Will Arma 3 replace Arma 2?

[Serged 1]

I have been thinking about this: I own Arma 2 and Arma 3 Alpha. I haven't played Arma 2 too much and I'm now thinking whether Arma 3 will replace Arma 2 or if they can/will co-exist multiplayer-wise? I mean it would really be a shame if I miss out on all that good content in Arma 2. If it's going to be "replaced" then I will have to put in a lot of time before Arma 3 releases, hehe :) How did the older titles fare when a successor got released?

[chortles 263]

It depends, because right now we have things like the CWR devs (i.e. W0lle) publicly stating that there will not be a Cold War Rearmed 3, CWR2 is as far as it goes, as well as stuff like Xeno saying that he won't get Arma 3 and thus he presumably won't contribute to a possible ACE 3, and some modders saying that if Steam Workshop is implemented they'll reduce or even halt their modding work, so you may well have "stay behinds" for their respective mods if those are definitely not going to get Arma 3 versions.

Right now though, it's been found that Arma 2 content PBOs do import in the Arma 3 alpha as if they were addons/"mods", using the same modfolder method from Arma 2. :D The only catch being that you have to delete certain PBOs and their respective BISIGN files if you simply copied the whole Addons folder from your Arma 2 directory, in order to prevent the Arma 3 alpha from black-screening when you run it, and of course the added PBOs increase the alpha's load time.

[Serged 1]

Ok. So when you delete those "certain pbo files and their repsective BISIGN files" does this remove some stuff from the mod then or what is the problem with it (I don't really know how mods work exactly etc in Arma, haven't bothered with mods a lot yet)?

And what's the modders problem with Steam workshop?

Something else I was thinking about is the whole Arma 3 has all this futuristic equipment vs Arma 2 has modern and actually existing equipment. Or would this aspect of the game probably be ported to Arma 3 by modders pretty fast? Because I think many people prefer the game to have vehicles and gear that actually exist and/or are being used at this time.

Edited March 21, 2013 by Zerged

[max power 21]

Ok. So when you delete those "certain pbo files and their repsective BISIGN files" does this remove some stuff from the mod then or what is the problem with it (I don't really know how mods work exactly etc in Arma, haven't bothered with mods a lot yet)?

I really doubt that most modders would condone this activity. It constitutes modifying the original mod content and therefore violates any non-derivatives license. There are also other considerations like support. We ask you to obey licenses when you're a part of the forum so please make sure you check licenses before you start making forum discussions about altering works and such.

Edited March 21, 2013 by Max Power

[.kju 3245]

Yes once you can use all/most A2/OA content in A3.

[sander 14]

There are multiple factors at play there so there is not a single answer to that question that will cover everything. For some it will definitely replace Arma II and for others it will most certainly not and yet others will play both. For those who decline to be forced to become a Steam user (count me in there) Arma II will remain the game of choice.

Operation Flashpoint remained an alternative to Armed Assault MP after the release of the latter. The fact that it was a resource hog meant that not all users could run it as well as the older game so OFP continued to be played. Arma II was a great improvement on Armed Assault, which did show in some respects that it was a bastard child in the series, so it more rapidly replaced the direct predecessor.

Regards,

Sander

[NoRailgunner 0]

Tearing other peoples work apart, "re-branding" it as own creation/work and making such "new" content available to download is a no-go. Issue with Steam workshop = read terms and conditions, not everyone likes them and prefer to keep his own work in his own hands.

[chortles 263]

sander, isn't there a quote somewhere by Maruk saying that Armed Assault was not a labor of love?

I wasn't talking about impinging on anyone's work or advising another forums member to do so! I apologize for this mistake, seriously. :( Max Power, what I was referring to was the standard method of importing Arma 2 content into Arma 3.

Zerged, here is what I mean:

I have Arma 2 on Steam, so my Arma 2 directory is C:\Games\Steam\steamapps\common\Arma 2, and my Arma 3 directory is C:\Games\Steam\steamapps\common\Arma 3. Now in the Arma 2 folder there's a subfolder called Addons, which contains Arma 2's content (weapons, vehicles, infantry units, etc.) in the form of PBO files, sometimes along with BISIGN files. Traditionally the main method of getting mods to work in Arma 2 is to create a folder in the "@modnamehere" style and then have a subfolder inside called AddOns, which the PBOs and BISIGN files go into, then adding a bit to the game's shortcut or in Steam its launch options that reads "-mod=@modnamehere"; what people have found is that Arma 2's official content can be imported by using this method with Arma 3.

Therefore, to do this:

#1: Create a subfolder (the "modfolder") in the Arma 3 directory, i.e. @A2

#2: Go to the Arma 2 directory, copy its AddOns subfolder

#3: Paste that AddOns folder into the @A2 modfolder in the Arma 3 directory

#4: Go into that AddOns folder inside @A2 and delete the following files:

editor.pbo , editor.pbo.bi.bisign , editor.pbo.bi2.bisign , ui.pbo , ui.pbo.bi.bisign , ui.pbo.bi2.bisign , UIFonts.pbo , UIFonts.pbo.bi.bisign , uifonts.pbo.bi2.bisign , modules.pbo , modules.pbo.bi.bisign , modules.pbo.bi2.bisign , anims.pbo , anims.pbo.bi.bisign , anims.pbo.bi2.bisign (these fifteen files would prevent Arma 3 from running properly if they were left alone)

#5: Right-click Arma 3 Alpha in your Steam Library, click Properties, click Set Launch Options, and then enter (or add to the existing entries) -mod=@A2 before clicking OK and then Close.

Now when you run the Arma 3 Editor, you should be able to select Arma 2's islands of Chernarus and Utes and be able to select the Arma 2 content from within the Arma 3 Editor (i.e. factions, units, vehicles, weapons, etc.). Note though that this is basically only allowed if you already own Arma 2 as well as Arma 3! Here's some official guidance from the Arma 3 project lead on this subject.

Edited March 21, 2013 by Chortles

[sander 14]

There are a couple actually:

"The Arma 1 release was not in any way smooth and the game was somewhat uninspired in various ways."

Source

"Every single element is well taught so that it fits together. So this is a significant change, because with ArmA 1 it was just random, really. We made some units because we had to. There wasn't much passion from our side with the first ArmA, to be honest."

Source

Regards,

Sander

[Binkowski 26]

Right now though, it's been found that Arma 2 content PBOs do import in the Arma 3 alpha as if they were addons/"mods", using the same modfolder method from Arma 2. :D The only catch being that you have to delete certain PBOs and their respective BISIGN files if you simply copied the whole Addons folder from your Arma 2 directory, in order to prevent the Arma 3 alpha from black-screening when you run it, and of course the added PBOs increase the alpha's load time.

I sure hope that doesn't happen with my content. Else I will be, rather upset. And subsequently rage. As Max said, obey the license.

I'm still playing ArmA2. At the moment ArmA2 is far better (in my opinion) than ArmA3 is. Has more content, better player base, better missions, mods, etc. The list goes on. Sure, I'll probably get some flak for that post but I don't really care. I'll be playing A2 even after full A3 is released if there is still a playerbase. I will still mod in ArmA2 (at the moment) and not in ArmA3 (after I release my headgearpack).

[bars91 956]

There's A2 and A3 diehards. And then there are "fuck it" people like me, who still prefer OFP to all ArmAs :p

Tho I play A2(mostly LAN) and A3(testing new features\purposely pushing RV engine and my Notebook out of their comfort zone).

[ProjectXenon 1]

There will always be love for older games, and very few acheive complete replacement.. i still play OPFP from time to time, its the great deal of memorable moments attached to it, with its quirks and all.

[minimalaco 30]

Only arma2 atm...

[chortles 263]

I sure hope that doesn't happen with my content. Else I will be, rather upset. And subsequently rage. As Max said, obey the license.

I was talking about forward-porting, hence when I elaborated I emphasized "the Arma 2 that you already have".

You know Bars91, it's actually rather amusing looking back to see how many people in the immersion thread hold OFP above the Arma series... I don't think any of them want to consider the possibility that everything that brought them to and hooked them to the franchise was actually a fluke and the subsequent Arma series was more indicative. :p I suppose though that that's one of the strengths of CWR2, "new engine but that same lightning in a bottle instead of what BI put out for campaigns after that and Resistance", and I suppose that it's why Gaia/Karel Moricky would specifically namedrop Resistance as an intended inspiration for the Arma 3 SP campaign (before all that happened after last year's conventions of course).

There are a couple actually:

Source

Source

Thanks! Edited March 22, 2013 by Chortles

[chrisb 196]

They will coexist for a long time I think. Probably longer than any of the other titles did. Arma 2 was soo well modded, its going to be interesting to see though..

Get diving in A2 and it will be even more interesting..;)

[xxbbcc 6]

I'll play A2 for the foreseeable future. I'm among those who refuse Steam because of their licensing terms and thus I'll not be buying A3 (although I'd really, really like to). Since several great mod makers already said they'll stay with A2, it's reason to expect to see updates for existing mods in A2.

There are some nice features of A3 but overall, it doesn't seem to be all that much different from A2. (I don't have the Alpha, so I may be missing a few features.)

[Varanon 892]

Consideirng that A3's content right now is a bit of infantry, one car on each side, one attack helo, one transport helo, a boat and a mortar, there's currently not much interesting missions you can make out of that. I will still be playing Arma 2 (and A3) and I'll probably also keep making missions for A2 for quite some while.

Edit: Typo... it's a boat, not a boar.. heck, they didn't even include the common Chernarussian boar in A3 :D

[duckpower 1]

i could see arma 3 becoming amazing its buggy as hell now but its got massive potential way more than what they can squeeze out of arma 2.

[Serged 1]

Consideirng that A3's content right now is a bit of infantry, one car on each side, one attack helo, one transport helo, a boat and a mortar, there's currently not much interesting missions you can make out of that. I will still be playing Arma 2 (and A3) and I'll probably also keep making missions for A2 for quite some while.

Edit: Typo... it's a boat, not a boar.. heck, they didn't even include the common Chernarussian boar in A3 :D

what, no boar`in A3? This game is gonna fail XD

[spooky lynx 73]

ArmA3 will replace ArmA2 only when three things will happen:

1) Steam-free version of A3 will be developed and released

2) all the mods that are released for ArmA2 will be made for ArmA3 also

3) ArmA3 will be polished enough and become real ver.1 game build, not neverending alpha-beta-gamma-etc.

[ast65 10]

atm ArmA3 somehow reminds me more of the first ArmA than of ArmA2...maybe I just don´t like the setting :P

Edited March 23, 2013 by @ST

[Joe98 92]

For Arma2 I don't use mods or add-ons.

Arma 3 has better graphics than Arma 2. Some say the game play has improved.

Inspite of that Arma3 is set in the future.

I will get Arma3 and use the editor to create a few scenarios. I will make a point of using weapons that are not futuristic.

Will Arma3 replace Arma 2 for me? I cannot answer that just yet.

I see the new maps in Arma3 as the number 1 selling point for me.

(BTW I have slow internet here, so I will buy Arma3 in the box when it reaches the stores here.)

Edited March 24, 2013 by Joe98

[Phantomsmedia 1]

Personally, I'll switch over once the modding support gets built up. Some people have already switched in the Alpha, but I'll be waiting until Beta or full release.

The setting, being the future, isn't something I enjoy. Some weapons and vehicles that we may see in the near future are there, but I'll miss some vehicles, Blackhawk, Abrams, etc. ArmA 2 and 3 will probably co-exist for a long while. Many groups may not find ArmA 3 to suit their style, or may simply cling to the old ways. No need to miss out on either game, just play them both!

[chortles 263]

I suggest that you "make the switch" before the beta if only to lock in the price. After all, you'll still get the beta and full release for no extra cost except your leap of faith. ;)

There's actually a mention of a Blackhawk in one of the PBO files in the alpha... though speculation there has it being more of a "Stealth Hawk" than a traditional Blackhawk, and a mention of the Astute-class submarine -- in real life its lead ship was commissioned in 2010 (though the subsequent service was... unfortunate) and the second Astute-class HMS Ambush was commissioned just over three weeks ago!

Edited March 24, 2013 by Chortles

[mrcash2009 0]

Arma1 moving to 2 for me was fast, although support from BI (most important) followed on for some time with 1 and 2 ... I dont see 2 being overshadowed by 3 that much and I can see them co existing just as normal.

Annoyingly with things like Alpha people seem to assume 3 is out, its not yet (as far as mods and requests are concerned).