Sell ARAS online

[Guest Ti0n3r]

Quote[/b] ]Armed Assault

Format: PC CDROM

Genre: First person military combat

Release date: Q4 2005

Publisher: To be determined

Source: Armed Assault press release

Sounds good Imo.

[Baphomet 0]

First of all. I treasure my OFP/Red Hammer/Resistance cds. They get first rate care and real estate on my computer desk, and the boxes they came in. They're memrobilia to me. They remind me of happy times when I first bought my older PC (with the express purpose of playing OFP).

I also prefer having something tangible in my hand that I can install at any time.

I have problems with this digital distribution format. Especially now with the advent of DRM and Valves much-loathed (by me!!! ) Steam.  

I will -not- purchase anything that forces me to connect to a server for two reasons, one being that if I ever buy software and that company goes out of business and their authentication server goes down. My CD or copy of the game that I purchased electronically. Is useless. It's out of print. Instantly.

Secondly. I'm forced to have an internet connection to even play the game offline. This is an unacceptable inconvenience.

So, if buying the game online or even in a store precluded such a thing. I simply would boycott it. I boycotted HL2 for the same reason. I'd be very disappointed if I had to for AA, but I would. Without question.

So in short. I prefer to have something tangible to show for my expendatures. Especially if it's something important to me.

Quote[/b] ]Starforce? Is that the protection program that had the same inpact on the computer as some spywarez?

 I really hope BIS doesn't resort to installing resource stealing software that must run on top of the game already. AA looks intensive enough as it is.

[shinRaiden 0]

I'm not saying I support the persistent online wrappers and worlds like steam, I've only been suggesting just the sales and distribution method. If you make the installer cd-less, you don't have the complications that will inevitablely come with CD's, and the games the pressers play with analyzing the physical 'abnormalities' as part of the copy-protection etc. There's plenty of other ways to implement copy protection, without relying on the physical characteristics of a deterioting medium.

However, I don't want/need a wrapper world between me and the game. At least with the static structure that exists now, I jump in and out constantly in the process of addon development, and an extra intermediary layer would be annoying at best. Furthermore, while I try to keep Windows as optimized as possible, I generally have multiple text file and web browser references open, as well as a more resource intensive code or world editor, along-side OFP or VBS. It's not uncommon to have situations where I need every last drop of CPU and RAM resources.

I like the idea of online distro and sales. What I don't like is being forced to leech an online interface. There's enough nonsense with Blizzard and EA and Valve trying to force you into an effective hostage situation where you have to pay for monthly services as their primary target revenue, instead of the actual 'product' itself. That's part of the problem with financial market oriented focuses on reliable and routine revenue. Instead of one-off product purchases of the "capital investments" kind, the focus is instead on what is comparable to "operating expenses", which are being used to attack the product itself in an ironic incestous cannibalism.

The short life span and rapid turnover in the games industry I think is a little counter-productive to the classical notion of cyclically billable services. Unfortunately, the classic economic model that is comparable is the periodic lease, and that's what M$ is doing. Given the turnover of titles, especially in the console market, I would say that there is very strong arguement from the statisical and economic perspective to look at leased on-demand gaming, whereby the game would stream to your media center, bill your bank account, then delete itself when you exit, plus charge you for profile maintanence. This is however a gross abomination to the more mature gamer and modmaker. Unfortunately, the Wall Street weanies don't have the same attachment to the product as do the users.

[privatenoob 0]

NO I want a limited special edition TIN box I can have in my shelf and to look at. I also want a big fat manual with nice pictures and descriptions. Dont care about the cost.

PLS Bistudio, make my wish come true.

[mattxr 9]

What is ARAS? Is it the new short for Armed Assault?

Yes, apparently it is.

AA or ArAs doesn't matter, as long as we are talking about Armed Assualt and not America's Army :;):

i thought it was ArmA lol but anyways

buy it online from a shop then??

[loderunner 0]

Fellow Fans,

I dont care if I have to download it in a text file, print it out, and type it back in line by line..I just want this game! To be able to take advantage of all the loads of content already available with a new & improved engine..Brilliant! I'll go along with whatever works best for BIS, and makes them the most profit. : )

Peace,

LodeRunner

[mrj-fin 0]

Its very good that u can sitting in ur own chair and wait to downloading it to ur own pc but nothing wins that u have own disc and DVD cover in ur bookcase.

[ThoMpsoN* 0]

I wouldn't mind buying ArmA through a program like steam. I've bought from steam from before and it was painless.

But it's BIS' choice so.....

[Hauk 0]

I recall paying 50$ for Wolf3d and it came on a 720k floppy in an envelope and a piece of paper.And look at the company today!

That kind of gave me an idea, why not sell ArmA on floppy disks?

That would be cheap.

Haha, genius! let me do the calculations...

2000MB/1.44MB = 1388.888888888etc

Were gonna need a trolley to cart all that home! and a month to install it all!

[Jezz 0]

i wouldnt mind them selling it online as long as its in conjunction with them seeling it boxed and in shops also. basically because i have no credit card and dount trust buying software online particulary much would rather have something pyshical in my hands

[Fork122 0]

I recall paying 50$ for Wolf3d and it came on a 720k floppy in an envelope and a piece of paper.And look at the company today!

That kind of gave me an idea, why not sell ArmA on floppy disks?

That would be cheap.

Haha, genius! let me do the calculations...

2000MB/1.44MB = 1388.888888888etc

Were gonna need a trolley to cart all that home! and a month to install it all!

I just checked a 10 pack of floppys is about $5.50 USD. You'd need 1389 to fit the 2000MBs on there (Thanks to Hauk's math).

1389/10 = 138.9

So you'd need about 139 sets of 10 packs.

139 x $5.50 USD =

$764 USD

or

Å437 GBP

or

€639 euros

(Please excuse me if conversions are wrong, I used google )

Either way that's expensive ! Compared to 1 DVD that costs about .70 USD and holds 4.7 GBs

[kissdznuts 0]

Both are fine with me.

Batboy, I feel victim to your site......... sigh ...........

[kissdznuts 0]

I'm not 100% on how it works but it detects virtual drive software. I use alcohol 120% quite foten for cd's and stuff but unfortunatly for me starforce thought that the reason I had this installed was so I could mount the game . Meaning the blighter kept giving me the "Unable to insitialise protection failure" stuff despite the legitimate copy. However due the big problems it's provided over the years many of the "bigger" game devs don't bother with it, in my experience the games i've bought with it on are the old "cycling manager 4 and GTR". not your average best seller games. it stops piracy but at the cost of 1:10 legitimate copies not working.

With any luck we'll get it on a good old fashioned dvd/cd with safe disk as opposed to starforce.

Sonna of a Bi#$%

This really pisses me off. I bought Lock On Gold last week and haven't been able to play it all because of the "Unable to insitialise protection failure". I also have alcohol installed and had no idea this is what is causing my misery. If there is any restrictions like this from preventing the software from working, why isn't it listed on the case?

I will not uninstall alcohol for any game.

[Placebo 29]

Virtual emulation software has nothing at all to do with this thread, cut it out please.

[Espectro (DayZ) 0]

I actually wont mind BIS selling it off the internet, its a great deal if they make the price smaller cause of it.

Speaking of it... Alcohol isnt something you should install... Its something you consume - and lots of it preferable...

Its to avoide any poison, cause if you got liqour in ya blood, itll kill the bad poison... Its logical really...

Edit...

Is that a new avatar placebo?

[Scrub 0]

I have to change my opinion and agree with the number of ppl talking about leafing through the manual.  To look the back of the box while installing, and having the physical disk in hand if something catastrophic were to happen.. All good things.

P.S. I know you all like to smell a new manual too!!      

[DaneDK 0]

I would'nt mind if BIS made something like Steam in ArmAss and the new game to prevent piracy, but i'm old fashion and don't have any credit cards.

So i could'nt play they're games if they're not released on disc.

That's also why i'm not a proud owner of VBS1

[ANTH 0]

No CREDIT CARD!!! haha Man you are old fashioned but safe Unlike me, I dont mind how they sell it as long as I get it wouldent mind a steam type thing either could be pretty cool for instant patching etc.

[Waterman 0]

As long as you dont have to register with a million things before you can play the game (like with HL2), then why not...