Armed Assault Info
ArmA | ArmA 2 | ArmA 3
 

 
  Updated CUP Terrains Pack v1.2.0 released ! Addon release    

The CUP - Community Upgrade Project Team has released an updated CUP Terrains Pack - v1.2.0 on the CUP site adding 5 New terrains from Arma: Cold War Rearmed, made by CWR2 Team

The Community Upgrade Project is the initiative to bring all the content of Arma 2
[+ OA and DLCs] from BI into Arma 3, upgraded to the Arma 3 feature set.

Its goal is to provide those assets to the community as a mod ready to use in the game,
and as an open-source repository for modders to build upon and learn from.[/i]

Maps included in “CUP Terrains – Complete” are:

Rahmadi
Sahrani
Southern Sahrani
United Sahrani
Porto
Utes
Chernarus
Chernarus Summer
Desert
Takistan
Zargabad
Shapur
Proving Grounds
Bukovina
Bystrica
Takistan Mountains

Added in CUP Terrains Pack v1.2.0

+ Everon
+ Malden
+ Kolgujev
+ Nogova
+ Desert Island


Note : Due to the size of the archive, the DL may be quite slow on our .ftp
Note 2 : More DL links on the CUP site




  June 25th, 2016 - 08:53 By Old Bear   Comment (0)  

  15 years Armaversary celebration Official    

Korneel van 't Land has informed us about 15 years Armaversary celebration events.


Bohemia Interactive celebrates 15 years of Arma


Over 10 million sold copies, special Arma sale today
Prague, Czech Republic, June 22st 2016


With the release of Arma 3 Apex on the horizon, Bohemia Interactive celebrates the 15th anniversary of the Arma series, which saw its first release on June 22nd 2001 in the form of Arma Cold War Assault (originally titled Operation Flashpoint*: Cold War Crisis). Since then, several Arma installments, alongside expansions and downloadable content, have followed. To date, the Arma series has sold over 10 million copies of games (DLCs not included).

Marek Spanel, CEO and co-founder of Bohemia Interactive:

“When we released our first Arma game in 2001, little could we know that it would start a successful line up of games and spin-off serious simulators. Fifteen years later, Bohemia Interactive continues to provide unique games to our creative communities. A special thanks goes out to all Arma players and content creators. We look forward to the Arma 3 Apex release and everything else that lies ahead in Arma’s future!”

To further celebrate Arma’s 15th birthday, Bohemia Interactive has bundled 15 years of Arma for 15% of their current price (i.e. 85% discount, best deal ever), today only, exclusively on the Bohemia Store. This special package includes:

Arma: Cold War Assault
Arma: Gold Edition
Arma 2
Arma 2: Operation Arrowhead
Arma 2: British Armed Forces
Arma 2: Private Military Company
Arma 2: Army of the Czech Republic
Arma 3
Arma 3 Karts DLC
Arma 3 Helicopters DLC
Arma 3 Marksmen DLC

The regular price for this bundle of games is 114.39 EUR / 94.59 GBP / 141.89 USD, while today’s exclusive deal massively lowers the price to 17.16 EUR / 14.19 GBP / 21.28 USD.

Known for its authentic combined arms gameplay, stunning large open terrains, as well as its support for content creation and modding, the Arma series has developed into one of the most popular military game franchises on PC. After the hit success of the first Arma in 2001, the studio took on various ambitious new projects, and was involved in establishing a successful spin-off business in serious gaming and simulations with its first game for training: VBS1. In 2005, Bohemia Interactive released its first console game Operation Flashpoint: Elite* for Xbox – followed by Arma in 2007, which marked the studio’s first full independent release without support from a major publisher.

Arma 2 released in 2009, and remained a priority for several years after release, resulting in several DLC packs and the Arma 2: Operation Arrowhead expansion. This also lead into the mod sensation DayZ, created by Dean Hall, which took the entire gaming industry by surprise in 2012 and established a new game category. About half a year later, in 2013, Arma 3 paved the way for Bohemia Interactive’s open method of development, becoming one of the first titles to enter and graduate from the Steam Early Access program and selling 2.5 million copies to date. Arma 3 still continues to enjoy full support in the form of free platform updates and premium downloadable content, including the much-anticipated Arma 3 Apex expansion, which is scheduled for release on July 11th this year.

For more information about Bohemia Interactive and the studio’s portfolio of games, please visit www.bistudio.com – and keep track of all the latest news by following Bohemia Interactive on Facebook and Twitter.

*Operation Flashpoint® is a registered trademark of Codemasters


  June 22nd, 2016 - 20:27 By Old Bear   Comment (0)  

  SITREP #00161 Official    

On June 21, 2016, Joris-Jan van 't Land has reported a SITREP #00161 on the official Arma3 site.

FROM: High Command
TO: Arma 3 Users
INFO: Armaversary, Main Menu Overhaul, Vehicle-in-Vehicle Transport, Vehicle Path-Following
PRECEDENCE: Flash

SITUATION


The first week of pre-release public testing of the Apex sandbox has proven once again the value of this approach. Combined with our own thorough tests, your feedback has contributed to many tweaks and fixes already. At the small cost of a slightly skewed first impression due to the work-in-progress nature of the content, this will lead to a more solid release on July 11. Note that most changes arrive first to the daily experimental Dev-Branch. We then selectively merge these to the Apex Sneak Preview and RC updated periodically. The update processes are running a little slower than we're used to, because of the large amount of data and increased branch count. It has also been quite remarkable to see a wide range of mods release compatible versions within days, and in some cases hours, of content staging. The hard work of teams like Exile, GetWrecked, various Life incarnations and others will provide players with a great many options come full release. There's still plenty to polish, so we'll get on with it!




INTELLIGENCE


Happy birthday Arma! On June 22, it's been 15 years since the series' first entry was released in Europe: Arma Cold War Assault. Since then, over 10 million copies (excluding DLC) have been sold, of which 2.5 million for Arma 3 to date. On behalf of our company and everyone who has worked on Arma, we'd like to thank all players, modders, units, server admins, moderators and all other people who have supported the franchise along the way. To celebrate, we're hosting the best deal ever, with 15 years of Arma at 15% of its current price (special bundle of all released Arma games and DLC) - one day only, exclusively on the Bohemia Store. Cheers to another 15 years!




One of the first things greeting you when starting the game after Apex (1.62), is an overhauled Main Menu. One of the goals was simply to apply a fresh coat of paint, as we've done for the game itself with the Visual Upgrade. After a few years of playing the game, and with more years to go, having a splendid new entry point to gameplay was desired. In addition, several of our designers have taken a look at the User eXperience of the interface and made tweaks to how elements are arranged, presented and interacted with. One part of this was to re-focus on the center of the screen (most other displays were also centralized). This is also where we placed several visually-pleasing spotlight tiles for the content we want to promote (or mods want to promote!).




Another aspect of the Main Menu is the terrain-specific cutscene played in the background. Throughout the Arma series there have been various approaches. Before Apex, our terrains showed a drone-like feed with combat going on in the distance. Now we've gone with a series of static scenes that showcase the environment, and provide more stable performance at the same time. Of course mods can tweak the UI and these scenes. Head over to the Community Wiki for the documentation.

Entertain yourself with the "Water in your Eyes" mission cinematic about Dutch unit 11th Air Manoeuvre Brigade. It shows them executing a naval anti-piracy interception using assets from the FFAA mod. Nice editing Lorrio!



OPERATIONS


Logistics are essential on the battlefield. After introducing features like Sling Loading for helicopters, we wanted to offer another important capability: carrying vehicles inside larger vehicles. This will open another avenue for commanders to move their assets across large distances, for example between the islands of Tanoa. The first version of Vehicle-in-Vehicle Transport is available on Dev-Branch, where it will be iterated for a little while before taking it to other versions. So far, the new VTOLs have been prepared to load any suitable vehicle in the vanilla sandbox, from the new LSVs to existing light armored vehicles. In some cases you may even load up multiple vehicles. In the future we'd like to prepare our larger pre-Apex aircraft for this as well, but that requires some additional work. Cargo vehicles do not need setting up for the most part, as load capacity is determined based on their actual bounding box dimensions and weight. One very cool aspect of this feature is the ability to eject cargo vehicles mid-flight and have them be parachuted down (depending on altitude and pilot skill!).

In our wildest dreams, we envisioned this feature to also mean you would drive up a vehicle ramp and park the vehicle manually. However, after experimenting with this and similar approaches, we learned it wouldn't be feasible to deliver, given reasonable resources. These attempts caused complex problems with AI, animations and physics. We want our engine-based features to be fully available for: AI, commanding, waypoints, multiplayer, Eden Editor, Zeus, mods, etc. That's why we've decided to implement the feature in a more abstracted way. For technical details and available modding options, check out the Community Wiki documentation (more information coming, including script command references). Give the feature a go yourself, build some simple scenarios around it, and discuss your evaluation on our forums. Programmer-Designer duo Tomáš Nezval and Karel Kališ are monitoring for any reported issues and potential tweaks. We definitely think it will allow for some very cool gameplay and large combined arms operations.

LOGISTICS


Advanced mod teams may enjoy a new command-line version of Publisher that was prepared by Senior Programmer Jiří Polášek. On, and it supports skins! The tool can be experimented with on the Arma 3 Tools Dev-Branch.




Deep in his secret lair, Senior Programmer Krzysztof Bielawski has been experimenting with significant AI driving enhancements. Before we describe this effort more, we should make it clear that this tech will not be part of the 1.62 update yet. It requires more work and testing of all content. Once finalized, our hope is that especially vehicle path-following will have improved. It should teach AI to navigate through narrow roads and urban areas more effectively. Other AI challenges being looked into are formation holding and convoy driving. There is also a powerful new modding opportunity as it allows a per-vehicle behavior to be configured via a new driving component in vehicle simulation. On top of this it has been a general refactoring and optimization of the code. A first iteration, tweaks and fixes have already gone live on , so let us know how it's working and get more Intel straight from the source!

There will be a brief interruption in our regular activity this Thursday and Friday while all Bohemia Interactive teams meet up for a company-wide event. This will affect Dev-Branch and other branch updates, as well as our interaction on the various communication channels.

Until next week, let's join these Tanoan locals anxiously awaiting your arrival to their homeland.




  June 22nd, 2016 - 18:24 By Old Bear   Comment (0)  

  SITREP #00160 Official    

On June 14, 2016, Joris-Jan van 't Land has reported a SITREP #00160 on the official Arma3 site.

FROM: High Command
TO: Arma 3 Users
INFO: Apex Release Date, Apex Sneak Preview, Apex Dev Diary
PRECEDENCE: Flash

SITUATION

Where do we even begin? Chances are that not many of you will read this week's report due to the massive influx of Apex Intel and goodies over the past days. But perhaps for that reason we actually recommend you do keep on reading! Get a clear overview of what we've revealed: the July 11th 2016 release date, a E3 2016 Teaser Trailer, the full expansion contents, and more.



INTELLIGENCE



Soon after last week's staging of Tanoa, we published the Dev Diary we had promised a while back. In this video, Project Lead Petr Kolář and Creative Director Jay Crowe take you on a tour of the setting and content of Arma 3 Apex. Looking beyond centerpiece Tanoa, they discuss the new vehicles, weapons and gear for the various factions. The last segment of the diary takes a first look at the upcoming "Apex Protocol" co-op campaign, without spoiling too much about the narrative. You will also see glimpses of many of our proud developers, working hard in the various studios to get the expansion done on time. Keep it up guys and gals, together with the community we'll get this done!



If you'd like to inspect the contents of the expansion at your own pace, visit our new Apex overview website for all the details. Not only will you learn about the premium content additions, but we've detailed the long list of free platform updates as well. A series of new screenshots has also been shared there, and on the Bohemia Interactive Store and Steam product pages. The full Apex Edition is still definitely the best option for new Arma 3 recruits.

We'd like to also clarify that, unlike some would claim, we have absolutely never advertised the DLC Bundle would contain Apex. It has always been stated to include Karts, Helicopters and Marksmen DLC. Owners of the (retired) Supporter Edition do receive Apex as part of their package.




The team then entered an intense few days of non-stop work to prepare for our appearance on the 2016 PC Gaming Show in Los Angeles. Thanks to Brand & PR Manager Korneel van 't Land's tireless behind-the-scenes coordination and Jay's splendid on-screen presence, we showed off Apex to the massive live audience. Our thanks to the show organizers and host Sean Plott for getting us back on! In case you missed the show, watch its recording here (01:31:17 for the summoning of the Crowe). The audience support in the various chats also did not go unnoticed! Besides premiering the Teaser Trailer, there were two other very significant reveals!







The final release date was confirmed as the 11th of July 2016. Yes, it's 11 days past our intended Q2 release window. But the extra time will allow us to react to several weeks of public feedback, and also let the (modding) community prepare for the release. And to make sure you have something to do, we've staged all Apex sandbox content for you to try!




Making it easier than ever to preview the work-in-progress content ahead of release, we've added a new public branch for Arma 3 and Arma 3 Server. Go to either app's Properties, select the BETAS tab and then pick the Apex Sneak Preview Build from the list. Steam will now download the data and after that you're good to go. There are various things to keep in mind, so let's make this a clear list, shall we?

  • The Apex Sneak Preview branch will be available all the way up to release, and then you can obviously continue playing on main branch.

  • We recommend this branch over Dev-Branch for regular players. It's less experimental in nature.

  • If you suffer bandwidth restrictions, consider waiting for the full release. Large and frequent updates are expected until release.

  • If you don't want to spoil your own first impressions by this work-in-progress build, consider waiting for the full release.

  • Feel free to share media and stream from this build, but we'd love it if you could let your audience know this is an unfinished pre-release version.
  • People love exploring, so please be mindful of obvious spoilers. We've been very impressed with your efforts to warn people so far, especially on the Arma subreddit!

  • Even if you do not own Apex yet, you can try the assets in the Virtual Arsenal / Garage mode for free! This mode can also be accessed from the game's DLC Content Browser (Shift + P).
  • Playable Content (e.g. the co-op campaign) is not yet staged, but will be during the weeks before release.

  • This is and will be the same build as the RC Branch highlighted below (therefore also multiplayer compatible with each other).

  • Game Updater unfortunately cannot support this branch prior to release. Please see this forums post by R&D Lead Julien Vida for information.






We're still tweaking, fixing and polishing the contents of Apex in many areas. Weapon animations and audio will see improvements, some features are yet to be enabled (e.g. Vehicle-in-Vehicle Transport and secondary weapon muzzle deployment), glitches are being addressed, etc. Please report specific issues on the Feedback Tracker with as much data as you can. We'd also love your feedback via our forum threads for vehicles, weapons, gear and props.





OPERATIONS


The feedback to Tanoa has been amazing, rewarding and motivating! The Environment Design and Art teams are processing all reports and tweaking the terrain across the board. Besides fixing obvious glitches, like misplaced objects, they are also still improving areas like the underwater world as best they can. Other aspects will remain as they are for release, such as the amount of building interiors. This different approach was first discussed during last year's reveal of Tanoa. We are however investigating the handling of model Levels Of Detail. We too observe LODs switching too aggressively, and we are pursuing improvements both in our data and the engine. It should be said that LOD switching will never be completely invisible, simply due to the nature of this method of achieving better performance.




It's cool to see you've noticed our work on making the AI work better in Tanoa's jungles and other locations. This has been an on-going effort on the RoadToApex, with some of the changes reaching Altis & Stratis in the previous platform updates. Further tweaking of this too, is still in progress, by adjusting AI parameters and improving the technical LODs of natural objects for example. Along with features like the extended AI suppression commands, please discuss how you feel AI behavior can be further enhanced on our forums.







LOGISTICS


Even though we now have the readily available Apex Sneak Preview branch, we still want to also cater to regular Release Candidate testers. A clone / alias of the same build is available as regular1.62 RC via Steam access code Arma3Update162. We intend for these branches to contain the same, multiplayer-compatible, build until release. Find the high-level and evolving change log here. It's up to you which one you prefer to use, but either way is fine!




Until next time, enjoy your sight-seeing tours of Tanoa!


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  June 15th, 2016 - 18:48 By Old Bear   Comment (0)  

  Arma 3 Apex to be released on July 11th General    

Korneel van 't Land has informed us that Bohemia Interactive has announced to day, during the PC Gaming Show at E3 2016 that Arma 3 Apex is to be released on July 11th, a Sneak Preview access video is now available.

Prague, Czech Republic, June 13th 2016

Alongside a brand new trailer, which premiered during the PC Gaming Show at E3 2016, Bohemia Interactive today announced the release date for the much-anticipated Arma 3 Apex expansion. Launching worldwide on July 11th this year, Arma 3 Apex will bring players to the 100 km˛ South Pacific archipelago Tanoa, with a new arsenal of weapons and vehicles at their disposal, as well as additional armed forces, a co-op campaign, and more.

Calling all troops to the front lines, Bohemia Interactive also announced that, as of today (almost one month before release), everyone who pre-ordered Arma 3 Apex has Sneak Preview Access to all of the expansion’s content, except for the co-op campaign. To install the Apex Sneak Preview build, you simply need to right-click on Arma 3 in your Steam Library, go to 'Properties', visit the 'BETAS' tab, and use the drop-down menu to select and install the Apex Sneak Preview build. This build represents a work-in-progress version and is not yet fully representative of the final Arma 3 Apex release.

With its distinct geographical features and varied locations, Apex's South Pacific island archipelago of Tanoa introduces fresh opportunities for all types of combat operations. Making use of 13 new weapons (providing a mix of classic and near-future firearms), and 10 new vehicles (including new vehicle classes such as VTOL aircraft and LSVs), players can engage in authentic combat on a massive scale, where movement, shooting, and teamwork truly matter. The new 1-4 player co-op campaign sees players take on the role of NATO CTRG special operators, who are sent to Tanoa in order to prevent a humanitarian disaster, but quickly find themselves facing a far bigger threat than they bargained for.

Arma 3 Apex is now available for pre-order with a 20% discount for 23.99 EUR / 19.99 GBP / 27.99 USD (regular price: 29.99 EUR / 24.99 GBP / 34.99 USD) on Steam and the Bohemia Store. Those who are new to Arma 3, but want to enlist for the complete experience at the best price, can choose to pick up the Arma 3 Apex Edition for 59.99 EUR / 44.99 GBP / 69.99 USD.

For more information about the Apex expansion, please visit the official web page at www.arma3.com/apex – where you find a complete overview of its content and features – and take a look at the latest developer diary video. To keep track of all the latest news and updates, be sure to follow Arma 3 on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and Steam.




  June 13th, 2016 - 20:40 By Old Bear   Comment (0)  

  Arma 3 Apex developer diary video Videos    

Korneel van 't Land has informed us about " Arma 3 Apex developer diary video " release.


New Arma 3 Apex developer diary video declassifies setting and content

South Pacific terrain, new armed forces, 13 weapons and 10 vehicles, co-op campaign, and more

Prague, Czech Republic, June 8th 2016


Representing the pinnacle of over 15 years of Arma development, Bohemia Interactive today published a brand new developer diary video about their major upcoming expansion for Arma 3: Arma 3 Apex. In the video, Project Lead Petr Kolář and Creative Director Jay Crowe unveil the expansion's setting and content.

Bringing players to the 100 km˛ South Pacific island archipelago terrain of Tanoa, which was revealed at E3 last year, the Arma 3 Apex expansion features new armed forces (including a brand new local faction of bandits and ex-paramilitaries), 13 new weapons, new uniforms, equipment and gear, 10 new vehicles, a 1-4 player co-op campaign, and more.

On the road to Arma 3 Apex, Bohemia Interactive has also been releasing several major Arma 3 platform updates in the past months. The highlights include the implementation of an audio-visual upgrade, 3D Scenario Editor, new server browser, enhanced mod handling, Quick Play, vehicle-in-vehicle transport, weapon switching, better squad communications, spectator mode, and various other features and user experience improvements.

The final release date of Arma 3 Apex will be announced during the PC Gaming Show at E3 next week on Monday June 13th. The event will kick-off at 11:30 AM Pacific Time ( click here for all time zones ), and will be broadcasted live on www.twitch.tv/pcgamer.

For more in-depth information about the Apex expansion, and a detailed overview of its content and features, be sure to visit the new web page at www.arma3.com/apex - and take a look at the updated product pages on the Bohemia Store and Steam, which have been reinforced with the new Apex logo and artwork, a new description, and screenshots.

The Arma 3 Apex is now available for pre-order with a 20% discount for 23.99 EUR / 19.99 GBP / 27.99 USD (regular price: 29.99 EUR / 24.99 GBP / 34.99 USD) on Steam and the Bohemia Store. Those who are new to Arma 3, but want to enlist for the complete experience at the best price, can pick up the Arma 3 Apex Edition for 59.99 EUR / 44.99 GBP / 69.99 USD.



  June 8th, 2016 - 18:28 By Old Bear   Comment (0)  

  SITREP #00159 Official    

On June 7, 2016, Joris-Jan van 't Land has reported a SITREP #00159 on the official Arma3 site.

FROM: High Command
TO: Arma 3 Users
INFO: Apex Artwork, PC Gaming Show 2016, Tanoa Dev-Branch Status
PRECEDENCE: Flash

SITUATION


Things have really kicked off yesterday with the revelation of the official Arma 3 Apex artwork and logo. We hope you're as excited as we are about the setting that's depicted there. It has been a joy to read your discussions about the clues contained within. We're seeing the full package coming together fast now, and soon you'll have all the details yourselves. One particular event to mark in your calendars is the PC Gaming Show 2016 on Monday June 13 at 11:30 PDT / 20:30 CEST. Creative Director Jay Crowe will be on-stage to announce the release date for Apex, and to drop more splendid Intel. The show will be live streamed on various platforms, including a mirror on our Twitch channel. There will no doubt be a recording for on-demand viewing afterwards as well. Be sure to stick around for the after show for more Bohemia Interactive coverage!

[Related Twitter content on click]

INTELLIGENCE



Before we look ahead even more, let's take one more peak back at the recent 1.60 update. Besides the Visual Upgrade, shown off brilliantly by CallMehTOMMEH, there were many more cool aspects. To make sure you didn't miss a thing, take a look at our top 10 favorite changes. They weren't necessarily ordered by any parameter, but they stood out to us as useful steps forward. The pretty comparison images and other media should give you a much clearer view on the improvements. Another synopsis is offered by our friends at the ARMAnet podcast in their recent debrief episode.

[Related Twitter content on click]



We were blown away by KinglesPringles' awesome machinima showcasing the Operation: TREBUCHET mod. If you'd like to stay aware of how development on this unofficial mod is progressing, do check out their UPLINK reports!



OPERATIONS


The plan was to ambush Apex owners by staging the Tanoa terrain to our experimental Dev-Branch. But it turns out some distribution and ownership issues are delaying your hands-on exploration a little longer. We are liaising with our Steam partners to get this resolved quickly, because we know the game build itself works well. For unknown reasons the Steam API is feeding incorrect ownership status to the game, and it's also refusing to download the Tanoa data to you. Know that there is nothing you can do on your side to solve this. We're pursuing a solution as soon as possible. We would also like to remind you of the type of build you're getting by using Dev-Branch. This is not and has never been a final release state. Please take a look at the branch overview of limitations, and consider whether you'd like to jump in or wait for the full release. Of particular note are the expected large daily updates. Due to the EBO (Encrypted PBO) files not being friends with Steam's delta patching, you can easily see hundreds, if not thousands, of MBs getting pushed around. To tide you over, enjoy this sneak preview video by our very own CEO: Marek Španěl.


[Related Twitter content on click]

But let's assume the access issue gets solved soon; then all Apex owners get to explore the entire Tanoa terrain. We're very proud of how it has turned out even given the polish that's yet to be done. It looks great, feels authentic, and provides for a plethora of gameplay possibilities. Please share your feedback with us on the forums, and report glitches on the Feedback Tracker. You'll probably still encounter misplaced objects and similar issues, and your reports will let us solve as many as possible before the full release. Please also allow us to respectfully ask you to mark any media you share with some indication that this is still a work-in-progress version, so that it may be clear for future viewers. Finally, since exploration is such a key part, consider not sharing some of the unique locations too prominently. Let eventual Apex owners be wowed by the locales our environment designers have worked so hard on. But most importantly: have a lot of fun playing around in this new green sandbox!



LOGISTICS


With parts of Apex coming your way on Dev branch, we should explain how Content Licensing will work with regards to our established DLC strategy. Let's get the easy parts out of the way first: all vehicles, weapons and character gear will work as it did in previous DLC. You will be able to try them freely in VR Arsenal / Garage. When you encounter and use them outside of that mode as non-owner, you will meet various limitations and messages. Various decorative props, as well as all new features and technologies are free to every Arma 3 player out there! This is made possible thanks to the continued awesome support of the full player-base.

The difference is the Tanoa terrain itself. Here you really need to own Apex to gain access, whether in the editor or multiplayer or any other avenue. Not only that, but the Tanoa-specific data, such as environmental objects and structures, is only downloaded to Apex owners. This is a necessary departure from the previous approach where everyone shared the exact same data-set. Practically what this means is that you should carefully consider including such assets in your custom content, because non-owners may struggle to play it. The motivations for doing this are the sheer size and scale of Tanoa, and the investment behind it. We did not find a reasonable way of implementing a try-before-you-buy approach here. In addition, the extra ~6 GB of data was too large for us to force onto every Arma 3 player's installation. We think that once you explore Tanoa, you'll clearly see the years of effort our team has put into it, are worth it!

Shortly after the 1.60 update, there was a small hotfix to address several miscellaneous issues discovered after rolling out the build to everyone. Inspect its SPOTREP for all the details

The folks of the Foxhound International community group have published a very handy reference guide for scripters. It's a single sheet PDF with lots of relevant SQF scripting topics like: syntax, operator precedence, control statements, locality, etc. While you are there, soaking up the knowledge, also go over their other development blogs. Thanks for your contributions!

[Related Twitter content on click]



  June 8th, 2016 - 18:21 By Old Bear   Comment (0)  

  Updated CUP Terrains Pack v1.1.0 released ! Addon release    

The CUP - Community Upgrade Project Team has released an updated CUP Terrains Pack - v1.1.0 on the CUP site adding Visual Upgrade enhancements.


The Community Upgrade Project is the initiative to bring all the content of Arma 2
[+ OA and DLCs] from BI into Arma 3, upgraded to the Arma 3 feature set.

Its goal is to provide those assets to the community as a mod ready to use in the game,
and as an open-source repository for modders to build upon and learn from.


Maps included in “CUP Terrains – Complete” are:

Rahmadi
Sahrani
Southern Sahrani
United Sahrani
Porto
Utes
Chernarus
Chernarus Summer
Desert
Takistan
Zargabad
Shapur
Proving Grounds
Bukovina
Bystrica
Takistan Mountains





  June 2nd, 2016 - 17:59 By Old Bear   Comment (0)  

  SITREP #00158 Official    

On May 31, 2016, Joris-Jan van 't Land has reported a SITREP #00158 on the official Arma3 site.

FROM: High Command
TO: Arma 3 Users
INFO: Update 1.60 Released, Feedback Tracker Online, Respawn Screen
PRECEDENCE: Flash

SITUATION


Now that the dust is starting to settle from the usual post-release frenzy, we hope you're all enjoying the pretty sights made possible by the Visual Upgrade. We're actively scanning all channels for any priority issues. We'd like to commend the warriors of the mod scene for swiftly releasing compatibility updates to unlock the potential of the new improvements. If you're playing with Exile, Unsung, CUP, ALiVE or many of the other projects out there, you'll find new versions for 1.60 out already.




We're now entering a very exciting time. Our destination is in sight. During June you'll get all the Intel on Apex and its release plans. There will be lots of activity on Dev-Branch while we prepare the game for 1.62 and start staging expansion components. Please be mindful of what Dev-Branch is and is not however. We welcome all your feedback, and really do need it, but if you'd like to experience the final product - consider waiting just a tad longer. The team is entering a stressful and rewarding period. Developers are stepping outside their normal roles and helping each other out where they can. We're working hard to ensure this will be the release Arma 3 and its players deserve.

INTELLIGENCE


We know you love mods, and so do we. Mod DB has kicked off another mod appreciation week for 2016. Share your favorite mods and thank your favorite modders simply by posting about them on your channel of choice. Add a download link and #modlove2016 to spread the love. Let's give those awesome developers the pats on the back they deserve!




One example of comprehensive modding efforts has probably not gone unnoticed: the release of Iron Front Lite Preview on Workshop. This may warrant a little history lesson for new recruits. IF is a massive World War 2 project that was also released as stand-alone game based on Arma 2's technology. The impressive full package has been ported to Arma 3 and is being updated to use its new technologies and features. The Lite version is free for everyone and uses lower-quality textures. There is a tonne more pieces of information in this forums thread, ranging from team credits to future plans.



Another cool aspect is IF's cooperation with popular multiplayer mod(e)s. Play King Of The Hill on the Eastern Front by reading their set up instructions, and stay tuned for Battle Royale to come to this setting in the near future!







Did you already know that we've expanded our available Bohemia Interactive merchandise a while ago? You'll find a range of T-shirts in our store, with more designs planned in the future. Available also are printed maps, Tactical Guides and unit patches. Display them with pride!







OPERATIONS

UX Designer Petra Ivašková has shared with us her first OPerations REPort, on the new Respawn Screen that was released with update 1.60. She describes the major changes to the interface, which is now unified into a single panel, and a new approach to role and load-out selection. The report wraps up by mentioning customization options for modders and scenario designers. They will find in-depth documentation on the Community Wiki. Even though this work has been released to main branch, it can still be discussed on our forums!




LOGISTICS


The full list of changes for Arma 3, Arma 3 Server and Arma 3 Tools can be inspected in the SPOTREP and TECHREP. One of the things many of you immediately spotted were temporary compatibility issues on custom terrains. This was expected and done after a discussion with modders so that they could more effectively leverage the Visual Upgrade for their terrains. It did mean that full backward-compatibility could not be preserved, but a number of popular terrains have already been updated meanwhile. For the technically-minded among us, this means that the CAWorld base configuration class contains the VU parameters so that they can be easily inherited by any terrain. If your sky looks broken, please look for an update or contact the mod's author to request one.

Any issues can now be once again reported to Feedback Tracker. It has been slowly re-launched over the past weeks to make sure things are working well. Former tickets were imported with working re-directs to their new equivalent. If you had an account on the previous version, recover it by requesting a new password. We of course recommend you then configure your own, strong and unique password for access. The Phabricator framework also supports multi-factor authentication, which you should consider for additional security. Let us now get back to using this feedback portal for collaborative development of the Arma 3 platform in a constructive manner. Thank you for your patience while the system was down.




  June 1st, 2016 - 21:35 By Old Bear   Comment (0)  

  SITREP #00157 Official    

On May 24, 2016, Joris-Jan van 't Land has reported a SITREP #00157 on the official Arma3 site.

FROM: High Command
TO: Arma 3 Users
INFO: Development Status, Rendering Optimizations, VON Improvements
PRECEDENCE: Flash

SITUATION


We would very much like to release the 1.60 update later this week. That would clear the way for the final leg of our journey to Apex. It would allow us to start staging some very interesting components of the package in phases. And of course it would mean everybody gets to enjoy the Visual Upgrade and other improvements. Give the most recent RC branch a go if you can, and alert us to any last-minute issues on the forums. Our developers' work on Apex is meanwhile subject to Strict Data Lock and Localization Lock. For those of you new to our development cycle, this means that all work and changes in data must now be explicitly approved. We do this to consolidate the package, to monitor how all components interact with each other, to stabilize the build, and of course to pester our beloved devs! The second lock means the bulk of texts have been submitted for translation and any further changes need careful coordination. This doesn't mean work has finished, far from it, but we're nearing our destination on the #RoadToApex.

INTELLIGENCE


Reality Gaming Task Force is back with an action-packed montage that was compiled from 600 clips during 6 months of gameplay compressed into 6 minutes of video.



The Spanish FFAA mod is no stranger to our reports either, but we simply cannot ignore this gorgeous cinematic!



Completing our round of REPregulars, Kydoimos of Resist fame has published a handy collection of scenario design props to Steam Workshop.




OPERATIONS


A few optimization-related entries appeared on the Dev-Branch change logs recently. Now that Tanoa is nearing its final form for release, it allows for more effective and targeted optimization work to be done. Doing this while locations aren't yet populated, or the thousands of placed objects don't yet have final Levels Of Detail, could skew results. A set of rendering optimizations by Senior Programmer Lukáš Bábíček has now come online, covering areas like preparing the scene for rendering in smarter ways, aggregating the terrain grid, drawing distant objects that have become reduced to mere pixels, LOD-handling, calculating terrain shadows, etc. Even though these optimizations were benchmarked on Tanoa, they can definitely help on other terrains. But there are risks also. It may be that one type of scene now works better, while another runs worse. Or various kinds of visual glitching may have become more prominent. We'd like to hear your own observations and measurements. Please note that the Dev-Branch build does have some additional performance impacts compared to main branch (diagnostics e.g.). Also try to rule out external factors, such as corrupted data and defragmented drives.

LOGISTICS


There has been an overdue and multi-angle effort to improve our native Voice-Over-Network technology. At this stage the goal of this work is to make vanilla VON properly usable, not to match the excellent work of the various radio communications mods out there. At a low-level we have Programmer Dmitro Panasenko looking at the underlying technology. The game now supports the Opus codec next to Speex (use vonCodec = 1 in the server.cfg). There have also been optimizations and fixes to address the stuttering issues. These are hard to verify due to the high number of players needed in a session, so we eagerly await your experiences. Coordinated by Designer Karel Kališ, there are also UX enhancements in the pipeline. Available now is a separation of VON and (text) chat, with control for servers and scenarios. More improvements, such as muting options, are being looked into, but we're not yet sure when we can deliver those. Read more details in this forums write-up on the current state, and feel free to leave your feedback.




  May 24th, 2016 - 22:05 By Old Bear   Comment (0)  

  SITREP #00156 Official    

On May 17, 2016, Joris-Jan van 't Land has reported a SITREP #00156 on the official Arma3 site.

FROM: High Command
TO: Arma 3 Users
INFO: Release Candidate 1.60, Limping, Line Drawing, Quick Play
PRECEDENCE: Flash

SITUATION


That was quite the weekend for Arma 3! A huge amount of players tried the game for free over the past few days, beating our concurrent player record. Plenty of recruits have also made their enlisting a more permanent career. We'd like to welcome everyone to the Armaverse. You've picked a perhaps slightly turbulent but very definitely exciting time to jump aboard. A new expansion is on the horizon and we're still supporting the platform with a motivated team. Keep an eye on the reports in our Dev Hub, like the one you're reading now, for our Intel on the #RoadToApex. Our last pitstop is the 1.60 update, for which we've just started the public Release Candidate test. Thank you for contributing to the splendid release prep!




INTELLIGENCE


Last week's dev photo shows on-going focus tests of the Apex co-op campaign. Design Lead Jaroslav Kašný and Senior Designer Thomas Ryan carefully observe several Prague QA testers as they had their first proper play-through of the missions (on the actual photo they were just preparing for the session in Eden Editor). They took notes on issues, progress, flow, comprehension, challenge, balance, fun and more. All feedback was taken back to the Playable Content lair for use during development iterations. The 1-4 player campaign with ties to "The East Wind" will be one of the last components of Apex to be available to you on Dev-Branch, but we think the multiplayer experience will be worth the wait.




French unit Le 126 RIM has shared a nice promotional video in the form of a gameplay cinematic showing a High Value Target extraction.



OPERATIONS


You can now share information on map interfaces a little more conveniently, because we've added a simple ability to draw line map markers (in addition to inserting standard symbol markers). Thanks to Programmer Marcel Marciš and Designer Radko Voda, you can just hold Left Control and draw using the Left Mouse Button. The map interface has also been enhanced by two combo boxes, one to select the marker color and one to change the inserted symbols (the old arrow key selection methods will still work). Any placed markers can be removed by hovering over them and pressing Delete. Visibility of the new line markers is handled the same as for any other type (via active radio channels). We are looking at methods of controlling potential spam. Please let us know your notes on this feature on the forums.




We've long wanted to reflect a character's injured leg restrictions in a more immersive manner. Thanks to an effort coordinated by Animation Encoder Martin Kašpar, and supported by our other animators and MOCAP technicians, characters with leg injuries will now be limping as they try to move. This involved quite a few changes in the animation spider, so if you spot glitches, let us know in this forums thread.




There is one more surprise feature that is to be included in the 1.60 update: Quick Play. Finding a suitable multiplayer server can be quite time-consuming, especially when you're new to Arma 3. There are many things to consider, like custom modes, required mods and servers with special rules. While we've recently added an improved to the Launcher, with powerful filters to find suitable sessions, we also want to cater to those players with little time or awareness of the varied multiplayer scene. The idea behind the new Quick Play display in the game is to get you playing with as little user input as possible. You simply pick a desired game type, maximum ping and searching method - then the game will try to get you into a server automatically. Importantly, this system takes into consideration the mod mix you're using, so it will only connect you to servers that are compatible. To make it very clear: this is not intended to replace the existing browser(s), but to be a companion tool. This also is a first version, and please be aware of limited server availability during RC testing. As with our other improvements, do please visit the forums to leave your notes.




LOGISTICS


If you'd like to participate in 1.60 , please check our forums overview for the highlighted changes. The Steam access code follows its regular format: Arma3Update160RC. Since Feedback Tracker isn't quite ready yet to make its re-appearance, please report issues to the RC discussion thread or Troubleshooting section. We're also monitoring discussions on the Arma subreddit, and several other channels. This might also be a good moment to remind you of the Campaign Unification, which will affect existing saves!




Let's wrap up this week by enjoying a small selection of the great screenshots that have come our way recently. Special kudos go to Lapinaur, who has been relentlessly publishing sweet artwork almost every day. But our thanks go to all war photographers out there - your pics bring little morale boosts to us every time we see them!







  May 18th, 2016 - 06:17 By Old Bear   Comment (0)  

  SITREP #00155 Official    

On May 8, 2016, Joris-Jan van 't Land has reported a SITREP #00155 on the official Arma3 site.

FROM: High Command
TO: Arma 3 Users
INFO: Launcher Upgrade, CfgPatches Revamp, Difficulty Overhaul Phase 3, Work Drive
PRECEDENCE: Flash

SITUATION


We are presently preparing a snapshot build for the 1.60 update that we'd like to release at the end of this month. We feel that we should point out this is another complex update that affects the game in many areas. Some of those are very prominent, like the Visual Upgrade. Some are more low-level and explained later in this report. As is usual for Arma 3, these changes have been available on Dev-Branch for weeks if not months. We will also soon stage a public Release Candidate for even broader testing. And of course we're doing our own extensive build tests. As we've learned, no matter how hard we all try, there is a risk of errors sneaking in. Please know that we will work hard to mitigate the risks and to address issues should they appear. Ultimately, doing these changes now will pave the #RoadToApex, and hopefully provide a smooth landing on Tanoa.

INTELLIGENCE


There is a new Dev Diary coming your way. Focusing on the Apex expansion, a few key developers on the project will share exclusive information and reveal some of the behind-the-scenes processes. This should finally provide a clearer picture of what Apex is going to bring in terms of its setting and sandbox additions. Most of the interviews have already been recorded, and the editing is now starting. As you can see on the weekly dev photo, our Creative Director Jay Crowe was sharing his thoughts so passionately that he drew the attention of a rather unusual audience.




The new Feedback Tracker sent out its first signs of life this week, although it did so a little too intensely. Some of you received large numbers of e-mail notifications (from a >@bistudio.com address) about seemingly random tickets. This was caused by the first attempt to import the old database into the new system. Our web team is trying another approach now, so FT is probably still offline while you're reading this. Our goal is to have the full collection of tickets available with minimal loss of data, including re-directs via the old URLs. We'll let you know when things are fully online and ready for your reports (not just for Arma 3, but other games as well). Meanwhile please keep using the Troubleshooting section on the forums.

The community ARMAnet podcast is still going strong and we can wholeheartedly recommend listening to its fifth episode. They interviewed several members of the Community Upgrade Project: Alwarren, Slatts and Varanon. In a very insightful and stimulating discussion, they went over the history of their mod, their methodology and the team's organization. The guests and hosts also debated the pros and cons of working on an evolving platform such as Arma 3's. Check out this episode and the older ones via PodBean or iTunes!




Ahead of their 3.0b release, the Unsung Vietnam Mod have uploaded a lovely atmospheric promo trailer by IN8II. We're keen to see what they'll achieve with the Visual Upgrade. It's looking very promising!



OPERATIONS


One of the Launcher team champions, Jiří Polášek, has reported on a significant upgrade that has been staged to Dev-Branch recently. Its 1.5 version brings great new improvements to the Server Browser, such as more robust handling of various types of required (server) mods and DLC detection. It even sports partial support for non-Workshop mods. A list of the specific changes is available here. There is one particular thing to highlight, since it will appease many of you. Until now, due to technical limitations in how Steam handles Workshop content, you'd often have duplicates of mods on your harddrives. The Launcher team has now found a way to utilize mods directly from the Workshop cache. That means the Launcher will also delete the copies it had created in the Arma 3 install folder (those are no longer needed). Jiří adds a warning for advanced users who tried to work around the issue themselves by deleting or otherwise manipulating the cache: "If you had developed the habit of deleting the Workshop cache files, please stop doing so. After this update, you would be effectively be removing the actual mod files. Only the first time Launcher 1.5 is started, it will attempt to restore the Workshop cache with files from the Arma 3 folder. Afterwards, this fix will not be possible without a re-download (verifying integrity of game cache)."




In preparation of new addon identification features (mainly for Eden Editor - we'll have more details for you soon), we are revamping all CfgPatches classes; the part of the game's config which is responsible for the load order of configuration files. We are unifying the way these classes are named, which results in some new classes and some obsolete ones. The obsolete classes will still be available in-game for backwards compatibility, meaning that there shouldn't be any issues in the long term. However, once these changes appear on Dev-Branch, scenarios created in that version of the game might not be compatible with the main version of the game until the next main branch update (1.60).

Having previously reported on phases 1 and 2 of the Difficulty Overhaul, we can now say that the 3rd and final phase is live on Dev-Branch. A simple but useful addition is a set of text descriptions and image previews of the various options. This should finally do away with the sometimes vague labels of the past, and make it clear what you're changing.




Cooperating with the Designer departments, Junior Programmer Rastislav Tisovčík has also implemented a new forcedDifficulty server.cfg parameter. It allows server administrators to force a particular difficulty preset for all scenarios played on a server. To better communicate this to players, a few User Interface tweaks were made as well. You'll find the details in the relevant forums thread.

LOGISTICS


Tools Commissar Julien Vida shares with us details on an update to Work Drive - a tool in our suite that handles the working drive (P) and its content. Its new iteration lets modders extract PBO data in a simple and optimized way. Head on over to our forums for a full analysis by Julien himself. We'd like to remind everyone that you should always pay careful attention to any license covering the data you're extracting. Respect each other's hard work and let us all enjoy a productive, collaborative and rewarding User Generated Content scene!




  May 11th, 2016 - 16:58 By Old Bear   Comment (0)  

  Isla Abramia 1.22 by IceBreakr Addon release    

IceBreakr has released an updated Isla Abramia 1.22 on his site

Urgent new release: Isla Abramia 1.22!

I've managed to fix all the v1.1 reported bugs and added a new smaller island with Mental Asylum for those zombie missions ;) enjoy! See changelog in the archive for more info. If you are experiencing missing grass clutter disable addon Island Panthera A3 (@panthera_a3). I'll release an update for Panthera soon.





  May 9th, 2016 - 08:33 By Old Bear   Comment (0)  

  SITREP #00154 Official    

On May 3, 2016, Joris-Jan van 't Land has reported a SITREP #00154 on the official Arma3 site.

FROM: High Command
TO: Arma 3 Users
INFO: Tanoa Sector Tests, Community Guides, 1.58 Re-Released
PRECEDENCE: Flash

SITUATION


Seeing how we're very busy to deliver Arma 3 Apex, there isn't a lot to report on this week. You'll be happy to know that this effort includes our Marketing Communications people working on various avenues to shed more light on the expansion. Over the next two months, we'll finally be showing more about the assets, features and the Tanoa crown jewel. At the moment we don't yet have a concrete timeline for staging the components to Dev-Branch (besides what was already released on the #RoadToApex of course!). Our usual approach is to stage Sandbox assets (vehicles, weapons, characters, props, Tanoa) in several phases first and Playable Content (co-op campaign) last. Features sneak in continuously throughout, as they have for the past while. Once we decide on the specifics, we'll be letting you know via our usual channels.

INTELLIGENCE


In cooperation with Andrew "Dslyecxi" Gluck , we've published another entry in the Community Guide video series. The "Reconnaissance" episode deals with methods for conducting recon and why you would benefit from doing it in the first place. Andrew describes it as "looking for the enemy in a low-profile manner", which can be useful regardless of your play style or favorite mode. It will allow you to get an understanding of the tactical situation before you execute a plan of action. Tools of the trade include: binoculars, magnified scopes, remote cameras, UAVs, UGVs, recon helicopters and operators on the ground. A key take-away: always preserve the element of surprise!



If you haven't seen the rest of the Community Guides, view them all in this playlist. You can also access them from within the game, in the LEARN sub-menu. Because the game has evolved a lot since its initial release, we've added a few disclaimers to make it clear using which version each guide was recorded. Some of the Intel presented may be outdated, but the overal knowledge contained within the series is definitely still worth your time.

OPERATIONS


The splendid environment team, led by Martin Pezlar, still has a lot of work ahead of itself, cutting their way through the 'green hell' of Tanoa. As a sign of good progress, they have recently requested thorough sector testing from our hard-working Quality Assurance testers. The terrain is divided into 8 big sectors, which consist of a total of 32 sub-areas. Many of those are now undergoing rigorous and detailed testing by the ladies and gentlemen in the QA teams, for which we thank them! They are focusing on a broad range of issues so that we can fix them ahead of release. To give you an impression of what they're scanning for: misplaced objects, weeds growing where they shouldn't, missing textures, inconsistent visual appearance, satellite map blending errors, collision problems, AI navigation glitches, road and path network disconnections, terrain mesh irregularities, 2D map topography mistakes, and more. As further sectors are made ready by Martin's team, they too are submitted for testing. At the same time, Tanoa is being set up for its lighting configuration. Situated in a different part of the world, there are noticeable differences compared to Altis and Stratis. Slowly but surely, and with excellent cooperation with our artists and other departments, the archipelago is made ready for your eager exploration.

LOGISTICS


Hotfixes for update 1.58 and the Arma 3 Tools were published to the respective main branches last Thursday. For the game this should have solved the performance issues connected to the system malloc, plus some crashes and a problem related to difficulty settings on Dedicated Servers. Further difficulty issues are under investigation, so that we know exactly whether some behavior may have changed unintentionally for example. We are also still searching for the cause of various server crashes reported by admins.




  May 3rd, 2016 - 18:15 By Old Bear   Comment (0)  

  New Arma 3 video reports on reconnaissance Videos    

Korneel van 't Land has informed us about new " Arma 3 video reports on reconnaissance" release.

Prague, Czech Republic, April 29th 2016

With its massive open combat environment, in which unexpected engagements can end an operation in the blink of an eye, reconnaissance is a vital element in Arma 3's gameplay. To help players gain a greater understanding of the tactical situation, Bohemia Interactive today released a brand new episode (watch on YouTube) in the official Community Guide video series on how to conduct reconnaissance in Arma 3.

The new video explores what to look out for when scanning the terrain, as well as the various methods of 'recon' in Arma 3, ranging from infantry using binoculars and magnified scopes, to helicopters with magnified sensor suites, and Unmanned Air Vehicles (UAV) or Unmanned Ground Vehicles (UGV).



DOWNLOAD VIDEO (MP4)


The Arma 3 Community Guide series is created in collaboration with Andrew Gluck (better known as Dslyecxi - leader of the popular Arma community group Shack Tactical). Previous episodes in the Arma 3 Community Guide video series covered topics such as infantry combat, multiplayer teamwork, helicopters, sniper- and launcher teams, combined arms warfare, air assaults, guerrilla warfare, ground vehicle crew, machine gun teams, defense, and the Arma 3 Zeus DLC. The complete Community Guide playlist is available on Arma 3’s YouTube Channel.

If you're curious to learn more about Arma 3, be sure to visit www.arma3.com, and follow Arma 3 on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and Steam to keep track of all the latest news.



  May 1st, 2016 - 22:27 By Old Bear   Comment (0)  

  SITREP #00153 Official    

On April 26, 2016, Joris-Jan van 't Land has reported a SITREP #00153 on the official Arma3 site.


FROM: High Command
TO: Arma 3 Users
INFO: Official Mod, Milsim Stream VoD, Top 10 Update 1.58, Price Reductions, Score Screen
PRECEDENCE: Flash

SITUATION


We've moved a step forward on the #RoadToApex, admittedly with a few stumbles, now that update 1.58 has hit main branch . There were several great improvements, which we're confident have bolstered the game's usability. Later in this report we will also share Intel on how we're dealing with some of the issues that were shared with us. Apex is looming on the horizon, so besides dealing with update glitches, we're already in full motion to compile the 1.60 build ( Visual Upgrade and more). That does mean there are many more complex changes coming up, which we all know don't always work flawlessly in the broader player-base. But we still feel that doing this in chunks, rather than all at once, makes it more manageable for us, modders and players alike. Plus it means you don't have to wait for everything we're working on. Bear with us, it will be worth it!

INTELLIGENCE


You can now watch the full-length recording of the #milsim live stream, organized by Community Developer Greg Becksted and QA Assistant Adam Hurta with the 21st Ranger Regiment. It was impressive to see the unit react to unexpected events while observing strict discipline. Greg reflected on the fun event by stating: "We've completed our first ever #milsim live stream, visiting the 21st Ranger Regiment on one of their regular co-op milsim missions. With 70+ players active, multiple platoons and an active campaign lasting weeks, what does it take to organize, run and participate in a milsim group like this? We took a close look at the 21st Ranger Regiment's operations, touched on what mods they use and discussed the details of what is involved in running one of their typical missions. We were also joined by FRIZNIT, one of the developers of the ALiVE mod. He expanded on the mod's features and provided some of its history and their plans moving forward. Many thanks to Vegas, the leader of the 21st and everyone in the 21st Ranger Regiment for letting us tag along on one of their operations and letting us explore how they use Arma 3 for their milsim experience."



Perhaps it has snuck past you unnoticed, but we've announced the first permanent price drop for Arma 3 since its release in September 2013. Both the base game and all released DLC have been reduced in price. For newcomers, the Apex Edition definitely still is the best option. It will give you the game, digital extras, DLC and the upcoming Apex expansion. Take a look at the updated purchasing overview.

OPERATIONS


Last week we did something a little unexpected. We published an 'official' mod to Steam Workshop as a celebration of Arma's custom content scene. One of our goals was to show how easy it can be to discover, install and maintain such content via the official Launcher. Read the whole story in Creative Director Jay Crowe's most recent OPREP on the matter.




What kind of mod is it actually? We present to you the 'ADR-97 Weapon Pack', which consists of several variants of this unique SMG. Created by the multi-talented Senior Programmer BXBX in his spare time, you can now play around with this high rate-of-fire weapon for free. We should also acknowledge splendid support by Project Lead Petr Kolář and Senior Animator Paweł Smolewski for their off-duty help with encoding and animations respectively. To clarify: even though this firearm was crafted by our devs, we do really consider this a mod, not a vanilla Sandbox asset. See the weapon in action in our introductory video, and then jump into the game to squeeze off a few rounds yourself.



Senior (UI) Designer Vladimír Hynek has teamed up with Senior Programmer Krzysztof Bielawski to convert the previously hard-coded score / stats screen (seen in multiplayer by pressing P by default) to one that is configured like most other displays. This will not only let us tweak and improve the screen, but also allow modders to make relevant changes more easily.




LOGISTICS


A full change log of the 1.58 release is available in its SPOTREP. Even after four weeks of public RC testing , various issues did pop up. Let's go over the major ones, for which we are considering a small hotfix in the near future.
  • A group of users report severe performance degradation after some playtime. This appears to be an issue when using the system memory allocator. Most of these users confirm that the issue is solved by switching to another allocator (e.g. TBB4). Regardless, we believe we have a fix, and we're testing it in-house.

  • The Difficulty Overhaul mostly just caused confusion, which was a matter of re-configuration for server administrators. Tips and work-arounds are being discussed in this thread on the Arma subreddit. Actual bugs in the implementation are not yet confirmed, but are being investigated.

  • BattlEye started kicking clients who took too long to download custom scenarios. This was temporarily mitigated by setting a longer timeout, but a proper fix is being sought. The silver lining is that these changes to the BE implementation lay the groundwork for support in the Linux and Mac ports.

  • We're also processing (modded server) crash reports.


The Tools and Samples also have their change log, and a very nice overview of the changes written by R&D Lead Julien Vida. Here there was an issue that caused faulty binarization of terrains, which has swiftly been fixed on the relevant Dev-Branch.

But let us not forget the cool stuff these updates bring to the platform. We've written up another Top 10 article to go over the 1.58 highlights, such as the Tasks Overhaul and the weapon switching package.







That's it for this week. Now that the weather gods over our various studios have decided it isn't quite spring yet, we join PhiGohlYT in wishing for the summer season!




  April 27th, 2016 - 07:11 By Old Bear   Comment (0)  

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