Suffers from the same issues as ArmA 2 IMO

[Winfernal 2]

The community hasn't been able to develop an active tvt sim yet, so I can't assume it's going to happen all of a sudden. PR tried, but I think BF remained their main focus. The devs have to be the ones.

Do not underestimate the modding community.

Remember that many devs are former modders that have been hired simply because they were good. Like Smookie and his animations for example. And games like Counter Strike, Natural Selection, Day Z, DotA (That later spawned League of Legends)... they are mods/maps created by bright souls in the modding community.

And all mod tools aren't out yet, and many communities are waiting with A3 until it gets stable before they move from A2. Mostly testing going on now. We wont see the full potential of mods and maps until release and long after that. BI and ArmA has always had great cooperation with the modding community.

Creating god-like games takes time. So we should gear up with patience.

Edited March 11, 2013 by Winfernal

[chortles 263]

Unfortunately sufficiently bright souls to make a runaway breakout hit are a rarity though... make of what what you will WRT Arma. :p

[Winfernal 2]

Unfortunately sufficiently bright souls to make a runaway breakout hit are a rarity though... make of what what you will WRT Arma. :p

They are indeed a rarity, but the possibility is still there If the tools are there. Such hits will happen eventually.

[maturin 12]

I love the ArmA series, always thought it had tremendous potential and offered something that no other game did, a simulation experience to tactical fps combat. Unfortunately, the devs nor community have been able to find a way to make multiplayer tvt accessible and realistic. I hope ArmA 3 isn't going to be headed down the same path. Here's some of the concerns/suggestions I have from playing Alpha thus far.

Here's the issue when it comes to accessibility. It's not about making the gameplay easier or less hardcore, it's about making the game itself more user friendly. The game needs to be easy to get into (simply being able to actually play), but hard to master. By that I mean a user shouldn't have to jump through so many hoops simply to be able to connect to a server and enjoy the full potential of the game. On ArmA 2 to get into a good server, they were always passworded, and then you had to download 3rd party clients that were extremely cumbersome and added all sorts of modifications to your client. ArmA 3 needs an in-built mod client similar to NS2, to eliminate the need for players to scour the web for all the different utilities (and tutorials to install them) they needed to connect to the select few populated and regulated servers. In short, bring ArmA 3 into the modern era in terms of MP functionality, features, and access. Doing so helps the game grow and eliminates the frustration and time required in years past with ArmA 2 MP. I think some of that responsibility is with the community and server operators as well to foster growth and make the scene more user friendly.

Which leads me to my biggest issue, the average tvt server is far from realistic and far from what should be considered a simulation. Teamwork is rare and what the combat usually boils down to are small groups of people scattered across gigantic maps fighting for a huge amount of objectives. The scale of the maps, and lack of a focused obj turns into small 1v1, or 3v3 type firefights. There's no sense of a battleline and fighting tooth and nail to advance inch and inch and capturing key territory. Key territory being adj ground and not necessarily the primary obj itself. ArmA 3 desperately needs a core tvt mode made and extensively tested by the developers. A mode where you won't see people randomly jumping into helicopters only to crash them and respawn and jump in another a few seconds later. A mode that's not about gaining money, which isn't realistic either. Ultimately, a mode where

Do you not realize how accomplishing the bolded goal is even more impossible if we 'streamline' the MP experience into a drop-in, drop-out casual shooter experience? There's a reason that realistic PvP and teamwork only take place in curated communities with passwords and mods and standards. It can't be done with pubbers.

ArmA 3 has already adapted its handling enough to make a mainstream splash and create a vibrant MP scene upon release. But it's gone far enough. Quality over quantity, and hopefully all this new blood will find its way into more and larger communities who will create real ArmA gameplay.

[BigMorgan 11]

I see a lot of crying about the multiplayer experience, and I just don't understand it.

I played on, and eventually helped admin, an Arma 2 warfare server that was full, or nearly full, every day for over a year. Currently my Arma 3 server fills up anytime we run a PvP mission on it. DayZ and Wasteland servers are always jammed.

If you don't like the style of play found on public servers, you're not going to be able to force people to play your way. Make friends in this community with people who do appreciate that playstyle and you'll get the most out of the game for years to come.

[Gorbachev 1]

I don't understand all this panic and fear everytime someone suggests that the game could be made more accessible. This is ignorance by definition. He's not talking about dumbing down the game to any extent. Why so fiercely defend a broken (but usable) design?

[Winfernal 2]

I don't understand all this panic and fear everytime someone suggests that the game could be made more accessible. This is ignorance by definition. He's not talking about dumbing down the game to any extent. Why so fiercely defend a broken (but usable) design?

Because certain game developers and publishers have abused words like "accesible" and sentences like "easy to learn, difficult to master". They've used words and sentences like that as excuses to make games linear, generic and modless moneymachines without depth.

This is why this word now is a negative charged word in the gaming world.

In ArmAs case it is about making the game usable without moving the core and depth of the game. And there are certain broken features that should be "fixed" to do that.