Arma 3 Community Alpha - Announcement!

[sethos 2]

well, lets just hope they don't go the same route as CC where they ask ppl to pay/pre order before they can test the alpha/beta or any other testing phase of the game. When I saw that I was blown away, why would you force ppl to pre order a game that they are testing? I mean, that is the purpose of a "test" to see if you can run the game or even like the game, from the buyers perspective. All the data feedback & the like is important from their side & needed, which they would get anyway. So I hope the alpha & beta are free to "try" & not something ppl have to pay for.

What you are describing is a demo. Alpha / Beta tests are to test the game, however they want to induct you into it is their business but it sure as hell ain't a way to find out if you like the game or your PC can run it.

[subliminalss 12]

well, lets just hope they don't go the same route as CC where they ask ppl to pay/pre order before they can test the alpha/beta or any other testing phase of the game. When I saw that I was blown away, why would you force ppl to pre order a game that they are testing? I mean, that is the purpose of a "test" to see if you can run the game or even like the game, from the buyers perspective. All the data feedback & the like is important from their side & needed, which they would get anyway. So I hope the alpha & beta are free to "try" & not something ppl have to pay for.

If your PC don't run it... and that doesnt make you buy a new PC... your not an arma kinda guy. :notify:

But this Alpha will be interesting. May need another 580 aswell as the dedicated BI SSD im planning.:butbut:

[metalcraze 290]

What you want my friend, is a Demo...

Testing the game, is not for the player enjoyment (only), but the main thing here is to Test the game mechanics, give feedback (Probably create tickets with repros within Dev-Heaven), and that's it!

So what you are saying - BIS should pay us for QA job?

Paying to get your hands on an early preview and then take an active role in testing the game is all part of the fun. If you don't want to just buy it when it's released! No one is forcing you to buy a half built game and then log bugs!

Nice try. So only the people who paid will be able to influence the development with ideas? lololo but get a demo (that comes out a month post-release) when it's already too late - while I will be SPECIAL. Looking down on them plebs who don't have faith.

Evil EA ruins gaming with open betas - they should do it like BIS - make us pay to do their job.

Edited May 7, 2012 by metalcraze

[MissionCreep 12]

So what you are saying - BIS should pay us for QA job?

For some of us, QA is not a "job". We enjoy tweaking, testing and troubleshooting. If you are an avid user (or creator) of Arma mods, you would be comfortable in this role. The open beta is not for people like you ... so give it up and just wait for the finished product since nobody is forcing you to play or pay for an unfinished product.

[tremanarch 6]

I would be happy to find bugs, recreate them, and send the method how to create the bug to BIS. But I can only do it at the weekends.

[TCEd 0]

wow, lots of you cut me to shreds... that's cool, I don't mind.

Let me be more specific as to why I made those comments, I like all the Arma games & will most certainly buy this game... when I'm able. Unfortunately not everyone has the money to just buy/pre-pay when they want.. or in this case, when/if BIS puts a pre-pay requirement on the alpha/beta releases. Due to my current economic status, I must place other priorities above my gaming & having to pre pay for the game just so I can be part of the alpha/beta may not be possible for me & possibly many others.

I don't expect that to matter to ppl who can afford it, but to those of us who have to be more timely with items like this that are just for fun, we do have to be more careful. I don't mean my comments as negative toward those who may in fact pre pay if & when it's required during the testing phase, if I can I will follow suit & be part of it, as I have been in previous games, but again, that's not something I can determine as this time.

I do hope that there is no pre pay requirement on the testing phase, as that makes it much easier, but honestly it doesn't really matter all that much to me.

[metalcraze 290]

For some of us, QA is not a "job". We enjoy tweaking, testing and troubleshooting. If you are an avid user (or creator) of Arma mods, you would be comfortable in this role. The open beta is not for people like you ... so give it up and just wait for the finished product since nobody is forcing you to play or pay for an unfinished product.

I know how to use dev-heaven, I've been playing the series since OFP. So why is it not for "people like me"? What makes me somehow inferior?

Am I an untermensch not deserving to influence the game pre-release for not making mods and being sceptical about the game?

Edited May 7, 2012 by metalcraze

[whiskeytango 11]

I know how to use dev-heaven, I've been playing the series since OFP. So why is it not for "people like me"? What makes me somehow inferior?

Am I an untermensch not deserving to influence the game pre-release for not making mods and being sceptical about the game?

I don't have unlimited bandwidth on my Internet. Not only should it be free but they should mail me out DVD's with new builds on it.

I think you'll find the overhead of distributing alphas and betas will be covered by the early receipt of payment. The profit motive is a powerful one (and necessary). I also don't like our chances of there being an Arma3 demo at all. I just use youtube.

[MissionCreep 12]

I know how to use dev-heaven, I've been playing the series since OFP. So why is it not for "people like me"? What makes me somehow inferior?

Am I an untermensch not deserving to influence the game pre-release for not making mods and being sceptical about the game?

Alpha/beta previews will be carried out by volunteers ... so I don't know what your argument is. Don't volunteer if you don't want to test Arma 3 preleases for bugs. You can wait for the official release if you object to having to do "QA" for BI. It would certainly benefit BI to at least have an idea of any install problems on hundreds/thousands of user platforms prior to its official release.

[metalcraze 290]

No I object to having to buy the game first before I will be able to post my opinions about its "community alpha".

[dale0404 5]

Just wait until we are told peeps...

[antoineflemming 14]

Yeah, why are we still discussing this? BIS has not said whether the Community Alpha will be free or will have a Preorder precondition. How about we just stop talking about it for a month (till E3).

[KrIxXuS 10]

I'm looking forward to jumping in :-), i dont have a lot of cash but don't mind paying for something i know will get full support from the offset. We should be greatful we still have the ARMA series and such a good community behind it. Those that really want the game will surely get it somehow...maybe a poll on the thread : 'pre' purchase for beta or 'open' beta. The way i see it the more beta tester's they have the better it will be for them to make last minute changes, it is important they get it just right this time i certainly cant afford a new pc every 3 years... only thing i will upgrade is a new card in two weeks time when i get paid and still not sure whether to go ATI or NvIDIA.

Would be nice to get some info on Bohemia's test rig's??

Thank's for the response RiE and loving the link's('lot of thing's' and 'prefer') made me laugh ;-).

Edited May 9, 2012 by KrIxXuS

[royaltyinexile 175]

Would be nice to get some info on Bohemia's test rig's??

My current rig, one which most recent screens and videos are captured on, hasn't changed too much since Take On.

You can find the exact specs in the "RiE's Set Up/What? Well, I must be playing on a potato. What Ancient Evil runs such high settings?" spoiler.

Anecdotally, I'd prefer some more RAM and a more spacious SSD but, then again, there a lot of things I'd prefer, and it runs A3 fine for my needs. :cool:

Best,

RiE

[onlyrazor 11]

Anecdotally, I'd prefer some more RAM and a more spacious SSD but, then again, there a lot of things I'd prefer, and it runs A3 fine for my needs. :cool:

You just wait until they implement hypercore-ultrathreading at DX12 with 8000 clocks per second. It'll require a sixteen core CPU with a 9 tera pipe. That's Hollywood IT for ya.

Anyhow, I'm just kinda wondering how much system requirements will change from alpha to gold version.

[whiskeytango 11]

My current rig, one which most recent screens and videos are captured on, hasn't changed too much since Take On.

You can find the exact specs in the "RiE's Set Up/What? Well, I must be playing on a potato. What Ancient Evil runs such high settings?" spoiler.

Anecdotally, I'd prefer some more RAM and a more spacious SSD but, then again, there a lot of things I'd prefer, and it runs A3 fine for my needs. :cool:

Best,

RiE

Wow that's awesome. So I should be okay with my i7 @ 3.9Ghz, SSD and a shiny newish GTX 580. Awesome!

[dmarkwick 261]

So all I need is a potato and a dog? Or did I misunderstand? :)

[royaltyinexile 175]

Well, as with anything, it depends what you want you want/ how you want to play it. One-setup-to-rule-them-all it isn't.

More specifically, we're talking about the number of entities in the scene, view-distance, fancy pp options, etc, etc, etc. The list really does go on. I go into a little more detail in the previously linked post, but the headline fact remains:

... it's worth pointing out that there is no 'ideal' configuration. The beauty of the options are their flexibility. It's unlikely that anyone can run everything completely maxed-out; rather, it's about setting up the game the way you're most comfortable with.

There's also some work being put into setting up the video-configuration options UI to make this process a little more obvious.

Anyway, lest this thread descend into some member-measuring rig-off or dense discussions about optimal hardware/ settings, let me leave the point by saying that we're due to publish our newly revised minimum specifications along with our E3 materials, and the set up linked to previously runs the game just fine for my needs and preferences, at least. Probably worth mentioning that I'm not running several thousand different mods which complicate the issue yet further, but that's a hornet's nest imma stay well away from!

:)

So all I need is a potato and a dog? Or did I misunderstand? :)

That, and a beautiful assistant to monitor the temperature of your over-clocked hardware!

Best,

RiE

[james2464 176]

Awesome thanks for that information, when you mentioned E3 i got a little too excited! Can't wait.

[CameronMcDonald 146]

Anyway, lest this thread descend into some member-measuring rig-off or dense discussions about optimal hardware/ settings, let me leave the point by saying that we're due to publish our newly revised minimum specifications along with our E3 materials, and the set up linked to previously runs the game just fine for my needs and preferences, at least. Probably worth mentioning that I'm not running several thousand different mods which complicate the issue yet further, but that's a hornet's nest imma stay well away from!

I wonder whether the newer requirements will be higher or lower than those posted previously... :dj: :party: :n:

[Bee8190 10]

I wonder whether the newer requirements will be higher or lower than those posted previously... :dj: :party: :n:

Asked myself the very same question but the way royality said it, translated in my head as - yup, we overshot the min requirements and the revisited once will be actually (lot) more HW friendly. Well, lets hope :o

[shiveee 1]

Guess I'm little late to the party..but hopefully not too late. Love the series and love what I've seen of Arma 3 so far. Hope to get a chance to help out when things are ready.

[Craig_VG 20]

RIE and I have nearly the same setup... I feel so special... :D

[T0bias 1]

How many people do you expect to participate in the Community Alpha?

Jay Crowe, Creative Director: Well, we’re talking about an alpha build of the game. We accept that it’s not something that those with only a passing interest would get involved in. Rather, we’d expect that our community will be the driving force behind this initial offering, at least.

Musil: We have no limits, though – anyone interested is welcome! This will be an iterative process and we will appreciate any proper feedback. If we took a guess, there could be thousands.

Crowe: You only need to look at the success and popularity of similar alpha releases to see that, if it begins to gain momentum, such previews can generate large numbers of really passionate players.

Can I just say, I love you guys. Open alpha, it's not something I've seen any other studio do. Can't wait.

Probably going to need to buy a new rig for it. Is there going to be an option for gpu accelerated physics for those of us with nvidia cards? I'm currently running a q9400 and a gtx 470.

[maddogx 13]

Can I just say, I love you guys. Open alpha, it's not something I've seen any other studio do. Can't wait.

That qoute was new to me; thanks for digging it up. Looks like we can finally bury the issue of access to the alpha.

Probably going to need to buy a new rig for it.

Hold your horses until the alpha comes around, I say. BIS have said that they will be announcing revised system requirements at E3, and your hardware isn't all that bad.

Is there going to be an option for gpu accelerated physics for those of us with nvidia cards?

Currently unknown. There has been no official word on the subject.