Dynamic Combat Ops and Dynamic Recon Ops were great, but havnt been updated in some time and seems like the author stopped working on them. Press J to jump to the feed. Press question mark to learn the rest of the keyboard shortcuts. Dynamic Combat Generator is an Arma 3 server mod designed to help mission makers quickly enhance their cooperative scenarios by supplying a collection of easy to use, modular addons. DCG's addons are highly customizable and allow creators to populate their missions with ease. Arma3 addon modular. ARMA/WEBAPP: Non-random weather WEBAPP: Remove total 0 and unlimited items from combat log loot list ARMA: Update ACE 3 (Remeber 7.62x51!) WEBAPP: Return all items if server does not start BUG: Check renown gain in end game loot boxes BUG: Game does not enforce cup weapons BUG: Tadrac teamkilled Demus twice. ALIVE is the next generation dynamic persistent mission addon for Arma 3. Developed by Arma community veterans, the easy to use modular mission framework provides everything that players and mission makers need to set up and run realistic military operations in almost any scenario up to Company level, including command, combat support, service support and logistics.

UNIT: Ivan Buchta, Combat Patrol co-author, Arma 3
TO: Arma 3 Dev-Branch Users
OPSUM: Introducing an experimental cooperative scenario

One of the latest Arma 3 Dev-Branch updates introduced a prototype of a cooperative scenario called COOP 12 Combat Patrol. The development of this scenario started out as a pet project by our Senior Technical Designer Josef 'Jezuro' Zemánek and myself more than two years ago. It's now evolved into what might become an official multiplayer scenario/mode in the game.

However, before that happens, we wanted to share it with you and see whether you like it as much as we do. In this OPREP, we'd like to highlight some of Combat Patrol's qualities in detail - and, most importantly, invite you to play it, provide feedback, and/or even modify the original concept to your liking.

WHY WE FIGHT

Combat Patrol offers quick cooperative gameplay by placing you and your squad mates together into an infantry team, and giving you the option to select the area that you want to play in. Each session is different thanks to the scenario's heavily randomized nature. That said, compared to some of the more broad and complex community frameworks for randomized scenarios, Combat Patrol is much more straightforward. Instead, it offers a quick and simple gateway to a more hardcore Arma experience.

In fact, the intention behind the very first prototype of Combat Patrol, which we called 'MOUT Training' ('Military Operations in Urban Terrain') back then, was to offer instant challenging combat with a little team of friends against Arma's AI, without making things too complex. This prototype scenario helped us internally to introduce some of our new colleagues to 'classic' military sandbox gameplay - and the randomized nature of the scenario ensured replayability.

The first location we used was the Altian town of Athira, and the goal was to pass through a chain of five randomly selected objectives, which the players had to find using only their map and compass. In the process, players also had to battle a few randomized infantry groups. However, we eventually became bored of playing in a single location. Thus, we came up with the idea of generating the scenario in every village based on a map's key points.

DYNAMIC BATTLEFIELD

Once Josef Zemánek managed to bring the same gameplay to every village on every official map available in Arma 3, we spent significant time just 'browsing' the locations in various daytime and weather conditions. With all those different locations, the replayability skyrocketed as well, leading to some of our most intense or funny gameplay moments, many of which we remember to this day.

Admittedly, the scenario was still rather crude, and especially the way that objectives were presented was considered too abstract by most of the players. However, thanks to the joint effort of our Sandbox Designers (Miloslav Cinko, Radko Voda), QA (Radek Pazdera), Josef Zemánek as the Technical Designer, and the plentiful and passionate internal feedback we received, we've now reached a version polished enough for a public test.

In the latest iteration, which takes place on Altis, you can vote for the scenario's location, the amount of OPFOR scales according to number of players, there are custom-created roles designed for the PvE experience, we came up with a plausible scenario objective, and you can tweak the difficulty by changing the mission parameters.

DIFFICULTY RECOMMENDED!

While many of us here are no die-hard milsim players, we appreciate a challenge that comes not only from the firefights, but also team coordination and tactics. From the very start, we attempted to design Combat Patrol in a way which would allow us to play on a high difficulty, but the challenge would still remain acceptable - even for the less experienced player among us. Even so, we actually ended up playing with most of the GUI elements turned off or toned down, and on a pretty high difficulty.

On many occasions, we failed miserably, and we still do sometimes. But we found that, what might sound as Combat Patrol's shortcoming, is in fact its most interesting feature. Once we learned to cope with the challenge, we realized that defeat was always due to our own mistakes: botched reconnaissance, failed execution of the plan, or a complete disarray in team communication and role play. The good news is that after several of those games, people tend to improve in many ways. The team becomes coherent, people truly cooperate and communicate, tactics and interesting solutions emerge. The occasional moments of gallantry suddenly stop leading to casualties.

In order to make the most of playing the scenario, don't be ashamed to play slowly, scout your surroundings, plan your movement and retreat if you get under too much pressure. The key is to keep moving, remain one step ahead of the enemy by flanking and deceiving them, and avoid alarming the enemy garrison too early as there are enemy reinforcements waiting for the signal. As can be said about Arma 3 itself, Combat Patrol rewards patience, thoroughness, and cooperation.

FUTURE COMBAT (PATROL)

We're still working hard on improving Combat Patrol. Our ambition is mostly to nail down the balance and difficulty of the experience, and to further enrich the content. We are discussing new objectives, musing about adding some non-urbanized locations, as well as taking the gameplay to other Bohemia terrains - of course, with different factions to play for and against. There's a pool of brainstormed objectives which await implementation and testing.

Besides our own efforts, we aim to offer the scenario's code to the Arma 3's creative community for free use. An example of the usage of the modules is currently available in Arma 3 Samples, and we hope to make full sources available under the Arma Public License - Share Alike (APL-SA) in future. Naturally, we are also interested in your experience with the scenario. Although we've had dozens play-tests in various stages of development, its random nature may often lead to very unexpected results or reveal shortcomings that we haven't yet come across. I'm sure there will be plenty of ideas and bug reports, and you are welcome to post them to the official forums and/or Feedback Tracker.

You'll find the scenario once you switch to the Development Branch. It's also hosted on some of our official servers (which you can filter in the Launcher Server Browser) until the end of this year.

Have fun!

Ivan Buchta
Combat Patrol co-author

One of the difficult things about approaching a possibility space as large as the one presented by ArmA 3 is deciding what you actually want to do with it. Beyond the campaign, there’s the game’s powerful editor which allows players to create remarkably complex combined arms combat scenarios across vast land masses. But if you’re like me, sometimes that’s a bit… much. Sometimes I’d rather just fire up a quick game and lead a fire team over a hill to shoot some bad guys.

Thankfully, some truly amazing mods have emerged over the past year, so we’ve put together this guide to cover some of the new content out there - whether it’s total conversions, new models, or AI environments, you should be able to find something for you in this list.

Note: Mods are often custom-built for a single map, but even if you’re not interested in that environment, chances are pretty good that there’s another version of the mod available for your preferred landmass. Just do a little searching in the Steam Workshop, and you’re likely to find what you’re after.

Reader Suggestions

• HUNTER SIX - Special Operations Unit (Solo Campaign)

ARMA 3 Overhaul Mods

Right off the bat, Article 2 Studios’ Operation: TREBUCHET (OPTRE) is a standout in the new assets packages you can get for ArmA 3. It’s a full suite of soldiers, equipment, vehicles, and maps pulled from the Halo universe. The mod focuses primarily on UNSC infantry forces rather than the lethally-outfitted Spartans like Master Chief from the Halo series of games, but fear not: several Spartan variants are included as well.

What’s more interesting, though, are the new weapons and vehicles - take to the skies over the original game’s Blood Gulch in a Hornet or Falcon, or cover ground the more old-fashioned way in a Warthog ATV or Scorpion tank. Sure, some of the models look a little low-poly for modern eyes, but it’s impossible not to be impressed at the sheer amount of Halo bits Article 2 has recreated in ArmA 3. OPTRE focuses on the more grounded aspects of Halo’s sci-fi fantasy, so you’re going to see more helicopters and traditional ballistic weapons than plasma rifles and alien tech.

At the moment, OPTRE is just a massive toybox full of Halo kit, but the growing community around the mod is busily creating missions with the shiny new assets. You shouldn’t have too much trouble finding both single-player and multiplayer modes in the Workshop, and keep an eye out on your server browser for large-scale UNSC battles to join.

Iron Front in ArmA 3 (AIO Lite) is the mod version of what once was a full game - Iron Front: Liberation 1944(It wasn't a very good game-ED). It’s an Eastern Front-focused equipment makeover for ArmA players who aren’t as keen on the game’s baseline present day/near future setting. The full, paid version of Iron Front featured eight-mission single player campaigns for the German and Russian sides, plus all the World War II equipment you could shake an M91/30 at.

Unfortunately, the full version has been discontinued and is no longer supported, and those single player missions aren’t included in the free “Lite” version available on the Steam Workshop, but there’s still plenty to like about the mod - there are five sizeable maps, tons of historic units and equipment, and plenty of clanky tanks to drive around in. The only other mod you’ll need to try out the free “Lite” version is CUP Terrains - Core, which you’ll quickly learn is a pretty commonly-used mod for projects like this one.

Hopefully, the team behind Iron Front in ArmA 3 will be able to continue supporting the mod - there’s still a healthy player base for it and the ArmA system works very well in the World War II setting. There are also mods you can find that allow you to use elements of ALiVE in Iron Front in Arma 3, giving you that whole suite of command and mission tools in that Eastern Front setting.

Arma 3 Quality of Life Mods

The Enhanced Movement mod, created by Steam user badbenson, allows players to hop, climb, and vault over fences and walls. The mod adds animations for each of these movements, and it’s a matter of moments to bind a single key (it’s context sensitive) to the “mantle” command. This corrects a rather strange omission from the base game, but I’m glad to have it either way. Recent updates have broken this mod, so you’ll also need to use the ACEX fix mod, a temporary solution, in order for it to work with up-to-date versions of ArmA 3.

Another good mod for solo players to pick up is the AI Accuracy Fix by Steam user Twisted. Enemy NPCs in ArmA 3 tend to be crack shots, even on lower difficulties. As the description says, this drops them back into the more human range of rifle skill. The other option of course is to just “get good” at in-game marksmanship, but who has time for that nonsense?

There’s a lot of gear to play with in ArmA 3, especially if you’ve added any of the massive list of equipment mods. Personal Arsenal gives you access to the game’s virtual armory at a keystroke, so you can outfit yourself with whatever weapons and armor you like, as well as plunk down to-spec vehicles.

Faces of War is a mod that adds in a bunch of thematic faces for you World War II junkies out there. It not only adds more expressive and historically appropriate faces for ArmA 3’s soldiers, it also includes a growing list of World War II uniforms and equipment. The team responsible for this mod does very high-quality work, so you’ll want to subscribe to this one - plus, it’s required for several of the more ambitious WWII mods.

CBA_A3 is an under-the-hood mod that basically makes modders’ lives easier, and you’ll most likely find it in the dependency list of mods you’re looking to download. Steam makes this pretty convenient by flagging up mods you’ll need to install. CBA_A3 lets modders create events and macros, monkey with the UI, and allow for custom keybinds for new actions they add to the game.

Arma 3 Operations & Missions Mods

• Dynamic Recon Ops [Altis ] [Stratis]

Now for the meaty stuff. One of the most important mods I’ve come across over the past year is the ALiVE system, which goes a long way toward bridging whatever gap remains between ArmA 3 and traditional wargames. It’s a full-on strategy simulation environment, allowing you to populate ArmA’s maps with OPFOR and BLUFOR units, each with their own goals and objectives, which they’ll pursue intelligently. Missions can be easily created on the fly, and they can be persistent, with actions in one carrying over to the next operation in a campaign.

Arma 3 Dynamic Combat Generator Parts

While the interface takes a few minutes to learn, once you have the basics down it’s an incredibly simple system to use, and the results are spectacular. Once you have ALiVE installed, head to the mission editor and add some new elements: they’re modules called ALiVE (Required), ALiVE Data, ALiVE Player Options, and ALiVE Virtual AI System. These entities don’t physically occupy any space, but they handle the raft of features and systems that ALiVE adds to ArmA, such as intelligent commanders who spawn in and command appropriate units. Syncing these AI commanders with logistics modules and areas of operation is a bit touchy at first, but after a practice map or two you’ll have the hang of it, and it’s astonishingly powerful.

I feel like I’ve personally only scratched the surface of what ALiVE is capable of doing, but already I can’t imagine playing ArmA without it. There are tons of add-on mods for ALiVE, too, so if you don’t want to bother with the mission design side of things you’re still in good shape as long as you don’t mind browsing the Steam Workshop for a bit. Plus, you can use ALiVE’s elements along with most other ArmA content you have installed, but you may want to check the ALiVE wiki to make sure any particular map is supported.

Modder mbrdmn has created a system called Dynamic Recon Ops, which builds randomized recon missions to spec. These can be simple, involving a single objective, or surprisingly complex. You can specify parameters like time of day, weather conditions, and factions involved, or you can let the mod decide for you. The one-objective ops make for great bite-sized portions of ArmA action, and you can download the mod for countless maps, both official and user-created. While the base Malden map has tons of places to explore and operate in, I’ve enjoyed checking out the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone map. It’s unfinished and rough-looking in places, but the area has always fascinated me and it’s still creepy wandering around the ghost town of Pripyat even when you aren’t playing S.T.A.L.K.E.R..

DRO missions are fun and lightweight. It’s easy to dive straight in and start scouting, but as the “recon” name suggests, there’s usually a lot of walking (which, come to think of it, accounts for most of my time in ArmA). Generally, you and your squad will get dropped off by helicopter around 2 kilometers from your objective, which might be retrieving a prisoner or observing an enemy area. By default you’ll also have a resupply point, and the mod is fairly smart about putting a few patrols of enemy soldiers between you and where you’re trying to go.

For a more robust experience, you can try the Dynamic Universal War System, or DUWS. Like DRO (and its sibling, Dynamic Combat Ops), DUWS creates missions on the fly based on a set of parameters you choose to set or leave random. The big difference here is that instead of one-off missions, you’ll be generating an entire persistent campaign. And unlike the single-player campaign that shipped with the ArmA III base game, this one actually responds and changes based on your actions.

You begin by selecting either a random or hand-placed base of operations on the island. From there, you’ll launch missions to recapture zones held by enemy forces, or pick up side ops that become available from time to time. These tend to be pretty simple affairs, such as rescuing downed pilots, but they’ll earn you command points that you can spend on additional troops, vehicles, and weapons. Over the campaign you’ll also amass Army Points that can be used to unlock higher tiers of equipment.

It's an ambitious mod and it’s a bit tricky to figure out how everything works, but it opens the game up to some serious tactics and strategic planning. Figuring out where you need to build FOBs, and planning your next strikes on enemy territory become nail-biting experiences once you’re on the ground leading a couple fire teams into hostile fire. I have yet to finish a campaign in DUWS, but one lesson I’ve learned the hard way is to save often. Autosave doesn’t quite work as well as you might like, yet.

Official ARMA 3 Mods

• Creator DLC
• Malden 2035
• Apex

Modders aren’t the only people who have been adding to ArmA 3. Bohemia has been regularly pushing out new content for the game, including the free Malden 2035 DLC, which includes a remaster of one of the two islands featured in Operation Flashpoint way back in 2001. There are DLCs for jets, helicopters, and even go-karts available as well, plus the large Apex expansion that released in 2016, which offers a slate of new equipment and a new campaign that can be played solo or co-op.

Bohemia Interactive developers have also worked on mods in their “spare time” (or so they claim), and one no-brainer addition to your mods list ought to be the ADR-97 weapon pack. It’s an “official mod” meaning Bohemia has granted its imprimatur to the effort, and it adds several variants of a toploading bullpup submachine gun based on the FN P90 into ArmA 3.

Finally, Bohemia are releasing community content as add-ons under the label 'Creator DLC'. The first one is called Global Mobilization - Cold War Germany, and there's expected to be others as well.

What are your favourite ArmA 3 mods? Let us know in the comments!

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