Time has swiftly marched on, marking a decade since the inception of the USS Nimitz project in Arma 3. Reflecting on those times, I find myself transported back to the year 2013, unaware of the exciting journey that lay ahead.
It all began in mid-September of that year when a mod emerged on the BI forums, crafted by none other than Saul and John Spartan. They presented the F/A-18 Super Hornet for Arma 3. Given my affinity for flight simulations, particularly reminiscing about Thirdwire's Strike Fighter series, I eagerly embraced this new addition. I downloaded the mod, took to the skies over Stratis, and marveled at what I could achieve.
With the Super Hornet's naval orientation and my growing interest in aerial and amphibious assault scenarios, an idea began to take shape. Could I fashion an improvised carrier-like island using in-game objects? The answer was a resounding yes. I embarked on the endeavor, ultimately arranging a collection of H-Barriers into the iconic form of an aircraft carrier. You can witness the result in action on this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XUyW_-m57pQ.
Foxhound reached out to JDog, the original creator of the Nimitz mod for Arma 2. In an act of generosity, JDog granted me the permissions needed to release an adapted version of Nimitz for Arma 3. This pivotal moment marked the beginning of a thrilling chapter in the USS Nimitz project's evolution.
On the 11th of October 2013, a pivotal moment occurred in the history of the Nimitz for Arma 3 project when the thread "Preview release: Nimitz for Arma3" was established on the BI forums. Since that momentous day, a series of significant updates and transformations have shaped this endeavor. In its nascent stages, it closely mirrored the Arma 2 mod, with a smattering of configuration adjustments here and there. However, as the years unfolded, a dedicated effort unfolded to rewrite a substantial portion of scripts and tweak configurations to enhance its reliability.
The project's vitality owes much to a passionate cadre of volunteers who contributed fresh textures and innovative ideas. Among them, Odyseus and Jones stand out, with Odyseus continuing to grace the team with model enhancements and textures throughout the years. Indeed, the Nimitz for Arma 3 project has been, in many respects, a testament to the power of community-driven collaboration. Lacking extensive graphic and modeling skills, I leaned on the talents of fellow community members to enrich the mod.
An important milestone was achieved through the reconfiguration of the Nimitz model into smaller, more manageable components. The Arma 3 engine grappled with collision and walkable parts of the model exceeding dimensions of approximately 50-60 meters in width and length. Odyseus took on the task of dissecting and reassembling the Nimitz into more reliable, smaller segments. Nevertheless, on specific maps and locations, challenges persist with road and geo lods. The typical workaround involves shifting the carrier slightly and attempting the operation anew.
Scripting-wise, a significant stride was made by eradicating all global variables from the original scripts, enabling the coexistence of multiple carriers within the same mission. However, to maintain backward compatibility, the legacy global variables remained intact within the mod for an extended period.
On the configuration front, the introduction of the function module system played a pivotal role in furnishing the carrier's functionality. Initially, players needed to place various modules in the mission to unleash the carrier's full potential. Over time, these modules were seamlessly integrated into the Nimitz setup system, necessitating placement only when a player sought to modify a specific module.
The arrival of the Eden 3D editor in Arma 3 ushered in new opportunities and challenges for the mod. Leshrack's addition to the team brought forth an initialization script designed to accommodate both the Eden environment and missions. Concurrently, the entire initialization functions underwent restructuring while preserving backward compatibility.
A significant juncture emerged when Arma 3 mods found their way onto the Steam Workshop. Previously, distribution primarily occurred through Armaholic and my personal website. Thanks to Rory's initiative, a dedicated Steam Workshop page was established (https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=643530417), amassing a substantial following of 160,265 subscribers as of the writing of this piece.
Yet another significant milestone in the evolution of the Nimitz project occurred with the release of Jacky's instructive video, aptly titled "Nimitz Instructions," available on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6OAfNEuwXfw. In the past, the project's documentation had been somewhat sparse and fragmented across various files. However, Jacky's video provided a comprehensive and thorough exploration of the carrier's inner workings within the Arma 3 environment, bridging the gap in understanding and knowledge.
As time progressed, it became evident that not all players sought constant updates, favoring instead a stable platform with well-defined limitations. Thus, in 2019, the Nimitz Experimental build was conceived (https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1697731012), aimed at pushing the carrier's boundaries without the constraints of backward compatibility. While updates may not be frequent, we hold aspirations of introducing more changes in celebration of the project's remarkable 10th anniversary.
