Expanding the clan.

[Hunter]

I haven't played the game myself yet. Maybe someone could provide a re-view (+ / -) on each games - including the server hosting + administration?
Is there big difference between Day-Z and ArmA II? - Meaning if there is a lot of players playing Day-Z. Also, in order to play game online, am I supposed to buy the game?

[Struis]

I don't think it's a matter of choosing between DayZ or the regular ARMA 2. While I do like Dayz, it's a completely different experience and is actually, in terms of gameplay, a lot further away from our tactical teamplay roots. So when it comes to actually providing a server here at ETS, it will be for ARMA 2 itself (with possibly only mods that improve the immersion and gameplay, not completely change the gameplay itself or its concept). DayZ is a game we can always choose to play together on another public server.

[captain]

If we are going to expand to Arma 2, we will need to start working on a tactical manual. Work on things like infantry tactics, if we plan on allowing vehicles and aircraft we will need to work on those tactics too. And of coarse we will need to work on an in-game leadership structure. Since Arma's a different kind of animal than Swat, leadership may have to be a bit different.

The game has a good command system for the unit leader, and it allows him to tell his men to do things like take cover or go in stealth mode or jump in vehicles. and of coarse target specific enemies. And whenever a move or target order is given a marker will appear for all other members of the squad.

Also there is apparently some kind of "high command" function that lets one person issue orders to several different units. But I have never been able to figure out how to activate it, much less work it.

We will also need to decide on rules of engagement, formations, and equipment rules. And of coarse the big question: How many slots for the server?

UPDATE: I have now tested the "High Command" function, and it works quite well. I don't know if it is something we will be using, but if we do It is a very useful tool, especially if we want to command several groups with different unit types.

[Jolty^]

I'm always a bit low-spirited while we are heading to talk about something like expanding our clan is. Not that I would be afraid of changes, but yet every try to expand us somewhere lead the situation to the catastrophic results. It is a fact that can not be denied, whatever the cause was. Do not get me wrong, but just a few first posts here came up with an innocent dispute whether ArmA II or Emergency 4 is/isn't good game for us - and we didn't even start with expanding yet.
I still agree at the point SWAT 4 is dying and it's a matter of time until it's completely gone. Thus I will not be hindering the process. Anyway, you should definitely find a game which is similar by gender to SWAT 4 - ("tactical shooter"?). In other words, I find Emergency 4 style to be a wrong idea - although I'm not here to share any negation in this post.

However, whatever game you will choose, let's know the facts and hints. You will never be able to find a game that everyone likes or be willing to adapt to, unless it's SWAT 5. If you manage to expand clan to another game, SWAT 4 will die in ETS sooner then it dies itself. And remember, if you pick some game you are willing to expand in, create a very simple system to start with. Creating a complex system is one of the causes of previous breakdowns. You can expand every system over time, but don't expect it to be done in the very beginning. Even ETS wasn't build in a day.

Agree with hunter 100 %

[Detective]

I see no activity in this topic . Is this expand successfull or a fail because if you have doubts about that this will be a fail again then we could retry with another tactical gameplay except EM4 . But keep in mind that clock it ticking . Swat 4 may stop working by markmods tommorow in in 2 days i don't know . We just need to think faster with the pros and nons of our actions of course .

[Detective]

I see no activity in this topic . Is this expand successfull or a fail because if you have doubts about that this will be a fail again then we could retry with another tactical gameplay except EM4 . But keep in mind that clock it ticking . Swat 4 may stop working by markmods tommorow or in 2 days i don't know . We just need to think faster with the pros and nons of our actions of course .

[LessLuck]

Guess firstly we need to find out about how to host the ARMA II server, and which way is going to the cheaper and better for us, also we need to ask our donators if they are agreed if their money are going to be spent for the ARMA II server or not.

SWAT 4 will not die instantly in one second, as long as Markieboy gets the money from the servers, so we still have some time to think about what to do with ARMA II.

[Hunter]

I feel a little 'point' in detective's post. We can think and think and think, but it won't end up anywhere else if noone really decides to 'lead the situation'. I'm sure someone will now point out my following sentences, but I will write it anyway.

To be honest, in some way I wonder ETS can expand in any other game, while we have not the main part (SWAT 4) under-control. Mostly, I aim at our application system, which worked perfectly a couple of weeks ago, unfortunately our leadership is kinda 'hard-up' these times and ETS is slowly breaking from inside. Who thought about our applicants? We still have some, but no one really cared recently. If this had happened some time ago, applicants would have already been rejected, accepted or they would have been given at least some information (instructions/notes). I don't think the inactivity of recruits is the only blame. This is something we should think about, because the blame is not the leadership's issue itself.

A bit more to quote your post LessLuck. I'm not myself sure 'hosting a server of ArmA II' is now the priority. There are a lot of servers we can (yet) play on, so prove you guys want to play ArmA II together, online and often. It would be worthless to get a server if we are not going to have ETS members using it. You should get familiar with the game, you should find out if you really like playing ArmA II - if this is something you've expected. Voting here 'Yes' doesn't really mean much, does it? I could vote myself yes, but I wouldn't play this game - I would just support you in expanding.

[ThugS]

Tottaly agree with you here Hunter.
Couldn't say better myself.

[captain]

I agree with Hunter about our applicants system. WE cannot ignore our applicants and recruits, they are crucial to the clan's future.

As for an Arma 2 server. I think the best approuch is to first test our gameplay other servers, that way we can see how other people work there servers and maybe get an idea of how we want ours set up. It will also give us a chance to establish rules of engagement, leadership structures, vehicle maneuvers (if we decide to allow vehicles), and most importantly of all, team tactics. Using other servers will give us a chance to test these and practice our skills. Then, when we have at least a basic idea of what to do, we can start setting up our own server.

While I don't think we need to rush a decision on expanding the clan, I do believe we need to get the ball rolling if this is indeed something we want to do.

[Struis]

I agree with Hunter. The first stage in expanding to ARMA 2 is not renting a server right away. We need to organize some sessions first to get a good feeling of the game and define our own way in how we want to play it. We can't just copy our SWAT tactics.

Also, if your looking for some good ARMA 2 game experiences then you might want to check out the (public) events that AST organizes now and then. They have a really nice and professional way of playing the game. I think we can learn a lot from them, also when it comes to finally providing a server ourselves in the future and which mods to use for it. It's also a good way to improve on our relationship with AST and other clans who are also originated in SWAT 4 (like ITS and SAS).

I hope to find more time myself to put into the game (and SWAT again as well), but having a fulltime job and studying as well doesn't make it easy for me to do so.

As for the applicants, they have been neglected indeed and I'll take care of them shortly.

[Luis]

I think ETS has more to win than to loose by expanding... Anyway I didnt had a propper pc and I was able to run Arma on decent settings by using something (yes its very specific) you´r welcome =P Seriously tough, I made this post a while ago I hope it helps anyone in need :

dd like to post another tutorial related to arma oa ((this one is mainly for Drago))

Ok so people have a problem running arma, yeah I know it requires better stuff than Swat does, I tought I could´nt run it properly but like always i´ve found a way


get in game and change the game video stettings to low.
There is an option witch is something like 3D, press it than choose the lowest %. I did that and it ran without laggs ((+ gamebooster)).
PS: The game will be all blurry because u cant see anything properly.
If the % tactic works :
Right Click on my computer;
Press propertys;
Advanced;
On the performance press settings;
Set the computer to better performance.

*PC will look like xp but you can put the arma graphics a bit higher

It worked out for me and I hope it work for you.

I hope I helped and as always

Happy Gaming.

Its a quite simple process but I hope it helps.

P.S: Gamebooster is a tool that optimizes ur pc for gaming by disabling useless processes, u can easily get it by googling it =]

See you on the battlefield...

Luis.

[Raptor]

For everyone who doesn't have the game yet, Arma2 CO is in the current HumbleBundle weekly sale for $6: https://www.humblebundle.com/weekly

[ANDY]

Hi, of course I don't really have a valid opinion here for obvious reasons, but I would like to share anyway. A while ago we talked about moving games when I was here, first we said we could try to make different groups in different games, then we said we can just stay as a full clan but play more than 1 game. Both ideas were bad because people over think the idea. When you speak about moving games people think bad thoughts or negative opinions. The only way you can move to a new game is to just do it. Open a server (Example) Arma 2 and then post in the forum alerting all ETS members and friends (New ETS Arma 2 server is up).

After this watch as 70% of your members and friends join it and begin to play like nothing has changed. You develop tactics etc after you have played for a while not before you begin to play. Trying to manage tactics and team work before anyone has even joined the server will always cause trouble because everyone will have different ideas so you need to just play first, think later about the details. No not all members can play Arma 2 but most can, you can't always take every member to a new game because some don't like it, some can't handle the graphics, some don't like that type of game.. This is why you need to be DYNAMIC, open the server, send invites to play via forum. Watch it become alive.

I agree with Hunter on the first page, if you try to hard to make people play games they don't like they will become hostile and bad things will happen to friendships. So just accept that some will play and some will not.. You are not abandoning them, you will still play swat 4 together. Just not Arma 2.
You do not need a brand new community for Arma 2, Keep it small, simple and expand the members list of ETS over time. If you make it very complicated process to play other games then the situation will only become worse as people begin to argue and fight about small details that at the moment don't matter. Once the server is open and you send invites to members/friends, if no one plays the game or joins the server, simply close it after 1 month or 2 and start fresh with a new game..