Jun 12, 2013

Arma 3

Military sim fans rejoice! Bohemia has confirmed that Arma 3 will be heading into beta later this month, June 25 to be exact.
Additions will include new arsenals and vehicles to test and new scenarios that include a co-op and multi-team, wave-based defense scenario. Additionally, a new "Independent" faction consisting of a military native to Altis and Stratis was mentioned. You know, in case you were tired of Blufor and Opfor.
Another change is that uploading player-created missions to Steam Workshop will be directly integrated into the Arma 3 mission editor, which should streamline things a bit. This isn't necessarily going to be available during the beta, but it is a confirmed feature. Eventually.
If June 25 is too long a wait for you, be sure to check out our recent hands-on with the alpha.
For the latest from E3, check out our complete coverage.

Jun 5, 2013

Arma 3 Alpha Update Released

Arma 3 - Valve

CHANGELOG

DATA

Added 1 x BLUFOR M320 LRR .408 sniper rifle
Added 1 x BLUFOR ghillie suit sniper and spotter duo
Added 1 x OPFOR GM6 Lynx 12.7mm sniper rifle
Added 1 x OPFOR ghillie suit sniper and spotter duo
Added 1 x Rangefinder binoculars
Added sniper Field Manual records
Added rangefinder hint
Added Stance Indicator
Not yet linked to options, but it will be
Known issue: sometimes shown off-screen - reset user profile or wait for positioning option in Beta
Fixed: Adjusted rotation speed of turrets for Speedboat
Fixed: http://feedback.arma3.com/view.php?id=3351 (BLUFOR Speedboat shouldn't have optics for rear gunner)
Fixed: http://feedback.arma3.com/view.php?id=8558 (adjusted speedometers for Ifrit, Hunter and Offroad)
Revamped hitpoints for wheels in all soft vehicles to destroy correct wheels
Vehicle weapons are now lockable to prevent losing lock during weapon change
TRG now uses correct 5.56x45mm ammunition
Fixed: Ammo for MXM in special ammo box
Combat pace transition from stand to kneel while moving FL fixed
Weapons disabled in running states
Radio Protocol: enlarged Combat Protocol - over 100 lines (additionally recorded and configured)
Radio Protocol: fixed missing Stealth sentences (additionally recorded and configured)
Radio Protocol: 53 new names added for identity usage
Disabled Difficulty tab in Game Options in MP
Fixed: When respawnOnStart was set to 1 in description.ext, death scripts were sometimes executed after respawn scripts
BIS_fnc_addCommMenuItem: Arguments [caller:Object, cursorPos:Array, target:Object, is3D:Bool, itemID:String] are now passed into expression field as _this
Removed doubled onPauseScript execution
Ballistic penetration of bushes (foliage) adjusted
Fixed: Evasive left and Lean left toggle are not conflicting actions
Adjusted default friction material to allow vehicles to slide a bit over the rocks and boats over terrain
Fixed: http://feedback.arma3.com/view.php?id=8414 (particle effect was always generated on the ground)
Fixed: http://feedback.arma3.com/view.php?id=4620 (light of vehicles’ destruction is disabled under water now)
oxygenCapacity parameter of all units changed
Fixed: http://feedback.arma3.com/view.php?id=8589 (OPFOR squad leader was named "Rifleman")
Fixed: Number of group members of motorized groups
Changed: Minefield Site now rotates all mines in the direction of the Site module
Added: Dialog for custom init code for virtual providers in Supports module
Added: Dialog for custom supply crate init code for supply drop in Supports module
Fixed: broken Showcase Helicopters texts

ENGINE

Fixed: Incorrect reloading while in optics
Fixed: Crash on exiting the game (audio-related)
Fixed: Crash while ordering subordinate to fire artillery same time as having Hunter selected to receive orders
Helicopter AI improvements (e.g. diving too much during attack runs)
Improved ship AI path planning
Added: Reveal action reveals mines
Decreased mine reveal angle
Dynamic light influence on AI visibility tweaked further
Changed threshold for when AI puts on NVG
Decreased flashlight influence on side recognition
Terrain decal fix (Stratis runway)
Fixed: Stabilize car turrets
Fixes to refreshing of difficulty indicator in Campaign and Scenarios displays
Fixed: Selection of first RscTree item after opening Scenarios dialogue
Added: UI controls validator (inventory can recognize which UI controls were not properly initialized, and show some error information)
Fixed: Visual representation of broken wheels not matching the correct wheel for wheels destroyed using scripts
Fixed: Tree destruction animation
Sprint now overrides Combat Pace in all cases
Aiming down in combat pace doesn't make player start running anymore
Added config multiplier of damage that crew receives when vehicle crashes to object
MP score table properly integrated into debriefing display
Fixed: Ragdoll could interfere with cargo poses in multiplayer
Fixed: Ragdoll launching into air by destroyed objects
Fixed: When user tries to pick an item from a corpse to a slot and that slot already contains another item, linked item would disappear
Non-local objects shouldn't collide with ground (breaking joints - http://feedback.arma3.com/view.php?id=7884)
Fixed: Random rotation of the submunition pattern (artillery)
Fixed: Setting of full-screen gamma
Fixed: markerDir return value type
Improved loading of scenario overview images from PBOs (one known issues to do with subfolders remains)

Jun 5, 2013

Arma 3 gears up snipers ahead of E3

Arma 3

I'm not sure what Bohemia are trying to get at with the timing of this latest, sniper focused patch for Arma 3, which they describe as deploying, "right before heading out to Los Angeles for the E3 Expo." What are they planning?! Do they have sharpshooters trained at the convention centre? Oh god, Graham! SOMEBODY WARN GRAHAM...

The patch adds in two new rifles and a ghillie suit, hopefully ensuring the safety of the E3 attendees. Sneak around in one of those and people will just flock to you, assuming you were hired to promote the game.

"The first rifle, the Gepard GM6 Lynx, is a semi-automatic anti-materiel rifle using 12.7x108 mm ammo. Its purpose is to stop or disable targets such as light armored vehicles, armored rifle troops, light shelters and helicopters from 600–800 m range.

"The second weapon, the M320R Long Range Rifle, is a .408 caliber sniper rifle, valued for its accuracy up to 2000 meters."

And there are more goodies for fans of patiently waiting in a shed hundreds of miles away from the action, including sniper optics and special binoculars.

See the full changelist here, which also has details of the patches non-sniper overhauls, including a new stance indicator.