Let's Play ArmA! [1, 2 and 3]

Well, most ACE servers require ACRE, and that's perfectly fine. Although ACRE and ACE are similar in functionality I know they aren't same or product by same teams even. However, for some strange reason, TS3 combined with ACRE kills performance on both of the systems I use for testing (and to play games since I don't actually have a gaming rig, I'm not much of a gamer these days, rather a workaholic )

ACE alone on the other hand runs without issues whatsoever.

So, if I can't join most of ACE servers without ACRE, and can't use ACRE without proper framerate there's no point in ruining all the ACE fun for myself so I removed them both until I get a proper gaming system.

I never liked TS3 anyway, truth be told Mumble runs waaay better (Yes I tried it with A2 CO, so smooth, clear and awesome) even ArmA 2's VON (Voice Over Network) performs better and has better voice quality, TS3 just sucks for A2. Wish most A2 servers used Mumble, Ventrillo or any other tool than TS3...alas, that ain't going to happen anytime soon.

Anyway, I'm playing A2 CO vanilla (Dynamic missions with JSRS, WarFX, Blastcore, True Mods, ASR AI etc) and I44 right now (you should try I44 seriously, it's fun)

Once I get a proper gaming rig to play ACE+ACRE, I will return to it, though to be honest I'm not rushing right now as I have tons of work to finish in RL which leaves me with little to no time for gaming these days.

VON sucks, ok, but didn't you know ACRE uses VON to achieve all those neat effects and then combines this with TS3 ACRE plugin effects and detection? So, saying that VON sucks you say ACRE sucks too. A2 engine is very limited for some things. I don't like VON either but it works better than TS3 in OA for me (I'm using latest beta patches so it might be due to this).

Rye, about TS3 vs Mumble, I wrote about the difference on ACRE thread, you can read it there, I ain't going to argue about any software be it mumble or ts3 here

About why I deleted ACE completely. I didn't play OA for over 2 years (until recently) and lots of things changed about ACE since then, so I don't want to ruin the experience. Besides, I don't see you guys post about any ACE sessions here nor do all of us have CO.

Let's be honest ACE + ACRE = AWESOME, ACE alone = FUN, but still lacks something. ACE + ACRE + JSRS + WarFX + TrueMods + Blastcore Tracers = The best modern combat experience you will ever get today for public use, but because those are user mods (moders did a HECTIC job maxing out A2's engine) it hits on performance hardly and there are bugs modders can't fix due to engine limitations.

VON is actually very simple and works. What sucks about it is the codec (It transfers data even when nobody is using it, it stutters, it sounds cheap, it plays 2 sounds twice one in global and one in 3D and via 2 connections means double data usage)

Some of you have sent me messages and emails asking me about the recent issue I got into on BI forums. Issue was resolved, so no worries

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Anyway, I successfully ported one of my favorite A2 SP missions - Armoured Recon.

The port makes the mission playable in OA, with OA units, vehicles and weapons and on Aliabad custom terrain. It turns out this port came out so well that the mission is even more fun now. In fact, it closely simulates routine patrols done in middle east.

Have you played Armoured Recon before? Would you like to try OA port of it?

Also, I would like to know, how many of you have OA/CO and would you play a MP version of it? I am now trying to port this great dynamic SP mission to MP so 4-6 players can enjoy never-ending co-op together, this won't be easy, and before I even try I'd like to know would you play this if I make a MP version? Perhaps host some SAS funtime sessions with this mission. The MP port can be both US and BAF compatible (respectively).

For those of you who don't know about this mission:

Armoured Recon is a dynamic SP mission where you along 3 other of your squad mates ride in one of several armored vehicles and recon randomly select areas for insurgency. The number of ai, their patrol and count as well as support is fully dynamic. In addition, if you come under heavy fire you can call your own support such as a tank, a squad or a helicopter. Hours of fun in SP. I recommend it to all. You can download it from Armaholic.

The mission (Original, which wasn't made by me) requires only ArmA 2 or ArmA 2 Free.

Sounds good.

Fluffy, is the session going to be LITE and vanilla or CO?

Master, I managed to port that mission to OA aliabad terrain with BAF units and oh boy is it fun! I am now trying to port it to MP, I think it's a great mission for MP, fully dynamic, sort of like insurgency but smaller, relaxed and involves tactics other missions don't, such as patrols by players, careful ammo counting, etc

I might pop a BAF version of it here for you guys to try out if you have CO.
About the mission, since I already made several MVD CQB missions I can design one for this purpose (A2 or CO) where 4-5 member teams insert and do some CQB work like in SWAT 4 though A2 can't beat S4 in CQB by far, maybe TakeDown will

I have CO, can re-download and install ACE with all the extras as well, though I doubt we all have CO here.

Also, I can't use ACRE, and I also can't use TS3 with CO as I use beta and there's an issue that makes my game unplayable (Oddly though A2 and A2 free work with TS3 just fine and minimal unnoticeable lag) I wrote a ticket to BI devs to fix it when and if possible.

What missions would you play? A custom SAS hosted server with some fun co-op or regular insurgency, domination and such? I ask because I won't play neither insurgency nor domination, I frankly got tired of those, if you guys are going to play them that's fine but I won't be able to attend

Just a pro tip though, there's a mission pack similar to LITE for CO, I can't find it but if you do a brief search on Armaholic you can possibly do it. Also, if I manage to port Armoured Recon to CO and MP we can play that and apply tactics or even train together this way.

I can't find any other servers than DayZ those days in ArmA 2!! Man..

Maven by the way: Your graphics look awesome, your plans et cetera.
How you do them? Can you write me a private mail with program or some hints there? I would wish I could create some stuff for briefings et cetera, like a own map graphic or a briefing file with TOP SECRET on it and other details, don't know... Would have many ideas but can't really get them. Kind of a graphical editor for text files... If you can help me out, let me now. Thanks!!

I got ArmA 2 also.. So if you guys play some time, let me know date or something..

Thanks, Elite.

Though I'm a bit confused. Which graphics, do you mean the recent wallpapers I made for SAS fans? Or the ones I used for my maps in ArmA 2 (MVD, Sweepers)? What is et cetera (etc?)?

Once you clarify I will be more than glad to give you more information as well as help you out

P.S. Before I actually try to port Armoured Recon fully, I will post a modified SP version port of it here with BAF units and vehicles (You won't need BAF expansion, those are already included in OA latest patch as LITE) so I get feedback on the mission and see if it's worth porting to MP or not as I clearly don't intend to spread the modified missions widely, after all it's not me who designed it but ArmAMedic, and from files within the mission archive I can see he put so much effort into that mission 8O

P.S.2 Here's the SP version of Armoured Recon BAF port (Sorry for a long read):

Before you download it, a quick intro, requirements and instructions.

Mission - You are one of 4 infantry men who are deployed on Aliabad terrain randomly, you all start with a vehicle (which you choose once) and are driven by ai to a random location where you have to remove either Takistani army resistance or simply hunt insurgency. The mission settings ensure that you can create a dynamic and random play ranging from all out large scale battle to a realistic insurgency hunt. Use instructions to make most out of this mission port.

Requirements - You need a copy of ArmA 2 CO or CO Lite (A2 Free + OA for CO Lite) you also need Aliabad region which you can download from here and run as a mod/addon - http://www.armaholic.com/page.php?id=16711

I choose aliabad region terrain because it's exactly the same size as the original Armoured Recon mission maker (ArmAMedic) made the dynamic region to be because he used markers for randomization (Basically making thousands of them on map and then naming them all) thus with this region you get dynamic play all over the area.

Instructions - After you download mission file, place it into your OA Mission folder, launch CO with Aliabad terrain in parameters and go to Singleplayer>Scenarios then launch Armoured Recon BAF on Veteran (Bellow difficulty decreases mission features)

I also strongly suggest you avoid any heavy mods such as ACE or WarMod running. I did however test the mission with JSRS 1.5 WarFX Blastcore and True Mods (True user) without any negative changes. Any AI mod can bug the mission up.

Once you start the game and go to continue to skip briefing, you will see several option windows. In these windows I suggest you enter the following parameters for best experience with this mission.

Time and Weather:

While weather is fully dynamic and you can't control it, you can select time, I suggest you select either early in the morning or dusk, you can however set any time you wish from the presets.

Your main vehicle:

There are several you can choose, however I found that M113 UN is best and fastest of all, you can also try BAF Offroad if you don't want AI to interfere with your play.

You as leader:

You can try to lead later, but if you wish to patrol and enjoy grunt perspective play let the ai lead and select this as NO. The AI will lead good as it's well scripted so don't worry about this.

Supports:

While you can call various supports with BAF helicopters and armors, I suggest you set these both to NONE as you can call these later.

Enemy Type:

Select Insurgents if you wish to hunt taliban.

Enemy units:

You can select squad counts and enemy supports. I however recommend that for a relaxed and tactical play you select 2 squads and technicals for enemy support.

Enemy snipers:

Set to 1.

Your role:

You would ideally wish to select either Rifleman or Grenadier.

And that's it! You are now ready to play. Once you click on Continue, your chosen vehicle will be heading to a random destination, it may take a minute-two, so enjoy the ride and plan your tactics as well as check your gear, once in position, you will automatically eject and game will save so you can later revert if you get killed. Your leader will lead forward, and depending from your vehicle your vehicle will patrol your surroundings. Once you start to engage, your leader will asign you tasks, if you get injured, call a medic. If your squad gets killed and you are heavily outnumbered, you can then open map, double click on empty radio space icon as it will pop out, then select 3rd entry which should read call air support or charlie, this will call in an helicopter to sweep enemy for you. You can as well call troops and tanks from other slots. Once the area is clear, you will be notified and you will have to return to your main vehicle (regardless if it gets destroyed, find its wreck then) and come close to it, click on Continue scroll menu on the vehicle. Once you continue to play, you can then again adjust time, enemy units, and other options (this is however saved each time) if you don't wish to change anything just hit continue and play onward. When you want to finish, complete a session and click on End Mission.

Download - https://www.dropbox.com/s/3fzaushylzb3kvu/ARBAFSP.7z

The password for the archive is BAF2SAS

Please don't share this mission, it's just for you to test.

Bugs, limitations:

While I did try to bugfix as many bugs as possible since the mission is unfinished anyway, there are several you can encounter:

-The mission was originally made just for ArmA 2 and was never intended to use OA content or advanced features, I did port these but they may get buggy at times.
-Missing labels, labels don't represent actual gear/unit. This was an original missions error, although I did re-label all I could find some things are missing still.
-Both takis and insurgents use Russian armors. This one is a tricky to fix. Although I did manage to make the crew taki/taliban the armors are deeply hidden in scripts and I am yet to find and modify it with OA ones. That being said, it's not that bad. Insurgents will still use Dshka's, T34's but with woodland paint.
-Enemy snipers may not actually have snipers. Insurgents consider PSO AK74's as snipers, while taki army may have some SVD's, these are however dynamically chosen as are all enemy units and their equipment on each scene.
-BAF Lynx doesn't engage targets. While I did try to fix it's patrol script, BAF Lynx helicopter may end up just making flyovers instead of engaging, so it's best left unused, however you can still use it later when you want to.
-Missing enemy supports scripts (thus proper patrols and OA content not used but A2 vanilla instead. This is an original mission error. Some scripts are left empty, yet other were never made, I guess ArmAMedic planned to add these in future but never actually finished them. That being said, the mission is fully playable and you won't notice any difference whatsoever.

Well that's it. I hope you like this mission port. It's my SP favorite for a very good reason. Feel free to give feedback, tell me would you like a MP version and I will see if I should port it to MP for some sessions and later maybe make it ACE compatible as well. I can also later create a spets vs insurgency version of the SP mission if there's interest.

Either way have fun, and do indeed try this, I recommend it

I will sadly have to pass on that one. The latest beta patch did fix my old issue only partially, I am still unable to play CO properly with TS3.

So you guys have great fun

A suggestion - There's a mission called Hohei Evolution (Blue and Red) that is like evolution+domination on steroids, give it a check. I really enjoyed playing the mission with some friends a while ago. Just make sure you get the original version and not the user modified ones as they are full of bugs.