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[Game] The ArmA 2 thread (hurr hurr, no Armed Assault 2)

why do you keep playing games you hate? Arma clearly isn't the game for you.
You might just as well ask why people keep bashing games like Deus Ex 3, Medal of Honor, etc.

ArmA totally was the game for me, I really enjoyed the campaign. ArmA2 was different because the campaign was simply completely broken and at some point I was just too annoyed. In OA so far it still all feels kinda sucky but as opposed to ArmA2 vanilla it's still playable, so I keep playing.
 
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You might just as well ask why people keep bashing games like Deus Ex 3, Medal of Honor, etc.

ArmA totally was the game for me, I really enjoyed the campaign. ArmA2 was different because the campaign was simply completely broken and at some point I was just too annoyed. In OA so far it still all feels kinda sucky but as opposed to ArmA2 vanilla it's still playable, so I keep playing.

Wait, you enjoyed ArmA 1's campaign?
How on earth is that possible? :p I really cant wrap my head around that. ArmA 1's campaign is by far the most abysmal campaign i have ever played in my entire life.
It lacked character, depth, and the missions were insanely stupid. I did finish it but man, did it take some effort to keep myself playing.
"Alright, here's the deal. You are all alone. You have 1 (!!) satchel charge and an M16. There are 4 T72's rolling in. Go blow them up, while the rest of us hangs back and drink a pina colada." was the extent of most missions.

ArmA 2's campaign, though having it's problems (which i personally never experienced) at least had a believable story, plausible missions, and actual characters. Though admitted, i couldnt care less for Team Razor, i'd much rather have David Armstrong-types from OFP.
 
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You might just as well ask why people keep bashing games like Deus Ex 3, Medal of Honor, etc.

ArmA totally was the game for me, I really enjoyed the campaign. ArmA2 was different because the campaign was simply completely broken and at some point I was just too annoyed. In OA so far it still all feels kinda sucky but as opposed to ArmA2 vanilla it's still playable, so I keep playing.

I'm just saying that every time you make a post about ArmA you are very negative about it, calling it "massive fail" and "sucky". I'm not getting the impression that you like the game, let alone that it's the kind of game for you.

ArmA has quite a lot of bugs, every ArmA fan knows that. But most of them aren't game-breaking. I don't mind them that much really. The game is still a lot of fun and pretty much the best all-round combat sim around. Try some organized co-op some time. That's where all the magic happens. The singleplayer is maybe 1% of the entire game, ArmA 2 is a co-op and MP game by definition. You can make the game as realistic as you want it to be, and most of that comes from the people you play with.
 
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Wait, you enjoyed ArmA 1's campaign?
How on earth is that possible?
Yes because I liked the mission system where you could choose and it worked very well for me. ArmA2 however was always broken for me no matter which patch applied, there was always something that went wrong or some trigger that didn't go off and prevent me from finishing the mission. And since most of ArmA2s missions are very long and multi-staged, repeating those because of some bug is annoying, yet I tried it multiple times.
 
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So I've played the demo enough to have a good idea about the game. Only a few things are keeping me from buying the Combined Arms version asap. Hopefully you guys can answer my questions, since I'm assuming the demo version is not equivalent to the full version with patches.

  • How much has the performance been improved? More so for OA? I did the demo's benchmark run and it stated I had 39 fps (average?) at the end.
  • I found the AI to be adequate for the most part, except for maneuvering (they seem to have a hard time getting around each other while in vehicles). Have path finding or significant AI improvements been made?
  • The post processing effects seem to hinder more than help, is there a now different effect?
  • Are the controls more streamlined? I noticed there were several repeats, most notably a "prone" and a "go prone", and only "go prone" worked.
  • Has free aim been changed? I had to turn it off because it was too floaty and difficult to use with a unmagnified red dot scope (I think that is what it is called) which is what you used a lot in the demo.
  • Last one. Is multiplayer mostly co-operative or competitive? I know there are some big co-operative communities for ARMA2 but are they in the minority in overall players/servers?
 
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So I've played the demo enough to have a good idea about the game. Only a few things are keeping me from buying the Combined Arms version asap. Hopefully you guys can answer my questions, since I'm assuming the demo version is not equivalent to the full version with patches.

  • How much has the performance been improved? More so for OA? I did the demo's benchmark run and it stated I had 39 fps (average?) at the end.
  • I found the AI to be adequate for the most part, except for maneuvering (they seem to have a hard time getting around each other while in vehicles). Have path finding or significant AI improvements been made?
  • The post processing effects seem to hinder more than help, is there a now different effect?
  • Are the controls more streamlined? I noticed there were several repeats, most notably a "prone" and a "go prone", and only "go prone" worked.
  • Has free aim been changed? I had to turn it off because it was too floaty and difficult to use with a unmagnified red dot scope (I think that is what it is called) which is what you used a lot in the demo.
  • Last one. Is multiplayer mostly co-operative or competitive? I know there are some big co-operative communities for ARMA2 but are they in the minority in overall players/servers?

Performance has improved a lot, 37 fps is good to go.

AI is problematic in transport, on the other hand there is nothing that I know of to match the ArmA AI.

PP, I like when set to low.

The controls are the most complicated that I know of. Once you have them set up correctly there is nothing to match, for example I have toggle lean left & toggle lean right set on my tilt wheel. I use the same mapping/bind for evasive left & evasive right which allows me to roll left or right when prone.
We can bind up to three times the same control I believe.

The floating zone can be adjusted in the game options.

Mostly cooperative but a 100 player war can be very rewarding.

I spend 90% of my time in the Editor.

It once happened that I jumped in to a chopper and started chatting to the squadie sitting next to me and it turns out he lives in my home town, which I left 40 years ago :eek:.

I watched his back the whole mission through...

Just get it...

EDIT : You can zero in and out your weapon sights, which is a nice touch, page up & down default bind.
 
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Been playing with ACE 2. It's fun AND funny.

armahaters.jpg
 
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Too busy playing OA, it's just great hehe.

Anyways, i made a video showing some combat in a village, testing an old script that allows the AI to move around in buildings.
A lot of people have been wondering how much improved movement in the new buildings is as opposed to the ArmA 2 buildings, so thats the main reason i made it.
Sound is a bit distorted though, sounds like i recorded it with a camcorder or something, dont know how that happened.
But it was either this way, or hearing me breathe into a mic. :rolleyes:

YouTube - OA CQB Test
 
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Oh man I was totally drawn in buy SiC-Disaster's short video. Then the scene comes up where an enemy sneaks into the house he is in and walks right behind him without even knowing it. I thought it was all over but the stupid bot doesn't shoot and SiC-Disaster shoots it down and moves on. Was that just a rare AI glitch?

I'm probably still going to get the game, its just there is this nagging question at the back of my mind. "Why put all this effort into making the game incredibly realistic if it can't deliver the experience of it in the end?"
 
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Was that just a rare AI glitch?
LOL no. In close combat there practically is no AI. If you're "lucky" they'll eventually notice you after standing 1m in front of them for 30seconds, but often they just run someplace else. It almost seemed to me sometimes as if they had to run far away at first before they actually fire.

Friendly AI however is just as stupid, I once failed a mission because both of my other tanks decided to drive against a house, somehow turn upsidedown(great physics there) and then explode.

Now if you want the game for MP/coop and know enough guys which play this game also with teamwork and everything it might be fun/cool, but if you like me want to play the promised campaign first, you may just as well buy a woodboard and repeadidly bash your head against it.
 
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The AI in CQB can be pretty dodgy, yeah.
However, that guy walking down behind me was surprising to me, by all accounts i should have been dead and though Drakon will always do his best to put the AI down, i also have had quite a few times where the AI did stop and shoot me. I felt incredibly lucky, instead of feeling 'oh there is that stupid clumsy AI again'. The AI is just a bit hit and miss sometimes, since they were originally designed for open world combat, instead of fighting inside houses.
They usually only enter houses when scripted to do so, like the script giving them a patrol inside a house, or by stuff like Zeus AI or when a mission uses UPSMON scripts. That improves their abilities quite a bit.
 
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The AI is just a bit hit and miss sometimes, since they were originally designed for open world combat, instead of fighting inside houses.
That sure is true but it also makes me wonder why they keep designing "close combat" missions? For example in the first mission of OA where you have to clear the airport, I went into the airport tower and was in the same room with 2 enemies(!!), yet they game me enough time to shoot them all even though I didn't even notice the 2nd enemy at first because he was standing behind me Lol.

If they would have some kind of switch between open world AI + cqc AI this game could be much more enjoyable.
 
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Have to agree there.
But to me it isnt that big of a deal, considering all the stuff the AI has to be able to do it can only be expected that sometimes they will shine, and other times they will **** up and do stupid ****.
Every game AI does stupid stuff, but in ArmA there is just more options to **** up in, and is why it gets mentioned so much. But people should not forget the times when the AI does do something great.
For instance, when fighting in a city sometimes you'll see an AI run across the street without looking and ofcourse for this effort he gets shot.
At other times i have seen AI stand at the corner of a wall and leaning around it, while other AI's stood next to him and almost made a perfect 180 degrees covering position standing alongside the wall.
Sometimes they will even take cover at lamp posts.

Other stuff you might see happen is an heli crashing down with the pilot ejecting. IF he survives the landing he'll usually continue down to his waypoint to destroy his objective (even if that is tanks and all he has is an MP5, = not so bright move). Yet on the way there he might discover enemy patrols, come under fire, or see the tanks moving around and he'll lose moral and tries to flee back (= smart).
Sometimes, when AI are ordered not to fire, they will start to fire at an enemy. Usually a player will curse him for his stupid AI, but i've played with AI for pretty damn long and i can guarantee 99% of the time they will hold fire.
They will open fire however when they realise they have been spotted, ie see an enemy react and putting his gun up. Players will not always see this happen, but the possibility for this is present ever since Operation Flashpoint.
In OFP i had to recon a valley in one of the campaigns missions, shortly after you gain command over an AI squad. I sent a lone soldier into the valley to check things out before moving the rest in. He was in a 'never fire' and stealth mode, so he kept low, kept spotting targets, while i couldnt see anything happening from my own position.
Then came the moment he spotted an enemy patrol just 50 metres away from him coming from a bunch of trees, which spotted him.
I could hear firing in the distance, and shortly after he reported in a kill or two, i ordered him to return to formation as the entire valley opened up on his position. Even an BMP which was high up the valley hills.
After a while the firing ceased but i still didnt see my soldier, so i asked him for a status report but he never gave it: he was dead.
But he had enough instincts to survive not to just stupidly sit there while an enemy takes a bead on him. I was impressed :cool:
 
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