Suggestion regarding the aesthetics and character of Altis

[pvt_ryan 10]

Hey everyone, so the "official launch" of A3 has now arrived. Hopefully most people figured out that this is a launch pretty much in name only, and had the sense to buy the game earlier on instead of paying the higher price and having expectations of more content. Even though there seems to be plenty of whiny threads here by people who seem to be missing the point (about A3 being a platform for multiplayer more than a singleplayer game, and forgetting the fact that Bohemia acknowledged that there will be missing content at launch a long time ago (withholding it is preferable to releasing it in a super-buggy state), personally I'm happy enough with the current state of ARMA 3. Like many others I do hope for more fixed-wing (and also rocket/missile launcher) assets in the future, which it seems Bohemia will be providing when they can, and otherwise my only actual complaints are the clipping between soldiers and the terrain and the poor vehicle damage model (for which I've made a support ticket).

That said, the primary purpose of this thread is to make a suggestion regarding Altis, which has been generally well-received so far, and rightfully so. Most people are slightly disappointed by the inability to enter unique buildings (such as the hospital in Kavala), and I can understand that. However, I would argue that if anything Altis requires more unique features, even if they are superficial in nature. The main issue I have with Altis is that- in part due to its almost unfathomable size- I can easily appreciate its beauty and amazingness as a whole, but when it comes to individual locations it can be slightly underwhelming. The most memorable parts are the unique bits- the salt flats, the swamp, the castles, Altis international airport, even the dried up dam, etc.- but there simply aren't enough of them. Even the cemetery they teased during the most recent livestream turns out to be a somewhat generic asset found in many different places.

I can tell that Bohemia has made an effort to do this with the research domes, solar farms, and wind turbines scattered throughout, and while those contribute nicely to the overall aesthetic, they don't really distinguish individual locations. One or two impressive bridges spanning creeks or valleys would be one example, or more unique buildings (though this opens the question of whether they would be enter-able). It's great that there are so many towns in Altis, but ultimately there's little to distinguish one from the next aside from the layout of the streets. There's no real sense of variation in character between the various settlements in Altis; of course, they're all picturesque seaside/mountain towns, but this is a double-edged sword at times.

When trying to communicate with others during play, there's not really much in the way of landmarks to reference from. On a broad level, Altis is a breathtakingly beautiful, but at the moment everything sort of bleeds into everything else. I know defining the locations by the engagements that take place at them is the ARMA way, but in the absence of any in-world lore, I still think Altis could benefit from more unique assets (landmarks and monuments alike) scattered throughout. Maybe I just haven't looked hard enough; lemme know what you think.

[mistyronin 1181]

When trying to communicate with others during play, there's not really much in the way of landmarks to reference from. On a broad level, Altis is a breathtakingly beautiful, but at the moment everything sort of bleeds into everything else. I know defining the locations by the engagements that take place at them is the ARMA way, but in the absence of any in-world lore, I still think Altis could benefit from more unique assets (landmarks and monuments alike) scattered throughout. Maybe I just haven't looked hard enough; lemme know what you think.

Interesting suggestion ( maybe a bit to long for my taste :p ).

But yeah, some more monuments or specific landmarks could help to orientate players and give more context. Though there are some already, like the monastery in the hill, the windmills, the castles and the war cemetery.

Maybe a disco club ( quite typical in Mediterranean touristic islands ), some statues, a fountain?

Anyway, I fear there are at this moment more important things to fix, though at long term could be nice.

[pvt_ryan 10]

Interesting suggestion ( maybe a bit to long for my taste :p ).

But yeah, some more monuments or specific landmarks could help to orientate players and give more context. Though there are some already, like the monastery in the hill, the windmills, the castles and the war cemetery.

Maybe a disco club ( quite typical in Mediterranean touristic islands ), some statues, a fountain?

Anyway, I fear there are at this moment more important things to fix, though at long term could be nice.

Yeah, Bohemia has clearly made an effort at achieving this, but with Altis' size in comparison to Stratis, some of the things that stuck out in Stratis (the chapels, military encampments, or radar spheres) don't really stick out that much in Altis. Even simply naming more of the features that are already there might help this (giving a name to the mountain range in the northwest, or the central plains, or the major roadways). But at the moment I'm personally not convinced that there's enough reason to explore different parts of the island just for the sake of it; once you've seen one chapel or medium-sized Mediterranean town you've seen them all.