The first part of the campaign for ARMA III is now released ;D
It's been out for over a week for those subscribed to the development branch. It's pretty good, too.
oh :-[
I can't remember when I bought in. I thought I had bought in at Alpha. So many options when you buy nowadays.
Anyway - it does look very smart on my new PC and can't wait to get started - day off today too :)
Everyone who owns the game has access to and can subscribe to the development branch. Basically, BIS releases beta patches and content to the subscribers of the development branch to sort of test it all before official release. But all of that early content is available if you want it. You sign up through the steam game options. Give it a shot!
The campaign is very reminiscent of the one that came with the original Operation Flashpoint and that's a good thing.
I hope they get around to implementing deployable* bipods soon. I miss bring able to brace my weapon and being able to hit stuff past 150 metres or so. Nab, weapon sway and recoil are rough in ArmA III.
*curse you, Apple auto correct!
Quote from: Silent Disapproval Robot on November 01, 2013, 01:49:53 PM
The campaign is very reminiscent of the one that came with the original Operation Flashpoint and that's a good thing.
I hope they get around to implementing deplorable bipods soon. I miss bring able to brace my weapon and being able to hit stuff past 150 metres or so. Nab, weapon sway and recoil are rough in ArmA III.
Agreed on the bipod thing.
I also thought it was a bit like that mission where you had to evade the enemy.
Really enjoying it so far and it looks fantastic.
Quote from: Silent Disapproval Robot on November 01, 2013, 01:49:53 PM
The campaign is very reminiscent of the one that came with the original Operation Flashpoint and that's a good thing.
I hope they get around to implementing deplorable bipods soon. I miss bring able to brace my weapon and being able to hit stuff past 150 metres or so. Nab, weapon sway and recoil are rough in ArmA III.
I edited up a few small house-to-house battles last night. The close range compensates for my difficulties with aiming. I think I got one AI guy by opening a door and finding him on the floor and shooting him 20-30 times but then I missed another AI with like 6 40mm grenades from across the street. I think he got me later. In revenge, I became him after death, but finding he was alone (his 4 buddies were all rag-dolled all over the landscape), I legged him out of town. In a different version of the same battle he got run over by a truck so I guess we all came out even in the end. Or in the end it all evened out. Even in the end.
Which reminds me -- either the AI is lot smarter (the truck driver AI didn't run over any friendlies and he did run over that poor guy -- I think -- it is possible he was killed by something else -- its a small town and there's a lot of bullets flying around) or I've learned to give them orders that don't get them run over by their own trucks.
The second chapter in the campaign, "Adapt," has been released to subscribers of the development branch. The retail release is still scheduled for 1/21/14.
Finished the second chapter. Leaves off with a pretty good cliff hanger.
Although the missions were almost exclusively small unit actions against superior forces, the firefights were extremely intense. A lot of good action and fun. The third and final chapter should feature larger more conventional battles with mechanized, armor and aviation. Keeping fingers crossed.
Excellent - can't wait to take it out for a spin this weekend. I loved the first chapter!
Of note, I experimented a lot with the ballistics model throughout the missions. You can really see the difference between the smaller calibers, say 5.56 or 6.5 as compared to 7.62 NATO. I found that with the smaller bullets I'd be hitting bad guys 3 to 4 times on average before they go down for good. With 7.62, one shot kills were much more common, at longer ranges too. A very nice authentic touch.
Without revealing any spoilers, the problem I found with the second chapter missions was similar to my experience with the first chapter. You are always outgunned fighting against much stronger forces. Moreover, nothing ever goes the way you planned. Murphy's laws of war, I guess. This gets really predictable and was mildly annoying. As I've already stated, I am really looking forward to the third chapter where I'm hopeful we will be able to participate in some larger more conventional battles with some real firepower.
unless this is the much maligned body armour bug
Quote from: Jarhead0331 on January 23, 2014, 06:31:31 AM
Of note, I experimented a lot with the ballistics model throughout the missions. You can really see the difference between the smaller calibers, say 5.56 or 6.5 as compared to 7.62 NATO. I found that with the smaller bullets I'd be hitting bad guys 3 to 4 times on average before they go down for good. With 7.62, one shot kills were much more common, at longer ranges too. A very nice authentic touch.
I loved the 7.62 SLR we used in the army in the 80's...it had quite a kick on it. But you felt like you were firing a rifle
Quote from: undercovergeek on January 23, 2014, 06:33:09 AM
unless this is the much maligned body armour bug
Is this already solved? I am avoiding Arma III because of this one. I can't seem to kill anyone unless I use up half of my magazine.
not as far as i know - the last time i played with the SIMHQ guys and SDR they were saying that it hadnt
I have to be honest I never really noticed anything. I've taken down enemy from 100 yards or more away...and I know it was me because my squad mates were DEAD! ;D
oh theyll die, but they need a lot of holes in them - its a known bug
The armour bug has reportedly been fixed with the release of part two of the campaign. The CSAT forces still require a few rounds of 5.56mm or 6.5mm to drop them but this was always the developer's intent as they're meant to have better tech and body armour than the NATO forces.
Here's the blurb from the dev team:
QuoteContinued work upon soldier protection:
Slightly decreased collateral resistance of OPFOR soldiers' extremities
Decreased OPFOR advanced uniform protectiveness of extremities for it was too powerful. Still, it protects comparatively better than other uniforms.
Set up specific protection values for BLUFOR Helipilot and Pilot coveralls. It will not save you much more than the standard uniform, but there is a certain difference.
Set up proper protection values for OPFOR Officer uniform
Range-master belt, bandoleer and chest-rig armor values set to zero (serving as just equipment holders)
Tweaked helmet protection levels
Minor tweaks in ammunition, precise adjusting of minimalHitRange values, damage scaling rounds up, pistol ammunition damage adjustments and grenade tweaks
Adjusted explosives to maintain the protection of grenadier vests against explosives and grenades
Minor changes in soldier equipment due to changes in headgear. Purpose of classes is not affected in any meaningful manner.
Impacts of bullets cause soldiers to ragdoll a bit (flinch) even if they are fully absorbed by armor
Decreased overall helmet protection values to increase significance of head-shots and general lethality of damage to the head
Increased density of soldiers' bodies to improve headshot lethality
Because of the previous change it was also necessary to halve the explosion shielding of head hitpoint in general to maintain helmet protection levels for collateral indirect damage and explosions
Fixed HE grenade from underbarrel GL weapon to match his RGO Frag grenade counterpart
Elevated OPFOR collateral protection for hands and legs for the previous values were not sufficient to create meaningful difference between OPFOR and soldiers of other factions
Ok. I played an ARMA 3 scenario and it looks like OPFOR damage tolerance is now acceptable for my standards.
But for the new patch, my GPU keeps crashing. What's up with that? I'm updating my drivers as we speak and hope this fixes it.
Looks like my video card is gone for good. :'(
Oh dear...sorry to hear that!
Quote from: JudgeDredd on January 25, 2014, 03:04:04 AM
Oh dear...sorry to hear that!
Well I guess it is time to upgrade my 6 year setup.
The third and final chapter of the campaign, "Win," has been released. This chapter features larger combined arms conventional battles and JETS. Yehaaaaaaw!
I never got past the first mission of the second chapter :(
Quote from: JudgeDredd on March 13, 2014, 05:31:06 PM
I never got past the first mission of the second chapter :(
You have to stay out of the city. It took me awhile to find the rendezvous point.
I'm going up the hill, find the bino's, see the helicopter landing to my right dropping troops off then I head over to the ruins to try and find supplies - and I'm always getting spotted.
I've played it almost two dozen times and I just either don't have the patience to go slow, or I'm unlucky in that I'm looking around and thinking I'm good to go, only to realise some eagle eyed bugger somewhere has spotted me and then they close in...with no weapons (a pistol?) I'm toast before long.
I loved the first chapter and was really looking forward to the second chapter - but repetition killed it for me...at least for a while. I go on, try a few times, come off, leave it a week or two and get the urge again...
I'll try it again I'm sure - but I'm also pretty sure I'll leave it another few weeks after trying again.
Quote from: Jarhead0331 on March 13, 2014, 05:10:36 PM
The third and final chapter of the campaign, "Win," has been released. This chapter features larger combined arms conventional battles and JETS. Yehaaaaaaw!
Is this a beta release? Don't see it as a download and article I saw suggested march 20 release
Quote from: Grim.Reaper on March 13, 2014, 06:46:05 PM
Quote from: Jarhead0331 on March 13, 2014, 05:10:36 PM
The third and final chapter of the campaign, "Win," has been released. This chapter features larger combined arms conventional battles and JETS. Yehaaaaaaw!
Is this a beta release? Don't see it as a download and article I saw suggested march 20 release
Yes. It is for people subscribed to the development branch only.
Quote from: JudgeDredd on March 13, 2014, 06:42:44 PM
I'm going up the hill, find the bino's, see the helicopter landing to my right dropping troops off then I head over to the ruins to try and find supplies - and I'm always getting spotted.
I've played it almost two dozen times and I just either don't have the patience to go slow, or I'm unlucky in that I'm looking around and thinking I'm good to go, only to realise some eagle eyed bugger somewhere has spotted me and then they close in...with no weapons (a pistol?) I'm toast before long.
I loved the first chapter and was really looking forward to the second chapter - but repetition killed it for me...at least for a while. I go on, try a few times, come off, leave it a week or two and get the urge again...
I'll try it again I'm sure - but I'm also pretty sure I'll leave it another few weeks after trying again.
OK. Close to where the mission began, there is a Strider MRAP with two crew. Its on a road on the far edge of the city on the reverse slope of a hill near the coast. I ambushed the crew with my pistol and was able to grab some light gear, but namely a carbine. I had to beat a hasty retreat because nearby mech forces and a patrol boat responded almost immediately. Anyway, I managed to get away and the carbine helped me clear a few enemies I ran into when working my way around the flank of the city.
Its a tough mission, but it is totally worth persevering through it.
Stupid Arma question. I love Arma 2, but have held off on 3. I was a little concerned about the future-focus on the weapons. I was also wondering if you can use the mods from Arma 2. I have been through the BI forums, but came away more confused.
Thanks to anyone who can enlighten me.
Yup. A nice new modpack came out with many of the maps from ArmA II and a lot of the present day US, UK, and Russian weapons.
Quote from: Jarhead0331 on March 13, 2014, 07:49:34 PM
Quote from: JudgeDredd on March 13, 2014, 06:42:44 PM
I'm going up the hill, find the bino's, see the helicopter landing to my right dropping troops off then I head over to the ruins to try and find supplies - and I'm always getting spotted.
I've played it almost two dozen times and I just either don't have the patience to go slow, or I'm unlucky in that I'm looking around and thinking I'm good to go, only to realise some eagle eyed bugger somewhere has spotted me and then they close in...with no weapons (a pistol?) I'm toast before long.
I loved the first chapter and was really looking forward to the second chapter - but repetition killed it for me...at least for a while. I go on, try a few times, come off, leave it a week or two and get the urge again...
I'll try it again I'm sure - but I'm also pretty sure I'll leave it another few weeks after trying again.
OK. Close to where the mission began, there is a Strider MRAP with two crew. Its on a road on the far edge of the city on the reverse slope of a hill near the coast. I ambushed the crew with my pistol and was able to grab some light gear, but namely a carbine. I had to beat a hasty retreat because nearby mech forces and a patrol boat responded almost immediately. Anyway, I managed to get away and the carbine helped me clear a few enemies I ran into when working my way around the flank of the city.
Its a tough mission, but it is totally worth persevering through it.
Thanks for that. I spotted them right off the bat and choose, for the majority of my tries to ignore them until I found a weapon (which I thought I would find in the ruins...and didn't). The two times I did try and take them out, the patrol boat engaged me. I guess I might have been in more of a hurry than I should've. I was also a bit dubious about firing off the pistol with all the enemy forces kicking about - so for most of my attempts I was trying to do it sneaky - but got rumbled everytime.
I'll give it another try tonight.
Quote from: Silent Disapproval Robot on March 13, 2014, 10:11:18 PM
Yup. A nice new modpack came out with many of the maps from ArmA II and a lot of the present day US, UK, and Russian weapons.
You wouldn't happen to have a link would you? I did see that a mod had come out that put a lot of ARMA 2 content in, but there was a lot of discussion about the amount of work to get a lot of them actually working right.
So what are the advantages of 3 over 2, other than more advanced graphics.
Quote from: RyanE on March 14, 2014, 05:39:38 AM
Quote from: Silent Disapproval Robot on March 13, 2014, 10:11:18 PM
Yup. A nice new modpack came out with many of the maps from ArmA II and a lot of the present day US, UK, and Russian weapons.
You wouldn't happen to have a link would you? I did see that a mod had come out that put a lot of ARMA 2 content in, but there was a lot of discussion about the amount of work to get a lot of them actually working right.
So what are the advantages of 3 over 2, other than more advanced graphics.
From a technical standpoint, ARMA 3 is light years improved over ARMA 2. Everything feels better. Movement, weapons handling, combat, etc. Its so much better in this regard that it is hard to go back to ARMA 2, even though it is still generally a really good game in its own right.
+1
I was thinking how to answer your question - and JH put it exactly how I was trying to formulate a coherent answer
Thanks for the insight. I play Arma 2 almost as an RTS wargame. There were a bunch of really good mods that let you do that. That is the main reason I am waiting. I want to see how that plays out.
Quote from: RyanE on March 14, 2014, 07:39:55 AM
Thanks for the insight. I play Arma 2 almost as an RTS wargame. There were a bunch of really good mods that let you do that. That is the main reason I am waiting. I want to see how that plays out.
There is no question in my mind that ARMA 3 will eventually be just as thoroughly modded as the prior titles. Hang in there. Still, its presently a fabulous game and in my opinion does not really need to be modded in order to get enjoyment out of it. The vehicles and kit are futuristic, but barely. Its not like a sci-fi game. The camo is digital and some of the lines on the vehicles are a bit "sleeker." Otherwise, its still just modern conventional warfare.
By the way...speaking of "sleek," I really hate the look of their modernized "A-10." I think it looks horrible. They should have put in a JSF, or something.
Quote from: RyanE on March 14, 2014, 05:39:38 AM
Quote from: Silent Disapproval Robot on March 13, 2014, 10:11:18 PM
Yup. A nice new modpack came out with many of the maps from ArmA II and a lot of the present day US, UK, and Russian weapons.
You wouldn't happen to have a link would you? I did see that a mod had come out that put a lot of ARMA 2 content in, but there was a lot of discussion about the amount of work to get a lot of them actually working right.
So what are the advantages of 3 over 2, other than more advanced graphics.
Here's a shameless cut and paste of Near Blind's excellent post over at SimHQ.
Quote
Gameplay Mechanics
Taosenai's Modular Realism
This is a suite of mods that enhance the game in a few ways. It adds weapons resting and bipod simulation, realistic ballistics & recoil for small arms, realistic guidance for the PCML, realistic 2d scopes, and much more. The best part is that you can delete features you don't want (like the scopes for example), and the rest of the mod will run just fine.
http://ryanschultz.org/tmr/
Taosenai's Folding Map
A semi related mod, it's a nice compromise between the in game GPS (which is small and gives a very limited map view) and the map (which forces you to be static and takes up the entire screen).
http://forums.bistudio.com/showthread.php?148517-Tao-Folding-Map-2-1
Shacktac Hud & Group Indicator
These are a nifty pair of mods that help improve your situational awareness without feeling too gamey. The HUD gives you a small horizontal situational indicator that gives you an extremely simple compass, and indications of your team size, composition, and relative position. The group indicators perform a similar function, while toning down the gaminess of the default group indicators.
http://www.armaholic.com/page.php?id=9936
Blastcore
The simplest way I can describe this is it's Michael Bay mode for arma. It improves most of the action related effects in the game, such as explosions, smoke, fire, bullet dust, etc. All these new particles have a definite performance impact however, so frame rates beware.
http://www.armaholic.com/page.php?id=23899
Weapons
Robert Hammer's M4/M16 pack
This pack offers the widest variety of decent quality Stoner creations out there in my opinion. The pack includes the whole M-16 family, the baseline M4 family, as well as a healthy dusting of accessories and goofy variants. The sounds are alright, the models and textures are good for the most part, and seeing familiar weapons does a lot to improve the Arma 3's immersion.
http://forums.bistudio.com/showthread.php?167618-RH-M4-M16-pack
Ardvarkdb's Mk-18 pack
If RH's AR-15's aren't operator enough for you, you can scratch your tier-1 itch with the Mk-18 pack (beard sadly not included). It includes the Mk-18 CQBR (Surprise!) and M4A1 SOPMOD 2 rifles favoured by Special Forces in a variety of configurations and paint schemes. These models are superb, and the sounds alright.
http://www.armaholic.com/page.php?id=21095
R3F Weapons pack
This is a French mod pack that includes just about every variant of the FAMAS you could ever dream of. It also includes some familiar favourites, such as the FN Minimi (M249 SAW), the AT-4, FIM-92 Stinger, and the Barret M-107 among others. The models and textures aren't the best, but neither are they bad, and the amount of content you get in recompense makes it a worth addition.
http://forums.bistudio.com/showthread.php?152761-R3F-French-Weapons-Pack
Massi's NATO SF and Russian weapons
This was one of the first big compilation mods, and offers a great deal of dakka for the aspiring virtual soldier. It probably has a version of almost every weapon I have previously mentioned, and more. The catch is that this mod uses the free assets that were available to it at the time: theArma 1 source models, and their age is very noticeable. You can download and try it, but I ended up passing.
http://www.armaholic.com/page.php?id=21912
This list is in no way, shape, or form complete. There are many more out there.
Maps
A3MP
Basically this is a port of most of BI's maps for Arma 2, and all of the objects necessary to run them. The port is 100% total, as quite a few things have changed between engines, and some features have had to be removed to prevent crashes and glitches (ponds), and others just don't work right now (street lights), however it is definitely better than nothing.
The additional upshot is that the object library enables most user created Arma 2 maps to be played on the Arma 3 engine, though due to the aforementioned bugs, your mileage may vary.
http://www.armaholic.com/page.php?id=23863
Units
Meatsheild has done some excellent reskins of the BI soldiers, including woodland, desert, and snow for all three in game factions.
http://www.armaholic.com/page.php?id=24906
That said, the amount of unit reskins that have been released in the past year is staggering, and which camouflage is appealing to who is a matter of personal preference. I'll just leave this link and leave the rest up to you.
http://www.armaholic.com/list.php?c=arma3_files_addons_units
Sounds
Sounds are another of those things where preference varies from person to person. As you know, guns are rather noisy. If the video game were to actually simulate them properly we'd all be deaf by now, so anything you get is going to be the "Hollywood" take: how someone thinks they should sound. I personally enjoy the stock BI sounds, but if you don't there are two very high quality sound mods out there for Arma 3.
J.S.R.S
http://www.armaholic.com/page.php?id=22150
Speed of Sound
http://www.armaholic.com/page.php?id=23078
Missions
As I mentioned, the BI campaigns and missions show a surprising amount of polish, and I'd recommend playing them through. The community has also been hard at work, and there are many, many, many user made missions out there for you to try. Getting them is as easy as opening up steam, and using the "workshop" feature. Any missions you subscribe to will automatically be downloaded to your computer, as will any updates if the author as made any.
Alternatively you can download user missions from here.
http://www.armaholic.com/list.php?c=arma3_files_scenarios
Quote from: Jarhead0331 on March 14, 2014, 06:27:11 AM
Quote from: RyanE on March 14, 2014, 05:39:38 AM
Quote from: Silent Disapproval Robot on March 13, 2014, 10:11:18 PM
Yup. A nice new modpack came out with many of the maps from ArmA II and a lot of the present day US, UK, and Russian weapons.
You wouldn't happen to have a link would you? I did see that a mod had come out that put a lot of ARMA 2 content in, but there was a lot of discussion about the amount of work to get a lot of them actually working right.
So what are the advantages of 3 over 2, other than more advanced graphics.
From a technical standpoint, ARMA 3 is light years improved over ARMA 2. Everything feels better. Movement, weapons handling, combat, etc. Its so much better in this regard that it is hard to go back to ARMA 2, even though it is still generally a really good game in its own right.
The thing is, ARMA 2 was a fantastic game and ARMAIII has been spotty in a lot of ways compared to the way ARMA 2 was when I stopped playing it.
BUT there were some great moments in the ALPHA for me...STRATIS was just such an interesting island! AND NOW, well I'm just as happy with ALTIS. But it took a while for me to stop thinking seriously about switching back to ARMA 2.
^Interesting, Meng...
What, in your opinion, is "spotty" in ARMA3 as compared with ARMA2?
At this point, ARMA2 still has a lot more content than ARMA3, but that is to be expected. Otherwise, from a performance and technical standpoint, I'm not sure how anyone could conclude that the second title is better than the third.
When the all in arma mod is complete and functional you might finally ditch your arma2. Supposedly all arma based content is going to be modded to work under arma3. This means iron front, arma1, and possibly take on helos.
Quote from: Jarhead0331 on March 18, 2014, 10:48:27 AM
^Interesting, Meng...
What, in your opinion, is "spotty" in ARMA3 as compared with ARMA2?
At this point, ARMA2 still has a lot more content than ARMA3, but that is to be expected. Otherwise, from a performance and technical standpoint, I'm not sure how anyone could conclude that the second title is better than the third.
For me, after this last set of patches, ARMAIII is no longer spotty. What seemed spotty before was basically that I didn't think the environment on Altis was as interesting as all the places you could go in ARMA 2. I think now I kind of get what BI has been trying to
do with Altis and the semi-futuristic gear. Altis is really much more imaginatively filled up than places in ARMA 2, which tended to be
more or less parallel to things as they are now. Altis is a scary place in a scary future -- which is fine with me. I think I finally get it.
I played in a nice ARMA3 MP Server the other night. Two opposing human controlled forces. Objective is to capture towns and find the enemy base and destroy it. Each player has money to build buildings and recruit troops and vehicles under their squad. A pretty nice mode of play if you ask me.
Quote from: Jarhead0331 on March 18, 2014, 10:48:27 AM
^Interesting, Meng...
What, in your opinion, is "spotty" in ARMA3 as compared with ARMA2?
At this point, ARMA2 still has a lot more content than ARMA3, but that is to be expected. Otherwise, from a performance and technical standpoint, I'm not sure how anyone could conclude that the second title is better than the third.
Well, I had one of my classic, self-inflicted ARMA adventures last night. Basicly, I set up a basic objective (in this case hold and resupply an airstrip and do some reconnaissance farther inland -- the location is the strip by Ammolfi Bay up north) and then put in lots of AI attacks and so on.
This time all went well, sort of but in the end the me-player guy was killed in an airstrike, just as the MGs got the plane and the pilot ejected and hit the ground.
Thenit was switch time and I noticed the crew of the resupply helicoper was still mostly in play. One was gone but three of the crew including the pilot were somewhere. So I switched to the pilot and found they were a floating in the bay. So that little group swam ashore
and made their way cautiously through the debris of battle and some vacation gear all they way up to the plane crash. So I'm enjoying ARMAIII at least as much as any of the earlier ARMAs.
I love this game....but I'm really just about burned out on this.
I have tried and tried and tried to get past the first mission in the second chapter and I've never managed more than a couple hundred yards before I'm shot down.
When I hear the crack of gunfire I drop and before I can even get my sights up and on target, I'm taken out...time and time again. I know...I'm belly aching - but I'm not taking the piss when I tell you I've reloaded this scenario more than 3 dozen times and ever single time I'm taken out. The furthest I've got is heading north east onto a hill (just past the first bunch of ruins) before I'm cut down. And I only made that once.
I take the two troops out at the bottom of the hill by the sea and load up with ammo and all the necessary.
I've tried being stealthy. I've tried a mix of stealth and run and I've tried running. I've tried different routes and they all end up the same way - within a couple of seconds of being spotted, I'm spitting blood.
Somehow they just know it's me (even though I'm dressed like them now) and I'm gunned down immediately on being spotted. From near and afar....really quite afar actually. I've got a save just before I take the two out near the sea and that's it. I load up, get moving and die. Reload, start at the sea, shoot, load up, die....and wash, rinse, repeat.
I have hit the wall. >:(
And there's another 6 loads and deaths in the space between my last post and this!
I'm oot. I just get to the point in a game where it's just not f***ing fun anymore. :X
If you are truly stuck, here's how to skip the mission and unlock the rest of the campaign.
Start ArmA III.
Select single player, then campaign.
Click on the mission you are stuck on and then hold down the left shift key and press the minus key on the number pad.
Then type campaign.
That should unlock all the missions. Just select the next in the series and select replay.
Thank you SDR. I don't want to...I really don't, but if I can't get any further, I might just have to. I seldom make it to the road!
I'm going in for another go....pray for me!
And down....going in again...
And down again...another go...
Aaaaannnnnd....... :(
JD, I remember struggling a bit with that mission, too -- but mostly because I couldn't find the hill to rendezvous. When I took out the the two vehicle crewmen, I also took their map, and that made it much easier.
I don't recall having to avoid many troops shooting at me, but that may because I lay in wait to ambush the helicopter troops that landed "up the road to the left" of the vehicle crew. (I don't recall directions, but here I'm basically putting the vehicle crew to the right. As I recall, the road curves up to the left, passes through some trees, and then curves again "north" (or the way I'm facing). Right around this curve some troops via helicopter land. I waited at least 5 probably 10 minutes real time for them to ambush, but apparently they went the other way. From there, I basically ran straight to the hill where I got chastized a few times about where the minefield was.
I suspect my wait for the ambush threw off any timing of patrols to intersect with my route. I am strongly reconsidering playing the campaign 1 missions again from scratch prior to completing 2 and 3, so if I do I'll keep better notes if I make it through this one again.
Yeah - they two just land as I am finishing collecting kit from the two I kill at the vehicle. I run up the hill again...and I'm fired on by the two up near the compound. Then I go through the wood and I'm caught with those two. If it's not those two (from the helicopter) it's the ones looking rather heavily armoured on the hill before the town....or some others going through the ruins
I can't HELP but bump into some bugger!
^Maybe its time to admit that you just suck really bad at this game? :P
Like platypus, I struggled with that mission too...I also agree that the hardest part was finding the stupid rendezvous hill. I ran all over that damn map. Its an unfortunate mission to showcase the opening of Chapter two, but once you get passed it, the campaign opens up and gets really good.
I admit it!
I think most arma games have a place in the settings or profile where you can edit the enemy and friendly AI. You could try toning down the eagle eye snipering enemy AI for more playability. I usually do this in Arma2 due to the fact that the AI can see through grass and leaves that the play can't, giving them a huge advantage.
Quote from: JudgeDredd on March 28, 2014, 09:24:31 AM
I admit it!
I'm honestly posting this to encourage you, not shame you: I'm an ENORMOUSLY bad ARMA player (my badness starts with the original Op Flashpoint and is so thorough it extends not only through ARMA, but the Dragon Rising Flashpoint series, too. Yes, my badness extends to entire genres, not just games, thank you very much!).
I'm replaying the mission tonight. Lots of us are pulling for ya. YOU CAN DO THIS JUDGE DREDD! You ARE Arma III!
JD is right -- this mission sucks. Just tried it about 10 times. No idea how I ever finished it. Clearly, OPFOR has somebody lobbying grenades from orbit.
Thank you!
There's another half a dozen times. It's like they can see everything.
I'm simply not getting through without firing. But trying to engage - I simply cannot compete with their 20/20 vision and incredible sights!
And another dozen deaths!
FFS - I do suck at FPS - but I really can't suck THIS bad. I'm talking well over 50 attempts at this mission! OVER 50!
I'm not doing the same old either. I'm trying different things each time...every one results in the same - DEATH by bionic eye snipers with nothing more than what I have.
Finally done it.
I watched a video of some guy doing it and
a) he came across far fewer patrols than I did
b) he only had a pistol and took out the two patrols that did spot him
c) he was pretty much unharrassed
I tried his way, to no avail. In the end, I went a completely different route, had to take out 2 patrols of 2 soldiers each.
What got me was watching his game and watching mine - it was like two completely different sets of troops. First, he was able to take them down much easier than I have been able to and yet he was using a pistol and I was using the rifle (Stanag?) I had picked up). Second, he didn't even have any armour and I was fully equipped (I took the two soldiers out down by the beach and he didn't). And third, they were not nearly as accurate against him as they were me.
I checked my settings and the bloody thing is only on regular. I'd be punching my monitor in the face if I was playing on elite!
Quote from: JudgeDredd on March 29, 2014, 10:33:49 AM
Finally done it.
Mozel tov!
(https://www.grogheads.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.frumsatire.net%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2010%2F10%2Fonlysimchas.com-mazel-tov.jpg&hash=0ed3ae7b3df0a9faa6b0cd1f892468e87012ccb6)
Quote from: JudgeDredd on March 29, 2014, 10:33:49 AM
Finally done it.
I watched a video of some guy doing it and
a) he came across far fewer patrols than I did
b) he only had a pistol and took out the two patrols that did spot him
c) he was pretty much unharrassed
I tried his way, to no avail. In the end, I went a completely different route, had to take out 2 patrols of 2 soldiers each.
What got me was watching his game and watching mine - it was like two completely different sets of troops. First, he was able to take them down much easier than I have been able to and yet he was using a pistol and I was using the rifle (Stanag?) I had picked up). Second, he didn't even have any armour and I was fully equipped (I took the two soldiers out down by the beach and he didn't). And third, they were not nearly as accurate against him as they were me.
I checked my settings and the bloody thing is only on regular. I'd be punching my monitor in the face if I was playing on elite!
Maybe there's some code that only allows one Grogheader to complete this mission at a time? Lol
JD, I don't know if it's the same phenomenon that you experienced, but I certainly felt like I was playing a different mission in my attempts last night. I did notice some randomness in patrol patterns -- for example, the squad that arrives by helicopter near the start (and is a four man team in my case) either heads westish toward the beach or curves east along the road that eventually leads to the MRAP pair. If there is similar randomness to patterns, I wonder if it's as much luck as anything that in any given run, you encounter only enough patrols to either ambush or run out of LOS.
The new ZEUS game mode is great. The idea is that there is a faction / player that "plays god". He has the power to place troops, set objectives, and create several situations on the fly with the simplified editor as the MP session is running. He can also give simple orders to AI both BLUFOR and OPFOR.
No need to script complex triggers in the mission as Zeus plays it out for you.
Looks like this is a useful training tool for serious clans.
Game keeps getting better...
They recently added a new boot camp mode with a mini-campaign for training and a VR Training mode for some more enhanced training ops in a VR environment. Finally, they've added a VR kit and armory viewer, where you can change loadouts and uniforms and get a really good look at how it all comes together. Very neat.
These additions are part of a beta update and have not been released officially. Once again, if you want to try them out, you need to subscribe to the development group through steam. Its still a work in progress, but the quality of beta releases from Bohemia never disappoint me.
I regularly see massive updates coming in for the game.... I'll give boot camp a go, my cod/Stallone style standing in the street regularly gets me killed and if I go stealth my ai buddies kill everyone while I'm in a bush..... it would be cool to try some real tactics and see what goes where
The support and improvement to this game is second to none. No joke. When you comprehend the complexity of the products produced by Bohemia and combine it with the flexibility and openness of the worlds created, Bohemia is one of the finest developers in the modern history of PC gaming in my opinion.
Quote from: Jarhead0331 on July 05, 2014, 10:06:09 AM
The support and improvement to this game is second to none. No joke. When you comprehend the complexity of the products produced by Bohemia and combine it with the flexibility and openness of the worlds created, Bohemia is one of the finest developers in the modern history of PC gaming in my opinion.
I just wish I was better at this game...really have to dedicate some good time at some point....my fault for not investing enough.
Forgive me if this has been discussed before but I'm not going to read back to find out. Does ArmaIII have a war mode in which you get to buy equipment and soldiers after capturing points etc. like you could in the old ArmaII?
Quote from: W8taminute on July 06, 2014, 11:15:06 AM
Forgive me if this has been discussed before but I'm not going to read back to find out. Does ArmaIII have a war mode in which you get to buy equipment and soldiers after capturing points etc. like you could in the old ArmaII?
No...but I believe there are dynamic mods that do this.
These are my favorite single-player dynamic war mode scenarios:
"Whole Lot of Stratis"
http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=166907884
"DUWS: Dynamic Universal War System Modified"
http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=222686368
Looks like the big update happened today, just finished downloading on steam.....details.
BOOTCAMP UPDATE:
•Added: Virtual Reality world
•Added: Bootcamp "Prologue" mini-campaign
•Added: ZGM 4+1 Bootcamp multiplayer training
•Added: 8 VR Training lessons ◦Material Penetration
◦Placeables
◦Launchers
◦Target Designation
◦Commanding - Movement
◦Commanding - Behavior
◦Commanding - Actions
◦Commanding - Vehicles
•Added: VR Zeus multiplayer scenarios ◦ZGM 16+2 Master Virtual Reality (AAF)
◦ZGM 16+2 Master Virtual Reality (CSAT)
◦ZGM 16+2 Master Virtual Reality (NATO)
◦ZGM 48+2 Master Virtual Reality
•Added: Virtual Arsenal
•Added: VR soldiers and character entities
•Added: Objects specific for VR (large blocks, covers and markers)
•FIA fraction has been revamped: ◦Added: New uniform for FIA AT Rifleman
◦Added: FIA Offroad, Quadbike and Truck camo versions
◦FIA soldiers have randomized headgear and facewear according to their classes and possible headgear-facewear combinations
◦Added: 3 new FIA stashes
•Added: Repair variants of Offroads
•Added: Various facewear available in profile (balaclavas and bandannas with various glasses)
•Added: 3 new music tracks ◦Virtual Reality digital Arma 3 theme
◦Splendid Split theme
◦BI 15th Anniversary theme
•Added: Various VR-related sounds for triggers
•Added: New English protocol of Dan Brown
•Added: Camo variants of M320 and GM-6
•Added: Misc. objects ◦Winner's podium
◦Trophy
◦White tent
◦Tyre barriers
◦Kart tires
◦Kart steering wheels
◦Car batteries
◦Kart trolley
◦Kart stand
◦Pieces of exercise equipment
◦Water coolers
◦Large food container
•Added: 14 Bootcamp-related Steam Achievements
•Added: Game Launcher ◦Accessible via a non-default Steam launch option, or by starting arma3launcher.exe from the installation directory
◦This adds support for add-ons in the Steam Workshop
•Overhauled: Weapon Sway
•Overhauled: Fatigue
DATA:
•Added: Controls action for locking turret on an object
•Added: Turret locking ability for the UGV RCWS
•Added: BIS_fnc_setUnitInsignia now loads description.ext CfgUnitInsignia classes
•Added: BIS_fnc_animateTaskWaypoint
•Added: Switching to driver / gunner after PIP click (AV Terminal)
•Added: Sound for Scalpel missile explosion
•Fixed: Zone restriction module not working after respawn
•Fixed: Adding items to ammo box in Zeus didn't work correctly
•Fixed: Showcase Vehicles: Player could not get in the ship
•Fixed: Aim precision values for pistol crouch and launcher standing stances to match values for other weapon types
•Fixed: Broken size of the hint area when a hint and its sub-hint were used without any other hint between them
•Fixed: DLC Bundle duplicity in Expansions menu
•Fixed: Scripting error while browsing respawn menu
•Fixed: Respawn menu was sometimes too slow
•Fixed: Live-feed and Skirmish module category
•Fixed: Duplicated inventory item in action menu
•Fixed: Intentionally negative rating used in DM missions is no longer displayed in the debriefing
•Fixed: "End Scenario" module used wrong ending type
•Fixed: Showcase Zeus was not marked as completed when player left after a task told them they could
•Fixed: Ordnance module was using effects incompatible with the Zeus Ordnance module. Explosions will now be stronger, but existing missions won't be affected unless you edit the module in editor and save it again.
•Fixed: RscTextCheckBox spam in RPT when opening GUI editor
•Fixed: Empty reflector in Helicopter_Base_H
•Fixed: Last bullet still visible in Rahim's magazine despite it being empty
•Fixed: Error in modules while reading CfgAddons
•Fixed: Binoculars and NVGs were not added correctly to ammo boxes
•Fixed: "Watch Direction" sentence in Radio Protocols
•Fixed: Missing icons in Field Manual in Russian localization
•Fixed: Hint in AV terminal no longer overlaps the terminal menu
•Fixed: Scripting error when attempting to open non-existing inventory
•Fixed: Opening a loadout with specific weapon types (i.e., weapons classes with attachments already on them) caused container magazines not to be loaded correctly
•Adjusted: Environmental map on various vehicles
•Adjusted: Materials of the small backpack
•Adjusted: Capacity of inventory of copters
•Adjusted: Alignment of cursor and optics for launchers
•Adjusted: Volume preview samples and configuration in audio settings
•Enabled fatigue parameter
•New damage and destruction materials for all vehicles
•Unused GameSpy IDCs removed
•UAV terminals now have the correct author defined
•Adjusted flare size, intensity and coloring of flashlight accessory
•Cleaned up and restructured HUD config for PO-30 Orca
•CH-49 Mohawk's inventory contains proper weapons, not OPFOR ones
•Changed volume of reloading for most weapons
•Revamp of muzzle suppressors (see http://forums.bistudio.com/showthread.php?179308-Weapon-sounds-affected-by-suppressors-change-in-1-23)
•Overhauled inertia values for weapons and attachments. Main source of imprecision will be sights alignment, not sway distortion that will be elevated only with higher fatigue or arms damage in effect.
•Assault Pack (Hex) should have the right texture
•Changed volume of closure sounds
•Minor volume changes of reloading sounds
•Host server: Added port warning
•Host server: Fixed conversion of labels to upper-case
•Optimized turning animation aimPrecision to comparable levels among weapons (x2 when standing, x3 when crouched, x4 in prone)
•Optimized aiming precision states for adjusted stances. Since they do not have appropriate turning animation stances configured their base precision must be higher than default stance, for else they will posses unreasonable advantage over default stances.
•Decreased duty of running with lowered rifle in crouch position
•Adjusted moving speeds and duty values of certain stances to prevent unintuitive discrepancies
•Optimized prone stance adjustment poses aim precision
•New post-process filtering for Radio Protocols
•TRG correctly hides magazine when there is none in the weapon
•maxZeroing parameter has been properly configured for all weapons
•Hints and user actions have been unified for Disarm / Disable / Deactivation of explosives
•Various fixes in Field Manual and hints
•Minor changes in suppressors weights
•Changed launcher hit mask
•Decreased vertical movement of secondary weapon sway class
•Attempt to fix several rag-doll issues by decreasing the magnitude of hit forces applied and simultaneous increase of mass for bones to prevent them from flinching wildly
•Increased negative effect of damage over secondary weapon sway class. It should be hard to aim with crippled hands.
•A little elf hiding some caps has been found and dealt with, thus the caps shall be available again
•Facewear (former glasses) has mass correctly set
Potential campaign spoilers:
•New head- and face-wear added to units in Patrol missions and in the "Adapt" armory
•Tweaks in randomization, placement and compositions of enemy patrols in the "Adapt" Patrols
ENGINE:
•Fixed: Calling underwater damage on non-local submarine
•Fixed: IRLaserOn action
•Fixed: Game could crash after changing soldier's face type
•Fixed: Car tracks are no longer drawn in the future
•Fixed: Maximum inventory load threshold could be trespassed
•Fixed: Traveling back to the past
•Fixed: CTD occurred when ejecting a dead unit from a car (Zeus)
•Fixed: Setting connection string when creating MP session from the game
•Fixed: Prevent created agent from opening his gear
•Fixed: Trigger pulling for normal man simulation tree
•Fixed: Not showing cutscenes in the main menu
•Fixed: Suppressors override weapon specific parameters, making initSpeed, hit and cost parameters work everywhere as expected
•Fixed: Ragdoll false recovery
•Fixed: Possible CTD
•Fixed: Possible CTD in the Zeus map
•Fixed: Adding corpses from disconnected players to disposeManager (http://feedback.arma3.com/view.php?id=17532)
•Fixed: Crash when segments don't have a shape
•Fixed: Issue with disabling moving of units outside Zeus editable area affected by the camera angle
•Fixed: Setting of hair AtoC shader constants
•Fixed: Action menu - heal is offered, while the new action is opening doors
•Fixed: Exploit that allowed Zeus to move soldier groups using rotation even outside of the editable zone
•Fixed: CTD when MP role had not soldier created
•Fixed: Possible CTDs in Buldozer
•Fixed: AT launcher - optics were misaligned with cursor
•Fixed: Possible CTD
•Fixed: Environment - Player is able to put items into gas pumps
•Fixed: Recoil coef does not influence weapon behavior
•Fixed: Missing recoil after turning (and some other animations)
•Fixed: Undeletable profile in configuration
•Fixed: Broken GunCloud, GunFire loading
•Fixed: Copyright string in file properties
•Fixed: Thermal Imaging from Laser Designator transferred to every scope
•Fixed: Player observers now always send their target to the gunner
•Fixed: An exploit in Zeus which allowed forcing players out of vehicle
•Fixed: Possible CTD while finding a path in a house without a model
•Fixed: healSoldier CTD
•Fixed: Recoil direction when using iron sights
•Fixed: Artillery target deleted to soon
•Fixed: Player is unable to change weapons in fixed-wings
•Re-fixed: Remote control using map
•Fixed: Sound: Reloading can be heard far away
•Fixed: Video playing when a video finished before its audio
•Fixed: Possible CTD in Zeus map
•Fixed: Weapon selection for pilot (seen mainly in Wy-55)
•Added: Checks if objects are static in map (script commands)
•Added: New script commands related to UAVs - connectability (isUAVConnectable, enableUAVConnectability, disableUAVConnectability)
•Added: New scripting commands for working with mines (allMines, detectedMines, mineDetectedBy)
•Added: Adding joined sessions to the Steam history
•Added: New scripting command for getting a list of all diag modes (diag_list)
•Added: New scripting command for reading configs into arrays with a filter (configClasses)
•Added: isAutotest script command
•Added: Support for spaces in mods in -mod= parameter as long as all the mods are quoted (e.g. -mod="Mod1; Some Other Mod;WeaponA")
•Added: New weapon parameter maxZeroing (fixes a scopes zeroing glitch)
•Added: New mapName parameter for SteamTags
•Added: Stealing of UAVs (not yet configured in data)
•Added: Ability to force difficulty for selected scenarios
•Footsteps alpha and the ability for config to enable footsteps / tracks / blood in world definitions
•Magazines slots should be highlighted the same way as other item types
• enableFatigue true; doesn't reset fatigue anymore
•Complete removal of the disabled GameSpy technology
•Changed warning message when profile variable space is locked to be more helpful
•Hiding lights for hidden vehicles
•New command playerControlled (like the player command, but it will return the remote-controlled unit)
•Overhauled weapon sway available (no inertia yet)
•Hiding markers for invisible objects and simulation is enabled
•Radio Protocol: Added parameter absolute angle into RadioMessageWatchDir
•VON: Direct communication: Changed targets selection
• +password and +connect now supported in connection string (so it's possible to join a server from Steam's browser)
•Radio protocol: Changed parameters going to RadioMessageWatchDir
•Radio protocol: SentCmdDeactivateMine
•Tweaked: Spatialization of loud sounds
•Removing UavPilot when a transport is destroyed
•Unarmed UGV - broken follow command in terminal
•Sound: Update to audio option previews, added stereo sample support
•Tooltip for disabled difficulty options if difficulty is forced
•Support for joining passworded sessions via friends / invites / Steam browser
•Possible fix of crash during video playback
•UAVs
◦Locked camera (added a new key binding to do that)
◦Locked camera - camera rotation precision improved
◦Locked camera - camera rotation set to zero when switching to manual view
Bloody hell!
Its been available to the development branch for a few weeks now. See my post above from July 5.
Bloody hell they rifle sway and fatigue effects are ridiculous. Feels like all the soldiers are asthmatics with rickets.
Quote from: Silent Disapproval Robot on July 14, 2014, 07:24:13 PM
Bloody hell they rifle sway and fatigue effects are ridiculous. Feels like all the soldiers are asthmatics with rickets.
They got the palsy.
:P
What the hell did I just play?
It was neither a prologue nor a boot camp.
There was no guerrilla force in the story mode, and who is Staff Sergeant Adams? They could've at least used a character from the story.
It also didn't tech me anything. Fatigue? Yeah everyone learns that within their first 5 minutes playing.
Got a question for you guys, how optimised is the engine compared to Arma ll? I'm really interested in getting this but my laptop would overheat playing a medium sized scenario in Arma ll.
Quote from: Pinetree on July 15, 2014, 09:05:13 AM
Got a question for you guys, how optimised is the engine compared to Arma ll? I'm really interested in getting this but my laptop would overheat playing a medium sized scenario in Arma ll.
I'm pretty sure we've addressed this in this thread somewhere...there is no comparison really. ARMA III is leaps and bounds better than ARMA II from a technical perspective. Although I still have ARMA II installed on my HD, there is really no going back.
Quote from: Jarhead0331 on July 15, 2014, 02:16:40 PM
Quote from: Pinetree on July 15, 2014, 09:05:13 AM
Got a question for you guys, how optimised is the engine compared to Arma ll? I'm really interested in getting this but my laptop would overheat playing a medium sized scenario in Arma ll.
I'm pretty sure we've addressed this in this thread somewhere...
Yeah, kind of. What I should have asked is: if Arma II overheats my laptop on medium sized scenarios would ArmaIII do the same?
Quotethere is no comparison really. ARMA III is leaps and bounds better than ARMA II from a technical perspective. Although I still have ARMA II installed on my HD, there is really no going back.
Thanks. I might wait for the next time it's on sale but then again, I am weak willed and might not ;D
Quote from: Pinetree on July 15, 2014, 07:17:26 PM
Quote from: Jarhead0331 on July 15, 2014, 02:16:40 PM
Quote from: Pinetree on July 15, 2014, 09:05:13 AM
Got a question for you guys, how optimised is the engine compared to Arma ll? I'm really interested in getting this but my laptop would overheat playing a medium sized scenario in Arma ll.
I'm pretty sure we've addressed this in this thread somewhere...
Yeah, kind of. What I should have asked is: if Arma II overheats my laptop on medium sized scenarios would ArmaIII do the same?
Quotethere is no comparison really. ARMA III is leaps and bounds better than ARMA II from a technical perspective. Although I still have ARMA II installed on my HD, there is really no going back.
Thanks. I might wait for the next time it's on sale but then again, I am weak willed and might not ;D
I can't answer with any degree of accuracy - all I can say is on my system, my fans are doing overdrive. I have everything maxed out and the fans are on auto control...but they're going mental.
Having said that, they used to do exactly the same on ArmA II and I wasn't running that on max...because on max (or anything close) I had severe slow downs...it simply wasn't optimised.
I think what JH was suggesting with "a technical perspective" is that it IS better optimised - and I would agree.
Yes. It is definitely better optimize, but it is also graphically superior. So depending on how you set up your video options, you may or may not get better performance. On the average, however, ARMA III runs much smoother to the point that there is almost no comparison. I was always frustrated with movement in Bo ARMA and ARMA II. This has been addressed by ARMA III. It's a totally new engine. At least it feels like it is.
Don't know about technical optimization. But character and vehicle movement is much much smoother than ARMA II. And it has the graphics to boot.
Cool. So if I run it on comparative settings to what I ran Arma ll on it will run a hell of a lot better. Cheers guys.