Monday, May 19, 2014

Mechs in Arma 3 Combined Arms Showcase

Arma 3's Combined Arms showcase featuring Wander Panzer and GlovePIE voice commands.




Summary
Wander Panzer (aka Wanzers, WAP) is a mod for ArmA 3 from gmwo. The mod adds fictional mechs which you might know from the Front Mission game. The mod version used here is 1.06.





I slowed the mechs a bit so they don't go roller dashing. After all, the wanzer word from the German "wanderpanzer" translates wander for "walking" and panzer for "armor". I'm using Arma 3 version 1.18.124.200 main branch.


With some creativity, one can seamlessly add at the convenience of voice commands, mechs / wander panzers  to any singleplayer mission/campaign/showcase of Arma 3 and control them just like any AI squad member with help from GlovePIE voice commands.


So if you need mech support, just say...

"panzer zero one" or
"wanzer zero two" etcetera, or
"I need WAP reinforcements"

... and the support mechs will be dropped off from heaven for your team's disposal.




Mechs are invaluable assets in the battlefield. Once added in game via voice commands, the AI group leader (computer) can control them as desired. Mission file stays intact.



More info about Wander Panzer (WAP) Mod by gmwo at:
http://forums.bistudio.com/showthread.php?176928-Wander-Panzer%28WAP%29-MOD-for-ArmA3

or

http://www.armaholic.com/page.php?id=25551




So, why use GlovePIE?
Aside from the fact that you can use GlovePIE for free and fully customize your PIE script to your own liking, voice commands / voice recognition / voice control in ArmA 3 using GlovePIE and voice_com addon can accomplish a lot of wonderful things. Things you can do with this setup can be summarized into two categories:


(1) BASIC commands for player (yourself) or squad (AIs, NPCs)

- Commands like change view, kneel, stand up, go prone, open watch, open map, assign team, mount vehicle, disembark, engage target, open fire, hold fire, watch direction, copy stance, etcetera.

- Of course, those basic commands above can also be programmed in other 3rd-party voice recognition softwares like PiLfluS, Shoot, VAC or Windows Speech Recognition Macros. A walk in the park task.


- What happens here is that GlovePIE translates your voice command/s to the corresponding key bindings. For instance, when you say "squad", GlovePIE would press for you the "~" key (tilde key) which by default would select all members of your squad.

- Another example is when you say "two" "three" "return to formation", GlovePIE would press in consecutive order the following keys: F2  F3  1  1. Those examples are dependent on the default game key bindings. GlovePIE clicks them for you when you issue a command. The voice commands can be programmed to your own liking. So, instead of saying "squad", you could use "all" or "guys listen up" or whatever phrase you desire and the end result would still press key "~".


Check this link for the write-up and video about how basic GlovePIE voice commands in Arma 3 work.






For a list of Arma 3 key assignments, check out this link. Thanks to alpha-kilo.
http://tinyurl.com/nyh4agh

Here's a video from Royal Gamers UK demonstrating squad commands in Arma 3 using GlovePIE:
http://youtu.be/xWIfB-aM7h4

Reddit discussion:
http://redd.it/1i04oz




(2) ADVANCED commands for player (yourself) or squad (AIs, NPCs)

- Adding or removing your own/your squad member's rifle attachments such as optics, flashlight and suppressors, adding or removing clothes/ uniforms, commands for player or squad invincibility, adding (spawning) any weapon, ammo, vehicle, item in ArmA 3 or from ArmA 2 (thru AiA), time and weather manipulation, calling artillery strikes, moving to specific map location, etc.

- Now, this is something unique since there is no in-game menu or dialog interaction involved, no keyboard shortcuts pressed. Just use your voice. To each his own. This setup is not dependent on injectors, cheat menu or hack menu found elsewhere on the internet.


So...

If you need a Glock, then just say "add Glock"
Want a AMV-7 Marshall? Just say "add Marshall"
Need a ARCO optics for your rifle? Just say "add A R C O"
To add 2 hours to current time, just say "add two hours"
To call artillery strike at designated map location, just say "artillery"
To order your squad to fire at specific target, just point and say "target that"

... and so on and so forth.


Very easy to use. I haven't seen a video on YouTube using similar approach. I could be wrong though.


Status quo
Arma 3 does not have native support for voice recognition. Wish Bohemia Interactive devs integrated some sort of voice recognition feature in Arma 3 for us who love to say what we want in game.

Of course, not all commands of the advanced category like weapon and vehicle spawning, calling for artillery or nuke strike, weather and time manipulation can be added to the proposed feature but I think adding voice recognition support for basic AI/squad commands is plausible. I believe that it adds realistic immersion to the already awesome game that is Arma 3. One could just say 'Soldier two, get in that chopper as gunner ' instead of pressing the equivalent key bindings.


Wishful thinking? Who knows, the devs might give it a go. Vote up!
http://feedback.arma3.com/view.php?id=2843



Files featured here are for personal use only. Video shared on YouTube just so you know something like this exists. Videos or it never happened! If you need my script, kindly check the video/ link at the lowermost section of this write-up.


Thanks for dropping by. Voice commands and Arma 3 rocks!



USEFUL LINKS

ArmA 3
http://www.arma3.com


GlovePIE 0.45 Free
http://glovepie.org/glovepie_download.php


How To Use GlovePIE Voice Commands in Arma 3
http://voicecommands.blogspot.com/2013/10/how-to-use-glovepie-voice-commands-in.html