Was Arma 2 more popular ?

[gibonez 18]

Simple question do you think Arma 2 was a more popular game with a higher player count and a larger community ?

 

Or has Arma 3 eclipsed Arma 2s community due to the popularity of Several Arma 2 mods?

[JojoTheSlayer 35]

Latter, but the amount of exMil or currently serving type gamers was a larger part of the community before.

[R0adki11 3949]

Simple question do you think Arma 2 was a more popular game with a higher player count and a larger community ?

 

Or has Arma 3 eclipsed Arma 2s community due to the popularity of Several Arma 2 mods?

Personally i would say OFP was more popular than Arma2, though couldn't be sure if its more popular than Arma3.

[gibonez 18]

Personally i would say OFP was more popular than Arma2, though couldn't be sure if its more popular than Arma3.

 

I was a kid back when I played OFP but the one thing I do remember was the sheer amount of Addons that were constantly coming out. While the mods might have not been as ambitious as say CUP or ACE, the sheer quantity of them makes me believe OFP was a huge hit.

 

 

 

 

Also I do notice by an large the Mil sim communities have not migrated towards Arma3, most of the servers I see are KOTH, LIFE, EXILE, whereas in Arma 2 it was mostly mil sim servers who operated their own pubs with their own custom missions be it CO-OP or TVT.

[St. Jimmy 272]

Simple question do you think Arma 2 was a more popular game with a higher player count and a larger community ?

 

Or has Arma 3 eclipsed Arma 2s community due to the popularity of Several Arma 2 mods?

 

The "community" burst (well it wasn't really a community burst, just players looking to play DayZ) happened pretty much in the "end life" of Arma 2. DayZ pretty much just expanded that a bit.

 

I was a kid back when I played OFP but the one thing I do remember was the sheer amount of Addons that were constantly coming out. While the mods might have not been as ambitious as say CUP or ACE, the sheer quantity of them makes me believe OFP was a huge hit.

 

 

 

 

Also I do notice by an large the Mil sim communities have not migrated towards Arma3, most of the servers I see are KOTH, LIFE, EXILE, whereas in Arma 2 it was mostly mil sim servers who operated their own pubs with their own custom missions be it CO-OP or TVT.

Things are just buried under the huge amount of KotH, Life, Exile, Wasteland, etc. servers. There really weren't THAT many even in Arma 2. Before DayZ you could find that stuff way more easily.

[Rhod747 3]

I think Arma 3 suffered greatly due to it being released as early access. I bought the game the day it came out, and years of frustration just waiting for mods to add real world vehicles and factions bugged the hell out of me (I seriously disliked the 'future' vehicles for NATO, using the same model (the chassis) for so many vehicles just felt lazy). I only just started seriously playing again thanks to mods like RHS.

 

I think both Arma 2 and 3 have their own unique feel and at the end of the day, some prefer Arma 2 and some prefer Arma 3. Personally I won't ever go back to 2.

[nodunit 397]

I'd have to say Arma 2 was more popular for several reasons, not just the community explosion in the life/dayz/wasteland scenario's but it was also that sweet spot where addon creators had experience from Arma 1 and were feeling more experimental (and weren't quite at the age where life demanded their attention elsewhere), this meant less in the way of reskins and more in the way of brand new models, textures, the works.  It was also the expansion with the most innovative number of addons that pushed the envelope in their particular fields.

Arma 3 is playing catch up but time has also taken its toll.  A lot of people have moved on, started families, furthered their careers, went on to other things, and its taken a while for new people to learn the reigns but we're getting there.
Arma 3 also has the most potential thus far because the developers are doing things that we needed addons for before.  Complex infantry movement? locking cameras? More dynamics in audio? Better AI? Firing from vehicles?  and so on.
 

[StillCantRunUphill 0]

(I seriously disliked the 'future' vehicles for NATO, using the same model (the chassis) for so many vehicles just felt lazy).

I really hated this about Arma 3. It did seriously feel like the futuristic setting was chosen to allow shortcuts for content e.g. OPFOR and BLUFOR using the same AT and AA missile launchers and the Cheetah and Tigris both having the exact same turret or how about the Kamysh, Gorgon and Mora using the exact same cannon with the exact same shell loadout. 

 

It was preferable having the modern setting of Arma 1 and 2 with contemporary weapons and vehicles.

 

Also, even 15 years later, still can't run uphill.

[almanzo 144]

In sheer numbers, I'm pretty sure ARMA III has more popularity. The percentage of milsim players is probably much, much lower but I still think there is more of us today than there ever was before. But I agree that OFP most likely was more popular than ARMA II, OFP is by far the most criticly acclaimed in the series as well, having won several game of the year awards.

[dmarkwick 261]

If you're after finger-in-the-air estimates, I might guess that A3 is more popular in terms of sales, being that it's a Steam-centric game and is often on sale. I'm sure there are lots of Steam users who will buy up sale games if they look halfway decent because, well, why not? :)

 

As for whether they are playing A3, not much idea. I'm sure though that most people who liked ArmA2 have purchased ArmA3 even if it was only upon porting of older content.

[gossamersolid 155]

Arma 3 is way more popular, don't kid yourselves people.

The reason that there's less addons out there is that it takes way more time to make a quality arma 3 asset compared to Arma 2 (and Ofp). People are forgetting how simple configs and models/textures used to be. It has nothing to do with the popularity of the game.

[target_practice 163]

If you want the number of players, check the respective steamspy page for each game. Although it only counts steam players and subsequently does not represent owners of boxed copies (save for Arma 3), it probably still gives a decent impression of their relative player counts.

 

For instance, Arma 3 has just under 2.3 million players whereas OA has 3.4 million. Arma 3, however, has almost 4 times as many active players.

[chortles 263]

It did seriously feel like the futuristic setting was chosen to allow shortcuts for content

Ehhhh... based on dev interviews Arma 3 originated from the repurposing of a different game that was even further-out from authentic -- i.e. the Mediterranean setting was chosen for that game and thus reused for Arma 3 -- plus what gossamersolid said re: artists (modelers, texturers, etc.) applies to devs too and not just addon makers.

[lexx 1364]

I was a kid back when I played OFP but the one thing I do remember was the sheer amount of Addons that were constantly coming out. While the mods might have not been as ambitious as say CUP or ACE, the sheer quantity of them makes me believe OFP was a huge hit.

 

Keep in mind that modding such stuff was easier back in the days. Today you can't just make a few boxes, slap textures on them and done. The technology advanced in all areas. Vehicle configurations / scripts, all this physics stuff, more animations, more texture work, etc. It does require some more deeper knowledge if you want your stuff to look good and be on the level of the vanilla content.

[ProfTournesol 956]

Keep in mind that modding such stuff was easier back in the days. Today you can't just make a few boxes, slap textures on them and done.

 

Lol, you never modded for OFP, right ? A few boxes ?

 

But yes, modding was/is easier than for ArmA3, no doubt.

[mistyronin 1181]

My two cents:

OFP was a huge success, it got a lot of public traction. The game added something that had not been seen before in the videogame world, the mil-sim sandbox. 

The Arma series already had a huge long-made fan community, and that was increased when DayZ was released (tho that mod attracted a whole new and particular audience, less interested in mil-sim).

With Arma 3 it's a bit weird. It took years to get popular, mainly until modern stuff made it in-game through mods, as the vanilla setting didn't seem to attract many people. But I think Arma 3 will get its big boom with Apex, as it will surely attract a lot of different audiences (from mil-sim fans, to survival fans, and obviously the Sims-Life fans). 

[Janez 531]

From a quality, public multiplayer point of view, I would say that Arma 1 was most popular.

[Wiki 1558]

IMHO, ArmA 2 was more popular than ArmA 3.

But I think things are changing, and we'll have a big boom after Apex is released.

But that's just a guess.

[gibonez 18]

If you're after finger-in-the-air estimates, I might guess that A3 is more popular in terms of sales, being that it's a Steam-centric game and is often on sale. I'm sure there are lots of Steam users who will buy up sale games if they look halfway decent because, well, why not? :)

 

As for whether they are playing A3, not much idea. I'm sure though that most people who liked ArmA2 have purchased ArmA3 even if it was only upon porting of older content.

 

Even in this regard Arma 2 might have more sales.

 

Take this example for instance I owned Arma 2 CO both from the Bohemia store and from steam thus I double dipped on the same game. I am probably one of many who have so the true sales numbers might be substantially higher for Arma 2.

 

Especially post day z.

[Rich_R 1087]

Although I played the earlier games, Arma 2 was the title to get me addicted to the series (operation Arrowhead to be precise) and at that time I read a lot of thoughts saying;

 

• Earlier games were more more popular
• Players were losing interest with Arma 2
• BI had lost their way with Arma 2

 

Even remember many staying with the previous titles instead of moving onto Arma 2 so I found it funny when the same. stuff came up about Arma 3. I had more skin in the game at that point having played and enjoyed Arma 2 for years by the time 3 came along, I couldn't understand the gripes and complaints. Arma 3 was superior in many ways. While I agreed current day is better than the path of tomorrow's military BI chose, I also knew this is one of the more modded titles out there and the stuff would come, as again BI gave everyone a blank piece of paper with their game engine.

 

Agree with @lexx and @ProfTournesol the more advanced gaming engine has made modding a little more challenging.

 

@gibonez nailed a challenge with calculating and comparing sales numbers on the head.Between switching over to steam and other twists, I bought Arma 2 several times :)

 

I liked the approach Target_practice took and it makes sense.

 

It was just reported this is going to be huge year for FPS in the PC gaming world, so Arma 3 will face some challenges, but at the end of the day anyone who wants a milsim without being funneled through a path of gameplay, they will always come back to Arma 3. Maybe the Tanoa will show everyone who's been away what they're missing?

[Guest]

More than 2 years and 6 months after its release, Arma is still in Steam's 15th more played games. (playing now / today's peak / game name), fighting with The Division, an AAA game with an heavy communication campaign. Arma 2 is (today) 49th with ~6000 players.

And Apex is not even actually teased.

[I give up 152]

Hell, people went crazy or what?

In first place there is no such thing as military simulator, at least for the majority of the users, ARMA never was or is a military simulator, at max is tactical shooter.

How do you simulate a freakin assault rifle when all that you have is a mouse and keyboard? Are you kidding?

When we speak about a racing sim, yes we can simulate it, just grab a game like AC or RF, get a wheel, some pedals heck you can even have a nice seat with bumpers and yes, you will have a nice racing simulator.

But when we speak about military, where the heck the sim word fits? Are you all crazy?

Do you know what is a military simulator? Do you want to know what is a military simulator, go at Fort Skill and there you have a freakin Stinger simulator. All the rest are dreams from those who dont have a clue about what is military.

 

About Arma , yes was a successful franchise over the last decade, mainly because the freakin middle east war made everyone have the feeling like a I am warrior for the freedom. Give me a taliban or an insurgent and I will smoke it.

And also because it was an innovation in matters of platform for these matters.

These days are different where  the war sh1t is over and everyone hates it. The current generation lives on social network where the fake, web made, fictional profile rules as a matter of personal affirmation towards the real world.

That's why Life Mod is so popular, in several aspects is very close to facebook, twitter or some similar sh1t, at end is just some virtual life.

And Virtual Life is what the today's generation seeks. Im loved in the web, I am greatest.

That's why, if I was a BIS dev, I would drop ARMA 3 and I would start a new brand new platform where the LIFE lovers could interact with the Military lovers, maybe taking as example the freakin Take on Mars for a start, where both communities could interact in the construction of a new world.

[Beagle 684]

By now, the player count in MilSim and Warfare CTI scenarios is bigger in ArmA II then it is in ArmA III. I still play ArmA II a lot simply because CTI "warfare" works way better there and the playerbase is bigger at any given time of the day.

[lexx 1364]

Lol, you never modded for OFP, right ? A few boxes ?

 

It's the principle. "A few boxes" is an overexaggeration, but you get the point. If you don't, then I probably can't help it.

[ProfTournesol 956]

"A few boxes" is an overexaggeration.

You're right.