So I basically went from Operation Flashpoint to ArmA 3.

[easyeb 137]

Hi guys! I just thought I'd introduce myself.

Back in 2001 I started playing Operation Flashpoint and it actually blew my mind. I was 18 years old at the time and I spent the better part of the following two years making missions in OFP. I played a bit with a couple of friends, but they didn't really like the whole run-for-an-hour-only-to-get-perma-killed-by-one-shot-by-a-guy-you-didn't-even-see. I however, loved it.

One of the biggest sputnik moments of my OFP career was when Ballistic Addon Studios launched their Army Rangers/Delta Force packs and later addons. It again revolutionised the game, for me. What ever happened to those guys? Are they still active in any way?

Speaking of any way, anyway... hardware limitations peaked and Rest Of Life came crashing through the door so I kind of just had to stop playing computer games. I never really got around to buying a gaming computer again. All the hardware I got after that was Apple-stuff (don't hate me please, I love my Mac) so gaming was never to be done since then. I did however start playing World of Tanks on the Mac, they got this launcher thing that made that somewhat possible. So I was playing a bit of that, enjoying it a bit but still missing the part where a three man crew make a tank work and not run in to red lines after a couple of hundred meters that say this is the farthest you go on this map.

After a while an update to World of tanks came along and it just made the game unplayable on Mac. I was griping a bit about it to a friend who said that I can install windows on a Apple machine and play it there. And I thought, what the hell. I'll give it a try. And it worked! But playing world of tanks made me think of what other games might be able to play on this machine. Mind you, all this time I have had my eyes on ArmA and following Dsldksdxxexyi and some other people on YouTube and I figured I'd give it a shot.

And my god it worked beautifully!

So here I am, been living under a rock for the past eleven or twelve years and my god things have happened! I absolutely love the fact that the idea behind and what made Operation Flashpoint so amazing and unique is still alive and well in ArmA 3. I can honestly say that the years have been kinder to Bohemia Interactives games than they have on me, but here we are!

I don't know what I want to have said here other than I feel like a child again with the entire world at my finger tips and everything my 18-year old mind could wish for for Operation Flashpoint is duly implemented and expanded in ArmA 3. This is just... amazing.

And the modmakers! Thank you! All of you!

Stay safe!

[Gunter Severloh 3948]

Great story! but you want this thread http://forums.bistudio.com/showthread.php?159019-The-Newcomers-Introduction-Thread

[froggyluv 2130]

Hehe I feel ya man. Been around for all iterations and I STILL feel that immersion. Playing around in editor and configs too much can ruin it a bit but nothing a short break can't fix.

[sudayev 27]

@EasyEB you might be interested in reviving OFP in ARMA2 environment :)

http://forums.bistudio.com/showthread.php?187790-Arma-2-Cold-War-Rearmed-question

[vran. 13]

There's one thing OFP has over ArmA 3 though, it runs at a consistent 60 fps on modern hardware. :p

If you do not overdo with the AIs and view distance/terrain detail of course... ;)

[HotShot 0]

One of the biggest sputnik moments of my OFP career was when Ballistic Addon Studios launched their Army Rangers/Delta Force packs and later addons. It again revolutionised the game, for me. What ever happened to those guys? Are they still active in any way?

[...]

...I feel like a child again with the entire world at my finger tips and everything my 18-year old mind could wish for for Operation Flashpoint is duly implemented and expanded in ArmA 3. This is just... amazing.

I was thinking about this the other day, and how humongous the addon depository is for ArmA compared to Flashpoint whilst for the most part retaining fantastic quality. The BAS addons were like a tidal wave but would now be little more than a ripple, off the Armaholic front page within a day or two.

However what it lacks are the total conversions, which added and changed all aspects of the game, such as the FDF Mod which I think was a pinnacle in Flashpoint. I checked their forums the other day though and sadly they seemed to have faded out in the last year or so. RHS Escalation is the closest to this so far (which is amazing!) and hopefully it will expand to become more of a Mod, rather than essentially an addon pack, which also includes a couple of missions.

I agree the Flashpoint spirit is generally there in ArmA3, but there's also notable changes. On the positive it feels a lot more "fluid", as Flashpoint did but more so, especially when compared to ArmA1 and 2 (I didn't play ArmA2, but have tried it since ArmA3, enticed by the content, and I'm not sure why but it feels horrendous to play!). However there are also big problems, notably the campaign, which has completely ditched the cutscenes. CWR and Resistance were partly awesome because of this, and the story they told. Relying on briefings, in a first person perspective, might feel more real but it just doesn't tell a story. Imagine trying to describe Guba shooting Angelina in a briefing - not going to be nearly as engaging as the cutscene in Flashpoint. I feel the ArmA3 campaign jumps around, and its just each mission that counts, without working towards opening up a larger narrative. I've no doubt including cutscenes would have helped to mitigate that. And that's my minor grumble over.

But ArmA3, and the work BIS have done to keep the series along the same line, and for the vast majority of the time improve upon it, is awesome! Nothing keeps me coming back as much as this series. I continue to be outstanded by it every time. Good job BIS, good job.

[nodunit 397]

BAS iirc was recruited to VBS. As for the addon flood, no there was a massive flood of addons in OFP and Arma 2 if you combine OA, far more than Arma3. I decided to look this up and here is the data I came up with.

Through armed assault.info, Arma's addon pages have 10 addons per page with 94 as the total (there are no categories)

Arma 2 has (again same no category) 100 pages.

Checking Armaholic's Arma 1 page which lists 15 addons per page which is divided into categories the numbers are as follows.

Arma 2 and Operation Arrowhead will be treated separately due to OA being standalone.

Arma 1: Heavy Armor: 3 Light Armor:2 Wheeled:4 Packs:2 Planes:2 Helicopters:5 Navy:2 Infantry:18 Weapons:9 Sounds/Objects:7 Misc:12

Arma 2: Heavy Armor: 1 Light Armor:1 Wheeled:3 packs:1 Planes:5 Helicopters:3 Navy:1 Infantry:8 Weapons:5 Sounds/Objects:7 Misc:14

Arma 2 Arrowhead: Heavy Armor: 2 Light Armor:2 Wheeled:3 Packs: 2 Planes:4 Helicopters:3 Navy:1 Infantry:10 Weapons:7 Sounds/Objects: 5 Misc:8

Arma 3: Heavy Armor: 1 Light Armor:1 Wheeled:2 Packs: 1 Planes:4 Helicopters:4 Navy:1 Infantry:11 Weapons:11 Sounds/Objects:10 Misc:20

Now when compared to OFP, sourced from ofp.info with 10 addons per page and no particular subcategories we get

Vehicles:29 Aircraft:29 Weapons:27 Navy:4 Infantry: 25 Misc:16

So if we add all of that up we get a rough estimate of

OFP: 1300

Armed Assault: 990

Arma 2: 735

Arma 2 OA: 705 (however if you owned both versions then this content can be combined for a whopping 1410)

Arma 3: 975

The misc category actually brings Arma 3 as having more content than on its own than its precursors, but why are the numbers so small vs OFP?

Well there are a lot of reasons, for one creating an addon was far more simple, for example to create a simple car this was your base config http://ofp.gamepark.cz/_hosted/brsseb/tutorials/lesson2/graphics/lesson2_c_1.jpg

But now we have something FAR more complex https://community.bistudio.com/wiki/Arma_3_Cars_Config_Guidelines

Polycounts had to be low in the past due to hardware limits and that made creating things more easy, there wasn't as much of a demand for ultra high quality as there is today, likewise UV mapping was at best a luxury.

To many of us the way you apply a texture was to simply stretch a cursor box with the texture over the model and apply it planar style, something far different from the unwraps of today and three to four textures max. (this was true even for BI in some cases)

Texture sizes were also much smaller and often times more numerous for a variety of reasons, doors, headlights, even the side of a vehicle could be separate from its top. Likewise the only textures we had to work with were diffuse, the only question was is it alpha or is it solid? Now we have our diffuse texture, normal maps, shine, reflection, ambient occlusion, and detail maps along with various other tools. Polycounts surged and as a result so did addon quality but so did the time it takes to create, along with the learning curve. http://media.moddb.com/images/engines/1/1/88/Real_Virtuality_Comparison_Humvee.jpg http://arma3.com/assets/img/screenshots/large/arma3_screenshot_17.jpg

Secondly a lot of mod packs were coming out of OFP to enhance visual quality composed of addons due to enough time passing that the community was able to surpass the games original quality thanks to learning and hardware limits lowering. This also meant that many mods were in the works with their own visions including sound effects and particles, these lessened over time as Arma's visual quality grew and grew, causing less need for full on replacement packs and allow mods to focus more specificly on large packs containing entirerly new vehicles or thier own addons.

Believe it or not in regards to addons Arma 3 is/WAS off to a great start, despite license issues with the workshop, the make arma not war contest, and of course the recent scare from A3life stealing content.

Edited January 27, 2015 by NodUnit

[vran. 13]

^ True, OFP is still attractive for modding, for newcommers to modding in particular. It's easier to make an addon or mod for OFP than it is for ArmA 3, given that you know what tools to use (can be problematic on modern systems though). Also because there's not much in the way of graphics in OFP, it means that the game is friendly to older systems too, you just need a decently fast CPU (a fast single core will do as OFP makes no use of more CPU cores).

[chrisb 196]

BAS iirc was recruited to VBS. As for the addon flood, no there was a massive flood of addons in OFP and Arma 2 if you combine OA, far more than Arma3. I decided to look this up and here is the data I came up with.

Through armed assault.info, Arma's addon pages have 10 addons per page with 94 as the total (there are no categories)

Arma 2 has (again same no category) 100 pages.

Checking Armaholic's Arma 1 page which lists 15 addons per page which is divided into categories the numbers are as follows.

Arma 2 and Operation Arrowhead will be treated separately due to OA being standalone.

Arma 1: Heavy Armor: 3 Light Armor:2 Wheeled:4 Packs:2 Planes:2 Helicopters:5 Navy:2 Infantry:18 Weapons:9 Sounds/Objects:7 Misc:12

Arma 2: Heavy Armor: 1 Light Armor:1 Wheeled:3 packs:1 Planes:5 Helicopters:3 Navy:1 Infantry:8 Weapons:5 Sounds/Objects:7 Misc:14

Arma 2 Arrowhead: Heavy Armor: 2 Light Armor:2 Wheeled:3 Packs: 2 Planes:4 Helicopters:3 Navy:1 Infantry:10 Weapons:7 Sounds/Objects: 5 Misc:8

Arma 3: Heavy Armor: 1 Light Armor:1 Wheeled:2 Packs: 1 Planes:4 Helicopters:4 Navy:1 Infantry:11 Weapons:11 Sounds/Objects:10 Misc:20

Now when compared to OFP, sourced from ofp.info with 10 addons per page and no particular subcategories we get

Vehicles:29 Aircraft:29 Weapons:27 Navy:4 Infantry: 25 Misc:16

So if we add all of that up we get a rough estimate of

OFP: 1300

Armed Assault: 990

Arma 2: 735

Arma 2 OA: 705 (however if you owned both versions then this content can be combined for a whopping 1410)

Arma 3: 975

The misc category actually brings Arma 3 as having more content than on its own than its precursors, but why are the numbers so small vs OFP?

Well there are a lot of reasons, for one creating an addon was far more simple, for example to create a simple car this was your base config http://ofp.gamepark.cz/_hosted/brsseb/tutorials/lesson2/graphics/lesson2_c_1.jpg

But now we have something FAR more complex https://community.bistudio.com/wiki/Arma_3_Cars_Config_Guidelines

Polycounts had to be low in the past due to hardware limits and that made creating things more easy, there wasn't as much of a demand for ultra high quality as there is today, likewise UV mapping was at best a luxury.

To many of us the way you apply a texture was to simply stretch a cursor box with the texture over the model and apply it planar style, something far different from the unwraps of today and three to four textures max. (this was true even for BI in some cases)

Texture sizes were also much smaller and often times more numerous for a variety of reasons, doors, headlights, even the side of a vehicle could be separate from its top. Likewise the only textures we had to work with were diffuse, the only question was is it alpha or is it solid? Now we have our diffuse texture, normal maps, shine, reflection, ambient occlusion, and detail maps along with various other tools. Polycounts surged and as a result so did addon quality but so did the time it takes to create, along with the learning curve. http://media.moddb.com/images/engines/1/1/88/Real_Virtuality_Comparison_Humvee.jpg http://arma3.com/assets/img/screenshots/large/arma3_screenshot_17.jpg

Secondly a lot of mod packs were coming out of OFP to enhance visual quality composed of addons due to enough time passing that the community was able to surpass the games original quality thanks to learning and hardware limits lowering. This also meant that many mods were in the works with their own visions including sound effects and particles, these lessened over time as Arma's visual quality grew and grew, causing less need for full on replacement packs and allow mods to focus more specificly on large packs containing entirerly new vehicles or thier own addons.

Believe it or not in regards to addons Arma 3 is/WAS off to a great start, despite license issues with the workshop, the make arma not war contest, and of course the recent scare from A3life stealing content.

That's an interesting list.:)

[mr burns 131]

..

Hotshot, yay! Love seeing old faces reappear. I remember, as if it were yesterday, how i pushed you off a roof in modrava shortly before our extraction CH47 arrived on some community night (those were the times) - never said a word about it because i´m an asshole ... hope you'll forgive me lol ;)

[ProfTournesol 956]

Funnily enough i'm back to playing much more OFP than ArmA3, because of addons mostly (as a whole much more fun and interesting than those you can find for ArmA3), but also because i don't have interest in playing A3 anymore. The underwater environment was the funniest thing, but now i'm just bored.