America's Army 2.4 è OUT!

[Psiche]

Una nuova versione di America's Army: Special Forces è disponibile (link locale US - 855Mb ) Questa release aggiunge nuove "Special Forces multiplayer missions" titolate Courtyard, PCR (Precious Cargo Recovery), Blizzard e WaterTreatment, due nuove armi, l'upgrade all'Unreal Engine 2.5 ed alcuni bug fixes.
Non è disponibile alcuna patch di aggiornamento per la ver. 2.3, questo è dovuto al passaggio verso il nuovo engine



Readme della ver. 2.4:

America's Army: Special Forces (Q-Course)
Release Notes (Version 2.4.0)

What's new

New Multiplayer Missions
------------------------------------------------------------

Included in this version of America's Army are four new
Special Forces multiplayer missions. Two of these new
missions contain both the Special Forces playable Soldier
class, as well as the Indigenous Forces playable class.
The other two new missions are 'SF Exclusive'containing
only the Special Forces playable Soldier class.

- SF Courtyard: (SF & IF)

A daytime rural village mission where players must
question informants to find the location of a laptop
computer containing information about terrorist
operatives. Once secured, the Assault team must then
reach the extraction point with this laptop. The other
team is on Defense trying to prevent the other team from
securing and extracting with the laptop. This mission's
spawn points, NPC objectives, laptop objective, and
extraction points - are all randomly selected each round.
This mission includes the following new v2.4 features:
Random Spawn Points, Random Objectives, Inventory
Objectives, and Door Breachers.

- SF PCR (Precious Cargo Recovery): (SF & IF)

A night urban mission where both teams must race to
retrieve a briefcase containing sensitive information
about terrorist operatives. Each team must locate and
secure this one briefcase and then carry it to their
extraction point successfully. The team that successfully
extracts with the briefcase in-hand wins! This mission's
spawn points, briefcase objective, and extraction points
(1 per team) - are all randomly selected each round. This
mission includes the following new v2.4 features: Random
Spawn Points, Random Objectives, Inventory Objectives,
and Bunker Defeating Munitions (BDM).

- SF Blizzard: (SF Exclusive)

A night mission set in a snowy Alpine forest environment
where soldiers must gain entry and assault a remote enemy
compound. This map has 2 different objective scenarios
which are randomly selected each round. In one scenario
the soldiers must either destroy or protect the electrical
power station. The alternate scenario requires the
soldiers to either deactivate or protect the radio
communications equipment. This mission includes the
following new v2.4 features: Random Spawn Points,
Random Objectives, Door Breachers, and Bunker
Defeating Munitions (BDM).

- SF WaterTreatment: (SF Exclusive)

A night urban mission where players must either protect or
secure containers of radiological material stored in
various locations within an urban complex. The Assaulting
team must gain entry to the building, locate and secure
the radioactive material container, and then reach the
extraction point successfully with this container. The
Defending team must protect and prevent extraction of this
sensitive container. This mission includes the following
new v2.4 features: Random Spawn Points, Random
Objectives, and Inventory Objectives.


New Weapons
------------------------------------------------------------

- M141 Bunker Defeat Munitions (BDM):

The M141 BDM, or Bunker Defeat Munitions, is a shoulder-
fired rocket designed to defeat fortified positions,
bunkers, and light armor. The BDM is given to the 18C SF
MOS Soldier (Engineering Sgt.) but can be used by any
member of the SF A-Team (ODA). The BDM can be used
anywhere, but will have specific targets designed as
objectives or obstacles. These specific targets will be
identified by a HUD message that will appear when the
player's crosshair moves over the object. The BDM in our
new v2.4 missions can be an advantageous tool to use in
order to tactically and efficiently gain entry into the
enemy's compound.

- AGP-DB14 Door Breacher:

The Door Breacher is an explosive device designed to make
entry on locked or un-operable doors. Another
MOS-specific weapon, the DB will be issued only to the
18C SF MOS Soldier (Engineering Sgt.). The Door Breacher
will be usable on designated locked doors in the new
missions. The player will be able to identify valid
targets by a 'Breachable' message that will appear on
the player's HUD. The Door Breaching in our new v2.4
missions can be an advantageous tool to use in order
to tactically and efficiently gain entry into enemy
restricted areas.


New Features
------------------------------------------------------------

- Updated Game Engine:

The entire America's Army game is now running on an
updated version of the Unreal Engine - Unreal Engine 2.5.
This updated engine code base provides several
enhancements to the game engine in several areas,
including efficiency (optimizations), security,
stability, bug fixes, new gameplay feature
infrastructure, etc.

- Updated User Interface:

As part of the new engine code base update, many new
user interface specific enhancements were implemented.
The v2.4 User Interface has been overhauled 'under the
hood' to take advantage of these new engine optimizations
and functionality. The game's new UI will look very
similar, however it will run much more efficiently and
utilize some of the new features of the new engine.

- Random Player Starts:

In v2.4 players will start randomly between
predetermined locations on the new levels. This allows
for a more dynamic and realistic game experience,
increasing replayability and helping to limit the
predictability of enemy placement and routes. Random
Player Starts will also enhance the current game by
putting more emphasis on strategy rather than the
memorization of map geometry. It will also reduce the
negative impact of exploits such as grenade spamming.

- Random Objective Locations:

In v2.4 the location of objectives will change for
each round, and can move around between any number of
possible positions. With the addition of random
objectives, the locations change from one round to the
next, forcing the need for both Assault and Defense
teams to search for the objective. This new feature
promotes replayablilty, and helps to enhance strategy
over predictability in game play.

- Inventory Objective Type:

v2.4 features an all new objective type in which
objectives can be transportable in maps (via a player's
inventory), requiring their delivery to specified
locations. These 'inventory objectives' can be picked up,
dropped (upon death), and passed on to other teammates.
Inventory objectives provide a new style of objective-
based game play by adding another dimension to objective
completion. These objectives must be picked up and taken
to a specific location in order to be considered complete.
If a player dies while carrying one of these objectives,
it drops, and must be retrieved by another teammate to
continue the mission. Inventory Objectives can be passed
on to teammates by using the action key on a teammate
(just like healing a teammate). These objective types also
take advantage of random objectives, by moving the drop
point/pickup point of the inventory objective to different
locations from one round to another.

- NPC Conversation Objective Type:

This feature allows a qualified player to help their team
by speaking with the NPC (Non-Playable Characters) placed
randomly around the level to gain intelligence about the
whereabouts of the mission's main objectives. Talking with
the NPC's will help the team locate the randomly placed
objectives in the level. Once a qualified player speaks to
an NPC in the level, the mission's main objective location
will show up on their team's HUD compass as normal.

- Special Forces A-Team Videos:

Included with this release of America's Army are all new
Special Forces informational videos. These 7 videos
describe each SF MOS (Military Occupational Specialty) in
detail as well as show some exclusive footage of the
Special Forces A-Team members in action. There is one
video for each member in the standard Special Forces ODA
(Operational Detachment Alpha - or 'A-Team'). These 7 SF
MOS team members are as follows:

18A - Detachment Commander
18B - Weapons Sergeant
18C - Engineering Sergeant
18D - Medical Sergeant
18E - Communications Sergeant
18F - Intel Sergeant
18Z - Team Sergeant

These videos are included in the v2.4.0 Full Install and
can be accessed using the desktop shortcut created or by
navigating to the 'America's Army\System\Videos' directory
and double clicking the 'SF_A-Team_Videos.exe' file.


What's fixed

This v2.4 release of America's Army contains a substantial
number of other miscellaneous enhancements.

Included in these are enhancements to the following areas:
security, authentication, optimization, and much more.

v2.4 also contains a whole host of exploit fixes, bug fixes,
and other miscellaneous fixes.

Known Issues

None



America's Army: Special Forces (Firefight)
Release Notes (Version 2.3.0)

============================================================================
What's new (Overview)
============================================================================

- 2 new multiplayer missions: Urban Assault and Woodland Outpost.

- All new Tournament Mode providing full support for
America's Army competitive gaming.

- The America's Army Server Manager: A new application
which provides an easy user-friendly interface for
configuring, launching, and monitoring your America's
Army game server (LAN, Internet, and Tournaments).

- Many new security enhancements and protections integrated
into the game (client, server, and back-end).

Please see below for more detailed descriptions of the
new v2.3 features.

NOTE: If this AA version was patched to v2.3.0 from v2.2.1,
you must run the 'AASM 1-0 Setup.exe' file to
install the America's Army Server Manager
application. This file can be found in the
root 'America's Army' directory.

============================================================================
What's new (Detail)
============================================================================

------------------------------------------------------------
New Multiplayer Missions
------------------------------------------------------------

Included in this version of America's Army are two new
multiplayer missions. Both of these new missions were
designed with our new Tournament Mode in mind in terms of
map balance, objectives, and quick action. These two missions
are also the first Infantry and Ranger missions since
'Mountain Pass SE' in v1.9.0.

- Woodland Outpost:

Enemy forces have established a remote woodland outpost
from which to launch reconnaissance patrols and
conduct ambushes. This guerilla outpost rests in a valley
surrounded by rocky woodland terrain. The enemy command
tent is centrally located within the camp. A squad
from the 75th Ranger Regiment must perform reconnaissance
of the area in order to identify the location of the
guerilla command tent. Once identified, they must then
assault the command post to prep and destroy the enemy
weapons depot.

- Urban Assault:

A coalition convoy was raided and the cargo was stolen.
It has been confirmed that the insurgents and the cargo
are based in a residential area of the city. Due to the
dense urban nature of the area it will be necessary to
do a house by house assault on foot. A squad from the
172nd Sep. Infantry BDE must conduct an assault to take
and hold objectives cargo ALPHA and BRAVO. Once
objectives are captured wait for arrival of friendly
reinforcements to transport cargo.


------------------------------------------------------------
New Tournament Mode
------------------------------------------------------------

Version 2.3.0 of America's Army features an all new tournament
server mode. This new Tournament Mode was designed to provide
a new user-friendly system for configuring and facilitating
America's Army tournaments and competitive team matches.

Within the America's Army community there are over 650
organized teams (often called `clans') , each of whom prides
themselves on how they play the game as an organized group,
rather than as individuals. Head-to-Head competitive gameplay
is central to the team experience. Conducting America's Army
Tournaments, by LAN and over the Internet, has become the
means of furthering team identity and esprit de corps.

America's Army Tournament Mode will provide teams, individual
server administrators, and third-party gaming organizations
(like TWL, CAL and CPL) with simple yet flexible tools for
creating and managing Tournaments. All tools will be
accessible through a combination of in-game graphical user
interface (GUI) and an external Server Management Application
(AASM).

Throughout this README file, we will be using the
following acronyms:

TM - Tournament Mode
TA - Tournament Administrator
TC - Team Captain
GUI - Graphical User Interface
AASM - America's Army Server Manager

NOTE 1: Please see the Tournament Mode Guide included in the
game installation for further details and instructions.

NOTE 2: It is suggested to use the new America's Army Server
Manager (AASM) for setting up and configuring your tournament.

The new features of 'America's Army Tournament Mode' are
described in detail below:


- New Team Captain Feature:
------------------------------------------------------------

Team Captains (TC) are a new player status unique to
Tournament Mode. TCs are the Tournament team's respective
leaders. They are responsible for making sure the teams are
set up properly as well as indicating when their team is
ready to start the tournament.

Any player on a tournament team can choose to be a TC by
selecting the 'Team Captain' checkbox on the Team Roster Page.
This grants the following attributes and abilities:

1. TCs can either allow their team's players to individually
select their own player class roles, or the TC can select
the LOCK button on the Team Roster Page to lock out any
other team members from selecting player class roles
themselves. If they choose to select the LOCK checkbox,
the TC is the only one who can assign team roles.

2. TCs can enter their team's name into a text box located
on the Team Roster Page.

3. TCs are responsible for pushing the READY button for
the TC to use to signal that his team is ready to start the
tournament. The tournament (or planning phase) will start
when both TCs have pushed this READY button.

4. TCs are represented by the color blue (as opposed to
Admins who are red). The TC's name will appear in blue on
both the main Scoreboard and the Team Roster Page. TC's
chat text in the console will also appear in blue when
using the Command Chat system (see below in Command Chat
section).

5. TCs can use the Tournament Command Chat system for
communicating to other TAs or TCs.


- New Tournament Team Select Page:
------------------------------------------------------------

This GUI page is the normal Team Select page with some
specific TM enhancements described below:

1. Team Passwords:
Teams can set specific passwords which would be required to
join a specific team (see below in TM Server Configurations
section). These passwords can be entered by players on this
Team Select GUI page. If team passwords have not been
specified, the player selects their team as normal. If the
player joins the server via the console command with the
correct team password included, that player will automatically
join the correct team upon server connection.

2. Team Names:
Teams can now set a name for their team. These team names can
be specified in two ways; team names can be filled out prior
to the TM server launch via the server configuration
settings, or they can be filled out in-game by the TCs or
TAs on the Team Roster Page (GUI).

3. Random Team Assignment:
Teams can be randomly assigned to a side (assault or defense)
at the beginning of the tournament. If this setting is
enabled, then the Home and Away teams will be randomly
assigned to a side. If this setting is disabled (the default
setting), the Home Team will always start on the
Defense/Ambush side.


- New Tournament Team Roster Page:
------------------------------------------------------------

This GUI page shows the entire team roster along with all of
the corresponding player class roles that are available on
the particular mission. This page functions as an interface
to set up and configure your team prior to the tournament
start.

On this page, the user can select to be the TC if that team
role is not already filled.

If the user IS NOT the Team Captain:

If the TC LOCK is not enabled, the player will be able to
select their own player class role in which to play the
tournament (i.e. Rifleman, Grenadier, etc.) as well as
being able to select if they want to be a medic. If the TC
LOCK is enabled - the user can only watch as the TC assigns
all the player class roles for the entire team. The user can
still select to be a medic however. It is suggested that the
user pay attention to the console chat if not a TC.

If the user IS the Team Captain:

The TC has the option of selecting the TC LOCK in order
to lock the player class role selections so that only
the TC can assign player class roles for their team. If the
TC LOCK is not enabled, the team members can select their
own player class roles individually. The TC always has the
ability to `swap' players class roles as he sees fit
(regardless of the TC LOCK). The TC is also responsible for
entering the Tournament Team Name (the name of their team)
into a text box on this UI page.

When players are being assigned to their player class role
(by the TC or themselves), only one player can be assigned
to a role at a time. This player is always the player who's
name is listed at the top of the player list on the right
pane of this Team Roster Page. The players must be assigned
from top to bottom on this list of players.

NOTE: Depending on the TM server configuration setting,
either all player class roles in the particular map will be
available to select from or only the default player class
roles set by the player count.


- New Tournament Tab Page:
-------------------------------------------------------------

This is the GUI page completely unique to tournaments and is
only visible when running a server in Tournament Mode. This
GUI page tab is available for viewing to everyone involved in
the tournament process, all players, spectators, and Admins.
This page is the central hub of all information relating to
the tournament at hand. However, only TAs and TCs can utilize
the additional functionality on this page.

This page contains the following components:

A pane showing all of the pertinent tournament information
and configuration settings.

A pane showing all of the relevant buttons in which
TAs and TCs can use to administer the tournament. These
buttons are only visible to TAs and TCs. These buttons are
dynamic and become usable (or change function) based on the
current state of the tournament. For TAs, these buttons
function immediately after the initial button push is
confirmed by a dialogue box that pops up asking the TA to
confirm their selection. However, for TCs, these buttons
must be confirmed by both TCs prior to functioning. These
dynamic function buttons are listed below:

1. Start/Restart Planning button - Pressing this button will
start or restart the planning phase immediately.

2. Start/Restart Match button - Pressing this button will
start or restart the match immediately. This Restart Match
button can be pushed at any time and the server will
instantly restart the match beginning with the pre-match
setup (Team Roster Page).

3. Pause/Resume Tournament button - Pressing this button
will pause the tournament until Resume is pressed. While
the game is paused, the game will unlock so that substitute
players can join the appropriate team. NOTE: The tournament
can only actually be paused in between rounds not during
gameplay. So if this button is pressed it will queue a pause
for after the current round ends.

4. Swap Teams button - this is displayed at all times.
Pressing this button will automatically swap the teams to the
opposite side and then display the Team Roster Page for
everyone. The teams can only actually be swapped in between
rounds not during gameplay. So if this button is pressed
during play it will queue a swap for after the current round
ends.


- New Tournament Admin Functionality:
-------------------------------------------------------------

The Tournament Administrator (TA) is very similar to the
current `SuperAdmin' already in the game with these 2 major
differences:

1. The TA is not a silent admin - their connection to the
server is announced to all and their name is visible on the
Scoreboard (listed in red).
2. The TA has the same unique abilities as the TC.

Setting up a server to allow a TA is done the same way as
the current SuperAdmin. The TM server will detect the
regular SuperAdmin password and automatically set them as
a TA. NOTE: TAs are purely tournament administrators and
cannot play in the tournament. TAs also will only take up
an ADMIN player slot, not a SPECTATOR slot.

When a TA joins a TM server a message is broadcasted to
everyone on the server that a TA has joined the tournament
via a message pop-up.

TAs are represented by the color red (as opposed to TCs
who are blue). The TA's name will appear in red on
the main scoreboard. TA's chat text in the console will
also appear in red.

The TA has several abilities which can be accessed on the
Team Roster Page. During tournament setup, the TA will be
able to set up each team manually as though he were the TC
for both teams. The TA can look at each team's roster and
setup by changing the team view on the Team Roster Page
using the team pulldown box to select a team to view.
TAs also have the following abilities on the Team Roster
Page:

1. TAs can either allow their team's players to individually
select their own player class roles, or the TA can select
the LOCK button on the Team Roster Page to lock out any
other team members from selecting player class roles
themselves. If they choose to select the LOCK checkbox,
the TA or TC is the only one who can assign team roles.

2. TAs may enter the teams' names into a text box located
on the Team Roster Page. NOTE: This team name text box is
only visible to the TC and TA.

3. TAs can push the READY button (same functionality as the
TC READY button) to signal that each team is set and ready
to start the tournament or planning phase. There will be
an indication that the team is ready for both teams.

TAs can use the Command Chat system (see below in Command
Chat section). for communicating to other TAs or TCs.

The TA also has several unique abilities which can be
accessed on the Tournament Tab Page. All of these buttons
are visible to TAs and TCs. These buttons are dynamic and
become usable (or change function) based on the current
state of the tournament.

The TA can access all of the regular SuperAdmin commands
available through the Command Post (see the game manual).

During play the TA will have the same abilities of a
normal SuperAdmin. They can watch the action from any
spectating viewpoints or from any player.


- New Tournament Command Chat Feature:
-------------------------------------------------------------

Both TAs and TCs can chat via a new Command Chat feature.
This new chat feature allows all TAs and TCs to communicate
to each other at any time during the tournament. This chat
system will only broadcast messages to TAs and TCs. This
will help with coordinating the administration of the
tournament by those in command. All text displayed when
using this Command Chat will be shown in blue. This command
chat can be accessed by either a TC or a TA by using the
following console commands:

csay <insert tournament command chat message here>
For example:
csay I am just waiting on one more player until I hit ready

NOTE: This csay console command can be bound to a key for
quick use.


- New Swap Teams Feature:
-------------------------------------------------------------

This feature allows the TM server to automatically (or
manually) switch all players to the opposite team - or `swap'
teams. This feature is useful in tournaments where it is
standard practice to have both teams play both sides of any
given map. This feature can be activated in two ways:

By setting the Swap Limit setting in the server
configuration file. This setting is the number of rounds
which take place before the tournament teams are swapped.

By having the TA or both TCs select the `Swap Teams' button
on the Tournament Tab UI page.


- New Mission Planning Phase Feature:
-------------------------------------------------------------

The Mission Planning Phase is a feature unique to Tournament
Mode that allows both teams to spawn into the game before the
tournament officially starts in order to do the following:

1. To allow the players to run through the map for the first
time to preload the specific map's textures into their video
card RAM. This reduces the risk of pauses or other
interruptions that may be caused by caching occurring during
live tournament play.
2. To do any pre-match communication or planning in the
specific tournament map.
3. To run through the current map in order to get their
bearings and preview the map before the tournament starts.

The planning phase plays just like the normal game except for
the following restrictions:

1. No damage will be taken by any players.
2. Flashbangs will have no effect on any players.
3. No one can take objectives and end the round during the
planning phase.
4. The teams are LOCKED, no other players can join a team and
no further team setup changes can take place.

Tournaments running in TM do not always have a planning phase.
This is a configuration option setting for the TM server.
The planning duration time is also a configurable TM
server setting.

The planning phase can be restarted manually by the
TA or by mutual agreement of both TCs. Once planning phase
ends, there will be a 10 second countdown until the
tournament starts.


- New Tournament Mode Server Configurations:
-------------------------------------------------------------

In order to run a America's Army server in Tournament Mode,
the following server configuration settings can be set by
the AASM or manually in the server configuration file:

1. Run the server in Tournament Mode - this setting sets the
server to run in Tournament Mode. NOTE: This setting has to
be set in the server configuration file before the server
launch and cannot be done by a Tournament Admin in-game.

2. TM server password - this setting sets the TM server
password. This is the password required to join the TM
server. This password is separate from the team password.
This TM server password is not required, but it is suggested.

3. Allow Team Captains - this setting sets whether or not the
tournament will allow TC (and their abilities) to function on
the TM server.

4. Number of rounds in a match - this setting sets the number
of rounds that make up the tournament.

5. Tie Rules - determines whether:
a. ties are allowed
b. ties are broken by score
c. ties are broken by sudden death
d. b, then c if needed

6. EndEx Rule - this setting sets whether or not the `EndEx
Rule' (End of Exercise) is in effect during the tournament.
This setting determines if the tournament is over when one
team has mathematically eliminated the other team from the
possibility of winning.

7. Swap Limit setting - this setting sets the swap limit
setting. This swap limit is the number of rounds before the
teams are swapped (switched sides). If the Swap Limit is set
to 0, the teams will never swap unless manually swapped by a
TA.

8. Swap Time setting - this setting sets the swap time
allowed by the tournament. This swap time is the number of
seconds each team or TC has in order to set up their team's
player class roles after a team swap. Once this time has
expired, the teams rosters will lock and the tournament will
continue.

9. RequestDelayTime - this request delay time setting sets
the number of seconds after a TC makes a request until that
TC can make another request.

10. Mission Planning Phase duration - this setting sets the
planning duration time of the tournament (in minutes). If the
planning time is set to 0, there will not be a mission
planning phase.

11. Team passwords - this setting sets the individual Team
Passwords. These are the passwords required to join a
specific team. If no passwords are set, then players will not
need to enter a password to join either team.

12. Team names - These are the names of both the Home Team
and the Away Team. These names can be filled out prior to the
TM server launch in the server configuration file, or they
can be filled out in-game by the TCs or TAs on the Team Roster
Page.

13. Random team assignment - This is a setting to determine
if the teams will be randomly assigned to a side (assault or
defense) at the beginning of the tournament. If this setting
is enabled, then the Home and Away teams will be randomly
assigned to a side. If this setting is disabled (the default
setting), the Home Team will always start on Defense
(currently `team1').

14. Tournament Admin password - this setting sets the
TA password. This is the password required to join the TM
server as a TA.

15. Round Delay Time - this setting sets the round delay time
which is the amount of time (seconds) in between each round.
The TC can make team player class role adjustments during
this time on the Team Roster Page. However, when this round
delay time expires, the next round will start and any player
unassigned will be automatically assigned to a player class
role by the server.

16. Player Class Roles Availability - this setting sets
whether or not the teams will be able to select any player
class role available on the map regardless of player count or
only just the player class roles available based on the
number of players on the team (default).

17. Scoreboard Display Settings - this setting sets the rules
for when the tournament scoreboard is displayed. This setting
can be set to run the tournament scoreboard in one of 4
different ways; always on, always off, at the end of every
round, or only at the end of the tournament.

NOTE: It is suggested to use the new America's Army Server
Manager (AASM) for setting up and configuring your tournament.


- New Tournament Victory Settings:
-------------------------------------------------------------

There are many conditions associated with how Victory is
declared during a tournament running in Tournament Mode.

The basic premise is that the tournament is set for a finite
number of rounds and the team to win the most rounds is the
tournament winner. However, there are some unique situations
that require some additional considerations in order to
determine the tournament winner - such as a tie or the `EndEx
rule'.

Forfeit:

If all the members of one team disconnect during a
tournament, that team forfeits the tournament.

The `EndEx Rule':

The `EndEx Rule' (End of Exercise) is when one team has
mathematically eliminated the other team from the possibility
of winning. A simple case of this would be a tournament set
for 10 rounds. If any team wins 6 rounds before the 10th
round, that team is instantly declared the tournament winner
due to the EndEx Rule. After one team had won 6 rounds, it
is impossible for the other team to win the tournament. The
EndEx Rule is a server configuration setting that can be set
by the server host in the server configuration file prior to
the TM server launch.

`Tie' Conditions:

There exist four separate tie condition possibilities -
whether or not to allow a tie, to break a tie by score, to
break a tie by sudden death, or to break a tie by score first
then sudden death (if still tied on score).

Tiebreak by Score:

If the option to break a tie by the total team score is
enabled, the total accumulated score for each team will be
compared. The total accumulated team score will be determined
by adding up all of the individual team members' score. The
team with the highest total team score will be declared the
tournament winner. If the teams have the same total score,
the tournament will be declared a tie.

Tiebreak by Sudden Death:

If the option to break a tie by going to sudden death is
enabled, the teams will again face off one round at a time
on the same map. If a `swap limit' has been set in the server
configuration settings (i.e. the teams have been swapping
during the tournament), then for the first sudden death
round, the teams side will be randomly chosen. If the `swap
limit' is 0, the teams will stay on the same sides as they
were currently on.

The teams will again go to the Team Roster Page and team
setups will take place. The teams will then play the first
sudden death round. If the teams are still in a tie after
this round, the teams will again swap sides and go back to
the Team Roster Page for team setups. This process will
continue (swapping after every sudden death round) until a
tournament winner can be declared at which time the
tournament is over.

Tiebreak by Score then Sudden Death:

If the option to break a tie by the total team score is
enabled, the total accumulated score for each team will be
compared. The total accumulated team score will be determined
by adding up all of the individual team members score. The
team with the highest total team score will be declared the
tournament winner. If the teams have the same total score,
the tournament will then go into sudden death (see above).


- New 'Output Tournament Results to Log' Feature:
-------------------------------------------------------------

Once the tournament is over and a winner (or tie) has been
declared - the game will output a text log file to the
`Tournament Results' folder (a new folder located in the
`America's Army' directory) for everyone who is connected
to the TM server and the TM server itself.

This text log file should contain the following information:

1. The final results listed by team name and number of rounds
won by each team.
2. The total scores for each team
3. All of the individual scores per player, separated by
teams. This includes not only the player's total score but
also their score category breakdown (i.e. Scoreboard data).
4. A list of all players, admins, spectators present during
the tournament (even if they were only present for some of the
time).
5. All of the TM server configuration settings in place
during this tournament.

These results will get saved in a new folder entitled
'Tournament Results' in your 'America's Army' directory.


- New 'Upload Tournament Results' Feature:
-------------------------------------------------------------

Once the tournament is over and a winner (or tie) has been
declared - the game will upload the results of the tournament
to the Auth Database.

Once the data is stored in the Auth Database, this data can
be pulled from the Auth DB and displayed on a `Tournament
Results' webpage for community viewing (coming soon).


- Tournament Mode Disabled Server Settings:
-------------------------------------------------------------

When running a server in Tournament Mode, several of the
server settings usually working on the normal servers will be
disabled for tournaments. These features are disabled either
to reduce tournament disruptions or to prevent any tampering
with a fair tournament environment. The settings that will be
disabled while running a TM server are as follows:

1. ROE kick settings (including ROE limit) - All server
kicking of any kind will be disabled in a TM server (except
admin kicks by a Tournament Admin).
2. Idle kick settings - All server kicking of any kind will
be disabled in a TM server (except admin kicks by a
tournament Admin).
3. Vote kick settings - All server kicking of any kind will
be disabled in a TM server (except admin kicks by a
Tournament Admin).
4. Autobalance settings - Autobalance automatically balances
the number of players on each team after every round and
match. This feature will be disabled in a TM server to
eliminate the chance that this setting would alter the
team's manual setups.
5. Cheats settings - Cheats will be disabled in TM no matter
what setting is set for them in the server configuration
file.
6. `PlayerAdmin' settings - The PlayerAdmin functionality
will be disabled for servers running in TM. If a player is
listed as a PlayerAdmin in the server's configuration file,
they can still join the server - but they will not be a
PlayerAdmin.


------------------------------------------------------------
New 'America's Army Server Manager'
------------------------------------------------------------

The America's Army Server Manager (AASM) is a separate
application from the physical game. AASM is a wizard-based
tool that provides an intuitive way to easily configure,
launch and manage an America's Army server or tournament.

AASM is designed to be the user's 'one-stop shopping'
solution to configuring, maintaining, monitoring, and
launching an America's Army server. The AASM will walk
the user through all the many server configuration settings
step-by-step ultimately launching the server for play.

AASM also provides tools allowing server administrators to
remotely control access to their America's Army game servers;
customers can stop, start, configure, and administer their
server remotely.

Below are just some of the many features built into the new
America's Army Server Manager:

NOTE: Please see the AASM Manual included in the AASM
installation for further details and instructions.

1. Easy to understand "wizard" to help create standard game
server configuration files.
2. Easy to understand "wizard" to help create tournament game
server configuration files.
3. Interface to every AA game server configuration option for
standard and tournament server configurations so "expert"
users can tweak their setups as needed.
4. Supports creating LAN, Global (Internet), LAN Tournament,
and Internet Tournament server configurations.
5. Provides user with an easy way to run an America's Army
game server on their local PC.
6. AASM provides both server side and an integrated remote
control utility to remotely control America's Army game
servers running on remote Windows PC's. Support includes
remote controlling multiple remote PC's.
7. Allows for saving of specific server configurations for
use later or for sharing with the community.
8. Listing and viewing PunkBuster screen shot files.
9. Listing and viewing PunkBuster log files.
10. Viewing AA game server's console output remotely (via
AASM interface).
11. Starting and Stopping remote AA game server.
12. Automatically restarting the AA game server following a
server crash.
13. Creating unique log files each time the AA game server is
started.
14. Provides tools for sharing server setups between multiple
users of AASM when two or more users are managing a remote PC
(as might be the case when a "clan" owns a server).
15. Displays current gameplay statistics.
16. Advanced feature allows tracking game server crashes as
well as server "uptime".
17. Supports using multiple remote control utility program
instances on the remote PC so remote PC can host multiple
game servers with each being unique from each other.
18. Provides user with an easy way to start their local AA
game client to join the game as either an Administrator or
Player.
19. Server Remote Control communication is done via an SSL
socket to provide secure encrypted communications.
20. Provides support for e-mailing created server
configuration files so someone can create the files and then
easily let another person that is hosting an America's Army
game server use those created configuration files. A feature
is also included so two AASM users can easily e-mail setups
to each other and import the server configuration received
into their AASM.
21. Provides tools for managing every server configuration
created including organizing them by tournaments they are
associated with, number of players, maps, and type of server
configuration.
22. Allows copying of existing server configurations.
23. Customizable user interface.
24. Allows associating custom descriptions with each server
configuration so user is never confused as to the purpose of
a server configuration.
25. Includes two "Getting Started" guides - one for local
AASM client use and one for configuring the Remote Control
server utility.
26. Includes detailed context sensitive help including an
explanation of every server option available.

This AASM application is included in the game installation
package. The AA installer will place a shortcut to AASM
on your desktop when the game is installed.


------------------------------------------------------------
Security Enhancements
------------------------------------------------------------

This version of America's Army contains several security
enhancements designed to help ensure that America's Army is
enjoyed on a level playing field. 'Fairplay' is very
important to everyone on the America's Army Project Team.

Several security enhancements/protections in this version
were developed not only in the game client and server but
also in the Authentication DB (back-end) as well.

Most of the details of our new security enhancements will not
be listed for the public domain. However, the following
'exploits/cheats' have been fixed:

1. The 'Rapid-fire 203 round' exploit
2. The 'CPU Speed' exploit
3. The 'Name Change' exploit
4. The 'HONOR Hack'
5. The 'Unofficial Honor Gaining Server' exploit
...and many more.

A change was also made to not allow players to join a game
server until their PunkBuster software is up to date. Players
will be allowed to spectate from a fixed viewpoint until
their PunkBuster updates (typically in under two minutes) and
while they are spectating they are alerted to the fact that
PunkBuster is still trying to authorize or update itself.

The America's Army development team is committed to keeping
our game as cheat/exploit free as possible. We will be
continuing to make security enhancements in every release. We
want to thank the community for their patience and support as
we 'keep up the good fight.'


------------------------------------------------------------
Known Issues
------------------------------------------------------------

- As an Administrator on a server in Tournament Mode, it may be
necessary to hit the F2 key twice to refresh the drop down
team select menu on the Roster page.



America's Army: Special Forces (Vanguard)
Release Notes (Version 2.2)

==========================================================================
What's new
==========================================================================


New Multiplayer Missions
------------------------------------------------------------

Included in this version of America's Army are two new
multiplayer missions. Both of these new missions are
Special Forces missions containing both the Special Forces
playable Soldier class, as well as the Indigenous Forces
playable class.

- SF Oasis:

Enemy forces have established an outpost from which to
launch reconnaissance patrols and conduct ambushes of
friendly indigenous forces operating in a remote
desert location. Reconnaissance of the outpost must
be conducted in order to identify the location of this
guerilla base. A Special Forces ODA, along with the
help of Indigenous Forces, must then proceed to the
proper safe location in order to upload their
reconnaissance findings to HQ.

- SF Taiga:

Enemy forces purchased a small number of SAGGER
anti-armor missiles to better equip their counter-
insurgency forces. They are hiding these missiles
within civilian camps along a high-altitude mountain
road. These missiles will enable the insurgency to
ambush both civilian and government convoys at
extended ranges. A Special Forces ODA along with
Indigenous Forces has been deployed to locate and
destroy SAGGER missile caches in order to disrupt
enemy combat operations within the area of operations.

==========================================================================
What's fixed
==========================================================================

Client:

- Fixed various client crashes
- "JRTC Farm Raid" filters correctly in server browser
- Running in 16-bit windowed mode no longer has render errors
- Fixed reflex sight accuracy
- Fixing "ROE" URL on support page and new-map URL
- Disable "set" command for non-config variables (devmode exploit)
- Fix Auth Failure messages that have a URL

Server:

- Minor memory fixes
- Fixed various server/client crashes
- Remove "query" exploit
- Fixed server stability issues
- Fixed Admin spectate command
- Memory Leak fixes
- Fixed pb admin commands


==========================================================================
What's changed
==========================================================================

- Admin kicks no longer give ROE
- Admins can join Min/Max Honor servers
- Admin text is displayed as red
- Allow normal user to be admins on Leased servers
- Disable player color codes
- Add option to restrict by groups
- GameSpy: Display third-party icon
- GameSpy: Display groups field in server info
- Allow Auth to set third-party flag
- Added "Invalid Group" failure message
- Save Group information to savefile
- Notify the player before joining a server that has Group restrictions



America's Army: Special Forces (Downrange)
Release Notes (Version 2.1)

==========================================================================
What's new
==========================================================================


Character 'Ragdoll' Physics
------------------------------------------------------------

New in this edition of America's Army is the implementation
of the Karma Physics Engine. This new feature applies
real life physics to all player characters in the game. This
produces real-time unique animations for each character
during gameplay. These unique animations are calculated
using real life physics as well as many other factors
including, the gun/bullet type used, the distance from a frag
grenade, the damage location on the body, etc.


New U.S. Weapon - M136 AT4
------------------------------------------------------------

The M136 AT4 is the Army's primary light anti-tank weapon.
The M136 AT4 is a recoilless rifle used primarily by
Infantry Forces for engagement and defeat of light armor.
The recoilless rifle design permits accurate delivery of
an 84mm High Explosive Anti-Armor warhead, with negligible
recoil. The M136 AT4 is a lightweight, self-contained,
anti-armor weapon consisting of a free-flight, fin-
stabilized, rocket-type cartridge packed in an expendable,
one-piece, fiberglass-wrapped tube. The M136 AT4 is man-
portable and is fired from the right shoulder only. The
round of ammunition is self-contained in a disposable
launch tube. The system weighs 15 pounds and can be
utilized effectively with minimal training. The Opfor
equivalent is the RPG-7.


New 'Tournament Mode'
------------------------------------------------------------

This version of America's Army features new tournament
mode features, which are accessible either via the command
line or a GUI interface. It will include an adjustable
pre-match warm-up period with an in-game notification that
the match is beginning. The time remaining until the
tournament start is also displayed on the score screen,
as well as in-game reminders, and a final 10-second
countdown.

Tournament Mode

The new tournament mode has the following features:
- The ability to launch tournament mode via the command line
- Tournament Squad Leaders with special permissions
- A pre-match warm-up time which does not count toward the
tournament score.
- Score screen is displayed at the end of the match, and the
match does not automatically restart.
- Time until the tournament starts is displayed on the score
screen.
- Messages remind the players how much time is remaining
before the tournament begins.
- Ten second countdown reminder before tournament starts.
- Tournament and warm-up start messages.
- The ability to control tournament functionality via ini
file settings

New Admin functionality:
- The ability to set/remove Tournament Squad Leaders

New Tournament Squad Leader or Admin abilities:
- Restart the tournament when the tournament is over or
during play
- Force the start of the tournament
- Force the start of the warm-up period
- Force the start of the tournament with a 10 second count
down
- Mute a players on same team or whole team
- Place players on team
- Place players on specific fire teams in specific classes
- Set the Tournament start time

Generic Steps for Starting a Game in Tournament Mode:

1. Set the ArmyOps.ini file settings for the tournament.

In the [AGP_Gameplay.AGP_GameTeamObjective] section set the
following values:
- TournamentWarmupTime=1
- TournamentStartTime=2

TournamentWarmupTime will be the number of minutes to wait
until starting the warmup period. TournamentStartTime will be
the number of minutes to wait until starting the actual
tournament. Make any changes to the standard roundspermatch
and matchesbeforecycle variables as desired.

* NOTE: There also exist a preset tournament configuration
file called servertournament.ini located in the
'System' folder.

2. Launch the server in tournament mode.

This is done by launching the server with the Tournament or
LanTournament command line flags. An example command line
would be:

server LANTOURNAMENT pipeline.aao log=server.log

* NOTE: There also exist a tournament server batch file
called RunServerTournament.bat that contains
a sample command line for running a typical
tournament server. This file is located in
the 'System' folder.

A server launched with the TOURNAMENT flags will be set up for
internet play. A server launched with the LANTOURNAMENT flag
will be set up for lan play.

3. The two leaders of both teams must connect to the server.

4. Log into the server as an Admin.

5. Admin designates the Tournament Squad Leaders for each
team.

One player from each team must be designated as a Tournament
Squad Leader. Select the Tournament tab from the in-game menu.
This displays a list of all of the players currently on the
server. To add the player as a tournament squad leader first
highlight their name in the list. Then select the team to add
the player to and click the Add button. Then click the Set
button next to the team leader section to set the player as a
team leader.

6. Squad Leaders add team members to their team.

Once the admin has set the Tournament Squad leaders, they are
able to perform their tournament commands. First they must
select the members for their team.
To add a player to a team first highlight the name of the
player to add to the team. Then select the team to add the
player to and click the Add button. Repeat until all team
members are added to teams. (Note: admins cannot be added to
teams).

7. Squad Leaders assign team members their fire teams and
classes.

To add assign a player first highlight the name of the player
to be assigned. Then select the appropriate unit slot from the
drop down box (Squad Leader, Fireteam Alpha, Fireteam Bravo
etc.). Then select the appropriate class within the unit from
the drop down box (Rifleman, Grenadier, etc.). Finally, click
the Add button to place the player in the specified slot.

All players should be assigned to a Fireteam and class.

8. The Warm-up period begins automatically.

Players can play normally and warm up during this time. Warm
up has no bearing on the score of the tournament. This time
may also be used to verify that all players are on the correct
team in the correct classes.

9. The Tournament begins automatically.

A countdown will notify the players that the tournament is
starting. Once the “Tournament Starting” message appears and
the round restarts, the tournament has begun.

10. Tournament Ends, Tournament Score is displayed.

When all rounds have been completed and the tournament is
over, a screen will appear displaying the winner of the
tournament and the final score. This screen will continue to
be displayed until the tournament is restarted.


Advanced Tournament Options

Admins and Tournament Squad leaders with the proper
permissions can perform certain tasks which control the flow
of the tournament. The normal flow of a tournament is
automatic, however these actions may be performed if the
normal flow needs to be altered. The actions are performed by
clicking the corresponding button in the Tournament Tab of the
in-game menu.

RestartTournament - Restarts a tournament during play or after
the match is over. The tournament will start over and all
scores and values are reset.

StartTournament - Forces the start of the tournament.

Warmup - Forces the start of the warm-up period.

CountDown - Forces the start of the tournament with a 10
second count down.

Depending upon the values set the in the ArmyOps.ini file,
Tournament Squad Leaders may be able to perform additional
commands. Admins may always perform these commands. The
following are some of these commands:

tournament SetStartTime newstarttime

This command will set the time in minutes until tournament
start to the specified newstarttime value.


Advanced configuration file (.ini file) settings:

These settings are listed in the following format:
[Type] [Variable Name] [Default]
[Description]

int TournamentWarmupTime 1
Number of minutes to wait until starting the tournament warmup

int TournamentStartTime 2
Number of minutes to wait until starting the tournament

bool bTournamentSLCanAddToTeam True
Tournament squad leader can add players to teams

bool bTournamentSLCanStartTournament False
Tournament squad leader can force tournament start

bool bTournamentSLCanStartWarmUp False
Tournament squad leader can force warmup start

bool bTournamentSLCanStartCountDown False
Tournament squad leader can force tournament start with 10
second countdown

bool bTournamentSLCanRestartTournament False
Tournament squad leader can restart the tournament


Advanced Admin/SquadLeader Commands (built into GUI):

Command: RestartTournament
Argument Type: N/A
Description: Restarts the tournament either in progress
or after it has ended
Usage: "tournament RestartTournament"

Command: StartCountDown
Argument Type: N/A
Description: Forces the tournament to start with a 10 second
countdown
Usage: "tournament StartCountDown"

Command: SetStartTime
Argument Type: int
Description: Sets the time until the tournament starts
Usage: "tournament SetStartTime newstarttime"
(newstarttime = minutes until the tournament starts)

Command: StartWarmUp
Argument Type: N/A
Description: Forces the tournament warmup to start
Usage: "tournament StartWarmUp"

Command: StartTournament
Argument Type: N/A
Description: Forces the tournament to start
Usage: "tournament StartTournament"

Command: AddToClass
Argument Type: string or int, int, int
Description: Places a player on a fireteam in a specified
class
Usage: "tournament AddToClass PLAYERNAME UNIT_SLOT SLOT_INDEX"
(PLAYERNAME = The name or player ID of the player,
UNIT_SLOT = 0,1,2... 0 = Squad Leader,
1 = Fireteam Alpha, 2 = Fireteam Bravo, etc.
SLOT_INDEX = 0,1,2... 0 = First slot in the unit,
1 = Second slot in the unit, etc.)

Command: AddToTeam
Argument Type: string or int, int
Description: Places a player on a specified team
Usage: "tournament AddToTeam PLAYERNAME TEAM_ID"
(PLAYERNAME = The name or player ID of the player
TEAM_ID = 0 or 1 0 = Assault, 1 = Defense)

Command: Mute
Argument Type: string or int
Description: Toggles the muting of a player or all players,
Works just like admin mute, only Tournament
Squad leaders can't mute players on the other
team
Usage: "mute all" or "mute PLAYERNAME"
(PLAYERNAME = The name or player ID of the player)


New Stryker Armored Vehicle
------------------------------------------------------------

This version of America's Army introduces the Army's new
Interim Armored Vehicle, a.k.a. the Stryker. The Stryker
vehicle is currently implemented as a stationary vehicle
with a fully functioning .50 cal turret usable by the
player. The Stryker's turret is accessible from inside the
vehicle and has full zoom capability. These new Stryker
vehicles are available in the "SF Arctic" mission. The
Stryker turret zoom in/out keys are defaulted to the
MouseWheelUp and MouseWheelDown keys, however they can be
changed through the settings menu.


New Multiplayer Missions
------------------------------------------------------------

Included in this version of America's Army are two new
multiplayer missions. Both of these new missions are
Special Forces missions containing both the Special Forces
playable Soldier class, as well as the Indigenous Forces
playable class.

- SF Village:

Insurgent forces have acquired multiple weapons caches
and are holding up in an abandoned desert town. A
Special Forces A-Team, along with friendly Indigenous
Forces, must infiltrate their position in town and
seize these weapons caches in order to degrade enemy
capability to arm insurgent forces.

- SF Arctic:

Coalition forces transporting arms and ammunition
struck an improvised explosive device (IED),
immobilizing one of their vehicles on a high-
altitude mountain road. A Special Forces A-Team, along
with friendly Indigenous Forces must now protect their
essential materials and supplies from an assaulting
resistance force who wishes to capture those supplies.
The Stryker vehicles accompanying the supply convoy
have taken defensive positions to help defend the
immobilized convoy.


New Realistic Suns Including Lens Flare
-------------------------------------------------------------

Sun lens flares portray the real-life effects that you see
when looking toward the direction of the sun. Their
introduction has a really exciting impact on gameplay and
in a variety of ways.

When looking in the direction of the sun, this has a
slight-to-moderate impact on your character's vision. Sun
flares add a much greater immersiveness to the game,
brightening-up your gamma momentarily. Needless to say,
sun flares have a much greater impact on certain levels/
missions. They are not limited to SF-only maps and are
retro-fitted to previous/existing maps including
Radio Tower and SF CSAR.


Class Selection Page Enhancements
------------------------------------------------------------

New in this version are 2 new enhancements to the in-game
class selection page:

- 'SWAP' feature

Players can now request to swap weapons/classes with
your teammates simply by hitting the 'Swap' button
next to his name in the in-game class selection page.
Once your teammate acknowledges your request to swap
classes, your positions will automatically switch.

- Weapons Mod Set Quick-Select

Players can now select their weapon mods set directly
from the class selection in-game menu rather than
having to go back to the main user interface.


New RPG and AT4 3D Ironsights
with Adjustable Range Settings
------------------------------------------------------------

Both the RPG-7 and the M136 AT4 have new 3D ironsights in
this latest version of America's Army. These weapons also
both have the new functionality of 'adjustable range
settings' based on the distance to target. Players can
now adjust the ironsights based on the range to target,
and then simply aim directly at the target when firing.
The RPG/AT4 can be set to the following ranges: 100, 200,
300, 400, and 500 meters. The range adjustment keys are
defaulted to the MouseWheelUp and MouseWheelDown keys,
however they can be changed through the settings menu.


New 'Auto Slow Mode' Toggle for Zooming
------------------------------------------------------------

New in this version is new functionality for toggling
'auto slow mode' for zooming. You can now go to slow mode
and raise your sights by pressing the zoom key instead of
pressing two different keys (zoom and slow mode keys).
This new feature allows automatic switching your player to
'slow walk mode' while zoomed in and auto-switching back
to 'fast-walk' when they un-zoom. There is an option
added to the settings menu to toggle between this new
system and the old system.


New 'Combat Reload' Including 'Plus One' loading
------------------------------------------------------------

When a player has an applicable weapon and reloads with a
non-empty magazine, they now retain the round in the
chamber and the magazine that was removed is decremented
1 round. With proper timing this also allows for a faster
reload time as the player's animation will not have to
clear the chamber and tap the forward assist with a round
still in the chamber.


New Alpha-Spectate Enhancement
------------------------------------------------------------

New in this version is an enhancement to regular spectating
mode. When spectating a player in 3rd person, the player's
chararacter will now become transparent as your camera
position comes closer to the player character model. This
prevents graphical clipping and allows the spectator to
focus on the action surrounding this player's character.


New Demo/Kiosk Mode
------------------------------------------------------------

New in this version of America's Army is a Demo/Kiosk
mode. This 'Demo Mode' allows for the game to run demos
either at the press of a button or after a customizable
set time limit. This demo mode allows for the gameplay to
be demonstrated without having internet connectivity.
Player created demos can be used in this demo mode as
well.

* NOTE: If you enable 'Demo Mode', you restart the game
for this setting to take effect.


Extras Included
------------------------------------------------------------

Gamespy Arcade:

GameSpy Arcade is the fast, free way to find games and
opponents America's Army online. Join millions of other
players just like yourself!

SeeMePlayMe:

SeeMePlayMe is an online gaming and chat program that allows
you to connect or create custom game servers. SeeMePlayMe
supports online multiplayer gaming, voice, video, text chat,
and room creation.

Xfire:

Xfire is a free application that makes it easy to play
America's Army with your friends. Xfire shows you when
and where your friends are playing online and lets you join
their game with one click.

* NOTE: If you have patched from an earlier game version,
you can find these 'Extras' setup files in the
game's root installation directory. (Default is
C:\Program Files\America's Army)


Other Additions
------------------------------------------------------------

- Bullet/Explosion decals on terrain
- Display as OpFor option for Spinny Weapon Weapon Mod
page
- Added locational damage for projectiles. Players no
longer take global damage from getting hit with
projectiles. They now take damage based on the speed of
the projectile and the area of the body hit. For
instance a player hit in the head with an RPG round will
now die, but a hit to the arm would not be fatal.
- Added delayed shell ejection. Weapons with delayed shell
ejection (M203, M24, Mos, BS1 etc.) will now ejects
spent shells. Bolt action weapons now correctly eject
shells when working the bolt.
- Added config variable "PlayerAdmin" under section
"[Engine.AccessControl]" to list players authorized to
be player admins.
- "admin ban" command.
- "admin banlist" command.
- "admin unban" command.
- Added America's Army Europe (NATO) Server icon
- Server Browser Filters: PunkBuster, America's Army
Europe (NATO)
- Controls Options Setting: "Auto Walk Zoom"
- Audio Setting: "Use Default Driver"
- Player Count is displayed next to each team (Assault and
Defense)
- Smooth zoom transitions for 3D sights and 2D ironsights
- code-based Weapon Cyclic rate control for smoother
weapon animations
- Added a folder for demos.
- Player Start: IF Advanced Marksman (VSS Vintorez Sniper)
- Server will now re-authenticate itself at the end of
every match.
- New Arctic IF player textures.
- Dropped weapons now lie on their side and match the
slope of the terrain they have landed on
- Added an External Link message if you try to connect to
a legal map that you don't have
- Added a dialog box that asks if you want to enable PB
the first time you run the game
- Added turret death message
- SF Sandstorm: added new animated palm trees and louder
ambient wind sounds
- IRC in-game chat enhanced with new text characters and
colored text.


==========================================================================
What's changed
==========================================================================

- Binoculars no longer breathe cycle
- Players can now use the 'password' text box in the
Server Browser for both the admin password and the
game server password
- Single Player defaults to SF instead of IF
- Improved team swapping. Will now fulfill players change
team requests better
- code-based Weapon Cyclic rate control for automatic
weapons
- Weapons are now dropped realistically when the player
dies
- Adjusted physics for rocket projectiles.
- RPG rounds now dud 10% of the time instead of 20%
- Rocket Projectiles trails now go out when their
propellant runs out.
- You can't get idle kicked for a round that lasts less
than 20 seconds
- Internet browser list no longer clears when you close
menu (it still clear when you go to the LAN browser or
switch levels though)
- Adjusted the Ak74 iron sight position to provide a
better sight picture and reduce model "jitter"
- The dialog box that tells you that you're trying to join
a PB enabled server now allows you to enable PB and
join the server
- Various scope/sniper tweaks.
- SF Sandstorm: removed the M203 from this map
- Adjusted many map weapon loadouts and spawnpoints (esp.
frag nade loadout)


==========================================================================
What's fixed
==========================================================================

- Shells can no longer climb walls if you're too close to
a wall
- Nightvision is disabled when broll is on (exploit)
- Fixed 'duplicating weapons' exploit
- Fixed many map exploits
- Missing Fonts (double quotes, special ASCII characters,
etc.) have been generated and integrated (IRC)
- Fixed a bug where the an RPG round would float in mid-
air if spawning on an IF.
- Fixed a bug where player animations were playing the
wrong speed in multiplayer.
- Fixed a bug where the M24 would stay zoomed after firing
while moving or changing stances.
- Map loading time should be decreased
- Audio Settings: Default Driver cannot be chosen if
Hardware or Hardware + EAX is chosen
- Fixed "Gun half up" bug
- Fixed shell casings not spawning sometimes
- Fixed rifle range crash bug
- Soldier "spinny" Weapon and Weapon Mod should not appear
in odd instances (loading screen, etc.)
- PunkBuster enable/disable unified between Internet and
LAN server browsers
- Server browser filtering tweaks
- Sniper qualification now test rifle range score as well
as sniper training
- Fixed duplicate grenade getting dropped just as grenade
is thrown
- Weapon or grenade geting stuck if sprinting right after
spawn, or right after switching to grenades
- Disabled Console Commands: PAUSESOUND/UNPAUSESOUND (possible
exploit)
- Gamma can't be set higher than 1.5 in the .ini file
- UI weapon mods should no longer sometimes disappear and
reappear in levels
- RemoveClassInventory properly removes items when non-SF
qualified but in an SF slot (Sandstorm grenades)
- Fixed weapon reloading bug
- Server Browser: password is always passed on Server Join
(for admin and/or game)
- Server Browser: Check for MILES-only servers
- SF CSAR: fixed 5 known map exploits
- Adjusted 1st person spec view interpolation (smoother
view now)


==========================================================================
Known Issues
==========================================================================

- Weapons occasionally overlapping in hands when
spectating other players
- RPG will occasionally be seen as backward when
spectating other players
- UI Spinning Weapons sometimes stops spinning after disconnect
- Karma bodies sometimes disappear when they land on certain
StaticMeshes
- Spectating camera may not rotate around some Karma bodies



America's Army Release Notes (Version 2.0.0a)

FIXES

- PunkBuster issue
- Training overlap bug

CHANGES

- Removed Unnecessary Auth Messages

- "Create New Account" URL updated ("login.americasarmy.com")
- Default server for In-Game IRC updated ("irc.americasarmy.com")
- Updated Credits: Army and Dev Team
- Updated Support Menu Tabs: Release Notes, Overview, Partners, Fan Sites, Help
- Updated Deployment Menu Tabs: Services
- Server Browser uses Andromeda by default
- Server Browser text notifies when connecting to Master Browser

- Server Browser Icon Key
Official Army Server (Honor) text
Leased Official Server (Honor) text
Leased Server (Non-Honor) text
Official Army Europe Server (Honor) text
MILES Server (Training) text
REMOVED: Ultimate Arena text

- Server Browser Icon Key
REMOVED: Ultimate Arena icon

ADDITIONS

- Auth Messages
Unsupported Version (11)
Get News Article (21)

- "Get News" button on the Personnel Jacket
- Game client version number on the entry page
- Warning message if you try to join a PunkBuster server without PunkBuster
enabled.

- Server Browser Icon Key
PunkBuster-enabled icon
Official Army Europe Server icon

- default IRC channels:
#aa-newplayers
#americasarmy
#aa-support
#irc-ops
#usarmy

- Distribution.ini for Distribution Partner and Version Tracking

- NEW MAP: SFsandstorm.aao

KNOWN ISSUES

(none)



America's Army Release Notes (Version 2.0)

=============================================================================
What's new
=============================================================================

Special Forces
---------------------------------------

This edition of America's Army introduces the Special Forces
class of soldier. Players successfully completing the
Special Forces training will be able to play as a Special
Forces soldier armed with all new highly specialized
weaponry. This new class will also include new player models
and attachments as well as team structure to mimic the Green
Beret squad structure. In order for a player to play as a
Special Forces soldier, the player must meet all the
prerequisites; a minimum HONOR of 15, completion of all the
Special Forces training components, completion of both Basic
Combat Training and Airborne School training components.

New weapons available to the Special Forces class:


- SOPMOD M4 Carbine

Special Operations Peculiar Modification to M4 Carbine
- The primary weapon for all Special Forces soldiers.
This weapon is fully customizable by the player though
the use of various accessories (mods) that can be
added to the weapon to fit the players playstyle or to
meet the demands of a particular mission.

- SPR

Special Purpose Rifle - Variant on the M16 for long
range shots and greater accuracy. The primary weapon
of the Special Forces Advanced Marksman.

- Thermite Grenade

Incendiary type of grenade emitting intense heat and
flame. This grenade is used by the Special Forces
class to complete 'data destruction' type objectives.

New OpFor Weapons
---------------------------------------

- Vss Vintorez

As an equivalent to the US Special Forces SPR, this is
the primary weapon of the OpFor advanced marksman.

- New AKS-74U

As an equivalent to the SOPMOD M4, the OpFor will have
the new AKS-74U, including OpFor equivalents for each
individual M4 mod.

Indigenous Forces
---------------------------------------

All new class of player controlled forces to assist the
Green Berets in combat situations. This unique class mimics
the real life indigenous allied forces that work with US
Special Forces across the globe. This class includes new
player models and specialized weapons. The player will not
need any special training to be able to play as an
Indigenous Forces soldier on the supported Special Forces
maps.

New weapons available to the Indigenous Forces class:


- RPG-7

Rocket Propelled Grenade Launcher - a weapon used by
Indigenous Forces capable of a devastating attack.

- New AKS-74U

Reworked OpFor equivalent to the M4A1 assault rifle.


M9 Pistol
---------------------------------------

All new M9 pistol available only to Advanced Marksman as a
'last resort' weapon for close encounters. This pistol will
only be available to Advanced Marksman (M-24, M-82, SPR)
and will not be droppable or be left behind after the player
is out of action.


3D Ironsights for all new weapons
---------------------------------------

All new weapons for this version will have fully functional
3D ironsights. This includes the SOPMOD M4 Carbine, the
AKS-74U, and the M9 pistols. 3D ironsights will be added to
all other weapons in the game in a future release.


Weapons Mod Page
---------------------------------------

All Special Forces qualified players will be able to fully
customize their SOPMOD M4 Carbine rifles. On this new page
in the User-Interface the player will be able to add and
remove mods from their M4, as well as being able to save
their favorite configurations as 'SETS' for quick changes.
The current weapon mods available for the player to use are
as follows:

- ACOG 4X Scope

A tritium lit 4x magnification scope that combines
long-range, precision marksmanship and close-in
aiming speed.

- Acog Reflex Sight

An amber dot sight powered by a fiber-optic light
gathering system and a Tritium lamp, designed for
operations in extremely close quarters battle
in any condition.

- M68 Aimpoint Sight

A red-dot reflex sight designed for operations in a
close quarters environment. The M68 allows for quick
acquisition of the target with a high hit probability.

- M203A1 Grenade Launcher

A shortened variant of the M203, the M203A1 is
designed for the SOPMOD M4. The M203A1 adds the
capability of delivering explosive ordinance at
distances beyond 200 meters.

- M583A1 Flare Launcher

The M583A1 is designed for the SOPMOD M4 using the
M203A1. The M583A1 flare adds the capability of
delivering illumination at distances beyond 200
meters, lasting for roughly 12 seconds. This mod is
only available on SFRecon.

- Harris Bipod

Lightweight and rugged, the Harris bipod allows the
weapon to be supported adding stability and accuracy
when shooting from a prone position.

- M4QD Suppressor

The M4QD Suppressor suppresses both the sound and
flash of the weapon, allowing the operator to avoid
detection.

- Ironsight

Standard issue carrying handle equipped with an
ironsight.

- Heatshield

Protects operator's hands from heat dissipation and
covers the rail system while not in use.


In-Game IRC Chat Client
---------------------------------------

New in this release is a fully functional in-game IRC chat
client built into the game's user-interface. This new feature
will allow the players to coordinate and chat on our
official IRC channel (as well as other channels). This new
chat client has all the basic functionality of existing 3rd
party clients as well as some features unique to
America's Army. Some of the features available in this new
IRC client are listed below:


- 'unreal://xxx.xx.xxx.xx'

Typing a game server IP in the format listed above
will allow the user to join your server simply by
double clicking that link in the chat window (where
'xxx.xx.xxx.xx' is the IP of the server).

- 'AA|PlayerName'

Every player logged into IRC through our in-game
chat client will have their in-game username (taken
from the personnel jacket) prefixed with "AA|" so
that other players know they are currently playing
America's Army. This will be useful for players
looking to find possible teammates or just to see
who is currently playing America's Army.

- Web Links

The in-game IRC chat client will allow normal web
links (www.americasarmy.com) to be double clickable
from within the chat window. Double clicking these web
links will automatically minimize the game and pull up
the link on your default internet web browser.

- Private Messaging

The in-game IRC chat client supports private messaging
by simply double clicking the players name in the user
list located in the right side column of the chat
window.


New Andromeda Server Browser
---------------------------------------

A new integrated server browser platform, allowing quick
server refreshes, live server stats, and custom filters.


New 'Missions' Deployment Page
---------------------------------------

A new feature in the 'Deployment' section of the user-
interface is the 'Missions' page. This new page allows the
player to find the map they want to play and deploy straight
from that page. Hitting 'Deploy' on this page will
automatically set the correct map filters for that map and
take the player straight to the internet server browser page
to list all the servers currently running the chosen map.
This 'Missions' page also displays all the information about
each mission and whether or not it is available to the
player based on their current completed training.


Six New Maps
---------------------------------------

This release contains 6 new maps - 2 single player training
maps, and 4 new multi-player maps.

There are 4 new multi-player maps included, and all 4 are
'Special Forces' maps. Three of the maps involve both Special
Forces and Indigenous Forces, and 1 map is a Special Forces
Exclusive map.

The new multi-player maps are listed below:

- SF CSAR (SF & IF)

Special Forces Combat Search and Rescue - this map is
set in a desert 'mudbrick' urban setting. There is a
downed Blackhawk in the center of the map with the
injured pilot located somewhere nearby. The assault
team must destroy the Blackhawk's technology and
locate the pilot and heal him. The defense team must
protect the Blackhawk and pilot from being captured.

- SF Recon (SF & IF)

This is a night time reconnaissance mission set in a
large sprawling desert terrain. The special
reconnaissance team must locate and identify enemy
aviation assets in order to assess Resistance air
defense requirements. The counter reconnaissance team
must protect Resistance aviation assets in order to
prevent enemy intelligence collection.

- SF Hospital (SF & IF)

This is a VIP mission set in an urban environment
focused around the local city hospital. The escorting
team must locate and exfiltrate the friendly
Resistance leader in order to maintain continuity of
Resistance leadership. The ambushing team must
prevent the VIP from being captured by the opposing
forces.

- Pipeline SF (SF Exclusive)

This is the Pipeline mission set at night, and
involving a full squad of only Special Forces
soldiers. The assaulting team must secure Alaskan
Pipeline station and negate environmental threat by
accomplishing one of the following: secure main
control panel; stop oil flow at the three valve
controls. The defensive team must defend the Alaskan
Pipeline station and prevent the capture of the main
control panel and keep the flow of oil open into the
pumps at the three valves.

The Special Forces training consist of 2 components - the 2
single-player maps listed below:

- SF AVWID

Aircraft, Vehicle, and Weapon Identification -
students will be presented with commonly used
vehicles, aircraft, and weapons utilized by the armed
forces of the world. The students will then correctly
identify the nomenclature of the military equipment
that was presented to them using an equipment chart
for reference.

- SF E and E

Escape and Evasion - students will infiltrate by
helicopter then move tactically on foot to their
extraction point though a simulated, denied
environment guarded by sentries and roving patrols.
The students must successfully navigate to the
extraction point through 3 sequential waypoints
without being detected.





Other Additions
---------------------------------------

- New in-game 'Icon Key'
- New 'loading/connecting' message text boxes
- New Glossary included in the user-interface
- New 'Enable VSync' advanced video setting added
- New 'Disable Coronas' advanced video setting added
- Medic commo "Medic on the way!" by pressing 'm'
- Medic comms report location
- Progress bar added back to the Server Browser
- New "Deco Layers" advanced video setting added to
allow user to turn off foliage and grass textures
- Added Tour Icons in server browser
- Added end-of-match timer explanation to class selection
screen
- Added 3 camo 'skins' for SOPMOD M4 (Artic, Desert, Black)


=============================================================================
What's changed
=============================================================================

- Server Browser Page resized to fit within page bounds
- Server Browser Page buttons recolored and sized
- Password field moved from Filter page to Server Browser
- Page, and resolution sizing adjustment functionality added
- Added a new system for playing 3rd person weapon
animations. We can now play third person animations on
weapons such as firing, reloading, etc.
- CivOp have scarves sometimes
- InfantryOp have caps
- Server Browser Integration: Andromeda and GameSpy,
selectable from Filter Page
- Progress bar added to Server Browser
- Online Mission Deployment: user is now presented with
information regarding the online missions via a new Tab:
"Missions," under Deployment
- Cannot initiate an ROE votekick on a player with no ROE
- Training and Deployment Mission pages now use dynamic
drop-down boxes, rather than overabundant tabs.
- Connection Timeout increased to 120 seconds.
- Ultimate Arena tournament server functionality added to
Server Browser functionality
- Cheats-enabled server flags will be displayed in Server
Browser Rules List
- New loading/progress message screens
- Added Glossary Page to Support Section
- Removed Precaching option from Advanced Details Video
Settings.
- Removed Interface Texture Detail option as there are no
differences in Interface Texture Detail quality.
- UI Deployment missions only show "Available" or "Not
Available"
- Reduced CEM injury penalties
- Updated Fan Sites Support section
- Default auto balance setting is true
- Added end-of-match timer explanation to class selection
screen
- Added Auth Failure dialog boxes, some of which have useful
weblinks

=============================================================================
What's fixed
=============================================================================

- Main Menu and Game Menu are now persistent - all relevant
menus should retain state and activation.
- Can no longer combat roll while taking objective
- Ambient lighting issues (dark model/bright helmet) should
be fixed
- In game menus no longer screw up on resolution changes
- Menu backgrounds should no longer overlap the Hint box
- Fixed browser filter for "FLS" missions
- Audio/Network settings pages no longer loads wrong info
- Binding a key to 'commosquad' now works correctly
- Texture smearing on for bullet decals on corners fixed
- Fixed various scoreboard/class selection issues
- Changing the case of a password will now get saved
- Audio settings page no longer becomes invalid after
setting Audio Mode
- Players will no longer get stuck when rolling while prone
after dropping weapon
- Tour Validation message for Server Browser
- Two weapons in one hand
- MILES skins should no longer show up in non-MILES
- Tour dependencies are working
- Objective messages should work properly
- Mouse and Mouse Menu Sensitivity bottom limit set to 1,
instead of 0, which makes mouse unmovable
- Your own footsteps no longer sound like they are coming
from the West
- Initial viewpoint rotation will no longer look down
- Admins no longer appear on login/logout or on the
scoreboard
- Leased-Official servers report properly
- A blank password will be sent to the server if the
password field in the server browser is blank
- Pickups don't block grenade damage
- Leaning spectator bug
- Purple gun bug
- Enemy grenades now look like enemy grenades when thrown


=============================================================================
Known Issues
=============================================================================

User-Interface Mouse Lag:
The user may experience intermitten mouse 'lag' or mouse
cursor 'freezing' while moving the mouse rapidly over the
different buttons in the user-interface. This is due to some
optimization issues in the user-interface, and will have no
effect whatsoever on your in-game performance.


Server connecting timeouts on user hosted servers:
On some user hosted servers, some players may experience
joining the server but being stuck in spectator mode,
or not being able to join the first time. This can be due
to the server connection timeout setting. Server admins -
please make sure your 'server.ini' or 'ArmyOps.ini' has the
following setting set to 60.0 seconds.

[IpDrv.TcpNetDriver]
ConnectionTimeout=60.0

Altri mirror - 855Mb

Off 3D Gamers
Off Worthplaying

[Andre106]

Molto molto belle le nuove mappe, davvero ben realizzate.

[Spazius]

l'ho appena messo in down,non vedo l'ora di giocarlo...spero abbiano abilitato la comunicazione vocale...

[Andre106]

Non ancora purtroppo....cmq ci sono parecchie novità , sia a livello grafico che di fisica delle armi

[Spazius]

Originariamente inviato da Andre106

Non ancora purtroppo....cmq ci sono parecchie novità , sia a livello grafico che di fisica delle armi

peccato...cmq si no vedo l'ora di provare l'M141 su un umano...

[cry74]

Ci si becca sui server...

[Kael]

Messo a Scaricare... non hanno fatto più mappe a gradoni, vero?

[Pan]

appena sono a casa scarico..

[Pippox]

raga io sono un malato di cod.. ma sto AA mi incuriosisce..
mi dite un po come è strutturato?
differenze o similitudini con cod^?

[Kael]

Originariamente inviato da Pippox

raga io sono un malato di cod.. ma sto AA mi incuriosisce..
mi dite un po come è strutturato?
differenze o similitudini con cod^?

Non c'entra na mazza con cod. AA è molto più tattico e di squadra. Inoltre il periodo e le ambientazioni sono piuttosto diverse...

[materi]

ma su Patch ci sta v2.1 a v2.3

[Andre106]

Originariamente inviato da Kael

Messo a Scaricare... non hanno fatto più mappe a gradoni, vero?

Pare di no...c@zzo, li odio anche io, chi ha disegnato i gradoni è un idiota

[Spazius]

Originariamente inviato da materi

ma su Patch ci sta v2.1 a v2.3

infatti non si puo patchare alla 2.4 perchè cambiano motore grafico...

[Pan]

raga ma chi mi spiega / dove posso trovare una guida per capire bene come si gioca e cosa devo fare nelle farie mappe... perche vedo che ci sono dei punti da raggiungere ma non mi è chiaro cosa fare..

al momento aspetto di seccare tutti o di essere seccato.. ma non è il max..

datmi qualche dritta plis

[Pippox]

Originariamente inviato da Pan

appena sono a casa scarico..

sei pan degli iig??

[Ganja]

Scaricare subito! Grazzie per l'info
Ormai e' un monte di tempo che non gioco, mi tocchera' rifare il training?

[de_nome_lanicon]

Molto + fluido...

Ma il menu con i caratteri immensi è veramente irritante.

Per nn parlare del fatto che il tasto "Deploy" nn si è capito perchè nn vada

Ottima upgrade per la fluidità, pessima per l'interfaccia.

[Pan]

Originariamente inviato da Pippox

sei pan degli iig??

no, non sono in nessun clan
sarà un omonimo

[apocaly]

Grandi novità per questa 2.4 , audio posizionale, nuovi effetti, ecc.., ma ci sono certe cose che non mi convincono.Tanto per cominciare le armi sono diventate incontrollabili, soprattutto l'AR. Ho provato di sfuggita brigde e a parte la diminuzione dei colpi dell 203 la grafica è la medesima. Per non parlare poi dell'interfaccia che fa veramente...
Mi riprometto di testarlo più a fondo ma non mi ha entusiasmato molto questa 2.4, a parte l'audio posinionale .

byez

[Andre106]

Originariamente inviato da apocaly

Grandi novità per questa 2.4 , audio posizionale, nuovi effetti, ecc.., ma ci sono certe cose che non mi convincono.Tanto per cominciare le armi sono diventate incontrollabili, soprattutto l'AR. Ho provato di sfuggita brigde e a parte la diminuzione dei colpi dell 203 la grafica è la medesima. Per non parlare poi dell'interfaccia che fa veramente...
Mi riprometto di testarlo più a fondo ma non mi ha entusiasmato molto questa 2.4, a parte l'audio posinionale .

byez

I menu fanno davvero schifo, sembra quasi il frutto di un errore.

Per quanto riguarda il nuovo recoil delle armi....tutta manna, finalmente si ritorna a parlare di simulazione