How I Think Bohemia Should Move Forward

[Ollie Hillman 3]

Apologies if this is the wrong place but the game doesn't exist yet. I posted it in Bohemia Interactive General and it just got blow away by putlocker posts

Okay so I know I am going to take a lot of heat for my opinions due to the client base that bohemia already has but really this will make more money.

 

Before I Explain I'm Going to Make Some Quick Points for Lazy Readers. 
[Pre-Edit] Return to Console, Character customisation (including: equipment, country, regiment, gender, race, face/body structure, makeup/warpaint/camo), Larger maps,  Modern day setting, zombies, player built structures

[Post-Edit with some stolen ideas] Voice commands for squad controls, More focus on Naval and Air battle, WW1/2 DLC.

 

Pre-Edit Detailed Explanation

 

Arma is a very inaccessible game for the vast majority of people. I for one prefer spending money on things to better my existence and i've not got £2000 to lay out on a computer which I am literally buying to play Arma. I have had a laptop that could manage Arma and I bought Arma 2 + all expansion pack then threw a hissy fit because it didn't have loadouts didn't play it then my brother broke my laptop. I am 21 years of age and I haven't got the time nor inclination to build PC and to be honest I'm going to be buying a console.

 

The thing is I pre-ordered OF:dragon rising and never stopped playing it on my xbox. I think your game ended because me and my mate obliterated everyone on the multiplayer for a very long time - soz. Me and him then Co-oped up for red river and saw the resurgence on Dragon rising before it ended again. I still speedrun missions on red river on my own but I'm level 20 everything and I have every gold medal. I just want a chance to show my godlike abilities again and enjoy me some Arma. I know the thing is "we have all these buttons for Arma it can't go console" do you need all said buttons really? a fair sacrifice for a game that will sell better I think. Also next gen consoles require you to download all you games but I'd suffer that, I'd even sync external hard-drives for this shiz.

 

I'm not even saying it has to be Arma because lets face it Bohemia you have messed up your universe anyway, you are no Valve on that front; I, for one, don't particularly care and I've loved you since day dot screw the new age hipster nerds. Things I want you to add though just being English, I like the SAS and my Military and I'm sure its the same in finland, Russia, Spain and America. As a minimum for Multiplayer let us have our own geezer (decent character customisation please want my guy to look like me or some buff soldier chick with wham breasts, tight bum, slim waist and makeup options) with our flags and gear and stuff on. (different search filters for country, regiment and manufacturer)  It's not to much to ask I don't think for you guys to do your research for the equipment of at least all members of the UN security council. I know you're thinking how can we involve all the countries? Cold war divide splitting the world in two without the individual countries losing their identity - and screw all this future warfare stuff, forget it happened. I want real vehicles and weapons.

Also zombies survival would be a cool addition for your multiplayer character loadouts with a construction element doesn't have to be anything fancy a halo forge type thing would work for me. Most importantly for me though. Skira Island needs to come back and you need to build more maps of that scale - soz. Even if skiras DLC and you make one new map I'm cool brah.

 

You need to appeal to a wider audience that means: Console gaming, Loadouts and simplification of controls. The reason that Dragon Rising died was purely loadouts. At the time of release you had the COD market but they returned to COD within hours of gametime over loadouts then told their friends not to get it.

 

Post-Edit Detailed Explanation

 

So I have posted this thread once elsewhere but there were more points to add and I may touch on some stuff I already spoke about.

 

Voice Commands for Squad Controls: Obvious this one, let me say "team, engage rifleman", "Formation: wedge" "Team Move" or "requesting CAS" saves time and add emersion

Naval/Air battles: I know its about ground forces but most special forces are deployed via these methods and CAS has been phased out a bit and I don't like it.

WW1/2 DLC: This game is possibly the best one to do WW1 as battlefield did it wrong as for realism in my opinion. Trench warfare would be insane in this game and with my next point it would be made even better. WW2 would be simple but we all love a bit of WW2, even if it was just equipment would be cool.

Player built structures: I touched on it before using Halo Forge as an example, but imagine if we could build trenches and things, give it a minecraft element, maybe if it was like a toolkit item in your backpack that brought up like what you'd get bringing up a crafting table in minecraft and then you get like the halo forge placing thing but with time being consumed to place said wall/trench/tunnel.

Zombies: coming back to this I know DayZ and all that but if it was intergrated into one game even as DLC would be nice especially for console gaming

 

[Any future points I will just add on beneath here much like Post-Edit Detailed Explanation]

 

Please be mature in your responses avoid being butthurt a mans entitled to his opinion and bad spelling. 

Bohemia Devs if you want to clear anything up about my concept feel free to contact my email I know Devs don't taking advice though I don't mind.

[Ollie Hillman 3]

MOBA has made a break into console gaming and I know you moved away from consoles due to a poor reception you were getting. Flashpoint is an epic game but all you needed was the customisation of red river in with the multiplayer of dragon rising and that would've been it you would've had console gamers. Maybe with the popularity from PC gamers it's your time to move back to console again look at the change in the industry and the reception MOBA is now getting. Leave PC gaming to Age of Empires 4 and games of that ilk where a keyboard and mouse makes more sense than a controller

[Ollie Hillman 3]

Deleted to avoid confusion. Forum Mods collapsed two threads into one

[lexx 1331]

You do know that this Dragon Rising thing was _not_ made by BI, no? Arma can't go back to console because it was never there to begin with.

 

Other than that, here is my proposal: Completely throw out multiplayer and only care about great singleplayer storytelling. :> 

[Grumpy Old Man 3540]

3 hours ago, Ollie Hillman said:

Arma is a very inaccessible game for the vast majority of people. I for one prefer spending money on things to better my existence and i've not got £2000 to lay out on a computer which I am literally buying to play Arma. I have had a laptop that could manage Arma and I bought Arma 2 + all expansion pack then threw a hissy fit because it didn't have loadouts didn't play it then my brother broke my laptop. I am 21 years of age and I haven't got the time nor inclination to build PC and to be honest I'm going to be buying a console.

I know that times are changing and all, but if you're 21 and can't shell out 2k bucks every 2-3 years for a gaming rig then worrying about games should be the least of your concerns.

 

Cheers

 

[Janez 507]

2 hours ago, lexx said:

You do know that this Dragon Rising thing was _not_ made by BI, no? Arma can't go back to console because it was never there to begin with.

 

Well there was OPF: Elite but yeah, DR is not a BI thing.

[radioheadmemes 25]

I cringed at, "I just want a chance to show my godlike abilities again", "do you need all said buttons really?", "some buff soldier chick with wham breasts, tight bum, slim waist and makeup options", and "Also zombies survival would be a cool addition for your multiplayer". Arma is a military simulator. It doesn't need to be accessible, it doesn't need to appeal to people who play Call Of Duty or whatever, it doesn't need to be dumbed-down so it can make as much money as possible. 

[xxgetbuck123 945]

3 hours ago, Ollie Hillman said:

1) Arma is a very inaccessible game for the vast majority of people. I for one prefer spending money on things to better my existence and i've not got £2000 to lay out on a computer which I am literally buying to play Arma. 

A) Then save up money to buy one. I know plenty of people who play Arma on potatoes, also you do realise not everyone that plays PC has some godlike PC right? My PC is 3-4 years old and pretty above average at best but I run the game fine.

 

3 hours ago, Ollie Hillman said:

2) The thing is I pre-ordered OF:dragon rising and never stopped playing it on my xbox. I think your game ended because me and my mate obliterated everyone on the multiplayer for a very long time - soz. Me and him then Co-oped up for red river and saw the resurgence on Dragon rising before it ended again. 

A) Those games weren't made by BI.

 

3 hours ago, Ollie Hillman said:

3) I know the thing is "we have all these buttons for Arma it can't go console" do you need all said buttons really? a fair sacrifice for a game that will sell better I think

A) You do realise Arma is a massive Milsim styled game, meant to replicate real world systems to some degree, thus, having a few buttons for so many systems, vehicles, weapons etc just wont work. Not to mention if you remove all the controls down to bare basic then you're just Arma into a casual arcade style game, not the Arma that Arma is supposed to be. 

 

3 hours ago, Ollie Hillman said:

4) I'm not even saying it has to be Arma because lets face it Bohemia you have messed up your universe anyway.

A) Arma doesnt really have a universe, it kinda does but its no Star Wars or Lord of the Rings thus its not such a big deal to try new things out. 

 

3 hours ago, Ollie Hillman said:

5) Things I want you to add though just being English, I like the SAS and my Military and I'm sure its the same in finland, Russia, Spain and America

A) Adding real life assests can require BI to get licensing and all that jazz, much easier to make stuff up like they kinda did in A3 then let people mod that stuff in. 

 

3 hours ago, Ollie Hillman said:

6) As a minimum for Multiplayer let us have our own geezer (decent character customisation please want my guy to look like me or some buff soldier chick with wham breasts, tight bum, slim waist and makeup options) with our flags and gear and stuff on.

A) That is the worst written suggestion/request I have ever seen. 

 

3 hours ago, Ollie Hillman said:

7) I want real vehicles and weapons.

A) As above, to do that you need licencing rights etc which can cost BI lots of money compared to making mashed together kit and have people mod the real stuff in. 

 

3 hours ago, Ollie Hillman said:

8) Also zombies survival would be a cool addition for your multiplayer character loadouts with a construction element doesn't have to be anything fancy a halo forge type thing would work for me. 

A) Thats what DayZ is for. 

 

3 hours ago, Ollie Hillman said:

9) You need to appeal to a wider audience that means: Console gaming, Loadouts and simplification of controls. 

A) They appeal to the Milsim community, Arma frequently (from what I've seen anyway), around 15k+ players at any one time so the game is doing perfectly fine for being 4 years old (mainly due to modding). I'm pretty sure Arma 4 will be a massive success. 

 

3 hours ago, Ollie Hillman said:

10) Voice Commands for Squad Controls: Obvious this one, let me say "team, engage rifleman", "Formation: wedge" "Team Move" or "requesting CAS" saves time and add emersion

A) I agree this would be a great feature. Would help out AI commanding heaps. 

 

3 hours ago, Ollie Hillman said:

11) Naval/Air battles: I know its about ground forces but most special forces are deployed via these methods and CAS has been phased out a bit and I don't like it.

A) Depends how deep they want to go. Arma is mainly a land based simulator, however with the new Enfusion Engine I hope to see some changes in these areas. 

 

3 hours ago, Ollie Hillman said:

12) WW1/2 DLC: This game is possibly the best one to do WW1 as battlefield did it wrong as for realism in my opinion. Trench warfare would be insane in this game and with my next point it would be made even better. WW2 would be simple but we all love a bit of WW2, even if it was just equipment would be cool.

A) This is what mods are for. Let the developers focus on the core gameplay aspects, let the community make whatever it needs to. 

 

3 hours ago, Ollie Hillman said:

13) Player built structures: I touched on it before using Halo Forge as an example, but imagine if we could build trenches and things, give it a minecraft element, maybe if it was like a toolkit item in your backpack that brought up like what you'd get bringing up a crafting table in minecraft and then you get like the halo forge placing thing but with time being consumed to place said wall/trench/tunnel.

A) Wont be as indept as Minecraft, however DayZ running on the Enfusion Engine is going get crafting/building at some point in its lifetime so I suspect it may come to Arma 4 or at least modded in. 

 

3 hours ago, Ollie Hillman said:

14) Zombies: coming back to this I know DayZ and all that but if it was intergrated into one game even as DLC would be nice especially for console gaming

A) This is what DayZ is for. Play Arma for Milsim Experience, play DayZ for your survival experience. 

 

[Strike_NOR 898]

@Ollie Hillman good sir. 

 

I am going to be friendly towards you and give you a few comments on your humble request.

 

3 hours ago, Ollie Hillman said:

Apologies if this is the wrong place but the game doesn't exist yet.

 

You are absolutely right. There's no confirmed new game, and hence, no correct forum to post this. At the moment, most of the ArmA community are speculating in what "ArmA 4" will be. We have some strong suspicions towards a new and upgraded game engine (Enfusion), which, I think we all can agree, is one of the most desired improvements. If you have played Operation Flashpoint (2001), then you have played ArmA 3 at it's core. The platform has been improved over the years, but it's coming to the point where you are reaching the limits of the game engine. I suspect this is the major reason for why ArmA 3 is notorious for it's performance issues. I have a pretty decent PC, but put me in a life server and everything goes horribly wrong on the performance side!

 

3 hours ago, Ollie Hillman said:

Okay so I know I am going to take a lot of heat for my opinions due to the client base that bohemia already has but really this will make more money.

 

Yes, you will take heat, but I disagree in your last point. ArmA has sort of a "monopoly" in the game market, because nobody else is doing ArmA. There are no AAA games that come close to the ArmA experience, and no, Squad can not be compared. I own both Squad and ArmA, and they provide completely different experiences - especially when it comes to freedom of choice and customization.

 

3 hours ago, Ollie Hillman said:

I am 21 years of age and I haven't got the time nor inclination to build PC and to be honest I'm going to be buying a console.

 

No matter how old you are, it is a matter of setting yourself priorities and teaching yourself patience. There's one area that consoles really lag behind, which is simulations. Flight simulators, tank simulators, ship, train, space etc... even combined arms simulators such as ArmA, require much more power from your "rig" and better control options. A gamepad is suitable for Arcade-style games, and pseudo-realistic games such as, I'm sorry, Dragon Rising. I played Dragon Rising on my Xbox360 and it was really fun, for a short while. After I finished the campaign I was like "meh, glad this was free to download with my gold membership" and proceeded to uninstall it.

 

3 hours ago, Ollie Hillman said:

*snip rest of post*

 

I see you have a lot of ideas of what it should be, but let's be honest. There's a reason that ArmA has been around for so many years, and dragon rising doesn't seem to get a successor. Bohemia Interactive have found their niche, and there's a market for it. There's no other sandbox game out there, that simulates combat from infantry to supersonic jets, with such a devoted community and talented modders. The mod support make up 70% of the reason for me personally to buy ArmA. It's like, yeah the official content is interesting and keeps me playing it through to the end, but the 2035 theme makes me feel a little "detached". Therefore, once all of the vanilla content has been played through, I enjoy building my own missions, trying different scenarios, installing new mods and experiencing new stuff every single time I fire up the game.

 

All of the things you listed in the "Post edit detailed explanation" can or has already been done in ArmA 3.

 

 

Therefore, Bohemia if you are reading this, my opinion is that the core feature that you have going for you with the ArmA series are the following:

• Sandbox game with powerful mission editor
• Highly moddable with lots of tools to create new content
• Large maps with a decent compromise of detail (beautiful from afar, and up close).
• Realistic approach to as much as possible in the game (sounds, effects, graphics, ballistics etc etc)
• Single, and multiplayer - with hundreds of possible game modes and missions due to content creation tools.

And I think I speak for many when I say these are your areas where improvement is warmly welcomed:

• Better AI (Especially pathfinding for infantry and vehicles, tactics, coordination, variation).
• More efficient game engine (yes, it's time for new technology and an engine tailored for the next 10 years of ArmA).
• Bury that action-menu so deep, it becomes a fossile of a time long forgotten.

[ProfTournesol 956]

4 hours ago, lexx said:

You do know that this Dragon Rising thing was _not_ made by BI, no? Arma can't go back to console because it was never there to begin with.

 

True for OF DR, but nope, there was a console port of BIS' OFP on Xbox.

[Ollie Hillman 3]

You guys don't get the point...

Yh I could afford a rig but quite frankly I don't want to lay out that kind of money it's ridiculous and if you guys are doing that every few years it is you who need to get your priorities straight.

 

I get that your game is how you like it at the moment and your game will always be there but you guys are being selfish and short sighted if you want it to stay on computer.

 

even if Operation flashpoint wasnt bohemia their whole game stems from there. I'm not particularly fond of story telling I like game mechanic go play a tell tale game if you want that. 

 

you guys are diehard fans but all of you minus Stike-nor have spoken like spoilt brats just slating me. 

[ProfTournesol 956]

13 minutes ago, Ollie Hillman said:

even if Operation flashpoint wasnt bohemia their whole game stems from there. I'm not particularly fond of story telling I like game mechanic go play a tell tale game if you want that. 

 

 

No mate, you're confused. Operation Flashpoint was a BIS PC game (even if it was somehow ported to console at a time), and all started from there. Then , Codemasters kept the name and made a subpar game called OF DR.

[Ollie Hillman 3]

What about those that liked Dragon rising and want to see a future for the genre in console gaming? I'd hardly call it sub-par they built bloody skira

19 minutes ago, ProfTournesol said:

 

No mate, you're confused. Operation Flashpoint was a BIS PC game (even if it was somehow ported to console at a time), and all started from there. Then , Codemasters kept the name and made a subpar game called OF DR.

 

[ProfTournesol 956]

 

12 minutes ago, Ollie Hillman said:

What about those that liked Dragon rising and want to see a future for the genre in console gaming? I'd hardly call it sub-par they built bloody skira

 

 

Those should ask Codemasters instead of BIS.

[Ollie Hillman 3]

54 minutes ago, ProfTournesol said:

 

 

Those should ask Codemasters instead of BIS.

http://forums.codemasters.com/discussion/131920/operation-flashpoint#latest

 

Happy?

[JdB 151]

You are basically asking BIS to make their game as accessible, streamlined and content-wise (zombies) pretty much identical as CoD, BF etc. BIS would always lose that fight because of the massive amount of money spent on development and PR by the huge publishers that own those titles.

 

BIS can't compete with those and has never tried to since despite the vague resemblance in content (since ArmA3 and the futuristic installments of those other titles also no longer strictly true), the gameplay concept varies so much and that is why people choose to play ArmA, because it isn't as simple as those other games.

 

If you want to play against zombies play DayZ. BIS made the right decision making those into separate titles (besides the obvious economical motivation)

[Ollie Hillman 3]

1 hour ago, JdB said:

You are basically asking BIS to make their game as accessible, streamlined and content-wise (zombies) pretty much identical as CoD, BF etc. BIS would always lose that fight because of the massive amount of money spent on development and PR by the huge publishers that own those titles.

 

BIS can't compete with those and has never tried to since despite the vague resemblance in content (since ArmA3 and the futuristic installments of those other titles also no longer strictly true), the gameplay concept varies so much and that is why people choose to play ArmA, because it isn't as simple as those other games.

 

If you want to play against zombies play DayZ. BIS made the right decision making those into separate titles (besides the obvious economical motivation)

The zombies wasn't really the point its more the first paragraph, I wouldnt really play zombies...

It wouldn't be identical I think it would be the next step for console gaming I think. CoD and BF just aren't as good as ARMA for realism as their mechanic is too focused on cinematic rather than the vast landscapes. ARMA gives you war with truely no boundaries. I can go hike up a mountain and snipe you from there without hitting an invisible wall

[radioheadmemes 25]

10 hours ago, Ollie Hillman said:

The zombies wasn't really the point its more the first paragraph, I wouldnt really play zombies...

It wouldn't be identical I think it would be the next step for console gaming I think. CoD and BF just aren't as good as ARMA for realism as their mechanic is too focused on cinematic rather than the vast landscapes. ARMA gives you war with truely no boundaries. I can go hike up a mountain and snipe you from there without hitting an invisible wall

 

You really don't get it, do you? ArmA is not meant to be accessible, ArmA is not going to be just another normie FPS game. ArmA is a niche war simulator, what is so hard to understand about this? I'm not sure why you'd want it to be dumbed down anyway.

[Dedmen 2588]

14 hours ago, Ollie Hillman said:

The zombies wasn't really the point its more the first paragraph, I wouldnt really play zombies...

It wouldn't be identical I think it would be the next step for console gaming I think. CoD and BF just aren't as good as ARMA for realism as their mechanic is too focused on cinematic rather than the vast landscapes. ARMA gives you war with truely no boundaries. I can go hike up a mountain and snipe you from there without hitting an invisible wall

 

So you are proposing to make Arma more arcade like, with the final target being a non-arcade like console game?

[R0adki11 3945]

20 hours ago, Ollie Hillman said:

You guys don't get the point...

Yh I could afford a rig but quite frankly I don't want to lay out that kind of money it's ridiculous and if you guys are doing that every few years it is you who need to get your priorities straight.

 

Well i am sorry to say, but if you want to play the latest games on a PC, that is what is required.Though to be honest, i know plenty of people who enjoy playing Arma on a standard PC.

 

As you said earlier that you are 21 years of age, your priorities will be alot different to the core members of this community, who will be alot older than you. I for one started playing Operation Flashpoint when it was released and back then I was 17. And im still here enjoying playing BIS games.

 

Quote

I get that your game is how you like it at the moment and your game will always be there but you guys are being selfish and short sighted if you want it to stay on computer.

 

I don't think we are being selfish, BIS has how they want their games to be and i think they work perfectly well. I can't see the need to move on to consoles. Consoles always will have restrictions on graphics etc, as each console will have limits until a new one is released.

 

Quote

even if Operation flashpoint wasnt bohemia their whole game stems from there. I'm not particularly fond of story telling I like game mechanic go play a tell tale game if you want that. 

 

For me story telling is one if not one of the most important things to have at a game core. A good background story for the game gives it a purpose. Operation Flashpoint: Resistance for me had one of the best campaigns, far better than anything that COD has done.

 

Quote

you guys are diehard fans but all of you minus Stike-nor have spoken like spoilt brats just slating me. 

 

Perhaps consider the language you have used in this thread especially as some of it is passive aggressive and try to understand why it maybe provoking a reaction. 

[Greenfist 1863]

By the way, who really thinks Arma is still a niche game? Almost 4 million copies sold, 400,000 players in the last two weeks, one of the 25 most played games on Steam last year. And all this five years after the release. If that doesn't make it a moderately popular mainstream game, then I don't know what will.

[lordfrith 401]

no disrespect to your opinions but... i disagree with many of them ;)

 

On 2/8/2018 at 2:32 AM, Ollie Hillman said:

 I know the thing is "we have all these buttons for Arma it can't go console" do you need all said buttons really?

YES i absolutely do. Not saying i wouldn't welcome optimisation but the depth of control is key to Arma for me. If I lose that I lose a huge chunk of arma 3's appeal.

 

On 2/8/2018 at 2:32 AM, Ollie Hillman said:

Arma is a very inaccessible game for the vast majority of people.

 

Is it  though? performance wise you don't need a mind blowing pc for arma3, just half decent. Gameplay wise, sure theres a learning curve but its not rocket surgery. The vast majority of people are massively lazy (me too) so i'm glad people make things to challenge that still.

 

On 2/8/2018 at 2:32 AM, Ollie Hillman said:

 

You need to appeal to a wider audience that means: Console gaming, Loadouts and simplification of controls.

NOOOOOO! ;) all of these things are every other FPS game that already exists. I also play and enjoy them but... i just can't understand why people want to shoeHorn every game to fit this market. I want arma to get better not (necessarily) simpler.

 

I really disagree that things get better by being simplified for 'mass appeal'. for starters many things with 'mass appeal' get that appeal by being exceptional not mediocre. As has been pointed out Arma 3 is kinda one of those things already. Secondly things that don't have that mass appeal often focus on doing something particular very well and it is this imbalance which causes both exceptional games and niche markets. its not a bad thing, its just  'quality' ;)

 

On 2/8/2018 at 2:32 AM, Ollie Hillman said:

Zombies, ww2 etc

 

meh; mods, day z. Zombies have FA to do with arma 3 really.

 

Quote

some buff soldier chick with wham breasts, tight bum, slim waist and makeup options

 

real, non super model women with camo makeup options (also for men) and bods like they could carry a rifle pls

 

On 2/8/2018 at 2:32 AM, Ollie Hillman said:

avoid being butthurt

shall do :D have a nice day

[tortuosit 485]

22 hours ago, Ollie Hillman said:

You guys don't get the point...

Yh I could afford a rig but quite frankly I don't want to lay out that kind of money it's ridiculous and if you guys are doing that every few years it is you who need to get your priorities straight.

 

I get that your game is how you like it at the moment and your game will always be there but you guys are being selfish and short sighted if you want it to stay on computer.

 

At first thanks for your comment, I mean, you took your time and it seems to be important for you. Also, community needs a wake up call at times. Too much ArmA chatting is lost in the Youtubes...

 

You are wrong on a few levels. :)

 

a) gaming rigs could never be used for such a long time as today. Mine is from 2011 or 2012. Core i7 2600k Sandybridge, it started with a GTX-570, now it's with a 970. Works fine. Lots of AI and action/explosions brings every rig down, you maybe know that. There's way too many kids out there stating things like "I ALWAYS HAVE 60 FPS STABLE!!!!11!" or "ArmA FPS are allllllways crap". It is all useless blah. ArmA simulates more than some other games and FPS... depend on 1000 factors.

As for the hardware: Good times for us, that's what I am saying. And btw, I am 45 and also cannot justify a gaming rig (say, at EUR 1500 price tag) every few years.

 

b) ArmA 3 got better and better on FPS, much smoother than in the beginning. Especially since the they changed the distant object rendering from on/off to that pattern ghosting thing...

 

I'm not saying ArmA couldn't be any better, ...(we have already asked for 1000s of improvements which never happened) - but a lot comes with a cost and also, millions of dependencies between systems, ArmA is extremely complex.

 

As for zombies etc., no, it would hurt the brand, leave them to modders.

 

To me the most important aspect is it being a sandbox with lots of military elements. I need my space to fiddle, tune, try, debug, retry, joy, rage... Most of the time I am not playing, but handling complexity. I WANTZ IT :-)

[Macser 776]

@Ollie Hillman

I wouldn't ever prevent someone from expressing an opinion. Even if I'm diametrically opposed to it. But that's the downside to free speech. Someone will always disagree. And maybe put it in a way we don't like. You just have to deal with it, unless you prefer censorship. But a lot of the responses you're getting are directly related to how you expressed your own opinion. 

 

Which in essence is a long list of cool stuff you'd like. 

 

I don't believe BI are completely blind to how their own market works. They may not listen to people on every occasion. But if enough of them express a concern, or a desire for something I think they'd try to bring it to the table.

 

It's not in a company's best interests to cater to minority opinion though. In that situation they'd be diverting time and money to something that has little demand. Which isn't a risk for you and me. But it is for them. It's ok for a giant publisher to dabble in creating demand where there isn't one. They potentially have the funds to fail, once, or even twice. A smaller company doesn't get that kind of choice. One major screw-up could sink them. The gaming industry is not a forgiving market place.

 

These games have always offered a high degree of control. This requires a sufficient number of keys. Not to everyone's taste. But not unusual for titles more slanted towards simulation. Which the series has always been. I think it's likely BI have considered simplifying things. But if they go that route they'll be removing something that makes the series stand out from other games. Considering how well it's done this far, I doubt they want to take that kind of risk. 

 

And please consider not using terms like "butthurt" or calling people spoilt brats. It's always a poor replacement for a rational argument. 

[dmarkwick 261]

I wouldn't be too quick to try & chase such an already oversaturated market. All it means a thin slice of a fat pie, while ArmA currently enjoys a fat slice of a thin pie. There's not much reason to chase other demographics just because it might be possible, there's room enough for specialisation. In fact I'd say the more specialisation the better.