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Arma 3 Alpha - March 5th - 25 Euros

TheExodu5

Banned
Developer post on the Steam forum...rather insulting to be honest:

the posts don't vanish, they moved to single thread on the subject ...
and if you read my posts in that thread You know that:
- we predicted it
- it's nothing special or surprising (google terms Alpha, software development cycle)
- we will deal with it in future updates
and ... btw. there is no security in Alpha ...
 
urgh, well they should have been more careful about releasing the alpha then. Yeah, it may be a great arma game, but if the single gamebreaking feature named "hacking" happens the very same way of the predecessors, it's only normal people won't dip in.

Honestly, I have played many games that handle spawns and everything... and not once i've seen a player able to make that call without administrator rights.

But arma somehow manages to break that wall.
 
That's some bullshit, yo.

Whoever typed that needs some PR training.

It's a post by Dwarden (who is also a GAF member and has posted in this thread). He's a pretty cool and helpful guy in general, but the Steam forums can bring out the worst in anyone. Just go there and have a look at the kind of crap people have been flinging on Bohemia even before this hacking problem. It's like they don't even understand the meaning of the word Alpha. It might not be the prim and professional response you expect from PR but man is it ever understandable.

Here's just one gem from that very thread

this game is a complete failure and waste,its full of hackers,zombie dayz pricks and devs not doing anything,no REAL updates,scripting this and that,community ♥♥♥♥ed up,this game is a BIG DISSAPOINTMENT!!! arma is over face it!! stopped playing this ♥♥♥♥ weeks ago,use to be a big supporter but not anymore!!! bi has lost my confidence and trust!!! also this has got to be the worst alpha and set up goin i ever played and experienced!!!
 
You guys should visit the official forums and see how the moderators speak to people. It's disgusting.

strange I thought you would be the person defending those kind of statements

you're usually the guy I see (I'm just making comments on my own personal observations) telling things to other users in black and white

which is great! but sometimes can make a person look like a dick, do you know what I mean?
 

sunnz

Member
I haven't played in a while, outside of wasteland nothing else was really that good.

Hoping for more content but hearing all this hacking talk I don't really want to get into it yet :p

I do miss the modern weapons though, outside of like 2 or 3 guns the rest suck IMO ( in terms of look, they all feel great). Not a fan of the future look, vehicles look great though.

Also how many towns does the unreleased map have? wish the part we already have had more towns and such though.
 

Arucardo

Member
Played 3-4 hours today with the development build on the official AW server, no hacks anymore. I forget whether it was just the dev build or if the server admins had a hand in it too.
 

Sethos

Banned
I like how we haven't heard a peep from the ACRE guy(s). Few weeks ago it was basically done and ready to be released. Then nothing. Then "Oh I need donations" and now still nothing. Some clan had it on trial that everyone downloaded their version from and made it work on their own server but that 'loophole' has now been closed.
 

Arucardo

Member
I like how we haven't heard a peep from the ACRE guy(s). Few weeks ago it was basically done and ready to be released. Then nothing. Then "Oh I need donations" and now still nothing. Some clan had it on trial that everyone downloaded their version from and made it work on their own server but that 'loophole' has now been closed.

Really? I just set up ACRE for Arma3 last night, but no one really uses it on a public server so I didn't get much use out of it yet.
 

Sethos

Banned
I guess he didn't, officially anyway. Not sure what the process is to add it to a server but getting the client working seems to be working.

Is this just a hacked Arma 2 ACRE? Works exactly the same way at least.

The team is doing a proper conversion of ACRE for ArmA 3 - Not talking about some homebrew port of the A2 version. They haven't released it yet but a clan got to test it, then people downloaded it through Play withSIX when connecting to their servers I believe which made it spread, however they closed that option.

But there's no official release of this port yet, which is what I was looking for.
 

Xyber

Member
The problem with it right now is that you can only carry one radio at a time, but that's still better than nothing.
 
I haven't played in a while, outside of wasteland nothing else was really that good.

Hoping for more content but hearing all this hacking talk I don't really want to get into it yet :p

I do miss the modern weapons though, outside of like 2 or 3 guns the rest suck IMO ( in terms of look, they all feel great). Not a fan of the future look, vehicles look great though.

Also how many towns does the unreleased map have? wish the part we already have had more towns and such though.

There's a few mods like the m107, MP7, and the best looking M4.
 

SJRB

Gold Member
It's getting pretty tiresome to try and play this game lately. It keeps crashing constantly since the last couple of updates. I tried playing just now but the game crashed 4 times in a row while connecting to a server.

I also noticed a lot less servers and players. What the hell is going on?
 

Sethos

Banned
It's getting pretty tiresome to try and play this game lately. It keeps crashing constantly since the last couple of updates. I tried playing just now but the game crashed 4 times in a row while connecting to a server.

I also noticed a lot less servers and players. What the hell is going on?

Alpha.
 

NH Apache

Banned
I don't even know what to do with this reply. "Alpha" results in less servers and lower player numbers, and connectivity issues that were ironed out in previous updates?

You have these same issues I take it?

Alpha doesn't explain the seemingly lack of community updates. A one word answer of alpha is dismissive at best. I was discussing the same issue with someone in the mumble and they remarked as well that 3 simply doesn't have the same draw as 2 simply because of community involvement. I'd have to agree.
 
The map variety is good but people are getting bored of Stratis. Needs more new weapons and features. Can't be playing Stratis Life, AW Invade and Annex forever :l.
 

Sethos

Banned
I don't even know what to do with this reply. "Alpha" results in less servers and lower player numbers, and connectivity issues that were ironed out in previous updates?

You have these same issues I take it?

I'm sorry but saying issues are getting tiresome in an ALPHA is completely stupid. There's constant changes, changes that don't always improve the game and can lead to issues -- Thus you report them and they can look into it.

They also recently changed how server hosting works meaning you can only host one per server, meaning less populated server list.

I'd call myself a hardcore ArmA fan but I'm not playing the Alpha very much, because it is just that; an alpha. Trying out the game, helping with the initial testing was all fun but I'd like to wait for the retail product and stick with ArmA 2 for now. So making some conclusions on the community on an actual alpha is ... No, just no. ArmA 3 retail is going to be an amazing game and the community will migrate once there's a stable platform as the actual core ArmA community requires a ton of addons before they start using it.
 
Seems like a big update is inbound soon:

The majority of the team is now prepping the Arma 3 Beta content in weekly iterations. Of course we do also have an Alpha to support, and things are looking good for a new large Alpha update tomorrow (*insert the usual catastrophe disclaimer here*). Seeing how last SPOTREP was mostly a hotfix, this one will have a long list of Development branch changes - including recent tweaks to lighting and audio. It's also possible it contains things that had not yet made it to Development branch. This is a full snapshot of the game, unlike Development branch, which only contains manual requests from any developer on the team.

Meanwhile on Development branch itself, you will start to see a small but cool content addition for the Alpha. We are going to be staging our "Sniper Package" there. It is to be included in the Alpha update after the one tomorrow. The package contains a sniper / spotter duo for BLUFOR and one for OPFOR. Both will have an improved ghillie suit and anti-materiel sniper rifle with standard optics. At their disposal as well is a portable rangefinder. We will not actually announce this addition widely until we release it into main branch, but we're sure you'll be able to find them in the editor sandbox - look for moving shrubbery!
 
SPOTREP 4 released (855mb)

CHANGELOG

DATA
Dedicated Server files added to the root of the game (arma3server.exe and supporting libraries)
Comprehensive lighting tweaking (details)
Environmental tweaks: sun, lens flares, material changes for changed lighting
Lights optimization
Lighting tweaks for vehicles (headlights, positional lights) and flashlights
Increased light intensity of muzzle flashes
Added: dedicated combat radio protocol
Added: dedicated stealth radio protocol
Fixed various radio protocol issues
Asset audio overhaul: volume balancing, WAV to WSS conversion and more (details)
Alarm sound now also configured under CfgSounds, as “Alarm”
Improved Ka 60 fire geometry
Various types of lights on the Ka 60 improved (placement, parameters)
Fixed: http://feedback.arma3.com/view.php?id=7401 (Ka 60 rotor collisions)
Fixed: http://feedback.arma3.com/view.php?id=1219 (wrong Ka 60 horizon indication)
Adjusted mass distribution of MH-9
Fixed: Position lights of helicopters have been adjusted
AI helicopter handling improved
Improved ‘fording depth’ for helicopters to deal with ‘landing’ on water better
Speedboat (minigun) now uses correct muzzle points
Fixed: http://feedback.arma3.com/view.php?id=7584 (top-speed gear change for the Hunter)
Fixed: Tweaked fire geometry (mostly glasses) for the Hunter
Tweaked MRAPs' maximum light radius to improve performance
MRAPs should have tracers every third shot now
Fixed: http://feedback.arma3.com/view.php?id=8384 (helicopter wreck's smoke and electricity effect did not stop after wreck was deleted)
Launcher AI settings and weapon performance configuration tweaked
Various (missile) ammunition behavior tweaks (maneuvering, locking, etc.)
Material penetration properties modified
Fixed: http://feedback.arma3.com/view.php?id=6682 (MXM suppressor)
Holosights have been replaced by ACO for Katiba
12.7mm HMG Rate of Fire fixed
Tweaked missiles for AH-9 to be better used by AI
Adjusted DAGR locking cone and adjusted its AI characteristics
Fixed: NLAW and RPG-32 optics rotated by 0.7° down, muzzle 0.7° up for better aiming by both for players and AI
Fixed: MXM and MX SW handles have better materials
Range Master character added
All chest rigs should be of better visual quality
BLUFOR marksman's has changed its color to match his uniform
Removed hand grenades from helicopter pilots and crew
Diver UW magazine count modified
Automatic rifleman shouldn't have a tracer round every bullet anymore
Removed little cubes from BLUFOR rifleman's right wrist
Fixed: Missing texture of backpack has been re-mapped
Movement speed tweaking and unification deployed
Various little tweaks and fixes on common houses
Fixed: http://feedback.arma3.com/view.php?id=802 (fuel station coloration after destruction)
Fixed: http://feedback.arma3.com/view.php?id=3333 (telephone pole collisions)
Added numberOfDoors parameter to structure configs
Added numberOfHatches parameter to structures configs
Reduced durability of reflectors and markerlights on structures
Added baked lighting for crowns and trunks of trees and shrubs (macro maps)
Last / distant LOD for plants improved
Fixed: various bush material / alpha shaders
Smoke shell effect tweaked
Rocket effects tweaked
Blood hit and fire dust effects tweaked
Added small settlement near Kamino firing range
Stratis bridges improved for characters and vehicles
Stratis environmental settings tweaked: lighting (night and underwater), fog, haze, colors
Tweaks to Stratis lamp placements
Fixed: Sandbag barriers adjusted on Stratis
Added: New system for displaying scenario overview information
Side colors are now customizable. Two presets are available; one based on previous Arma 3 colors (default) and one recreating the Arma 2 scheme
Author's name in scenario overview is formatted like "by %s". If undefined "by Unknown Community Author" is displayed
Added tooltips to CListBox and key presets
Added: When the default (GUI) color is updated, it will be forced for all users who were using the previous default
Welcome Screen no longer shown for new profiles made during the same session
Fixed: White background when downloading scenarios looked like the game stopped responding. Custom color used instead of white
Added: Debriefing now shows number of respawns instead of reverts in multiplayer
Fixed: Quick command linked to the old communications menu
Added: Correct cursor for supports communications menu
Added: Framework for respawn templates - custom scripts and functions executed when player dies and respawns (details)
Added: Currently existing respawn effects (e.g., seagull, spectator camera, ...) moved to the respawn templates
Added: Communication menu manager
Function BIS_fnc_objectsGrabber would sometimes not close the output Array
Fixed: Functions viewer was not working when launched from mission editor
Added: Adding new control presets and their tooltips
Fixed: Notification area is now wider
Fixed: Debug console was not visible when launched from Splendid camera in non-editor mission
Field Manual Commanding / Move hint improved
BIS_fnc_arrayShuffle added to functions
Fixed: BIS_fnc_infoText was using obsolete sound
Added: A notification is displayed when a new communication menu item is added
Fixed: allowFunctionsRecompile description.ext param had no effect
Added: BIS_fnc_loadInventory throws an error when non-existent uniform is added
Added: BIS_fnc_MP now accepts SIDE type as a target. Function will be executed on computers of all players on the given side
Optimized: BIS_fnc_selectRandomWeighted
Added: Variable header added to local functions
Fixed: BIS_fnc_sortBy ignored entries with duplicate values
Danger FSM: Script command setUnitPosWeak used instead of setUnitPos. Priority of event DCCanFire is higher now
Fixed: Chromatic aberration remained when camera was launched from the pause menu
Removed: pauseOnLoad.sqf redundant script
Optimized: Module framework now loads modules significantly faster and takes less time during a mission
Added: BIS_fnc_startLoadingScreen and BIS_fnc_endLoadingScreen - a simple loading screen manager which gives a designer the ability to control his / her loads without fear of breaking others
Added: Error message will now interrupt loading screen
Fixed: The default editor template was still calling functions
Fixed: Feedback FSM optimization
Fixed: When respawnOnStart was set to 1 in description.ext, death scripts were sometimes executed after respawn scripts
Added: Correct ETA for mortar support in SCUBA mission

ENGINE
New Dedicated Server parameters for configuring ports for Steam services (should allow multiple DS per OS-instance) (details)
Updated to Physx3.2.4
Fixed several MP synchronization issues
Fixed several crash opportunities in SP and MP
Several inventory interaction and stability fixes
Removed destroyed buildings from PhysX simulation
Fixed: Wheel speed in damaged or destroyed state
Dynamic light influence to AI visibility tweaked
Tweaked darkness coefficient computation for AI visibility and NVG threshold for AI
Fixed: Hard limit usage while performing light sorting
Added: New hard limits implemented into particle lights
Added: New parameters for particle effects (global variants of surfNormalX, Y and Z)
Fixed: Starting scenarios from subfolders did not work correctly
Fixed: Audio distance curve
Added: Radio filter / effect
Fixed: MX UGL had a displaced crosshair
Added: Loiter waypoint
Fixed: AI will not eject before player
Fixed: Taking additional ammo for pistol would play reloading sound
Fixed: Certain magazines could not be moved to another container from backpacks
Fixed: RMB in inventory (moving from backpack to your own backpack) lost the item
Fixed: Headgear items when on the ground (WeaponHolder) were missing the 'Take' action
Fixed: Backpack items when on the ground (WeaponHolder) were missing the 'Take' action
Fixed: Sidearm taken from enemies are duplicated if put into the vest or backpack
Fixed: Texture flickering on wrecks
Fixed: Tooltip crash in MP sessions listbox
Fixed: http://feedback.arma3.com/view.php?id=7673 (crash when trying to bind controls - drag and drop)
Added lbSetTooltip script command
Removed redundant CfgFirstAid >> firstAidScript
Small optimization of face mimics
Fixed: enableFatigue command was not working
Fixed: Manual control for locked missiles works again
Added: Most detailed shadow lod is now displayed in view pilot
Fixed: Helicopters engines now are damaged correctly upon contact with water

Details on lighting tweaks:

Motivation
In the real world, we are used to seeing light sources not only at night but during the day as well – even in the daytime we recognize a car has its headlights on for example. Although we can not see the light from such a light source, since daily light from the sun over-lights it, during dawn and dusk we can. E.g. the light from headlights is seen in the morning about an hour after the first rays of the sun. Lit light sources (like car headlights) are evident even throughout a sunny day.

The night was very dark in Arma, which many players appreciated. It was caused by almost zero value of ambient light. However, to avoid overexposing the image at night by artificial light sources (street lamps, car headlights, fireplaces, etc.), the Light Value (LV) of these resources and the intensity of the emissive materials were very low. Therefore, when the sun came up, they immediately ceased to be visible. Twilight in Arma could not have looked like in reality for these reasons.

An example for better understanding:
The sun as light source has a very high light value and it can not be measured by standard means (estimated at 25-30 LV). Meanwhile, its light on a clear day at noon is then 16-18 LV. Car headlights are 19 LV and therefore brighter than sunlight. When lit, they should be seen in the daytime. Their light at a distance of 1 meter has a value of 11 LV, and because it is weaker than sunlight, it wouldn't be apparent at noon.


Process
To approach the situation in the real world, we have increased the intensity of the ambient light at night. The night, however, is still dark, because at the same time we've increased the aperture. The human eye in the real world cannot adapt below a certain threshold and therefore sees darkness with some remnants of light. If we now were to play as a cat in Arma, we would reduce the aperture at night and the night would look brighter.

This change has allowed us to set higher values of lights so that they are seen at dawn and dusk, and the light sources themselves even during the day. The brightness of the lights got closer to their real originals.

dWVbngM.jpg

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Change log
The intensity of night light increased
Light values of bad weather added to the underwater environment
Only nice weather lighting under water was configured so far
Light values at dawn were adjusted for nice and bad weather (based on the real photos)
The intesity of emissive materials was increased
Light sources of street lighting were amplified
Light sources of vehicles was amplified (work still in progress due to the amount of assets)
Light sources of the flashlight were modified
Lens flares were modified (size, texture, transparency)
Camera lens fares of the sun were adjusted
Eye lens fares of the sun were adjusted
Eye lens fares of other light sources were adjusted
 

NH Apache

Banned
the new lighting is ridiculous in-game, stunning work

It does look nice.

Played some wasteland yesterday for the first time in a while. I would love to see some updates to Wasteland to fix some bugs (IE, having to drive the car to access inventory, got my ass shot yesterday).

Community updates is what I need, dammit.
 

SJRB

Gold Member
It does look nice.

Played some wasteland yesterday for the first time in a while. I would love to see some updates to Wasteland to fix some bugs (IE, having to drive the car to access inventory, got my ass shot yesterday).

Community updates is what I need, dammit.

There's an easier way to do this: instead of getting into a vehicle, drive 2 feet, get out and access the inventory you can also open vehicle inventory, move the item you need to the ground and then move it from the ground to your inventory.

This is not only faster but saves you the hassle of getting into a vehicle, subsequently giving away your position.

Another smart move is first put a primary weapon magazine in the ammo slot, and then the weapon itself. This will auto-load the magazine and thus skip the loading animation so you're immediately ready to go.
 
i haven't played in awhile and i have recently jumped back in and found two mod previews i really like which are listed below.. the sea battles with the Norrköping Class is fun but a little too easy, the devs should make the seas a lot more violent.. thunderstorms and massive waves would be great

Swedish Forces Pack
norrkoping.jpg


http://forums.bistudio.com/showthread.php?152536-Swedish-Forces-Pack

Vietnam the Experience
http://forums.bistudio.com/showthread.php?155326-Vietnam-The-Experience-ArmA-3-Preview
 

SJRB

Gold Member
I'm actually kind of concerned about the massive increase in size of the island. I mean, even with 20+ players Stratis is pretty empty. I can't even imagine how that will work out on Limnos.

Instead of ATVs there should be transport helicopters everywhere, haha.
 

Xyber

Member
I'm actually kind of concerned about the massive increase in size of the island. I mean, even with 20+ players Stratis is pretty empty. I can't even imagine how that will work out on Limnos.

Instead of ATVs there should be transport helicopters everywhere, haha.

Well you don't have to use the entire island for stuff.

Playing Insurgency on Limnos is gonna be great.
 
for anyone that missed the Arma 3 beta livestream this morning

http://www.twitch.tv/arma3official/b/411222908



Things that will be included in the beta (more to come):

3D scopes
Strider (MRAP similar to Ifrit)
HEMTT (Truck)
Comanche
Zafir (future version of the pkm)
AA Launcher "Titan" (Uses Javlin sighs)
Green Faction (Greek Army)
Mi48
FN2000
New lighting
SDV underwater vehicle (the mini-submarine)


Things that might be added later to the beta:

Altis (developer build)
Stream-friendly UI
Steamworkshop integration


Things not included in the beta:

Static AA/AT
MBT's (Main Battle Tanks)
Java support (might be added later)



Other usefull things to know:
Q3 2013 is still the aimed release date for ArmA 3
Beta will be release a few weeks after E3
Beta content will be first released on the Developer build of the Alpha
 
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