Conspiracy, maybe?

[crave22 0]

What if we've always known about ArmA? What if it was always right under our nose, waiting to be discovered? It was. Since February 22, 2004, the OFP community has known about ArmA. We didn't know it was ArmA, but we knew about it.

While looking through ofp.info, I stumbled upon an interesting news article. It talked about a 'Flashpoint 2004'. There was a forum thread last year, but I don't want to dig it up. However, the article had several pictures attatched. Here it is:

Article

Take a good long look at those pics.

Now, look at this well known screenshot:

Screen

Shocking resemblance, isn't it?

[Shadow NX 1]

You know about VBS1 right?

A version for normal users of the training programm used by many military organizations worldwide?

http://www.virtualbattlespace.com/

I think ArmA is kinda a VBS for normal people with added campaigns ,missions and less military training aspects.

And offcourse at a much lower price

[crave22 0]

Yeah, I know what VBS is. I'm just saying the similarities between this game and ArmA are remarkable. Especially those Russian soldiers in the tropical setting. As you know, the new batch of screens has an M1 in a similiar setting with the same lighting effects. The facial features are also remarkably similiar. Plus, VBS had been out before this article. I remember a screen on the thread (it's gone now) had a VBS logo on it, but you don't know. Here is the original forum thread about 'Flashpoint 2004'.

Thread

Don't dig it up, though. It's quite a bit older than 4 months. Yes, I admit to fearing the moderator's wrath.

[AG. 0]

It is an interesting info you have dig there ... !

But i have a bad felling, that this thread will be closed ... unless BIs wants us to speculate on the future and make the game misteriuos ... uhhhhhhh

What if ... game 2 whole platform already created and needs only the storyline with missions (wich is actually not so hard to do). What if BIs already know when and how game 2 will be presented, what if ArmA was created after VBS and BIs waited just for "right moment"?

Just read:

"obviously we write and use all our own tools/software so for us there isn't so much need or incentive to make them compatible with outside programs"

It is from the interview with Placebo. This sentence means that BIs has digged tight in this type of game and i believe they definately know what they are doing and what they will be doing in 2 years (maybe even more).

It is a bussines! And i undertand them! I do it myself in my bussines and actually this idea came from US (the good old pro capitalists). You have the ready product on CD and keep it in safe ... and wait for the right time .. when the old product hit their limits (becouse of the technology advance over the time) and profit is getting too low ... you put the CD (if needed you change some properties quickly) out ... upload to CNC mills ... and hooreii! Of course it apllies only when you do such things and nobody else in nearby countries, and if somebody does it ... well .. business meeting and Cartel works out

[crave22 0]

Well, everyone else is speculating, so I figured why not. Throw some more fuel on the speculation fire. I know I'm seriously interested in this.

[StealthTiger 0]

At the end of the day, what difference is it going to make anyway?...

[NeMeSiS 11]

Well, i thnk most people remember the rumors about "Operation Flashpoint 1.5", and well, technically ArmA is OFP1.5, so those were actually right, even though noone believed it

[Heatseeker 0]

I dont see much to speculate here, at that time vbs wasnt available for the public and that site was problably Seventh's, those pics are VBS early material and thats exactly what they look like, i remember all that and i remember everyone going crazy about that picture of the russian soldier with the dshk MG thinking it was OPF2 material.

Nothing to do with arma imo, i dont find it shocking that vbs1, ARMA or OFP:E all have better looking heads and hands than the old OFPR .

[crave22 0]

I figured. I just wanted people's opinion on it. After I started reading further into the topic, it got alot clearer.

Easy to mistake VBS for ArmA, though.

[aus_twisted 0]

That top Article with pics is from VBS and yes a lot of models from VBS will be used in Armed Assault, this has been comfirmed in the VBS forums and very easy to see from VBS and AA screenshots.

[shinRaiden 0]

May I suggest an alternate pseudo-'conspiracy'... that the OFP platform, regardless of generation (CWC, RES, Xbox, ArmA, Gen2, etc) was never intended to natively support all the whiz-bang features we argue back and forth over?

Rather, a robust and flexible modeling and scripting interface was provided so that if the community could imagine it, they could implement it. Spectator Scripts, Artillary control systems, Dynamic CTI, High-level battlefield command, Satellite and UAV simulation, Reactive armor, and so on were never intended - by BIS - to be native components of the game platform.

Of course there's bugs. Of course there's ways to do things better. BIS has learned, as well as the community. The fact that the Xbox version runs well on the aging platform, has the performance needed to obtain Xbox Live certification, and has a ton of new functionality under the hood, in addition to having an intuitive interface, says something for the work and research that BIS has done.

When CWC came out, it's texture and object quality could have been considered crappy compared to other games on the market at the same time. But the community has by and large overlooked that and chosen to focus more on the gameplay and modability, and therein lies the success of the franchise.

Too often we see posts here like "I want a knife in ArmA, it'll suck without knifes." Well to that I repeat a question I've posted previously: "To a developer, what is a knife?" What you really want is a weapon object using a melee simulation with various options such as materials penetration and insulation. Those themselves might even be too specific. I happen to also want pitchforks, axes, baseball bats, spiked boards, chainsaws, and peavies. All melee simulation items, with animated component capabilities and retexturing.

To be honest, I don't want BIS spending all their time making such items. There's plenty of other work that they could be doing. Instead, it's infinintly more important that the proper design models be developed so that if the community desires such content, that it can be developed.

[Uziyahu--IDF 0]

I agree. It is far more important that they work to make an already great engine greater, but Game Previewers expect new content...

[aus_twisted 0]

Knifes are not needed, I dont care for them in such a game or sim like OFP, I rarely use hand guns let a lone a knife mostly if I run out of ammo on the rifle I'm using, but even then theres always plenty of ammo or rifles lying around from dead soldiers. Hand guns will be a lot more of use in Armed Assault I believe with the better collision model for inside building use which most people avoid in OFP because of the collision model lol.

[StealthTiger 0]

The knife was just an example and that if the coder has provided the framework then the user can model their own knives, bats, nuclear warheads etc etc. if they so desire.

[crave22 0]

I also don't want nor need a knife. Thanks to the OFP engine, if I run out of ammo, I can pick up my dead enemy's AK. Or my dead buddy's M16.

All I wanted were a few improvements here and there, nothing big, nothing too hard for a team of great developers like they are.

[shinRaiden 0]

lol, I rest my case. Of the three replies, only one "got it". How about BIS just license and rebrand BF2 as-is and forget trying to be innovative?

Secondly, why is everyone so narrow minded that the only theory seems to be VBS1 -> ArmA? Isn't it even remotely possible that it could have been (early) ArmA -> VBS1? Oh wait, that's a paradigm shifting without a clutch.

But why bother when addon makers can't be arsek'd to cooperate on ammo / weapons / armor values even now?

If anything, at the end of the day we'll all be wondering how BIS managed to make things look so similar in form to current generation OFP despite all the massive changes to the underlying system.

[Airbourne Alchaholic 0]

Quote[/b] ]I also don't want nor need a knife.

Well a Combat Knife is standard issue for any Soldier in most armies, but I know what you mean. But I would still like a melee attack with the rifle but/pistol whip/fists. It's what a lot of people would do if they were busy reloading with the enemy 3ft away from them, right?

It's too late to start suggesting things now though. Best wait for OFP 2

I was amazed when I first saw that option though in the OFP demo a few years back.

Those were the days

Oops, that was a bit offtopic... apologies to the great gods of the forums!

[aus_twisted 0]

I totally understood what you said shinRaiden, I was just giving my views on what I thought about knives and how I think pistols will be of more use in Armed Assault because of the better collision model for indoor use which gets really annoying sometimes in OFP.

[Heatseeker 0]

But I would still like a melee attack with the rifle but/pistol whip/fists. It's what a lot of people would do if they were busy reloading with the enemy 3ft away from them, right?

I think you would fall back to reload in cover and rely on your teamates to take down the target .

Mellee weapons would be usefull for mods because this way it would be easier to create mods based on diferent time frames, swords, spears and that stuff, personaly im not into that stuff much but you never know .

I dont know if BIS would spend time creating things their game doesnt really take much advantage of but i smile at the possiblity of having a working pitchfork, oh yes .

[simulacra 0]

Only one problem, the character and weapon models in those VBS-screens look amazing, the ones in arma doesn't look as impressive by far...

[meyamoti 0]

And they were probably a bit more tied up with OFP Elite,now that its out of the way they can either take a break or concentrate on AA more. Mmmm were such slave drivers.

[Goeth 0]

And they were probably a bit more tied up with OFP Elite,now that its out of the way they can either take a break or concentrate on AA more. Mmmm were such slave drivers.

Break? No time for breaks, they have 77 days to finalize and publish Armed Assault

[StealthTiger 0]

Indeed! And I'm not going to say anything about a publisher either...

[Heatseeker 0]

Only one problem, the character and weapon models in those VBS-screens look amazing, the ones in arma doesn't look as impressive by far...

We have seen a fair amount of pics but most were problably very early WIP and the models we saw might have been simple place holders .

The latest 4 pictures show a nice looking soldier and weapon model . It might not have the same huge amount of realisticly made material or stuff modeled close to RL units and equipment like VBS does but im not too worried about ARMA's quality, im sure BIS will make nice looking units too .

[crave22 0]

Besides, if they don't, we always have the community.