Kinda newbie-like question re visibility

[NoRailgunner]

Did you try the mission wizard to create some simple missions?
You can find it in SP - My missions. There you get some templates to toy around. Btw on which difficult setting are you playing?
Keep on with training - you must spoil before you spin.

[ladlon]

@NoRailgunner: WOW!!!!!!! Well, that's a pleasant surprise! I didn't know about those missions! CRAZY!! I never noticed that in the manual!

(Further proof that a proper manual really would be keen....)

I'm going to check it out now. Wicked!

It's like an early (...late??) Christmas.

Thanks!

[ladlon]

[Later that evening....]

Cool... Ya, that mission generator thing is good! Even better is the last one, that uses the Secom module (like the one I set up myself)... but also gives me airstrikes and everything! That is SWEEEEET!! Man, here I was with my own homemade, limited little mission, and all the time, this little gem was sitting there without me knowing it!

A shame that you can't have it randomly select things (like what enemies are present, what your target to destroy is, etc).... but the Secom one (last type on the list... I think it's called Combat) pretty much randomizes everything anyway.

I got to say, Arma2 certainly packs a lot of stuff into one package! I was already blown away (when I first got it) that I could fly planes, copters, and even the large planes. Then I was surprised to find all the other components (all the multiplayer modes)... and then my beloved Secom module, which was what I then used from that point on.

Now this! Great stuff!

I'm just having a go now... Made a few kills. Airstrike saved me from a large group of troops headed towards us. Got to really figure out the different types of strike (when I would use each one, etc)... as well as how to point to where you want the strike (...I think I got it right.. Just left clicked on the map... Seemed to work).

Never knew how to use the remote reconnaissance plane thing.

[NoRailgunner]

Well, you may also look into Mr-Murrays Editing Guide to get the basics:
http://www.armaholic.com/page.php?id=4847
and try the wiki too
http://community.bistudio.com/wiki/C...rmA_2:_Editing

Happy hunting!

[ladlon]

@NoRailgunner: Yep, read all that. The Editor is what I've been using all this time... I created a simple 'random' mission session... Me and 3 other teammates, randomly placed somewhere on the map, the Secop and Ambient Combat modules set to go, and a Huey and Apache sitting at the airport (not part of my team) scripted so that I can have them temporarily join, dismiss or land by my command via the Radio feature.

That was cool, but I couldn't do things like artillery strikes... and my airstrikes were really me having the Apache or Huey temporarily becoming team members, and I order them to attack something. It worked...

But then yesterday, I was introduced to the mission creator by another user Nielsneo (earlier post in this thread), which I TOTALLY wasn't aware of! That basically gives me the same thing I was trying to set up (random missions), but includes airstrikes, artillery and even reconnaissance (...although I never understood how to use that!).

So, that's totally cool....

Now, I have to really learn the do's and don't's of formations, postures, techniques, and generally memorizing the commands numerically (so I don't have to battle the menu interface).

[Gritz]

Just thought I'd bounce in here and offer a couple things I've picked up. Like you ladlon, me and a couple buddies are newbies (a week in). When reading your OP, I knew exactly what you were talking about, and judging from several of the responses; I guess we're all in this together (when it comes to grass).

Anyway, in respect to grass, I feel your pain. But I guess there's a couple things I've sorta picked up that make it a little better.

First things is something somebody noted in this thread, but I think I'll kinda push it back up to front of the line to kinda underline it: 3rd person perspective.

I'm a big MMO player, so I'm more than comfortable with 3rd person perspective (usually), but I definitely do NOT like it in FPSims. BUT! It's pretty useful when you're lying in the grass. You still end up panning the camera down to ground level (which usually is again; obscured) to fire your weapon, but at least you can sorta tilt the camera a bit and get a clear(ish) view of what's over the grass. At the very least, it might allow you to see a better spot to move to. So far I've been liberally switching back and forth between First Person and 3rd Person Perspectives when I'm in the tall grass. I just might try to force myself to get used to 3rd Person all the time, because your little avatar does look cool as hell runnin' around out there, plus there is some increased situational awareness in that view.

The second thing is something I'm sure you've already learned just from trial and error: find a better spot. I know that sounds dumb, but I guess to put a finer point on it: find a good spot BEFORE you hit the deck. That's what's sorta been workin' for me. Time doesn't always allow for that, but just kinda have it in the back of your mind. It helps.

I always move crouched, so my perspective is sorta close to the ground and I just kind of have like a check list of things I want to do (avoid open ground, move to cover, figure out where and what I'm gonna do with the squad, etc) before I break cover and move to my next firing position. And one of the things is "what patch of ground is gonna give me (hopefully) decent breaks in the grass to have eyes on the target". As you mentioned, I'm usually looking for any bit of elevation to take advantage of. Good ground is everything. But I also try to do a little mental geometry or billiards in my head where I try to look at some patch of grass and say "ok, I think if I lie down facing that way, and if I draw a line between those tufts of grass towards what I think I'll be able to see through the grass..." stuff like that. I'm usually wrong, but I'm starting to surprise myself with the occasional sweet angles.

But of course, maybe the things that trumps everything in this is: in my little check list, being forced to lie in a field of grass is like LAST on my list of tactical choices (for obvious reasons). But, sometimes ya just have no choice.

Ok, I'll stop babbling now.

[forteh]

Ive also only recently started playing A2 and quite often struggle with the grass, since installing ACE2 (along with zeusAI, GL4 and some SLX components which incidentally make the game just work better ) and therefore losing the crosshair you suddenly become absolutely reliant on the ironsites/optics.

This has caused me to slow down and consider the approach before getting into a postion that I couldnt get out of - i.e: playing the game properly. With the standard crosshair I could go prone into tall grass and still effectively target in 3rd person, switching to 1st person would be completely blind though. I do still use 3rd person whilst traversing ground as I find it gives a better sense of periferal vision but switch to 1st person if contact is expected.

One thing that does bug me though, whilst on a sniper mission (sealteam6 campaign1 mission 2 - operation dead kings) I found that the grass was blocking my vision/shot, scuffling forwards to flatten the grass helped but by the time I was back into my sniper position it had popped back up again!

That said I was really thankfull for the grass and my ghillie suit whilst I lay dead still to avoid the opfor search party a mere 10 metres away

I love this game!

[ladlon]

Hey, Gritz and forteh... Sorry, I haevn't been on this thread for a bit, if you were waiting for a response long.

Thanks for the advice and stuff! Welcome to Arma2!

Ya, I normally avoid 3rd person, but you are right about it being useful in such cases. Heck, even the dev diary video says that it is 'sort of more realistic than 1st person' (due to the 1st person view's lack of peripheral, etc).

You know, the other thing too is that I'm on the default (big island) map... which is notorious for it's long grass anyway!

But, again, I'm not bashing the game for being 'wrong', or that long grass is stupid.... I'm just there thinking, 'Well, this is realistic... This is good.... I just wonder how the heck everyone else is coping with this!'.

It's kind of funny sometimes too... I'd crawl forward a bit to flatten the grass in front of me... .only to find more grass that was behind that batch! I'd end up crawling all over the place, in search of that 'bald spot', cursing every time I'd flatten some grass or shrubs, only to uncover more grass and shrubs. I kept expecting that I'd end up at the enemy's feet, with him looking down at me with a puzzled and amused look on his face, thinking, 'Dude, why are you crawling around, making crop circles?'

[Flash Thunder]

Wrong!

No FACT