Age and Arma 3

[DieselJC 196]

So I was talking to a younger guy today that makes missions for a few people on Fri and Sat nights and I mentioned to him about using more of the CUP Maps and the Cold War Maps..he says he doesnt really like them because they don't match the quality of the new Maps like Tanoa and Altis..and the new Malden coming out. Now I like the older Maps..in fact I would rather play on those than Altis or Stratis and the thought occurred to me that after all the years I've been playing Arma from way back in the OFP era that alot of us "older guys" (I'm over 50) don't pay as much attention to alot of things the younger crowd does..like Map quality and all the hype about getting 60Fps on every map and even about the bugs that Arma has..I find it funny and odd at the same time that most of us Old Guys would just rather focus on the gameplay itself rather than Maps and Fps and all the little bugs in the game..maybe its because we grew up in a different era..my first introduction to any kind of "video game" was "Pong" back in 1975..and we didn't even have it..our family had a friend that had it. Maybe its just that we old guys see all this new stuff as being more amazing and are a bit "awestruck" by it, where as the younger crowd basically grew up with this kind of technology and expect more from it. Just curious what everyone's thoughts are on this.

 

 

Diesel

[Rich_R 1087]

It seems I'm in the same age bracket as you, @DieselJC and understand what you're saying about a gamer's age weighing on what they expect from a game. Those who haven't played older titles missed out on gamers having to use their imagination to make up for non-HD textures and low poly-counts. I was a diehard Ghost Recon (original title) player and remember thinking I had entered a new age of gaming with its swaying trees. Maybe this why I roll my eyes when reading complaints about the FREE aircraft carrier not having enough rooms or hangers. My thought is, its huge, it looks great and its free....simply wow.

 

The same can be said for gamers who freak at the first error message they find, refusing to work out why they got it, instead, running to the forums complaining or worse, expect others to run and around and fix it for them. Admittedly, this is less common with Arma as the game tends to attract a more mature player-base. However, I would love to throw those that do into the MS-Dos Windows 3.1 environment where installing a game meant setting IRQ's and the like :)

 

But I think maps tend to be a playing-style preference over age.Personally I like them large with enough clutter and mountains to sneak through to allow for stealthy inserts or long-distance strike missions.If small, lots of buildings to recreate and play through every urban combat movie we've seen or battle we've read about. Others like enterable buildings, (reference the big flap when not all of Tanoa's were) while others are all about the performance. When managing Arma groups I was always surprised at what made one map special to some while it was just a different place for a mission for others. The players would range from 14 to older than myself with mission types seemingly being the common factor.

 

I must admit, enjoy finding people not only trying to resurrect the older maps, but players getting excited to see them reintroduced.

 

Great topic!

 

[dmarkwick 261]

Same age, and yes :)

 

I like the new maps, but I don't like them to the exclusion of the older ones, the environments are the thing. Chenarus, Sahrani, Falluja all offer different environments and new landcapes to overcome. Honestly I don't really notice any serious quality difference between them, I'm usually too wrapped up in the situation. Plus, I believe ArmA3's rendering & lighting engine improves the look of the older maps in any case.

 

I wonder if your friend's opinion is really based on usage or is an opinion based on assumption or maybe a single bad experience that maybe he was waiting for? :)

[grzegorz 33]

DieselJC and Rich_R

 

You're telling the truth.

This is the fight  and the difference of generations. vs

When we fought in the war (OFP) the children were brought up without proper care.

 

Island Malden 2035 - OMG. Greeks colonized the island.

 

Spoiler

For me this version (Malden 2035) of the island is a profanation of history (OFP). Many former OFP players no longer want these "old" maps. Even Chernarus (A2). I like CUP map versions and other projects by different creators, but they are heavy to use. I mean the problem with optimization on the A3 engine. Of course, I thank the CUP community and other organizations for your work. You do what you can. They have not surrendered yet. They are still fighting.

I invite you to a sentimental journey Everon

 

 

 

[krycek 349]

Well I'm 32 but I'm still a sucker for Chernarus(by now it's an obsession with this map for me) or Sahrani, not to mention when I load up Malden,Nogova,Kolgujev or Everon I get hit by a high-speed memory(melancholy?) train.

Just last week I was cruising around CUP Nogova remembering all the battles and scenarios I had, or just visiting ol' Guba's villa on Kolgujev.

I admit I'm wearing my nostalgia glasses pretty proud with the older islands, but I still think Chernarus beats Altis and Stratis.There is an exception here and that is Tanoa,I believe BI managed to capture the old feeling with this map.

[RforRush 6]

Main problem with old maps is not graphic quality, but very small amount of objects and general smoothness of the terrain. This means there are simply too few places to cover from enemy fire. In Arma 3 we have much larger engagement distances and this makes gameplay on old maps (OFP islands in particular) very plain.

[SpacePilotMax 47]

Personally I only like the Altis and Stratis terrains because they're vanilla and everybody has those, so if you make a mission, it's more acessible. They also fit in with the 2035 theme, which I like.

[Imperator[TFD] 444]

7 hours ago, RforRush said:

Main problem with old maps is not graphic quality, but very small amount of objects and general smoothness of the terrain. This means there are simply too few places to cover from enemy fire. In Arma 3 we have much larger engagement distances and this makes gameplay on old maps (OFP islands in particular) very plain.

 

This is the biggest factor as to why I now prefer the newer A3 terrains over the older ones.

 

Dont get me wrong I loved Cherno, Taki, etc at the time spending thousands of hours there but the age of these maps is well and truly showing.  Detail of the height maps, villages and soundscapes are just subpar now compared to the new terrains.

 

Infantry fighting in particular on Altis, Stratis, Tanoa and soon Malden are just leagues ahead of what those old maps could ever offer

 

[FallujahMedic -FM- 867]

43 here.

Started with OFP when I got the Demo disc with an issue of PC Gamer. I too find that there is a huge disconnect between the veteran (read Old) players and the new ones. I recently heard someone say that their game was "unplayable" at 40 FPS... Really? The eye needs what 12 FPS to see motion? So, anything above that is good in my book   I hear others say the graphics are terrible... you know what son, I grew up playing text adventures like Zork and Planetfall, those had NO graphics and were still awesome. I still play the previous titles and find myself thinking that new players sure could learn a lot about gameplay (and Arma) by playing them. They've never had to trek across the island with no map and no light, having to dead reckon only using the stars. They've not sat under a bush for 30 min waiting to cross a road in an attempt to escape unseen. They don't understand the struggles of the "one save" or the dread of seeing the "death quotes" (War is not nice" -Barbara Bush). 

These days I play with Icebreakr and his clan as an honourary member of SBP. Most are older and we play well as a team. Cooperation is probably the best way to describe their defining value, more so than teamwork. Teamwork sounds too much like work to me. As a military veteran, the last thing I want to do is play like real life again. Having a drink of some kind is almost mandatory for us. Our missions are interspersed with burps, farts, fridge runs for more beer and the inevitable toilet breaks. I can't think of an evening where we didn't/don't have fun. We get up to our share of antics as well, like UAZ racing, Ski-jump olympics (with vehicles...the Kamysh really flies) and other feats of daring do. Though we've never met, we are all good friends. I know that if I ever made the trip to Slovenia, we'd have one hell of a good time. 

[R0adki11 3949]

18 minutes ago, FallujahMedic -FM- said:

They've never had to trek across the island with no map and no light, having to dead reckon only using the stars. They've not sat under a bush for 30 min waiting to cross a road in an attempt to escape unseen. They don't understand the struggles of the "one save" or the dread of seeing the "death quotes" (War is not nice" -Barbara Bush). 

That mission was a classic one on Kolgujev, though i took a different route. I stole a BMP and drove back to base .

 

I too started playing OFP with the demo i got on PC Gamer, and ive been hooked ever since playing every BIS OFP/Arma game to date. To put things into perspective with the Age and Arma 3, im 33 and the youngest member in my PvP Group called FUSION. Pretty much every member has played in the same group since OFP.

 

And as much as Arma3 is great with its fancy graphics etc, OFP:Resistance will be always the game i will compare it to. Nogova will always be one of my favourite islands. 

 

 

[bludski 4421]

Danger close to 40 here. I started making maps over a year ago because really tired of the old ones and the new ones, though really good, don't cover my areas of interest very well...

 

My legs are in both camps. I prefer my computer to run as close to 60fps as possible because it strains my eyes less but it is no must.

Anything above 40 is enough for me. Back in the end of the 90s I completed quake on a 486 with 13-25fps. I usually pay a little extra, pc wise to get some headroom though and my computers are also used for creation.

 

Personally I always liked to be able to turn arma graphics up as far as they went and after a3 1.6 update I can't use arma2 content anymore cause quality issues.

 

My biggest wish right now from arma is to get the Dayz SA version of chernarus as a dlc. I'd pay top dollar for that! 

 

Basically I was somewhat ok with the arma 2 artwork before apex but now they hurt to look at cause I also play other new games once in a while.

 

ftr my first game of the series was ofp but only started playing seriously (mp) in a2.

[bars91 956]

I'm 25, but i'm so used to OFP maps after 12+ years of milsimming, that I can boot up CUP/CWR2 Nogova and blast away.

 

Grew up playing Half-Life, Ghost Recon, Rainbow Six Rogue Spear, Soldiers of Anarchy, Delta Force BHD, Joint Ops, BF1942, MoH AA, CoD1 etc etc.

So I guess player's age isn't as relevant as his/her gaming experience.