Missing Rifles Problem

The "missing rifles problem" or "missing rifles bug" was introduced in Armed Assault version 1.08 due to a slight config change made by the developers. The bug is triggered by certain addons that contain references to some old weapon classes, causing all rifles in the game to become invisible and infantry to shoot from their chest.

Fixing the bug

The bug can easily be fixed by removing those addons from the game that are causing the problem. These addons will most likely contain custom rifles. If you are unable to immediately identify the addons in question, try following the steps below.

Step 1: Remove all third party addons

First, make sure you remove all unofficial addons from the Addons folder. Do not delete them, unless you are absolutely sure which ones are from third parties and which are from the original game. If this does not immediately solve the problem, make sure you aren't using any mod folders. Once all unofficial addons and mods have been removed, the problem should be resolved.

Step 2: Create mod folders

It is not advisable to have unofficial addons in the standard addon folder. If you haven't done so already, create a new folder called @NewAddons inside your Armed Assault installation folder (i.e.: C:\Program Files\Armed Assault). Inside this @NewAddons folder, create another folder called Addons. This will be the future location for your third party addons. See the article on ArmA startup parameters for more information on how to use mod folders. You will need to add -mod=@NewAddons to your ArmA desktop link.

Step 3: Identify the culprits

The most straightforward way to identify the addon(s) that are causing the bug, is to put them into your third party addons one by one, and start the game after each addon is replaced. If you experience the no rifles bug after starting the game, the most recently replaced addon will be the cause. The addon in question will need to be removed. Make sure to follow this procedure for all third party addons, to ensure that all culprits are identified.

Step 4: Download new addon versions

Most addon makers have acknowledged the problem since the release of patch 1.08 and have released updated versions of their addons. Make sure to download the latest version of these addons to ensure full compatibility with ArmA version 1.08 and above.

Technical Aspects

The problem comes forth out of the fact that BIS changed the Rifle class from Rifle: Mgun to Rifle: Riflecore (and more of those changes)

You can resolve the matter in addons by searching for: class Rifle: Mgun {};

in the Addon config.cpp and replace it with: class Rifle;

The new ArmA inheritance system allows to simply supply the classname and a ; at the end to inherit classes from other addons

(You should actually use this new method for all your class inheritances!)