How realistic do you expect ArmA to be?

[kernriver 4]

It's an intresting topic for discussion ...

Yeah, if we just answered the question "How realistic do you expect ArmA to be?", this thread would die very soon...it's better to have some discussion, and let's face it, the word "realistic" is a magic word for OFP players, it's unavoidable to have some speculation in a thread like this...

[bravo 6 0]

Animated (working) wind socks at the airfields would be nice. Animated radar dishes would be a nice touch too.

you mean this right?

[GBee 0]

Yes.

[deanosbeano 0]

"How realistic do you expect ArmA to be?"

I dont expect Vanilla ArmA to be realistic at all,i expect it to be a fantastic new experience, something like finmod was for ofp but on Steroids.I do however expect that within 12 months a group of members from the community ,wether its WGL or ffur or y2k or ecp,will make ArmA closer to reality than the game on the disc.Once again thats only possible if the publisher allows Bis to distribute the tools needed to do this,i believe that was one of the reasons bis and codem.... fell out along with the time to make ofp:e.

[max power 21]

Quote[/b] ]Do you really think that these people who posted previous to you expect there to be Medivac and incapacitation, etc?

No, of course I don't think that anyone expects medevacs or realistic injuries from vanilla ArmA but almost certainly from mods and user missions. It's an intresting topic for discussion and in my opinion it fits better into a thread about realism than a thread about hopes.

I disagree.

Let's turn every thread into a 'it would be cool if' thread. Then every thread can be the same thread, and noone would have to use the search feature! Brilliant!

[evilnate 0]

In regards to the realism of medics, healing, injuries, etc. I think the original OFP events of being injured are great. If you take a bullet when you have full health, 50% of the time you get injured bad enough where you can't stand up - but you can still fight & crawl. This IS accurate. There are plenty of war stories where a solder is shot but continues fighting (google robert's hill during operation anoconda).

As for the rest of the reslism aspects, I think we should take in consider that there is only x amount of computer resources. Adding moving wind mills, wind socks, ambient children playing hop-scotch in a war zone will take CPU and GPU resources away from other more important things (flying debris from grenades, view distance, etc).

/my 2c

[meyamoti 0]

Not to mention children playing in a war game,or children in general in a war game alone would raise questions,in terms of realism,blood alone makes a game T rating,adding things like people on fire would make the rating M,I am a bastard and will admit I don't really ever want to see OFP or Armed Assault at the E rating,OFP without blood is like a dog without a bark,its just odd when you shoot people alot of times in these games and they dont show blood,thats one of the reasons I love OFP,as straneg as it sounds.

[Ares1978 0]

I don't expect any realism, it already smells like a shooter intended for the broadest public possible. While great looking, I expect the game to be painfully arcadeish and overly simplified and plagued by compromises and political correctness. I expect it to completely betray the OFP legacy.

But of course I hope I'm wrong. If you don't have any great expectations, you will never be disappointed.

[NeMeSiS 11]

I don't expect any realism, it already smells like a shooter intended for the broadest public possible. While great looking, I expect the game to be painfully arcadeish and overly simplified and plagued by compromises and political correctness. I expect it to completely betray the OFP legacy.

Why? Expect for the character switch function (which can be ignored and it can be very useful for mission editors for other possibilities), it seems to be the same as OFP

[Ares1978 0]

Why? Expect for the character switch function (which can be ignored and it can be very useful for mission editors for other possibilities), it seems to be the same as OFP  

Mostly because that's what I've learned to expect from "sequels". All changes are always in the wrong direction and it's always because somebody wants to please as many as possible.

[Journeyman 0]

Mostly because that's what I've learned to expect from "sequels". All changes are always in the wrong direction and it's always because somebody wants to please as many as possible.

I know what you're saying mate and your right that this is often the case (Vietcong2 immediately springs to mind!. But I'm expecting that in this case things are gonna be different!

There is plenty of reason to say this as you only have to read through the various statements and interviews. Personally I've read, heard and seen enough about ArmA already to know that it is gonna be one mother of a sequel to OFP! Case closed!  

[bravo 6 0]

Mostly because that's what I've learned to expect from "sequels". All changes are always in the wrong direction and it's always because somebody wants to please as many as possible.

i must agree with this..and understand..

but lets hope BIS don't change it for worse. (in all points of view)

[Gux 0]

All changes are always in the wrong direction and it's always because somebody wants to please as many as possible.

I empathise with your cynicism but I think it's important to remember that ubisoft isn't behind this game. It's a small independent studio dedicated to a niche market. The last they'd want is to 'sell out' and make it into a battlefield knockoff.

Flashpoint was never realistic(as in simulation) to begin with, infact it was very accessible. I think without that accessibility people would never have found out how open to possibilities the game was; which I think is it's biggest appeal. There's still no game comparable to OFP in that respect. So as long as the franchise keeps that openess there's really nothing to be worried about.

[Ares1978 0]

Expect the worst but hope for the best?

[Guest Ti0n3r]

Indeed

[Journeyman 0]

Also when it comes to war games realism is something you need to take care with. A real war is ugly, bloody and terrifying. Like I said with the healing system a compromise is needed between realism and gameplay.

Where realism is needed the most is in simulating the handling characteristics of different vehicles and the recoil and effectiveness of different weapons. Also interaction with the environment and good weather and nature effects is where realism needs to be to give the best immersion into the game.  

Realistic injuries would be a bad move by any developer!  

[NeMeSiS 11]

Realistic injuries would be a bad move by any developer!  

Not really, you can simulate certain wounds/hits/whatever, without showing extensive gore

(the only type of realism that really matters to me is the way units/squads/players behave, correct guns/recoil/camo/whatever are all optional, but its nice when its more or less correct.)

[codarl 1]

I think stuff like blacking out would be okay...

Maybe a penalty for exessive behaviour: If you start to run (fatigue) yourself you run the risk of falling down, black out, go uncounsious, etc.

Also, I think that after games like Quake 4 (live surgery), stuff like jumping arteries, pounding hearts, sounds of rupturing flesh, etc. should be allowed. maybe do it like Soldier of Fortune?

Think about it: in games you can shoot off the head of your enemy for a 1-shot kill. why not shoot trough an artery for thesame effect?

[Journeyman 0]

Not really, you can simulate certain wounds/hits/whatever, without showing extensive gore

Then you are removing realism! A balance between realism and gameplay is required with injuries, that’s what I said and it's what you've just said also!  

EDIT: Codarl, Soldier of Fortune was fun with its dismemberment and gore engine but a bit overdone IMO. Seeing your buddies get their heads blown off in a game is acceptable to some and would be OK for me but not to all and at what cost to the game ratings?  

[NeMeSiS 11]

Not really, you can simulate certain wounds/hits/whatever, without showing extensive gore

Then you are removing realism! A balance between realism and gameplay is required with injuries, that’s what I said and it's what you've just said also!  

I count gore as graphics, i dont care about realism in graphics, its about what happens to you/how it affects your way of playing when you are hit/hit someone else

[GBee 0]

Not really, you can simulate certain wounds/hits/whatever, without showing extensive gore

Then you are removing realism! A balance between realism and gameplay is required with injuries, that’s what I said and it's what you've just said also!

The graphics/visual side of wounding/injuries is one area where I think realism is a bad thing.

Simulating how wounds affect you is good, but blood and guts, screaming wounded, maiming etc is totally unnecessary. The OFP blood textures are exactly what should be in Arma.

[Journeyman 0]

Hearing the enemy shouting in agony after a non fatal hit and screaming to his medic, that sort of stuff would be cool for AI behaviour, and non of this continuing to take accurate shots at you after you just landed him one in the arm!  

[bravo 6 0]

I think stuff like blacking out would be okay...

Maybe a penalty for exessive behaviour: If you start to run (fatigue) yourself you run the risk of falling down, black out, go uncounsious, etc.

yeah, blanking out on right times not while running..

It would not be nice to have BF2 running fatigue (style), it automatically stops running and start walking even if you keep press the run key..(its annoying)

some of these effects need to be well study/selected or else..

[NeMeSiS 11]

I think stuff like blacking out would be okay...

Maybe a penalty for exessive behaviour: If you start to run (fatigue) yourself you run the risk of falling down, black out, go uncounsious, etc.

yeah, blanking out on right times not while running..

It would not be nice to have BF2 running fatigue (style), it automatically stops running and start walking even if you keep press the run key..(its annoying)

some of these effects need to be well study/selected or else..  

the OFP fatigue system was the best system i ever saw, when you started sprinting you were going very fast and it went slower and slower until 1km/hour above normal running speed, while your aim became crappy

[Ares1978 0]

Also when it comes to war games realism is something you need to take care with. A real war is ugly, bloody and terrifying.

I think it would do a lot of good to include that side of war in wargames. Not just in the effects, but also in the storyline.