Arma 3 Third-Party DLC Pitch Discussion

[dragon01 902]

That's why I don't think it'll catch on. Unless you provide assets and a campaign (or at least a very good mission), nobody is going to buy new assets. A standalone campaign they might, although I don't think that most authors will allow use of their mods in a monetized campaign, effectively locking such a campaign to vanilla assets. Not that you can't make anything good with them. I suppose I could pay for something like Resist, if it was reasonably priced (by my country's standard, of course, so 5$ at most).

 

That said, paying for things is a hassle and getting paid for things can be an even bigger one. I'd rather keep mods free, getting money involved is a sure way to get a lot of bad blood in.

51 minutes ago, POLPOX said:

Huh? I thought Arma 3 Jets was created re-using assets from MODs. How about that? They replace F/A-18X Black Wasp with F/A-181 Black Wasp II isn't it?

Where did you hear that? Jets DLC assets were made from scratch by a professional studio. Yes, people from that studio made mods for ArmA3 before (mods which remain free, F/A-18X looks nothing like F/A-181, uninspired names notwithstanding). Other than that, there's no connection.

[POLPOX 778]

5 minutes ago, dragon01 said:

Where did you hear that? Jets DLC assets were made from scratch by a professional studio. Yes, people from that studio made mods for ArmA3 before (mods which remain free, F/A-18X looks nothing like F/A-181, uninspired name notwithstanding). Other than that, there's no connection.

They actually re-used their assets. It is Japanese though, my blog post will show you the connection.

[dragon01 902]

This is not "asset reuse". Source textures, maybe, perhaps some meshes were shared, but this is just a hallmark of those things being made by the same artist. Some of that can be attributed by the fact that the controls were based on what is used in real aircraft, but models and textures in the new jet are of noticeably higher quality. They are made in similar style, yes, but it is not reselling content that used to be free. That is an author who made a free mod also making a plane for the DLC. 

[semiconductor 309]

I have my doubts about it. It's hard enough to convince people to even install a free mod, let alone pay for it. Well, maybe it's possible to convince one or two guys to purchase a certain mod (which they may or may not like) but if you want to play with more than two people, forget it.

[ProfTournesol 956]

I'm curious to see how it will evolve, but i must say i'm not really convinced. Unless the next DLC, even community made, is a teaser of what we can expect in Arma4.

[kiory 405]

BI will have some hand in the QA department, developers would get extra tools (according to their statement) to further tweak and optimize and make their new addons the best they can be, and then BI will presumably step in, examine the work and assist with quality assurance, their own words.

 

All of this stuff will be DLC released under BI's name, do you honestly think they will be accepting and releasing any old crap? I don't think BI would take a gamble on something that wouldn't sell nor be popular, they're looking for actual quality work here, something that impresses them and something they can make a profit from and potentially work they would create themselves. Jets DLC must of been successful for them, otherwise this wouldn't even be a consideration, it's clearly worked and they're looking to expand their horizons and take us along for the ride, and it's about time too :).

 

I know for me personally, yea, I'll be taking a shot at this, and a lot of people will hate me for it, and anyone else that does it, consider us sellouts, which yes technically we would be, but I know for me personally, I'd love nothing more than to create addons for Arma all day and all night, but it's not financially viable.

 

With this on the horizon, well that has the potential to change that for me,  you're damn right I want to make money while doing my favourite thing,  money is what puts food in my belly, keeps a roof over my head, I don't have parents to pay my way and look after me anymore, I'm a big boy now.

[dragon01 902]

Quite frankly, you're the only person I can currently think of who could possibly take advantage of this. :) Hence why I mentioned Resist - it's on par with BI campaigns regarding quality, has great VA (best I've heard in an ArmA campaign), but also did cost money to make. This is a good option for SP campaigns striving for top quality and shipping with custom assets.

[bars91 956]

7 hours ago, xxgetbuck123 said:

I think we can all agree though, God forbid any 'Life' mod gets turned in a premium DLC. That would be the worst thing to ever come out of Arma. 

 

I will now shamelessly shit all over your lawn and state the obvious fact: LiFE/RTS/Battle Royale DLC would sell harder then sex, drugs or rock'n'roll )

 

Anyone with even a slightest insight in game industry already knows this.

Streamers would be all-over that stuff (see PUBG as a prime example).

[kiory 405]

1 hour ago, dragon01 said:

Quite frankly, you're the only person I can currently think of who could possibly take advantage of this. :) Hence why I mentioned Resist - it's on par with BI campaigns regarding quality, has great VA (best I've heard in an ArmA campaign), but also did cost money to make. This is a good option for SP campaigns striving for top quality and shipping with custom assets.

Hope you're not crediting me with work that wasn't mine, unless I read you completely wrong? 

I dunno, sounded a bit iffy, I had nothing to do with Resist, I was on the Epoch team at the time.

[armored_sheep 56]

16 hours ago, stburr91 said:

I asked if they will accept submissions for campaigns, maybe I missed it, but the question was not answered.

BI is developing Tac-Ops "Mission pack" DLC. We shall see how such premium content sells.

[dragon01 902]

Indeed, we'll see how it goes. I'd expect 3rd party stuff to be more like this and less like Tanks or Jets DLC.

7 hours ago, kiory said:

Hope you're not crediting me with work that wasn't mine, unless I read you completely wrong? 

Bah, that's what happens when you post in the middle of the night. You probably read that right, but this wasn't what I wanted to say. :) I wanted to mention Resist as an example of content that would be well suited for this program (by implication, you're going for the same level of quality), but for some reason I didn't think to actually mention Kydoimos. To think of it, if he ever gets around to making a sequel, that could be a good DLC material, too.

[M. Glade 524]

3 hours ago, armored_sheep said:

BI is developing Tac-Ops "Mission pack" DLC. We shall see how such premium content sells.

 

But Tac-Ops DLC isn't an SP campaign that is classical, with a long adapting story, and with numerous insights to a bigger story. If somehow you guys manage to wrap up the Altis / Stratis / Tanoa story in 3 missions I'd be very pleased, but people buy campaign games for the story not so much for the kill AI stuff we all know.

 

Anyway looking forward to it, and I think most people already have it bought in the DLC pack 2. 

 

@dragon01 Kydoimos already works for BI and has helped develop the Orange DLC. 

[jone_kone 158]

 

Even though I´m no big fan of the "future" theme. Vanilla Arma 3 is a pretty good basic foundation to continue building on. Also considering that any "Modern" DLC with realistic units would probably have to deal with licencing contracts etc.,continuing on the current path and expand on the current platform could have it´s benefits.

 

At the least someone could try to patch up the gaping holes in assets the Vanilla Arma still has. Things that should basically have been in the game since the beginning. e.g.

 

Marine Factions DLC  (with landing crafts for each faction and Marine infantry units (Opfor could finally get rid of the Alien helmets, and hey... Islands?) ).

 

Weapons DLC (with single shot light AT weapons and different faction specific statics and AA turrets and whatnot).

 

High Command RTS - DLC (zeus / high command -expansion: Play against players as Zeus but with limited resources and fog of war)

 

[[VW]Wrath 63]

On 30/10/2017 at 9:53 PM, PuFu said:

a side-question from me - since no one really makes content that actually fits armaverse anyways, does the "pitched" content needs to fit in this universe, it is advisable it does, or is it simply unimportant...

 

I was just wondering a similar thing and PuFu raises a very good point. Though all content is welcome to ArmA, it would seem a little weird to me if (for example) a submarines DLC, to feature U-boats sailing around in a world of gigantic nuclear submarines. 

 

The other question I have, is whether or not this initiative is aimed more at premium content or platform improvements? For instance, the C2: Command and Control mod could have a few items put into it as premium content but the mod is feature heavy, so would the entire community receive the platform update as well, or does the idea aim to expand ArmA's asset lists instead?

[Sgt Potter 54]

While I love the idea of continuing content update for Arma 3, I am worried what precedent this might set going forward. I am hesitant to throw this into the same boat as Bethesda's recent Paid mod integration into their games, but it does sound remarkably like it.

Do not mistake my hesitation for not wanting to see modder's paid for their work, I am all for it, proven previously when I commissioned a tank from Katie byrnes to be made as a mod for Arma 3. I very much believe modders should be paid for the quality content they provide, My hesitation falls down to a few questions on the forthcoming DLC program which I'm sure will be answered in due time, but I will ask nonetheless:

How much will the content creator gain from creating DLC for Bohemia? For instance, will it be a system where the Content creator is paid a set amount and then they forfeit the rights to the content, which is then received well by the community, leaving the creator to lose out on a share of profit, or will the creator retain a small share of the sales?

Can we expect this system to carry over to other BI titles in the future? and what happens to the content created in this program, if another BI title is produced, will it be able to be ported over like the Community Upgrade Project.

Is BI's Intention profit focused or community focused? (I am sorry for this loaded question, but there are very few developers I can look to and say that they are great DEV's focused on producing a great product, BI is one, but I have seen great Developers fall from grace.)

I have tried to keep the questions open ended, I do not expect an answer, its mainly just food for thought. That's all I have for now!

[x3kj 1247]

I'm very happy that BI goes this step :)

 

Question: Is all content bound to what you can do with modding alone? Or is it also possible to get access to and modify source code of the game (provided an agreement has been signed)?

[panduhh 40]

The low hanging fruit of 3rd party mods will be weapons and equipment mods. At the moment 3rd party content created by the community has no restrictions on modelling real world assets either ubiquitous like the AR-15 or AK-47 families of rifles or specific makes and models of assets from USS Gerald R. Ford to the CheyTac Intervention (the inspiration for the M320 LRR). Due to the sensitivities of some manufacturers about the use of their products in various media (notably films and video games) and/or flat out money grabs, will modders be required to get permission to use real life IP in their mods for submission as DLC?

 

[PuFu 4600]

32 minutes ago, panduhh said:

[...]will modders be required to get permission to use real life IP in their mods for submission as DLC?

yes, use some generic stuff that resembles it (especially for parts that don't have a military number), it's military "name" (public domain afaik) or just go a bit creative...

[x3kj 1247]

Another thing i'm wondering:  How does continued development of a DLC3P (O?) post it's release work? Is this a thing, or should the content be fully complete before release (apart from bugfixes)?

[M. Glade 524]

1 hour ago, panduhh said:

The low hanging fruit of 3rd party mods will be weapons and equipment mods. At the moment 3rd party content created by the community has no restrictions on modelling real world assets either ubiquitous like the AR-15 or AK-47 families of rifles or specific makes and models of assets from USS Gerald R. Ford to the CheyTac Intervention (the inspiration for the M320 LRR). Due to the sensitivities of some manufacturers about the use of their products in various media (notably films and video games) and/or flat out money grabs, will modders be required to get permission to use real life IP in their mods for submission as DLC?

 

 

AR-15 is patented by Colt, AR-101/3/4/5/6/7/etc is not. The look and design of that rifle doesn't matter as its being sold by 100s of companies in the US/Canada without license, its basically an open source rifle like that of the AK series.

 

Very large issue when it comes to optional installation, I don't see many people willing to drop money on it without the ability to test it somehow and MP usability. 

[kiory 405]

I can't speak for infringment/copyright etc, but I'll just echo what Pufu said with my own thoughts, it'd probably be easier and better for everyone to follow suit with BI and create something new and unique (even lore friendly) based on real things, hell, who wants another M4 or AK at this point? 

 

I mean, there's interest there, not to toot my own horn but the KKiv I made was pretty popular on steam, it doesn't exist and tries to follow BI's steps in that it's based on several real world rifles, and turns it up a notch. On it's own as it is now, I don't think it would sell, but if there were several different variants with a few accessories, then yea, I can see people buying that.

 

I personally prefer working on things that don't exist, gives me more freedom, I mean who doesn't want to buy a railgun tank?

 

 

[MaartenvB123 8]

Arma 3 launched with a new feature, Scuba diving.

It's a cool feature but the naval it still feels like we lack a amount of naval vehicles.

For example, CUP adds quite a nice amount of naval vehicles.

If we could also see more Civilian or Static ships like a Cargo ship that has to be boarded and cleared as in a anti-pirate situation would be a nice addition.

This can be quite cool for scenarios on Tanoa or any Terrains with a large body of water.

 

If anyone could work this idea into a nice looking product would be nice. 

[chortles 263]

On ‎10‎/‎31‎/‎2017 at 1:33 PM, POLPOX said:

Huh? I thought Arma 3 Jets was created re-using assets from MODs. How about that? They replace F/A-18X Black Wasp with F/A-181 Black Wasp II isn't it?

No, the F/A-181 Black Wasp II is a fictional airframe (hence 'F/A-18+F-22 mashup') done to an Arma 3 vanilla standard (i.e. tech, features, scale for its sensors/weapons) while the F/A-18X Black Wasp was based off of what Boeing called the Advanced Super Hornet, now dubbed the F/A-18 XT or the Block III. The Black Wasp's conformal fuel tanks (CFTs) and enclosed weapons pod (EWP) are right from the real thing, which flew slightly before Arma 3's release and of which a program director said -- boldfacing here is mine -- "What do we need to prosecute those targets in that [2030] time frame", but they could arrive as early as 2019 since the U.S. Navy went for it this past summer.

[Radnik 18]

I started to write some text about this topic and arma3 splendid sandbox system...eventually gave up.

 

anyways...

 

I am officially announcing that I will pay $5 for third-party premium DLC for Arma 3 ( BIS's quality check pass needed ) containing only 2  items. well, actually one:

 

1. new splendid flag animation!

 

second requirement for payment is that the DLC must not to contain word "splendid" in any form. Ingame or outside game...word "splendid" must not be mentioned in any relation to "Flag third-party premium DLC for Arma 3"

 

Ivan

 

 

 

[daveallen10 35]

A good idea for sure. However, the game and DLC potential is held back the most at this point by the game technology: an old animation system, wonky physics package, etc...

 

The content I want most is not new assets or scenarios, but basic game improvements: improved friendly and enemy AI capable of clearing buildings, fix for the vast amount of clipping issues that make interior gunplay challenging, rooms with clutter in them, melee combat or simply a combat knife, more realistic night vision and thermal vision. 

 

I would also like to see some of the more popular mp scenarios get official integration and support to improve performance and such: Koth and Antistasi mainly.