Slitherine

The Thargoids were though bastards. I remember there was an exploit in which you would come out in the middle of a jumping and there was a chance that you would be surrounded by them.
It was good for the score. At the time I was in the army, so my free time was reduced. That was the reason why never reached Elite level. I reached the level below. Even today I regret it.

Wow the keys and UI take a bit of getting use to in Arma II? Also something went sqwiffy, I drove to a field to do anti tank training when 2 blokes came over and shot my instructor, so I shot them back. After that, I sort of got stuck in prone, when ever I got up and tried to walk my man would go back into prone. Very strange game.

Muddy wrote:Wow the keys and UI take a bit of getting use to in Arma II? Also something went sqwiffy, I drove to a field to do anti tank training when 2 blokes came over and shot my instructor, so I shot them back. After that, I sort of got stuck in prone, when ever I got up and tried to walk my man would go back into prone. Very strange game.

Absolutely. You need to get used to the UI. And probably you'll have to redefine some of the keys.
I remember to have basically the same feelings, back in 2003, when I played Operation Flashpoint for the first time. I've gave the game up in the beginning because I use to play other FPS, and OFP had a different feeling.
First there was this UI "issue".You need some time to get used to it.
Secondly the enemy doesn't forgive you. You bet to take cover, crawl and lean. Don't rush. These were things that I wasn't used to do with FPS.
But I was persistent and tried to play again the game, a couple of moths later. And I was rewarded. Because OFP/ArmA gave me my finniest moments I ever have playing any computer game.
The scope of the game is so big, that you can play it in different ways. There are guys that like to play solo, other's in Coop mode, PvP style, etc, etc.
But give yourself sometime. This is a type of game that usually once you get accustomed it will reward you.
That's the reason why later you feel hard to play any other FPS game. They all seem... unreal.
This is a milsim. The only milsim, so far.

Take also a look at this site for mods. Some may extend your ArmA experience (or not).
http://www.armaholic.com/

And about the mouse control, take some of the smoothness out at least and disable Vsynch in the advanced graphics options.

Right I am going to have another go. Do you know why it was that I kept going back into the prone position?

There are only two reasons as far as I can see... you might be pressing a key to go to prone position or most certainly you were shot and wounded.
Depending when you were shot and the seriousness of the wound you might not be able to walk not even to stand up. If you try to raise yourself up the game will push you to prone. There's no automatic healing. You can ask for someone in your platoon to heal or if the scenario has medical tents you can try to crawl into one. lol
Even after healing you might not be completely healed.
It's like I've said... the game does not forgive our mistakes (like the other fps like CoD for example), just like in real life. You can't be Rambo in ArmA. Before moving into another position, just check your route and see if there's any cover. Be quick when moving. Outflank the enemy whenever possible. Try to move in coordination with your own platoon. Don't stand up in combat. Crouch or prone are the right positions. The less your body is exposed, the better.
That's a milsim (military simulator).

What is slowing me down atm is the menu's and keys. It doesn't have one main menu for everything, which is a pain, and I am finding that to perform the simplest of things starts of a keyboard frenzy of which bloody key do I press, what menu do I use?
The game is good, and I had a lot of fun clearing the town, but the interface is a nightmare. If they could tidy the interface up, things would be so much better.

Just a I thought, I am playing the free demo, maybe the addon improves things a little.

No, the addon will not improve that. What will improve is you to play more than a couple of times.
They will become second nature and you'll see their logic.
Perhaps, that's the main critic that the newcomer make to the game. You've to get used to the interface and keys. I really understand that, because I had been through it ten years ago.
ArmA is an old school game, and that means it's you who have to adapt to the game. You've to make the effort. And consequently you'll be rewarded.
The moment that the game looses it's hardcore component and be streamlined, it will loose it's sim appeal and will fall in the Battlefied series games.
So this is not a game for everyone. That's alright.

Here is one link that might help you in understanding the command menus:
http://forums.bistudio.com/showthread.p ... ad-Command

Here is a key layout, with those commands and all the keys:
http://img532.imageshack.us/img532/1814/a2keylayout.png

For example when I'm injured and I want to call for help, I've to press 5-5. Support is not always possible, specially if your squad is being pinned down.

I think the ultimate experience is to enter in a squad and play in coop mode. There are squads that play it seriously.
Here's a manual with some good advices, but surely you don't have tor read it to enjoy the game. It's just a combat field manual.
http://ttp2.dslyecxi.com/

Great.
Thanks a lot for the links V, the k-map especially is brilliant, I have printed it off, now time for another go.

VPaulus, can OFP and Arma be played by a single player and in offline (ie. unlike Diablo 3's single player mode which requires you to be online)? Also what's the DRM for these games? Is it serial number like Panzer Corps or some other type? Thanks in advance.

I had a go with "Joint Operations: Typhoon Rising" which had great graphics, gameplay, etc, but then realised that its a multiplayer online game. The single-player mode was just for training.

Just got my hand on the never released sequel to Conquest Frontier Wars released by Ubisoft in 2001....
Conquest 2: Vyrium Uprising announced for 2004 but never came out due to bancrupty of the company who owned Warthog Texas..
awsome..works on win7
have to get some Dreadnoughts going right now...

jaggy wrote:VPaulus, can OFP and Arma be played by a single player and in offline (ie. unlike Diablo 3's single player mode which requires you to be online)? Also what's the DRM for these games? Is it serial number like Panzer Corps or some other type? Thanks in advance.

I had a go with "Joint Operations: Typhoon Rising" which had great graphics, gameplay, etc, but then realised that its a multiplayer online game. The single-player mode was just for training.

Jaggy, OFP is 10 years old, so the graphics are outdated.
To be honest, OFP is still my favorite. I loved the ambiance, Cold War, and the campaign was just wonderful. Undoubtedly my best ever gaming moments were spent playing OFP a solo and in multiplayer.
ArmA is the spiritual successor of OFP. Although the game wasn't as good as the original it was still fun to play. However the devs redeemed themselves with ArmA2.
You can play the game as a solo and in multiplayer. In multiplayer you can even play the solo campaign with other people. But you're a SP player, no problem you can play it as a single player.
It has probably the best editor already created for any other game. You can create missions from the scratch. It's a true sandbox experience.
I usually buy the retail versions, and they come with a serial number and some protected anti copy system which forces you to have the DVD on the player. However they usually remove the protection after a few patches, which they have already done in one of the patches. The other versions it might depend, although I know that the Steam version don't have any kind of DRM. But never heard so far anybody complaining about DRM.

However OFP/ArmA series is not for everybody... I strongly suggest for you to try first the demo or the [img=http://www.arma2.com/free]free editon[/img], which don't bring Hi-res graphics nor campaign. If you like then please buy it.

Ah. No online requirement, only the necessary to activate the game for the first time.

Arma II is the only game I have ever bothered to sweat blood over just to get the hang of it.

Well it's been a few weeks now, so here a update on my progress.
I have bought Arma II combined ops. I have learned the keys, some of the tactics, how to run the latest beta versions and optimize the game. You were right V, Arma II and it's DLC makes one of the best games out there, and one that is also worth the money.

Ha! I have hardly touched DayZ.

Thanks, VPaulus. I'll try the ArmA 2 demo this weekend and see how it goes from there. Thanks.

chris10 wrote:Just got my hand on the never released sequel to Conquest Frontier Wars released by Ubisoft in 2001....

You ... got your hand on a game that was never released? How does that work?
_____
rezaf

rezaf wrote:

chris10 wrote:Just got my hand on the never released sequel to Conquest Frontier Wars released by Ubisoft in 2001....

You ... got your hand on a game that was never released? How does that work?
_____
rezaf

we all have our little secrets do we ?

the game was developed together with Conquests in 2001 by Warthog Texas and planned as a sequel but then the company got sold..the new owner announced the game for 2004 but got bust..game unfinished but leaked and now since a while a group of dedicated hardcore fans and modders tweaked the unfinished game to a condition were it could be played even with the missing parts
I loved Conquests so this is just a precious diamond for me, especially cause its ultra rare.
here the intro screen..the option on the right is still blacked out and the only clickable window is single player

@Muddy
I told you the game compensate those who doesn't give up at the first rounds.
There's a sense of freedom that you only taste in a few games like Skyrim and Over Flanders Field for example.
And there are so many ways to play the game. Have you played the Armoury mode (which is great just to play some random SP quick missions)?
And the tons of addons, and user made missions? Undoubtedly one of the biggest mod communities.
DayZ, which is just a new mod, is the reason why the game is selling 5 times plus what they were supposing selling in this period. At the point being in the Steam top ten sellers. It's such an enormous success that BI already said they are going to support it officially.
And in the end of the year, ArmA3.
One of the things that I strongly advise is yo use a sound mod. The vanilla sounds are a little shallow. I use "J.S.R.S. Soundmod". It adds up into the immersion.
Also I use a game launcher, it helps me managing the addons which I want to start with. I like the Alpinestars launcher.

@jaggy
Yes, give it a try. But don't give up at the first round.

I love Alpinestars launcher. I can get rid of all of my shortcuts now, the launcher does everything.
The sound mod needs something called a extended event handler, no Idea what that is, the sounds still loaded and were really impressive.

Muddy wrote:The sound mod needs something called a extended event handler, no Idea what that is, the sounds still loaded and were really impressive.

It's called CBA. Most of the mods need them.
https://dev-heaven.net/projects/cca/files
Try the v0.8.3.
It's always a big confusion with CBA version. But when launching the game don't give an error it's because it's ok. There's a way in the launcher to define which mod starts first. Put always CBA starting first.

As you might noticed, there are hundred of mods. One that is used also in some of the mods is the [img=http://forums.bistudio.com/showthread.p ... or-OA-1-13]ACE[/img]. But start with vanilla and cosmetic mods just, like sound for example. ACE has different AI (probably better but harder) and a million of other things. They are so many things that you can add.
One of my favorites is CWR2, the remake of Operation Flashpoint campaign. There's already a demo, but I'm expecting the full release. It will be a must. But it's already looking so good. Some of the best modders are working in that mod.

VPaulus wrote:@jaggy
Yes, give it a try. But don't give up at the first round.

@VPaulus - Thanks but I'm very stubborn with PC games, I never, ever give up.

A true PC gamer, jaggy.