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Hit the '4' key to bring up PDA and map.

Early on I felt some sponginess I reckon, due to using the 9x19 MP5 and MPX a lot. Once I started having better rifles that has gone away. Each weapon is rated for muzzle velocity and each cartridge for piercing and penetration and once you upgrade to better gear I think you'll be suitably lethal. But that's part of why I said earlier that getting to having better gear is fraught with peril. Having the target NOT go down straight away is a problem. They tend not to hang about when fired on and get in to cover. A reflex sight is a good step up too.

Thanks for that!

Happy to help, or at least, think that I did!

I got one mission in last night, on the Quarry map. I've done enough missions now to reach one called 'Probation', and this introduces an enemy sniper who ostensibly is here to hunt you. He's called Monstera, and wears a ghllie and carries a SR-25 and is supposed to be stealthy I guess. I decided to strip away all my good gear and go with the backup gear, in case he got me, and I was even more hyper-aware than I usually am, but I didn't encounter him yet. This adds a neat twist, at least until I know what the scoop is. The unknown is frightening

Whilst out on that patrol I found my first level 4 tactical vest, so it all worked out quite nicely.

By default, interact is middle mouse and F key is attachments wheel. I swapped those

Interesting stuff. The F key was one of those I quickly switched- in most games I play F is normally 'interact and since I hate my mmb I switched the attach to another key. I'm right handed for most things...except hockey where I shoot left, and computers where i use my mouse left handed with right hand on the keyboard...no idea why lol.

I got Monstera before he got me, and indeed he was hunting me!

I knew one of the spots he might be found is the docks on the Quarry map. So I ran four insertions in a row, hoping for the northern spawn and got it each time. Then I fought my way through the fishing village, clearing it, then along the road, clearing it, and finally to the docks, which is a walled compound and I took up position outside and began to pick off the guards, thinking it might draw the sniper out. The first three times, no encounter, as he must have randomly spawned elsewhere. But the fourth time he was here, and he actually got the first shot off despite my hyper-vigilance. Luckily though, he missed and I got him with my suppressed AK-12.

Took his level 4 armor, which I had shot to hell, and his SR-25. There's an achievement for taking him down. Not sure if he continues to spawn, but certainly something to be on the lookout for. His camo is effective, his weapon is a good one. That was a fun hunt, and I only won because I got lucky.

Still playing IRR and having a good time with it.

Yesterday I was on Steam and came thisclose to picking up Gray Zone Warfare. It has a PvE-only mode, called Joint Operations which I think I would like. I watched a video, and the game loop is virtually identical to what I am doing in IRR, but it adds a few things I think I'd like, one of which is helicopter insertions, which is cool. Too bad no one around here plays games any more.I say 'no one' but you know what I mean. Extraction shooters are one of the most popular genres around but not around here. It would be nice to have some GZW players give their impressions. I'll be picking GZW up at some point in the near future I think. If the solo PVE mode works well I think I'd enjoy it. Both of these games are still in EA so will hopefully only get better.

I was on Steam yesterday looking at options, and one game I nearly bought is ARMA Reforger. It's marked down a bit at the moment. Anyone playing this one? I know Loop plays it. It's not an extraction shooter, but the mil-sim vibe fits.

Any impressions of that game? Is it viable as a solo PvE experience? How do you play it? What is Conflict mode like?

I've now dropped 80+ hours in to IRR, and have nicked the achievements for getting 300 kills on two of the maps, Bunker first, then Quarry. Delta is still at 100 kills. Bunker is shown as the hardest map, with four skulls, but I think it's the easiest, or maybe more accurately, the hardest to be killed on if you play smart. Still rollin' with my trusty AK-12 which is a fine rifle. Well actually I use it for a while, maybe repair it once, then just buy another one and swap all the attachments. Love the smell of Cosmoline

I have Reforger and I like the more historical setting it offers (Cold War era). Haven't played it in awhile so a lot may have changed. It plays (or played) slightly different from the ARMA series, but close enough to be considered family. I'd imagine the modding community has added a lot of options by now.

Here's an OLD video done by Dslyecxi and his ShackTac online group

Thanks Leaf, I bought it yesterday and have played through half of the tutorial. I've played ARMA 3, 2, 1 and all the Operation Flashpoint games, so I suppose I know more or less what I've gotten in to. Not sure this one would allow me to play how I want, or at least have a reasonable chance of success. Conflict can be played offline but there are a number of hoops to jump through and we'll see about that. The vibe I get is the community is cool, more so than most, and jumping in as a rando online isn't a bad experience, so I might do some of that too. In ARMA 3 I played a mod, which I forget the name, and it allowed me to play capture the island, taking over bases, building them up, expanding our control, and I could have success as a solo player because there was friendly AI going around doing it too. In Conflict single player I think friendly AI can only defend bases, they don't capture anything, and I cannot lead a squad, so me as a single rifle barrel it would probably prove impossible, or close enough.

So yeah, I'll muck around with the tutorial, and the campaign, and then if I'm feeling it, hop online and tag along with some squads. I'll look in to solo Conflict and see how convoluted it actually is

As I was looking in to Reforger ahead of buying it I had another look at Tarkov, which IS an extraction shooter, the OG, in fact. I read quite a bit about the solo modes, either the official PvE expansion, or SPT, which is a user mod that does the same thing, but doesn't pull another $30 out of your wallet. I wishlisted it for the Steam sale in a couple of days and if it's marked down I'll probably pick that up with a view toward solo PvE and avoid the one thing I know would make it suck, cheaters. I actually wishlisted a bunch of games over the past couple of days, happy to find a number of them that appealed to me.

Nice! Loved ARMA 1 and 2. I had a mod for both 1 and 2 that allowed you to run ops as a single player and recruit AI troops. Arma 2 was better for that iirc ... the mod was called Domination or something like that. You were given a base with all kinds of gear for loadouts, armored vehicles you had to earn the right to operate, helicopters and even jets. You could take missions, such as clear out X village, ambush Y convoy, infiltrate enemy lines etc. It was a ton of fun. The online group I belonged to often played so it made for some interesting sessions. Sadly they were more into the Battlefield series in an unorganised way (akin to little kids playing 'guns' running around the house). I did get an offer to join a milsim group but it was bad timing as I was working primarily second and third watch so participation would have been an option, not a necessity. I like Arma 3 but prefer the cold war era play (I've got the West German/East German conflict DLC which I really like). Never did get into Day Z much at all.

That Domination sounds great and maybe I played it too.

I did most of the tutorials in Reforger but got stuck on the mortar, and need to watch a video or something. Didn't work it out.

Steam sale should start tomorrow so I plan to snag a few shooters I think.

I never tried DayZ but there was someone who used to post here about it, detailing their adventures and I enjoyed reading those posts. This was when it was just a mod and not a commercial product. I might like it, but never gave it a go.

If Tarkov goes on sale I may pick up a copy, along with the PVE dlc. I don't mind the play in IRR and have completed a couple of missions, extracting safely. One thing I'm finding annoying is the inconsistent ability to squeeze between various things, like posts and walls, or between shipping crates and a fence. There are times when the area appears narrow and you can go through, but also times where the distance between objects is say shoulder width and you get the invisible wall. I think they need to reassess some of the invisible hit boxes lol. Also noted is the AI's non-reactiveness to nearby gunshots, but I may have the AI tuned poorly. I'll probably have to readjust my settings a bit. Let me add that they've done a good job with the graphics engine, especially given it's still Early Access, as I can run it on 'high' settings and it doesn't make my potato hurt.

Yeah same on Tarkov. I said in the OP I think that Tarkov might be too detailed for me, or too tedious, but I don't know really.

About IRR... yes, agreed some of the maps have issues, and for me especially the center town in the Delta map which has most of the streets blocked which ticks me off more than it should. I like the game, and the weapon fidelity and good AI, or I think it's good. And by good, I mean not bad, because most games the AI is bad. It's still expanding and we will get a new map in the next update, a more urban map and it will have all factions on it. If it turns out that they battle amongst themselves as well as with the player and his friends I think that could be really good. I hope they give AI factions patrols that intersect at random moments so firefights can break out and not because of you. I want that feeling I have in Fallout 4 where the world is going on about its business and sometimes we happen to meet. Distant gunfire is so cool in games like this.

I don't want to give the devs too much rope about this being an 'alpha' build or being in EA. It's been out two years. Next update will be in the fall if I understand. It should be a big shift forward, so we will see. I like heading out on patrol in this game, the solo stealth/combat experience is in a good place for me. It feels good when the boots are on the ground. The Spectre scope, a little detuned AI communication distance and a suppressor on an AR with low recoil is a good time. This game can make you pay if you mess up, and get the AI riled up. But if you can erode them through effective movement and engagement it feels good to me. I've had a fine enough time with it that I'm expanding out on other mil-sim type games, and I like the concepts in extraction shooters, it's a good mix.

In Reforger I finished all of the tutorials. My mortar problem was due to not knowing where I was, and when you work out firing solutions, this is handy to know. Turns out there were two icons on the map, and I picked the wrong one as the mortar position. Sorry to all of the fish I killed.

Did it again tonight and worked it out, and then hit the lighthouse on the first drop! Or close enough for a mortar anyway. Can't see the target, indirect fire. Plotted with a map, and protractor and compass. Spotter called a hit. Firing the mortar was far more fun than I would have expected it to be, and not all that different from a manual torpedo shot really. It makes such a satisfying sound too.

And I didn't know where I was because in Reforger there is no player icon on the map. There are mods to add it, but when is the last time I had to actually navigate? To use terrain features, landmarks and a compass to find my way around? Did the first campaign mission, and got to the objective with no issues and that's fun too. Get it wrong and you can actually get lost. Was it this way in ARMA 3? No player icon? I guess I don't recall. Maybe if I prove to myself I'm good at it I'll mod it and go back to being lazy.

I looked more in to Tarkov, and watched a video to see what the PvE side is like. It looks difficult, and the graphics were not quite up to what I was expecting, even knowing it's an older game. Maybe it was this player's settings too. The AI he was shooting at looked so tiny, and might be his POV settings, I can't say. The AI is not messing around. But I am definitely intrigued and I think I will pick it up in the sale, assuming Tarkov is included. I'm thinking the summer sale starts today, but no indication yet.

This is one of those videos, a quick one at 11 minutes, and gives a sense of how the game plays

Thanks for that. I'll definitely give that a watch. A couple more things I really like about IRR is the minimal HUD, and the very useful map pin system that will then translate to the compass. One more thing is that there doesn't seem to be a time limit while in-country. I appreciate that as it allows me to work my way in and out with least exposure. That was one of the problems with the mech extraction shooter I was playing- your mech suit only functioned for about 30 minutes so you were forced to go fast, and then they had random post-apocalyptic weather storms that could melt your suit too...just didn't find that fun beyond the sixty hours I put into it lol.

Spot on, about the UI and no time pressure. Both appeal to me too, and were part of why I picked this one up.

Have you run the bunker map? I avoided it because I thought it would be the hardest map, it's the hardest rated with four skulls. But if you are a methodical player, and take advantage of the natural funnels and cul-de-sacs I think it's the easiest map. Bring a flashlight or NVG if you have it.

Everything is more condensed on Bunker, so for the time spent you get the most gain -- loot, weapons, XP, resources etc. Be aware that suppressors don't seem to be effective on this map

I think Delta is the most challenging because it is more open. Quarry gets a boost once Monstera shows up. I've shot hit like ten times now, he never dies for long haha. One time he had four of the MC coins on him, the black market currency. And he always has top armor and a SR-25. But he hunts the player down, so watch out! Headshot if you can, to preserve his body armor. He shows up when you reach the Probation mission on the Quarry map

That reminds me of another thing I like, the enemies you loot have their stuff. So many games you get in to a firefight, finally kill him and find a can of soup. Like, where's this dude's gun, and ammo, and stuff? In IRR all their stuff it there for the looting, even if half of it sucks. Tarkov works this way too

Trooper played Tarkov a lot back when it was newer, and I wish he were more active in this forum, he is just the sort of player I want to be contributing, and I'd like to hear what he has to say.

Either the Steam summer sale did not start at 10 AM EST, or Tarkov is not included, yet anyway. I google and it says the summer sale has begun, but on the Steam store I see no Summer Sale banner or anything like that. I'm at work on a browser without Steam installed. Maybe I'll see it when I get home.

Check that, just refreshed it and the banner is up

Tarkov marked down by a quarter

Escape from Tarkov @ Steam

And if, like me, you're looking for PvE, then I expect we also need this

Escape From Tarkov: PvE Zone

That's nearly US$70 combined if you go with standard edition of the base game. Other editions add stash space and gear or whatever. The reviews on these addition editions are uniformly negative

Yeah, I'm positive the base price actually increased on my store version for both the standard edition and PvE dlc. If I'd been smarter I'd have got copies before the so-called sale. Base price for standard edition this morning was $51.99 cdn and now is listed as $69.99. With the 25% discount it comes to $52.49...I know math is hard...but that's sketch. So yep, gonna wait now until it gets lower again after the 'sale' lol and just get further into IRR.

Seriously? That's bizarre. Are you sure you aren't looking at the Left for Dead edition or something? My price dropped from $49.99 this morning to $37.49 with the sale

Well that's really too bad. I was hoping we'd be kicking it off at the same time so we could both benefit from the other. That would make the journey more fun for me, and probably speed up my progression in some ways.

Yeah, I have been looking at the price for a couple of days as I weighed pros and cons. That video helped btw. Luckily I had written the price down yesterday on some scratch paper, along with the prices of some DLC for TSW6 since I was checking ye olde budget. Probably a 'regional' pricing thing and these devs are known for crap like that apparently (developers set the prices on Steam, and set their sale prices if they participate with a Steam Sale).