ArmA2: Operation Arrowhead

[Bushmanni]

I shoot real guns at range and play airsoft and was one the best shooters in my unit while in the army. Here's some of my observations regarding player character movement in computer games. As stated before, you can't replicate real world movement in a computer game as fatigue, balance, hand-eye coordination, muscle sense, and a lot of other stuff is just impossible and way too complicated to simulate in a computer game. You have to figure out some compromises that preserve the important real world capabilities and problems that the soldier has to deal with in order to have a realistic game.

 

Biggest thing that games get wrong is inertia. It will affect your movement a lot when going fast but not that much when going slow. Sounds pretty obvious but it seems it's not. When you run at full speed it takes some distance to stop yourself and you would hurt yourself if you ran at a wall at that speed. It also takes quite a long distance to accelerate yourself at that speed. You also can't turn very tightly when doing it. Still you have a sense of instant control over yourself that inertia in games tends to remove. I think the only game that has gotten full speed inertia right (balanced realism/playability) is Mirrors Edge.

 

Other thing with running is that when doing it in a forest or some other uneven surface you need watch your feet placing or you will trip and do a nose plant. Therefore you can't really look around while running.

 

At slow speed the laws of physics are still the same but games can't simulate moving body parts in relation of each other. You can make small movements very fast by not moving your center of gravity but only extremities. For example, you can take a peek behind a corner by moving only your head and upper torso under 0.4s IRL that is currently possible only in games that don't simulate inertia. Peeking is important technique in checking corners and shooting from corners.

 

Heart rate and breathing doesn't affect your accuracy that much. If you try to snipe at long range then it would be a factor but in most combat situations the targets are so close and the aim-shoot cycle so fast that heart rate doesn't really have no effect. You can easily shoot a headshot at 100m with no problems at all while exhausted. I did this in the army and was surprised how no effect it had to my shooting. Adrenalin rush and general muscle fatigue are much bigger issues as they make your muscles to tremble and lose coordination. Heart beating affects so little that you hardly notice it even with a scoped weapon and breathing can be controlled and adapted to to keep it from interfering.

 

Basically games in general make fast movement seem too easy and fast while small movement too hard and slow. And ARMA2 is one of the worst of the lot in the small movement region. And I don't think ARMA2 really simulates any inertia, it's just plain clumsy and I think it's because of the animation system the engine has. It's still fun to play though but I wish it would be made more realistic and playable.

[digital_steve]

Heart rate and breathing doesn't affect your accuracy that much. If you try to snipe at long range then it would be a factor but in most combat situations the targets are so close and the aim-shoot cycle so fast that heart rate doesn't really have no effect. You can easily shoot a headshot at 100m with no problems at all while exhausted.

 

I'd literally pay to see someone sprint their guts out up a hill in full gear then stop, prop and hit a headshot first shot offhand at 100m.

[leafer]

[

Leafer SP missions are good but the true magic of the game is the mission builder that will enable you to recreate or create any event you want on land sea or air, it's absolutely limitless. Again the only downside is getting the AI to do what you want but it can be done and it's very rewarding once you do. On top of that the user MOD's just keep coming in. Every day you can find some very cool things. The 2 most popular sites seem to be: http://www.armaholic.com/ and http://www.armedassault.info/ There are many more that are good too but take a look and see what you think.

 

I've been with ED since the original Flanker so I'm used to AI that don't do what I wanted them to. ;) Thanks for the links.

[Bushmanni]

I have clarify so as to not give an impression to boast something I didn't do. When I did stress shooting in the army, I was shooting prone as we were taught to do when shooting with a purpose to hit something. We really didn't train seriously to shoot while standing as it doesn't seem to be the Finnish Army style. But we had a few of the best shots running in combat gear and then shooting at head size targets at 100m and nobody missed a single shot. It wasn't really a surprize as my sights were rock stable when I was laying on the ground. We used RK-62, that is a Finnish clone of AK-47. We were supporting our magazines on the ground which made prone shooting really effortless.

 

I have also tried stress shooting with my own guns while standing as I didn't got to try it in the army. I just didn't have combat gear and a big hill to run up to. But I really couldn't get myself exhausted enough by mere running to have any effect on my aiming as I could easily adapt to my breathing. But maybe I just hadn't enough weight on me to get that exhaustion needed.

 

While in the army I remember many instances of running up a really big hill in full combat gear as fast as I can and having some minor g-lock effect in my vision when finally up there and stopping. No shooting though as these were just some exercises running in the forest with empty mags. But I can remember that handling the gun wasn't really precise at that point. But that was due to muscle fatigue as I had had the gun in my hands the whole time I had been running and moving it around to stay stable like people do when they run with a rifle in their hands. Also my legs were really wobbly and hard to finely control what made my whole body sway around randomly.

 

Now that I came to think this I would say that it's not the heart and breathing rate but the muscle fatigue that makes stress shooting hard. And it's definitely possible to get yourself in a condition where any kind of accurate fire while standing is impossible for a while. But as it's the muscles and not the breathing that's the problem shooting prone wouldn't be much affected as there's not much muscles needed.

[digital_steve]

^ agreed

 

Also, just to whinge, what the hell is it with Arma and it not utilising dual core graphics cards!? Annoying!

[Grimes]

A new patch has been released for Operation Arrowhead. It includes "British Armed Forces Lite"

 

Basically all of the weapons, vehicles, and new game changing capability add in British Armed Forces is being given to all ARMA2 players. The difference is the textures and audio quality are very low in quality for the items. Also all of the new missions are completely excluded.

 

They say that the textures are limited to 64x64. All vehicle textures in ARMA2 are at 2048x2048 resolution. As you can see... quality is lacking. On the plus side you can use them, on the downside.... they will look horrible and seemingly drive players to want to make them look good. Thus having to buy the DLC.

[joey45]

I'll use UKF units.

[Poor mans sniper]

Is this game worth it just for the vehicles? Tried the demo for the original ARMA2 and the cobra was a ***** to fly.

[Bucic]

Is this game worth it just for the vehicles? Tried the demo for the original ARMA2 and the cobra was a ***** to fly.

ArmA and ArmA 2 are NOT for flying. Simple as that.

[Poor mans sniper]

ArmA and ArmA 2 are NOT for flying. Simple as that.

And what of the tanks?

[BTTW-DratsaB]

It's a "jack of all trades" soldier simulator and once you take it at this level ( with the inevitable limitations such a game will have), it is a blast and a very unique and enjoyable game. The fact it has some dedicated developers makes the ride all the more enjoyable.

 

I would recommend it to anyone.

 

The tanks are to Steel Beasts as the the flying is to DCS, if that makes sense.

[Total]

It's an infantry simulator with vehicles added for depth. Do not look at it as a vehicle simulation. You'll be disappointed.

 

That being said, vehilce physics and behaviors are good. That's means that are not perfect in others, they can be far from it. This is speaking strictly from the standpoint of looking at it for vehicle simulation quialities.

 

That being, if anyone ever though the vehicles in any of the BattleField series (or any other mega popular FPS) were realistic, then you'll be more than happy with the vehicles in ArmA2 as they are much closer to "realistic" than anything in the popular FPS's :)

[BoneDust]

I couldn't get through the second part of the campaign after the airfield capture. You need to find the Herc crash survivors but I couldn't find the UAV.

[digital_steve]

It's for shooting guns, not for flying or driving.

 

Also, when you get it, reduce the headbob in settings... otherwise it's like watching the blair witch project set in afghanistan.

[Bucic]

And what of the tanks?

A others said - it's an infantry simulator with other arcadish vehicles added for... people that require/tolerate arcadish gameplay.

 

Also, when you get it, reduce the headbob in settings... otherwise it's like watching the blair witch project set in afghanistan.

Haha, exactly! :)

[asparagin]

I couldn't get through the second part of the campaign after the airfield capture. You need to find the Herc crash survivors but I couldn't find the UAV.

 

It's because you lost one or two of the APC's on the way - either it was destroyed or lost because it couldn't find it's way. You can only access the UAV from the APC. The mission is not so well done.

That mission was driving me also nuts: It says: protect the convoy.. you have to figure it yourself that you ARE the convoy..

Edited September 17, 2010 by asparagin

[Napa]

Just bought it yesterday from Steam and autoupdated to 1.56!!! JUST 30 Euro!!!!

 

This sim is sooo sick. It'll keep me real busy until beta 4.

[Succellus]

Strange this particular sim doesn t lit me up. I m much prefer AAO. I tryed the demo but... nogo. I see a lot of nice play on you tube, but when i start thinking of it MP with no obj. It just fails me.

Am i wring ?

[Napa]

Strange this particular sim doesn t lit me up. I m much prefer AAO. I tryed the demo but... nogo. I see a lot of nice play on you tube, but when i start thinking of it MP with no obj. It just fails me.

Am i wring ?

 

No you are wrong...:P

 

Give time to it. Its literally huge and takes some time and patience to explore its possibilities.

 

What I really like about it - Its realism as an infantry rifleman.

[Succellus]

Well realism of infantry man AAO seems good, and its free.

Is there obj in MP ?

Are the missions really worth, i found the command limited and counter intuitive, but it seems to be a eastern game feature S.T.A.L.K.E.R. is the same.

Edited December 16, 2010 by Succellus

[104th_Crunch]

Play Warfare mode. You get a commander with limited assests based on money made. Capture cities and destroy enemy HQ.

[topdog]

I was enjoying the campaign up until having to fly the apache.. I don't know, it just feels like I'm riding one of those bicycles where the handlbars have been pranked so when you turn them left, the wheel goes right. I'm hating it and its kinda stopping me from progressing.

[Total]

I played Invite Leagues in AAO 2.X in both CAL and TWL. I also gave AAO 3.0 one helluva shot.

 

AAO 3.0 is a PC game made to play like a console game. AAO 2.X, well, 2.3 and earlier, were more realistic than the later versions.

 

What makes ArmA2 and ArmA2:OA standout, is the infantry war. Get into a server running Takistani Force (TFOR), Warfare, or a tightly run Domination. There's many small missions as well, but too many to list.

 

The character animations are not smooth like the MOCAP was performed on a person wearing a spandex suit. Example - Go to 3rd person, run, and hit the prone button. You will notice that your character actually slides on their knees before going prone. Having been in combat (actual combat) four times, I can tell you that's realistic. AAO is not.

 

Also, the projectiles in ArmA2 originate from the gun itself. In AAO they originate from camera level (aka - the player's forehead). Again, AAO is not realistic.

 

AAO is a corridor shooter with limited abilities to flank. It's a memorized route each time based upon predictable behavior. Not realistic.

 

ArmA2 on the other hand, provides a near infinite number of ways to approach. On the flip side, the enemy (even the AI) will flank you on the blind side.

 

ArmA2 series is not about high-paced action. There will be moments on intense combat, but also moments of scanning, searching, and avoiding firing to keep from being discovered.

 

I played ArmA2:AO last night in my server with players I knew who used alot of teamwork. I kinda hated to log off. Going building to building, clearing them, and pushing towards the objective took us every bit of an hour. That was only the first objective and many, many more come after that.

 

The "free for all" servers where everyone can drive or fly anything at anytime are the ones to avoid unless you are looking for a reduced, BF2 style experience.

[Succellus]

Well seems worth to give it a try then.

Bot AAO have predictable behavior only on certain maps, and there s a lot of bad BF like maps.

As for the bullet going outof the forehead or weapon , it doesnt make that diference as the importanto is "weapon and bullet behavior", and i don t play 3rd person anyway, i ain t there to look at my body.

As sliding to knee is a matter of preference, i played warlike paintball scenario with Brazilian Marines VS infantry, and they used both behavior. Usually you slide when you have time, or you "ho F" dive when you re in a "Ho F" situation. So thats not relevant, its personal choice.

In AAo Ai was removed so its human behavior, for bad or for good.

Avoiding fire is a very valid and i confess only simotime used behavior, many time i choosed not to fire avoiding to give my position to reach OBJ, or a better position.

I quited AAO because conex is a b! to other countries. I fear Arma @ will be the same. Does it have enought Sp to be good ? Does it have an mission editor ?

Thanks for the review anyway, i m really missing some good non goofy or Superhuman military shooter.

[Peyoteros]

Rough idea what it can be like.

or like that:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cXCc-o4SQVk&feature=related

or...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fPGpPyGoizE&feature=related

 

in any case it's worth a shot, sim has awesome mission editor, and if you can script... well, you can make something like this...

 

 

Or...

 

so as you can see this is the whole world of madness...

Edited December 17, 2010 by Peyoteros