Arma 3 hails people of every flavor from all over the world. To get to know them a little better, we're hosting a series of mini-interviews with some of our amazing community members. These aim to give you a personal insight into their backgrounds, why they got into Arma, and how they typically experience the game. In this issue, we interview Heavy Ordnance Works developer yooles!
BIO
Name: Julian Łada
Nickname: yooles
Age: 27
Location: Poland
Occupation: Full-time CDLC developer with Heavy Ordnance Works
BASELINE
Can you provide us with one random fact about yourself?
I was a professional chef for a good few years before I got into the Arma 3 Creator DLC scene.
So what is the origin of the name yooles?
When I was 13 years old, I had longer curly hair and it almost looked like an afro. My close friend always called me Jules (Like the character from Pulp Fiction, for how my hair looked and also my name Julian). When I decided to set up a Steam account, it turned out that “Jules” was already taken so the second best thing that was free and sounded like it was "yooles."
What's the first Arma game you played?
It of course was Operation Flashpoint: Cold War Crisis. I got it from a game magazine CD disc and I fell in love with it. I can still hear the radio protocol in my mind: “12 O’CLOCK, ENEMY BMP, 100.”
What is your current Arma 3 playtime?
It comes to 7,957 hours but in recent years a lot of time was spent in the Terrain Builder and Bulldozer, with that counted it would be something around 11,000 hours and still going up…
What is your favorite game of all time?
It's a hard question as there are two very special games and I need to place them both on the #1 spot. First would be the Arma franchise as I spent a ton of time just fooling around in editors throughout the years, loved every entry, and it got me to where I am now. The second one is the Half-Life franchise which I also loved since the very first ride on Black Mesa transit system and the first step I took on City 17 station.
Outside of video games, what other hobbies do you enjoy?
I like to do some personal digital paintings, although I don't have that much free time these days to do it. I also collect and enjoy smoking tobacco pipes.
Can you show us your PC setup?
QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
How and when did you get into Arma?
I have played the Arma games since I was a kid. OFP: CWC / Resistance combo was attached to a game magazine, by then I had no idea what it was but once I opened the editor I already knew that this is my kinda game. Then I moved to Arma Gold, and eventually Arma 2 and its DLCs. But I really got into Arma thanks to my older brother who bought me a copy of Arma 3 as a gift for my 16th birthday, and I've been playing it since then.
How do you play or engage with Arma 3 nowadays?
Nowadays I mostly work on developing Arma 3 Creator DLC: Spearhead 1944 and Spearhead Extended (SPEX). I also help some other mod creators in terms of advisory, testing, and graphical assets. Sometimes I play with a group of my close friends, doing some small scale co-op activities.
What is your role as a member of Heavy Ordnance Works?
I'm a bit of a jack of all trades inside of HOW. I do Promotion and Marketing, Historical and Material Research, 2D design, Mission flow design and compositions, QA, and finally I'm also a Terrain Designer. The Final credits for Spearhead 1944 look kinda funny to me when my name pops up so many times.
Is there an interesting Spearhead: 1944 behind-the-scenes story you can tell us about?
When we started to work on the 1.1 update that portrays the Battle for Mortain, I went through and started to research the topic. I ended up reading about 5,500 pages of battle reports, witness interviews, letters, books, and war studies to make sure that what we portray and write down is as close as we can get it when transferring it to an Arma gameplay experience. The same thing is true for 1.0 where I also dug into a good few thousand pages of historical data that we then used to design and shape the Operation Cobra campaign.
What can you tell us about Spearhead Extended (SPEX)?
Spearhead Extended (SPEX) is a free companion mod to the official Spearhead 1944 CDLC. It's a passion project developed by the same core team with the goal of continuing the vision we started, but with greater flexibility.
Where the CDLC is bound by certain technical and publishing limitations, SPEX allows us to explore new fronts, introduce more experimental features, and rapidly respond to community feedback. It’s designed to live alongside the CDLC — not replace it — and together they create a much broader canvas for authentic WW2 gameplay.
SPEX is driven by a deep respect for history while maintaining the CDLC’s quality. It is also inspired by the incredible community that continues to support this project and Arma 3 in general. We're using this platform to push things further than before, and while we’re not done yet — whatever comes next, pack your gear accordingly — it won’t all be green fields and hedgerows.
What is your favorite piece of Arma 3 user-created content (mod, addon, scenario, game mode, tool) and why?
There is so much great content made by an incredible Arma community that it's hard for me to choose just one thing, but the Nassau 1715 and Powder & Blood mods combined have a special place in my heart. Both show how dedicated, skilled, creative and passionate the Arma community is, making the game a real sandbox for everyone to enjoy. It also shows how great and unique of a platform Arma 3 is.
Can you share your #1 pro tip for any Arma 3 player?
Whatever you do, plan how long it will take and then make it double. Arma is a game where completing a simple mission task can turn into an hour long fight for life situation. Arma is a game where making a simple mission can turn into months of development as you will want to learn, improve, and add new cool scripts, audio, animations, or tasks for people to enjoy. Finally Arma is a game where making a simple mod can turn into something big. Always plan at least double the time!
With the release of Arma Reforger and modding tools for Enfusion Engine, what are you looking forward to with the franchise as we move along the road to Arma 4?
As a long term veteran of the franchise, I hope that it will stay true to the accessible sandbox core of Arma where anyone will be able to just open an in-game editor, create a simple mission in five minutes, and then play it, having the chance for their military fantasies to come true. I also hope to maybe get beta access for A4!
BONUS: What is your favorite World War II film or documentary, and why?
That’s a tough one… As a Polish person there is only one right answer, “Czterej Pancerni i Pies” (Four Tankers and a Dog). Some might say that “it's a series not a movie!” but it holds so many memories that despite - me knowing it through and through - when it's on TV I still watch it and it feels as great to me as when I saw it for the first time as a kid.
CLOSING
To finish the interview, do you have anything you'd like to share with the Arma community?
Just a big thank you to the whole Arma community—you’re the heart of it all! Your passion, creativity, and dedication make this game and whole franchise truly amazing. Keep up the awesome work!