Why Do You Think Bohemia Interactive Is Holding Back?

[Leaulux 2]

Before ARMA 3 Alpha was released, we saw videos and pictures of much more content (Units, Air Vehicles, Ground Vehicles, etc) which appears "ready."

Why do you believe the Developers limited us to a small portion of the content they have produced? Quality Control? Or perhaps, that content just isn't completely finished.

I believe that BI is attempting to polish the framework of the game (Performance, bugs, AI) before they start giving us more content to use.

[rstratton 0]

id say its probably lil of everything u mentioned

[ryanbeckey0 1]

because they want to test infantry gameplay first

[Flash Thunder 10]

Because secretly its all going to suck and look horrible. Bad models and horrible textures and zero sound effects.

That's why.

Totally serious by the way ; )

[gossamersolid 155]

Appearing "ready" in a screenshot that was staged doesn't mean it's anywhere near being ready for gameplay.

Also they stated they wanted to focus on infantry first, so they could have purposely not included a lot of the vehicles to ensure people would focus on infantry.

[SkyeFyre 10]

Because it's an alpha. Right now we're testing what they want us to test. Even if they have more things that are actually complete, they're providing just enough for us to test the core mechanics of the game.

[daze23 1]

I wish there was a little more stuff, but I'm not too worried about it

[Nicholas 5]

As others have said, they've stated their reasons for not wanting to release everything right now.

[Iroquois Pliskin 0]

Hold your horses, we have probably 4 months to Beta. Content could be released gradually to test various systems & their cominations - we're taking part in CQB infantry test for the most part at the moment.

[Fuse 1]

Read the FAQ. http://www.arma3.com/alpha/briefing

[Smurf 12]

Because the Alpha is the full game and everything else is going to be sold by DLCs and micro-transactions, including the campaign, Altis, weapons and vehicles. Oh yeah, and the most important thing: HATS!

[skadog 0]

Ooh hats, I can't wait! ;)

[jsmuk 13]

Its quite simple as I see it, they want people to test the infantry side of things. I suspect as they want us to test different aspects of the game the content will appear.

[RuecanOnRails 10]

As has been said by a few people, they are of course holding back.

It's a smart thing to do during the testing phase, release small portions to be tested. If they released everything at once; lets say they released an early Altis map same day alpha was avaliable. How many people do you think would be playing Statis? As a result Stratis would most likely get released with more bugs and glitches than it otherwise would from releasing small amounts of content at a time.

By giving us small amounts at a time we as a community are able to put that content through it's paces finding glitches, bugs, and poor design before we move on to a new set of content.

[QuiteFranklyMyMaN 1]

Because IT'S the ALPHA.

[Winfernal 2]

http://www.arma3.com/alpha/briefing

[Leaulux 2]

Stop spouting this nonsense "cuz Dis Is Alphuuuuhhh!" like you are some five year old thumping his chest with rage.

Bohemia Interactive could have released EVERYTHING and called it an "Alpha."

They are obviously holding back because of Quality Control.

[QuiteFranklyMyMaN 1]

IIZZ AAALLPPHHAAAAAAWWWWWwwwww

[Winfernal 2]

Stop spouting this nonsense "cuz Dis Is Alphuuuuhhh!" like you are some five year old thumping his chest with rage.

Bohemia Interactive could have released EVERYTHING and called it an "Alpha."

They are obviously holding back because of Quality Control.

Teach me how to develop games. Also show me the inside of BI's locals.

What is in the alpha?

Stratis (20 km2)

3 Factions

12 Weapons

8 Vehicles

2 Multiplayer Scenarios [?]

4 Singleplayer Showcases

Multiple Weapon Attachments

Customizable Gear

Scenario Editor [?]

Modding [?]

What is in the full game?

Altis (270 km2) & Stratis (20 km2)

5 Factions

40+ Weapons

20+ Vehicles

Multiple Weapon Attachments

Customizable Gear

Singleplayer Campaign

Multiplayer

Multiple Scenarios & Challenges

Scenario Editor

Modding

[MissionCreep 12]

Because the only way to debug or optimize properly is add one variable at a time, fix and then repeat. Don't be surprised if things are added, then removed and then never seen again.

---------- Post added at 03:06 AM ---------- Previous post was at 02:55 AM ----------

Ooh hats, I can't wait! ;)

Arma2 AAW (Australians at War) mod allows you to switch between helmet and baseball cap using the gear menu. It also allows you to enter/exit the back of the Bushmaster APC through opening and closing walk-in back doors. The Bushmaster APC has a fully-detailed interior, complete with fire control console with a working viewfinder video screen. Très cool ... and waaay ahead of the curve. We should be so lucky if Arma 3 comes close to this level of attention to detail. Good on ya, mates!

Edited March 9, 2013 by MissionCreep

[chortles 263]

Didn't the 'Sneak Peek 2013' trailer basically say that the beta phase is when armor/attack helicopters/etc. come into play but that right now is basically infantry and light vehicles? That's simple enough -- they're testing concepts right now, seemingly.

[Frankdatank1218 39]

I just want an IFV, a Tank, and a real two-seater Attack Heli (with a rotating turret and varied payload) for each faction. That's all. Maybe some independent soldiers.

[Gorbachev 1]

To be on topic, as it has been said before they wanted us to focus on infantry. So that's what they gave us.

[lugiahua 26]

I remember back when Arma1 Beta came out, we only got 5 weapons and one or two vehicles for each side.

Plus a extremely difficult SP level, had to clear whole town with 5 soldiers.

"No one leaving alive, let's kill them all, out"

BlueFor didn't even have a proper anti-armor weapon other than AT-4 and satchel charges, while Opfor had BRDM...

[dm 9]

I believe that BI is attempting to polish the framework of the game (Performance, bugs, AI) before they start giving us more content to use.

This.

By limiting what there is in the core content, it enables them to focus the feedback into specific areas, rather than all the "vehicle/weapon/character has the wrong number/type/placement of bolt/marking/clothing" type reports.

The alpha is focusing on getting the infantry aspect polished, beta will introduce more vehicles (physX, for example, is still being polished) then the full game will release everything.