Automatic Updates

[Przemek_kondor 13]

Optional.

Make somekind of official launcher that has a RSS for oficial patches\betas and can also recieve feed from sites like Armaholic or Armainfo for mods and so on. The program can also work as a mod manager and other things that we have nowadays as a 3rd party.

Something like THIS!

:cool:

And what is better in being official? I don't see any advantages over applications we already have

[Nicholas 5]

And what is better in being official? I don't see any advantages over applications we already have

It is better for new users. Not all new users know about Armaholic.com or BIStudio.com or the forums. In reality, users shouldn't have to install 3 applications to fully utilize the game.

[Flash Thunder 10]

I didn't even look at Smurfs picture till now, that looks great.

Clean interface, displays a lot of info and accessible.

[Smurf 12]

It is better for new users. Not all new users know about Armaholic.com or BIStudio.com or the forums. In reality, users shouldn't have to install 3 applications to fully utilize the game.

Exactly. Have something like this (working) right out the box would just help the newcomers.

In some forums that I "maintain" topics about ARMA every now and then someone appears asking where\how\what about mods, if they have the correct version and so on. Most gamers nowadays don´t want to bother with that when they have tools like Steam to keep the game running and up to date.

And waste resources? Really?

This isn´t something that take months and a whole team to do, probably 1-2 people could do in a week or less.

And BTW, what I´ve done was based in the WIC launcher:

[sickboy 13]

Exactly. Have something like this (working) right out the box would just help the newcomers.

In some forums that I "maintain" topics about ARMA every now and then someone appears asking where\how\what about mods, if they have the correct version and so on. Most gamers nowadays don´t want to bother with that when they have tools like Steam to keep the game running and up to date.

And waste resources? Really?

This isn´t something that take months and a whole team to do, probably 1-2 people could do in a week or less.

And BTW, what I´ve done was based in the WIC launcher:

About time you start taking care of that with SU then ;-) http://www.six-updater.net/p/about.html

[the_antipop 10]

I agree with a permanent launcher for the game.

Launchers are now very common practice for many games and I feel it's quite necessary with the number of patches and amount of news BI put into their games that a launcher for A3 is almost a pre determined feature.

[ProfTournesol 956]

By the way, what would be great is a way to reverse to previous patch/state of the game without being forced to reinstall the whole damn thing.

[Cpt.Burger 10]

I like the concept of optional updates too.

[NoRailgunner 0]

Only optional with a chance to rollback to an previous (working) version/build.

Informing user about changes and user confirmation should be standard.

[jblackrupert 14]

Optional Standalone patches.

I like being able to burn patches onto a DVD which I leave open for future patchs

and then tuck it next to the game DVD in the case.

Who the heck wants to wait for patches to download everytime you install a game

or have to backup your Steam install everytime a patch is applied???

[sickboy 13]

Going backwards is insane. You should always move forward. If a patch version is bugged, it should be hotfixed asap, instead of reverting to an older version. Mixed versions, especially in MP is not useful.

[NoRailgunner 0]

No, switching to previous working build is practical for all those who just want to play + enjoy the game. Why people should wait + hope that the next patch version does really fix all the current important bugs/issues? Mixed versions doesn't matter as long as people know what version they use and why. Try to look at it from the consumer perspective and not only from programming/"nerd" view. ;):)

[ProfTournesol 956]

Going backwards is insane. You should always move forward. If a patch version is bugged, it should be hotfixed asap, instead of reverting to an older version. Mixed versions, especially in MP is not useful.

Mmmm... not more insane than not patching at all. I've got two option ATM : wait and see if the patch isn't breaking the game for others (despite all the beta testing), or patching and being eventually forced to reinstall. A better option is obviously : always patching BUT being able to roll back.

No, switching to previous working build is practical for all those who just want to play + enjoy the game. Why people should wait + hope that the next patch version does really fix all the current important bugs/issues? Mixed versions doesn't matter as long as people know what version they use and why. Try to look at it from the consumer perspective and not only from programming/"nerd" view. ;):)

Absolutely. Moreover, the patching process is far from being flawless, it sometimes simply fails during patching for whatever reason, and then the only awfull option is reinstall.

[norsu 180]

No, switching to previous working build is practical for all those who just want to play + enjoy the game. Why people should wait + hope that the next patch version does really fix all the current important bugs/issues? Mixed versions doesn't matter as long as people know what version they use and why. Try to look at it from the consumer perspective and not only from programming/"nerd" view. ;):)

I'd say consumers want evenly distributed patches to ensure compatibility. If for some reason patch causes serious problems there's always hotfixes. Going back in versions without reinstall is never going to be foolproof unless the game is made with that in mind. I'd rather see BIS using their resources on something else like good updates. BIS already has decent beta patch program that weeds out the biggest issues.

Edited January 16, 2012 by Norsu

[ProfTournesol 956]

BIS already has decent beta patch program that weeds out the biggest issues.

But beta patches are for nerds. Standard consumers only need a game that works.

[norsu 180]

But beta patches are for nerds. Standard consumers only need a game that works.

Exactly. That's why BIS uses "nerds" to ensure that standard customers get the goods and there's no need to go backwards.

[Cripsis 10]

But beta patches are for nerds.

Nerds? do you mean those intellectually badass guys that invented computers..

[sickboy 13]

No, switching to previous working build is practical for all those who just want to play + enjoy the game. Why people should wait + hope that the next patch version does really fix all the current important bugs/issues? Mixed versions doesn't matter as long as people know what version they use and why. Try to look at it from the consumer perspective and not only from programming/"nerd" view. ;):)

Mixed versions certainly matter - only need to look at history where new game versions were released per distribution in different weeks, and so on.

IMO there is no consumer and programming/nerd view. IMO there are only two kinds of people; Those who want to be part of the solution, and those that want to be part of the problem.

You dont have to be a rocket scientist to be either.

I stand by my point; moving backwards is bad, moving forward is the way to go; if you experience issues, report them, so they can get fixed asap and a fix can be distributed asap. Going back only makes for version incompatibilities.

Makes sense doesnt it.

But beta patches are for nerds. Standard consumers only need a game that works.

That was maybe the case 15 years ago, but not today.

But I suppose it's an easy excuse for being lazy and all :)

---------- Post added at 12:36 ---------- Previous post was at 12:35 ----------

Exactly. That's why BIS uses "nerds" to ensure that standard customers get the goods and there's no need to go backwards.

Anyone can help out, don't need to be a nerd. If most people would spend even 10% of the time they are wasting directionless on forums and chats, life would be better! ;-) Edited January 16, 2012 by Sickboy

[ProfTournesol 956]

That was maybe the case 15 years ago, but not today.

But I suppose it's an easy excuse for being lazy and all :)

I know and share your point of view, but you're the nerd leader :D Beta patches are for community members who wanna involve themselves into debugging those games, which is a noble task but cannot involve that if the patching or beta debugging process are failing, i/we have to reinstall the whole thing. I'm lazzy regarding reinstalling the games, that's true :cool:

[NoRailgunner 0]

In the end its up to BIS/devteam to update their games not the duty or obligation or motivation of consumers to test-debug-fix their own game. Having an option is always better than having none and be forced to wait until its fixed/playable again.

Perhaps BIS should invest some more Sweat, Nerves and Time in better QA to accomplish project "Awesome" with better release and some medals/awards? So bugs/issues of previous games (builds) don't have a chance to backfire this project... :)

Black and white painting is neither a good option nor a great solution.

[.kju 3240]

IMO there is no consumer and programming/nerd view. IMO there are only two kinds of people; Those who want to be part of the solution, and those that want to be part of the problem.

Very poor argument there Sickboy. A long the lines of the "beloved" J. Bush:

"Either you are with us or against us".

Sorry you need to educate yourself a little more, if you really make such stupid statements.

The world is not black and white. Instead is has infinite number of grey tones in between.

[sickboy 13]

Very poor argument there Sickboy. A long the lines of the "beloved" J. Bush:

"Either you are with us or against us".

Sorry you need to educate yourself a little more, if you really make such stupid statements.

The world is not black and white. Instead is has infinite number of grey tones in between.

You're taking my statement out of context imo. NoRailgunner painted the world as Consumers and Developers, and I painted it as those part of the problem and those part of the solution, in response to that.

As you dont need to be a developer to report bugs, and not need to be a consumer to play a game, that was really all the point I was trying to make.

Of course the world isn't black and white, and im not a friend of the "beloved" J Bush "Either with us or against us" :)

[dragon01 902]

The updater should send a prompt upon detecting a new version and have a set of modes with various functions. For example:

"Beta" (will download the latest beta patch), "Stable" (will download the latest stable patch"), "Major" (will update only when a big patch comes out, small fixes are skipped), "Disabled" (self explanatory), "Version" (will update or rollback to a specified version), "Restore" (will rollback to the latest known working version) and "Repair" (will check and redownload files for the current version).

Also, there should be an option to disable prompting (in case the player just wants to have the latest version and doesn't want to be bothered by prompts).

One should also be able to limit bandwidth used by the updater.

[Tonci87 163]

Sickboy, ever watched Freeman´s Mind? "Either you are a part of the solution, or a part of the Problem. [...] Awesome a Submachine Gun, now I can solve 100 Problems per Minute"

To everybody who doesn´t know Freeman´s mind: Watch it on youtube!

OT: People on this forum usually spend a lot of time playing Arma and I guess they want to play Arma in the future. I see it that way, If I find a Problem and report it now, I wont have to deal with it in the future and by beta testing I can be sure to have a better product when the next patch is released.

And I have some influence on how parts of the game are going to be improved.

Does that make me a nerd? Who cares?

[PuFu 4591]

IMO there is no consumer and programming/nerd view. IMO there are only two kinds of people; Those who want to be part of the solution, and those that want to be part of the problem.

You dont have to be a rocket scientist to be either.

You're taking my statement out of context imo. NoRailgunner painted the world as Consumers and Developers, and I painted it as those part of the problem and those part of the solution, in response to that.

As you dont need to be a developer to report bugs, and not need to be a consumer to play a game, that was really all the point I was trying to make.

very superficial statement, even after the explanations.

While it is true that it's no rocket science to report a bug, and you really need to know the basics of filling some fields (as per dev-heaven), noRailgunner point still stands: it is NOT the consumer job to provide the test-base. Yes, there are lots who do that, and props for them. but this is (just as expected) the minority of the whole player base.

That was maybe the case 15 years ago, but not today.

But I suppose it's an easy excuse for being lazy and all :)

I would say it's quite the exposited today than it was 15 years ago. The instant gratification mindset would be the main reason here why i really think in todays video game market, things should run as smoothly as possible from day one.

This is no excuse whatsoever. The average gamer (sim buff or not) doesn't have unlimited amount of time, quite the contrary, that he would rather spend using the product rather than beta testing it.

no pun intended.