FROM: High Command

TO: Arma 3 Users

INFO: Tanks DLC Features, Community Spotlight

PRECEDENCE: Flash



SITUATION

We're now closing in on the internal Beta milestone for the upcoming Tanks DLC. This also means that soon we'll start an internal localization lock and all new in-game texts will be sent to our translators. Furthermore, it means our internal build is being prepared for a Quality Assurance check, and after that the build will be closed to new additions from the devteam. All of these are good indicators of the DLC and its major platform update getting nearer to release.



INTELLIGENCE



One of the most popular (and without any doubt already a 'classic') community multiplayer modes, King of the Hill, is entering an exciting next phase. With version 10, creator Sa-Matra and his team have enabled the usage of another celebrated community add-on: RHS mod-pack. As a result, players now get to make use of both Arma 3 vanilla and community-made vehicles, weapons, and more. From a more technical point of view, the saving of player progress has been moved to a centralized database, which aims to prevent unapproved tampering with local data. It's a huge step for this already well-established game mode. Congratulations to the entire team! You can subscribe to the Steam Workshop mod collection here.



We've seen many impressive and diverse military sessions recently by various community Units. For example, TaskForceTeamSix fought the Battle of Marawi in the presence of a virtual AAN World News journalist. In this operation, they made their way through a hostile urban area and half-destroyed town. On top of these splendid screenshots, you can also watch a short YouTube video, which shows the operation from the AAN cameraman's point of view.



OPERATIONS



Our current Arma 3 Roadmap is approaching its last stop. Dev-Branch players might have already noticed the several major new additions related to Tanks DLC that were added to Arma 3's public testing build. In this paragraph, we'll be introducing some of these features one by one.



In December 2017, our Art Department has deployed three fully modelled interiors of our vanilla wheeled APCs to Dev-Branch. This effort was then further introduced by Art Lead Luboš Groch in his Report In article. We promised to add interiors for the rest of our armored vehicles as well. And here they are! Each armored vehicle in Arma 3 now has a fully 3D modeled interior, along with a full set of fresh crew animations, Multi-Functional Displays and Picture-in-Picture feeds. You may notice that the Main Battle Tanks got some extra love, resulting in even more richly detailed interiors. You can expect a similar level of quality, if not better, for the Tanks DLC's new premium vehicles (yet to be introduced). This addition represents a huge amount of multi-disciplinary work and forms a key piece of the Tanks package. We're incredibly excited to be supporting both new and already released armored assets with such an immersive upgrade!



​It has become a tradition that almost all of our DLCs come with a free platform update that delivers free new engine features and free bonus content to everyone who owns Arma 3. Tanks DLC will be no exception, with one of the main platform features being available right now on Dev-Branch. The Extended Damage Model for armored vehicles aims to re-define the way they fight against each other, as well as the way infantry fights against these metal monsters.

Our splendid Technical Designer Katarína Smiešková, who worked on this feature in a close collaboration with our programmers, explains what this overhaul brings: "Many of you know that in our damage model's current state the calculation of the damage dealt can be quite unpredictable at times. Therefore, we're really happy to announce the new component system, which will significantly reduce this problem and increase the transparency of the damage dealt. Calculating a round's penetration will be much more precise. Furthermore, there are several smaller features to improve Arma 3's quality-of-life for our dear community creators. The intention is to make their job of implementing the damage model easier. We do this by decreasing the amount of variables they had to take into consideration thus far and which often fell under the category of 'black magic'. However, the number one game-changer when it comes to this feature is the simulation of armor types. This involves the ability to create multiple types of protection, which can even react differently to different ammunition types. This opens the door to many new gameplay possibilities, and gives the player the option to select more efficient ammunition against a certain type of armor. And while we ourselves will be using this in a relatively modest way that is still understandable for the majority of players, the possibilities for the community creators are virtually endless."



The armor values of Arma 3's vehicles are still being tweaked by our Encoders, but please feel free to already contribute your feedback to the dedicated forums thread. Thanks!



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Last but not least, the ability to customize the appearance of armored vehicles is now also available on Dev-Branch. Via the Virtual Garage, or in the Eden Editor, players can now add camo nets, bags, tools, and cage armor to their vehicles. Because of this, players and community scenario makes can now give armored vehicles a more unique and recognizable appearance! All of Arma 3's armored vehicles will support this feature, which is again made available for free to everyone as part of the platform update coming with Tanks DLC. One more detail which we think is pretty cool: equipping an armored vehicle with cage armor will actually impact the durability of your vehicle! Just try to hit the cage armor with an RPG and see what happens for yourself!



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LOGISTICS



​Want to hang a physical memento from the Armaverse in your room? We have a special collection of printed maps just for you! Visit the Bohemia Store to place your order and never get lost on Altis, Stratis, Tanoa, Malden or Chernarus again!

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