Share your first Arma3 Beta Impressions (all first impression type posts here pls)

[lokoroth 1]

Its very pretty but my first feelings playing this game have mostly been frustration. When playing the helicopter mission (the first one I tried) I have somewhat gotten the hang of flying but WTF is up with the weapons they don't do anything! I can not figure out how to get the missiles to lock, it must take like a minute or something, and the chain gun just doesn't seem to do anything. And I can not find any information anywhere to help me figure out what I am doing wrong.

I played a bit of the multiplayer and that is at least a bit funner than any of the "showcase missions" or whatever. I know its still an alpha but the least they could have done was to make a description of how things work and what we have to do to make shit blow up and die.

Don't get me wrong I'm very impressed with a lot of aspects of this game and I'm sure it will get better but this is a "first impressions" thread, just being honest.

Edited March 7, 2013 by lokoroth

[kazesim 2]

I haven't had a chance to check out everything yet, but what I like so far is how the graphics are so clean it almost feels like Mirrors Edge. The preview screenshots up till now have all been pretty meh, and the driving demo mission was dark and cloudy, but when I got in the editor and looked around the airbase in sunny weather I was like oh sweet jesus. Going from ArmA 1 to 2 I was disappointed the devs were going with the "brown is real" approach, now these graphics alone make the game worth buying.

[Tvrdi 11]

Ok last night I played MP also (upon release I only had time for SP and playing with editor)..Immersion is huge, animations and graphics are great (still some texture flickering is there)...well, performance in MP is not great at all...SP is much smoother and better. Something must be done since now, in most times, game runs pretty slow (on fps). It is on border of playability at times. Didnt measure FPS but it must me pretty low. On some servers is better at times but generally it isnt good. Hopefully this will be fixed until full game is release.d We had simmilar problems with ARMA2 upon release. Otherwise the game is superb. I just hope MP will be popular...now, westeland servers are the most populated which brings another thought...do we need more modern warfare with ARMA engines? Or DayZ, Vietnam, Westeland scenarios etc....Im fine with this but I can see the laters would be more popular...way more..

[freaky88 1]

Ok last night I played MP also (upon release I only had time for SP and playing with editor)..Immersion is huge, animations and graphics are great (still some texture flickering is there)...well, performance in MP is not great at all...SP is much smoother and better. Something must be done since now, in most times, game runs pretty slow (on fps). It is on border of playability at times. Didnt measure FPS but it must me pretty low. On some servers is better at times but generally it isnt good. Hopefully this will be fixed until full game is release.d We had simmilar problems with ARMA2 upon release. Otherwise the game is superb. I just hope MP will be popular...now, westeland servers are the most populated which brings another thought...do we need more modern warfare with ARMA engines? Or DayZ, Vietnam, Westeland scenarios etc....Im fine with this but I can see the laters would be more popular...way more..

agreed, some servers are unplayable (15 fps) but that might be due to the fact that there are very few decicated servers as of now

[royaltyinexile 175]

Its very pretty but my first feelings playing this game have mostly been frustration. When playing the helicopter mission (the first one I tried) I have somewhat gotten the hang of flying but WTF is up with the weapons they don't do anything! I can not figure out how to get the missiles to lock, it must take like a minute or something, and the chain gun just doesn't seem to do anything. And I can not find any information anywhere to help me figure out what I am doing wrong.

Thanks for the feedback. I've taken a look at our in-game Field Manual and, yup, there's no useful information there! :blush:

I think that would be the ideal place for it, and in game there would then be a context sensitive hint to help player unfamiliar with the systems to use them more effectively. Perhaps post a ticket to feedback.arma3.com! Alpha! Alpha! Alpha!

Locking is a bit more difficult but not impossible, you have to be pointing at your target now, with a quite small window of error. You can beat it. I believe in you. :)

Best,

RiE

Edited March 7, 2013 by RoyaltyinExile

[Finnfinn 1]

Hello everybody, nice to meet you!

My first impressions, hmm... well, I came from ArmA2 and enjoyed playing co-op, so naturally, that's where I put my focus on when I started testing ArmA3.

The first thing I noticed, though, is the technical aspect. The graphics look great and it runs quite good on my PC. I'm all for gameplay over graphics, but in this case, the graphics really add to the immersion. The animations, the shadows, the lighting... it all looks great. It has been a while since I sat in front of my screen, hands sweating and scanning for enemies, jumping a few times when my mates made a sound. And speaking of the sound, it feels like ArmA has grown up in that department. The gun sounds are great, movement sounds realistic as well.

I don't really know what to say about the gameplay. I know this seems disappointing, but... it's ArmA. One does not simply describe ArmA-gameplay in one post and do it justice. It's Bohemia milsim at its finest. The weapon attachment system made me squeal excitedly, the vehicle physics and ragdoll as well. Of course some things are lacking, like cookin grenades and all that, but I've read that this grenade system is just something thrown in for early testing, nothing wrong with that. You sometimes get stuck in the terrain (especially on the coastline), but that's stuff for the bugtracker. If you run into that problem, the vault-thingy (you know, pressing "v" in the standard control scheme) will get you out nicely.

But I have one major complaint: The compass. The size of that thing is a joke. Look at ACE for ArmA2, that's a usable compass. I can easily go "Infantry contact on 345." with that thing and my mates can turn around and find the enemy just fine. With this one, I have problems (that vary with daytime) seeing the numbers. If there's an option to scale the compass then I haven't found it. It may seem like I'm nitpicking, but I need that thing in co-op and so do many other groups. The compass is not only there for orientation, you need it for spotting!

Anyway, that's about it. Really great work on the Alpha, it works like a charm over here and we have good fun playing it. Thanks for reading my post, if you did.

[KeyCat 131]

I think the gun sounds are too loud. It would be nice if you could adjust volume for ambient sounds, and gun sounds.

+1

It's very hard to hear the envorinment sounds like when crawling, walking on gravel etc. I'm sure it will be tweaked further down the road but even better would be separate volume slider if possible.

Only had very limited time testing the Alpha but initial impressions so far is...

+ The new animations and character control is very much improved and more fluid.

+ Working HDR lighting (and not the annoying HDR adjustments like in A2:OA).

+ Physics is a step in the right direction but obviously needs more work.

- The old "auto stand-up" bug when crawling near low stone walls etc. is still there! See this CIT

https://dev-heaven.net/issues/65438

- Sound volumes needs tweaking, see above.

- Far ground textures looks bland.

- Overcast weather makes the scenary really dark.

Waiting to judge the AI until I spent more time playing...

/KC

Edited March 7, 2013 by KeyCat
Added the "auto stand-up" bug

[BelgarionNL 10]

Just a Heads up: gunfire is LOUD AS HELL! you need to shout if you want to say anything to the person next to you!

I LOVE THE SOUNDS! leave it as it is!

More importantly I found the flight system lacking since we need the Take on Helicopter realistic model! that was my first impression that it lacked one of the most advertised and best features of arma 3

[kernriver 4]

My first impression is: I'm impressed!

I didn't play a lot, just a little in the editor to set up controls and video options.

On my brother's dated PC (AMD x2 4600+ 2.4 GHz, 4 GB DDR2, GTX 275) the game runs suprisingly good, better than Arma 2.

[Janez 530]

Bugs/Lacking

-Trees drasticly decrease FPS. Very noticeable in dense tree areas. Would be nice to have option to set tree detail as well.

-Toggle zoom in and zoom out is not responsive. Often takes 2 or 3 clicks to respond.

-Cannot use arrow keys to select faces/heads in Profiles menu which makes browsing them tedious.

-There is still "Lock or Zoom" bind which should be split.

-Pistols have two reload animations, however when tactical is performed, sound of releasing slide still plays.

-Tires squeal on tarmac and everywhere else

-APC body roll is too excessive

-It would be nice to have FOV setting ingame

-Left arm extended whole time while diving?

Welcome features

-Mouse options

-Color schemes for HUD, crosshair and menu. Very, very NICE!

-PhysX (still needs work though)

-Expanded controls options (bind lock and empty lock...)

-Video options, though could use some more. Trees (as mentioned), more PP options.

-Driving and diving

-Movement

[fruity_rudy 16]

The first thing that i really don't understand is the player stances. Combat jog while standing looks good but the animation with raised gun while crouched, the way how he's bending over the torso..i don't know if i would make it like that with a SAW for about 5meters ..Also the fast running, looks like really fast walking.. When i do first person only and nobody is next to me, i don't care, but as soon as i got AI or another player next to me..

I mean simply get off your chair and try to move some m in that stance even without weight in your hand..

[BLACKHAWK1090 1]

My first impression was a simple Wow, The textures look great, the vehicles and their interiors look so real. So I love the look, I can't judge anything else yet because I have only just started playing.

[Jex 1]

Got it yesterday and me and a mate played about 3 hours straight in a simple mission i mad. We cars, choppers and boats and divers and that was it. Love it - definitely the direction it needs to be going and I don't feel like I'm battling the interface anymore or my avatar. Awesome stuff, keep up the good work!! :)

[QuickSplice 1]

Posted my amateur review here: http://quicksplice.net/2013/03/07/arma-iii-alpha/

[big_t 1]

First Overall impression is: Excellent! Of course there are many small bugs to iron out but for an alpha release this has amazing potential.

[evilnate 0]

The "stable" alpha is pretty good, but there are some obvious issues with MP (net code) that need adressed.

The worst issue for me, is getting shot through large barriers/walls by AI who should not be able to see me.

But, it is a alpha....

[Barrett_killz 10]

The PvP isn't really bad, been enjoying it for like 2 hours today.

[GefrBachmann 1]

Hi!

First I want to thank BI for making it possible to have early access to the game. Really appreciate it.

I installed it about 4 hours ago and had to chance to test the showcase/mp and editro a bit.

I was positively surprised on how stable the games is running. I play it on medium-high graphic settings and am not experiencing any troubles. It lags a lot on very high and ultra, but thats my systems fault I guess.

Graphics are wonderfull and the infantry combat seemed very realistic (as far as I can judge that - I only was in the military for 6 months.)

I recognized that in the Scuba showcase, I couldn´t kill the divers inside the water.

[Flash Thunder 10]

Honestly im not impressed with the underwater environments at all. Obviously we don't have much to utilize the environment in the alpha but so far I think its just a gimmick.

Played around with vehicles.

From what I've played it seems BIS has a lot more work to do with Physx. I was able to flip a Littlebird onto its rotors and survive then clip a couple of trees and never took any damage, I'll be trying to reproduce it soon and if i get the same results will be posting in feedback tracker.

ATV use is still awkward, I was only able to climb a small hill at 20 km/h which is too slow for a powerful future ATV. Also stiff riding animation when on ATV just seems really unnatural. I was unable to flip the thing at all from the time i played. Landing in water = LOLZ

I found quite a few clipping bugs in various buildings, being able to run straight through balcony rails for example.

Sounds in the game even maxed out are pretty quiet unless I crank up my speakers. Dunno if this is intentional.

Alpha though is in good condition I'm not running into game breaking bugs for the most part and I'm trying to break the game intentionally.

Past annoyances that I have noted are improved/fixed/less prevalent

Tree Level of Detail and texture flickering is less prevalent from what I played. Its awesome to zoom around and not see the tree LODS go berserk that was a huge problem in A2: OA.

Also not seeing the same for buildings especially in large towns like Agia Marina.

HDR improvements are awesome so far and lighting engine is much improved really improves gameplay and immersion.

Overall I think the game just needs more polish and AI improvements.

:D

Edited March 7, 2013 by Flash Thunder

[Bee8190 10]

Honestly im not impressed with the underwater environments at all. Obviously we don't have much to utilize the environment in the alpha but so far I think its just a gimmick.

I'm sure once some navy assets & cool sneaky missions make it in, it will change our minds. How is it really different to shooting on dirt? :)

If it's the slightly empty / blend sea environment that you mean, I too would like too see more sea life and even more, massive ship wrecks to be explored.

From what I've played it seems BIS has a lot more work to do with Physx. I was able to flip a Littlebird onto its rotors and survive then clip a couple of trees and never took any damage, I'll be trying to reproduce it soon and if i get the same results will be posting in feedback tracker.

Agreed but ticket is already up - http://feedback.arma3.com/view.php?id=1185, http://feedback.arma3.com/view.php?id=2192

[Cards525 10]

Dunno where the bug reporter is so Ill dump muh stuff here.

When you use AddItemCargo to put a uniform in a crate, only host can acess and use it. Otherwise uniform has to be dropped and picked up off the ground or a dead person.

Otherwise the games perfect. Lovin it. Woulda wished for some Fixed-wing assets, even if it was a Civi Bi-plane haha

[rehtus777 10]

In a word: "SOLID"! For an Alpha, the simulator is awesome. On a scale of 1 to 10, this Alpha gets a 9.8. I participated in the BF3 Alpha back in July of 2011 and that was a true Alpha....bugs everywhere....game crashing all the time.... hackers on many servers. But the ArmA 3 Alpha is running like a final release. BTW, it took 2 months for Dice to iron out most of the Bugs after its release date. So far, BIS is ahead of the Curve. They have the chance to release something very special this Summer / Fall if they get it right. We are supporting you BIS.

[Flash Thunder 10]

Dunno where the bug reporter is so Ill dump muh stuff here.

When you use AddItemCargo to put a uniform in a crate, only host can acess and use it. Otherwise uniform has to be dropped and picked up off the ground or a dead person.

Otherwise the games perfect. Lovin it. Woulda wished for some Fixed-wing assets, even if it was a Civi Bi-plane haha

Links right above you man, you can ask for features and report bugs their.

http://feedback.arma3.com/

[r8gato 18]

For an Alpha, WOW! good job BI. Modern looking engine and hopefully we'll get some modern mod tools to go with it. :)

[ShadowPryde 10]

First short rundown for me seems to run very good at max settings but i've heared from friends that Arma 3 even though it's Alpha has still some of the quirks that Arma 2 had from the beginning, that haven't been "fixed".

I also heared that performance get's killed with smoke sources and the AI can still land headshoots at 1km in the night and day. I also tends to see you through bushes and other visual concealment.

I still have to test it to see it for myself but i'm handing this info to the board so others can try it out too.

I really hope that all those Arma 2 bugs and problems get finaly ironed out of Arma 3. I know this is an Alpha Version but shouldn't the Alpha allready have all those Arma 2 bugs ironed out?..or am i missing something?

The controls are still a pain in the neck. They should be more intuitive. How about some proper Squad Control where you point at something and just press a button and your squad knows if it should attack it or get into cover or [insert situation here]. If i press the same button and target a wounded soldier, the next best squadmember who can heal should run there and heal him or something similar. And they should not do those stuff blindly. If i point at the roof of a building or some high place that is accecible and order guy "3" with a sniper there than he should be able to reach that spot, even if he has to run through a house and over some ladders and whatever to reach it. A good AI and proper squad controls are vital these days.

The first Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter hat such good Squad controls. Why not make such in Arma 3. This would greatly boost the effective teamwork.

Edited March 8, 2013 by ShadowPryde