FROM: High Command
TO: Arma 3 Users
INFO: Armachinima Voting, Jets Platform Improvements, Dev-Branch Additions
PRECEDENCE: Flash
SITUATION
We are currently processing the feedback from the
Release Candidate for the upcoming
1.68 Update (which includes the
64-bit executables). If these final tests come back positive, we intend to release the update to Main-Branch within the next few weeks. In addition, our development team is working on the
various DLC listed on our 2016-17
Roadmap, which will bring new assets, playable content, and engine features and other platform improvements.
INTELLIGENCE
We've reached the submission deadline for the
#Armachinima Awards. Now it is time for you to help us select the 10 nominees! There are more than 100 videos to watch, and everyone has 3 votes in total to distribute. So grab a drink (or two) and head over to the
#Armachinima web page. You can vote, and change your vote, up until the deadline on February 27th, 09:00 CET (GMT+1). Afterwards, the
Arma 3 development team will select
3 winners from the nominees. Have fun everyone!
The latest
Dev Photo shows
Arma 3 and
Project Argo (Prototype) developers join forces to conquer the highest mountain of the Czech Republic,
Sněžka (and plant
an improvised Arma 3 flag!). Unfortunately, Mother Nature set the view distance to low, but the lack of a breathtaking vista was compensated by enjoying some well-deserved beverages instead.
Mudspike.com, a web portal specialized in writing articles on aviation, published an
elaborate piece on
drones in Arma 3. Taking a detailed look at Arma 3's UAVs, the author describes the handling, armament, and gameplay of these unmanned vehicles. It is certainly an
interesting article to read if you are interested in an outsider's perspective on some of the flying mechanics.
OPERATIONS
Some of the new engine features that are being developed in anticipation of the upcoming
Jets DLC are starting to surface on
Dev-Branch. One of these is
Dynamic Loadouts, which allows for in-game customization of a vehicle's armament, which changes the way that airplanes operate in different situations. The ability to select the loadout for each pylon was requested by our community for a long time, and we're glad to finally be able to implement this alongside Jets' new premium assets. You can find the
Work-In-Progress documentation on the Community Wiki, and please let us know your
feedback on the forums.
Another new platform feature coming alongside the Jets DLC is
Datalink, which was also recently added to
Dev-Branch. Designer
Ondřej Kužel explains what it is:
"Datalink is a new feature that expands the Sensor Overhaul. It allows vehicle operators to automatically transmit and/or receive information about targets to/from other vehicles of the same side." Additionally, new config parameters (
receiveRemoteTargets,
reportRemoteTargets,
reportOwnPosition) will help community content creators to include this new feature in their assets. Head over to the
forums to chat with our devs and
provide your feedback. It's much appreciated!
That said, not all of the recent additions are directly associated with the
Jets DLC. Our developers are working tirelessly on improving the game overall. For example, a new "hasUnderbarrel"
weapon animation source has landed to
Dev-Branch recently and offers more possibilities for modders. Also, the well-known
Dammaged Event Handler was
extended with additional arguments (documented on the
Community Wiki). Aside from that, the
enableEnvironment script command was optimized to work more reliably. Last but not least, Senior Programmer
Jakub Horyna fixed a
longstanding issue with flags, which now can be used in CTF scenarios in the same way as in
the early days of Arma.
LOGISTICS
The Arma 3
Feedback Tracker now allows for logging in via
existing accounts like
Facebook or
Google Account. We hope this will help decrease the barrier of entry for registering and submitting issues. The goal being of course to make Arma 3 even more
splendid!