Arma 3 Apex - content predictions?

[AveryTheKitty 2626]

I'm starting this thread to discuss possible content for Arma 3 Apex. Anyone have predictions? Here's mine:

 

To start off, factions. I personally think we'll be seeing USMC forces [BLUFOR] along with Chinese forces [OPFOR], and possibly Australian/CTRG forces [BLUFOR]. Of course, we'll likely see Tanoa's military [Independent] and a guerrilla faction [OPFOR]. Now for vehicles and weapons. It's confirmed that we'll be seeing Light Strike Vehicles and VTOLs, and possibly larger Patrol boats.

 

Here's a list of what I'm assuming will be added:

 

United States Marine Corps:

APX - Pistol

MP7 - Sub Machine Gun

HK416 - Assault Rifle

M27 IAR - Light Machine Gun

HK417 - Sniper Rifle

SMAW - Rocket Launcher

 

ALSV - Light Strike Vehicle

Cougar - Mine-Resistant Ambush-Protected

EFV - Infantry Fighting Vehicle

M551 Sheridan - Light Tank

M1A3 Abrams - Main Battle Tank

UH-1Y Venom - Transport Helicopter

AH-1Z Viper - Attack Helicopter

V-22 Osprey - VTOL Helicopter

F-35B Lightning - VTOL Fighter

CB90 AMOS - Patrol Boat

 

USMC forces would have a wide variety of modern-futuristic gear, with some assets possibly being futurized. The Sheridan obviously being modernized.

 

Australian Defense Force:

USP - Pistol

AUG-A3 - Assault Rifle

AICW - Assault Rifle

MAAWS - Rocket Launcher

 

Hawkei - Mine-Resistant Ambush-Protected

AS-LAV - Armored Personal Carrier

OH-58 Kiowa - Light Helicopter

 

Australian forces would retain a somewhat light force, similar to that of the AAF in scale and variety.

 

Tanoan Armed Forces:

M16A4 - Assault Rifle

M60E4 - Light Machine Gun

 

LAV-300 - Armored Personal Carrier

AS-365 Dauphin - Light Helicopter

AV-8B Harrier - VTOL Fighter

 

Tanoan forces would service gear similar to that of Fiji's military, while obviously having new additions for variety.

 

Tanoan Irregulars:

AK-74 - Assault Rifle

RPK-74 - Light Machine Gun

SVD - Sniper Rifle

RPG-7 - Rocket Launcher

 

Tanoan irregulars would retain a lighter force, primarily using Cold War era equipment and repurposed Civilian vehicles.

 

People's Liberation Army:

QX-04 - Pistol

QCW-05 - Sub Machine Gun

QBZ-95 - Assault Rifle

QJY-88 - Light Machine Gun

QBU-88 - Sniper Rifle

AMR-2 - Anti-Material Rifle

 

FAV - Light Strike Vehicle

CS/VP3 - Mine Resistant Ambush Protected

ZBD-09 - Armored Personal Carrier

ZBD-04 - Infantry Fighting Vehicle

ZTZ-99 - Main Battle Tank

PGZ-95 - Self-Propelled Anti-Aircraft Gun

PLZ-05 - Self-Propelled Gun

Z-10 - Attack Helicopter

Z-9 Haitun - Transport Helicopter

Z-11 - Light Helicopter

J-31 Gyrfalcon - VTOL Fighter

 

Chinese forces would service modern-futuristic equipment, with some assets possibly being futurized.

 

So that's my list. Anyone else have any ideas?

[joostsidy 682]

That's assuming a lot! Isn't this just your personal wishlist? ;-)

 

Based on Bohemia's more modest additions in quantity of contents with the main game and dlc's (which I've bought and am perfectly happy with by the way), I would be very surprised if as many items as are in your list gets added.

[chortles 263]

That's assuming a lot! Isn't this just your personal wishlist? ;-)

You can wonder that about most Apex predictions due to the sheer paucity of Bohemia hints (i.e. no ARG unlike the A3 reveal)...

Oh, and I haven't heard of any reporting on the J-31 itself being VTOL, although allegedly a "J-18" design may be a derivative design.

[Wiki 1558]

Maybe radar guided missiles?

Because APEX INBOUND!!!

[AveryTheKitty 2626]

That's assuming a lot! Isn't this just your personal wishlist? ;-)

 

Based on Bohemia's more modest additions in quantity of contents with the main game and dlc's (which I've bought and am perfectly happy with by the way), I would be very surprised if as many items as are in your list gets added.

While some of it is what I'd like to see (Beretta APX, F-35B, and J-31 for example), most of it is what I realistically think we'll see. Though Apex being an Expansion rather than a simple DLC, I'm sure we'll recieve plenty of content.

[silentghoust 132]

I doubt will see M-16's or M1A1 tanks except for a indie rebel force. Kinda like how they had T-34 was to insurgent forces in A2: AO. Reguardless of what they make. My main hope is they make some unarmored or lightly armed assets. Would be nice to have a APC not equip with auto-grenade launchers, or maybe a few command vehicles.

[CaptainAzimuth 714]

So far what's confirmed...

 

Civilian

-Van

-Jetski

-UltraLight Aircraft

 

For the military, VTOL's (yes with an S, as in hinting there may be more than one), and Fast Attack Vehicles. The FAV's could be both sea and land based. I really hope they thought on my Gibbs Quad-ski request in the appropriate thread, but who knows. As long as it's not Soviet weapons or anything dating back from every "modern/cold war" game since the 1990's. We need Authenticity, Variety, and Diversity.

[PuFu 4591]

this list is based on what precisely? is it a wishlist of sorts? BI has not confirmed (or denied) china, but what's with the australian forces there?

btw, it is an expansion, not a new game....

[chortles 263]

Pretty much no more solid a foundation than anyone else had after the Tanoa reveal.

[Wiki 1558]

My joke didn't work... :(

[zukov 483]

i hope in some towed artillery (a d30 to a3 standards is more than suffice), in the  island  is a better choice

M551 Sheridan - Light Tank?   is not a vietnam expansion  :D 

[roberthammer 582]

A very wishful thinking mate , this a modern BIS that we are talking about , they are not that productive as they were before

 

so you can expect a very little from them , that's my advice

 

We will be lucky if we get less copy paste stuff and less reskins

[zukov 483]

Van? there is an image?

[Wiki 1558]

A very wishful thinking mate , this a modern BIS that we are talking about , they are not that productive as they were before

 

so you can expect a very little from them , that's my advice

 

We will be lucky if we get less copy paste stuff and less reskins

Agreed

[en3x 209]

Part of it is better and higher (poly) fidelity models, better texturing takes more time - so quantity vs quality comes in play.

[IndeedPete 1038]

A very wishful thinking mate , this a modern BIS that we are talking about , they are not that productive as they were before

 

so you can expect a very little from them , that's my advice

 

We will be lucky if we get less copy paste stuff and less reskins

 

I feel they're not more or less productive - they just shifted their focus from content to features. We saw a huge amount of engine changes in A3 compared to older iterations of the game. Better graphics, better animations, FFV, Sling Loading, Advanced Helicopter Flight Model, weapon resting & deployment, advanced body protection, sound engine overhaul, MP scripting framework improvements, improved tooling, slightly better documentation and more samples, and the biggest island in the series ever. I'd much rather welcome more of these changes than variety in content, even if I also dislike the copypaste turrets. We modders can produce quality content but often cannot create complex features like BI does.

[roberthammer 582]

I feel they're not more or less productive - they just shifted their focus from content to features. We saw a huge amount of engine changes in A3 compared to older iterations of the game. Better graphics, better animations, FFV, Sling Loading, Advanced Helicopter Flight Model, weapon resting & deployment, advanced body protection, sound engine overhaul, MP scripting framework improvements, improved tooling, slightly better documentation and more samples, and the biggest island in the series ever. I'd much rather welcome more of these changes than variety in content, even if I also dislike the copypaste turrets. We modders can produce quality content but often cannot create complex features like BI does.

Features are fine but my point is the Modeler and Texture maker isn't going to do features to the game because he cannot

 

and for a expansion , i expect to see more content that isn't repeating itself and variety

 

We can't always rely on modders to do content for us , it would be better to have it from BIS to give us something that shows quality and care

 

remember OA expansion? that kind of stuff 

[ProfTournesol 956]

A new island, a new faction and a good story driven campaign is all i need.

[IndeedPete 1038]

Features are fine but my point is the Modeler and Texture maker isn't going to do features to the game because he cannot

 

and for a expansion , i expect to see more content that isn't repeating itself and variety

 

We can't always rely on modders to do content for us , it would be better to have it from BIS to give us something that shows quality and care

 

remember OA expansion? that kind of stuff 

 

OA was pure content, right? Or did that expansion add a real gamechanger? I actually can't remember. I'd also love to see more rather than less new assets. But I side with the current PR Arma-as-a-Platform stuff and put features over assets. I still believe they will deliver some quality content, even if it is not in the same scale as in OA. But even without the countless platform iterations, the return on investment is still unbeaten. I've put in ~45€ since alpha and got over 2.200 hours of playtime. Not to mention the two free Extended Edition copies I received as MANW finalist.

 

Anyway, I hope they will actually develop some futuristic functionality if they continue in this 2030s scenario and not only fancy looking assets using 80s tech.

[chortles 263]

A very wishful thinking mate , this a modern BIS that we are talking about , they are not that productive as they were before

 

so you can expect a very little from them , that's my advice

 

We will be lucky if we get less copy paste stuff and less reskins

On the other hand, as the CUP guys can and have pointed out, some Arma 2 content is basically copied/pasted from ArmA and OA's content included its own share of reskins (both of stuff debuting in OA and of A2 stuff) whereas Arma 3 content seems to have proportionately more new-to-the-series models, the AAF Reinforcements Pack being the only exception that comes to mind.

What en3x describes seems to come into play -- quality vs. quantity is an actual thing -- and is probably what Maruk meant by "The library of content present in Arma 2 is simply overwhelming, and in hindsight might not be commercially justifiable for a single game." Then again this was stated right at Arma 3's launch, so who knows how their priorities or ability to deliver has changed now that they don't have to meet a 1.0 release deadline.

On the other hand, what sticks out to me is that type-wise the so-far confirmed vehicles -- LSV, VTOL, jetski, light aircraft -- don't overlap with existing A3 types (I doubt that team leadership particularly cares about negative comparisons to how those types except for the jetski were in A2) and thus address a gameplay gap. Devblogs on the Helicopters and Marksmen DLCs indicated that they were particular about the added vehicles and weapons fitting into particular niches and to flesh out the factions (i.e. bringing "true" heavy lift to the game, not least ).

OA was pure content, right? Or did that expansion add a real gamechanger? I actually can't remember.

It was such a gamechanger that these days most don't remember the original Arma 2... because it was in OA that such features debuted as FLIR simulation, backpacks, dual-mode optics, a changed vehicle HUD, the "point and click" artillery computer (OA v1.54)but also the ability to command indirect fire, revised keybind defaults, zeroing, (feigned) helicopter component damage, improvements to High Command... it was quite a lot.

Note that these were not backported to the original Arma 2, which is why the Combined Operations install basically became "Arma 2" as far as most people were concerned, especially after DayZ (a mod which, like many if not most as of early 2012, required CO). Arma 3's DLC Strategy instead has had all DLC-accompanying features added to the base game, therefore by design Apex -- delivered as a Steam DLC -- will continue in this vein.

[IndeedPete 1038]

On the other hand, what sticks out to me is that type-wise the so-far confirmed vehicles -- LSV, VTOL, jetski, light aircraft -- don't overlap with existing A3 types (I doubt that team leadership particularly cares about negative comparisons to how those types except for the jetski were in A2) and thus address a gameplay gap. Devblogs on the Helicopters and Marksmen DLCs indicated that they were particular about the added vehicles and weapons fitting into particular niches and to flesh out the factions (i.e. bringing "true" heavy lift to the game, not least ).

It was such a gamechanger that these days most don't remember the original Arma 2... because it was in OA that such features debuted as FLIR simulation, backpacks, dual-mode optics, a changed vehicle HUD, the "point and click" artillery computer (OA v1.54)but also the ability to command indirect fire, revised keybind defaults, zeroing, (feigned) helicopter component damage, improvements to High Command... it was quite a lot.

 

Ah, okay. I took a break after vanilla Arma 2 and bought OA on budget some time post release. Hence I didn't notice anything aside from the backpacks. Good call from BI, I can see how today's DLC and development strategy developed from OA.

[Wiki 1558]

A new island, a new faction and a good story driven campaign is all i need.

Agreed.

Plus fastrope

[[evo] dan 79]

Agreed.

Plus fastrope

and taking proper advantage of physx this time (no flipping tanks, walkable decks etc)

[chortles 263]

Ah, okay. I took a break after vanilla Arma 2 and bought OA on budget some time post release. Hence I didn't notice anything aside from the backpacks. Good call from BI, I can see how today's DLC and development strategy developed from OA.

I'm pretty certain that the change stems from development branch taking the place of the old beta patches, stable branch's admittedly console-style enforced game updates taking the place of the old 'regular' patches, and Bohemia's use of the Steam DLC system for delivering the paid content. With all three bases covered via Steamworks, I'd dare suggest that the only reason for a developer or publisher to need a standalone expansion (as opposed to choosing to do one) is if the developer is somehow unable to implement the intended features into the original game.

[DJankovic 401]

Well tanoa is announced like 5 months ago :) we could get some new wip images or teaser of the new update :)