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Author Topic: Arma Series - Q&A and Discussion  (Read 1234 times)

Mephisto

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Arma Series - Q&A and Discussion
« on: December 10, 2014, 12:03:19 am »

I've got Arma 2 at the moment and it's pretty good. The controls aren't all that great, however. That's where Arma 3 comes in. I've heard it massively improves controls and optimization. I've found a script to enable you to play the Arma 2 campaigns in the Arma 3 engine, so it's looking more and more attractive. I also play co-op games with coworkers and Zeus looks to be in the same vein as Nuclear Dawn, so that's a plus.

Are there any B12 clans that anyone knows of? I've watched some videos (rhinocrunch on YouTube) and it would be amazing to be in a group like that.

Final question, Arma 3 is currently $60. I missed the 50% off sale a week ago.  I'm eager to get started, but I know another Steam sale is likely to start soon-ish. How likely is Arma 3 to be on sale given that there was one that recently?

Last thread here, last post April 2014.
« Last Edit: December 10, 2014, 10:11:34 am by Mephisto »
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Ozyton

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Re: Arma 3 - Q&A and Discussion
« Reply #1 on: December 10, 2014, 12:35:55 am »

TLDR

ARMA (Well, Operation Flashpoint series in general) is a game I hold close to my heart because it's the best military simulator sandbox out there at the moment. You can play it seriously or just have fun with it, and that's something not a lot of people realize, they see it and go 'oh it's too simmy.' Well, strap a bunch of machineguns and artillery to a bus and play with that =p
...

Aaaanyways. Should you get it if you already have ARMA 2? Depends on if you have friends who want to play ARMA 3 with you. ARMA 2 has the ACE mod which is pretty great, its main feature being the medical system but it also has things like backblast from rocket launchers and being able to interact with people, plus it has a sub-mod, ACRE, for realistic communications with radios and direct voice chat. ARMA 3 does not have this yet (And possibly might not? Some devs from ACE keep wondering why people don't think it's not coming to ARMA 3, and it's probably because they haven't made any official announcements, so who knows?)

ACE is not required, especially if you play more casually, and there's plenty of other mods and additions you can get. I remember getting a skidoo for OFP and building ramps on the Kolgujev winter map and ramping off the mountainside in slow motion just for fun. Or putting a bunch of tanks (about 100 ) a town or two away and detonating a nuke and seeing if I get hit by any of the tanks that fly out from the force of the explosion. If you have friends you can pretty much do whatever depending on waht mood you're in, I had a little group of people that play with the radio comms mod thingy but it's more casual, but you can find groups that play more seriously, or even in missions that recreate real-life scenarios.

Bohemia Interactive has a tendency to release games a year or two before they are finished, and as this game is built off of an engine from around 2001 it is still as clunky as ever, just not as noticeably so. Firing weapons on foot (which you will be doing a LOT) is more challenging and rewarding in ARMA 3 than it ever has been in the entire series, so if you like infantry based combat then ARMA 3 is a good choice. Vehicles are still janky and fairly unpolished, but they function well enough, just don't expect Steel Beasts style of simulation here. Fixed wing is kind've strange considering the size of the 'continents' but it works well enough. Rotary wing just got a DLC and update which could be worth checking out if you have the proper peripherals, but the damage model on vehicles in general is still essentially from 2001 so don't expect greatness.

Sorry, I always go on these tangents whenever ARMA is mentioned...

My opinion: wait for a sale. ARMA 3 brings some neat things to the table but ARMA 2 should keep you satisfied until the price goes down a bit. ZEUS is quite a neat thing but I believe there are similar but less polished mods available for ARMA 2 that give similar functionality.

Mephisto

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Re: Arma 3 - Q&A and Discussion
« Reply #2 on: December 10, 2014, 06:49:28 am »

Thanks for the in-depth answer. After sleeping on it (literally, I just woke up) and reading your post, I think I'll wait to pick it up.
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PrimusRibbus

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Re: Arma Series - Q&A and Discussion
« Reply #3 on: December 10, 2014, 03:50:45 pm »

ARMA 3 goes on sale every time there's an event, and fairly often for weekend and midweek. You won't have to wait long to find a good sale on it.

As for it's quality, I could never go back to ARMA 2 even with ACE. The entire ARMA 3 engine is just leaps and bounds better.
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stabbymcstabstab

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Re: Arma Series - Q&A and Discussion
« Reply #4 on: December 10, 2014, 08:11:59 pm »

Arma 3 is loads better then Arma 2, just avoid rocks and if you see some lasers point at you at night drop immediatly
learned that the hard way.
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