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Digital Gaming => Computer Gaming => Topic started by: solops on June 21, 2015, 12:58:02 PM

Title: Arma III Advice
Post by: solops on June 21, 2015, 12:58:02 PM
It has been years since I had an FPS game as they are not usually my cup of tea, but after listening to my son play and reading stuff here about it, I broke down and bought Arma III w/ all DLC at 60% off....I hate the Steam summer sale....

Anyway, I need some help with mod stuff. I plan on playing vanilla for a bit, but I am intrigued by what I read here, particularly by comments on DayZ and KotH. Which mods are "best"? Which of these is a server? What mods do you have to play on a particular server? Where do you get this stuff? I looked over the Steam Workshop and got confused. DayZ was listed, but had no ratings, which seemed odd. So, if I want to fight Zombies, what do I get? If I want to fight Nazis or Soviet era type, what do I get?

I live in the country and have satellite internet, limited to 15 gigs combined upload+download per month before my connection turns into a pumpkin...though I do have unlimited usage between Midnight and 5AM. Plus my son says our ping sucks, ranging from 1000 to 3000, so I am not liable to do much online multiplayer stuff.


OK, comments welcome and desired.
Title: Re: Arma III Advice
Post by: Skoop on June 21, 2015, 01:20:41 PM
You definitely scored, arma franchise is one of the greatest fps of all time. 

I don't play dayZ but I think you download it as a package then activate it with the launcher.  There's online servers dedicated to the mod that you can play on, might even be able to play sp as well.  There's also wasteland which is survivor game like dayZ but with out the zombies.

If you want Cold War, theres rhs.  If you want Vietnam, the VTE(Vietnam the experience), if you want WWII there's iron front in arma3 or I44.  The options are insanely limitless.

You should check out the WLA (whole lota altis) dynamic mission, has really cool sp action.  I used this mission to get used to helos because it uses the whole map, you need helos to get around. 

I'm just barely scratching the surface here, you can get mods from armaholic, use sixupdater for automatic ease of use, or use the included arma launcher to activate the mod folders once you install them. 

You'll definately get your money's worth.
Title: Re: Arma III Advice
Post by: Toonces on June 21, 2015, 01:31:31 PM
I went with the Day Z standalone, so I can't help you with playing it in ARMA 3.  It is MP-only anyway, although I read that they're going to create a single player version.  No more details than that, that I've read.

ARMA 3 vanilla is pretty darn cool.  I don't know that you need to rush out and start modding it.  If you do, though, the RHS mod is really cool.  If you go to the Planned Assault website you can create random-ish missions and import them into ARMA 3 to play. 

Finally, there are just a butt-ton of SP missions in the workshop, many dynamic.  If you spend some time searching you'll surely find some that suit what you are looking for.

Take it nice and slow; the game is massive and there is a lot of content that comes with the stock install.

If you go MP, which with your ping is probably not feasible, the King of the Hill servers are super fun, but you're going to eat up bandwidth doing that.
Title: Re: Arma III Advice
Post by: undercovergeek on June 21, 2015, 02:42:19 PM
theres the new Blood royale one too - good RPS description
Title: Re: Arma III Advice
Post by: Bardolph on June 22, 2015, 11:05:32 AM
With a ping that high you aren't going to have much fun online. Fortunately ARMA is a wonderful toybox of tactical combat. There are tons of offline or local coop missions available to download, and the editor is very simple to use and it is incredibly easy to create simple missions on the fly. I've spent hours just messing about in the editor, plopping some units down somewhere on the map and getting into firefights. I've also spent hours learning to fly the various helos and planes, practicing long distance shooting etc.
Title: Re: Arma III Advice
Post by: MengJiao on June 22, 2015, 11:30:25 AM
Quote from: Toonces on June 21, 2015, 01:31:31 PM
I
ARMA 3 vanilla is pretty darn cool.  I don't know that you need to rush out and start modding it.  If you do, though, the RHS mod is really cool.  If you go to the Planned Assault website you can create random-ish missions and import them into ARMA 3 to play. 

  I agree about vanilla.

  I've played ARMA 3, mostly vanilla for years in the editor.  You can randomize a lot of stuff without much trouble.  Lately I've been looking at
some small terrains in the workshop, but I'm happy with very small battles against the AI.
Title: Re: Arma III Advice
Post by: Jarhead0331 on June 22, 2015, 12:12:36 PM
http://grogheads.com/forums/index.php?topic=13004.msg338319#msg338319 (http://grogheads.com/forums/index.php?topic=13004.msg338319#msg338319)
Title: Re: Arma III Advice
Post by: solops on June 22, 2015, 06:38:57 PM
Jarhead, you are a cruel man...posting mod pics like that and no download links? Are the mods available yet? If there were links, I missed them.

How is the bunker coming?
Title: Re: Arma III Advice
Post by: Jarhead0331 on June 22, 2015, 08:12:50 PM
Quote from: solops on June 22, 2015, 06:38:57 PM
Jarhead, you are a cruel man...posting mod pics like that and no download links? Are the mods available yet? If there were links, I missed them.

How is the bunker coming?

http://forums.bistudio.com/showthread.php?177321-The-Eridanus-Insurrection-An-Arma-3-Total-Modication (http://forums.bistudio.com/showthread.php?177321-The-Eridanus-Insurrection-An-Arma-3-Total-Modication)

http://www.armaholic.com/page.php?id=25231 (http://www.armaholic.com/page.php?id=25231)
Title: Re: Arma III Advice
Post by: Jarhead0331 on June 22, 2015, 08:16:09 PM
Check out this one too...

http://grogheads.com/forums/index.php?topic=12502.0 (http://grogheads.com/forums/index.php?topic=12502.0)
Title: Re: Arma III Advice
Post by: jomni on June 22, 2015, 09:43:52 PM
For the lazy, Planned Assault is a good way to quickly cook up missions.

www.plannedassault.com
Title: Re: Arma III Advice
Post by: solops on June 22, 2015, 10:18:34 PM
Thank you all for the comments and advice. The links to the various websites will be invaluable over the coming years. After getting nowhere with the Arma3 karts, I ordered a game controller, the first since I had an Apple IIe. I suspect it will be better for Arma3 that my mouse.
Title: Re: Arma III Advice
Post by: Jarhead0331 on June 23, 2015, 06:10:11 AM
Quote from: solops on June 22, 2015, 10:18:34 PM
Thank you all for the comments and advice. The links to the various websites will be invaluable over the coming years. After getting nowhere with the Arma3 karts, I ordered a game controller, the first since I had an Apple IIe. I suspect it will be better for Arma3 that my mouse.

What!?? No!!! Do not play ARMA III with a game controller! Arma karts is a stupid gimmick, it's the one product put out by Bohemia that I refuse to buy. The rest of the game is hardcore and in my opinion, a controller will hold you back. A mouse and keyboard together with a good flight stick is the way to go with this game. There is no way you will be able to shoot precisely with a game controller. It will probably frustrate your whole experience.

One thing I learned with this game is that fps is extremely important to success or failure. I recently upgraded my video card and it is like playing a new game. It used to be extremely hard for me to spot and accurately hit targets at medium to long distance. The new video card has changed all that. I've been able to enhance detail which helps with spotting and the improved fps helps with finer control, especially with precision marksmanship, and even with some aspects of rotary flight.
Title: Re: Arma III Advice
Post by: solops on June 23, 2015, 09:11:35 AM
OK, words of wisdom. I already have a flight controller, so that is covered. What setting do you use for distance visibility? My son says that if they see a helicopter then they usually die, so I suppose spotting is vital in many ways. I have not found the best video settings yet. My rig is not bad, but the video does have limits. I built a desktop w/ i7-4770, a single Nvidea 2GB GTX-770 and 16 gigs RAM. Any recommended minimum framerate? I am guessing 50-60...?

BTW, on helicopters...I am guessing the kids get popped due to thermal imaging, since they try to take cover as soon as they spot the helo. Do the grunts have thermal blankets to hide under like a forest firefighter, or something like that? There is soooo much to this game.

BTW, my "kid" is 17...does that make me old?
Title: Re: Arma III Advice
Post by: Pete Dero on June 23, 2015, 09:30:56 AM
Quote from: solops on June 23, 2015, 09:11:35 AM
What setting do you use for distance visibility?

Doesn't the distance setting only change how far terrain features (trees, ...) are displayed ?
I'm not sure if is has any impact on other objects (tanks, helicopters, soldiers ...).

Title: Re: Arma III Advice
Post by: Skoop on June 23, 2015, 08:23:47 PM
So after my latest spring time run through with arma3, I really focused on helos.  Now the gunner seat is awesome in all the attack helos, but for crying out loud the AI will not fly for you, so it's useless in sp.

Man you would think with all the years BIS has been doing this, they would atleast make the AI pilot for you just like they will drive a tank for you so you can gun.

I would have been all over the helo dlc if they would have revamped the ai pilots.  Oh well, still a great game anyways, I will just have to move to mp to get my attack helo gunner fix.
Title: Re: Arma III Advice
Post by: RyanE on June 23, 2015, 08:32:23 PM
I have been put off by the future setting.  Have there been enough mods of current systems to make it now than future?
Title: Re: Arma III Advice
Post by: Toonces on June 23, 2015, 08:47:47 PM
You're into areas I'm not familiar with.  I would assume that it's the helo's vis setting that is important for you getting killed.  If you're without AAA support then you are a sitting duck for a helo.

I suppose your so is smarter about this than me....maybe you better just listen to him.  I can't check my vis setting on this computer- and my other is in storage right now.   >:(