Posted by Phoenix on the official forums :

Listen up Soldiers, we have new information from HQ!

Soon AA3 gamers will have a new weapon in their arsenal with the release of America’s Army 3.2. The AA team plans to release the M106 smoke grenade into AA3 game-play, providing players with a great new way to conceal their movements.

This release also marks the move of the game exclusively to the Steam platform for the distribution and authentication. Steam will allow AA users the ability to store up to 24 different Soldiers with unique names in the Steam Cloud, and the ability to merge multiple AA3 accounts into one Steam account. It will also standardize the interface tools that are accessed via the client so all AA3 players will see same overlay and leaderboards.

You can read more about the upcoming update in the release notes below.
We’ve set up a specific topic on the forum related to the Steam transition including step by step download instructions and FAQs that can be accessed here. Players already using Steam for AA3 updates and game-play will not need to do anything different with this release.

America's Army3 v3.2 Release Notes

- New Features :

• - A new AA3 Loader application is provided with this release to enhance the front end of AA3. This application will start automatically when launching the game. This tool provides the ability to create or delete soldiers, view your soldier’s Personnel Jacket, view combined player stats, and launch a game server. It also offers updated news, game manual access, and links to the America’s Army website.

• - A new inventory item! The M106 Fast Obscurant Grenade (FOG) will instantly create a cloud of smoke to cover your actions. Essentially, it works like the M83 with one important exception: a short fuse. If you try to cook the M106, it will likely blow up in your hand and cause an injury. A new “Up in Smoke” achievement has been added when a teammate is revived within the cover of an M106 smoke cloud.

• - Improved ladder functionality: to mount a ladder, face ladder and press the “use” key (spacebar by default). When approaching a ladder from the top, the player will automatically turn and mount the ladder upon hitting the spacebar. This eliminates players from needing to walk backwards to attempt to go down a ladder, missing it, and falling, causing leg damage. As an added benefit, a player may choose to release from the ladder by hitting the spacebar again, thus giving the player more options with dealing with enemies while using ladders.

- Gameplay Changes :

• - Change to After Action Review (AAR) panel to better convey the player’s combat effectiveness during the previous round.
• -  Added display of achievements for all players on the server so they are shown in the AAR.
• -  Interrupting a reload (after seating magazine) now results in a chance of malfunction.
• - Updates to Spacebar Context system to correct several edge cases. This only affects selection when player is within multiple volumes (Vault/Mantle, Ladder climb, healing a teammate, ES2, etc.).
• - Better fix for players that are blocked while climbing ladders continuing to climb through other players, objects, the floor, or into the air on remote clients.
• - Flashbangs were tweaked to make them more effective when deployed indoors.
• - Improved VIP extraction ending - new sounds and proper stopping of countdown and audio when team is killed while extraction is active.
• - Weather handling has been further optimized in Shanty Town to reduce network usage.
• - Implemented the new AG Award when graduating BCT.
• - Zip-tie roll over animation is now played when players are secured.
• - Fix for 'ladder snake' bug where player is seen sliding up the ladder after grabbing onto the ladder while sprinting.

- UI Changes :

• -  Fixed the scoreboard to highlight the player's name in yellow.
  Bug Fixes
• - A memory usage optimization pass was done to reduce our game client memory footprint.
• - Another network performance pass to reduce bandwidth on glass heavy maps.
• - Fixed Mr Zip Cuff and Tag and Bag localization to reflect actual 50 enemy secured/confirmed in order to earn (rules were correct already).
• - Several hundred minor map related issues (on all maps) were addressed by our LDs.
• - Updates to Leaderboard functionality to increase number of entries, fix to allow full use of character font for names, viewing full Leaderboard no longer overwrites the mini-board values, and adjust UI size to allow longer descriptions in mini-board.
• - Cleanup of a variety of server-side log spam.
• - Removed some client side log spam related to authentication.
• - Cleaned up some inventory logging.
• - M320 no longer miscounts rounds fired or rounds hit.
• - Fixed a TS3 thread hang/deadlock that randomly occurred.
• - Fix for ragdolled enemies not being confirmable. This cuts out the distance check involved for confirming a dead enemy since the ragdolled pawn can travel a considerable distance client side in some situations....such as falling down stairs.
• - Fix for mission type not updating on the team select menu.

- Map Fixes/Changes :

• - Alley: Fixed an issue where a few objects were sticking into the wall. Fixed an issue where certain trash bins were not accepting decals.
• - Alley: Fixes involving an ES2 gray bin object labeled as a laptop.
• - Alley - Discovered that there was a wall in buckets that had been duplicated on top of itself.
• - Alley: fixed "hole in world" bug along with a few clipping meshes.
• - Alley: Fixed issue where grenade goes through the fire escapes near the loading dock.
• - Alley: Changed collision volume on the van to better support shooting grenades near it.
• - Alley: Fixed a clipping issue with the dumpster near the hotel boiler room.
• - Alley: Fixed issues that caused the carried objective to be unretrievable.

• - Bridge: Rotated spawn points on the South side in the AO map type.
• - Bridge: Fixed grenade over-pressure issues in the North and South towers.
• - Bridge: Adjusted collision volumes and fixed several clipping issues.
• - Bridge: Comm Volume updates

• - Impact: Updated VIP mission to add smoke and light to the extraction flare
• - Impact – Updated activated objective loading screen mission description

• - Pipeline: Fixed issue where a player can access and fall into a pit at the exterior valve building
• - Pipeline: Fix for unclimbable 'vine ladder'

• - Ranch - Added some decals back to the main house, adjusted the v/m volumes around the windows, fixed issue where player can get stuck in the corner of the bridge, and many other minor issues.
• - Ranch – Fixed issue where grenades would go through hay bales.
• - Ranch – Fixed some sound volume issues in Greenhouse.

• - Stronghold: Fixed several clipping issues in arches
• - Stronghold – Fixed inconsistency in bullet penetration on deli walls
• - Stronghold – Fix to Tower Café Patio chairs to allow bullet ricochet.

• - Shantytown: Fix issue to keep players from getting stuck near the docks, and fixed an issue where a player can get stuck under a building.
• - Shantytown – Camera view clipping through wall, floating table, floating grass, adjusted blocking volumes on TV set, corrected Comm volumes on North side of Central building, and many other clipping issues.

• - All maps: Several ES2 object issues fixed.
• - All maps: Adjusted ladder positions to make them all consistent with how the new ladder system is supposed to work.
• - All maps: Variety of Physical materials on object modified/updated.

• - Training: Fixed issue where carriable objective was invisible in training levels.

• - CONEX-MOUT: Updated the shoot-house walls to be bulletproof. This should keep players from accidentally murdering the drill instructor.

- Asset Fixes :

• - Changed the physical material from metal to plastic for the blue-grey bins.
• - Added a phys mat to the bathroom sink material.
• - Stronghold_Comm/Env: Added local materials to the package so as to be able to apply the appropriate physical material needed.
• - BFT_Background - Removed extra baked lighting from the VIP mission from the map texture.

- Admin Control Panel :

• -  Added the ability for ACP admins to kick players to the Spectator Team.
• - Punkbuster panel updates correctly after first use.

- Punkbuster Updates :

• -  When a player is kicked by PB (directly or via Admin PB kick) the generic PB message is now displayed and when dismissed a "PunkBuster Kick Details" message box is displayed with the detailed reason why the player was kicked.

Source

If you want to read more about new Steam only system read this :  America’s Army 3.2 Transition FAQ

Finally things are moving after all those months of inactivity in the America's Army world, next patch is also coming soon but for now let's look at the end of the old AA2 honor system :

Poted Today by Phoenix in the official forums :

Over the past nine years more than 12 million registered players have fired billions of rounds as they played in millions of matches. These stats clearly show how hugely successful America's Army 2 has been. Our goal for the future is to make the current America's Army game and future releases even more successful than those in the past, and we're determined to see that happen.

For that reason, as we move forward we are concentrating all our resources on future releases of the game. Unfortunately this means that as of December 18, 2011, we will no longer be supporting the authentication system or statistics tracking for America's Army 2. The game will still be available to play in free-play mode, without Honor points being accrued. AA2 will still be the same game, with the same action and same fun. Matches can still be held and competitions won and lost. Just without the point system.

We hope our long time AA2 fans understand that this decision is in the best interest of the development of America's Army and its players as a whole. We hope they continue to enjoy the 2 series as long as they like. If you need help with AA2 please refer to the AA2 Online Game Manual or the Forum Archive, or email us at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

Source

So that's it, no more honor levels, no more badges on jacket, just this old dying game for fanbase, even if i stopped to play this version when AA3 came out, it's sad to see the support for honor disappear, for me it sounds like the non-announced death of AA2.  Well RIP AA2 it was a fun time .

Few old screens of the old AA2 times :

Posted by Phoenix the 21 Jul 2011 12:45 on the official forums :

Last month you got to play against the Dev team and AA staff members. Now’s your chance to see what happened behind the scenes. Our camera crew captured all the action, and in this video you’ll see some of the highlights (and lowlights) of the Dev team in action as they battled it out with the AA players!

You’ll also have a rare glimpse into one of the America’s Army labs where the game is developed and tested. Plus, we reveal some cool stats from our Staff and Players who topped the leaderboards.

So what are you waiting for? Check out this behind the scenes video NOW!

Source

Terry "[Dev] Tear" Ebbrecht is part of the development team for America's Army. [Dev]Tear took a few minutes to blog about his experience during the Staff Game Night event held on June 14th.

The AA team asked me to share some of my thoughts on the recent AA 3.1 Game Night. I was really excited for the opportunity to join up with my fellow AA team members to fight the good fight and get a chance to hang with the team. As background, primarily, I work with the Quality Assurance department. I manage the Beta Program and dabble in IT occasionally when things aren't working as expected. I'm fortunate to be fluent in both Army lingo and video game lingo, so I get to help the designers frequently.

All of the America’s Army staff were invited to the event including developers, beta testers, community managers, and volunteers. We formed into squads of four man fire teams and went to lunch to discuss our battle plans. Bellies full, we gathered up our headsets and headed for the lab.

With Ed “Phoenix” DeGorter as our Master of Ceremonies, the event began. Utilizing new Steam functionality that was implemented for AA 3.1, we were able to communicate using the America’s Army Steam Group chat. Phoenix used this information to track the staff members and post regular updates to the public about which team was playing where. This reminded me a bit of old school Duck Hunt, except that we were the ducks! My strategy was to provide a moving target for other players to shoot at. I consider myself the ultimate diversion, and I think I executed this plan with great success.

We had so much fun in the lab that the afternoon flew by for us. We rotated in shifts to a conference room where dinner was masterfully catered for us by [Dev]SledgehammerD. Throughout dinner the topics of conversation remained focused on strategies for escorting the VIP, defending a Take and Hold objective, and which button passes the Carriable Objective to a team mate when wounded.

As the sun set on us, we continued to play. The event was complete and we stayed to play. They turned the lights off on us, and we kept right on fraggin. “Just one more match...” became an internal joke. Finally, just after midnight, we played the last match of the night and won it in a 4-3 tie breaker. This is when [Dev]4ohn put to words what everyone was feeling: We have not created America’s Army 3.1. We have created America’s Army 3.Fun!

[Dev]Tear

AA Game Night was so much more than just playing the game together as a team. The event felt like a celebration, and it validated our hopes that we had accomplished our goal of making America's Army more fun to play.

The game night gave us a chance to see that ES2 is working exactly as we intended. It is an alternate scoring opportunity, with the added benefit of the occasional game changing pickup. When the chips are down, a few extra smoke grenades can be the difference between being neutralized or successfully extracting as the VIP.

The next day plenty of "war stories" from the Game Night were being told around the water cooler. Hearing people talk about how much fun they had while playing America's Army is the ultimate compliment to any developer.

It's no secret that both the [Dev]s and the Betas look forward to the slight advantage we have right after a release. We know the maps well and the public is still learning their way around. Unfortunately, Game Night was a week after the release, and the fans were already expertly maneuvering around the maps. We'll need to schedule the next game night much closer to the release date so we can maintain our edge!

Source

Posted by Phoenix on the official forums about stronghold wich is for me the best AA3 map since the game release 2 years ago :

At the America’s Army studio, night falls over the cobblestone streets of a historic Ostregal clock tower as U.S. Soldiers prepare to take back the tourist town from the NME concealed amidst the archways and ornate fountains. As tension builds, this moment is about to explode in all-out combat.

It’s taken hundreds of man-hours for the artists, 3D modelers, level designers and programmers to make the scene come alive. In this video you will see pencil and water color renderings of how the America's Army development team imagined the components of Stronghold, and ultimately the in-game assets that were brought to life.

Check it out on the America's Army YouTube Channel now!

Source

Posted by Phoenix the 18 Jun 2011 05:00

" Some of you have probably already noticed that we've released a small patch today. This update was designed to address slight issues with performance that effected some servers and players. To most of you, this update will be virtually invisible, and to some you should notice marked improvement. "

Source

Posted by Phoenix the 18 Jun 2011 12:40

" Fixed were a few minor performance issues that was affecting a portion of servers and gamers. Can these items be specifically listed? No, not really, but in any event it would not be something you could "see" or "use" in game. It was a back end thing and the way some files were handled. "

Source

As posted in the official forums in this thread and confirmed by the Dev's and especially by [Dev]Bill D Cat the Lead programmer of AA3, there is a 2nd way to reload the weapon, it's faster and can save your ass in many CQB situations.

Small video showing the 2 different reloads styles :

" Combat reload is allowed for general use. It is not an exploit and you may want to consider it something of an "easter egg". It is, however, not an officially supported feature at this point. If you use it you may want to consider yourself a "combat reload tester" and feel free to post your thoughts on the functionality in the feedback area. We'll read that feedback and determine whether or not to make combat reload an official part of a future version of AA 3.x.

A few notes on combat reload.

1. Slower movement equals less chance of a jam, although the chance is still greater than using standard reload. Slowing to a walk or standing still will give you the best chance of properly seating the magazine.

2. Combat reload does indeed drop the current magazine to where it is gone forever, no matter what was in it. So be careful when you hit reload if you run out of ammunition a lot using it (or you can look for more ammunition by finding ES2 ammunition objects).

3. If you interrupt a combat reload you will end up doing a full reload after the action that interrupted it completes.

We hope you enjoy this undocumented (until now) and unofficial "feature". Please do share this with other users so they, too, can choose whether or not to take advantage of it. "

_________________
[Dev]Bill D Cat
Lead Programmer
America's Army
Bugs - Ack. Thppt.

Source

To activate this option you need to set a keybind  , keep the old reload and use a different key for this one , as using the combat reload makes you loose your magazine even if it still have ammos on it.

For example here i will use the key V for the combat reload, just need to type the following in the command console in game once  :

Setbind V CombatReload

Enjoy and use it wisely :)

Redstone Arsenal, AL (June 09, 2011) -- The U.S. Army has released a major update to the America’s Army 3 PC Game. This new AA3 update includes two new multiplayer maps, Shantytown and Stronghold, and a number of new features including new gameplay for “Every Soldier a Sensor." The AA3 game can be downloaded free from Steam and from Deploy Client partners listed on the website.

Every Soldier a Sensor Gameplay :

- “Every Soldier a Sensor” or ES2 teaches that with all the advanced technology used by the U.S. Army, every Soldier is the best possible sensor on the battlefield. By observation, Soldiers are able to detect suspicious or important changes in their surroundings, however small. When this information is reported back to leaders, it allows them to construct a clearer picture of the battlefield making it safer for fellow Soldiers and civilians alike.

- The ES2 gameplay in AA3 brings awareness of the importance of every Soldier being observant on every mission. During AA3 gameplay, players will be rewarded for observing and reporting back things that they may come across during the mission that are suspicious or out-of-place. The player must determine what the object is, and report it if necessary. Many objects are false alarms and provide no benefit. Others are possible Intel such as NME documents or equipment and will grant the player a round bonus. Some gear or inventory items provide an immediate benefit such as ammo, explosives or IFAKS. To learn more about ES2, players will experience ES2 training as part of the MOUT training exercise.

New Maps :

- Shantytown is a rainy, close-quarters battle map which includes mission types for VIP and Activated objectives (where players interact with items to fulfill the mission). In this map, refugees fleeing oppression from the Czervenian government have established a makeshift slum settlement in the RDO city of Mozeizli.

A U.S. Soldier gets the drop on an NME patrol.

- The refugees have lately moved into better living quarters established by U.S. and coalition forces and the “Shantytown” has since been abandoned. But, NME operatives are believed to have infiltrated and set up links to enemy espionage networks in the deserted area. In Shantytown, players will need to take advantage of the in-game communication and work together as a team relying heavily on concealment and speed as they navigate this maze of plywood shacks, containers and corrugated sheet metal.

- Stronghold is a large map that takes place on the cobblestone streets of the occupied RDO city of Ranaliv where numerous alleys, terraces, balconies, and lofty spires provide a multitude of challenges and opportunities for teams to work together to accomplish the mission.

Working together as a team, a U.S. Army fireteam carefully advances towards the massive clock tower.

Most of the population of this old city has fled, leaving the town and historical sites open to fortification by enemy forces. An imposing 14th century stone fortress, clock tower and fortress turrets will be favorite overwatch positions so players must be prepared to defend against NME marksmen. Players will also make good use of cover inside structures in the commercial and residential districts, advancing as a team from building to building as they race to complete the mission objectives.

Additional Features :

- New Achievement Coins - New achievement coins are awarded to the player for ES2 gameplay achievements were added into the game. A few of these achievements include Clean Sweep (awarded when a team reports all the ES2 objects in a single round), What’s That (awarded when a Soldier reports his/her first ES2 object) and What’s Yours is Mine (awarded when a Soldier lets teammates take all of the items in an ES2 object they have reported). Players will also be able to earn Soldier Sensor coins in bronze, silver, gold and platinum, depending on the number of ES2 objects they report.

- New Blue Force Tracker (BFT) Features – The BFT which provides forces with location information has been enhanced. Players may now change the zoom of the BFT or alter the transparency of the extended map using the mouse wheel. A spectator extended map has also been added.

- Steam Leaderboards - Steam leaderboard and stats updates will now be available when running the game through Steam

- Admin Control Panel – An Admin Control Panel has been added to allow server providers to manage servers in-game. If the user has the appropriate server access, it will appear in the main menu.

- Performance - Updates also include a number of gameplay weapons and map performance improvements.

About America’s Army  :

- America's Army is the only action game that delivers an authentic and entertaining Army experience by reflecting the training, technology, skills, and career advancement of a United States Army Soldier. The game has become an online phenomenon, ranking among the most popular PC action games played online. America's Army games are rated T for Teen and can be downloaded free from Steam and from partners listed on the website. The Army launched America's Army in July of 2002 and the most recent version, AA3 launched in June 2009. In keeping with the dynamic nature of Soldiering, the America's Army game will continue to expand and allow players to explore the Army of today, tomorrow and the future. America's Army is produced by the Army Game Studio, part of the AMRDEC Software Engineering Directorate at Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville Alabama. Managed by Program Director Frank Blackwell, the Army Game Studio houses the development and management staff for the America's Army online PC game as well as numerous Military and Government applications.

Source

Finally it's here, the sitrep with the changelog for the new upcomming 3.1 version of America's Army 3 :

Phoenix AACM : " Listen up Soldier. An uptick in NME activity has been reported in two new areas codenamed Stronghold and ShantyTown and once again the U.S. Army has been called upon to spearhead the effort to diffuse these situations.

Stronghold: In the past week NME forces have assaulted and occupied Ranaliv, a tourist town in Northern Republik Demokratzny Zo Ta Ostregals (RDO). Most of the population has fled leaving the town and historical sites open to fortification. The most relevant structure is a stone fortress originally built in the early 1300's to protect access to the nearby harbor. NME troops must not be allowed to complete their efforts to militarize the area. There are two major surrounding districts, the Commercial district to the West and the Residential district to the East. One of the other tourist attractions, a historical clock tower, divides the two districts along the Southern thoroughfare. Look out for enemy over-watch deployed to that structure.

ShantyTown: Mozeizli was a booming center of economic growth in the RDO before the Czervenian war. The collapse of local economy combined with a large influx of Czervenian refugees has added to the impoverished population. Shanty Town is one of the makeshift communities that sprung up co-located near the city center. Intelligence has been tracking increased NME activity in this area for some time. NME operatives are believed to have infiltrated the population and have set up links to know enemy espionage networks. This maze-like haven of ad hoc structures will provide plenty of concealment but little cover and yield multiple traversal options including roof-top access. Make sure to clear rooms that could provide flanking routes behind your squad. You will never find a more abject hoard of waste and turpitude. Your squad must be careful.

Now the only thing standing between these towns and total anarchy is the U.S. Army. As one of the most highly trained Soldiers in the world, you and your teammates will work together, using tactics and strategies, cover and concealment and most of all, inter-squad communication as you fight to repel the hostile NME forces. "

America's Army 3 Version 3.1

Over the past few weeks we've given you behind-the-scenes looks, fly-thru videos, screenshots, and interviews. Well the waiting is nearly over! Soon, you'll be able to download America's Army 3 v3.1 and experience these great new missions for yourself. Be among the first to rule Stronghold's airy clock tower or crawl through the muddy streets of ShantyTown. With their unique architecture, terrain, vantage points and cover both maps are destined to become classics.

America's Army 3 v3.1 Release Notes

New Features :

• Every Soldier is a Sensor (ES2) additions

- ES2 is the process of observing and reporting to help provide a clearer picture of the battlefield and making it safer for fellow Soldiers and civilians alike. If Soldiers are observant and report suspicious items or other important information to command, someone with a larger view of all reported information can make a more informed decision about what the data means. The ES2 game play in AA3 brings awareness to the importance of being observant when on regular missions. The developers have implemented features within AA3 that will reward players for being observant and reporting back relevant data that they come across during their mission.

- ES2 missions will have objects randomly placed in the map. As players move through the maps, they may notice an object that seems out of place, or looks "suspicious". The player will need to determine what type of object it is by moving close to the object and centering it in their view. They will receive a context HUD message which will tell them what the object is. The player can then report the object via hotkey. HUD and Audio feedback will give the player confirmation and inform the player as to what type of object it is and provide additional instruction or information if needed. A player that reports ES2 objects within a round of play will be provided with a small amount of Army Value scoring 1 to 19 points.

- ES2 training is included as part of the MOUT training course. ES2 objects are contained in the level. Observing and reporting these objects will help reduce the player’s MOUT time by gaining some additional flash bangs you can use to stop the timer. It also flags your account as "ES2 Trained" which will shorten the time it takes to identify ES2 objects in multiplayer games.

• New two maps
  - Shantytown is a variable weather (no rain to heavy rain, wind, thunder and lightning) close quarters battle map which includes VIP and Activated objectives. 
  - Stronghold is a larger castle based map that includes all current mission types.

• New Blue Force Tracker (BFT) features

- BFT updated and enhanced. Player may change zoom of the BFT using the mouse wheel.
- Extended Map Updated: The player may access the BFT extended map by using the tab key. The updated extended map will also allow the user to play with it continuously up by changing the transparency using the mouse wheel.
- Spectator Extended Map added: Players may now toggle use of the Extended BFT in Spectator mode by pressing TAB.

• Steam Leaderboards: This release also features what we hope will be a neat new feature - a bunch of new leaderboards! Using a newly added Steam client feature, player leaderboard and stats updates will be available when running the game through Steam.

• Admin Control Panel has been added to allow server providers to manage servers in-game. If the user has the appropriate server access, it will appear in the main menu.

• You can now use the Steam client server browser to join an AA3 game server without starting the game first. For those using Steam we highly recommend you minimize your Steam client once you start America's Army in order to reduce the amount of memory Steam uses.

• New Gameplay Changes

- Treating someone will now use the victim’s IFAK instead of your IFAK as long as the victim has an IFAK. If the victim does not have an IFAK, you will use your own. What this means is that as long as either you or someone else has an IFAK on your team, you can still be treated.

- We also have several performance changes including one that should improve how the pawns are rendered which we believe will further improve client-side performance. We also cleaned up a lot of the server logging so it won't clog up the server and many other instances of log spam in the client were addressed.

- Spectating players should now have a bit better view of the world (one centered a bit higher up than the pawn's belt) and should in general be a better experience and avoid some of the crazy views seen in earlier builds.

- Team changing rules were modified so you can join the spectating team at any time and leave it to return to a team at the end of a round. Announcements are made in the chat area to indicate when players join and leave teams. A new server-side INI option was added to allow server operators to disable this feature.

- A change for those playing (or playing against) the SDM - we've implemented a change that should make it a bit easier to suppress an SDM. Our goal with this is to make the SDM closer to what he should be - a designated marksman and not a "super-enemy-killer-who-owns-bridge" soldier

• Weapons Fixes/Updates

- You will no longer see “you cannot fire” when changing fire modes (and in fact the entire animation has been removed since it wasn’t obvious to most people anyway).
- The XM320 had many fixes done which should improve its functionality in game.
- Obran LMK weapon jam no longer locks you into Obran until you fix the Jam (you can now switch to other weapons just like with an M249 jam).
- Fix for XM320 weapon mod not reloading properly after climbing ladders.
- Fixed the min/max pitch on dropping so it's between +/- 45 which prevents dropping grenades on the player's head. Also reduced the total distance when dropping a weapon (either by choice or death) so the weapon isn't thrown 15 feet away which looks fairly silly. Note that the range for intentionally throwing grenades was not changed.
- Changed M249 SAW's "ironsights" to "None" in the top rail dropdown.
- Fire mode delay fix. Removes animation for fire mode changing and adds a click sound when the fire mode change is activated on the client. Firemode will not actually change until the server receives the request however which creates a minor desynch issue where you can change fire mode and fire right away before the server receives the client and server will operate in different fire modes.
- Fix for losing M249 ammo when reloading from a nearly empty clip. Fix for bullet chain to display the proper number of remaining bullets. 
- Bullet weapon jams will no longer prevent the M320 grenade mod from functioning. 
- Fix for glitching M320 when interrupting weapon mod transition with combat slide or dive. 
- Fix for potential to enter a glitched state when attempting to swap to a grenade as the match starts before the main weapon is set.
- Fix for M249 discarding its ammo box during reload while prone. 
- Fix for wrong ammo shown on Obran held by enemy player after reload. 
- Fixed an issue where if the M249 jammed on last round it couldn't be cleared.
- Fixed the missing aimpoint bug. Should now spawn weapons, loadouts, and rail mods based on user's set preferences. Also set the default selection for weapons and rail mods to be the most advanced options (based on training requirements), except for the M249 in regards to box/soft bag ammo (meaning that it defaults to box).
- The inventory system for weapon magazines and grenades of all types was rewritten to greatly reduce the network bandwidth used by the game. The intent is to reduce network bandwidth and improve server performance as well.
- US Weapons are now a single mesh plus the sight instead of built out of multiple pieces which both fixes the odd coloring seen and reduces the actor count improving performance on the client.

• Map Fixes

- Bridge - Moved the flare and objective marker for the carried objective bridge mission so that it more accurately shows the center of the extraction area.
- Bridge - Tweaked the overpressure volumes on both the north and south tower so that they no longer leak out past the containing walls. 
- Bridge - Tweaked the catwalks so that they are all evenly placed, this should help with both moving along them
- Bridge - Tweaked the Assault/Defend mission so that the defending team gets a win when time runs out
- Bridge - Fixed a spot on the bridge near an overturned van where a player could get stuck quiet badly.
- Bridge - Moved one of the picnic tables so that you can more easily pass between it and the tree growing near it.
- Pipeline - Tweaked the audio levels on the ambient sounds.
- Impact - Tweaked the loadout on the VIP rifleman role, heavy should now have as many smokes as the normal loadout.
- Impact - Tweaked a bunch of grocery carts that were clipping into buildings.
- Impact - Moved an AC unit that was capturing players that accidently jumped behind it and a tree.
- Impact - Moved some tires that were causing players to get stuck between them and some trees.
- Impact - Added an extra indirect lighting point cloud so that players don't go unnaturally dark in places.
- Impact - Tweaked trees so that the branches won't block bullets anymore.
- Impact - Tweaked a potted plant that was sticking through the railing.
- Ranch - Fixed a weird and old/recurring lighting error in Ranch.
- Collision and lighting updates for all maps.
- Added Pipeline VIP to the mix.
- Added TAH mission for Alley (Foggy) in map vote, which was apparently missing.
- Hopefully fixed the issue where the player can move freely during Grenadier training.
- Updated mission Intel for Ranch, Pipeline, Bridge.

• Bug Fixes/Updates

- The scoreboard is now sorted by total score, in a descending order. Makes much more sense than sorting by role index. 
- Turned off blocking on collision volume for prone and incapacitated players. This will prevent the volume from blocking grenades thrown above the body. 
- Fixed friendly fire headshots were counting towards Consummate Professional achievement. 
- Fixed problem with voice input device dropdown component in Voice Settings page. 
- Fixed spelling error in follow me coin localized text. 
- Changed the display of the Ready button to gray out during the Deployment phase, versus going invisible. This should clear up confusion about the button "disappearing". 
- Fixed the kismet for CO levels so that all objectives will be available to be assigned in the BP during Auto-Assign, which takes away the reported issue, and brings the 
- Auto-Assign behavior act like it should. 
- Fix for animation problems caused when going prone from a leaning position. 
- Fixes backwards arms when going from prone or crouch to standing while in lowready weapon posture. 
- Fixed issue that would lead to the player being registered in 2 slots after a swap between two players. Made a change to MissionPreplanner which should prevent a player from missing their Cancel button when requesting a swap. 
- Corrected capacitation (revive) response time bonus rule to match other response times of 30 seconds (which avoids a potential negative award for late responders).
- Fixed issue where toggling scoreboard resets armor opacity even though armor has been depleted. 
- Fixed issue where pressing [H] (or the current M320 toggle) will print "Cannot toggle rangefinder because a reload is in progress." even if the weapon is not outfitted with a grenade launcher.
- Multiple Training NPC weapon load-out fixes in Weapons Fam.
- Adjusting load-out handling in single player "explore" mode so ammunition is available using the new inventory system. Note that the new default inventory for single player is to have an M16 XM 320 with 6 M433 rounds, 2 M714 rounds, and six 556 magazines (and a few frags smokes, flash).
- You should see some cool new head gear and radio gear on the heads of friendly and enemy soldiers when you're playing. To have the cool new head gear you must have passed the AIT training for the role you are playing (you'll see things like Oakley sunglasses, radio's with microphones, etc.).
- The infamous aim-point not on your weapon after changing teams mid-round bug should finally be fixed.
- The equally infamous medic bug should now be fixed.
- Adjusted when the server's console titlebar is updated on startup so server operators can verify the mission type and server honor mode prior to any players joining the server.
- Fixed issue with trying to join a password protected server from Favorites/History not showing password pane.
- Fixed Favorites/History server info pane not showing valid info, as well as:
- Add sorting to the Favorite/History pages
- Change sorting for Player column to sort primary on # players, and secondary on max players.
- Fix repeated tab pressing issue
- Fix "strobe light" button effect
- Update Favorite/History info when viewing
- Disable rows in Favorite/History tables if they are not online
- Add timer to double clicking on pages so that second press must be within 500 ms
- Change tab behavior to not swap depths
- Update tool tip to auto size to text
- More MOS description fixes.
- Added a Back button to appropriate pages in the Go Army->Lifestyles section. Also fixed a bunch of typos in the Go Army->Careers section.
- Switching teams mid round will now bring up the Role Selection screen automatically at the end of the round (after the scoreboard). Also added a server side config variable, bAllowSpectatorsBackOntoTeams, which defaults to true, and allows players who switched to the Spectators team from Black or Gold to return to either team. This can be set to false for tournament style play, if desired.
- Players who have selected the Spectator team after being on a team (ie team # is 2), should not be counted for number of votes needed for Ready button, since they won't have a ready button to press.
- Fixed 18C MOS description under Construction & Engineering. Left all 3 entries in, since this entry is found in 3 different spots on the GoArmy.com website.
- Fixed various Go Army->Careers typos.
- Allowing screenshot in most menus. Added screenshot support to scoreboard
- Update to how spectators are treated at match start. Will now auto select someone to follow, and will skip Battle Planner and showing the HUD.
- Reformatted the Mission Brief Section, and corrected Mission Briefings for all Maps/missions
If a player is incapacitated and spectating his own pawn, his pawn will now disappear if his camera gets too close to it.
- Update entry into server to show the Role Select screen when a new player to the server joins a match already in progress.
- Added network setting option in video settings.
- Update that should fix any irregularities with tracked teammates on the BFT.
- Password Screen now properly shows the Version Number.
- When looking at an incapacitated player, their status will now show as "WOUNDED". 
- Also, changed the "TREATED" status text to read "STABLE", to more accurately represent the observed player's status.
- Fix for TAH capture getting stuck when entering a TAH volume with an incapped player in it
- Fixed clipping of the last player's name in the Server Info Player List. Also changed out the scrollbars, even though they are being weirdly skewed by the component.
- Viewing ranks while spectating or looking at other players should now show the correct rank.
- More updates to the netcode to help the client to determine the best connection settings.

• Known Issues

- Incorrect “You Were Kicked From the Server Rules of Engagement Message” when leaving a map.
- Unable to unlock training – Tier 1 automatic rifleman softbag ammo
- Soldier overview and statistics page not updating
- M320 rangefinder problem
- No servers listed
- Server browser displays incorrect population of servers
- Missing 16:10 resolutions
-Alt-tabbing causes application crash

That's all for this time, but keep checking back here for more America's Army 3 info and the next SITREP!

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