Attention soldiers,

As you know, we released the 0.9.8.50 Experimental Update, which brought a fairly large number of improvements and fixes, and subsequently bumped the game version to 0.9.8. We've refactored our APIs, fixed issues reported by the community, and added some new assets like mines.

However, we need to warn you that this update may break a large number of mods currently in use. We know this isn't ideal, but we've got your back. There's an experimental version of the tools available for you to download and test your mods before the stable update goes live.

We're really excited about these changes, and we hope you are too! So be sure to download the experimental version and get your mods ready for the update. To do so, go to Steam and find Arma Reforger Experimental and Arma Reforger Experimental Tools - both the game, Workbench, and game data must match. Once you've done this, launch Workbench and add the Arma Reforger Experimental data following the instructions on the Mod Project Setup wiki page.

To help you transition to the new version, we've listed some of the most common issues you may encounter with the new version of the game in this article. Of course, this list doesn't cover all possible problems, and some DIY fixes will be required. In this case, check the changelog and known issues for 0.9.8.50 Experimental Update, go through the error log console individually, and try to fix all the reported issues. If you have problems that you are unable to solve on your own, don't hesitate to ask for help on our forums or on our Discord server, where other community members and the developers themselves might be able to help you with your problem.

Common Issues

Arsenal Crates

Arsenal crate configuration was massively changed, and gear & weapons available in crates are now configured as part of the Entity Catalog.

There's no simple conversion process from the old data type to the new one, so it's recommended to instead configure your assets using the instructions located in our Wiki. You can also take a look at vanilla data or samples to see how the configuration was done.

Weapon Inspection

If you have a weapon with a custom or duplicated animation graph, then it'll be necessary to update your animation graph and include new variables for controlling weapon inspection.

In the Reforger Misc GitHub repository, you can find updated reference blend files for AK74 weapon inspection, and in Sample New Weapon, you can find new weapon inspection animation sources in the SampleWeapon_01_Inspection_Animations.blend file.

Attachment Types

We added new classes in vanilla data to set the types of possible weapon attachments based on the Attachment Compatibility Mod created by our developers on the Workshop. Most of the types are differently named, so weapon modders need to update their mods accordingly to use the feature to its full extent. The mod will eventually be deprecated after all of the mods stop using it. The full list of new attachment class types can be found in data\scripts\Game\Weapon\Attachments. 

There are a lot of new types added, and our vanilla data was updated accordingly.

Prefab Configuration

Configuration of characters was changed, and CharacterWeaponManagerComponent was added to Character_Base.et prefab. Previously, If your characters weren't showing in World Editor and you got an error mentioning that "component BaseWeaponManagerComponent can't be combined with component CharacterWeaponManagerComponent" in the Log Console, then the best course of action would be mass replacing of BaseWeaponManagerComponent with CharacterWeaponManagerComponent "{5C9CA676383262FD}" (bear in mind the GUID of the component - some regex magic might be required!) in affected prefabs in a text editor outside of Workbench. Alternatively, you can try to delete the extra components one by one in Workbench and then adjust the content of CharacterWeaponManagerComponent afterward, be aware though that it might be time-consuming!

There were a few other changes like that made to other prefabs, and you may find out that certain props might no longer be working due to, for instance, duplicated RplComponent. In this case, deleting the duplicated component is the correct course of action.

Tip: You can easily distinguish components inherited from base prefabs by looking at the number on the right side of the component. This number indicates how many times a component was present in the inheritance chain, so the component with the lower number will be the most likely candidate for deletion.

Some of the equipment, e.g., the Soviet harness, was also changed, so the loadouts of units with this gear might need to be adjusted so that items are placed in the respective pouches instead.

Script API Changes

FileHandle

We have recently refactored the FileHandle API due to its outdated design and multiple issues and limitations. As a result, all functions in this API have changed. Any addon that previously used the old API will no longer work with the new version and must be updated to use the refactored API instead.
The new API is documented directly in FileHandle.c and includes several examples. Compared to the old implementation, the new API is clearer and simpler to use.

Entity Activeness

Since 0.9.8 EOnActivate is not called on components when an entity is spawned anymore, components are now considered active by default. Learn more on our Entity Activeness wiki page.

Shaders

We're introducing coloring by satellite map in certain shaders. By default, most of our terrain and grass materials use this feature now. However, you might want to disable it if the satellite map in your terrain isn't ready to be used for it yet. If you use our vanilla materials in your personal maps, just create an inherited material variant in your addon and disable or change it there. Note: don't create material override in order to disable coloring in your maps; that would break shaders in vanilla maps.

Terrain

To disable coloring by satellite map in terrain material, set the Sat Map Blend to 0 in the "Terrain detail maps" category tab. Vanilla materials are located in ArmaReforger/Terrains/Surfaces.

Grass

To disable coloring by satellite map in procedural grass material, set the Sat Map Lerp to 0 in the "Grass" category tab. Vanilla materials are located in ArmaReforger/Assets/Clutter/Procedural.

Addon Visibility

The option to enable set addon visibility to Unlisted has been added again.