Can play MP with Alpha Lite?

[wolffe 1]

There are reasons they dont put MP in lite version. This is(are) my assumption(s);

This game is in ALPHA stage. The purpose is to test it and find problems. If the free lite version has MP, there could be an uncontrolled test reports(Ppl whining etc etc)

DISCLAIMER: This is my assumption only

Btw, you do realize the lite version will expire somewhere in June right?

I did not know that. Even customers like us who paid for the whole game have boxes on the top right of every screen re-iterating alpha & bugs. If people cannot accept that, then tough!

[striderjg 1]

I actually feel it would be good marketing to open up MP in the Lite 1 or 2 weeks before they expire. Hook'em and then take it away :icon_twisted:

[ak1287 1]

I actually feel it would be good marketing to open up MP in the Lite 1 or 2 weeks before they expire. Hook'em and then take it away :icon_twisted:

It's like crack; you give them a taste, and then keep them coming back for more and more.

[Games 1]

I believe that it's for the greater good that lite user's are somewhat restricted to a demo. Wanted not to examine and build constructive criticism, only taking a free that is ride that is so readily offered to them. Ultimately it's us whom paid the ducats to peruse Bohemia's game prematurely, that are the ones who will most likely contribute to it's success.

[Montanaro 0]

FYI, Most demos of older games had multiplayer support.

FYI, there is your problem...it's not a demo!

[Fuse 1]

FYI, Most demos of older games had multiplayer support

Damn it. My first post even had a condescending line about how Alpha Lite wasn't a demo, thus the words "alpha" and "lite" being in the name. I knew I should have left that in.

[Defunkt 431]

Let's face it, no one buys ArmA for the single player experience, it is for multiplayer.

I should think the largest portion of ArmA players spend the majority of their time in the editor (i.e. singleplayer).

[froggyluv 2136]

I should think the largest portion of ArmA players spend the majority of their time in the editor (i.e. singleplayer).

Don't get me wrong, the PvP is pretty damn fun in this iteration and as long as other players are around -I'll be playing it. But SP or Co-op has it's own appeal for tac-minded gamers -one is that of the successfully crafted plan plotted out and executed against an unsuspecting enemy. This is of course possible in PvP to an extent -but not the same way. Take the Bin Laden raid for example. You can't infiltrate ambush against 'sleeping' enemies in PvP, everyone is gun in hand ready for contact at pretty much all times. This is the appeal of SP for the tac-minded player -illusion and immersion of catching an unexpecting, complacent adversary off guard.

[johncage 30]

I should think the largest portion of ArmA players spend the majority of their time in the editor (i.e. singleplayer).

yeah, the mp for ofp/arma has always been quite frankly, terrible. maybe it'll change for arma 3, but from my impression, most people enjoy tooling around in single player/editor.

[antoineflemming 14]

I should think the largest portion of ArmA players spend the majority of their time in the editor (i.e. singleplayer).

I'd definitely agree with this statement. SP and, more importantly, the Editor, have been the highlights of the OFP/Arma series. That, and the moddability of the games. BIS hasn't been known for good MP modes, and it's been left to the community to flesh out MP. Judging by current performance of MP, and by the likelihood that BIS won't fix the performance issues, I bet the same will be true for Arma 3. Even if that's fixed, every first person shooter, tactical shooter, milsim, etc, has multiplayer. Not every shooter has a sandbox-style mission editor. So that naturally is the thing that makes Arma stand out and the feature that draws most people. That said, Alpha Lite should remain as is. It is Alpha Lite, after all.

[Moroe 10]

Seriously, why you no read the labels? It has been clearly stated that they are no MP in alpha lite. and no modding. and limited mission editor (you cannot save)

ALOT of people haven't read the details correctly..

[WonderWaffles 1]

Have you guys had an iPhone or an iPod before? They have the exact same thing in the App Store, e.g Fruit Ninja Lite. You can only chop up to 100 fruits and there is no multi-player.

Be thankful it's not like Nintendo where you only have a limited amount of launches!

[Whyte_Out 10]

I sent out my Alpha Lite invitation to one of my friends who happens to research & investigate whatever he purchases (aka not mindless consumer).

I had spent the last few days making an Evolution style sandbox battle in the editor, to play with my friends whom have the game already.

Much to my disappointment when my friend I gave Alpha Lite to finally downloaded, installed and found out Multiplayer isn't even available.

I feel the showcases are not enough to give a person proper perspective on what ArmA is capable of. I knew when I got my friend into my sandbox map he could sample (the currently limited) selection of vehicles & weapons against enhanced AI (using Urban Patrol Script). I knew that one he got there he would be sold, and I'm willing to bet many others would be as well.

I just came here to voice my disappointment, and request the alpha lite extend to some or all parts of the Alpha stage.

Thank you.

Honestly, what do you expect? The Alpha Lite is free...You think we should give the game that so many of us paid for away for free? I mean after all the Alpha only has so many limited things for the people that bought the whole game. It wouldn't make sense to give away as much as the ones who paid a lot more for it. All I am saying is people have all these high expectations for the Alpha, thinking they are going to get all the features with it. Like I stated...the Alpha already hardly has nothing in it, so you can only imagine what would be in the "Alpha Lite".

[chortles 263]

It's like crack; you give them a taste, and then keep them coming back for more and more.

Unfortunately the suspicion is that said "taste" is insufficiently addictive...

[byrgesen 1]

Its like talking to a wall lol....

I cant wait for a mod to come by and tell you the exact same thing as you have been told for 9 pages.

Buy it if you want to help make it better, use Lite to se if its something for you, NOT FOR TESTING!!

Its very difficult to stay "calm" when you people refuse to listen to common sense and just demand to the left and the right.

Theres so many good explanations as to why it should NOT be free2play, 90% of the people in the Arma community love BI for NOT seling out like everybody else.

Deal with it or come back in a year when theres a release version.

I give up now...

It's not "my part" to pay for the privilege of testing and debugging BIS's products and certainly I'm not inclined to give them so much of my time for a £20 discount, so that they can use my work to improve their product and sell more of it, making themselves a nice load of profit. Seems you think that's your role though, so enjoy.

Then why on earth would you ever want to join an Alpha, if not ot test oO damn flawed logic lol.

Edited March 20, 2013 by Byrgesen

[LeeManatee 4]

so people now complain that they didn't read descriptions with BOLD font and marked with colors?

[AussieStig 10]

He's upset about getting free stuff?

[Warburg 1]

Um, excuse me, I'm a paying customer like anyone else. I'm not coming in here demanding anything in caps lock, I'm engaging in a dialogue between myself, the community & the developers. Whether the developers even read this is probably minimal, but I can try. This kind of customer feedback would be appreciated by any businessman interested in improving sales, customer relations etc.

I think you need to examine what you wrote and maybe think about it for awhile.

Okay, so your saying something that they give you free of charge is disappointing you? Maybe you should read the title of your own thread and think about it for a while. Your getting something for free, something that doesn't even need to be given to you in the first place, and you have the nerve to complain about it. I think a person with that kind of outlook is the one that needs to do some deep thinking.

Also, I think they are doing a fine job in sales (judging by weeks on top steam sales) and customer relations already, and I don't find trying to greed your way into free multiplayer content does anything for either of those aspects of business.

Edited March 20, 2013 by Warburg

[Alexei Guba 10]

Typical for iGeneration : I want it all, I want it for free and I want it now!!!

Everywhere it was said that the Alpha Lite will not have MP. Yet they come and complain about something they got for free (how stupid that is?). And to make it even better they come and demand things others had to pay for, like: I don't care if others paid 20+ bucks for the Alpha with MP - I want MP for free in my free Lite version.

Oh what will they cry when they find out that the Lite version will have only a limited lifetime? They sure as hell come and said they have been cheated. :D

But I think this can be closed. TS dropped his rant and obviously won't come back.

[chortles 263]

The problem is that for all the complaining about the lack of MP in Alpha Lite, "big discount with more content added on as time goes on" is a huge enough incentive to buy in now compared to the final release. I mean, if one is going to be so resistant to the idea of doing BI's testing for them, then why not simply buy before beta for the lower price and then come back in six months? :p

Based on one of DnA's own comments, paid alpha is also the only way to get the development builds... Alpha Lite does not have development builds, although it will be updated alongside the paid alpha's stable build updates.

[chortles 263]

It's not "my part" to pay for the privilege of testing and debugging BIS's products and certainly I'm not inclined to give them so much of my time for a £20 discount, so that they can use my work to improve their product and sell more of it, making themselves a nice load of profit. Seems you think that's your role though, so enjoy.

... so buy it now for said discount and come back in six months? BI made it clear what's what with regards to the paid Alpha and the Alpha Lite, why they were doing an public alpha release at all, and if you're not willing to do that end (the bug testing) then you'll still get a (presumably way less buggy) full game in six months for buying.

Think of it like this: "buy the full game months in advance and (in addition to the discount) get alpha and beta access months in advance of the full game." Kind of like how GameStop had the Sniper Challenge download codes as preorder bonuses for Hitman: Absolution -- "we guarantee you the full game, but here's a short snippet that you can download and play well before the full game release."

[Hammerballz 10]

It's not "my part" to pay for the privilege of testing and debugging BIS's products and certainly I'm not inclined to give them so much of my time for a £20 discount, so that they can use my work to improve their product and sell more of it, making themselves a nice load of profit. Seems you think that's your role though, so enjoy.

ArmA 3 Alpha = "pre-Order ArmA 3"

I understand you don´t want to take part in bug tracking and want a playable game to enjoy. But then simply don´t pre-order and play it now but better wait for the Final Release in Q3 2013!?

If you think BIS don´t deserve their profit, it is disrespectful in my honest opinion.You should then just go and choose another Game. You don´t see all the work behind this. Don´t they deserve to be paid for their time so you can have exclusive access to play their game before a final release? And after all, you get 3 Versions for 20 Bucks: Alpha, Beta and Final!

Many people come here to the Forums and complain about a buggy Game and that they had paid so much money for this. They simply ignored the fact that this game has an "Alpha" behind "ArmA 3"

On Topic I think it´s good that ArmA 3 Alpha Lite has no Multiplayer. It´s simply to test your hardware. If you want to play with your buddies, Pay for it.

Edited March 20, 2013 by Hammerballz

[chortles 263]

They also ignore that in Q3 2013 it'll be closer to US$60... :p

[LeeManatee 4]

check out "century of self" pretty much spot on our recent forum topics on "i didn't know - thats not my problem" which in short may be described as "proud ignorance" which become very common thing nowdays.

aswell as consumership mindset "i bought it so i demand to get my fun" which lead to topics like "it's too hard, amke it easy" instead of investing time to learn to and so on.

[Hammerballz 10]

FYI, Most demos of older games had multiplayer support.

FYI, doesn´t mean BIS needs to stick with this. Different Companies, different Games.

Alpha Lite is to test your Hardware. If you want some 'live' Action with your Friends, pay for it. BIS could have just said 'No exclusive Access' (Alpha & Alpha Lite) and we´d only see a few Screenshots & Videos until Q3 2013. So just be happy you are actually allowed to have a look at this wonderful game and pre-order the final for 20 Bucks with working MP.