Is Arma 3 authentic?

[Tonci87 163]

To a resident of 1988: So the Soviet Union disassembles and USA attacks Iraq, a genocidal war in the Balkans breaks out, oh yeah and the World Trade Center is destroyed and then USA attacks Afghanistan as a retaliation and then attacks Iraq again and then they get their first black president. Oh, and the European Union (long story) is having a massive debt crisis and the Arab world is revolting to overthrow their dictators.

To an Arma fan: Iran is in a conflict with NATO some 23 years from now. They might be using equipment of Israeli origin. :)

^this

But please BIS, put some priority on the storytelling, don´t just throw the player into the game telling him that he is a NATO soldier and has to fight evil Iranians. Make a nice Intro Movie that explains the past!

[NoRailgunner 0]

OP just wanted to show again how good A3 stuff looks like but somehow he and his fellows don't like to hear + see that A3 is just a fictional game with its very own "reality". Lets wait + see how much fiction is ok or simply too much for a military game. Sure some people will buy any game as long as it looks "cool" and makes *boom*. There must be a reason why popcorn games/movies have a simple "story".... ;)

[roberthammer 582]

I just hope it doesent turn into a streamlined mess like Call of Duty on a larger scale and there is some realism factor to the unrealistic equipment.

ArmA isn't and won't be anything like COD - you think due of unrealistic equipment of the enemy the ArmA will be bad or "mess"?

If BIS want Iran can have own space program where the Irans have Missile silos on the Moon :D

That Israel equipment can be really easy explained - for example Israel in armaverse lost the Arab-Israel war and then after those years they can create own Merkavas , Tavors etc which in armaverse aren't Israel made unlike in our reality

Edited March 26, 2012 by RobertHammer

[zamani532 1]

Aslong as they explain it with a minimum 5 minute informavideo.

[froggyluv 2135]

Well Israel did supply the Afghani Mujahideen with weapons to fight the Soviets but were told "Just don't brand the Star of David on them please" by American broker Charlie Wilson :)

Guess Iran could have had one of those Arab, erhm Persian Springs in which Israel supported the revolutionaries which ultimately soured because they did indeed brand their supplies with the Star of Zion.

[maddogx 13]

Make a nice Intro Movie that explains the past!

As long as the background material explaining the past exists in some form, I'm not even sure that is necessary. A lot of games (even RPGs, where the story is key) simply throw the player(s) into the action and draw from the back story during the game without much preamble. From a storytelling perspective this is fine, as long as the background material exists and is freely available (preferrably inside the game). This way, the players who are interested in the back story can read up on it at their own leisure. Look at Mass Effect (1), for a nice example.

EDIT: Other media like films and books do this too, by the way. In fact, one tip for people writing their first novel is: write the book, then scrap the first chapter completely. It's usually not needed. ;)

[antoineflemming 14]

90% of your post revolves around unconfirmed assumptions, what with the lack of proper information on the equipment that the Iranians will be using. Most of our info on this subject is merely inferred from screenshots. What makes you think most of the Iranian equipment will be "israeli"? What makes you think Israel supplied anyone with anything?

But aside from that, how can you be so sure that Iran will NEVER have a regime change? I'm sure ten years ago a lot of people would have laughed at the thought of an Iraq without Hussein, and yet here we are.

There are numerous ways in which the regime in Iran could coneivably change. Whether or not BI's imagined version makes any sense or is a pile of crap still remains to be seen, you know, considering that it hasn't been revealed yet. Until we know for sure, the only thing you can call "pretty stupid" are your own preconceptions, which may be far from accurate. Come back and complain when there are actual facts to complain about.

^this. There's actually a good chance there WILL be a regime change. Sure, it won't be a coup or anything like that, but Ahmadinejad is on a downward path out of of power. So yeah, there may be a plausible regime change that results in policy changes and views towards the world. But, just because there is a regime change doesn't mean that Iran is going to really change in the long run. Chances are, because the Ayatollah won't leave power, Iran's going to be basically the same. And, because the Ayatollah is the Supreme Commander, militarily (in the context of invading a country), Iran would do the same thing whether there's a regime change or not. Although, I also say that BIS should take into account that Iran is a Muslim nation. I know we don't know the backstory (from 2021 to 2035), but it'd be more authentic if Iran managed to garner support from the majority of Middle Eastern nations. That would make it much more plausible for Iran to be able to invade Europe. Yeah, I know that Iran is Shi'a and most Arab Muslim nations are Sunni, but given all of the mistakes the U.S. is making right now in Afghanistan, I think there's a chance that Middle Eastern nations could put aside their Sunni, Shi'a differences, at least temporarily, and unite against the West.

I think that given the antagonism towards the US and the West in general, these nations could unite behind their common Muslim identity, and, with support of terrorist and jihadist factions, and maybe with some Chinese support (apparently hinted at somewhere for ArmA3), they could pull off an invasion of Europe. The terrorist and jihadist factions could pull of a string of terrorist attacks to make an effort to destabilize European governments, especially smaller countries, and that could help pave the way for such an invasion of Europe like in ArmA3. Given that, an invasion of Europe could be plausible. But only if Iran had support of the majority of Middle Eastern nations and if the invasion force included other Middle Eastern nations (because it is unrealistic that Iran has enough forces to cover Europe).

I do also think it'd be better if Iran made their own Merkava (a copy of the Israeli Merkava), that more importantly is named different (seriously, why would they keep the name Merkava? It's derived from the Hebrew word Merkabah, meaning Chariot. They should name it Rukh or something derived from that (the Persian word for chariot, if I'm correct)). Even if they keep the name Merkava, I do think they should at least remove the Tavors and replace them with the KH-2002 or a 2035 variant. Any other weapons they have can stay because most of the Iranian small arms are copies of foreign weapons anyway. Besides, I think the Iranians in ArmA3 would look better (and cooler IMO) with Khaybars. But, ultimately, it is an alternate reality, so things don't have to be plausible. But, for the sake of making sense, BIS, please at least have a believable story. :)

[zamani532 1]

I bet anyone that the backstory will include nukes which is why NATO is under going special ops instead of full blown invasion from what I can see.

[f27sharps 1]

it's not MK 14EBR, in game it's a M39 EBR ! This thread make very good advertising for BIS, some comparison are incredible !

[roberthammer 582]

it's not MK 14EBR, in game it's a M39 EBR !

Nope , that is Mk14 EBR , you probably don't know whats the M39 EMR

Edited March 26, 2012 by RobertHammer

[purepassion 22]

On the topic of the storyline: :)

Updates!

This week we're set up update our official website with the very latest information about the Arma 3 campaign.

Ahead of that, here's a quick peek at the background and history of Limnos:

... "Amid the events of 2033, the island was defended by a weakened contingent of the Hellenic Air Force and Army - elements of which successfully repelled Iranian attacks for several weeks - before succumbing to occupation by the Iranian Armed Forces.

In the weeks and months following the Jerusalem Peace Accord of 2034, which crystallised Iran's position in the Aegean, a small group of Greek forces established a resistance movement, covertly backed by the United States and Great Britain."

While I was originally not focussing on the storyline at all when I was making this Thread, I will update it with the new information as soon as it gets available.

Edited March 26, 2012 by PurePassion

[zamani532 1]

Interesting bit right there mate. "Jerusalem Peace accord of 2034"

Off topic: BIS should have gave Iran a KH-2002 which is a more plausible future weapon for them.

[maturin 12]

I totally called it.

Israel's strategic position deteriorates and it signs a pact with Iran guaranteeing its borders in exchange for military equipment and recognizing neighboring countries as an Iranian sphere of influence.

Logically it would be Turkey who would be the regional hegemon, but BIS wants a bugbear.

[zamani532 1]

In ArmA3 Israel is a province of Palestine. :)

[[GLT] Legislator 66]

Leather Moccasins

Real life - Arma 3

There are no leather moccasins in real life :p Your argument is invalid :p

[antoineflemming 14]

So I assume the Jerusalem Peace Accord of 2034 end WW3? Since Iran's position is crystallized in the Aegean, meaning that Iran's opponents concede?

[spotter001 82]

it's not MK 14EBR, in game it's a M39 EBR !

M39 is designated as EMR, not EBR.

[SloppySeconds 1]

Technically all their weapons are pretty much "against their ideology". The U.S.S.R. supplied large amounts of arms to the Baath party in Iraq, and while much has been forgotten in light of Iran's much needed military help from Russia. The fact still stands that it was against, and still is against their ideology to purchase Russian weapons. Russia's involvement in Chechnya, and Dagestan has left Iran in a very uncomfortable position, while at the same time they are helping fund/train the Mujahedin fighting against the Russians, they also need the Russian help to arm themselves against the inevitable Israeli/U.S. invasion. So they retain a public stance of being in support of Russia's illegal invasion of Chechnya, while pretending to be tough on them behind the scene's so their Muslim brothers wont call them on their bluff.

So as one would imagine the need far outweighs any ideological preference Iran might have.

However Iran does not have the same tactics nor the same geography as the Israeli's, and the Merkava seems like it was designed to fill a specific role, the defense of Israel.

Israel:

Area:total: 20,770 sq km

land: 20,330 sq km

water: 440 sq km

Iran:

Area:total: 1.648 million sq km

land: 1.636 million sq km

water: 12,000 sq km

There is little chance that Iran would find efficient use for the Merkava given the large differences in their geography..

The Merkava was to be ushered out of service in 2006 shortly before the Lebanon war, and while this decision was ultimately overridden by Israeli General Staff, their decision still must make it evident that this machines lifespan is limited. Thereby making it quite unlikely that 10-20 years in the future we will still be using such a piece of hardware. Especially Iran who requires much more maneuverability of their tanks then the Israeli's. Not to mention if the Iranians are going to be the "offensive" nation the Merkava is not what they would likely use. The Iranian MBT currently is 36–41 tonnes, while the Merkava is 65 tonnes, that is a big difference when you are moving through the mountains of Iran. Remember Iran is the 18th largest country in the world in terms of area, so their tactics would be nothing like the IDF, especially when mounting a massive assault on the Greek Islands. Iran's current military budget would NEVER account for such an expensive tank as the Merkava anyways, $9.174 billion 2.7% GDP IRAN vs $14.5 billion 6.9% GDP ISRAEL. That is quite the monetary difference, even if it might not look that big, just one look at the size of Israel will quickly put some doubt into the ideas that Iran is anywhere close to developing a sophisticated tank like the Merkava, and most certainly wouldn't be mass producing them as their MBT. While I am not aware of the technical specs of the Zulfiqar, it looks like its quite some years behind all other MBT, and yet Iran still produced 1613 in 2010. Meaning they still consider this tank as technically capable on the field, which in all reality is very unlikely judging by the targeting systems employed in most MBT.

So altogether I am thinking both tactics, monetary investment in military, technical, and engineering prowess, geography, and ultimately Iranian desires for the Middle East would make them ever using the Merkava very unlikely.

The current estimates of Iran's engineering, and software designing capability's are far below what would be required to operate, and facilitate advanced military hardware anyways. They seem to all directly contradict the idea of Iran using an any advanced hardware anytime soon. From what I have read the majority of analysis's have come to the obvious conclusion that Iran would, and will fight unconventional warfare. The Lebanon war was an example of what modern conflicts of the future will hold in store, the use of military facility's closely knit with civilian one's will make Arial bombardments almost impossible without heavy civilian casualty's. The war will almost 100% certainly devolve into insurgency style street fighting as we saw in Iraq, but with a much stronger civilian backing, mimicking the strong resistance found in Lebanon. In light of these obvious assessments of Iran's military, I have no clue why BIS would make this decision. Not only does giving Iran's military advanced hardware seem unlikely, but it ruins the tactical "collage" that the "insurgent" style Opfor brought to Arma 2. I personally am a big fan of fighting against superior forces with just by AK-47, and some IED's.

[.Taffy 10]

On the matter of regime change in Iran there's this from the character profile section of the Arma 3 website:

Col. Vahid Namdar

Military commander of Limnos

Colonel Namdar, a career officer of the Iranian Armed Forces in his forties, is Supreme Military Commander of the Limnos task force. During his youth, he took part in The Lions Movement, joined the army and became an airborne officer; he led one of the Nationalist commandos in the Esfahan Coup d’état in 2024. His military record encompasses the Iranian campaign in Europe. In the First Battle of Brno, his airborne regiment assisted in the breakthrough in the NATO defenses. In 2030, he became a staff officer on an unidentified post in the European Theater Command in Izmir. His transfer to Limnos suggests an ongoing important military operation or facility development. According to several sources, Colonel Namdar lately became a subordinate of General Ostad Javeed Attar, one of the chief officers of the Iranian military research and arms production.

Who knows what this movement is comprised of, the ideology, religion, motivation or what political events occured prior.

Edited March 26, 2012 by .Taffy

[Steakslim 1]

How did this thread become a sticky?

[Minoza 11]

How did this thread become a sticky?

Cause of all the "Arma gone SF" threads...

[slatts 1978]

just noticed the "hamok" has a cargo area

sweet :D

[icebreakr 3156]

Just noticed the hamok has a cargo area.

[Maio 293]

just noticed the "hamok" has a cargo area

sweet :D

Yup, the initial Mi-28 design also had an expanded cargo area, unlike the small one it has now.

[Flash Thunder 10]

I detect that PurePassion is going to be joining the forces of the beer lift soon in some fashion.