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

[kremator 1065]

First impression of the beta (having been testing the DEV version of Alpha for evarRR!!) is very positive. My normal test is to use L'Etranger's Virtual Training System and set 3x 2 infantry squads against eachother in Agia Marina and watching how they perform. The AI is pretty good, although needs a little tweaking.

What blows me away is when I stray from sunny clear day to overcast, pre-dawn (with a little low level fog thrown in) it is spectacular. Lining routes with chemlight make me giddy with delight (yes I'm a REAL FANBOI!).

The new comms vocals are very immersive (well done BIS) and I'm sure more work will be done on them and other sounds.

My only gripe is the occassional LOD pop from trees/bushes close to me - really annoys me, but the latest DEV beta looks like it may be further optimised.

However can I just say that BIS is probably the best games company that I have ever seen. You guys take time to read our inane drivel and act on things that can be fixed. I know there are time pressures/money pressures etc but you guys are doing a great job!

Can I haz my Altis now ?

[zukov 490]

I installed arma 3 on the mid range laptop and it runs very well! 30 fps!

if the final release is shipping with visitor 4 will be the best game in the decade!!

[Treehugger 1]

Walking on rock formations is terrible and not smooth or even working at all. I am surprised that this isn't worked out by now. Also, iirc, I am disappointed in how one can not easily lie prone on the rocks aiming at something, because your prone char seem to be stuck lying there, making it difficult if not impossible to change the direction you want to look at.

[USAdystopia 10]

Graphics are improved. Game would be twice as much fun if the number of keystrokes were doubled to play the game. Press a key for your left foot moving forward then a key to move your right foot...Drill Instructors would appreciate that! Shifting weight from one leg to another would be helpful keystrokes with keys for different stances weight shifting.

[Tearledog 10]

Honestly i love the game especially wasteland.

[ck-claw 1]

Graphics are improved. Game would be twice as much fun if the number of keystrokes were doubled to play the game. Press a key for your left foot moving forward then a key to move your right foot...Drill Instructors would appreciate that! Shifting weight from one leg to another would be helpful keystrokes with keys for different stances weight shifting.

You serious? :butbut:

[Radtoo 10]

Good:

* The game runs fairly well.

* The map we play on seems pretty nifty, with all the structures.

* It seems the game engine supports quite a lot of features that can be used to make mods-in-a-map.

Not so good:

* (Automatic?) LoD as well as various video settings seem to significantly affect how well I can see through most vegetation. This is so annoying! (Yea, I can and do turn off grass, but I can't turn off tree leaves, as far as I can tell?)

* I wished we could wreck all manmade structures and vegetation, but many things seem invulnerable? Frankly, a system where these have HP and -even unconvincingly- eventually despawn is still more fun and less immersion-breaking to me than invulnerable objects.

Bad:

• The user interface is just weak.
  
  • It's pretty unresponsive on all elements. And it lags very badly on some, for example the unit orientation or the red lines going to the mouse pointer on the map just aren't current pretty much all the time.
    
  • It doesn't seem to provide a lot of vital information. For instance, in the inventory, I'd like to see a description of a weapon, the effective range, the amount of damage caused, whether it can be used against armored vehicles and which ones, and which keys on the keyboard operate each thing. Or as another example, I'd like to be able to call up the same kind of information for vehicles I stand in front of or look at on the map. Really, the more details provided, the better!
    
  • Commanding is such an annoying chore, also mainly due to the UI. A hierarchic list with only one level of options displayed is probably one of the worst choices possible for commanding (never mind that it doesn't even seem to allow to be operated with the mouse).
    Is that a placeholder or is that seriously the approach for commanding units in ArmA 3? I myself really hope the game gets PC RTS-style controls and some visualization and unit hierarchies and stuff, so units can be commanded with some ease on the map and in first-person mode. This game certainly gives pretty ample opportunities for commanding things around in theory... but using a hundred key presses to merely get nine infantrymen to kneel on a hill and watch down / the horizon (or whatever they ultimately are supposed to do) is just tiresome, not fun.
    
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  [*I also think the AI isn't very convincing about (not) spotting you, and how it acts in general. I don't know if a semblance of realism or interesting gameplay comes first for this game, but the AI seems to not be very optimized to provide either.

  [*] AI pathfinding seems weird very often and disasteriously fails sometimes. Isn't it possible to do better here, either? There are certain open source projects offering all the code needed to do well.

[chortles 263]

Bad:

[*]The user interface is just weak.

[*]It's pretty unresponsive on all elements. And it lags very badly on some, for example the unit orientation or the red lines going to the mouse pointer on the map just aren't current pretty much all the time.

[*]It doesn't seem to provide a lot of vital information. For instance, in the inventory, I'd like to see a description of a weapon, the effective range, the amount of damage caused, whether it can be used against armored vehicles and which ones, and which keys on the keyboard operate each thing. Or as another example, I'd like to be able to call up the same kind of information for vehicles I stand in front of or look at on the map. Really, the more details provided, the better!

In fairness, damage would be "implausible" to display when essence damage is on a scale of 0 (no damage) to 1 (death)... :p I can understand you on effective range, but for a bunch of combat situations that I've imagined, in general the de facto effective range for some players may come down to what optic they're using -- specifically its "zeroing" distance -- along with their skill (or lack thereof) at adjusting/compensating for bullet drop at ranges past that and at determining range in the first place. Considering that the regular magnified scopes (RCO/ARCO/MRCO) are marked out to 800 meters... Also, the Field Manual includes more descriptions/flavor text for each weapon, as well as (a/some) degree of (trying to) explain(ing) the controls, though it's WIP.

As for commanding... unfortunately, while AI (is/continues to be) WIP, what you see is almost the exact same commanding UI from Arma 2, except that the "select all group members" keybind is now the tilde key instead of the spacebar. It's really not intuitive in general, but I know that (at least on some difficulty settings) the period key on the number pad will bring up a "tactical view" that essentially is an overhead first-person camera, though I agree that this doesn't help much. I don't know what you mean by "RTS-style controls" though, seeing as for locations you can also select your group members, go to the map and click/point at a spot on the map as the location for the relevant command?

[GrindedCorpse 1]

First impression ?

Great game, it's fluid (more than it was during the alpha stage)

I just can't seem to get bored playing ArmA 3!

The textures are very nice and smooth and the environment is very rich in colors!

The only downside to this game are the goons (AKA script kiddies)

It seems to be impossible to play for more than 1 hour before one shows up and starts ruining it for everybody.

Otherwise ... ArmA 3 is the best game I've ever bought!

Thanks BIS! You guys rock!

[Radtoo 10]

In fairness, damage would be "implausible" to display when essence damage is on a scale of 0 (no damage) to 1 (death)... :p

I think there are nonlethal hits too, and hits vs vehicles certainly have a damage value that isn't kill or not kill?

in general the de facto effective range for some players may come down to what optic they're using -- specifically its "zeroing" distance -- along with their skill (or lack thereof) at adjusting/compensating for bullet drop at ranges past that and at determining range in the first place.

Putting an estimate in there would already be pretty good, and maybe just the raw values on how rapidly the bullets will drop and how much damage is reduced at range or whatever actually controls the mechanics of a weapon.

Considering that the regular magnified scopes (RCO/ARCO/MRCO) are marked out to 800 meters...

That's one of the few things I'd like to know before picking the scope up. Then I'd like to know what RCO / ARCO / MRCO means. And then I'd like to know about how much they magnify, what weapons I can stick the scope on, and whether it'll provide accurate distance lines for all of those weapons... things like that. I'd of course also like to be able to get the same information when it is already attached to a gun.

Also, the Field Manual includes more descriptions/flavor text for each weapon, as well as (a/some) degree of (trying to) explain(ing) the controls, though it's WIP.

Even if all the information landed there and all mods also updated the manual perfectly for their choices of numbers and things, it'd still be the far more inconvenient approach. Just about every other game can provide information like this in their ingame interface so you don't have to remember it all by heart or refer to the manual when you actually wanted to just pick up a new weapon / vehicle and go fight adequately with it. I see no reason why ArmA3 couldn't, so I feel it should take the better, more convenient approach.

As for commanding... unfortunately, while AI (is/continues to be) WIP

All right. I hope it'll get more interesting and more clever.

what you see is almost the exact same commanding UI from Arma 2

Uh, did it work any better back then (due to different game mechanics, perhaps)? Because I feel it's not working now.

I don't know what you mean by "RTS-style controls" though, seeing as for locations you can also select your group members, go to the map and click/point at a spot on the map as the location for the relevant command.

Arguably, yes, I can keyboard select up to 10 units or so (with the function keys) and tell them to move somewhere, or come back to me, and they'll reasonably do it (though they don't seem to be in a hurry?).

But everything else doesn't really work. RTS style commanding would be different and way more powerful / convenient.

First of all, I cannot select them with a mouse "lasso" area selection on the map or live or even by clicking individual unit "cards". I have to do it with keys, apparently.

Second, the mouse pointer is only weakly context sensitive (the menu only seems to change for vehicles and enemies? I can't select an infantryman, click on a house, and tell them to open a door or anything like that, apparently). In fact, I almost cannot click or mouse-over anything.

Third, there's apparently also no command queuing (move to middle of town, get into chopper north of town, fly chopper to other town, unload).

Fourth, there is practically no visual support to tell icons and arrows or other visual support to tell you what actions you've ordered in the past and what the exactly consequence of ordering an action would be. Say, ordering your 4th unit to get in the vehicle actually gives you a long solid line arrow across the map, reminding you he actually will walk across the map, rather than a striped arrow that would indicate he's coming over in a vehicle. And then there should be a "boarding" icon on the card he wants to get into, too. I also don't get LoS or firing area indicators for units on the map, or team markers on the map in the team's "center of gravity" or other such things. There's just very little information.

In the same vein, support calls and such are also in the wrong menu (why are they on an unit?) and iconless. Besides I don't get any indication for what's theoretically available but currently unavailable or such, or how long it takes until I can call support again, or w/e.

Last, most of the functions that I'd hope for when I command units appear to be missing. No formation drawing, no patrol / repeat, no retreat areas for wounded units, no way to tell a specific medic / mechanic to heal units in an area (which may be patrol/repeat), no "spread out"... usually RTS have at least some of this functionality. Even if you're only aiming to control squads, a "group up and storm that house / that courtyard" or such would be nice. This surely also ties into AI, though...

[dav 22]

The game rocks, it's just so good, so much better than Arma 2. I deleted AMA 2 off my pc, it's way better.

It knows what it is: Engine is amazing looking, character and weapon models are so crisp.

Performance: running a solid 31fps with Msi Afterburner and i72600k I am playing with a 3.5k view distance and everything on ultra. In other words it runs way better than expected.

The mods have being doing some great models too, keep it up guys amazing content so far.

All the people complaining is a good thing, it keeps Bis on their feet and returns the best game ever made. Thank you Bis.

[dale0404 5]

The game rocks, it's just so good, so much better than Arma 2. I deleted AMA 2 off my pc, it's way better.

It knows what it is: Engine is amazing looking, character and weapon models are so crisp.

Performance: running a solid 31fps with Msi Afterburner and i72600k I am playing with a 3.5k view distance and everything on ultra. In other words it runs way better than expected.

The mods have being doing some great models too, keep it up guys amazing content so far.

All the people complaining is a good thing, it keeps Bis on their feet and returns the best game ever made. Thank you Bis.

Well, someone is happy! :D And rightly so.

[profcupcake 11]

My first impressions, in roughly chronological order (from my first session of pissing about and having a look at the new stuff):

"Finally! A game that knows what The Real World actually looks like!"

"This island is pretty cool!"

"What the hell rifle is this? Is this... a SCAR? No, no... One of those prototype guns? Wait, it's an 'MX' apparently... Uh, okay."

*spawns crate* "Is that an M14? Aha, now that's more like it! 'Mk. 18'... Well, close enough for me."

"Time to spawn something to shoot!"

"Wow, the AI is dumb! They haven't even seen me yet!"

"Wow, the AI is accurate! I was dead as soon as they saw me!"

"Fish!"

"Tactically Relevant Turtles!"

"This movement is way too smooth to be Arma."

*spawns more enemies* "Oh, wait, I can use that cool stance adjust thing to-" *dead*

That sums up most of my first impressions. The majority of my actual thoughts come from about 10+ hours in. :D

Arma 3 is so good, I actually can't go back to Arma 2 any more.

[PantherAl 11]

Picked it up after watching loads of YouTube video's - started with Mindcracks Wasteland play, then upscaled to Jester, DDG, and Dslyecxi. Amazed at what I saw, so went from a MacMini to a burly 4k windows machine just to play it. First FPS in over a decade, and I got to say - even with the fact that I am still learning how to play this, I am enjoying it like no other. Well worth the money I have spent on both the game and the new PC.

Former Cav, so the idea behind the game is actually old hat - kinda bringing back fond memories of things that wasn't so fun then. The action Menu can be really annoying at times, but at the moment having loads of fun. And maybe one of these days I can actually finish the first showcase without getting killed. ;)

[heater_ses 10]

Before the last update it was smooth as silk, however now the video is very choppy to the point of unplayable looking though a scoop causes any rock formation to turn to a black patch....

system specs:

I7 960

24 GB memory

ATI Radeon HD 6900 (2GB)

Samsung SSD (840 Series)

Windows 7 64 BIT

[EuroSlave 1]

Considering the game is so close to being released, I'm going to come out and say it. I've become disappointed in ARMA 3 as I held higher hopes that all those little important issues would be fixed. Including and just from the top of my head - the average sound, the still poor AI, the horrible mid-range textures, the appalling action menu, the dodgy controlling of vehicles, confirmed features that are not so confirmed any more.

It just seems there is so much to work on that were issues in the first games. That really should have been resolved a long time ago.

With all that said - ARMA 3 is still going to be one of my favorite games of all time. Plus I honestly feel BIS is one of the only companies creating good GAMES and not 'cinematic' type trash. ARMA should be the bare minimum standard that ALL games should achieve.

[sproyd 2]

I'm absolutely stoked and amazed with Arma 3 and I'm a day one downloader (although failed to buy Supporter ed. due to BIS store overload so went Steam) and frequent daily dev log updater.

Quite amazed with the dev team and their daily published updates, truly remarkable in this day and age.

I can't wait for Altis and Fixed Wing aircraft so really looking forward to September.

I think performance has been greatly improved so no complaints there. I think the major thing that really pisses me off is the mid-range textures. The fact that this was fixed by a modder so quickly but BIS still have yet to fix this is a real drag and is disappointing given the fantastic support so far. I really hope this is fixed for launch. Even a workaround is fine, but currently its a real immersion breaker, especially when heli-ing around Stratis.

[EyDawg 10]

GOOD:

Realistic weapon behavior and ammo usage

Tactical Aspect

Type of Equipment

Environment

Type of Vehicles

BAD

Inventory:

While dragging items everything keeps flashing of where the item could be placed

Vehicles feel very stiff, sound of vehicles needs to be improved (correct type of sound to type of movement)

Strafing through open doors sideways does not work, I keep being stuck at the door frame.

Multiplayer:

• in-game menus of inventory, gunstore, player menu should be the same. Get rid of that ugly green UI
  
• No Favorite Servers option
  
• Too many voice channels IMO
  
• Disconnecting from a server takes about 4 steps, this should be reduced to just 1. I I want to disconnect completely then i dont want to see a report (always empty), go to the team selection menu, go to the lobby and then finally get out.... this is annoying.
  
• Users are able to move any object of the map (walls, barricade, etc...what the hell?? Stop that please. I thought this is a war simulation not Sim City 4
  

[progamer 14]

• in-game menus of inventory, gunstore, player menu should be the same. Get rid of that ugly green UI
  
• No Favorite Servers option
  
• Too many voice channels
  
• Users are able to move any object of the map (walls, barricade, etc...what the hell?? Stop that please. I thought this is a war simulation not Sim City 4
  

1. The gunstore, player menu, and ingame menus is part of the "wasteland" mission not the Arma devs. Speak to the mission creator.

2. For favouriting servers can be done with the PlayWithSix launcher.

3. What? That is controlled by the mission maker and not by the Arma devs.

4. Really? That's always been possible and it's part of the sandbox for mission creation.

[neos_ 10]

My first Impression of the Beta update was being excited about all the new content, still i think Beta was not finished til the APC update or isn't even finished til the Drone update comes out. Yeah BI really made the Beta the time of Combined Arms, APC and Gunships. Can't wait for tthe Full Version w/ (hopefully) more stuff and the new Island.

Good work BI ;)

[Takoda 10]

I can truthfully say that the beta has exceeded all my expectations, the developers have really gone the extra mile, actually its crazy how awesome this game is already.

[LCBradley3k 10]

There was a good amount of added vehicles and such. It seems as if they listened to the community a lot when making certain changes.

I'm really most excited for Atlis though.

[Curry 10]

Today I played a night mission and I wondered why there are no thunders even though lightning flashes were very close. It was a "dry" thunderstorm too. Otherwise, the mission was good.

[Smurf 12]

Rain was taken out a good while, was suppose to be back by now already with minimal improvements on sound and textures. A revision for the whole rain thing may happen after release, as always, no promisses by devs....

[Angrychair 10]

i really like the game, but the controls need work, even with default controls there are issues, heli controls are wonky, conflicts, etc. tried to rebind everything and yeah, that didn't go so well, many controls have no option to change.

textures, graphics, etc are very nice. just picked the game up today, and look forward to playing the game as it matures.