Unlabelled ARMA I Must Go, My People Need Me! (Arma 3 MP Physics, gotta love those!)

4/04/2018 03:52:00 pm
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ARMA I Must Go, My People Need Me! (Arma 3 MP Physics, gotta love those!)

I Must Go, My People Need Me! (Arma 3 MP Physics, gotta love those!)

Posted: 03 Apr 2018 11:58 AM PDT

With so many new features and reworking of old mechanics, I hope this gets tackled in ArmA 4

Posted: 03 Apr 2018 11:00 PM PDT

And by 'this', I mean addressing the big elephant in the room: AI, and more importantly, the CONTROLLING of AI. Since Operation Flashpoint, the command and control of AI has remained virtually unchanged.

That's 17 years of having the same UI and controls. How many games can you recall that have had no refinement of their basic controls in an almost two decade span of continous sequels? How many games that have been going on for almost two decades, that you know of, leave a major mechanic of their game untouched despite it being one of the weakest points of the game? Anyone that's ever played a mission, singleplayer or multiplayer, that involves the commanding of AI units can quickly attest to just how utterly abyssmal this critical, key feature of the game is handled.

One could certainly excuse the initial design decisions of OF: Cold War Crisis. It released in 2001, when Ghost Recon had made it's first debut, and Rainbow Six had only existed for just shy of 3 years at the time. Hell, it would be 3 more years until Full Spectrum Warrior, and 4 until Brothers in Arms. It was certainly no lie to say that in almost every single way, CWC was not only treading a very lightly traveled path, but was introducing gameplay features that had never been attempted before; Let alone at such scale.

But this is where the problem largely stems from. As genres revolving around the commanding of AI around the player progressed forward and innovated, ArmA was content to remain in limbo, learning virtually none of the lessons of it's competition, and quickly reducing one of the core features of the game, and arguably one of the most important, to being a sideshow gimmick.

There are TEN basic 'over menus' involved in the commanding of units in ArmA. Everything from formations, to fire teams, to even things like telling your AI to relax and lower their weapons. While this certainly sounds neat on paper, should the urge ever arise to start arranging your men into haphazard formations and making them go through CORDS drills, it really has nothing to do with the actual gameplay. Several of these menus are positively oversaturated with 'flavor' options, and of the options of actual importance, there is poor responsiveness and an unintuitive series of hoops to jump through in order to do basic tasks.

Lets compare, for a moment, Brothers in Arms and ArmA. Both very different games, to be sure, but both sharing a core component of design: either directly or indirectly, the majority of the gameplay revolves around the commanding of others and/or working alongside other entities under pressure. If I want to select a fire team in BiA, move them into cover, and then have them suppress a target, all while under fire, I need merely hold down a button to bring up a contextual pointer, aim it at the point of cover, and then repeat by aiming at a general force of enemies and the AI is intelligent enough to respond quickly and to engage a general population of enemies in that area with suppressive fire. This entire time, I've pressed two, THREE at the very most, buttons to hurry units into cover and respond accurately and quickly to a threat to leverage a tactical advantage.

To do that very same thing in ArmA 3, I'll be generous and assume that I've already set fireteams ahead of time. First I'll have to hold left ctrl in order to make sure I don't go selecting individual soldiers. Then I have to awkwardly circumvent decent ergonomics of control by also stretching that hand between opposing ends of the keyboard to press a function key for that fireteam. Then I'm presented with two options: Do I give a move order, and have them move to a generalized area with little regard to cover and no element of haste because the AI is designed to bound at all times even when it's highly detrimental and unresponsive to threats? Or do I attempt to open up the movement menu, and then press another button for them to 'find cover' loosely based off of what direction the formation is facing? Afterwards, I can order suppressive fire(To which, personally, I've never seen the AI actually do.) with no real way of designating what I actually want suppressed and focused on within a general area, or I can either A) Awkwardly aim manually at individual targets(And potentially have to assign targets to each and every member or fire team) to hopefully get a result, or B) Open ANOTHER menu specific to targeting, and then press the corresponding number to the corresponding target(And if there are several targets, I may have to flip through several pages with the '0' key).

If that seemed like a really long winded paragraph, it's not just you. That explanation is a SIMPLIFICATION of just how absurd AI control in ArmA is. Compare the two-to-three button presses of Brothers in Arms to the minimum of of SIX to do the exact same task. And worse yet, even with all the extra button presses, the added complexity doesn't even make the actions more accurate and responsive, because the AI companions are WORSE at following these orders and will often misinterpret or outright ignore them routinely, or in the best of scenarios, carry them out but take several unintended liberties along the way that makes it a far more frustrating and deadly experience.

At this point, I could go on and on, citing examples and pointing out the huge litany of menu spaghetti that turns commanding units in ArmA into an absolute clusterfuck that's totally impractical in the heat of battle, and even outside of it is tedious and frustrating. In order for ArmA 4 to truly be an 'upgrade' beyond the superficial such as graphics or performance, progression needs to be made in giving the basic, core functions of the game a serious amount of attention and reworking. Entire game modes of the game are rendered nearly impractical by this issue, and many missions are far more frustrating than they are fun as you get further in singleplayer campaigns and get handed more authority. People reflexively tend to flinch at terms in the gaming industry such as 'streamlining' and 'simplification', but this is an example of where a game would truly benefit for EVERYONE involved by taking this approach with this specific feature of the franchise.

Of course, complaining alone isn't enough if one doesn't propose solutions. I've always liked the idea of two layers of commanding in ArmA. The first, most used one would be a Brother in Arm's-style contextual order button that foregoes the use of menus. You point at a low wall or point of cover? Your fireteam moves to it. You point it at enemies? It applies a general suppressive fire order unless the 'team' in question is some form of specialty team(Such as a sniper or AT team) which could give them a more relevant contextual order. One button for these basic orders, with no menus necessary, and a second button for rallying your fireteams(double pressing would recall ALL fireteams).

The second layer would be a dedicated menu, much like the map(In fact, it would be nice to have it incorporated into the map's dedicated menu whenever you open it, as an option to bring up at any time). From here, you get your own fancy UI where you can manage the composition of your fireteams, set formations, and apply special orders and/or orders involving places not within direct visual sightlines, ala Ghost Recon. With this, you retain the potential for the more complex and 'flavor' orders of the game, while making the keyboard much more ergonomic and space-efficient, and making AI controls far more user friendly.

Of course, these sorts of improvements go a long way, but the road to improving AI so that they reliably use things like cover, weapon resting/bipods, and other important aspects(Like, for instance, more difficult circumstances such as room clearing. Something I'd like to see perhaps tackled in the 'advanced orders' window I've proposed, allowing you to designate a building on the map to clear and occupy. Who knows, maybe having this sort of framework would make it easier to have AI developed in the future capable of doing things like breaching and fragging/flashing rooms before running in.) of combat in ArmA is absolutely critical to making them more than a gimmick at best, and a handicap at worst. As you can tell by my long-winded rant, I consider this THE MOST important feature of a potential ArmA 4 in the future, and what would separate it from the rest of the franchise as a bold attempt to truly modernize and improve upon the game in ways far more meaningful and relevant than new guns, tanks, planes, or maps ever could be.

TL; DR: ArmA 4 badly needs UI and controls for the commanding of AI that aren't a keyboard version of Bop-it! AI also need to actually follow orders responsively and stop being individuals before I make them form sweat angels on the concrete.

submitted by /u/Sedition7988
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Ramming speed!

Posted: 03 Apr 2018 03:15 AM PDT

Quarry is where friendships go to die in our sessions...

Posted: 03 Apr 2018 05:37 PM PDT

Hopefully this will be enough illumination for the helicopter

Posted: 03 Apr 2018 06:02 AM PDT

Y Wing - 0 | Vulture Droid - 1

Posted: 03 Apr 2018 08:39 AM PDT

Indian Special Forces [Teaser]

Posted: 03 Apr 2018 08:24 AM PDT

Is there an ARMA3 version of Flashpoint?

Posted: 03 Apr 2018 02:47 PM PDT

There is an excellent scenario for ARMA 2 called FLASHPOINT. It was simple, highly flexible and dynamic, and very open-ended.

Any idea where I can find an updated version, or something similar? Really what I'm looking for is a scenario where there's a huge chaotic war going on and I just have to get from one side to the other. Other features on top of that are gravy.

I've seen a lot of dynamic/persistent war mods but those tend to put the PC in charge, and I'd rather just try to survive.

submitted by /u/Infinite_Zs
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Suggested mods for using in single-player (with AI) scenarios?

Posted: 03 Apr 2018 08:28 PM PDT

G'day,

Just looking for your suggestions on QoL, essential or gameplay enhancing mods that I can use in single-player scenarios such as Dynamic Recon Ops, DUWS or Antistasi. Anything as far as sound mods to AI control mods is greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

submitted by /u/ProHan
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We need help for our recently purchased server...

Posted: 03 Apr 2018 07:24 PM PDT

So my PMC group recently bought a server through Host Havic. We are using filezilla to upload the mods and what not but there seems to be some problem with some of the mods... This is what it is saying on the log....

===================================================================== == arma3server.exe == "arma3server.exe" -ip=14.1.30.99 -port=2302 -noPause -noSound "-cfg=A3DS\basic.cfg" "-config=A3DS\server.cfg" "-profiles=A3DS" -world=empty Original output filename: Arma3Retail_Server Exe timestamp: 2017/12/13 18:03:13 Current time: 2018/04/03 19:25:08 Type: Public Build: Stable Version: 1.80.143869 Allocator: Dll\tbb4malloc_bi.dll [2017.0.0.0] [2017.0.0.0] PhysMem: 64 GiB, VirtMem : 4.0 GiB, AvailPhys : 34 GiB, AvailVirt : 3.9 GiB, AvailPage : 33 GiB ===================================================================== 19:25:08 SteamAPI initialization failed. Steam features won't be accessible! 19:25:09 Cannot register unknown string STR_3DEN_CAMERA_NAME 19:25:09 Cannot register unknown string STR_DIFF_SCENE_ONLY 19:25:09 Cannot register unknown string STR_DIFF_SCENE_AND_MAP 19:25:10 Initializing stats manager. 19:25:10 Stats config disabled. 19:25:10 sessionID: 7c284315b906949a1514cf97134630703dc0feec

19:25:41 Arma 3 Laws of War | orange | true | GAME DIR | 4218684688ce66df818f107e2f95c59a26323121 | b3b9582b | orange 19:25:41 Arma 3 Malden | argo | true | GAME DIR | 05003900123009df799f674dab222647cc0cc676 | 36610ff1 | argo 19:25:41 Arma 3 Jets | jets | true | GAME DIR | 8d1003272f4550977c09f9c3de192339a29268ad | 5d2e6b70 | jets 19:25:41 Arma 3 Apex | expansion | true | GAME DIR | ed1b8b914be28b134d041da7deebf7b5b68e6ed3 | ed5a9be7 | expansion 19:25:41 Arma 3 Marksmen | mark | true | GAME DIR | e405dfd48cf0dc78bc48e630f5065676723be5df | d0f859df | mark 19:25:41 Arma 3 Helicopters | heli | true | GAME DIR | abbb58afcd71da8d6f39462585ce554c2bde319e | 3b66e8c1 | heli 19:25:41 Arma 3 Karts | kart | true | GAME DIR | 0a38a8eedccec3bd371c52470ecfbc300bce7e26 | 5248a2ba | kart 19:25:41 Arma 3 Zeus | curator | true | GAME DIR | e9e394b64efe10fcde232d90ae425eb377c62b16 | 42741b1b | curator 19:25:41 Arma 3 | A3 | true |

submitted by /u/Viking_Warrior1
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What can I say? It's KOTH.

Posted: 03 Apr 2018 11:15 PM PDT

Time To Go Loud - Hot Heli Insert

Posted: 03 Apr 2018 07:12 PM PDT

I finally did it!

Posted: 03 Apr 2018 05:33 AM PDT

Tips for creating combined arms coop missions

Posted: 03 Apr 2018 01:35 PM PDT

Anyone has experience on this? how do I balance it to keep zeus interference to a minimum (for performance reasons)? I was thinking on giving objetives inside forests so infantry had to get in there while tanks had more open space combat, i'm speaking of coops for 12-15 players.

Before I made coops with tanks in cities but they had way too much AT so in the end it was better to just go as infantry anyway, still can't find the sweet spot to make it challenging but at the same time playable

submitted by /u/fycj
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Please help, our server is getting this error

Posted: 03 Apr 2018 07:56 PM PDT

Warning Message: You cannot play/edit this mission; it is dependent on downloadable content that has been deleted. a3_characters_f

submitted by /u/Viking_Warrior1
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RHS ACOGs disappearing?

Posted: 03 Apr 2018 04:49 PM PDT

Does anyone ever equip an RHS ACOG on their rifle, navigate away from the rifle tab, come back, and then the ACOG disappears? It only happens with RHS ACOGs for me and it's super annoying. Is this a known issue?

submitted by /u/RevanTheReborn
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RPGs flying over me and my mate, then its just me left

Posted: 03 Apr 2018 02:58 PM PDT

[Bug] Can´t select bombs in jet

Posted: 03 Apr 2018 10:16 AM PDT

First off, I experienced this bug only on the Dev-Branch of ArmA 3.

I always play with mods like Blastcore, CBA, Bloodlust, JSRS... etc. On any map in a aircraft I can´t select any laser-guided bomb (GBU-31, LOM-250G) through weapon switching (F). On the normal ArmA 3 client I didn´t had this problem at all.

Send help.

submitted by /u/LightsEUW
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CSAT forces COIN operations on Stratis

Posted: 03 Apr 2018 12:43 PM PDT

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