ARMA 2 Patch 1.03 Released

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Now on FileShack is patch 1.03 for Bohemia Interactive's battlefield simulator ARMA II, improving the AI and bringing many fixes to campaign, multiplayer and co-op play.

Highlights include toning down the AI's cat-like hearing, autosave logic which avoids saving at unsafe times, crash and stutter fixes, and improved building destruction.

While the patch is only 135MB, Bohemia says Steam installations will face a 4.3GB download due to an issue with Steam's patcher. The changelog follows:

Engine

  • New: Functions getPosATL and setPosATL to allow controlling position relative to terrain.
  • New: command line option -showScriptErrors introduced to show errors in scripts on-screen
  • New: Direct analogue throttle and brake for airplanes now available.
  • New: More flexible configuration of Flares in the config (brightness, size)
  • New: Mission name (with
  • indicated unsaved work) displayed in the mission editor
  • New: Keyboard shortcuts in the mission editor
  • Improved: better handling of gravitation for shots (esp. for grenades)
  • Improved: Building destruction
  • Improved: Better airplane HUD visibility both night and day
  • Optimization: Reduced frame stutter near map borders.
  • Hotfix: Players are forced to reconnect after MP Load on server.
  • Fixed: no particles effect when hit object with destructNo
  • Fixed: grenade could destroy a building just by impact
  • Fixed: grenades may explode only on the final impact
  • Fixed: when a grenade bounces on a ship deck, the proper particle effects is shown now
  • Fixed: missiles should pass through vegetation
  • Fixed: Player connected to loaded game was sometimes frozen.
  • Fixed: Game crashed when launched on a system with more then 8 CPUs/cores.
  • Fixed: Possible crash with laser designator active.
  • Fixed: Sometimes crew of a close vehicle was visible through the vehicle.
  • Fixed: Infinite looping of commands 'Stop' in radio.
  • Fixed: Leaning 'limits' do not work in TrackIR.
  • Fixed: Clients were often endlessly stuck in 'Receiving...' window after MP Load.
  • Fixed: Rainbow could be visible even with sun below horizon.
  • Fixed: 3D Editor - civilian and resistance units did not work correctly
  • Fixed: Sea surface was not rendered in NE area out of map.
  • Fixed: Terrain surface was sometimes using wrong parallax map.
  • Fixed: Grenade could sometimes destroy a building just by impact
  • Fixed: Radio messages sometimes echoed
  • Fixed: Team switch did not work when player died
  • Fixed: Reduced AI detecting slowly moving enemy vehicles by ear.
  • Fixed: Prevent killed AI units reporting who killed them.
  • Fixed: After respawn in MP, player's tasks, diary content and skills are transferred to the new entity
  • Fixed: Leaning 'limits' did not work with TrackIR
  • Fixed: MP client frozen in Receiving... screen sometimes
  • Fixed: Problems with saving and loading games in cooperative campaign
Missions
  • Fixes and improvements in most of the campaign missions (Into the Storm, Harvest Red, Bitter Chill, Manhattan, Badlands, Dogs of War)
  • Improved: autosave logic to not save when it was not safe
  • Improved: Eye for an Eye in Scenarios
Modules
  • Fixed: Warfare fast travel on clients was not using logistic values
  • Fixed: Warfare money sending
  • Fixed: Warfare HQ multiple reports
  • Fixed: First-Aid: Action module caused healing scripts to run twice
  • Fixed: Supply drop not ending (wrong vehicle class)
  • New: First-Aid modules work with respawn
  • New: First-Aid ability to stop healing
  • New: Added ability to add Support Requests that do not expire.
  • Improved: First-Aid modules more robust and faster
  • Improved: Better support for side Resistance in SOM / ACM.
Data
  • Fixed: Invisible driver in UAZ (MG and GL)
  • Fixed: AI soldiers were able to hear extremely well
  • Fixed: various minor problems on buildings
  • Fixed: rocks destruction effect changed
  • Fixed: penetrability of some vegetation
  • Fixed: collision geometry of A_BuildingWIP
  • Fixed: react FSM core conversations
  • Fixed: cargo animations in LAV25
  • Fixed: indicators in Ka52 when using NVG
  • Fixed: cargo animations in BTR
  • Fixed: Warfare keypoint on Chernarus
From The Chatty
  • reply
    August 6, 2009 2:54 AM

    Quoting a dev


    "Hi everyone, the dedicated server exe will be relased later today hopefully. Please, be patient and stay tuned.

    And, at last: please, don't blame us for the steam update. As it was mentioned on several places and threads it's a Steam issue. Instead of downloading just the difference data to be replaced inside of your pbo's (normal D/L update does this exactly), Steam users must download the whole pbo's and files affected be the update, which is about 4.3gigs in total.

    By the way, we have the response from Steam, that they plan to implement more sophisticated method of updating games to avoid such situations."

    • reply
      August 6, 2009 3:07 AM

      Thanks, I was looking for the post where I saw BI say that but got lost in the 30-page thread.

    • reply
      August 6, 2009 4:16 AM

      Steam (and similar game download platforms) are the antithesis to broadband bandwidth caps. And that's not saying something bad about them, but about broadband bandwidth caps.

      • reply
        August 6, 2009 4:57 AM

        It's funny to see people (mostly aussies) complaining about the steam patch in the forums, saying how it will consume half their badnwith cap of the month.

        I mean, hell, if you only have 9 GB/month, WHAT THE HECK ARE YOU DOING BUYING MODERN GAMES IN STEAM???

        • reply
          August 6, 2009 5:11 AM

          Actually don't the Aussies tend to get the game by retail much later than everyone else?

          • reply
            August 6, 2009 6:16 AM

            Correct. It's not uncommon to have games released 2-4 months later in Australia, so quite often Steam is the only option for people hanging out for a game. Don't blame us, blame our fucking incompetent / price gouging telcos for our stone-age internet infrastructure.

            I guess living in the UK does have the odd perk here and there.. *pats his 50mb cable*

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