Life is complicated, simulators stimulate life. If it is too challenging to learn the controls then maybe arma is not for you.

I don't really see the controls being hard at all. 90% of the time, all you need are these:

WASD - Movement
G - Throw grenade
R - Reload
Mouse wheel and button - Scroll through action menu and select action
X/Z - Crouch/prone
Left/right click - Fire/Aim Down Sight
Q/E - Lean left/right
I - Inventory
N - Night Vision
Alt - Free look (Turning your character's head while not turning the body, useful in vehicles)

For the stance modifier, it's just Left CTRL + WASD.

It's almost the same as usual FPS games but with a couple of more keys. Almost all of the keys above are reach-able by your left hand.

The point of simulation games is that you need to learn to use them. There are flight sims that simulate completely the cockpit functions. It takes hours to learn just how to take off in some cases because they are so complicated.
I spent a few hours just learning the basics of how to fire mortars in ACE in ArmA 2, and that's the kind of thing that sims are awesome for. If you expect anything else, you're in the wrong place.
And you don't need to know much in a firefight. Get a grasp on the movement/shifting controls, weapon handling, and go from there. Commanding a squad is kind of clunky, but ArmA 2 had a really great voice control 'mod' (actually a separate application) that makes a lot of the menus in the game obsolete, so maybe we'll see another of those, and then you just need to learn what you can tell your guys to do.
The gear stuff is very, very early. It doesn't even show you what's equipped on a weapon that you don't have equipped. The gear menu clearly has a way to go, but it's really simple. Literally drag and drop. They do need to make it more clear that individual layers like your cammies and your load bearing vest have "storage" that are both seperate from one another, but again, it's super early.
This is as designed. And it's a lot better than it was in ArmA 2 if you ask me. At least the input for menus is consistent now.
If you want some help figuring things out, look me up on Steam: MordeaniisChaos. I'm always happy to give guidance, but this is not what the game is intended for. It's not Battlefield, and it's not Call of Duty. The people who play this game mostly probably think that stock ArmA is TOO simple compared to something like ACE.

If you don't want the game to be hard you are really out of luck.

In the kinder version of what people tend to say, feel free to play arcade games.

Rome wasn't built in a day & you don't master ArmA in a day or many good games for that matter.

As with everyone else, tough titty. The developers themselves have said they weren't going to dumb down anything to make it more casual for players. There's a reason it's PC exclusive. If you want a simple shooter, go play Battlefield 3.

I'm with the OP on this one! Nahhh just kidding. Although you should be able to click into weapons on the floor like vests and backpacks as this would make stealing attachments easier. I've probably just missed something so if its there I'll hopefully find it.

No need. I think all of this will be solved when real tutorial missions are added to the final game.

Unfortunately Alpha is not a finished game. It was made so that players who are already familiar with how to play ARMA can try to break the game so that it is polished when the full game is released.

The game is what it is. Learning the controls and how it plays is part of the price of admission.
Instead of saying saying make it easier for someone who doesn't want to learn it to learn it, say, Add tutorials to make it obvious to learn. At that point I'd vote it down like I'm doing with this. Because there's a field guide in the menu.

As far as simulators go, this and TOH are entry level. A perfect mix of sim/playability(fun). Which you can change with mods to suite your level. Give DCS a try and you'll see what I mean.

Remember this (as it applies to nearly every game): The best way to get used to the controls is to customize them to your own preference!

successful troll is successful. :D

i am getting tired of seeing the responses to this; that this is a simulator! life is hard so this should be too! well... please; do yourself a favor, gear up and get a rifle and start moving, you can come to a hard stop, you can pull up and aim (not perfectly) but in the real world; you dont think about moving your legs, you just do it, you dont think about stopping your body, you just do it. if you guys really want a simulator, then lets have a simulator of humans; not robots.

words that describe how it feels in real life = Natural; dynamic; fluid; violent

these words should also describe how it feels in the game if it is in fact supposed to simulate real life. not; clunky, cumbersome, awkward.

Dont get me wrong; this is way better than how arma 2 felt. but it still needs work.

I can't stop by taking my finger off W? What?

Everyones aware it needs work, so make a ticket about how you want it changed & if you're arguement is good enough we might see it implemented.

ARMA 3 seems to have a better control layout than ARMA 2 to me, works great and there is plenty of interactivity between the player and their soldier / surroundings. What you talk about is essentially dumbing down the game which is not what ARMA is about. I'd call you out as a troll but then I can imagine that there is a number of people who have bought the Alpha and wish it was more like COD, sadly.

i like how Cotton says it still needs work..alpha? naw

Do not simplify the gameplay-systems.

Troll.

Nope.

yes, it needs work. I very well understand this is an alpha hence why i made my statement. Anyone who thinks that the controls are "realistic" is out of their minds... please, gear up, grab a weapon then play arma and tell me it feels natural. its getting there, with some tweaks it would be spot on. dont simplify the game substance, make the character control more fluid and dynamic. As real life is fluid and dynamic. If you feel in real life like you do in the game, then you need to seek medical attention immediately!

also to those who are crying that, well its better than arma2 so why are you complaining... well there are a slue of other games out there that have much better character handling. I am not saying that arma should be just like those, but the responsiveness and dynamic should be there. at the same time the character should be "human" in that he is hindered by weight, fatigue, and other human limitations. if you want outdated, non-dynamic, clunky, and down right unrealistic character handling, stay in the past. However, if you really do want realism, then support realism.

ah re-reading the op, i was tired when i first read it, My complaints are off subject as are some of the others here. this is about the controls across the keyboard... it could be cleaned up and things could be done to give better access (see Maya hotbox) but the controls are fine, however i would like to see more customize options for keybindind, which isnt a big deal.

my complaints are on the subject of realistic movement as opposed to clunky videogame feel. other games are doing it well, where others are not.. arma series is getting there though.

sorry for the off topic argument. Vote down for this one.

NO !
If ArmA will ever become more simplified i will stop supporting BIS !! D:

A tutorial would be fine.

Tutorial will be there in final release (maybe something in beta too)

Here's a quick tutorial as I had trouble with the controls too:

1. Load up the editor
2. Place a single playable soldier anywhere on the map
3. Spend actual time and effort to remap/learn all the keys.

Amazing!

For newbies like me, it's very confusing at the beginning.
So much key bindings and for example you enter a vehicle like in no other game I know.
But after 1-2h, playing the showcases and testing everything, you know the most of the keys and functions.
And with a tutorial in the final version there should be no problem with learning the basics.

hey Testus. Your confusion and frustration for newbies is that of most simulator style games. Arma is the easiest of so called SIMS to get used to(go try to take off in FSX full controls). I like your post bc it shows that you have tried a few hours of playing and its gotten easier. Arma is not ment to be easy breeezy controls..but once you play a awhile you start to realize there purpose. For ex. someone has posted about a mechanic they dont like.. "when you put away your map the rifle is in relaxed postion". yes! thats what we love in our sims style games! anyway, about opening doors in cars.. it should be just as easy as any other game.. except, you have to aim at the "specific door" you want in and press whatever key is your action key. same as any other game..but if you go to just any part of the car, then you have to scroll wheel to desired.

Training bro. Half the game play is training how to use things in this game to carry out missions. If you don't like the game play Battlefield 3 or COD. This is a Simulator not a ego shooter.

I thought like you when I first got ARMA, I actually played some arma 2 and was extremely frustrated and quit for a while. Then, after playing a little more I got some better handle on it. I still hate having to scroll through the action menu, but it's getting easier. Personally, I would rather keybinds for most things.. My total gametime between 2 and this alpha is around 10 hours and I am waaay better now. Once you start to get it you will realize how this is leaps and bounds better than the dumbed down FPS games like cock of duty or baffledfield.

The controls are not hard at all, I think your some 8 year old kid that does not know how to use a computer in that case you should not be playing this game. Go play hello kitty island or something

To me, this post illustrates a need for a tutorial/intro for new players. All us old pros can say "hur, hur, hur, it's complex, suck it up kiddo" all we like, but it doesn't get anyone anywhere (I know *I'd* be stuffed if you took my custom keybinds away).

The Help/Field manual system implemented in the showcase is an excellent start. I expect the single-player campaign will include a 'basic training' section like the other ArmA titles.

I'd love to think of a way to make it very easy for the Multiplayer-only crowd to get some in-game tuition without having to need to select "Tutorial" from a menu.

The controls are relatively easy to use. For me starting to play ARMA I didn't read the manual (who needs it LOL). If the controls are difficult for a person they can be customized (set to specific key bindings) to ones likings and what is easier for them.

lol? seriously?

I'm not seeing any concrete feature request or bug report here. Please read the "How to guide" (red button, top right) before posting.

Closed.