jpinard
1581
Some of the model detail scares me. It is so incredible I hope they address LOD swap concerns with it swapping out high detail LOD’s way too early on high-end systems.
I am extremely excited about older tanks, oil rigs, and SCUDS. I really, really, really, really hope there’s no frame rate hit ( or an increase) as they mentioned before.
Lh’owon, are you still using the exact same mods (and evision) as you were several months ago? A lot has changed since then and I’d really like to see what you’re using now and what settings.
Tbh, I didn’t look long or hard for a better server; unplayable packet loss when I supposedly had 40ish ping was enough to discourage me. There were all kinds of problems I could foresee with multiplayer before I even played it, I was just hoping that once I actually jumped in-game it would impress me.
My experience with the AI is that it simply walks around in the open, then outdraws you. Or, if it’s your friendly Marine Recon AI, outdraws the other AI. They don’t need to use cover or flank, they’re manly men who shoot you in the face before you can even formulate ill will. I’ve noticed this even using ACE2, which I had hoped would kind of refine the AI. I suppose I could lower the accuracy, but that wouldn’t make it better, just more tolerable.
Lh_owon
1583
Hey Jp, I don’t think I have much new but I’ll have a look:
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Australians At War Infantry Units, can’t try these atm as I don’t have my graphics card for a bit, but they look great, bearing in mind you need the weapons pack linked on that download page. But obviously I have more attachment to this corner of the world ;)
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SJB SAS Pack, I love these units, very nicely done. Especially the SFSG units in sexy multicam.
That’s about it actually. Recently my graphics card has been away for repair so no ArmA 2 till I get it back, but to be honest I’m so keen for Arrowhead that I haven’t been following the mod scene all that closely. It’s the old hype bug, new stuff in sight makes the current stuff less interesting :)
jpinard
1584
Wow, it’s like we’re playing different games. Note, ACE2 is NOT about AI. You can use SLX (which is cool but buggy), Zeus AI, or GL4. However, that being said, my vanilla gameplay I’m stunned at how the AI uses cover (both my squad and the enemy), how I’ve been flanked and killed, hop and stop, etc. Turning down accuracy is important though otherwise they do have insta-kill syndrome that feels very unreaslistic.
In case you didn’t know I’ll post links:
SLX - http://www.armaholic.com/page.php?id=7045
GL4 - http://www.armaholic.com/page.php?id=8848
Zeus AI - http://www.armaholic.com/page.php?id=8250
In your Arma2 documents username.profile find the difficulty level you’re playing at and change:
precisionEnemy=0.39999998;
jpinard
1585
I’m lucky in that I still have so much to learn (still havent done mp) that I’ll keep going until it’s released. I almost feel bad for some of the mod-makers. All that time and effort is almost zeroed out by what’s being implemented. But then again, maybe the current stuff won’t port over very nicely to the new engine.
It’s unreal, but I’m still trying to learn how to do good command and control of squadmates, and a whole army and base building. What happened to your video card?
Lh_owon
1586
I wouldn’t say zeroed by a long shot - depends on the mod of course but stuff like new units/weapons will probably work off the bat. ACE, Mando Missiles and other all-encompassing mods will certainly have issues and need to be reworked but again I see no reason why most of their stuff wouldn’t work. What’s exciting is that the added functionality in Arrowhead should allow those mods to do even more now. It’s not a new engine after all, the engine has just been improved in some ways with added functionality/features. But I have little clue about the details of mod making so I might be wrong.
I have no clue what happened to my card, just started screwing up very badly all of a sudden, but I should get it back in a few days so all good. Was under warranty :D
There are lots of factors that affects how laggy is the MP
-The sever itself (how powerful it is, bandwidth)
-Scenario played (complexity and scripts)
-Mods used
-Number of players and number of AI entities
In general i can play fine, without lag, with with 6 friends playing a normal, infantry based coop scenario, without even a dedicated server. I also have played it more or less without problems in a 50 PvP game, with a dedi. The lag shows his ugly head in bigger scenarios, like a 40 players coop with nearly 100 AI entities, with vehicles, combat in different places, and complex scripts/addons. Soldiers stutter a bit, and the fast moving vehicles warp strangely.
This last case is the usual case, as i have described the usual Domination game.
jpinard
1588
Do you think with a super powerful home pc acting as a server this would be a lot better, or is the typical broadband connection going to be the limiting factor?
Well, i was just commenting my “user end” experiences, i don’t have the technical knowledge to say what should be done to fix it.
Let’s see. Really, the correct answer is “neither”. The lag i was commenting is the one you experience when you connect to a bigish game in the server browser, where they use already a paid dedicated server with powerful computer with linux and a big fat pipe (i suppose).
They need to a) improve their netcode. or b) current techonology and broadband have to play catch up with the game.
It’s very easy to blame Bohemia and say their netcode is shit. It’s what most people think when they play generic shooter XYZ (smooth experience) and afterwards play Arma 2 (more laggy). It maybe the case, actually, i don’t know.
But with the years i noticed how smallish games aren’t laggy (as generic shooter XYZ), the game is laggy in bigger games.
So maybe the netcode isn’t as shitty as people believe, maybe it’s because the game tries to do things much more complex and with bigger numbers than everyone else. I.e:
COD4: 32-40 entities (players) to track in dedicated servers, all infantry, smallish maps, most of weapons are hitscan systems.
Arma 2: 150 entities (let’s say you can have 50 players, and 100 AI in a normal Domination or Warfare game), with ground and air vehicles, in a scenario around 500 times bigger, with that hundred AI thinking in a higher level than your normal fps (yeah, even if it seems like they are dumb :P), without node based pathfinding system (so they have to think more about how to move from A to B), everyone and everything with real (and somewhat complex) ballistics, etc. There is also a hidden factor, i think Bohemia sacrificed a bit of performance when they made their code in exchange of flexibility and possibilites in user-created content and mods, and how open is their engine.
edit: new OA picture
jpinard
1591
Two things I don’t like about the video. Still too much motion blur when rotating. Makes me motion sick which is why I turned it off.
Second - Sound Effects. They really needed to overhaul much of the sound, but none of it changed in the vid and I still don’t have one sound (mod) package that does everything right.
sigh Well, I’ll give it a shot sometime :-) The Zeus mod in particular seems right up my alley.
Edit: I should say that with vanilla I’ve had my troops talk as though they were going to bound, but they never actually did it. In fact, the last time I played my squad still wouldn’t follow the order to mirror my stance.
From what I remember copy my stance doesn’t actually tell them to copy your stance, it does … something else. But not that!
Most mods to do with AI remove the ‘covering!’ chorus and I believe they’ve tackled false positive situations where it could crop up in beta patches too.
jpinard
1594
Can I ask, why the sigh? You should be excited as you’ll be getting just what you want! And we’ll be here to help you with the mod selections and stuff. Also, the latest beta patch fixes stuck in defense mode as well… hwoever some are reporting white patch anomolies at some view distances… so most peopel LOVe the new beta patch… except for those with visual anomoly. But BI is no top of it and I bet it’ll be fixed in a newer beta update soon.
The beta patch before the latest one gave me serious artifacting with ATI Catalyst 10.3. Seems to be okay now reinstalled to 1.05a.
BI is like a woman whose friends insist that I give her another chance because she’s cleaned up her act this time, got outside help, etc. I usually do because I want an excuse, but on a deeper level I’m braced for the same outcome. And no, this isn’t as autobiographical as it sounds.
Being honest, i don’t think extensive AI mods are particularly needed to begin to enjoy the game.
Meridian4 Acquires North American Rights to ‘ARMA II: Operation Arrowhead’ for PC
New Stand-Alone Release Hits Shelves June 29
Meridian4 today announced it has secured the North American retail publishing rights to Bohemia Interactive’s new stand-alone, expansion pack, ArmA II: Operation Arrowhead. Additionally, Meridian4 is also planning on introducing ARMA II Combined Operations, a special edition bundle that consists of the original award winning ArmA II game and Operation Arrowhead. Both offerings are schedule to hit retailers across North America on June 29.
I just want to know when OA is going to hit Steam.
EG preview. Nothing really new, but i will put it just because it’s the first big english preview
One more video in funny language (training with weapons)
edit: My lovely friend called Carl, Carl Gustav, from BC2 is also here. Hi there! :D
