=VG= SemlerPDX

It is best to have someone other than the mission maker as the leader - in many ways it makes it more fun for all involved.

As for the CLAfghan suggestion, if someone goes to make one, I'd like to give them some tips so the AI doesn't bug out during (they hate complex waypoints and have a hard time with certain roads on CLAfghan)

I am reading the logs from that time now.
Thank you for your report! (ha - nothing sayin you can't turn around and make an introduction post, if you want. My very first post was a disruptive player report, too, over 2 years ago.)

Discussion over.

players permanently banned.

Thank you for the report, Dallas. !pals


/locked

Hold up here - I just read through the report and the entire conversation....

If you want to get down to the "rules", this is a grey area; sure there never should have been the overly bossy execution of a squad mate, but try to look at this from all sides, people!!!

This will be in review over the next hour - if you want to discuss, please join TS3 now and look for SemlerPDX.
I would like to finish this and get back to my game.

Decision pending.....

The day will come soon when we have an MSO server running in the full way that it's designers intended. MSO features a persistent database that allows players to continue on, with a persistent world, that will not revert back to empty upon each server restart.

MSO is nearly an MMO with several RPG elements to it, and unlike these MSO Project tests we have been doing, a player will not start at the main base each time with no gear. This is the starting position for a player new to the server - once you have played your first match, the next time you join in your gear will be just as it was, and your position may be recalled so you can continue from where you left off.

People who played DayZ long enough to understand the game will recognize the need to be aware of food/water sources, as these may be portrayed in game in a realistic manner. Not sure what amounts to a "shit load" of food and water, but without even playing this mode yet, I can tell you that it would not be advisable to carry inappropriate amounts of items just because the game mode could consume them. Humans don't really need to eat more than a few times a day, and water is more important than food at times.

I find it funny that people go to play more realistic game modes with more "systems" to use, but do not recognize the many ways to play those game modes - they just load up their personal gear with a set they have used over and over in many different game modes, assuming they need to be some kind of one-man cache and army. Hello - this is ACE calling, and my new friend MSO is here; our names are acronyms and have nothing to do with "Log In, Play Fast, Log Out, Start Over Next Session".

Advanced Combat Environment Multi-Session Operations

HEY! Welcome to the website, Navynuke99!! Yea, the DCS series is sure "taking off"! !lol
I think this is the video you're talkin about - and it ROCKS!
(feel free to join us in TeamSpeak3 for some COOP flying)




I am still kicking myself for missing the sale on DCS A-10C this X-mas (it was down to $15 according to Poffadder...)
I will get DCS titles soon - like Iffn said, all this flight sim gear cannot go to waste!! haha!


BTW - this is the video by Chaz that made me want to buy this game way back: awesome music, great editing:



!fans

I looked into map making a long time ago. It is a rather involved process but many people have made many maps for Arma over the years using this same editor. Each map is like an advanced Paint program, with it's parameters set in stone in the early stages of creation. Once a map is done, there is no way to alter these parameters to (for example) include another map into it. Each map is specifically coded with map grids, altitudes, cities, and roads.

CLAfghan is the largest Arma map I've ever used, aside from Sands (which is blank - no cities, no nothing). It's a 40km x 40km map, but the valleys of CLAfghan would make it a terrible map for DayZ. Most large maps you find in Arma (like Chernarus and Taksitan) are 20x20 maps. Any fully finished map can be converted to a DayZ mission, it just requires a little configuration and know-how to make it work.

That Lingor map is 10km x 10km and by comparison is much smaller than Chernarus, 75 percent smaller -- consider that if you have 30-50 players on Chernarus DayZ trying to find places to hide camps, you will have that much harder time trying to find a safe place on the island of Lingor.
Taviana is slightly larger than Chernarus, with a size of 25km x 25km - and is also an island, surrounded on all sides by water.

When I played DayZ in the early Alpha stages, I liked Chernarus for it's large forests, and certain areas that may have far less foot traffic than others, like the Northern areas - I had a camp set up for awhile, but server issues finally made it disappear.
Just remember that this game will be much better when it becomes a full release. For now, you can try to play on the largest map you can find, but those are the only options available at this time.

Map making in Arma is not something that I myself am interested in. It is a very in-depth process that would require much time to learn, while requiring all kinds of creativity in design that would certainly take some time to develop.

Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but it never hurts to ask. Good luck and have fun!
!cheers

Castor -- Do not get overwhelmed by a bad outcome or bad situation - no need to apologise, no worries! I'm sure we all still had as much fun as possible, given the circumstances in certain ACE Test Ops we've been doing lately. Also remember, especially in certain game scenarios, formations aren't as necessary as we'd like to assume. At times, for sure - but other times, you can rely on the game experience of your fellow gamers to clear an area in a safe way. Even moreso if you have personally trained with them on such techniques in any game.

-----

-----

I can proudly report that I have practiced several of those above named concepts in several different games, at different times, with some of the people I have gamed with often. As far as drilling each one in a game with the same folks - that would be lovely! Some games are able to employ maybe one or two of them, but certain games allow us to attempt to employ all of them in that one game. Arma comes about as close to being perfect in that manner, even with all it's flaws. It has so much to offer in one environment.

Even in tests we do get a chance to try out certain new things or radio use techniques, but know that it is best to be adaptive as a player and a leader. As a leader, if not in any real military position in the real world, these games force us to become many roles at once depending on the situation. In the end, leadership roles do indeed require the willing, the bold, and those who can at least take charge. Out of that, in these games, it develops that spark of desire. With Mil-Sim, often a desire for a decent way to employ these wonderful leadership opportunities, and Arma is prime for that if the mission is structured right.

With that being said, it almost always falls back to the need for the leader player to take the role of some kind of super-spec ops operative with the adaptive skills of a General crossed with a field-spec spy, and able to teach and train, and utilize any in-game available edge to lead his squad into and out of battle alive (while having a fun time). Well, that would be ideal, anyway. It is important to take things into perspecive in any given situation. You have to take the time to adapt, and being just a game, you have to recognize the core concepts as well before things get crazy. You gotta know when to scale it back a bit, and play it cool and light - it is a game, after all.

Just know your core well:

Where are your squad mates going to respawn? What gameplay style seems right? When to call fire support if available?
How best to Learn to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb?
When to call it a fail and stop "respawning" (or- how to disconnect ACRE and talk with key hosts as to the status of the game being played.
Gotta adapt to survive in any situation, games too.

For simplicity in Arma, we try to keep player roles filled as best as possible - with a mind to keep as many boots on the front as possible. One man can operate that M109 Paladin we tested today, and although Castor and I noticed that it can be marginally faster with 2 players, that would mean one less capable rifle on the front.

We will always need to ask for players willing to fill out any dry/dull/boring positions when they are needed, but truly, we try to avoid this by "wearing many hats".
I know it may be hard to lead a small element when you also feel you are supposed to be in charge of the larger element as well, but being a leader in a video game does require a little less time playing the game and some time managing real humans playing it as well.
There is no problem with taking it slow. We can continue to play some training scenarios and even learn a little while we play casually.

Just spending time leading is a good thing, and my advice to anyone who takes up that role in Arma, or most games, is to know your role, know your game, and keep your ears open (even if you have to tell everyone to shut up and keep the coms clear once in awhile!) Someone may be giving priceless advice or calling out for assistance just the same... What you hear is often more important than what you say, and the less you need to say, the better you are as a leader.


And to that end, this wannabe eLeader is still on that path, too - and taking my own advice, gonna hope that's all well enough said and sign off.
!hi

I just used Desura... simple... (well, once I found the button to install EoD)
!hi

!lmao

Depends on available cover - basically, dictated by situation, you can move standing up under fire if you gots some cover like big rocks, trees, etc. - otherwise you are stuck with low or high crawl...

I am familiar with 10/10 of these things, but have not drilled with others online in game, and that is the key. One man cannot cross a street with security, of course.
It takes a group, a team - and one willing to train on these concepts.

Like PITN said, it would be wise to adopt these concepts and practice in small teams. Just yesterday, I was in a small group of Rangers, we had a foot contact close in a semi-urban situation, and our vehicle gunner was reloading.
The order came down to dismount and secure the area around the vehicle. When I dismounted, that tango was 30 degrees to my left, so I swung my crosshairs directly after dismount and sent the contact back to hell - unfortunately, every other member who dismounted also came around that side of the vehicle and focused their attention on the now-dead contact.
On the OTHER side of the MRAP, a second contact proceeded to rape our squad, with me taking many rounds, barely survived...

The plain fact is, when contact is light, people tend to concentrate on the only reported contact, instead of securing an area, and trusting their team mates to watch other sectors.
People do too many frustrating things, such as staring at the medic or patient in a "healing" situation, people staring at others with gun up (not on SAFE) and either ALT-TABBING or some kind of AFK that eventually results in a misfire injury to another player, and people new to the game of Arma 2 using grenades (these are notoriously tricky in Arma 2 and require experience and know-how in order to use safely and effectively).

Getting on the same page with a group is imperative in some of these more difficult ACE/ACRE settings - everything takes longer, and therefore much more is at stake. Things need to be done with more patience, and drilling on the above concepts would be ideal.

Perhaps some automated in-game training scenarios would help, like the Kill House on the VG Warmup Map has helped so many to learn the basics of CQC building clearing. I recommend people download some Military Field Manuals to your smart phones (if you have one) and read/browse through them when not at your PC, say on a bus ride, waiting room, etc.
I got a bunch, including survival manuals, on my "semi-smart" phone, in the event that I get stuck and need to directly reference some plant or medical treatment while camping far away from civilization.
(gonna use PITN's list and some cool drawings from some FM's)

Getting married? or was that just a "for instance"? If so, congrats!
See you around, bro!
!fans

Might be more appropriate for a Mil-Sim Clan or gaming group....I've been following Poffadder through all hell on earth and would follow him some more. This ain't 7th Cav

Just read through the ShacTac Arma 2 Players Guide and you're golden.

BTW - Leaders are not born, they are made. Either soldiers who fought and served and became something like an NCO or were in Military Officer training and trained specifically to lead.

This route can be followed in video games, too. Either spend tons of time playing, learning, and then when you feel ready, lead - or by reading, training, observing, maybe signing up with groups that have training modules like 7th Cav, UO, ShacTac, and others, and of course carry over knowledge from years of leading in other games doesn't hurt.

Point being, we see bad leaders all the time, in Planetside 2 especially - a good leader knows when he needs to adapt, and when there is more yet to learn.

You seem to think that commanding or leading involves all this micro-managing, and I think it stems from a desire to lead. Just know that leading involves more than telling others what to do. If you take the time to trust a team members strengths and instincts, you can benefit from merely telling them the goal in a broad sense (We move North, then East; searching for Cache and more Intel. Keep close to each other within a few blocks, report often)

As opposed to micro-managed "you watch north in this alley, other guy you watch south, other guy you watch east. Okay, contact spotted - he's down. Okay everyone move to the next ally. I want you on that corner there, other guy you go to this point, other guy do this..."

That is just way too much and I am starting to get annoyed that it is even still happening. If you need to spend some more time training your team, do it, because that kind of micro-management is gonna get your team killed in the field more often than not.

From the tiny fireteam, to the big picture, a leader should know when to get specific ("1 - watch that way, 2 - watch that way, 3 - I want you here, etc.") and when to trust that his teammates know how to move and cover any assigned area. I see way too much disregard for this, and that is where all the "commander haters" and people who rather lone wolf it as a result. If someone desires to lead - fine.

Keep developing those skills, because trust me, just wanting to lead and doing it often does not a good leader make. One must be open to constructive criticism and willing to learn, change, and adapt. With the role comes the need to be able to train others, as well. Again, just having the knowledge and being able to present it does not a good teacher make. Communicating with someone is not only a matter of words, but of understanding the person - a leader must know a few things about his men, and thereby exploit their strengths, know where teaching may be needed, and how to lead that person or persons.

In a persistent mission, this also makes the leader responsible for the "fun" of the operation - it's up to him to put his group into action that will provide an enjoyable Arma game. In a "Mil-Sim Op", it will be his role to not only have fun, but coordinate and act out orders given, and pass them on in a way that makes sense to the game being played.

That being said, and like Dman said above, YOU choose your leaders, and if one does not want to be lead by someone in a game either because of personal reasons, or just that they do not value the skill set of that particular leader, then you don't need to choose them. If signed up for an Op, one can privately request to the Host a different fireteam/squad. Eazy Peazy.

There are certainly people I would never follow in a game, not just because I don't know/appreciate their current skill set, but also for the fact that I prefer to play with the same people I've been with and trusted for years. We generally know each other well enough that these "overly micro-management issues" never come up, we know each others "in-game" faces very well, and know what to expect of each other.

This should be the goal of any leader - even in VG, though we are all brothers, we all have closer friends than others here or there, "battle buddies", and tend to game closely with them. Personally, I find it the best way to learn to lead in any game by first finding one of my closer friends who has played that game and learning from them (instead of merely jumping into a lead role because I have lead in other games before).

Through this kind of close squad play, I have become closer to people in VG that I never even really knew. Starchy, Sparky, and Dave22644 are good examples; we play all the time now, and laugh our asses off sometimes - good games!

!cheers

Good video! Would love to help make more - just need to get off my duff...

Savage's highly detailed M27 IAR (plus his highly detailed liver-spotted hands):


at max Anti-Aliasing, it's hard to find a single jagged line on the entire weapon. Awesome!!

Where was this? When? After we left the Fal Insurgency last night? or was this earlier? What server has Civis? And pubbers not in TS3 (I assume it was ACRE as you stated you were appealing to them to join TS3)
!dntknw

My vote is for EoD - I've wanted to try that for some time.
"The horror....the.....horror!"

!lol

Not trying to relate the seriousness of gun use to letting someone play your video game; point was that you can swap out any noun/verb set for the key points, and still come out with the resolution that you are the responsible party, as in, you left someone unattended on your account - as far as you know, he could have also used your computer to download stuff(bad stuff) while unattended. Sure, you come from a base of thinking this person is worthy of your trust, but this is something that we hear very often on game servers.

So often, in fact, that you may have missed my playful sarcasm about how often we hear this exact excuse - and just like this one, it's usually some time after the incident happened, and it's never the banned person's fault. There will be little recent knowledge of exactly how things happened, if we can even track down the banning Admin specifically. I'd bet dollars to donuts that we have no way of even proving that this was not you, aside from your word.

Not saying that you are lying, let that be very clear. Just know we're on the other side of the window.
We have no way of knowing in any case, ever. All we have to go on is what you say and write. It's not as implausible as a dog eating the very piece of homework due the next day at school, in fact, I let my brother use my PC plenty.

The truth is, we value honesty - and these are merely video games, sometimes people don't even know there ARE rules, let alone that there people paying for the server and admin'ing it actively. That's why we have an unban section.
If we can't get the original Admin who banned you, then we will decide what to do here.
Specifics help. If you could get this roomate in Teamspeak, it would help, but it's a stretch.

Never heard that one before...
So, I was trying to imagine, with regards to responsibility (and who is to blame in such cases), and I swapped out the words involving video game with Handgun and Shoot/Shooter. I think it's a lot easier for me to make my point about who is responsible if you place something important or dangerous in place of the Arma Game and your Ban. Thank goodness this was only a matter of a video game, and not something more dangerous, of course.

You're in college now, it's important that you know how to assess responsibility in any given situation, or at least be fully aware of where you are responsible so to act accordingly, regardless of the importance (Video game Vs. Car/Gun/Baby/Pet)
Basically, you don't put a loaded gun in the hands of a moron, or in this case, your copy of Arma connected to a Game Server you enjoy playing on. In either case, YOU are responsible. Here's why:

By reading this "Mad Libb" you will see why your reasoning is wrong - it is you that are responsible for your possessions, your internet, your PC, your weapons (if owned any). You are responsible for your own trust in others, your judgements of others, and what you choose to trust them with - it would be the same if your PC was unlocked/not passworded, and used without your approval, because it is your responsibility to secure your own things. You clearly did not know this roomate well enough to trust him or leave him alone with your online game account logged into a server that someone else pays for.
We pay a lot for that i7 2600k each month; it's the main reason for our fast servers.






If the Admin who banned you wants to give you a second chance, and on the chance that they believe and are not offended by your side of the story (involving the highly original "roomate" excuse), then you will be placed on probation, and watched, and once again banned if anything like this happens again.

We will wait for the Admin who banned you to respond here...be patient.

ACRE Radio Settings and Usage:

http://www.veterans-gaming.com/vg-plugins/forum/forum_viewtopic.php?15078

To use a radio on another person's back, use the Radio Interact Buttons: Shft+Alt+Q

!cheers

I'll get a server on tomorrow or the next day if I am busy/hungover. :)

Great review!! Certainly gonna check this out soon! Thanks for the info.
!fans

HAHA! !2cool I rescripted that very module for Arma 2!

It is very fun to go flying like that!!

Much better when you're actually in the flying position, I thought...so -
I had spent some time with that SQS script myself! Converted it to SQF and added some appropriate additions like going into the "HALO" position once hooked, and the ability to add a nearby AI unit to your hook (for recovering objectives like Enemy Commander or Downed Pilot).

Here's the WIP video I made way back to show off some of my fixes/changes to it:



**Horrible Bot Pilot - he just can't fly a straight path, but you get the idea.

Plane hooks line, players go flying (in the HALO position) and get reeled into the cargo bay. Speed of reel has been fixed since video was shot, but is still slower than the original, plus added a fade through black and forced Internal View upon entering the cargo bay.
Red/Green Jump Lights are available to the Pilot as well as the cargo doors action.

This is a script I found online, in SQS, that I converted to the modern SQF as script set for Arma 2 Combined Operations.
It is still a work in progress, and adds features such as "nearest unit added to personal skyhook" as well as the Red/Green Jump Light indicators inside the C-130, and options to open or close the Cargo Bay Doors.
Players pack a Fulton Recovery Kit like an item (like compass, map, watch, etc.) from an object at base, and can deploy or re-pack it in the field. When they are picked up, the item is consumed. The line reels in realistically slow, and then a nice fade-through-black puts the player inside the cargo plane.

Still to do:
-Test Locality Issues on Dedicated Server for Multiple Pick-ups on same line
-Make Cargo Doors Open from Inside as well as Outside Views
-Make Red/Green Jump Lights visible on Pilot's Action Menu only with small cockpit indicator