Admiralbumfluff

Hello and welcome

Dear members of Ahoy World,
 
It is with great sadness that I have to inform you of the passing of @Mikael on Friday July 15.
He was involved in an motorcycle accident and succumbed to his injuries.
 
I know Mikael was a big part of you community and he often talked about how much enjoyed the ARMA sessions he had with you all.
 
I will come back with more information about the funeral arrangements when I get them.
 
**Update
The funeral will be held July 26.
There has also been created a memorial page for Mikael LINK (page is in Norwegian). Here you can light a candle and leave your name ( Tenn et lys ) or write some words in his memory ( Skriv et minneord ) 
 
And thank you all for your kinds words, it is really appreciate. He will truly be missed by all those who were lucky enough to know him  ❤️ 

This is by no means a scientific comparison, but here's some video capture before and after the change.  I wanted to keep stamina in the green, but use up a bit and see what the sway looked like.
 
Before (100%)
 
After (70%)
 
So yeah, much much better.

I haven't read all of this thread so it may have already been said.
 
I believe one good thing that AW needs to return and stay is regular staff and player meetings. Host this regularly, have staff and community members work out points of discussion and stick to the routine.
 
In the past when AW had a rather large divide, this was a decision that was made and we managed regular community meetings where everyone had a chance to share their thoughts on improvements, have debates and also provide a time for staff to provide regular news for the community with real time feedback on what they thought.
 
I think fostering an environment of regular discussion and feedback in real time during regular meetings will help to reinforce that "stand by eachother" mentality that is seeming to be lacking recently and help to bring about new ideas on the regular to maintain focus.
 
I feel that this could all be planned out with a community meeting to let people take the stage and talk about what they would expect from these meetings and the best ways to do it. It may also help to get people together to chat and just have a fresh start if needed.
 
This was something that @PiranhA did a while back and I believe the fresh start then was one of the best things to happen. Just let bygones be bygones and let the community shape the way forward.

Unfortunately that now seems like a necessity.
 
Realistically it should have been in place (and might have) from the start but it now seems inevitable that it is needed.
 
(I'm also in the same boat and don't know all the details as I can only see the fallout.)
 
As I was going to check out the discord before reconnecting and playing for a bit I noticed people were missing. And that should be the first tell. People shouldn't be missing. Just a thought.
 
That being said I hate to see old friends and people I respect fighting and bickering like this.
 
I really hope you all manage to find a solution here and return to something like it used to be.
 
Just my 2p

I agree that a review of the rules is needed, but i do not see need for us to massively change them. They are clear and consise. The issue, seems to have stemmed more from the investigation procedure carried out. The reason the report was filed was for the investigation to occur, it would be wrong of us to not question the report, from all angles and ask questions that people do not like because that is often where the truth lies. 
 
I agree that discussion is needed. But like everyone else here, Core was not aware it was a big deal as it was never actually discussed with us as a team until the report was filed.

Unfortunately that now seems like a necessity.
 
Realistically it should have been in place (and might have) from the start but it now seems inevitable that it is needed.
 
(I'm also in the same boat and don't know all the details as I can only see the fallout.)
 
As I was going to check out the discord before reconnecting and playing for a bit I noticed people were missing. And that should be the first tell. People shouldn't be missing. Just a thought.
 
That being said I hate to see old friends and people I respect fighting and bickering like this.
 
I really hope you all manage to find a solution here and return to something like it used to be.
 
Just my 2p

Unfortunately that now seems like a necessity.
 
Realistically it should have been in place (and might have) from the start but it now seems inevitable that it is needed.
 
(I'm also in the same boat and don't know all the details as I can only see the fallout.)
 
As I was going to check out the discord before reconnecting and playing for a bit I noticed people were missing. And that should be the first tell. People shouldn't be missing. Just a thought.
 
That being said I hate to see old friends and people I respect fighting and bickering like this.
 
I really hope you all manage to find a solution here and return to something like it used to be.
 
Just my 2p

Unfortunately that now seems like a necessity.
 
Realistically it should have been in place (and might have) from the start but it now seems inevitable that it is needed.
 
(I'm also in the same boat and don't know all the details as I can only see the fallout.)
 
As I was going to check out the discord before reconnecting and playing for a bit I noticed people were missing. And that should be the first tell. People shouldn't be missing. Just a thought.
 
That being said I hate to see old friends and people I respect fighting and bickering like this.
 
I really hope you all manage to find a solution here and return to something like it used to be.
 
Just my 2p

Unfortunately that now seems like a necessity.
 
Realistically it should have been in place (and might have) from the start but it now seems inevitable that it is needed.
 
(I'm also in the same boat and don't know all the details as I can only see the fallout.)
 
As I was going to check out the discord before reconnecting and playing for a bit I noticed people were missing. And that should be the first tell. People shouldn't be missing. Just a thought.
 
That being said I hate to see old friends and people I respect fighting and bickering like this.
 
I really hope you all manage to find a solution here and return to something like it used to be.
 
Just my 2p

Unfortunately that now seems like a necessity.
 
Realistically it should have been in place (and might have) from the start but it now seems inevitable that it is needed.
 
(I'm also in the same boat and don't know all the details as I can only see the fallout.)
 
As I was going to check out the discord before reconnecting and playing for a bit I noticed people were missing. And that should be the first tell. People shouldn't be missing. Just a thought.
 
That being said I hate to see old friends and people I respect fighting and bickering like this.
 
I really hope you all manage to find a solution here and return to something like it used to be.
 
Just my 2p

Unfortunately that now seems like a necessity.
 
Realistically it should have been in place (and might have) from the start but it now seems inevitable that it is needed.
 
(I'm also in the same boat and don't know all the details as I can only see the fallout.)
 
As I was going to check out the discord before reconnecting and playing for a bit I noticed people were missing. And that should be the first tell. People shouldn't be missing. Just a thought.
 
That being said I hate to see old friends and people I respect fighting and bickering like this.
 
I really hope you all manage to find a solution here and return to something like it used to be.
 
Just my 2p

Unfortunately that now seems like a necessity.
 
Realistically it should have been in place (and might have) from the start but it now seems inevitable that it is needed.
 
(I'm also in the same boat and don't know all the details as I can only see the fallout.)
 
As I was going to check out the discord before reconnecting and playing for a bit I noticed people were missing. And that should be the first tell. People shouldn't be missing. Just a thought.
 
That being said I hate to see old friends and people I respect fighting and bickering like this.
 
I really hope you all manage to find a solution here and return to something like it used to be.
 
Just my 2p

I had to step down. All the information I have had access to indicates very strongly that things were and are not ok, rules have in fact been broken by staff. I cannot pass Judgement on people for say simply sharing an discord link on EU1 if AWE staff are allowed to advertise and recruit for another communitiy.
 
It is a shame that stepping down was the only option left to many admins since discussing the issue with core staff became impossible. Even core staff were divided so badly that Norris just left.
 
At this point I believe everything is said and done for my part, my decision was not hasty, I researched a lot, I have discussed the situation with many people, I have also had access to the admin report submitted for quite some time now. The same report was shared with me from more than one source and I consider these sources trust worthy. The situation is worse than it has been for a long time on Ahoy. I hope @Minipily is right, I hope Ahoy can rise from the ashes yet again. Though sadly I think it becomes a little harder every time. It takes a lot of work and very special leader ship and I am not quite sure we have what it takes right now.

In-spite off all of this I look fondly back at my time as staff on Ahoy World. It's been an incredible journey filled with a lot of action, fun and friendship. There has obviously been a few bumps along the way but all in all a most excellent experience. Thank you everyone.

@GTX_2018 I'm sorry to hear you feel that way. After spending so much time with us on Eu1, teamspeak and on EU3 I would have thought you would have a better understanding of our staff as people. 
 
To me it seems like you are not taking responsibility for your actions. To simplify yesterday I will put in bullet point form and try to explain what happened, why it happened and why I agree it to be correct.
 
Firstly you offered up some inflammatory statements relating to gender for which an admin quickly corrected you and you were warned not to continue the conversation. Less than 1 hour later you were negatively commenting on a players performance which you were politely asked to stop doing, to this you responded by berating the admin likely thinking that your tenure here gave you a right to behave like this. I was in teamspeak and agreed with the admins decision to kick you at that stage. You then connected to teamspeak, where you and I spoke about it and I informed you that your behaviour was not acceptable and was not normal for you as a player. You agreed this was the case and left to re-join the server. Which I thought would be the end of the saga. Unfortunately, you then upon seeing another player be kicked decided to join that players group in an attempt to gain traction to the idea that you were the victim and that the admins had somehow overstepped their authority in kicking you. For this you were given a 30 day ban under rule 1.1.1. AhoyWorld is a welcoming community that respects its members and visitors. We expect everyone to maintain this environment and will take action against those who jeopardise that community spirit. Admins reserve the right to warn/kick/ban users whose behaviour is deemed disruptive or aggressive and not conducive to a place of tolerance/friendship/comradery. Whether the behaviour is disruptive or not will be determined on a case-by-case basis on the judgment of the admin/admins present.   
With the facts laid out I will say that I would not have expected this from you as a known member of the community. I was also disappointed in how your demeanour changed when dealing with me. Why were you so dismissive of a moderator who is working hard to make the server enjoyable for all but would listen to me, the mod team should garner the same respect as a member of core Staff.  
 
If it were me in the first instance I would have kicked you for the first comment relating to gender. The moderator choose to give you a warning as is within their discretion to do so.
To insinuate that you did not deserve to be kicked after that is to say that your behaviour as a whole cannot be used against you only specific actions, which is untrue.
 
Honestly, I'm just upset about the whole thing. I was glad to see you back playing and had commented a few weeks ago that I hadn't seen you and hoped you were ok. as I do with a lot of players who come and go.
 
To take away from this I hope that you can reflect on the encounter as a whole and learn from it. 
Ahoyworld is a welcoming community and you are welcome back here in the future if you can learn and grow from this.
Many members have had a checkered past but we grow as people and as a community. 
 
Midnight

AW MVP 2020: @Stanhope (For his "big brain" technical contribution behind the scenes, seriously, this guy needs paid)
AW Most Friendly Admin/Moderator/Spartan 2020: @Norris (The friendliest Canadian abooot)
AW Most Helpful Admin/Moderator/Spartan 2020: @MidnightRunner (Oh merciful overlord)
AW Most Active Staff Member 2020: @LH5 (AW's very own big brother - forever watching chatlogs)
AW Strictest Staff Member 2020: @Admiralbumfluff (For fighting the ever-lasting battle against EU1 trolls)
AW Best Team Player 2020: @Johnson (Squad leading ability second-to-none, absolute meme lord behind the scenes... love it)
AW Most Helpful Member *Non Staff* 2020: @SiegeSix (For helping break-in the newbloods during the early days)
AW Most Friendly Member 2020: @Sack (, Sergeant.)
AW Tacti-cool member 2020: @Minipily (Drip on point, Steve would be proud.)
AW Underrated Member 2020: @FrOzT (Friendly Nord chap, always appreciated being able to watch stream highlights from your POV, that goes for @Walk'N too!)
AW Most Incoherent Member 2020: @Walk'N  (Absolutely stellar French fella, listening to his callouts always make me chuckle)
AW DAAASSS BOOOOT 2020: N/A
AW Best Pilot 2020: @Gambit (Up there alongside the best pilots I know, zero-tolerance for smart-assery)
AW Worst Pilot 2020: @Xwatt (Best you stay boots on the ground 'ol friend)
AW Best Voice 2020: @Jochem (Confident leader, crystal clear commands, voice of an angel)
AW Funniest Person on Team Speak 2020: @SkullCollector (Fastest one-liners in the west)
AW Worst Joke 2020: (Truly ban worthy)
AW Best Moment 2020 (can be in-game, on Team Speak or Forum): (I still hear that guitar playing whenever I close my eyes... never again.)
AW Best Forum Post (please put URL in): (Glad to see the community expand its reach to new platforms, hopefully we can see more of this in the future)
AW Dankest Meme Post In Discord 2020: (I honestly couldn't pick one, the meme channel just keeps producing the goods)
AW Best Driver 2020:  @WinterMute (You can always count on 'ol willy to safely get you to your destination!)
AW Worst Driver 2020:  @Jenkins (I know @Xwatt tends to get a lot of flak for his driving abilities, but I'd seriously consider myself a strong contender this time around)
AW Best Fail 2020: @kennychr (Bet you thought you had escaped this one huh, but honestly though, I DESERVE IT.)
AW Best Ban of 2020: @MoonFire
AW Team Speak Channel 2020:  SETUP ROOM - AWE  (A true emotional rollercoaster and home to the best memes outside Discord)
AW Best Screen Shot 2020: (Credit to @Johnson and @Karate Pyjamas - Liberation in a nutshell)
AW Best/Worst Call-out 2020:  -REDACTED- / Helmet Cam of Cpl. Xwatt - Alpha Squad / Operation CHADS / Hellanmaa Province West / -REDACTED-
AW Candidate for the Hague 2020: @Sho_Iwaizumi (Every commanders headache, but always in good humour. Pizza connoisseur.)
AW Role Model 2020: @Whigital (Top quality player, rarely ventures outside EU1 but is very friendly and helpful with guiding new players, keep it up dude!)

AW MVP 2020: @Ryko for the I&A 4 goodness
AW Most Friendly Admin/Moderator/Spartan 2020: @Whigital
AW Most Helpful Admin/Moderator/Spartan 2020: @Lindi for your willingness to help new pilot on EU1
AW Most Active Staff Member 2020: @LH5 this boi doesn't sleep and takes no prisoners whilst applying a ban
AW Strictest Staff Member 2020: @Admiralbumfluff *Admin connected to the server* Admin was kicked from the server (Admin/change your name/Admiral)
AW Best Team Player 2020: @Whigital 
AW Most Helpful Member *Non Staff* 2020: @Gambit when you need a hummingbird pilot instructor this is your instructor
AW Most Friendly Member 2020: @Art3misZA
AW Tacti-cool member 2020: @Minipily moustache 
AW Underrated Member 2020:
AW Most Incoherent Member 2020: @RiverWolf
AW DAAASSS BOOOOT (formerly Drunkest member) 2020: @RiverWolf
AW Best Pilot 2020: @Whigital
AW Worst Pilot 2020: @Toasted_Bread_Slice.....you know why
AW Best Voice 2020: @Xwatt
AW Funniest Person on Team Speak 2020: @WinterMute
AW Worst Joke 2020: @LH5 " hi back"
AW Best Moment 2020 (can be in-game, on Team Speak or Forum): 
 
AW Best Forum Post (please put URL in): 
 
AW Dankest Meme Post In Discord 2020: https://discord.com/channels/477822943527829507/690585461701214218/700881380774510696
AW Best Driver 2020: 
AW Worst Driver 2020: @Xwatt
AW Best Fail 2020: 
 
AW Best Ban of 2020: the guy who got a perma-ban because he put in a ban appeal for a ban that didn't happen. CLASSIC
AW Team Speak Channel 2020: EU1
AW Best Screen Shot 2020: 
AW Best/Worst Call-out 2020: The time the commander called napalm on a friendly squad in unsung
AW Candidate for the Hague 2020: @Wookz
AW Role Model 2020: @Xwatt...wait...reformed @Xwatt

I realise I opened up the armour debate again and would like to maybe out forward a solution for people to (rightly) tear into and try to improve upon as a community effort.
 
So please ignore who I am and what you think about me but tear into this as much as possible to try to find a solution to it.
 
Armour squads.
 
I&A 4 demands squads as it is centered around this. And around encouraging team play.
 
There may be many ways around this but my thought is this.
 
Too much armour tears everything appart. Even one man in one tank at the right range and vantage point with good aim and full ammo will clear out an AO. We have seen this multiple times.
 
People want freedom and to pilot what is rightfully theirs.
 
Only spawn powerful assets such as heavy armour with large caliber (or rapid fire) main cannons after a points threshold or an AO threshold is met first. So either buy them or wait until they are allowed to spawn.
 
Then scrap the armour squads. Make it so anyone can pilot ground vics. Enable more custom squads so that people can hop in said earned Vic with their friends that they have invited into their squads or play alone in. Make the custom squad lockable so that if you kick someone out the squad they cannot get into your squads vics. This solves the player problem.
 
Next is limit the amount of heavy vics on server at any time, include any heavy asset that can wreck AO's or solo stuff to maintain balance.
 
This is just my begining thoughts and I'm sure there are things I have not thought of or about and arcane scripting stuff I have no idea about but that is why I need input.
 
Any criticism welcome !

I'm with pickle on the whole over spawning of enemy air presence. This is frankly slightly much. Last time I was on I sat in one place on a hill roughly 2km out of the AO and scored 10+ enemy CAS kills with a t-100 purely because they kept spawning already lined up on me and ready to drop Scalpels or whatever they had on me.
 
Also with the vehicle slot restrictions. Personally I don't think that "vehicle crew" slots are a good idea on a public server with many different and new people that often annoy the established playerbase by attempting to gain command of the reward vics or large vehicles such as armoured vehicles, CAS and CAP either as soon as they are available or by effectively allowing/promoting hijacking by making squads that legitimise a claim of "I need to be in that vehicle you have and ruin your enjoyment of the server by being loud/incompetent/an idiot/waste the asset by either shooting everything and anything or by plowing it directly into a new AO/use this thing in a way it is not intended to be used and get it destroyed.
 
Just my 2p on that front really.
 
I had to work out how to get around a few issues such as the persistence causing server issues such as spawning completed AO's on restart but it is doable with an admin on when server restarts, but this does kill the playerbase during this time or constant restarts and resets.
 
Good thing is that the framerate issue seems to have disappeared or at least become less noticeable so thumbs up to that. Love the new AI scripting to make them super snarky and better than previously so thumbs up there.
 
Great to have new FOB's and love the increased team play aspect of the squad system (aside from previously discussed Vic issues) maybe we should provide less assets at the start and slowly let it build towards the end ? Purely because with CAS, TONKS and loads of transportation we steamroll AO's super easily when there are fewer players on, dunno just a thought.
 
Overall this is (In my opinion) an absolutely MASSIVE improvement over the first few times I have played through I&A4 BETA tests. So hats off to you @Ryko
 anyone else involved in making this !
 
P.s. Sorry I'm such a good moaner and I'm sure you have already heard these complaints or suggestions but I thought I should list my only gripes so that you can refer back to them rather than hear me moan over TS or discord.
 
Keep up the great work ! ❤️

I'm with pickle on the whole over spawning of enemy air presence. This is frankly slightly much. Last time I was on I sat in one place on a hill roughly 2km out of the AO and scored 10+ enemy CAS kills with a t-100 purely because they kept spawning already lined up on me and ready to drop Scalpels or whatever they had on me.
 
Also with the vehicle slot restrictions. Personally I don't think that "vehicle crew" slots are a good idea on a public server with many different and new people that often annoy the established playerbase by attempting to gain command of the reward vics or large vehicles such as armoured vehicles, CAS and CAP either as soon as they are available or by effectively allowing/promoting hijacking by making squads that legitimise a claim of "I need to be in that vehicle you have and ruin your enjoyment of the server by being loud/incompetent/an idiot/waste the asset by either shooting everything and anything or by plowing it directly into a new AO/use this thing in a way it is not intended to be used and get it destroyed.
 
Just my 2p on that front really.
 
I had to work out how to get around a few issues such as the persistence causing server issues such as spawning completed AO's on restart but it is doable with an admin on when server restarts, but this does kill the playerbase during this time or constant restarts and resets.
 
Good thing is that the framerate issue seems to have disappeared or at least become less noticeable so thumbs up to that. Love the new AI scripting to make them super snarky and better than previously so thumbs up there.
 
Great to have new FOB's and love the increased team play aspect of the squad system (aside from previously discussed Vic issues) maybe we should provide less assets at the start and slowly let it build towards the end ? Purely because with CAS, TONKS and loads of transportation we steamroll AO's super easily when there are fewer players on, dunno just a thought.
 
Overall this is (In my opinion) an absolutely MASSIVE improvement over the first few times I have played through I&A4 BETA tests. So hats off to you @Ryko
 anyone else involved in making this !
 
P.s. Sorry I'm such a good moaner and I'm sure you have already heard these complaints or suggestions but I thought I should list my only gripes so that you can refer back to them rather than hear me moan over TS or discord.
 
Keep up the great work ! ❤️

I realise I opened up the armour debate again and would like to maybe out forward a solution for people to (rightly) tear into and try to improve upon as a community effort.
 
So please ignore who I am and what you think about me but tear into this as much as possible to try to find a solution to it.
 
Armour squads.
 
I&A 4 demands squads as it is centered around this. And around encouraging team play.
 
There may be many ways around this but my thought is this.
 
Too much armour tears everything appart. Even one man in one tank at the right range and vantage point with good aim and full ammo will clear out an AO. We have seen this multiple times.
 
People want freedom and to pilot what is rightfully theirs.
 
Only spawn powerful assets such as heavy armour with large caliber (or rapid fire) main cannons after a points threshold or an AO threshold is met first. So either buy them or wait until they are allowed to spawn.
 
Then scrap the armour squads. Make it so anyone can pilot ground vics. Enable more custom squads so that people can hop in said earned Vic with their friends that they have invited into their squads or play alone in. Make the custom squad lockable so that if you kick someone out the squad they cannot get into your squads vics. This solves the player problem.
 
Next is limit the amount of heavy vics on server at any time, include any heavy asset that can wreck AO's or solo stuff to maintain balance.
 
This is just my begining thoughts and I'm sure there are things I have not thought of or about and arcane scripting stuff I have no idea about but that is why I need input.
 
Any criticism welcome !

I realise I opened up the armour debate again and would like to maybe out forward a solution for people to (rightly) tear into and try to improve upon as a community effort.
 
So please ignore who I am and what you think about me but tear into this as much as possible to try to find a solution to it.
 
Armour squads.
 
I&A 4 demands squads as it is centered around this. And around encouraging team play.
 
There may be many ways around this but my thought is this.
 
Too much armour tears everything appart. Even one man in one tank at the right range and vantage point with good aim and full ammo will clear out an AO. We have seen this multiple times.
 
People want freedom and to pilot what is rightfully theirs.
 
Only spawn powerful assets such as heavy armour with large caliber (or rapid fire) main cannons after a points threshold or an AO threshold is met first. So either buy them or wait until they are allowed to spawn.
 
Then scrap the armour squads. Make it so anyone can pilot ground vics. Enable more custom squads so that people can hop in said earned Vic with their friends that they have invited into their squads or play alone in. Make the custom squad lockable so that if you kick someone out the squad they cannot get into your squads vics. This solves the player problem.
 
Next is limit the amount of heavy vics on server at any time, include any heavy asset that can wreck AO's or solo stuff to maintain balance.
 
This is just my begining thoughts and I'm sure there are things I have not thought of or about and arcane scripting stuff I have no idea about but that is why I need input.
 
Any criticism welcome !

Thank you all for providing your feedback.  I appreciate that you took the time and effort.
 
 
This is something we're consistently talking about: what are the desires of the average Ahoyworld Arma player, and is the mission a fun place for them to spend their time.
 
That said, trying to define the "average" player is an exercise in futility.  Generally, you have players that gravitate to the "milsim" style, where things are regimented and meticulous with a chain of command; on the other side, you have extremely casual players who want the exact opposite of this.  Trying to find a balance is particularly difficult.
 
I contend that you have to have some practical limits to what players can and cannot do for a very important reason; mission balance.  If you have a squad full of players armed with Titan launchers, machine guns and classed as medics and engineers, they can pretty much wipe out an entire AO from a hillside by themselves, and other players will complain that they just spend 30 minutes getting to the AO only to have it finish.  Over and over again.
 
Further, if a player can take any vehicle, then you run into situations where seven tanks are dismantling the AO.  And again, other players complain that these players are ruining the game.
 
It certainly isn't my intention to prevent players from playing with their friends, and I will gladly concede that the IA4 dynamic groups system, especially concerning custom groups, isn't currently friendly when it comes to making that happen.  It's one of the last things that needs to be refined and improved before launch - but it's also one of the things that has the most bugs, and those need to be fixed first.
 
This is a server difficulty setting that we can look at changing; right now, the setting is that the markers appear when the player's GUI is refreshed (for example, going to the map and then exiting it and then they fade over some seconds.  We could set it so that the task markers are constantly on the screen, but you will potentially have up to 7 task markers on the screen (primary and sub objectives - all clustered together, secondary mission, personal waypoint).
 
Feedback from previous beta tests is that this is overwhelming and that the fade model is preferred.  If a majority of players tell me that this is no longer the case, I'm certainly open to changing it.  The workaround for you would be to double-tap J, which will bring up tasks and send them away again, which will show your task markers in the game world.
 
 
You're all completely correct in what you've mentioned.  The challenge is to make a system which balances the usefulness of the asset and makes it fair for all players to have access to.
 
I think we can (as a baseline) agree that there is a distinction between pilots and non-pilots.  IA4 tries to make a further distinction by segregating heavy armor out from all other vehicles, purely because the vehicles have the capacity to completely wreck an AO, similarly to how a CAS airframe can do.
 
As another baseline I've put a hard limit on four heavy armored vehicles (ie., Marshall, Slammer) that can be used by the two dedicated armor groups.  If you don't think 4 of these vehicles is enough to tackle an AO then that's another conversation.  Early testing didn't have these limits and we say cases of 6+ heavy vics going into an AO and wiping it clean within 2-3 minutes.  So if we can start by agreeing that this isn't desirable behaviour, then we have to work backwards from that and decide how to regulate those vehicles.
 
What you're asking me to do in looking for a solo-vehicle scenario is create a situation where you can have groups you can exclude players from.  For jets and helis this isn't a problem because they are functionally solo vehicles.  But for tanks, which can (and probably should) accommodate up to 3 players, it seems you want a system where you can have a small group of players who are your friends, but also lock out players who are not your friends.  This is tricky because if you by definition want a casual play system, you can't then start creating barriers for these same casual players from playing.
 
This is made further complicated by situations where a player solo's a Slammer, gets it killed within 5 minutes, and is then chastised by the server for taking it out alone.
 
I welcome suggestions on what the perfect solution is on this front, because I hope you can see there are a number of issues at play here, and I haven't yet found a balanced solution which accommodates them all (at least, in the Gambler/Hitman context).  I could allow for something like the Armor Commander can lock the squad and prevent other players from joining (or allow the AC to invite other players specifically) but then we run into other issues as I've enumerated.
 
I've also heard it from players that they enjoy having goals to accumulate points towards, but I don't think there's a clear majority on this issue.  I could easily be persuaded that the default setting for EU1 is that all weapons and gear are essentially pre-purchased and available in the arsenal, but I think that touches on another discussion point - whether people are chafing at role-related restrictions ("why can't I have a machine gun as a medic").
 
 
IA4 is trying to be a lot of different things, and I think what we're trying to aim for is what the "general/casual" settings will be - this is an extremely important discussion and I welcome it
 
 
It's an interesting idea Pukamafin, but as you say there's going to be an issue if, say, we make the "Fine" 500 points and your infantry player comes into the role with 4,500 points.  If they accumulate points while flying, it could be over a dozen choppers have to get destroyed before they're forced to leave the role, and in an IA3 environment one of the things the mods love doing is having to tell inexperienced/bad pilots to leave the role.  This system automates that process.  I recognize that it is at times vastly unfair (arma physics, Tigris spawned underneath you, etc) but remember that the system is at its heart designed to accommodate the fact that the pilot role is one of the most popular, and we're trying to let every player have a fair shot at the role.  Plus, it's only a 30 minute timeout.

whilst I had maybe <1hour on beta so far (will try more to get a proper opinion, promise), my instant reaction was it seemed very much steered more towards the ACE/advanced level of Arma, less flexibility on roles or what you squad up with. I can't speak for everyone in EU1 playerbase but I've always seen it as "casual sim", people want to have squads and kinda be organised but not to the point you can be in the more realistic/military sim type servers, which is why I play on ahoy over the other more sim like/advanced servers. I guess the point I'm trying to make is, is I&A4 an upgrade for I&A3, or a server in its own right in a same way Ahoy has other servers with more realism built in?
 
Disclaimer: not trying to offend, just trying to provide some first impressions feedback

If I join the armor crew in I&A4 and use my points to get, say, a Varsuk, I am then forced to share that vehicle with whomever else is in my crew because I cannot lock it for just me nor can I leave the squad and still be able to use it. I don’t want other random people in a vehicle I have earned as I simply do not trust just anyone to be competent enough to keep the thing alive. Others are also in the habit of sitting in the commander seat and stealing kills. My killcount is mine and I don’t want someone just sitting there and taking the points. Or someone driving the thing right into ao and getting us killed.
 
I like being solo in my armor or tank. I don’t want to be forced into a slot and squad to do this because I cannot just use a reward I buy without doing so.