ARMA III Preview

[Rhino]

To quote Harold Hecuba...."Anarchic players are a certain breed of FPS gamer. Not only are we junkies for great action, we also love long battles, large maps, vehicles and a good old-fashioned marathon game. With the last few Call of Duty games light on the vehicles and heavy on arcade styled action, many in our community are looking for a game that delivers a more realistic experience."

Could ARMA3 be that game? Does it have what it takes to pull together a community like Anarchic?

ARMA 3 is not only large (900 square kilometers), it promises mapping and moding tools. The graphics look pretty nice to boot. Read on...

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By Kevin VanOrd, GameSpot, Posted Jun 9, 2011 5:42 pm GMT

One of the best shooting games of E3 2011 is not one you would see at a big press conference. Instead, ARMA III was tucked away in Bohemia Interactive's South Hall booth, where it remained unseen by the crowds wowed by the hype of Modern Warfare 3 and Battlefield 3. Those are fine games, to be sure, but as PC gamers know, the ARMA series is something special. The games aren't first-person shooters as much as they are military simulators, and ARMA III looks to expand upon what made the first ARMA games so beloved. Major engine improvements, a 3D mission editor, and plenty more features are in store for this sequel, which will give you an extraordinary amount of flexibility in how to accomplish your goals.

Bohemia's Ivan Buchta walked us through many of ARMA III's features as he showed off the game. The demo began with a paratrooper in free fall, which allowed Buchta to talk about the game's look and scope. ARMA III takes place on the Greek island of Limnos and encompasses 900 square kilometers of area in total. The island is painstakingly re-created to the last detail using actual geodata for its terrain and countless photographs. And indeed, one of the most striking aspects of the demo was how photo-realistic the game looked. Many developers tout photo-realism, but ARMA III doesn't resort to tricks like motion blur and lens flare to pretty things up. Buildings, pavement, and grass in this game look like they do in real life. The effect, in the air looking down onto the island, and on the ground itself, was remarkable.

Like its predecessors, ARMA III is focused on infantry combat. Improvements to the sequel include a better inventory system, as well as more equipment customization. Weapons can be modified with all sorts of different sights, markers, flashlights, suppressors, and so on. Buchta showed off several weapons by sniping some far-off soldiers and then hitting a nearby group of them with a grenade launcher. He then moved on to discuss vehicles. Physics and collision detection are being reworked to be even more authentic, and to prove his point, Buchta drove around in a camouflaged tank, ramming into barrels and other vehicles. The vehicles will be re-created down to the last detail, including fully working rear-view mirrors.

The infantry part of the demo showed off an industrial environment, but the island includes terrains of all types: desert, forest, farmland, mountains, and so on. To show off the diversity, Buchta hopped into a helicopter and showed off the stunning landscape and volumetric clouds, as well as the chopper's authentic-looking inside view. If you worry that such vistas will bring your computer to its knees, take note that Bohemia wants the game to run as smoothly as possible, while still aiming at a 6-kilometer draw distance. In ARMA III, you won't just stick to land and air, however: you will also be able to don a wetsuit and swim underwater, as well as man a fighting vessel and battle at sea. Buchta showed off the underwater scenery, which was amazing to behold. You can explore the sea bottom and admire the fish that swim by, or use a one-man underwater transport to quickly make your way to other portions of the island.

ARMA III will let enthusiasts modify the game as they wish using included 3D mod tools, but it will also ship with an extensive campaign and multiplayer options. Buchta showed off a battle in progress, the sky lighting up with artillery fire, while he snuck forward in the underbrush, surrounded by tanks ready to take on whatever challenges were ahead. Smoke rose in the distance, and the din of gunfire filled our ears. To give battles context, ARMA III will include a strong near-future story campaign, with multiple endings. You can play as a lone wolf, or as a commander type, or somewhere in between: the game lets you play your way, whatever that might mean to you. Assault, hide, collect, destroy, support, climb--do whatever you want. You can even kill civilians, though there are major consequences to such actions. You can still finish the campaign, but you may not be able to do so with the support of the locals in such a scenario.

Like past ARMA games, ARMA III looks to be insanely ambitious. It covers a huge amount of territory and gives you countless ways to take down your foes. That it looks so real is just one of its many wonders, so whether you've played an ARMA game before or have never even heard of the series, this is one sprawling thrill ride you should be looking forward to. ARMA III is due for release in the fall of 2012.

http://www.gamespot.com/arma-iii/previe ... s-6318648/

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[Abe1 Profile]

That's what you said about that World War 2 game... Operation FlaccidErection? Red Tampon? Red Alert? I just know it was something red... Red Orchestra 2 maybe?

ArmA has been mentioned several times in the forum, but no one has really been enthusiastic about it except maybe Rhino and I... I also don't know if this is the best game for the CoD or BF guys. Yeah, we have good communication and teamwork, but that's only half of what ArmA is. I've played enough with the guys, that I know some are quite impatient... like you can't wait to jump into the fray immediately after you die. In ArmA, if you die... you don't respawn. It's like a last team standing match or ctf overtime except the round lasts another 20 minutes after you die...

I'm most definitely going to play this game with or without you guys, and I highly doubt some of you have the necessary patience to want to play this game for more than a few weeks once you realize most engagements aren't <50 meters away but hundreds! Which means you'll often times be aiming at peanuts instead of a full body, and that you'll most likely miss your shots. And that once you die... you either don't respawn or you respawn several hundreds of meters away from the objective.

I mentioned the respawn thing several times for a reason... hint, hint.

CAN YOU HANDLE THAT KIND OF REALISM? COD FANBOYS? BF FANBOYS?

[PanZ Profile]

As much as the idea of this game sounds absolutely awesome to me. I just don't have the time to sit for twenty minutes (as you said) to get back into the fray. To me that's a waste of time, I'll stick with my BF3

[Rhino]

As much as the idea of this game sounds absolutely awesome to me. I just don't have the time to sit for twenty minutes (as you said) to get back into the fray. To me that's a waste of time, I'll stick with my BF3

While the type of gameplay Abe decribes is certainly possibly its not the only thing they have supported. In fact the game is fully mappable and modable. There are tutorials online for creating your own missions and scenarios along with defining respawn systems and types.

Bottom line....you can set it up to be as realistic or tacticle or arcade as you like. Imagine BF3 with none of the silly limits. That's the beauty of ARMAS Open system vs the closed systems of EA/ Dice (where we cant even turn of a single vehicle with a penalty) and Activision.

Arma 3 key features:
• Single-Player Campaign - Evolve from lone prey into a military commander in the open-ended & story-driven campaign.
• Vehicles & Weapons -- Control a multitude of aircraft, vehicles and ships with accurate simulation; shoot anything from pistols to sophisticated weapon platforms.
• Customizable Soldier Load - Choose your uniform; assemble your weapon kit; change your load-out; get loaded up.
• Physical Simulation & Improved Animations -- Take advantage of PhysX™ supported vehicle simulation, in-game interactions and the revamped animation system.
• Rich & Authentic Environment -- Explore an unsurpassed military combat experience set on an authentic Mediterranean island modelled from real geographic data.
• Multiplayer Gameplay -- Experience both cooperative & competitive scenarios with the full support of dedicated servers for both Windows and Linux.
• Completely Extensible & Moddable - Design & create countless customizable scenarios using the intuitive & easy-to-use mission editor

[Rhino]

That's what you said about that World War 2 game... Operation FlaccidErection? Red Tampon? Red Alert? I just know it was something red... Red Orchestra 2 maybe?

That why I quoted Harold...RO2 didnt measure up and he'll be the first person to tell ya it sucked...

[boog22 Profile]

As much as the idea of this game sounds absolutely awesome to me. I just don't have the time to sit for twenty minutes (as you said) to get back into the fray. To me that's a waste of time, I'll stick with my BF3

[Abe1 Profile]

Rhino is right about the different modes such as "arcade" style in ArmA. If you guys played the free version, which really sucks by the way, then you'd know there are a few servers that lets you respawn closer to the objectives.... When I say closer, I still mean hundreds of meters away, but with a jeep, etc. you can probably get back to the frontline in a few minutes. WHICH IS PRETTY DARN CLOSE! In most other "realistic" servers, you'd have to wait for a chopper or truck to come back to base to pick you up...

Oh, and Rhino, I thought someone else posted the topic. I didn't realize it was you, ahaha!

[Rhino]

Pretty cool once you get past the german guys intro...

Skip ahead to 40 seconds

[Rafterman Profile Website]

I see now why they're delaying it quite a while longer. The physics needs SERIOUS work. Anytime you have shipping container-sized objects almost floating in mid-air is not good. At least he said the physics are something they're still working on.

[Rhino]

I see now why they're delaying it quite a while longer. The physics needs SERIOUS work. Anytime you have shipping container-sized objects almost floating in mid-air is not good. At least he said the physics are something they're still working on.

Leave it to you Rafter to focus on the down side...but hey thats your style man. I'm guessing your a " cup 90% empty " kinda guy.

If you noticed the demo was a almost year ago...June 10, 2011 If floating cargo containers were a SERIOUS issue for gamers then BF3 never would have made it out the door. There are a whole boat load of physics issues with it..try rubber jets and helicopters for starters. Add dying / suicide when you jump off a 3 foot high rock. Riding the MAV. Smart claymores that dont blow up your teammates. Infrared scopes that work in the daytime. RPGs that dont kill a player 10 feet away when fired at close range. I got a million of em....lol

ARMA 3 will do just fine and from the looks of it the physics are way ahead of COD or BF.

[BrIaN Profile]

As much as the idea of this game sounds absolutely awesome to me. I just don't have the time to sit for twenty minutes (as you said) to get back into the fray. To me that's a waste of time, I'll stick with my COD2

[Rhino]

As much as the idea of this game sounds absolutely awesome to me. I just don't have the time to sit for twenty minutes (as you said) to get back into the fray. To me that's a waste of time, I'll stick with my COD2

Except it doesnt work that way. It can on some game types but on others your right back in the action..

[MajorFullWood Profile Website]

!

This is all hilarious coming from a guy who never played Kursk with us.

[Till Lindemann Profile YIM]

If this is moddable enough to the point that we can get enough of a bas similarity, in the fact of set takable, destroyable points (not in the rush style that is, in the uo style only) and if the spawn time is set to that of similar standards, I may be interested. I don't really care about the spawn location because working back up to the front would give me an opportunity to clean up stragglers on the way back. Fluidity of character movement and degree of lag compensation are major factors too but it looks like there is more potential here than we've had since bf2142

[Rhino]

!

This is all hilarious coming from a guy who never played Kursk with us.

I think ABE is talking about the ADD crowd who are more into repeated SSD...spawn spray and die, spawn spray and die...repeat as fast and often as necessary. I'm pretty sure UO and BAS got you back in the action in 5-10 seconds...pile in a jeep and your back in the fight in 15-25 seconds total.

The resistance here seems to be the misconception that with ARMA they are going to die once and be done for the round or have to hike 5 miles to see another target. As I understand it if you define a small playable area, set spawn locations and short respawn times you can create all the action you'd ever want with the mission editor thus satisfying your need for SSD.

See also:

If this is moddable enough to the point that we can get enough of a bas similarity, in the fact of set takable, destroyable points (not in the rush style that is, in the uo style only) and if the spawn time is set to that of similar standards, I may be interested. I don't really care about the spawn location because working back up to the front would give me an opportunity to clean up stragglers on the way back. Fluidity of character movement and degree of lag compensation are major factors too but it looks like there is more potential here than we've had since bf2142

Till,

From what I have seen and read ARMA III will come with a Mission Editor just like ARMA II did. The Mission Editor lets you design as many types of games as you wish to play and gives you a lot of flexibility.

I believe you can already make base assault style missions using the existing content but its probably doesn't act like the old UO bases.

Additionally I have read that you can create your own content for the game adding things like player animations, sounds, weapons, vehicles, building etc. The content you add can be animated so its not a big leap to imagine that we could design modern BAS type structures for each team and with animation states that make them destructable. Then it simply becomes a matter of creating the gametype around them using the Mission Editor.

With 320 square kilometers of varied island terrain I think we could probably design more a few BAS missions.

Read the Arma 2 Mission Editor wiki here:

http://community.bistudio.com/wiki/Mission_Editor

So I'm wondering how much interest there would be in trying to do this if the game measures up?

I'd be up for it. My background in 3D modeling and animation might help.

I'm going to crosslink this thread to a new one floating the idea of |ax| BAS for ARMA III. If the game's foundation, at release, seems strong enough maybe |ax| can field a dev team to produce kick ass BAS missions.

http://www.anarchic-x.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=35&t=36342

[Till Lindemann Profile YIM]

I'm gonna say right now that I'm a bas purist. Only the original parameters will interest me. With that said, given the size of the arena we could have 10 bases per team or the like. I also have 3d modeling experience (its what I do for a living) though static objects only.
Of course my interest also hinges on character movements that are no clunkier than bf3 and a lag compensator that is no stronger than bf3 (barely tolerable), certainly nothing along the lines of any cod since uo (which was none at all) is acceptable for my play style preference

[logik]

....and Till just made a strong argument for a repeat victory to hoist the "big dick" award for 2012.

[Till Lindemann Profile YIM]

....and Till just made a strong argument for a repeat victory to hoist the "big dick" award for 2012.

Hey, I'll give it to BO for coming close to lessening the irritating factors of other cod's, but outright, lag compensation is for whiney ass bitches that can't either live with their shitty ping and shut up about it (like I did when mine was 90 to our servers) or go play somewhere else with a better one. The idea of flattening the curve of the gameplay experience at the expense of those that care to develop skill over relying on built in hadicaps is ludicrous

[Rafterman Profile Website]

ludicrous

[MajorFullWood Profile Website]

The last thing I ever aim to do is die but not at the expense of completing an objective. My only problem with objective based games that include a death count system is that it derails the object of playing a certain gametype. Our BAS was great because you could play for 10 min or up to 9 hours on one map, until the objective was completed. It all started with CS, which is why I haven't played it in years. A death count system only encourages TDM. I could easily play ArmA if there were no objective further than annihilating the other team, even if it meant if I died I'd have to wait for the next round. The CS syndrome makes people camp and not play the objective. Or, if we were able to create something similar to UO BAS without a death count system. BF is one of the few games where the majority of people actually play the objective, even though there's a DCS.

[Rhino]

So summarize the parameters of UO BAS for me...Its been a while...

[MajorFullWood Profile Website]

Two teams battle without a DCS to annihilate a set number of bases on the opposing team. Ours was setup without a timer, unlike other servers making it unique and fulfilling.
For the most part, you can't just rush to the other side and expect to win the match. A team must coordinate a route of attack and setup defense which is where stalemates come in when you have two teams with well coordinated defenses. Then it comes down to who can make a better attack strategy while holding defenses.

[Till Lindemann Profile YIM]

And, after the base has been cracked open for access to the bomb and the bomb has been exploded, that's it for the base until the next round. No recapture of points.
The only victory condition is blowing up all of the enemies bases, no other points in the round count for anything other than artillery or equipment upgrades for that round or series of rounds
And, as applies to all of our servers, all gameplay styles are allowed- including camping and spawn raping. Though hopping and flopping are frowned upon

[logik]

No BAS match for me was complete without as many reckless abandon, get to the base or die trying, "if you get out before we die or reach the objective youre not riding with me again" jeep rides as were necessary to end the match.

The awe inspiring amount of firepower that you would endure was pure adrenaline. The fun of circling a tank so many times they lost track of you was unparralelled in anything since. Jeez, I miss bas.

Hell, my signature says it all.

[MediEval Profile]

Is the BAS server even still around? If so, can we PLEASE try to organize a base nite sometime in the next month or two? I could really go for a good 4 hour Foy with at least 10 to a side

[Rhino]

Is the BAS server even still around? If so, can we PLEASE try to organize a base nite sometime in the next month or two? I could really go for a good 4 hour Foy with at least 10 to a side

Open a thread in the CODUO channel. I'm in for a night. Maybe a monthly BAS match to make use of the server?

[Rhino]

Two teams battle without a DCS to annihilate a set number of bases on the opposing team. Ours was setup without a timer, unlike other servers making it unique and fulfilling.
For the most part, you can't just rush to the other side and expect to win the match. A team must coordinate a route of attack and setup defense which is where stalemates come in when you have two teams with well coordinated defenses. Then it comes down to who can make a better attack strategy while holding defenses.

Sounds pretty straight forward. I cant image we cant do this with the ARMA 3 Mission Editor with as much or as little area as we want.

[Till Lindemann Profile YIM]

Homepage says its still up. We don't have 20 people that play anymore though. Invariably there will also be someone that wants to play something else that night and end up taking people away from uo

[logik]

Homepage says its still up. We don't have 20 people that play anymore though. Invariably there will also be someone that wants to play something else that night and end up taking people away from uo

Those people aren't here anymore