Is BIS going to still developing Arma 3 after Tanks DLC?

[beno_83au 1369]

9 hours ago, ProfTournesol said:

but i wouldn't still be here 16 years after OFP still playing an Arma game if this was another 'finished' fast food game.

 

Been my favorite game since the OFP demo. I also remember how ArmA 3 was in the beginning and how many problems there have been throughout its progress, and I've enjoyed it all the way. As has been said, it just keeps getting better and better. The only other games I've spent anywhere near as much time in as I have ArmA3 would be the USNF and Civilisation series (and i still play Civ 5).

[BroBeans. 279]

Buying Arma 3 in pre release was by far the best christmas present i gifted myself. Being a massive OFP fan from the start, i put in over 1000 hours before the 'full-game' even dropped. How you interpret and make use of early access is up to you. However saying that no game should ever be released in alpha again is small minded. 

It allows for quicker development and bug finding. 

 

DayZ is a poor example. a lot went on behind the scenes that delayed and delayed the project. 

Arma 3 Alpha was awesome fun, and it was updated frequently and before long we had access to all the assets and features. 

 

I can't wait to see what the new engine brings us. Although from what I've seen it still has a lot of work before it could handle such a feat as Arma 4.

[stburr91 1002]

It does seem as if Tanks will be the last DLC/meaningful update to A3.

 

That leads us to the this question, how long can the community remain intact playing a four year old game if there is no new development?

 

I'm not sure the community will stay intact more than 1-2 years after Tanks. If Arma 4 is three or more years out, Arma will have to hope it can entice the community to come back.  

 

Needless to say it would be much better to release A4 while the community is still intact, rather than having to rebuild your base back up.   

[BroBeans. 279]

1 hour ago, stburr91 said:

It does seem as if Tanks will be the last DLC/meaningful update to A3.

 

That leads us to the this question, how long can the community remain intact playing a four year old game if there is no new development?

 

I'm not sure the community will stay intact more than 1-2 years after Tanks. If Arma 4 is three or more years out, Arma will have to hope it can entice the community to come back.  

 

Needless to say it would be much better to release A4 while the community is still intact, rather than having to rebuild your base back up.   

 

Idk about anyone else, but i look forward to 3rd party creations much more than Official DLCs. With apex as an exception. 

 

Nothing changes as far as I'm concerned. I still play the game to play the game. Not to wait for new DLC's.

[Hamakaze 142]

8 hours ago, stburr91 said:

It does seem as if Tanks will be the last DLC/meaningful update to A3.

 

That leads us to the this question, how long can the community remain intact playing a four year old game if there is no new development?

 

I'm not sure the community will stay intact more than 1-2 years after Tanks. If Arma 4 is three or more years out, Arma will have to hope it can entice the community to come back.  

 

Needless to say it would be much better to release A4 while the community is still intact, rather than having to rebuild your base back up.   

 

The amount of people in the ArmA community that i've seen who have been around since the original OFP and the earlier arma games was surprising at first but when you delve into the amount of community made content available it becomes apparent as to why they've hung around. Me and my friends have enough missions and mods to keep us entertained for a few years atleast and with new mods and updates to the existing ones happening regularly i dont see that changing.

 

From what i've seen ArmA's versatility helps keep the community around much longer than most games.

[R0adki11 3949]

9 hours ago, stburr91 said:

It does seem as if Tanks will be the last DLC/meaningful update to A3.

 

That leads us to the this question, how long can the community remain intact playing a four year old game if there is no new development?

 

I'm not sure the community will stay intact more than 1-2 years after Tanks. If Arma 4 is three or more years out, Arma will have to hope it can entice the community to come back.  

 

Needless to say it would be much better to release A4 while the community is still intact, rather than having to rebuild your base back up.   

You don't need t worry about the community staying intact, there is a high number of members who have been playing BIS games since Operation Flashpoint. Personally i have been playing since the OFP Demo back when it was released in 2001 

[KeyCat 131]

On den 23 september 2017 at 11:11 PM, wiki said:

However, BIS will work on their next engine - and when it's ready, work on ArmA 4.

 

Hopefully BIS are using Vulcan in the next engine and release a native Linux version so I can ditch Windows! Vulcan works on Windows as well so it would be win-win.

 

Been a Windows user since Windows 3.0 and IMO MS is heading in the wrong direction with W10. W7 is still the best Windows version ever made.

 

[Hamakaze 142]

21 hours ago, KeyCat said:

 

Hopefully BIS are using Vulcan in the next engine and release a native Linux version so I can ditch Windows! Vulcan works on Windows as well so it would be win-win.

 

Been a Windows user since Windows 3.0 and IMO MS is heading in the wrong direction with W10. W7 is still the best Windows version ever made.

 

 

I have windows 10 and in hindsight i wish i'd stayed with 7

[R0adki11 3949]

23 hours ago, KeyCat said:

 

Hopefully BIS are using Vulcan in the next engine and release a native Linux version so I can ditch Windows! Vulcan works on Windows as well so it would be win-win.

 

Been a Windows user since Windows 3.0 and IMO MS is heading in the wrong direction with W10. W7 is still the best Windows version ever made.

 

BIS have already confirmed that they are developing Enfusion, which is what Dayz is now using.

[KeyCat 131]

1 hour ago, R0adki11 said:

BIS have already confirmed that they are developing Enfusion, which is what Dayz is now using.

 

I'm aware of that but I haven't seen any info about Enfusion are based on Vulkan instead of DX11/DX12.

 

Vulkan is a GPU API just like DX12 but it works on Linux as well as Windows and have similar features. Vulkan will make things much easier to offer a Windows and a Linux version of the game, win-win IMO.

 

If you have a nVidia GPU you probably have Vulkan support already.

 

 

[Hamakaze 142]

I was under the impression Enfusion would use DX12...

 

In my mind any future game in the ArmA series would use Enfusion or a variation of it since it would be a waste to use it on DayZ and nothing else and i look forward to seeing how it progresses.

[esfumato 75]

On 29/9/2017 at 2:07 AM, Hamakaze said:

I was under the impression Enfusion would use DX12...

 

In my mind any future game in the ArmA series would use Enfusion or a variation of it since it would be a waste to use it on DayZ and nothing else and i look forward to seeing how it progresses.

 

For me Enfusion is not a new engine... is just a modification of the engine they use right now... nothing special about it.

[PuFu 4600]

32 minutes ago, esfumato said:

For me Enfusion is not a new engine... is just a modification of the engine they use right now... nothing special about it.

and unreal 4 is not a new engine either, is unreal 3 with some cosmetics yeah? same for unity, Cry, source etc etc etc, right?

[chrisb 196]

Never liked A3 much, but that was more down to available mods for ai.

 

I don't think A4 (if there is to be another in the series), will be as good as A2+dlc's and the right mods.

Yes A3, & no doubt A4, do/will look better and movement etc is/will be more advanced, although the A3 movement in early release was terrible (imo).

But A4 would have to go some to beat A2 (modded).

I also think A4 might be set in a different time, possibly the past (take your pick).

 

I will watch keenly the progress should there be a teaser/announcement or whatever. But graphics have never really been my thing, just good gameplay and a very good 'advanced' ai system. Give me that and I'm happy. But I'm fairly sure the ai part of that, is no longer going to happen for any vanilla game, in this series. Focus has gone right over to mp, which is a great shame.

 

Anyway, the series has given me uncountable hours of enjoyment over a great number of years, so I remain a fan and always will. But I'll only spend again, if its worth it.

There-again, if it is moddable and has an editor, chances are, it'll be worth it. ;)

[esfumato 75]

3 hours ago, PuFu said:

and unreal 4 is not a new engine either, is unreal 3 with some cosmetics yeah? same for unity, Cry, source etc etc etc, right?

 

Of course but those engines have enough improvements to give the feeling that you are playing new games.

 

With BIS engine you only get 3D models with higer poly count, tectures with higher resolution... and the same primitive server game lobby and the scroll mouse menu to choose actions...

They have changed that in DAYZ finally!

[R0adki11 3949]

4 hours ago, esfumato said:

 

For me Enfusion is not a new engine... is just a modification of the engine they use right now... nothing special about it.

 

You may not realise but it is a Brand new engine, it was developed for take on mars.

 

Quote

With BIS engine you only get 3D models with higer poly count, tectures with higher resolution...

 

 

Which are all great improvements, or do you not like them?

Quote

and the same primitive server game lobby

Personally i have no issue with server lobby, it works fine.

 

Quote

and the scroll mouse menu to choose actions...

You may not be aware but you can bind everything by keys now, that was changed before apex.

[FirstPanic 39]

Well... I think it's definitely time for a new Arma.
Look on Arma 3 statistics.... 40% player lost since January (http://steamcharts.com/app/107410#1y). Player number is actually on 2014 level with a strong down trend.

A3 gave me hundreds of hours full of fun and I enjoyed every hour.... but now I must say that I've lost most of my motivation... mainly because of the update strategy. Most of the updates ended in not working mods or missions... which is absolutely frustrating.

I hope that Arma 4 will give a new push to the community... we need it.

 

FirstPanic

[AveryTheKitty 2626]

1 hour ago, FirstPanic said:

Well... I think it's definitely time for a new Arma.
Look on Arma 3 statistics.... 40% player lost since January (http://steamcharts.com/app/107410#1y). Player number is actually on 2014 level with a strong down trend.

A3 gave me hundreds of hours full of fun and I enjoyed every hour.... but now I must say that I've lost most of my motivation... mainly because of the update strategy. Most of the updates ended in not working mods or missions... which is absolutely frustrating.

I hope that Arma 4 will give a new push to the community... we need it.

 

FirstPanic

 

If mods don't work after updates it's the mod author's fault, not BI's. They had their chance to get mods ready, usually 1 month of dev branch and RC before an update.

 

Even then it takes time to configure certain functions, especially when your mod is exceptionally large like CUP or RHS.

[lex__1 422]

2 hours ago, Night515 said:

 

If mods don't work after updates it's the mod author's fault, not BI's. They had their chance to get mods ready, usually 1 month of dev branch and RC before an update.

 

Even then it takes time to configure certain functions, especially when your mod is exceptionally large like CUP or RHS.

Vanilla Arma 3 has more problems, than problems in MODs.
This situation remains for all lifetime of Arma 3. Often updates are released with problems in places where problems weren't.
- The first reason, Sad work on corrections is a main reason when players leave.
- The second reason, the Big saved-up problems - are replenished.
- The third reason, DEV\RC of the version of a game, don't provide with guarantee, from emergence of problems in Arma3 after updates.
Prospects:
- I don't see the assumptions that this approach, in the solution of problems, can change in the current project - Arma 3.  
- I don't see the assumptions that this approach, in the solution of problems, can change in the Arma 4 project.

 

I didn't have an urgent need, to come here to a forum, or to create the ticket for the Arma 1\2 project. Each update for Arma 1\2 was released seldom but there was no tendency of building of new problems.
For this reason, a part of players of Arma 1\2 remained to play Arma 2.

[stburr91 1002]

On 10/4/2017 at 3:48 PM, chrisb said:

Never liked A3 much, but that was more down to available mods for ai.

 

I don't think A4 (if there is to be another in the series), will be as good as A2+dlc's and the right mods.

Yes A3, & no doubt A4, do/will look better and movement etc is/will be more advanced, although the A3 movement in early release was terrible (imo).

But A4 would have to go some to beat A2 (modded).

I also think A4 might be set in a different time, possibly the past (take your pick).

 

I will watch keenly the progress should there be a teaser/announcement or whatever. But graphics have never really been my thing, just good gameplay and a very good 'advanced' ai system. Give me that and I'm happy. But I'm fairly sure the ai part of that, is no longer going to happen for any vanilla game, in this series. Focus has gone right over to mp, which is a great shame.

 

Anyway, the series has given me uncountable hours of enjoyment over a great number of years, so I remain a fan and always will. But I'll only spend again, if its worth it.

There-again, if it is moddable and has an editor, chances are, it'll be worth it. ;)

 

I agree, it would be difficult to go any further into the future, and remain a milsim game. It is likely that A4 will go back in time, the question is how far back.

 

 

4 hours ago, FirstPanic said:

Well... I think it's definitely time for a new Arma.
Look on Arma 3 statistics.... 40% player lost since January (http://steamcharts.com/app/107410#1y). Player number is actually on 2014 level with a strong down trend.

A3 gave me hundreds of hours full of fun and I enjoyed every hour.... but now I must say that I've lost most of my motivation... mainly because of the update strategy. Most of the updates ended in not working mods or missions... which is absolutely frustrating.

I hope that Arma 4 will give a new push to the community... we need it.

 

FirstPanic

 

 

Interesting, I didn't know steam had that kind of data available to the public. The data confirms my belief that the base is contracting, that's not at all surprising with a game that is 4.5 years old. This is why I hope A4 is already well under development, and we are only 2 years from a beta release. While I don't think the core of the Arma base will abandon the series, the base is clearly shrinking already, and if A4 is 3-4 years out, there will be a lot of rebuilding of the player base needed. 

[Fanatic72 181]

I think its unavoidable that the playercount will be going down over time but there are a lot of players and communities that do not play the game to wait for new updates and DLCs but because its their hobby.

I will be playing ArmA 3 in two years as much as I do now because its my weekend hobby and no other game however new can beat it.

[esfumato 75]

10 hours ago, stburr91 said:

 

I agree, it would be difficult to go any further into the future, and remain a milsim game. It is likely that A4 will go back in time, the question is how far back.

 

 

 

 

Interesting, I didn't know steam had that kind of data available to the public. The data confirms my belief that the base is contracting, that's not at all surprising with a game that is 4.5 years old. This is why I hope A4 is already well under development, and we are only 2 years from a beta release. While I don't think the core of the Arma base will abandon the series, the base is clearly shrinking already, and if A4 is 3-4 years out, there will be a lot of rebuilding of the player base needed. 

 

If you put the graphic with information since release the community have been growing since the beginning.

 

Taling into  account that the most famous military MP mode is King of the Hill, that only allow players to smash inside a zone of the map, with a winning condition that only takes in consideration the raw amount of players inside the sectors and allow games with 40 vs 15 vs 15. wonderfull design...

 

Arma 3 is doing quite good, in my opinion.

 

Compare with this one....

http://steamcharts.com/app/221100

 

Arma 3 appears as number 23 on the most played games...

 

Player unknow's battlegrounds... don't know how BIS let that escape...

[Rich_R 1087]

I enjoy reading how perfect Arma 2 was and it never broke anything....lol. Lost count how many weekends the group I belonged to during those days would turn up and half the members didn’t update their game (no steam) or one of the mods didn’t work anymore.

 

We did what most do now, work around it and play the game;)

 

While I’m looking forward to see what shape Arma 4 will take, I’m more than happy with what I’ve got in 3.

 

Players come and they go, with big titles such as PUBG and the other current stuff, the numbers will fall. 

 

Theyll be back. They always come back.

 

Arma is a cruel mistress, but adddictive.

[stburr91 1002]

11 hours ago, esfumato said:

 

If you put the graphic with information since release the community have been growing since the beginning.

 

Taling into  account that the most famous military MP mode is King of the Hill, that only allow players to smash inside a zone of the map, with a winning condition that only takes in consideration the raw amount of players inside the sectors and allow games with 40 vs 15 vs 15. wonderfull design...

 

Arma 3 is doing quite good, in my opinion.

 

Compare with this one....

http://steamcharts.com/app/221100

 

Arma 3 appears as number 23 on the most played games...

 

Player unknow's battlegrounds... don't know how BIS let that escape...

 

 

Well I certainly not saying that Arma is imploding,  the truth is Arma has had a good year, but there is no denying that there is an ugly downward trend recently, and that is with DLC content still being released. 

 

To reiterate, I'm not saying Arma is going to die, I'm saying that interest, and activity is going to get pretty lean if A4 is three, or more years out. 

 

I completely agree that the base will come back if A4 is done well (I personally think it will be) however, my main concern is that we are going to end up with a couple of pretty boring years waiting for A4 to be released. 

[FirstPanic 39]

On 7.10.2017 at 5:17 PM, stburr91 said:

 

 

Well I certainly not saying that Arma is imploding,  the truth is Arma has had a good year, but there is no denying that there is an ugly downward trend recently, and that is with DLC content still being released. 

 

To reiterate, I'm not saying Arma is going to die, I'm saying that interest, and activity is going to get pretty lean if A4 is three, or more years out. 

 

I completely agree that the base will come back if A4 is done well (I personally think it will be) however, my main concern is that we are going to end up with a couple of pretty boring years waiting for A4 to be released. 

 

Confirm the strong down trend... agan a big loss in player base in September 2017 (=> http://steamcharts.com/app/107410#1y) and also in DayZ (=> http://steamcharts.com/app/221100).

Actually I would say it was the worst year Arma 3 ever had... even they published some DLC.

Maybe it's because of Player Unknow's Battlegrounds... but I also see everywhere many annoyed scripter, modeller, mission builder etc. who are 100% frustrated about BIS.

For me absolutely understandable... I for myself also decided to spend my time somewhere else as I don't feel supported or valued.

Just my personal opinion... but when I look on the numbers I have the feeling that something is going wrong.

 

Well... I keep fingers crossed that A4 will not take 3-4 years.

 

FirstPanic