You'll think it's a dumb question but...

I'm new here obviously but i have searched this question and am confused. I used to do all this modding stuff with Bf2 and learned that.

ArmA2 seems way different.

If I read correctly If I start using addons, and i plan on using as many as possible, Am I supposed to add a line for every single addon into the shortcut for the game? That seems insane.

For example "C:\Program Files (x86)\Bohemia Interactive\arma2.exe"-mod=@Panthera parameter etc. etc..

By the time i'm done adding things It could be 3 pages long.

In Bf2 there were simple folders, vehicles, weapons, soldiers etc, and whatever i added went into it's folder.

Can't i just put everything into the Addon folder under Bohemia? At armaholic it said not recommended but it didn't say why not.

By the way, where is everything at? i don't see any folders for vehicles etc. I used to tweak everything in the game to suit my needs.

Is there no beginner thread here to know where and how to get started?

thanks

You can dump all 3rd party addons to one folder if you like but they should be separated from the official ones because otherwise you'll have lots of trouble connecting to multiplayer servers that allow only certain addons (A2 doesn't know how to turn them off).

There are several Arma 2 launchers available atm, you might wanna check those out.. takes away alot of commandline hassle.

By the way, where is everything at? i don't see any folders for vehicles etc. I used to tweak everything in the game to suit my needs.

Is there no beginner thread here to know where and how to get started?

All the BIS originals are in AddOns folder. They are grouped into pbo files, like tracked.pbo for tanks, wheeled.pbo for cars etc. They are binarized in a way you cannot edit them directly (unless hex editing). There are tools to open them (cpbo, extractpbo), but you cannot open the mesh files (the 3D models ) inside. If you edit the originals, keep backups because you cannot enter servers with those.