ARMA 2

[MaverickMike 10]

Just wondering if anyone else here is having the same, annoyingly frustrating problems that im having with this game. Typical example is the chopper support. I had just finished an operation in the Topolka dam area and called in a pick up, designating a spot roughly 300m south of the dam itself (which is roughly flat terrain with no trees). The chopper, after waiting patiently for the pick up flew straight past the pick up point. When i caught up with it it was hovering about 2m above the water in the middle of the lake. After redesignating the pick up point the chopper then flew around 500m SE and crash landed in the woods! This happened a few times throughout the game (after the 1.02 patch) for me rendering the chopper useless on missions which it would have been useful.

 

Another thing which really bugs me is trying to talk to villagers while the stupid propoganda radio is playing. its impossible to hear what is being said as the sound of the radio blocks out the speech. These are just two examples of the bugs which ive come across so far.

 

Don't get me wrong i think the game is visually spectacular and is a game which could be top of its class if it didnt have these niggling little issues which could have been sorted out with delaying the release date and having more testing done.

 

Just my two pence worth

 

Mike

[JediMaster 451]

BIS has become notorious for needing at least 5 patches to get the game in the state it should have been at release. That's why I'm waiting for now, although I'm considering getting it in time for SimHQ's July 4th game.

[carrick58 23]

BIS has become notorious for needing at least 5 patches to get the game in the state it should have been at release. That's why I'm waiting for now, although I'm considering getting it in time for SimHQ's July 4th game.

 

 

I was thinking of buying this game is it any good ? or should I await all the patches . I really need a good stand alone Tank game. Thanks.

[JediMaster 451]

Arma (and OFP) has really always been about the infantryman's view of the war. Armor is just a side trip, and as such isn't modeled nearly as well as other things in the game. Dedicated tank games do a better job generally.

That said, I've yet to try the ArmA 2 demo (that's tonight!) and I don't know how tanks are done in the final game. The demo is free, though, so try it!

[Vigilant 1]

So my view of ArmA2:

The graphics is good, although the HW demands are high. But you can get about +10 fps by turning down blurring effects (if not completely shutting them down as in combination with head movement they are quite annoying). Sounds are excellent. Best is, that (at least in the Czech version of the game) everyone speaks in his "native" language - Marines speak english, Czernorussinans czernorussian(read czech ) and russians russian. When they interact (ie. Cooper talking to some Czernorussian, or somenone talking to Cooper) they speak with real(read terrible ) accents. Don't remember seeing this in any other game.

The game world is well detailed with believeable "local" architecture. The game comes with a wide selection of both current and older US and russian weapons and vehicles. This should give the community a head start in creating new missions as a lot of stuff is already done (from AK47 to F-35C).

The single player portion contains one campaign (12 missions) and another 12 single missions of variable length. After 1.05 patch most single player issues are solved (haven't run into any since). The campaign can be divided into 3 specific parts. Initialy you simply follow you team leader in missions very similar to those in old OFP (go from A to B and kill all enemies on the way). In the seond part you inherit the team leader position (IMHO a bit early) and are given a set of objectives, a jeep and freedom to complete them however you wish. Here the problems with scripts and bugs usually begin. And in the last part of the campaing you more or less play a CTI(conquer the island)/warfare scenarios with a few "story" objectives. Throught the campaign you are acompanied by your team (you - grenadier, MG gunner, sniper, medic) that cannot suffer losses. They have the same mortality as other AIs and death of any one means mission fail. In the later missions you'll end up with the team hidden somewhere and using more expendable Czernorussians. Both CTI and team action are entertaing by themselves, but the combination is not. In the campaign you'll get to use only limited part of the included weapons and vehicles.

Can't judge the MP aspect of the game as I haven't played it yet.

Overall it is a good game, but with a very steep learning curve.

 

My wish list for future development:

I'd like to see stuff like supression fire or morale having effect on AI. Maybe something along the lines of "suppresion meter" in Brothers in Arms or Company of heroes.

Capability to order attack ground with area effect weapons (GL, mortars,maybe MGs)

working sights for grenade launchers and mortars

Command interface based on real military structure and hierarchy - individuals, fire teams, squads, platoons, companies.

Random shouts in combat for immersion ("they killed George, bastartds!" and so on)

[JediMaster 451]

I've been playing the campaign and have likewise discovered the annoying "can't have one guy die" issue. Makes me want to leave them behind.

[Vigilant 1]

Oh, and if you leave them in the base they usually get run over by a supply truck. Have you noticed how the driving AI has absolutely no issues running over people or cows and many issues runnig over chickens or rabbits?

[+streakeagle 867]

I only have the demo for now. I could never get ArmA running fast enough to be fun on this rig, so it is a pleasant surprise how well ArmA 2 runs on my ancient rig. Win 7 64 + HD 4890 is giving me the same benefits in this game as it did in SF2. It seems to capture the best points of OFP AND add the best points of ArmA while otherwise working much better. I am tempted to buy it, but I already have two copies of ArmA I will never use because ArmA 2 came out before I could get around to buying a new rig. I am sure missions in the full version will load down my single core A64 3800 too much. So I may settle for the demo until I either get a new rig or ArmA 3 is released.

[MaverickMike 10]

There is an upcoming standalone expansion called operation arrowhead which is set for release in the UK at the end of June. Looks really impressive.

[JediMaster 451]

It will release in the US around the same time. It should integrate with Arma2 or work without it.

It will have the US Army again like Arma had, as opposed to the USMC that Arma2 had. It also I think is more desert-based.

[+streakeagle 867]

I much preferred the way OFP/Resistance provided a continous platform with lots of free upgrades until Resistance came out and tied up most of the loose ends. Going from ArmA to separate addon to ArmA2 to another addon in a much shorter time frame has left me behind. But if that's how they have to do business to survive, so be it. There are no other shooters of any interest to me. OFP won me over with its unique and realistic styles of gameplay. Open maps with open ended solutions to mission accomplishment with very challenging AI. I still play OFP/Resistance with friends. I would like to be able to do the same with ArmA2, but I only have 3 PCs that can even run it and I don't think any of my friends' PCs can run it at all.

[JediMaster 451]

Queen's Gambit was just what an addon should be...a new island, a couple of new campaigns, and that's about it. A large portion of the Arma community never got it and it didn't hurt them.

I also think you've got a mistaken view of the time line, since I think Resistance came out less than 2 yrs after OFP did but offered major enhancements to the engine. Arma 2 came out almost 3 yrs after Arma, but Op Arrowhead is coming out less than a year after Arma 2. I think it basically is going to be Arma 2 to the current patch level with new units, terrain, and campaigns/missions. That's why it will integrate with Arma 2 or simply stand by itself. Of course, Arma came out 5 years after OFP, so by comparison Arma 2 was a quick release.

As for PC requirements, what it needs isn't all that much by today's standards. I know it runs fine on a friend's 3 Ghz C2D w/9800GTX+ on a 1920x1200 monitor using FSAA, and that's an over 2 yr-old configuration that wasn't even that pricey when it was new. Again, OFP ran miserably on most people's PCs when it was released, and it wasn't until the release of Resistance that the mainstream hardware had caught up to the engine.