[EYE] The Map

Enhance Your Experience is a Miniseries of Guides, that are aiming to help you have a nice experience during Multiplayer Games in Zeus mode. In these Guides I will try to lay down some standard procedures to follow, as well as give insight to the Mindset of the Zeus and how to interact with the Players and give some practical tips to use while in Zeus mode. I will also reference other Guides in the Credit section, for anyone to look up if you want to go into more Detail on specifics.

Foreword

This Guide is sort of the Result of me working on the Strategy & Tactics Guide. I was simply working on one smaller Portion on how to use the Map properly, but there were many things that came up and I had to work out and explain, as I couldn't take it for granted everyone is capable of using the Map properly. So instead of explaining it as part of the other Guide, I simply made this one. It'll give you some advice on how to use it properly, so you can navigate your way through Arma 3 properly.

Map Dimensions

Being able to use the Map properly is one of the most important abilities you ought to have in Arma 3. As long as you are inept at figuring out where you currently are and where you have to go, you're not even going to see action on higher difficulty levels. But even in the lower ones you will need to be able to read the Map, so you can make a plan of attack. So this is supposed to give you a basic run down of the Map and how to use it properly.

Dimensions

People often seem to fail at recognizing how small the Arma 3 Maps actually are. Altis is clocking in at about 270 km². The entire Island is smaller than the city of Munich which is clocking in at 310 km² and would be utterly dwarfed by the city of London where the city itself takes about 6 times the space with 1572 km².

Don't get me wrong here, I do like the Arma Maps and it actually is pretty much enough to have a fun game and you certainly have your options, to outflanking the enemy and going around the position of the enemy. But you don't have a lot of different options, is what I'm saying. Failing to realise the Map Dimensions, often leads to a plan failing as someone commands you to drive up to 300 meters of the AO which is nothing and then wonders why you get spotted outright and wasted by your enemy, as you essentially move in guns blazing and without any Intel at all.



Just in case that you can't read it on the Map. Each side of the bigger Square is exactly 10 km in length. The smaller one's sides are 1 km in length.



Here we have the bigger Square having each side at 1 km length and the smaller one at 100 meters (0,1 km). If you don't use the Metric System here's a table that gives you an idea of what that would be in Yards / Miles.

Kilometre (km)	Metre (m)	Miles	Yards
10	10.000	6,21	10.936,1
1	1.000	0,62	1093,61
0,1	100	0,06	109,36

Now to get into the real fun stuff. I started testing how long it would take me to walk, jog or run the distance of 100 m inside the game. This is pretty useful to give an approximate ETA to your Teammates, when you will be at the designated location. I made these tests on flat Ground and just did the Math for the greater travelling distances, so depending on whether you run uphill or have to get around obstacles like trees, rocks and other stuff, your experience may differ. Please take that into account.

Distance (m)	Walking	Jogging	Running
100	68 s	26 s	19 s
250	170 s (~ 3 min)	65 s	47 s
500	340 s (~ 5 ½ min)(	130 s (~ 2 min)	95 s
1.000	680 s (~ 11 min)	260 s (~ 4 min)	190 s (~ 3 min)

Considering these are the usual Distances you'll travel on foot, I won't go up to 10 km. If the Distance to your target area is above 1 km, just make an approximation, as the Terrain itself will probably shift a bit, before you make it there making it hard to give an exact ETA anyway.

You should also keep in mind, that if the Fatigue is not disabled, you won't be running for more than a few seconds most of the time. If your Loadout is extremely lightweight you might be able to run 1 km, I haven't exactly checked if that is possible, but usually it's not really something you would do to begin with.

Another use for this list though is to keep check of patrol routes. If you're dedicated enough and have a good view of enemy patrols, you can take a guess at how long it takes them to walk around their base. Giving you time to infiltrate or set up an ambush for them.

Functions

This part of the Guide is made to familiarise you with the basic Map Functions and what you can do with it.

1. Longitude

At the bottom and top of the Map you'll find the Longitude, which is basically the east-west position of a point.

2. Latitude

The Latitude can be seen on the left and right side of the Map. It is the north-south position of a point.

3. Grid Position

The Grid Position consists of the Longitude and Latitude. Reading it from left to right in one go, will give you the exact Grid someone is currently in. The game itself is nice enough to show it to you, when you put the Cursor on something. On the screenshot it's currently on the Grid “099180”. The number right below it is oddly enough the elevation of the exact point you're currently hovering over. So you can get an idea of how high that point is, in this case 152 meters.

4. Info Tab

The Info Tab basically provides you with all the Intel for your current Mission, Server etc. Here a bit more in Detail:

Map
As long as this Option is activated you only see the Map. The other Options generally open up more Info windows, that obscure your vision on the Map itself.

Tasks
Here you can find the Assignments you have and had in the past. In longer Games you can often find entire Missions set up in there and if there was a Briefing for it, there'll be a lot of info of what's currently going on.

Briefing
The Briefing gives you a run down on the current situation. It's mostly there to set the entire scene.

Team
Gives you Information on your current Team. In Singleplayer it's mainly used to adjust your own and your Teams Loadouts. In Multiplayer I haven't really found any use for this Info.

Players
Shows you the current Players on the Map. This one is pretty useful as when you click on another Player it gives you multiple Options. You can votekick them (or kick if you're the Admin), vote them Admin and Mute them if they're getting annoying to you. Please note that the Mute option only mutes them for you, not the entire Server.

Game Master
This shows you who the Current Zeus is / the Game Moderator. The Zeus is generally your go to person, since I only give the Game Moderator only permission to act on my behalf, if I know and trust him.

Log
If you open this one you can look at the Server Parameters that are currently active. For example you can look whether or not Reviving is enabled.

Intel
Even if not shown at the moment, if you pick up Intel it will appear there as an Option for you to click it. Sometimes Zeus's use Documents to convey Information on the current situation, although it is pretty damn rare.

5. Info & Map Tools

If you look at the Screenshot you can take in the entire Bar up there. Above the Info Tab you'll see what the current Scenario Name. If the Zeus hasn't changed it it's usually just “Master [MAP]”. What's more important though is on the right.

Starting from the left you can see first your Rank “Pvt.” is what I was there. Which is followed by your Player name and the Squad you're currently in as well as your Position. So in this case my Squad was “Alpha 1-2” and I was in the “1.” position. So my Call sign would be “Alpha 1-2 1”.

The next Part are Map tools. The first Drop down Menu allows you to choose the colours of your Map Markers / Freeform Drawing on the Map and the second one is a Dropdown Menu for Pre-Drawn Map Markers you can set down.

The Circles right next to it allow you to centre the Map on the Player (which is disabled on some difficulty levels) and the one next to it allows you to switch between the normal and the height Map of the area.

Normal Map


Height Map


I'll show you what you can use both for in the Practical Example. For now it should suffice that you have the ability to switch between the two. The very last thing in the upper right corner is the current time. So you always know what time it currently is.

6. Map Markers

As you can see I have put down some Map Markers as an example. If you want to use a specific colour choose that first and then secondly the Marker you wanna use before you set it down. After you have done that a Window pops up where you can write an Explanation or leave a Blank as well as a Drop Down Menu, that shows you which Channel has access to what you have put down. The Standard it chooses for that is the one you're currently talking in.

So if you want to do something just for your Group, your Side or Globally for everyone, it's advised you switch the Channels. Beware though, everyone that can see your Information can delete it as well. Also you should know that there is currently no way of rotating the Map Markers, I am aware of, which sucks especially for Arrows, as they only point in one direction.

You can set these Markers down by simply pressing your left Mouse Button two times on the position you want them to appear in.

7. Freeform Drawing

For that Freeform Drawing is pretty good though. It mostly looks like a toddler did it though. As with the Markers it shows up in the Channels you made it in. So make sure you're not drawing some useless stuff, as it's likely to get deleted. It also uses the colour you have currently chosen.

You can draw on the Map by holding down “CTRL” and press the left Mouse button, while moving it around.

8. Waypoint

The Waypoint is a nice Gimmick you can use in lower difficulty levels, to mark a point you're heading towards. When you put it down on the Map and get out of it, you can see it in the Direction you have put it down, as well as the approximate Distance towards your target.

You can set down a Waypoint by holding “Shift” and put it down with the left Mouse Button.

9. Current Player Position

Also only available on lower difficulty levels is the Current Player Position. It shows you exactly where you are right now and a little red line shows you the direction you're looking at. If you go into higher difficulties, you'll need to keep track of where you are and figure it out by surrounding Landmarks or get a GPS.

10. Compass

The Compass will always be shown on your Map, although it is pretty useless there. The Map is always held with the North up, South down, West left and East right. But I guess you could get the exact Bearing (Degree) where you need to head towards, and just get your Compass out as soon as you close the Map.

Utility Tools

There are quite a few useful tools you're generally using in combination with your Map. Some of them you have already seen, but just to reiterate them and show them a bit more in Detail, as well as show you how to Control them, here they are.

1. The Watch

Tells you the time. I'm not entirely sure if the GPS / Map show you the time, if you don't have a watch equipped. You can pull it up by keeping “O” pressed or double tapping it quickly, to make it stay on screen and get it to disappear the same way.

2. Compass

The Compass is a useful tool. You can see the general direction, you're currently looking at whenever you turn around. You bring it up by pressing “K”. Double tapping it keeps it on screen.

3. Bearing

The Bearing is the most important part from the Compass in regard of coordinating with your team. The small red line on the Compass itself, gives you an indication at the current bearing, which would be 237 in this case.

4. GPS

This is the Tool I almost always have on Screen. If you have an UAV Terminal or a GPS in your pocket you can bring up that little window on the left by pressing “Right CTRL + M”. It'll stay there then, giving you a small part of the Map you're currently at.

If you were to put down Map Markers or draw a line to follow towards a target, it would show up there. It also shows you most of the surrounding Landmarks. You can't see any in that screenshot, because there weren't any. Keep in mind that depending on the speed you're travelling at this Map zooms in and out a little to accommodate.

The last thing is the little Info Bar above the Map. You can see the current time, on the left, in the middle the current bearing you're looking at and the part on the right gives you your exact Grid, allowing you to call in the position for your team mates or locate yourself on the higher difficulty levels.

A practical Example

Now that you have got a good idea of how to use the Tools at your disposal, it is time we put these skills to the Test. Just keep in mind that I never do all these steps in a running game, like that. Most of the considerations I make are in my mind and from there I mark the least amount necessary as you can see by the timestamps in the upper right corner, it took me almost about 30 minutes by the end of it, to mark all of that stuff as elaborate as I did.

1. Situation

The Situation you're faced with is that Kore is CSAT controlled. We do not know how many enemies there are or whether they have vehicles or not. Considering they're holding their ground and have dug in, it seems though that they're pretty certain they can hold that position. You will be approaching from the North-West and clear out the city from all hostile forces. You have to dig in and hold it against any possible counter-attack by CSAT Forces nearby.

2. First Considerations

Now that you have been given the run down of the Situation you have first Considerations to make. You can inquire further, while making a Gameplan on more Intel, but let's just say you're not in the best situation right now to get any Information on anything, so you have to assume everything. So there could be multiple enemy presences nearby that could respond to a call for help from Kore and naturally make it harder for you to approach the city itself. Let's assume you don't have the time to check on every single one of those possible locations, so you just have to proceed in your planning as you prepare for the Worst Case Scenario.

3. Possible Motorised Patrol Routes

Considering there are quite a few streets near Kore (which you can see on the Map) it's safe to assume that there might be vehicles patrolling the area. I consider the closest areas possible and what makes sense for CSAT to patrol in this Scenario by looking at where other CSAT Forces could be waiting and how accessible the area is. The orange marked street is most likely going to be used, while the grey ones are pretty good as well. The rest are dirt roads and a bit more difficult to navigate, which makes them less likely to feature motorised patrols.

4. Enemy Encounters

This is something I put down in paint, as it was incredibly difficult to try and make a Circle with the Map tools. This is generally something I have in mind while approaching. These are general danger levels of encountering an enemy patrol or getting spotted by it.

The red circle for example in this case is highly likely to get patrolled by enemies. I don't really expect a lot of them though in the yellow one, but I prepare myself for that Scenario and if I want to go in stealthy I would not bring in a vehicle into that area, without having surveyed it first.

The green circle is pretty unlikely to feature enemy patrols guarding Kore, with the exception for the motorised ones, that have a lot more reach, but are basically bound to the streets. Keep these circles in mind also for the possible other bases in the area and you'll have a good idea of where to keep away from. I would also never enter the green circle by Helo, as those things are pretty easy to spot. There are only rare instances in which you would ever be so careless as to just waltz in like that.

5. Look for Cover

The next thing you can do is to look at the Height Map once again, to survey the area for cover. Keep those circles in mind, as these are just an approximation of my experience. The lay of the land can change the range up quite considerably. Open fields allow the enemy a better view, while jungles and mountains obscure their and your vision.

6. Mark the Cover for your approach

As you can see to the North-West of Kore – where you'll be approaching from – is a large mountain that obstructs the view. To the East you can see one as well, but that one is right in between to possible motorised patrol routes. I marked both of them with lines, just so I don't forget where exactly it was when I turned back to the normal view.

7. Mark Insertionpoint

I put down a possible Insertion route, you could take relatively safely with a car to approach Kore as closely as possible. I also deleted the helping line in the North-West afterwards and discarded the Option of an Insertion from the East, mainly because it would become too tedious to write down all the Considerations that would have followed. It is an Option though to Insert from the East as well, but you would need to check on Syrta and that possible Patrol Route first, as well as clear that Mountain from any hostile presence, to actually try and move up there with a vehicle.

8. Look for Overwatch Positions

Now that we have an Insertion route you would probably want to have Overwatch around the city, before you approach it. The Overwatch is generally useful as it gives you covering and suppressive fire, as well as give you a heads up on enemy positions, which is really useful to know when you go in for a fight.

Just as a short FYI. Overwatch is best given by a Designated Marksman or and Autorifleman. A combination of both is preferable as the DM is pretty good at precision shooting and the Autorifleman is great at suppressive fire. To make use of them it is best to put them between 200 – 500 meters away from the AO. Anything above 500 meters can become quite a hassle, as the bullet travels too slow, to hit a moving target without making quite a lot of adjustments and there it also depends on the Skill of the people you're playing with.

9. Mark Overwatch Positions

As you can see I have marked Overwatch Positions with all the things in mind we have just learned. From these positions out it should be possible to overlook Kore and I could set these things down just by looking at the Map and not getting a glimpse of the area before. This is a very important skill to have, as you save yourself a lot of walking, if you can do that by using your Map.

A practical Example - Results

I kinda hit the Textlimit by the end of that practical Example, but I still wanted to summarise the results of those thoughts and show you what these Considerations have brought us in at least one regard.

10. Endresult

The Endresult of all the planning (even if just made in your mind) should be something like this. You anticipate the enemy to get reinforcements from Negades (West), The Factory (West), Topolia (South), Agios Dionysios (East) and Syrta (North-East). This enables you already to dig in into the right positions, after you have taken Kore.

Keeping the possible Motorised Patrol Routes in mind you scan for them, which upon spotting enables you to deal with them easily as you can set up an ambush along their path or let one of your AT Guys take point, instead of suddenly getting surprised by it, during the attack on Kore.

With the knowledge of the dangerous areas, you have planned a safe approach that inserts you as close as possible, before you move on foot towards the target. Knowing the reasonable distance between the enemy stronghold and possible patrols, also keeps you on your guard, as you brace yourself for encountering an enemy patrol.

And with the knowledge of where good spots are to set up Overwatch, your guys can take good vantage points over the area, fairly quickly, even if things go south, still enabling you to pull through with the task you have been given and not just flailing about aimlessly.

Depending on the type of mission and whether you use retreat as a reasonable option, you can also mark an EVAC zone or other options, where you have an advantageous terrain you can use against your enemy.


Now that we have hit the end of the Considerations I wanted to show you at least some of the results in practice. Namely what the Overwatch Considerations have brought us. As you will see on the Screenshots we have a pretty good view over Kore and I enabled the GPS on the left side, so you can see how far away I am from the marks, I had set down using the height map. So it just goes to show that making these considerations in advance is quite useful and saves you a bunch of time.