Development Blog & Reveals

[Varanon 892]

I do not want to sound disrespectful. But I really think that some members of the community just need to shut down their browser and take a cold shower, and Calm Down. You can't think reasonably when high on adrenaline.

There are two ways to calm people down.

This isn't one of them. As such, off topic, flamebating.

[TSAndrey 1]

that I can put on ridiculous loads (eliminating the need for an ammo-bearing buddy) while BIS cuts out the last fatigue effect due to demands of casual players

BI is making WIP limits for carrying big loads (check dev branch) and fatigue effects are fine. Infact, I think characters still get tired a bit too fast.

[Varanon 892]

Polishing the campaign affects positively to the campaign only.

According to what was said in the video, it's not the campaign that lacks polishing, but rather the AI. And that's going to be released along with the full game. And if the campaign is not in the final game because of shortcomings in the AI, then you can forget about any single player content, and any COOP content.

I would really like to hear an official stance on why the campaign is cut from the final game. It's unfortunate that the information came out via an external video rather than a to-the-point communication from BIS.

[metalcraze 290]

There are no fatigue effects in ArmA3. You can run forever no matter what you carry or for how long you run.

ArmA3's harmless vignette and heavy breathing have nothing on ArmA2 fatigue effects with harsh aiming shake and slowed running speed.

Edited August 2, 2013 by metalcraze

[Masharra 10]

Delaying the campaign and concentrating on core features is the best decision (with the decision of going Steam-exclusive) that you've made during these 2 years that I've been with you. I fully support your decision. Thank you BIS! :cancan:

Exactly when in that video did they say they were delaying the camp to concentrate on the core features? Just wondering. Dont worry Ill wait so you can tell me.

Chortles! You're the quotes guy. Can you help him out?

[bis3 10]

wait, I heard this somewhere before. Yeah, 3D editor will come with free patch for Arma 2. Where is it? Not even in Arma 3. Well, It would be amazing if the campaing is atlest 5 mission long.

[Azzur33 1]

You are missing the point completely buddy. This feels as though BIS are pulling the rug from under us all.

Well, what is the rug that is pulled from under "our" feet? What really IS the point, which I really can't see.

Honestly, was the campaign The Big Thing you were expecting too?

Well, you are going to get it! But only After you get the Altis island, and other stuff.

[Alwarren 2767]

Polishing the campaign affects positively to the campaign only.

Polishing the core features affects positively to the both missions and mods in both SP and MP and the campaign itself too: actually to the whole game!

Delaying the campaign and concentrating on core features is the best decision (with the decision of going Steam-exclusive) that you've made during these 2 years that I've been with you. I fully support your decision.

By all means, delay the game. I'm fine with that. But the game isn't delayed, content is cut from it with the promise to put it in later. Just like ACR, that's a gamble.

But as I wrote above, the video that reveals this information (and yeah I'd love to hear from BIS about this) says it isn't the campaign itself but rather they're "not happy with the AI", which basically means the first release will be Wasteland only since anything will suffer from the AI, and after I have seen

, I am willing to concur.

I do not have an issue with delaying, and I really hope they put some spit shine on the game, but releasing it as a full game? Not cool.

Thank you BIS! :cancan:

This, however, makes me wonder why I even try to argue the point.

[Azzur33 1]

There are two ways to calm people down.

This isn't one of them. As such, off topic, flamebating.

Just an effort to put some perspective into things, you know.

Not working, for sure, for the reasons I wrote. Still tried, though.

[dale0404 5]

Well, what is the rug that is pulled from under "our" feet? What really IS the point, which I really can't see.

Honestly, was the campaign The Big Thing you were expecting too?

Well, you are going to get it! But only After you get the Altis island, and other stuff.

The Campaign was one of The Big Things I expected to be in the game at release. The game content seems to be less and less as days go by... Lets hope stuff like the strategic map is in the game at release, as well as ALL the other stuff we were promised.

[bis3 10]

Can anybody from BIS please confirm that ladder animation problem will be fixed in Arma 6? I know you don't have resources for fixing it since OFP but in Arma 6 it could be done.

[Varanon 892]

Just an effort to put some perspective into things, you know.

You usually do that with arguments, not rather empty words.

An argument would, for example, be a SITREP or similar news item explaining the reasoning. This isn't of course something you can do, that's why I think posts ranging from "calm down" to "take your pills" aren't going to help but rather do the opposite. People are feeling cheated/misled, and trying to put sugar (or dung) on top of that won't help.

I can only repeat, I would like to hear from BIS what the reasoning is behind this cut. Maybe there is a good reason (and honestly, I am sure that there is a reason behind it), but I would like to hear it, and being a customer that even paid for the supporter edition (you know, because I actually thought supporting them was a good thing, never mind the credits thing), I actually feel I have the, well, the right to hear why they are cutting it. The prospect of "there will be a campaign after release" isn't going to cut it for me, since there is no timeframe, no guarantee ("We currently lack the resources to do X"... heard that before on numerous occasions). So at least an explanation would be highly appreciated.

[metalcraze 290]

BIS promises one thing, gets money and only months later it turns out that the game will be nothing like what was promised for years.

Everything is fine. Let's make some more fun of Codemasters in official ArmA trailers.

[Vigil Vindex 64]

I think the worrying thing is that there is now a long list of things being dropped from the game, and only some of it is being promised after release. I personally felt I had reasonable expectations for Arma 3, I expected it to meet or exceed Arma 2 OA, in all aspects. I expected Arma 3 to have at least some of the functionality provided by ACE and AI mods like TPWCAS/LOS and Zues etc. As it stands just now I don't think I can say Arma 3 has met those modest, imo, expectations. I do appreciate the improvements that have been made, the new dx11 physx graphics, the improved movement, and new content models and textures, and the inventory overhaul are all great to see.

[Varanon 892]

The Campaign was one of The Big Things I expected to be in the game at release. The game content seems to be less and less as days go by... Lets hope stuff like the strategic map is in the game at release, as well as ALL the other stuff we were promised.

Same here. What I heard about the campaign was interesting.

[minimalaco 30]

I've never played the campaign that brings arma/2/OA,ETC.... to me is not a problem.

I play coop/tvt with my clan :p

[doln 10]

It's pretty shithouse, but (and I mean this with as much respect as possible to Bohemia, I am their biggest fan) I don't think I've ever played a mission made by Bohemia where I've gone "Wow, this is a really good mission". The vast majority (99%) of my ~1000 hours in the arma series has been in the editor. If delaying the campaign means I get access to a fully featured editor, I'm happy.

That being said from what I've heard about the campaign it sounds pretty promising. It's just the showcases aren't very good so it doesn't give me a lot of hope.

I would say in arma that the editor and its ability to create content is more integral to the arma experience than the campaign. Think of it from Bohemias perspective, they can either delay and miss out on christmas revenue (which is fucking huge by the way, go look up general retail sales graphs for around christmastime, its a very significant number, why do you think most games release around christmas) by including the campaign which the vast majority of people simply won't play (it's a sad fact but one that needs to be considered), or they can release as planned, make a shitload more money, and include the campaign shortly after release (they've stated it would be shortly).

I just hope they release info about the factions (Who are the CSAT? Confederate of South Asian Territories?) so I can start making campaigns when it gets released before the campaign itself does. Or story snippets. I'd hate to make a mission then have the campaign explain some lore that would completely contradict anything I made.

[Tonci87 163]

I'm really disapointed.

I bought Arma 3 when all those axed features were still in, true, I did pay a ridiculously low price for an AAA game but I guess the games price will drop under 25€ until all those features are patched in, if ever.

So far we only have promises that all the axed features will be added after release, and even the promises contain a maybe...

If you look at CC and ACR then I really don't know what to think.

Bis might find out that people won't pre buy their next game after this.

Funnily I don't think that this decision will harm reviews. It will make them better. Reviews always complained about the campaign beeing unplayable because of bugs and stupid AI.

[Sniperwolf572 758]

You usually do that with arguments, not rather empty words.

An argument would, for example, be a SITREP or similar news item explaining the reasoning. This isn't of course something you can do, that's why I think posts ranging from "calm down" to "take your pills" aren't going to help but rather do the opposite. People are feeling cheated/misled, and trying to put sugar (or dung) on top of that won't help.

I can only repeat, I would like to hear from BIS what the reasoning is behind this cut. Maybe there is a good reason (and honestly, I am sure that there is a reason behind it), but I would like to hear it, and being a customer that even paid for the supporter edition (you know, because I actually thought supporting them was a good thing, never mind the credits thing), I actually feel I have the, well, the right to hear why they are cutting it. The prospect of "there will be a campaign after release" isn't going to cut it for me, since there is no timeframe, no guarantee ("We currently lack the resources to do X"... heard that before on numerous occasions). So at least an explanation would be highly appreciated.

It's actually obvious, they don't need to say anything:

• Not enough resources to focus on everything
  
• Tight deadline and we can't move it because of reasons
  
• The campaign is not in an acceptable state (Audio might be missing, etc)
  
• QA can't test the campaign in time to make sure it's acceptable
  
• People who write code for missions also write various non-engine code like scripts and functions and those need to work better
  
• We would like to deliver high quality campaign
  

[doln 10]

It's actually obvious, they don't need to say anything:

• Not enough resources to focus on everything
  
• Tight deadline and we can't move it because of reasons
  
• The campaign is not in an acceptable state (Audio might be missing, etc)
  
• QA can't test the campaign in time to make sure it's acceptable
  
• People who write code for missions also write various non-engine code like scripts and functions and those need to work better
  
• We would like to deliver high quality campaign
  

This man gets it. It's not like they're cutting the campaign, they're just delaying it. If they released it at release, it would be a buggy mess. A late but good game is good forever. An on time but bad game is bad forever.

You're still going to get it, you'll just have to wait a bit.

[hoot 0]

[...]Funnily I don't think that this decision will harm reviews. It will make them better. Reviews always complained about the campaign beeing unplayable because of bugs and stupid AI.

I've yet to see Gamestar (exempli gratia) giving a bonus for a missing feature of a game that can be considered crucial. No I sense a shitstorm,... at least on their forums.

[metalcraze 290]

So why not delay the whole game?

They've also said there will be TOH FM and bipods after release. Tons of other stuff too. Clearly they will release an unfinished game which is the worst thing a developer can do. But good luck waiting for years for them bring in features.

Although I bet with the current inadequate level of fanboyism among the community if BIS would just start to sell back cut out features as DLCs - people would still swallow that and ask for more.

Edited August 2, 2013 by metalcraze

[Sniperwolf572 758]

This man gets it. It's not like they're cutting the campaign, they're just delaying it. If they released it at release, it would be a buggy mess. A late but good game is good forever. An on time but bad game is bad forever.

You're still going to get it, you'll just have to wait a bit.

I get it, but I dislike the decision. The decision would be to grow a backbone and delay, a delayed polished game will still give better reviews than giving reviewers public Arma 3 MP and a couple of showcase missions to judge the game by. Once the reviews are in, there's no going back. Everyone else can be just fine with the Beta content and incremental packages.

[hoot 0]

I get it, but I dislike the decision. The decision would be to grow a backbone and delay, a delayed polished game will still give better reviews than giving reviewers public Arma 3 MP and a couple of showcase missions to judge the game by.

^ this.

Edit: I've just learned that we get working Steam trading cards at least. And I'm really like....yeaah....

[Varanon 892]

It's actually obvious, they don't need to say anything:

In the video, they blamed the AI. If that's the case then this is a general single-player and COOP issue with the final game.