen from a BI dev:

Vespa posted:

RobertHammer - such games as Ground Branch are usually specialized, with narrow focus and scale. Arma3 is massive in every aspect, and people forget that. If we are to manage such project, we need to be ruthlessly effective with our time and resources.
The reason there is no daytime laser with flashlight, or "only" 3 slots on weapons, is that the cost would be too high - and that, in the end, would harm the project. It's easy to get carried away, obsess about small things and lose grip with reality - I saw it happen many times, always ending up badly. So even if it may seem twisted to an outsider, I actually am proud of dropping/not doing some features - because it means the team is healthy and focused on target.

I love how it's a BI dev talking about his player/modder base "obsess(es) about small things and lose(s) grip with reality" :allears:

I already posted Smookie's bit on Arma 3 pistol CQB, but I may post some more bits from him (the guy who mo-capped the majority of Arma 3 animations) if anyone else is interested.

# ¿ Nov 24, 2012 12:08

Chortles: Dec 29, 2008

NielsS posted:

What do you mean by that? I find PVP to be boring, restrictive and completely against what this game is about. Freedom.
You've got this entire island or world to play in and yet you choose to play on this tiny piece of it, that plays exactly the same everytime you play it, and kill eachother.
So i would like to stay in my cocoon and create and play missions that encompass half the island, that plays differently everytime you play it, and actually forces you to play tactical. Now i know what you're going to say: "My friends and i play team deathmatch tactical". Yes the first 2 or 3 times. After that it becomes a fragfest where everyone chooses a sniperrifle and find a place to camp from. I've seen it many times with several games. It's the reason i got bored with PVP.

This is what people trying to improve PVP in ARMA have to contend with.
:negative:

As for what I promised about Smookie, there's some comments on things like how he plans to implement things such as making stepover less useless ("make sure player is no longer defence-less during stepover (gun aimed/possibility to cancel)"), while aiming down the sights will probably force you to walk just like in most regular shooters*, and this one's an oldie, but on transitioning from rifle to pistol as of post-E3 (end of June):

Smookie posted:

Have already turned down the transition time absolutely minimum of my acceptance. Current rifle to pistol swap time (full-animation) is 1,10 s (and you are able to fire from around 0,53 s). Therefore the current animation is a compromise between gameplay benefits and visual look (so it isnt just "take the grip and attach rifle to the slot")

Also, check out this Arma 3 screenshot of a Config Viewer.

I know the thread's all quiet at the moment, as has been BI since Ivan and Martin's arrests, but there was a public protest in Prague over the devs' jailing, which according to the bearded speaker guy (a dev with Warhorse Studios) was "mostly top Czech developers from Warhorse, 2K, Bohemia Interactive, Madfinger and other companies", after it was stated that the conditions had worsened for the two devs.

* I had been asking in the context of whether you could maintain a relatively high movement speed while using optics as with SMK, as well as MW3 (Stalker perk)/Black Ops II (Adjustable Stock attachment); that is, would I be able to still move at tactical pace even when aiming down the sights, the "no" to me signals that tactical pace is probably for the sake of hipfire.

# ¿ Nov 28, 2012 11:13

Chortles: Dec 29, 2008

Sniper Party posted:

That's bizarre as gently caress. Why does he think that PVP makes all mission makers magically incapable of building anything other than deathmatch? How do you get that confused? Has he never actually played PVP in Arma before? Is he just attributing his irrational hatred of some other multiplayer shooters to all PVP ever?

He's not the only one, there's a bunch of guys who've likely never played PVP in Arma before, though Mr. "PVP is entirely about ruining the experience for others" takes the cake; worse yet, I think the latter is this guy, so he's probably got at least some "name" in the community as well.

Then again, that's not the only terrible idea about PVP on the official forums by a long shot.

Sniper Party posted:

This sounds really good not only for realism (you wouldn't take the time to aim through your sights in fast-paced CQC situations or the like), but also because of basic gameplay: now there's a choice between faster movement with less accurate shooting and slower movement with more accuracy.

From one of my InstaGoat quotes, as of the Gamescom build, the Left Shift key now defaults to tactical pace instead of walk, but there's a modifier or toggle to switch between tactical pace and walk when in hipfire view; I took Smookie's answer to mean that "ADS" forces you into walk; considering that walk was described about the same as in Arma 2, running slower than in Arma 2 and "tactical pace is precisely inbetween walk and run", it does seem like tactical pace is indeed basically for any "fast-paced CQC" moments because there was no "faster movement with less accurate shooting" option in Arma 2, and the sheer amount of "optic bob" when moving (especially laterally) made it difficult to shoot on the move in Arma 2 anyway.

(For context, MW3 and Black Ops 2 had a perk and a shotgun/SMG/AR/LMG attachment respectively that partially raise the movement speed when aiming down the sights, though not faster than hipfire.)

# ¿ Nov 29, 2012 05:11

Chortles: Dec 29, 2008

We're not even up to the community alpha and yet we already have official merchandise... skip to 2:20 for the other item (still image here) :stare:

EDIT: Raneman I don't see why you couldn't?

Chortles fucked around with this message at 03:39 on Dec 25, 2012

# ¿ Dec 25, 2012 03:34

Chortles: Dec 29, 2008

LP97S posted:

The biggest change was the elimination of "novice mode" and the ability to create groups larger than 12 units.

Source on this? I mean, this time around the devs seem less spergy than their forums...

# ¿ Dec 25, 2012 18:43

Chortles: Dec 29, 2008

Sure, the only news here is that Limnos got renamed Altis since "in view of recent events, the team no longer feels passionate about using the previous name, 'Limnos', and hopes that the new identity, �Altis�, will help emphasize the fictional nature of the game. A secondary, significantly smaller island in Arma 3, �Stratis� (approx. 20 km�), will keep its name."

We do get two new screenshots out of it, and "More precise details will be announced in February."

# ¿ Feb 1, 2013 23:06

Chortles: Dec 29, 2008

keyframe posted:

I can't wait for this game. From the videos it looks like it fixes the lovely controls of arma 2 and looks much more polished.

As of Gamescom, the default keybinding preset was "Arma 2 but with Ctrl now acting as a modifier for WSADQE to perform the incremental stance adjustments"... but notice how I said preset?

Long quotes are long so as to include glimpses as the development mindset:

RoyaltyinExile posted:

Although I'm loathe to comment about control settings before actually providing the opportunity for people to try them (debating about it in theory rarely works; you really have to get the fingers-on-the-keys in action, as it were), I would make a quick point.

I'm not sure if I've mentioned it previously, but we're aiming to introduce a set of Controls Presets - i.e. a feature that allows you to pick between pre-defined control assignments - so that we might offer some alternatives to the default set up, rather than "one-setup-to-rule-them-all" approach. While the idea isn't exactly revolutionary, it should enable us to be more flexible (e.g., supporting the 'classic' Arma 2 set up, while offering some choices/ moving toward 'industry standards' that other players may be comfortable with*).

Longer-term, though, it's cool to be able to think about more advanced functionality, such as, say, support for community-defined presets, which may be bundled with/ tailored to specific mods or game modes, etc, enabling quick switches and updates. While it's as yet WIP, generally, Presets fit in with our vision of Arma 3 as a flexible platform for official and community content; naturally, the approach has some disadvantages, but we feel they may be outweighed by the positives.

In addition to that, here's some of creative director Jay Crowe's personal keybindings:
Z: Prone/Stand
X: Crouch-toggle
C: Tactical Pace
LShift: Sprint
Spacebar: Context-sensitive action ("such as entering a vehicle as driver (which is probably the most 'controversial' choice of this personal set up)")

As far as the "disadvantages":

RoyaltyinExile posted:

The problems I'm thinking about are both high-level and technical.

An example of a high-level issue would be, say, if there is a whole bunch of different pre-sets, it can become confusing for people talking about their controls, say, in MP
quote:
Person A: "Hey man, just press Caps Lock to talk!"
Person B: "Wth... that's making me salute?"
Person A: "What? I'm using the 'Sparkle Pony' Preset, what about you?"
Person B: "Wait, what's a Preset?"
Developer J: "Ffffff"
But, yes, that's really just only about nit-picking for problems or, rather, predicting the worse, so we might better adapt to it.

From the technical point of view, there are still some fixes to the code needed to implement it corrextly. Fixes mean time, and time means effort not spent on, say, another feature which also requires attention (and there's always something else to fix). So, it's about finding a useful, appropriate balance of where we allocate resources.

And as far as "a first class treatment" for the keybindings screen:

RoyaltyinExile posted:

Sure, that's part of our general attempt to overhaul the wGUI, and our hope to display information in less clunky ways. Not sure what exactly classes as 'first class' treatment, though. Again, it's less about us reinventing the wheel, and more about trying to create a more sensible baseline by addressing legacy 'problems'*.

There are some simple fixes planned/in progress (such as making the name/ description of controls more semantic), some structural fixes (such as grouping controls into smaller, more logical sub-categories; e.g. 'infantry movement', 'vehicle controls', 'weapons', etc.), and some other things like adding tool-tips on hover, etc. Actually, that last one ran into some unexpected roadblock, so it seems unlikely to make it into our next build.

Best,
RiE

* The problem being, in my view, that even if the original system of displaying controls was fit-for-purpose, by - over the years - adding more and more features/ complexity to the game, whilst not thinking carefully about the effect of such features from all perspectives (e.g., 'will it need another control', 'don't you think this list is getting a bit long now?', 'ah, let's just stuff it on this key over here', etc), we dig our own 'usability grave' a litter deeper each time.

As for what "weapons" in that category might mean:

RoyaltyinExile posted:

Hm, think more like 'weapon handling'; e.g., fire, reload, fire mode, optics, alt-optics, zeroing, etc.

Maybe a couple of surprises, too.

Several people took "fire mode" to mean that the fire selector would finally no longer be the grenade select/cycle.

# ¿ Feb 2, 2013 00:56

Chortles: Dec 29, 2008

Mederlock posted:

Let me just say that we may be quite close to the alpha, but time will only tell. Soon, hopefully

Agreed, back in mid-January Jay Crowe tweeted that "we've now locked down our internal plans" and that "I was referring to our internal plans for the Public Alpha, specifically". Considering that the community alpha was supposedly to only have Stratis anyway, this announced renaming to from Limnos to Altis shouldn't directly delay the community alpha, and in his own announcement tweet about the renaming he added, "Further details to follow in around couple of weeks."

keyframe posted:

I can't wait for this game. From the videos it looks like it fixes the lovely controls of arma 2 and looks much more polished.

keyframe, I want to link to that "Infantry Animations and shooting" video from the OP but to the time trial that starts at 7:38.

You can also go here, here, here (with a mention of "we've already improved mouse controls allowing for much fluent and faster controls and aiming") and here (skip to 22 minutes to see the character maneuvering through a stairwell and in a confined space without the old weapon collision "snag", although it's a short SMG).

Mederlock, feel free to incorporate my earlier Jay Crowe quotes on controls into the OP as you see fit -- hell, maybe the above four links/five points in time to supplement the OP's "infantry movement/weapons handling" video? -- and if it helps, I just found this E3 2012 look at the Arma 3 inventory menu.

# ¿ Feb 2, 2013 11:38

Chortles: Dec 29, 2008

In the Gamescom build I saw that when a player (I believe the other creative director Ivan Buchta, the one jailed for four months) removed the standalone reflex sight ("ACO") from his MX rifle, the model came back onscreen with iron sights already attached.

Also, the BLUFOR magnified scope ("RCO") has a top-mounted reflex sight as well -- think the MK 16/Mk 17 from OA or the HAMR Scope from Modern Warfare 3 -- but which has a smaller frame and lens than the standalone reflex sight.

For anyone who's wondering, in the second "Splendid Altis" screenshot it appears that the foremost guy is carrying the Night Vision Optical Sight, or at least an optic that uses its model (considering that this old 2011 screenshot has an EBR that uses the same optic model).

# ¿ Feb 2, 2013 23:50

Chortles: Dec 29, 2008

Mederlock posted:

Reflex sights are superior for CQB, you're not going to want to use the tiny backup reflex on an ACOG unless you really needed too.

So far I think that that's just the "RCO" equivalents this time around, though it'd be interesting if both the NVOS and the Sniper Optical Sight from that customization picture have the iron sights as their CQB sights... seeing as that's how ACE did it (or in the case where the model didn't have iron sights, using a "look over the top of the optic" as the point of aim) before OA officially implemented made over-and-under CQB optics part of RV3.

Mederlock posted:

edit: Chortles - When the big announcement comes out this month I'll completely overhaul the OP with the info you've provided and any new information that we become privy too in the near future.

Sounds like a plan, though honestly I would add those "time points" and links to the infantry/shooting links in the OP simply so that people can see some particularly notable points... I mean, blasphemous as it sounds, some of that had me thinking "third person COD?"

# ¿ Feb 3, 2013 03:26

Chortles: Dec 29, 2008

causticBeet posted:

Can't wait to watch some YouTube movies of ArmA3.

Dude, watch those links I posted for infantry movement/weapon handling!

# ¿ Feb 3, 2013 05:36

Chortles: Dec 29, 2008

Interestingly enough, some people found that Arma 3 Alpha has been in the Steam database (CDR) since December 20, 2012, though of course the Steam store and Hub pages just redirect to the Steam storefront, and this is the new thumbnail for Arma 3's Steam Official Group in one's Official Groups listing, though its own page has the normal Arma 3 logo.

# ¿ Feb 5, 2013 00:15

Chortles: Dec 29, 2008

5000 euros each, after almost 130 days... and legally they're supposed to go back; from an Ivan Buchta interview:

quote:

Ivan and Martin returned home to the Czech Republic on Jan. 17, 2013, greeted by friends and family. Now in the weeks that have passed, the Buchta clan has grown with the birth of their daughter; however, while back in the safety of their families, the investigation into their alleged espionage during the holiday in Greece is not yet closed.

"As far as I know, the investigation should be closed at some point, and date of the court hearing should be established after that," Buchta said." I have no idea when this happens and what would be the further development. Although it certainly won't be pleasant to go there, we will respect all the decisions of the Greek justice. We have nothing to hide and I hope the truth will come out and the court will dismiss the charge of espionage."

According to the first DayZ standalone video blog, Ivan actually designed the swamps in Chernarus Plus while jailed.

EDIT:

Karel Mořick� posted:

The infamous "2, MOVE TO THAT TREE AT 2 O'CLOCK" is gone now. Radio protocol improvements in #Arma3 are likely to disappoint many trolls

Jay Crowe posted:

Yup, it's just he surname of a colleague. It's fun to be able to order him around.

We're experimenting with the identities system for radio protocol, having 'human names' for squad members, within certain restrictions.

We look forward to talking more/ getting feedback about the refinements to this feature in the next couple of months.

"Lacey, move half a klick, northeast."

Karel Mořick� posted:

quote:
I suppose CfgIdentities could contain a spoken name sample.
You suppose right

FURTHER EDIT: some insight on Arma 3 design according to Jay Crowe, particularly in explaining the fact that his forums sig calls Arma 3 infantry-centric:

quote:

It doesn't mean we only deliver an infantry game; rather, it means we pick infantry as a starting point, and everything else we do - helicopters, tanks, UAVs, scuba, whatever - needs to be mindful of this 'core' gameplay. We're simply not a big enough team to do everything to the level of fidelity we'd like, so we need to focus on making a consistent core platform that we, and the community, can build upon.

In the past, we've hurt ourselves by not thinking carefully about the dependencies new features have with each other. To some extent, some early decisions in Arma 3 risked making the same mistake. Someone has a passion for something, so a feature is bolted on without appropriate consideration of the 'big picture'. Now, I can't say Arma 3 will fix these problems entirely, but I hope the ship (HMS. Splendid) is steering in a new direction.

"Assets and technology promoting, supporting, and balancing diverse infantry-based gameplay are the primary focus" and "Refined controls and animations focused upon fluidity of movement" were nice little bullet points.

Chortles fucked around with this message at 22:12 on Feb 16, 2013

# ¿ Feb 11, 2013 09:08

Chortles: Dec 29, 2008

As with a bunch of people on the BI forums, I am... skeptical, though we're supposedly going to have an official announcement before the end of this month.

EDIT: Whadya know, Bohemia Interactive is onboard with Sony for the PS4! (Their logo is to the right of Ubisoft's which is in the lower left of the picture.) Also, have a possible Arma 3 gameplay report from a purported long-time player and focus tester!

Highlights of improvements:

quote:

Controls:
The (default) controls got a little more complex since Arma 2 but they do make more sense now.
I think the Space key for actions does make it easier for using actions although, it seems that if you look at, for example, a vehicle to board it but you have a higher priority action like the self heal, you still need to go through your actions menu. My suggestion would be to have a way to make actions from objects that you are currently looking at with higher priority then the player's character self actions.
I also like how the new kneel/prone/stand keys work now, this was actually made simpler by assigning the 3 actions to only two keys (Z and X).

quote:

Movement/Animations:
The movement is smooth and character reacts better then ever to user input.
I found that it is still hard to move through buildings doors though, not so much as in Arma 2 but still the doors seem to be smaller then they should.
The diversity of animations is fantastic, since I'm quite used to Arma games it was pretty easy for me to get used to them, but for new players an extensive tutorial may be needed on the stances modifier.
I'm a bit unsure about the tactical pace yet. Might have some more feedback after getting more time to use it. But the idea is great, you can still fire while moving a little faster then normal walking speed, with the disadvantage of having a very poor accuracy.
Like in previous Arma's, there seems to be no option to make your character walk by default other then when inside a mission, you can double tap the Shift key, although I think there should be an option so you don't have to double tap Shift everytime you start or load a mission.
I also like the feature that forces you to walk when tired but I think the character does get tired very quickly, more then what I would expect, especially when only carrying a rifle, pistol and vest.
It seems you no longer are able to switch from Standing to Kneel and Kneel to Standing while running.

quote:

Graphics/Visuals:
The game visuals are fantastic, the lighting looks great and more colorful then ever.
I got the impression that the vegetation doesn't have those rough changes like in Arma 2.

quote:

Overall I'm quite impressed with the current build of the game and the effort to make it more user-friendly did pay off.

Chortles fucked around with this message at 09:06 on Feb 21, 2013

# ¿ Feb 20, 2013 12:19

Chortles: Dec 29, 2008

WHAT THE--

quote:

Master Server List
\hostname\country\numplayers\maxplayers\gametype\mapname

publicip: 81.0.236.114
publicport: 2302
privateip: 192.168.34.93
privateport: 2302
icmpip: 81.0.236.6
hostname: Raedek on I see the forums!
country: CZ
numplayers: 7
maxplayers: 7
gametype: COOP
mapname: Stratis

Also, a previous sighting, and according to "jerry hopper" on the BI forums, "gameversion is still : 0.5.101892"

Chortles fucked around with this message at 12:24 on Feb 21, 2013

# ¿ Feb 21, 2013 12:02

Chortles: Dec 29, 2008

Xeno, ACE Team Leader re: Domination missions posted:

Oh, I haven't seen anti domina posts for some time (or I didn't notice them, not following this forum closely anymore)
Don't worry, I won't get SteA3m (domina is abandoned anyway) and I won't hand out permissions to port it to A3.

You just have to fire up the editor and build the MP mission/mode of your dreams, very easy. Just takes lots of time.

Xeno

I wonder what this means for ACE3? :ironicat:

One of the things that got lost to most in the wake of the Steam announcement:
BE ADVISED, OPFOR IS TACTICOOL (weapon reveal! Real world similarity)
A glimpse at BLUFOR and terrain (and the Mi-48 Kajman/"Hamoc"?
A BI dev was probably thinking "U MAD?" when coming up with this

# ¿ Feb 22, 2013 08:38

Chortles: Dec 29, 2008

At least one modder doesn't try to rage his way into getting BI to back down:

R0adki11 posted:

Also on another point, i as a mod maker will continue to make my Nogovan Armed Forces Mod and i intend to bring the mod of to Arma3.

As far as details on the implementation:

Dwarden;2300068 posted:

so let put flat out some claims to death

1. STEAM adoption will not block any possibility to use 3rd party tools (let say sixupdater)

2. STEAM adoption will not replace content hubs like armaholic

please see Skyrim and Civilization 5 modding

3. i/we do fully understand the concerns about STEAM offline mode issues (login/LAN etc) and we will try improve / tweak that as much as possible

4. try guess what games and which developer is one of main reasons STEAM has now differ byte delta patching ?

5. arguments about chance something being stolen because it's easier to upload them to STEAM ... well i bet if we adopted e.g. Desura it would be same argument all over again, there was always someone trying steal our and mods content since 2000 so i guess that's moot point

I so, so love #4 just twisting in the knife for the anti-DayZ crowd...

EDIT:

Dwarden posted:

the dedicated server might be completely separated data package with it's own binary, detached to main game package , this is all subject of things in WIP

Chortles fucked around with this message at 12:27 on Feb 22, 2013

# ¿ Feb 22, 2013 11:55

Chortles: Dec 29, 2008

The tears flowing, the gnashing and wailing and demanding, one forums user claims to believe that the BI forums' Arma 3 subforum represents "a fairly accurate cross-section of ArmA's players as a whole", another forums user calls the CEO's own firsthand response "blatant lies" and even directly complains about why the dev who wrote the devblog was picked to be project lead in the first place (complaining that that project lead had "drove TKOH against the wall at least as far as I got it") and a forums moderator (the CWR2 modder) threatens to up and go Galt... hell, it overwhelms the "development blog & reveals" thread after a mod warns to redirect further Steam talk to the Steamworks thread, getting the devblog thread locked.

Say hailthefish, could you save me some of that :munch:

?

Oh, it gets better: the BI CEO was revealed by Rocket in an Australian interview to be executive producer of the DayZ standalone, while the CEO said:

Maruk posted:

we simply do not see any other feasible way for our company at the moment than focusing on Steam as the sole platform for Arma 3 and our other upcoming PC games. We are aware of some negative consequences but this the best we can do concerning Arma 3 and games beyond.

# ¿ Feb 23, 2013 09:46

Chortles: Dec 29, 2008

LP97S posted:

God, that one mod who's complaining is nuts. He hates all of the people who bought the game just to play it and never make addons. The worst part is that he's the Project Lead for the Cold War Rearmed 2 project (that's the Operation Flashpoint total conversion). If that rear end in a top hat refuses to port to ArmA III he's a damned fool.

It gets worse -- he was one of those who didn't agree with the high-tech/"future warfare" aesthetic back when it was revealed in 2011.

W0lle posted:

There's something I should point out because some people obviously get it wrong:

I never said I will not move on (or adapt) to Arma3. In fact, I already prepared a pretty huge Mod for it. The folder structure is set up, even very basic configs written, I had talks with some of the required people. Even a 'release plan' aka what comes first was done. Then 'full steam ahead' came.

No one can say I'm not willing to adapt. I would have agreed the stupid SciFi setting, at least until 'normal' units were available.

But I will not use Steam, not after the experience I made with it some years ago (I wrote about that 2 days ago). In short: A software which removes complete folders on my computer without asking for confirmation is unacceptable. And I don't care if that was a one time screw-up, nor what gone wrong and where. I don't care how solid Steam works now (or not), alone the possibility that I lose data again will not make me deal seriously with Steam again.
gammadust posted:
- Community impact on its identity (given so many valued members willing to quit the scene - justifiably so - while impoverishing it in the way and changing its fundamental character)
Don't worry about that, there are millions - read again: millions of new Modders ahead. The few not 'adapting' will not matter.
I wouldn't say these 'valuable members' will leave, many of them just don't migrate to Arma3.

And not even him being a forums moderator will spare BI his 'wrath':

W0lle posted:

Play offline with the requirement to check once every 30 days if the conditions haven't changed and I sell my soul to Valve. See #1007
Besides that, this developer blog is pure PR, nothing else.

What I wonder, has whoever is responsible at BI for this brilliant decision checked first to what lovely conditions their customers must agree to play Arma 3?

I doubt it. That would have been too much work.

After reading these Steam TOC I'm even more disappointed from BI. Never I have thought they would betray their loyal fanbase that much in order to save some time and money. And yes to me this betrayal.

Someone veers right into saying something they shouldn't have said, yet at the end they get it all too well:

MemphisBelle posted:

This is the by far most reason that makes me disappointed about BI as well. 12 years of loyal fanbase membership will facepunched and thrown away. ArmA CWC, ArmA and ArmA2 have always been special Games for Special people.

I don't hate steam. I actually think it is quite a good possibility to handle my games. The only different, from my point of view is, that ArmA don't fit into this steam universe. As someone here already said, we cant do anythings against this. BI will push it through and we will only have the choice to either take it or leave it. That�s why I voted with yes. I want to see whether my concerns are warrantable or not...One thing will happen for sure, the BI Community will never be the one I�ve entered 12 years ago...in June 2001, when I purchased OFP...thats really too bad

Oh, and the thread is not only locked by a different moderator, but a user got permabanned for apparently creating a shitload of alt accounts with which to spam the "will you buy Arma 3 (Steam exclusive)" poll in the thread.

# ¿ Feb 24, 2013 14:02

Chortles: Dec 29, 2008

Dan Didio posted:

I thought as much. What a bizzare thing to get indignant about.

Mind you, it's coming in this case from someone who presumably owes his moderator position -- and any community relevance -- to a mid-1980s total conversion mod...

# ¿ Feb 24, 2013 20:00

Chortles: Dec 29, 2008

Be advised, apparent ARG in progress related to non-ShackTac server host names here.

# ¿ Feb 25, 2013 03:16

Chortles: Dec 29, 2008

Carecat posted:

The only scifi technology was the underwater rifles, which sort of exist. Everything else exists in at least prototype form.

Caveat: Apparently underwater assault rifles really do exist, it's just that only the Soviets/Russians did those -- America and Germany (H&K) never got past pistols -- and the in-game weapon (SDAR 6.5mm) uses the appearance a modified Kel-Tec RFB (no optics rail, changed logo) battle rifle, but in-game it uses special 20-round magazines with supercavitating ammo in the same caliber as the assault rifles.

Dan Didio posted:

I thought as much. What a bizzare thing to get indignant about.

Let's put it this way, Dan Didio: Only in Arma would you have an "Is Arma 3 authentic?" forums thread specifically to rebut the "OMG sci-fi immersion ruined"... which, again, revealed that much of the appearing hardware has an IRL counterpart, even if some of the details are off though believe you me some of them will sperg out about said details, or complain that the RAH-66 Comanche never made it past prototype in our timeline... you know, ignoring the fact that Arma's timeline diverged from ours all the way back in the mid-1980s. And yeah, some people ARE set off by the game being set in the future at all. :rolleyes:

Remember, this is a crowd where someone can complain that tactical pace/the infantry movement and weapon handling changes are "too fluid and responsive" and not be laughed out of the forum...

Turin Turambar posted:

Buuut, buut it will totally destroy their realistic immersion when they are being shot by 'invented' firearms with a made-up name, instead of a real AK or M16 properly labelled as such, even if functionally they are the same!!

In fairness, more mainstream games aren't always much better in this field; see Medal of Honor: Warfighter.

Speaking of which, Turam, the Steamworks thread is open again.

# ¿ Feb 25, 2013 20:46

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# ¿ Apr 19, 2024 17:17

Chortles: Dec 29, 2008

ARG confirmed, click the "About this site" link.

Speaking of which, as of this post one of the Gamespy Arma 3 servers has the hostname "@Tom__Larkin http://www.altis-quest.com/", corresponding to both the Web site and a Twitter account. The "Randall" in one of the blog posts corresponds to this Twitter account, and there's this guy.

As far as the "Mike-26" references... here.

Chortles fucked around with this message at 11:33 on Feb 26, 2013

# ¿ Feb 26, 2013 11:31

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Video Games > Arma 3: Totally Not a Zombie Simulator

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