Development Blog & Reveals

[metalcraze 290]

Here on the forums, or where? I didn't see that.

There was a thread with voting "when do you think alpha will arrive". Then Jay Crowe (or some other BI dev) made a sneaky post saying that the march option is more likely.

[gossamersolid 155]

BIS hinted at alpha arriving in early March. I bet the release date will be sometime in June (as per tradition) unless something else comes up.

BIS also has previously hinted:

- After german games convention

- End of 2012

So I wouldn't follow these as a guideline.

Three months = plenty of time.

If the game is still in Alpha 3 months before release, there is a severe problem.

[maddogx 13]

If the game is still in Alpha 3 months before release, there is a severe problem.

True. Assuming there aren't any new features under development ("feature freeze") it would, strictly speaking, be a beta test.

In other words, if the May 2013 release date is accurate, there probably won't be a public alpha after all; just a beta (hopefully). ;)

[metalcraze 290]

It isn't like it's alpha in the usual meaning. The engine is much more feature-rich than what we currently have in OA or TOH. Alpha is usually something that works just barely enough. It will be more like a finished game waiting for final testing. Community Alpha just sounds more badass than Community Beta - I dunno?

The final release can get delayed till September but June is still realistic. I mean it isn't like not fixing something for years and still releasing the game is a big problem for BIS - no matter how edgy this sounds.

[sberla101 50]

SIGNAL LOST

RE-ESTABLISHING LINK

fap fap fap fap fap :bounce3:

[NeuroFunker 11]

SIGNAL LOST

RE-ESTABLISHING LINK

fap fap fap fap fap :bounce3:

so im not alone who reacts like that? :)

but tbh. Maybe it's just website maintains.

Edited February 1, 2013 by NeuroFunker

[Alwarren 2765]

Intel Redacted... check back soon?

[Praelium 0]

Update!!

http://www.bistudio.com/english/home/news/projects/352-new-name-for-main-island-in-arma-3

New name for main island in Arma 3

Bohemia Interactive has renamed the main island of its upcoming mil-sim game, Arma 3. The new name, ‘Altis’, reflects the distinctive Mediterranean identity of its environment, but distinguishes it from the real-world Greek island of Lemnos, which has served as the main source of inspiration.

The decision follows an incident involving the arrest of two Bohemia Interactive employees, who were spending their holidays on Lemnos. Both were detained for 129 days on suspicion of espionage. They were recently released on bail.

Arma 3’s main island (approx. 350 km²) is inspired by the beautiful environment of the Greek island, Lemnos (approx. 475 km²), artistically re-created based on commercially and publicly available data. It was originally chosen to be the centre-piece of the game after Bohemia Interactive's CEO, Marek Spanel, visited the island on vacation several years ago and shared his impressions with the Arma 3 development team.

However, in view of recent events, the team no longer feels passionate about using the previous name, 'Limnos', and hopes that the new identity, ‘Altis’, will help emphasize the fictional nature of the game. A secondary, significantly smaller island in Arma 3, ‘Stratis’ (approx. 20 km²), will keep its name.

Joris-Jan van ‘t Land, Project Lead on Arma 3, explains: "As part of the creative process, our virtual environments are often rooted in real-life locations and, during development, they evolve and grow along with our design. The resulting fictional environment is often close to its inspiration, but it's never exactly the same - nor would we want it to be. For us, 'Altis' echoes the Mediterranean heart of our island, but differentiates it from any undesired real-life connotations.â€

Starting with the successful Arma: Cold War Assault (originally titled Operation Flashpoint: Cold War Crisis*) in 2001, Arma 3 is the latest installment in the award-winning tactical military shooter series by Bohemia Interactive. This PC-exclusive video game, which is set in 2035, provides an authentic combat experience in a massive military sandbox. Running on a brand new version of the Real Virtualityâ„¢ engine, Arma 3 features a wide variety of single- and multiplayer gameplay - supported by limitless opportunities for content creation.

Arma 3 is scheduled for release in 2013. More precise details will be announced in February.

Plus, two new screenshots? Screenshot 1 Screenshot 2

[Alwarren 2765]

Plus, two new screenshots? Screenshot 1 Screenshot 2

Holy parachuting cow, those shots look lovely... Wonder what computer from space this is running on, with the object draw distance revved up like it is... O.o

[4 IN 1 0]

I don't know which face should I put on,

The "FFFFFFFfffffffffffffff.............." face

Or the "Noooooooooooooooo!" face?

Anyway, I think I will still call it Lemnos Limnos for the sakes of pissing off the greeks:devil:

[Praelium 0]

I'm happy for BIS. This probably wasn't an easy decision as I'm sure a lot of changes must be made, but it's for the best. I wonder, though, if they're going to change the layout of the map.

[4 IN 1 0]

I'm happy for BIS. This probably wasn't an easy decision as I'm sure a lot of changes must be made, but it's for the best. I wonder, though, if they're going to change the layout of the map.

At this stage of development? Don't think so, too many works have been pull on to it that changing any bit of it might seems to be excessive waste of resource.

[metalcraze 290]

Have your island named like in reality:

ZOMG THEY'RE STEALINGZ MY SIKRITZ

Rename the island to something fictional while keeping everything else intact:

KK it's fictional!

[Tonci87 163]

Well I frankly don´t care what it is called as long as it stays true to the original, aka true to nature.

Those screens are great (Tell us something about the Viewdistance please)

What about town names? will they be changed as well?

Edited February 1, 2013 by Tonci87

[NeuroFunker 11]

ohhh, now that looks good!

[Ezcoo 47]

Those screenshots are superb! It seems that the haze of the atmosphere gets its color from the sky (or it's dependent on weather maybe?), that makes the viewdistance look very high even at lower settings and more importantly, that makes the scene look extremely epic! Great job BIS! :D

[NoRailgunner 0]

Pfff, screw all the nice screens - demand ingame videos with all the BIS devs playing and fighting A3! :D

[cozza 24]

http://www.armaholic.com/datas/users/arma3_altis_screenshot2_4.jpg

Is that a sillouite of a city in the distance or a bunch of really tall trees?

[Alwarren 2765]

http://www.armaholic.com/datas/users/arma3_altis_screenshot2_4.jpg

Is that a sillouite of a city in the distance or a bunch of really tall trees?

Trees I'd say. If you zoom in pretty close it seems like there is a trunk in the center. Could be wrong of course.

[paragraphic l 2]

Altis it is then!

It is a shame, but understandable decision. Can get used to Altis just as easily. If not, there will be a mod to rename it anyways. ;)

Now on to something that this post wasn't about, at all; those screenshots look awesome!

Sky and new colors (as also seen in Rockets latest blog post) look amazingly realistic.

Only thing I'm noticing, and did in the past but that was early days, are the animations.

They all look to walk in the exact same pose, higher animation fidelity means less variants I guess.

Makes sense but not sure if I would notice the higher quality more than the clone wars effect.

[PsychoPigeon 10]

OMFG

Arma 3 is scheduled for release in 2013. More precise details will be announced in February.

I'm first for newz

[froggyluv 2130]

That guy in the middle's triceps are outstanding :o

Looking good and honestly I could care less about the Island's name -first one was bad mojo anyways.

[frostwyrm333 1]

poses are strange, otherwise great

[Colossus 2]

This was the first time* they used an authentic name to a map, and the result was naive non-gamers, such as politicians, getting overly excited and concerned over it. If gaming history tells us anything, it's that controversial real-life names rarely gets a free pass - and frankly I couldn't give a toss about names in a game, it's what I can do that's important - Either pick a fantasy name or be generic. Real-life political problem solved (apparently).

Nice screenshots! Still, I personally don't like the current setting for the bloom/HDR effect. I'm not worried though, nor is it to me of any great importance to the overall visual layout. Can't wait to hear more news though ;)

*(Not including BISim products)

[NeuroFunker 11]

well, u can still turn PP effects off :)