FROM: Creative Director
TO: Arma 3 Users
INFO: Feedback Evaluation, Splendid Script Commands, Onwards to Helicopters DLC!
PRECEDENCE: Flash
SITUATION
It's been a week since we deployed the 1.24 'Bootcamp Update' and, since then, we've gathered a lot of valuable feedback. Aside from a rogue CBA conflict, we've been happy to see very few players encountering any issues in their Prologue mini-campaign and VR Training playthroughs, and impressed by the variety of custom Virtual Arsenal creations! The hottest topics, of course, have been the new fatigue and weapon sway mechanics, which have received a mixed response. We've closely monitored all channels for your feedback, gathering and evaluating information from across the whole community. Sandbox Designer Radko Voda has already made some tweaks in the development branch of the game, primarily addressing issues with overly-pronounced lateral sway.
Meanwhile, we've been finalising the new Weapon Inertia feature (which - although outlined in our blog - unfortunately did not make it into 1.24). We aim to deploy this feature to Dev-Branch soon enough, which will demand further adjustment to the current fatigue and weapon sway mechanics. Ultimately, it should mean that smaller weapons will be easier to handle, while larger ones will remain more of a challenge to wield effectively! Naturally, we're thankful for all your feedback. We'll continue to use it to determine if we've met the goals described in our recent OPREP. If you still think that the current approach to fatigue causes major headaches for your scenarios, please note that content-creators may use script commands to disable fatigue for selected units.
INTELLIGENCE
Have you found some interesting bits of information about Arma 3 that you'd like to share with others? Feel free to post them on our forums or tweet them with #Arma3Tips as, under the splendid guidance of Associate Producer Matt Lightfoot, we've started a mini-series of tips and tricks across our social channels.
Here's a hot tip of our own: content-creators may be interested in the new time-manipulation scripting commands described by Dwarden on our forums. This command enables you to speed up/slow down the passage of time without affecting other parts of simulation - perfect for scenarios where manipulation of the day-night cycle plays a big role!
OPERATIONS
Users of the development branch may have recently noticed some additional commands for UAVs, which were just the tip of the autonomous iceberg! Under Sandbox designer Bořivoj Hlava's remote guidance, the new features mentioned in the 'In Future' section of our Drones OPREP have now been implemented. Perhaps the most interesting aspect is the ability to hack / steal enemy autonomous vehicles, either by a script command or via direct interaction. Our programmers have also improved direct control over UAVs by improving stabilization of cameras/turrets (which helps with laser designation), and adding an option to disable autonomous behavior via a switch in UAV Terminal.
Now, aside from continuous platform updates, we're looking to our next major milestone: Helicopters DLC! We're currently finalising the integration of RotorLib-based flight models with all our existing helicopters, and working hard on the new Sling Loading and Firing from Vehicles features, looking carefully at AI and backwards-compatibility. In order to give you enough time to provide meaningful feedback, we're keen to deploy the advanced flight dynamics (and the associated UI updates) as soon as possible.
LOGISTICS
Unfortunately, despite previous information regarding configuration changes, we've had quite a few of reports about sound mods not working after update 1.24. However, we're pleased to see that several authors of bigger sound mods, including LordJarhead, have already converted their configurations; hopefully, the rest will soon follow! Once again, documentation can be found on our official community wiki pages.
The recent addition of addon support for Arma 3 Steam Workshop has even stirred our own developers into action: Senior Designer Karel Mořický has published a tool to see all possible UI elements in the game.