=VG= SemlerPDX

Sounds very reasonable. Thanks, man! The first (last) item that was on the list YEARS ago was the 550 Paracord bracelets, BLuD wanted to get those on offer. And I love the Dog Tags idea, too! And others... so we will get one to three items to start... I'll dive into the logistics and details this weekend, got a dentist thing tomorrow, so I'll be sore from the holes he's gonna want to drill in my face most likely, will have some solid ideas and plans by Monday. Again, my goal is to have something(s) up by the start of March. If that date gets waylayed due to jackassery, I'll brief you all.

This is another absolute gem of a video by the great B3rno at B3 Productions on YouTube -- smack the fullscreen button, crank the volume, and feel the G's!!

Alright - everyone would need to go get a photo shoot of themselves in-game in their fav game, could even photoshop a name and quote, or sig... Problem is, while we're a little smaller than we were back in the day, we still have easily over 12 active members, but nowhere near 365. Not that we couldn't use duplicates, even same person in different game.... lots of us play many different games together. Neat idea... I like the dog tags and embroidered patch idea the best. In fact, there was a round of that years ago, when Eclipse sent a bunch of dedicated members some dog tags (if you've ever seen my avatar pic with my Glock and dog tags, those were them...) We'll get something up ASAP. I've been hunting down all VG graphics and polishing them up in PS for such things, and will put up a discussion post in the =VG= Forum Section so you all can provide input. I'll have some things for sale up in our commerce section by the start of March... March Merch? Embroidered patches are a little more expensive than tags or even die cut stickers, and one concern is minimum bulk order size. I did a little looking around yesterday, and I'd need to do some more research to find an affordable company that will sell smaller bulk orders. Probably gonna stop using google and look to China - there are a lot of great companies with affordable deals if one doesn't mind a week-two week shipping time, and then I can send them out from USA as they are ordered. ....The bottle openers I saw were affordable, but only had one color engraving (white) - would prefer something that would have a multi-colored logo of some kind. Might be a matter of ordering a bunch of logo decals on small metal pieces, then a bunch of blank items, and just affix them with a powerful epoxy... Again, not expecting massive ordering, so I'd have no issue manually doing this, the packaging, shipping, etc. and saving costs there... The other option is going with a company that provides branded items to-order, and the costs go up, and they take a pretty hefty cut to the tune of 30-60%+! A great idea for this would be that we wouldn't mark up the price too much from what we buy them for, but that the "profit" goes directly back into VG, like fundraisers. On a final note -- the logistics of export regulations, regional sales/import taxes, and general shipping costs are what make this the kind of thing that is difficult to dive right into. Takes some thought. We either offer to-order branded stuff using some other blokes website, or we do it all ourselves and benefit from the extra income to fund VG and any other VG ventures. (I prefer the second option)

Thanks for the heads up, bro!! Glad I'm between updates right now, so I missed this one. Very happy Win10 Home Basic has the pause option for updates - helps when you've got an always on PC and leave your windows open so you can continue working the next day.... So long as MS does their due diligence re. faulty update modules, articles like that actually make me feel better about MS - they wouldn't have released that as part of the updates if it had not been tested and assumed to be well and proper -- and within a very short time finding out it was bad, they removed it and provided information about the issue. Software isn't perfect, and neither is any OS, including our old beloved Windows7... I kinda feel bad looking back at my opinions re. Win10 in the beginning, in that article here about Win10, but it was a true reflection of what I was feeling as an end user at the time I first started working with Win10, even going into it with an open mind, so I'm glad I have that to look back on as time moves forward. ...i still hate the default Win10 calc app, though... what an ugly piece of garbage! Black background is awesome, massive font size and tabbed function areas not so much.

Yea, actually that stuff is on the list. We move a bit slow, but the commerce system is set up here on the site, ready for things to be added, etc. Would buy in bulk and use the proceeds to fund the swag purchases, and/or other website and server costs. The first step was getting the site secured, and that's been done. I'm wrapping up my current project and will put some time into this soon. One thing some places do is to use a 3rd party store that offers branded items to-order, shipping directly to the customer, and handling all that hassle of distribution (worldwide) - and we've been down this road before - but since we would not expect large volume orders, I wouldn't be opposed to just buying a dozen shirts in various sizes (or whatever), a few handfulls of keychains, 550-paracord bracelets, things like that. There are some technical details to work out on the site, specifically shipping calculations, but I'm sure I could get it sorted. I don't mind having something else to do around the house, and I have plenty of room for empty boxes and to store some swag.

Thanks @=VG= BLuDKLoT! @Griffin I've edited the VG Day 1 Master Campaign Save and made things a lot easier on the DPRK -- many F-15's and strike packages have been permanently grounded. We'll see if that gives them a snowballs chance in hell. **The new Campaign Day 1 with the above changes will be started at 0500 ZULU (10pm USA West Coast). @Jeffu I have also created a simple tool for preparing the server for a restart to Day 1 -- our former Server Restart to Day-1 SOP had us opening up the Save Folder and deleting between 60-100 files all labeled "VGautoSave", and when this task was forgotten, the newly restarted Day 1 campaign / server would crash as soon as it tried to write to an existing file (the auto-save interval is always 1 hour) So the NEW SOP is to Double-Click the VG Icon for the VG BMS Server Tool on the desktop before you launch Falcon BMS and begin a new Campaign from the Day 1 Master File. This will delete any/all AutoSave files except the VG Day 1 Master save(s). There is a double check, too - it will ask you twice if it's okay to delete these files, but I'm not messing around with backups for simple auto-saves, so ONLY USE THIS WHEN RESTARTING TO DAY 1!!

Yea, don't know why it's acting up today. Gave it a hard restart again just a little while ago when Lowkey reported the problem again in TS3. We'll keep an eye on it. he noted Charlie Point and Jabal - both std

We've just set up TS3 for TFAR - Task Force Arrowhead Radio http://radio.task-force.ru/en/ So, might wanna make up some commands to help navigate those hotkeys, too... This mod will be used on our Arma 3 Mod server and for future A3 Events. We'll get used to it, make up some easy tips for the new users, and have some fun! When making missions (with radio mods in mind) consider the old ShackTac 'Rule of 3' -- a leader should never have to communicate with more than 3 leaders below them: For a Squad, this would be Squad Leader > Fire Team Leader 1 / Fire Team Leader 2 / Fire Team Leader 3 Each FireTeam could have 3-4 members and would all be in the same Squad Radio Channel (incremented by 1 for each fire team), but Fire Team Leaders have access to a mid-range radio such as the SL has for speaking to other SL's, etc. Everyone can hear anyone when talking on local, just like Mumble, or if they are near someone talking on a radio channel the are not on. When radios are not needed, we speak normally when all together, and it has 3D positional audio. AI Bots can hear this and zero in on location, and call out that they heard you, too. The Squad Leader uses a Long Range Radio (or a dedicated radio person to haul that shit) for calling Fire Support or communicating with Command For a Commander, this would be Commander > Squad Leader 1 / Squad Leader 2 / Squad Leader 3 For very huge events, multiple Commanders could comprise groups such as Platoons, from infantry to specialized infantry, to vehicle platoons, mechanized units, and even fire support, air support, and transportation / supplies. But starting small, the Rule of 3 can help keep the task of organization and leadership in a manageable and time tested form.

OOh... I'm snagging that old VG PayPal graphic! Front page update coming! ... (edit: aaaand... DONE. that was fun! hope everyone likes the new look below the ZULU clock ) WIth ACRE you know, anytime you talk (or use PTT if active) it transmits on the 'direct' channel where anyone in earshot can hear, even if you use a short or long range radio to talk to someone actually in your squad far away. With default A3 you manually have to change your 'channel' from Group to Side or Global, or Vehicle, or Direct - as desired. You are so right - really is not the best!

That was an excellent event! I'm sure I was useless to Ciro as I felt like a noob again, and I hope my shit talking was not taken too seriously when I was venting frustration about the game (i.e. last minute mod additions to a scheduled event, walking too far, getting a vehicle pickup, threatening to shoot people in the face for breaking "the 4th wall" regarding Sausag3's DM style enemy/scenario direction) Took me back to the old days at VG when we made a big push into Arma 2 (and a little into A3). We need to re-build the Arma division at VG! This mil-sim is truly awesome, and perfect for the VG gaming style! ... another blast from the past - the epic VG Arma 2 Insurgency Server music video - 8 years ago....dang! We need to make a new one for Arma 3 now I suppose:

same here -- downloading mods and all that today, set up settings and controls if needed, etc. Very busy with my grow, just harvested; spending my days with sticky fingers and scissors, and my nights working on my voice control stuff... Really looking forward to the event tomorrow!

FYSA - this still on the to-do list, just has not got to it yet. Server was just restarted again to Day 1, and DPRK are still very underpowered. A lot on my plate and real life stuff as well, but this is top on the list when I get time to dig into it. One more cycle like this, tops, I promise ( known/trusted members of VG and Falcon BMS communities welcome to apply to help out, I do get stretched thin between my various hats I wear at VG, and between my own projects and my own personal life, and sometimes don't have the ability to give something the prompt attention it deserves.)

Everybody already made such great points in the replies - it's great we have so many people adopting the same spirit of COOP that we've promoted here at VG for the past 10 years!!!!! Nothing more needs to be said - but I'll toss in some opinions and fire off some STANAG ammo laying around my brains on this subject: People need to use their best judgement when kicking someone from a squad in the manner described in the top post, and try to always tell them why so maybe something can improve or change with that person in future. The SL should really try to evaluate if the infraction is worth losing a tank (ETA for replacement crew could be longer than a couple minutes), one thing that's never changed in PR is that sometimes you're herding cats as an SL. Just talking to someone can be far more effective than a simple kick - the SL stating what they need from the group, that they will be resigned if they don't want to follow with the group, and then pulling the trigger on the 'kick from squad' - not gonna improve much if the person doesn't know why they were kicked. That's all I gots to say on that. ...except I wanna say this, too.... If I were the SL in the scenario at the top, I would most likely just ignore the disobedience if we were all going to that point, accepting that my desired formation push would be one tank short, the same as if I kicked the obstinate tank that was already halfway to where I want my tank squad to be anyway -- but I would certainly make these things known to that tanker, and after action would kick them (telling them why) and would not include them in future tank squads, noting the player name as someone I cannot count on for teamwork action. But as far as rules go, the damn Tank SL could kick that dude just for telling stupid jokes and not shutting up--- or for being absolutely horrible and not ready for primetime as a tank pilot or shooty-man. We only police excessive and unwarranted or barely-warranted kicks from squad to the point it becomes a pattern of behavior that is disruptive to the game, and that goes for every server we run here from PR to Arma to BMS.

Please do!!! You ARE VG - all of the resources of VG including pictures, the website, and the dedicated game server are at your disposal and should be considered tools for you to use anytime you want to do a project. If any VG member need access to something, or help with making something work in an area where we are unable to grant access to every VG member, we will do what we can to make it happen. Want to dedicate yourself to hosting a new game server along the lines of what we play here? Propose it, we'll get it installed, you put in the time, manage your baby, make it your own thing at VG - totally cool. Anything you want, game servers, a forum section, gallery section, website element, some website forms for bug reporting on some gaming/other project your working on at VG? I'll toss something up and work it out on the backend of the website. Most recently, I'm using this website to power my voice control projects. We can make stuff happen if you want to get creative with anything, and always feel free to use any VG imagery or resources to promote or create VG related stuff!!! Again, all of you with VG tags ARE VG - it's your community, and those of us who push the buttons and pull the levers are happy to help you make VG even cooler if you want to step up in any way! Cheers!

Or ACRE, or any radio mod... People are use to that stuff, and it's not hard to train up in a pinch, too. Just FYSA -- totally cool to use TS3, we can always get into more stuff down the road. We have a lot of interest from old and new members for Arma mods servers, so this is just the start of things to come!

I'm on it! Sorry for the late reply, been sidetracked by a dead server for PR here... Cheers! (will also see about modding the day 1, not now, but asap, so BLUFOR doesn't roll over the DPRK so quick)

Yea, see, that's what I was thinking ... that it wouldn't take a hacker (or bot) more than a second to scan for any/all open ports on a machine..... Personally, FYSA my issues with Win10 would have to do with a few core operations, and that's all -- but at first, it was the interface change shock (is that a thing?. So, persistent issue I get around (but would still share with you as a nag) are: Extremely slow file searches (especially for searching all installed or attached storage devices, as opposed to a more directed search) Along the same lines, searching for file / file contents from start menu text entry box when the file exists off C:/ (using multiple storage devices and/or attached storage) Default windows and windows title bar color are the same - a personal gripe - making it difficult to know which window is the active window - and so I just do it myself when personalizing (not sure if this is still default when installing Win10, admittedly I've not had to reinstall Win10 since the first time, so I'll defer to those who know more) Still have not successfully turned off one feature (without also disabling other desired features) regarding "shaking mouse" to minimize all or most windows. Any tips greatly welcome!!! Windows Snapping not very intuitive for Multiple Monitor Users, should be a simple detected option or manual option in Settings / Display for example, for an improved snapping respective of attached displays, their orientation, and resolution It's 2020 now, and all 5 people who EVER used Sticky Keys in the history of Windows could very well go into options and Enable it, leaving it completely disabled by default on first install for the rest of humanity. Cannot access 'Manage Audio Devices' from Start Menu text entry anymore, must type (or start to type) 'Control Panel' then click on 'Hardware and Sound', then click on any of the three options 'Sound', 'Manage audio devices', or even 'Change system sounds' which opens the same dialog but to the Sounds tab, of course. I realize Win10 is trying to get Home users to direct their attention to the new GUI and I suppose what they feel is less "tech-y" looking options screen - but if I want to still access my nerd pad version, I should just be able to type (or start to type) 'Manage Audio Devices' after slamming the Windows key on my keyboard. And I understand the look and feel is fully up to user preference, and for true comparison we should just discuss operations, but that list is longer than my appearance gripes. Maybe after sharing this, you'll share a bunch of ways I've not found to better get around these issues, but I've basically had to do much more work for Win10 to get it how I like than Win7 and I don't say that to mean Win10 is "bad" just ... in some ways, different for no apparent reason to the end user, especially when legacy modules of the same thing persist just less readily/easily accessible. Finally, as you are a professional @Xenalite, I gotta ask - do you do calculations in windows, or maybe only in other software you use? Because the Win10 calculator sucks HOT ASS! And I can't imagine such a simple utility (which pretty much drove the first microchip industry in handheld calculators) would be anything but less useful to a professional (if they used it in Win7 vs Win10) when the former layout allowed things like a programming calculator display with a unit conversion area on the right, on one screen, one display, for example. I totally like the dark background and light text of the WIn10 Calc App, but for utility and just "fewer clickthroughs for results", I am happy I was able to find a Win7 'old calculator' program so I can do my thing like I used to, whatever that is. Thanks for your time, man! don't wanna make you work when it's time to chill - your help with PS was much appreciated- cheers!

Yea, but that's just a good reason to use a non-standard port, right? We practice that at VG. I don't think the dedi would get attacked "less" if there was another 'dummy' server on 5.9.23.136 with a standard FTP port, but I'll defer to the actual professionals here as always. Fun fact, the VG Website gets attacked on average at least once per second, every hour of every day, and often more closer to one attack attempt every 0.5 seconds. Apart from actual "hackers", there are literally legions of bots that constantly "test the fence" for any IP that's been on any sort of public list anywhere, including some that are not listed and just 'probed'....

Dude! Sweet! I've been delving into IPS (system that runs this website) and learning more about how to use it's modules. We have a forms system, but past attempts to make pre-populated fields for use as Unban Requests (or examples such as Acro's form up there) have not panned out. If I can ever find a way for this sort of form here at VG, I will, but for now, this amazing form system by Acro will be perfect for the job, for anyone who would offer their time to fill them out. Thanks Acro! *edit: FYSA, if needed, remember the server is in Germany, so it's ZULU+1 or +2 for file date/times - will be fairly obvious which one when correlating a single map time since our maplist is always varied.

I'll see about making a button in TCAdmin that can trigger the debugger to log 'next crash' -- I don't keep it on all the time because it does create fairly large files. And if those two don't have TCAdmin, we'll make sure they have it for the servers they play on. Any PR Admin or VG Member who needs access to be able to start/stop/restart the server in a time of need just has to ask - the reason I've kept using it all these years is because I can give selective permissions to anyone without also giving access to things where one comma in the wrong place would ruin the server. Feel free to pass that around, if you can use it, I'll get you set up. Just msg me. The method would be to have some Admin push the "watch for a crash" button after a known trouble map starts, then just play -- if it crashes as anticipated, the debugger will create the crash dump file, and turn itself back off. Then a report can be made to reference the time/date and details, and we can forward that along to the R-Devs.

Thanks for the play-by-play! Can help us track down things!! This one is going on the list, should be no reason for the server to not restart within 2-3 minutes unless there are deeper issues.

Lowkey - were you in the server, and it crashed, or you just went to join randomly, and it seemed down well enough to report (which we appreciate!) ?? If you're in it, and it crashes, give it a good minute or two and it can be joined by IP if even not in the list, BUT if you randomly joined and it WAS crashed that's crazy timing or something we should reference in the logs eventually. If we can replicate it with a debugger running, we can capture the issue for the devs, but maybe it's nothing. Anyway, like Stark said, thanks for the report - if you could reply to my question, would be cool. I don't think this is anything major of course.

FYSA: trustedtechteam.com/pages/windows-10-pro-vs-enterprise-guide For the record, we are all equals here, I mean I lika da ladies, but some of my best friends pack fudge or chow box, and all are welcome here at VG... except hackers. Fuck those guys right up the ass. (er... I mean 'backdoor')

@=VG= Kavelenko - So, those mods would basically download when you join the server, you don't have to do anything, and with that list, you can simply open the mod folder after the event and delete them.... The space they will take up on a hard drive which has no write limit to exceed would be less than a few GB of data, many of those mods I recognized as rather small in size. Buy the ticket, take the ride - it's worth it. With mod events, we will have the server up and running the day before the event (or maybe a few) so people can join, try out the mods in some generic map, make sure they're all working if needed - but seriously, Arma has come a long way since the Arma 2 days and SixUpdater.... Just assume everything will be fine because we'll have tested it prior to the event. Only thing to consider is not joining the minute the event starts if your internet is slow to download files from the VG Main Dedicated Server which is located in Germany (with seriously high bandwidth).

Happy to announce version 1.4 just around the corner! Coming next, I've created a save file system to maintain user defined settings (PTT Mode On / Audio Feedback / Keyboard Regional Layout / etc.) between updates, as well as a live update system for minor patches to systems initialization, where a majority of my AVCS4 profile gets it's operating information. To put it plainly, in the next and all future versions, a missing variable or typo in one of the commands like INIT_KEYPRESSES can be pushed out almost instantly to any users of AVCS4 when I receive the report (1.3 exists because 1.2 had a simple typo in the new Carrier Ready for Departure command, in the init file only). Imagine one of the text-to-speech item variations had a problem, and was saying a word wrong, I could change that TTS variable on my end, and push it out to all users who would get it almost instantly when loading the profile. I tried a test of more than 2kb (the entire keypress init without comments is only 7kb) of info and a hundred variable updates and couldn't increase the profile init time past 1 second, so it's fast, powerful, and will allow featureless updates without re-downloading new profiles. Additionally, the 1.4 version will feature an update notification system, too, to let users know of any major updates that require a manual profile update, with minor bug-fix patches being installed silently on profile load. Never again will a typo require an AVCS4 "download new version"! For every AVCS profile or profile builder module I make for any game (BMS, Elite Dangerous, ARK/ATLAS, the Voice Controlled Profile Builder, etc.), any custom user saved settings will no longer be lost due to profile update/delete, or even complete windows reinstall (save file backup system included). Thanks to everyone for your continued support and feedback! Happy New Year!