Armed Assault is -AMAZING-

[bangtail 0]

One thing I love is the time it takes for your vision to adjust at night. For example when you put on or remove the NV goggles ..... very nice touch!

E

[Soviet Spetsnaz 0]

Confirmed. AC97 sounds much better than X-Fi.

[max power 21]

I found it to be the same way with my old computer. The Nforce onboard sound had much more hardware accelleration to it than my newer audigy 2 zs. I wonder if it has something to do with software settings, like the desktop sound environment or something...

[Bunkers 0]

Confirmed. AC97 sounds much better than X-Fi.

Plz some1 with skillz find a solution for this.

[Sgt_Eversmann 1]

Confirmed. AC97 sounds much better than X-Fi.

Plz some1 with skillz find a solution for this.

I think it's a driver issue.

maybe trying an older driver, find a beta driver or try a newer driver...sry for that but maybe it helps

[troop 0]

Confirmed Sound problems with

Audigy 2 ZS (latest drivers)

here as well.

Not tried AC'97 yet, but I am certain,

since increasingly more people report this,

it sounds like it was intended by BIS

(read: perfect)

---

Now, this is something, I *really* dont get: Creatives EAX and

hardware accel are supposed to be *the* top of the line shizniz

today(and all past) in games;..WHY?

Why can this abysmal AC'97 beat the (supposedly) far

'superior' hardware from Creative?

Drivers? 'Wrong' implementation ingame? Whats the *real* cause?

[Sgt_Eversmann 1]

troop,

would you try an older driver and tell the results here?

Also make sure to deinstall the driver properly.

you don't have to, would just be interesting if something changes.

[bangtail 0]

Confirmed. AC97 sounds much better than X-Fi.

Plz some1 with skillz find a solution for this.

Turning off "Hardware Acceleration" helps. I know its not ideal but its all there is right now. I seem to remember OFP having problems with Creative hardware on release as well. Im sure it will be fixed fairly quickly.

E

[versus 0]

i wish i could be that optimistic...

however i fear that the issue is because of problems that creative hardware/drivers have with OpenAL.

the only OpenAL game i have played so far is "call of juarez" and thank god that game had the option to use direct sound instead!

OpenAL sounded horrible. it had way to much base, the sounds where hard to locate...all the things people have been complaining about here.

i'm also using an X-Fi by the way.

there are some drivers out from creative (2.09.0007) that claim to fix OpenAL issues...

but knowing creative i'm pretty sure they don't do crap. their drivers always were crap and always will be.

i have no faith that they will fix these issues in the near future...

so unless BIS decides to implement direct sound, i'm afraid i'm gonna have to check my onboard sound solution for this game.

[troop 0]

troop,

would you try an older driver and tell the results here?

Also make sure to deinstall the driver properly.

you don't have to, would just be interesting if something changes.

I'd love to and dying for it to test for you and all, but alas, I cannot play/test today.

But here are my thoughts: It wont help much if at all.

Also, (about missing/not played sounds) one got to remember, that

Creative *always* did *not* play by the book wrt PCI-load

implementation. All of their cards are *agressively* grabbing

PCI cycles, thus, if much is going on (like in ARMA) sounds

scratch/will be dropped.

What helps somewhat is relaxing PCI-latency (Powerstrip, ect.)

but it should not be like this in the first place. sigh.

Almost forgot: Thank you, RedStorm!

Sorry for offtopic;..back to topic.

[RedStorm 0]

Quick video to show that the people claiming the MGs to be sniper rifles are just plain wrong (and have probably not even played the game and are just spreading rumours), and some other cool stuffios.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=noqb_-i5slM

[yarex 0]

I'd like to comment, that none of the software is without bugs.

You should appreciate, that the game in western countries will be released later - countries, where the game has been already released will practically do the public testing for you.

Also regarding graphics and sound problems -> many people are using tweaked systems(with various "bad" software installed that modifies how system works as a default (virtual cd drives, various registry "cleaners", unwanted changes from websites surfing & etc.)).

Also windows itself is a crap piece of software, inside very rubish, so it's really hard to write a code, that runs 100% compatible on all existing systems. (every system runs different OS setup on Different Hardware and game is supposed to behave on all possible setups same way, even untested setups? )

You can't really expect it that it will be like that.

Am sure, that all major problems will be fixed soon or later.

In case of any problems i'd recommend complete windows system reinstall and then use the latest hardware drivers.

If that won't help, then turn on/off various settings on drivers. And in last case then report it to forums "bugs thread" and will help if you include description of your system and dxdiag report (or other) to help developers with your settings.

Arma is a new game, offers a lot, so expects a lot from the hardware. Some parts (for exaple of the graphics card) are used very intensively, that can also cause incompatibilities or other types of "bugs" if you have older or generic graphics card.

(of course if you have older and the game works fine for you then be happy.)

if you can't play the game becouse of "found bugs" - wait for first patch, otherwise, njoy what the game offers and stop whining about bugs. Am sure that developers are working hard on fixing all various issues that have been found sofar and you should support them and not demotivate.

these were my personal thoughts

[colt 0]

I still intend to buy Arma but reading through bug lists, I'm wondering how some of them got through the Beta test?

I kinda' feel sorry for those with the Czech version - maybe BIS was rushed during the final stages by the publishers? I hope the German version is more refined because that will have a bigger impact on first impresssions and word of mouth. I gather a lot of people from Europe and some from US will be importing.

Anyway, no PC game is perfect form the off now-a-days (hell, they're even patching console games) - especially large free roaming games like ArmA.

Have faith everyone !

Remember original OFP? Look at the patches and support BIS gave to that. ArmA might be a bumpy ride in the beginning but it will be very sweet in the end

Of course some reports might deter people from buying ArmA straight off the bat, but it's one of those games I think they'll keep an eye out for and keep a bookmark on.

[Dallas 9]

If I wanted a perfect bugfree game, I'll wait for Duke Nukem Forever and S.T.A.L.K.E.R.  

[d034rk 0]

I hope the German version is more refined because that will have a bigger impact on first impresssions and word of mouth.

IIRC, the version for Germany will be the same Build, only translated.

[Balschoiw 0]

Quote[/b] ]Quick video to show that the people claiming the MGs to be sniper rifles are just plain wrong (and have probably not even played the game and are just spreading rumours), and some other cool stuffios.

Why don´t you get prone and come in again ? We are no idiots and we are NOT searching for bugs just to make our life a better one.

If you feel fine with Arma as it is, good for you. Most reviewers speak a different tongue.

[RedStorm 0]

Because it's quite obvious that a machine gun fired from a prone supported position will be very accurate?

EDIT:

But just for the unbelievers apparently; here is the FN MAG in real life:

and another one (bad placement in this one... not leaning into the bipod):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v....search=

And in ArmA, as the M240:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zWZeN_meLN8

[=BFP=Cheetah 0]

Quote[/b] ]If I wanted a perfect bugfree game, I'll wait for Duke Nukem Forever and S.T.A.L.K.E.R.

These probably won't be bugfree, maybe if they take out some additional stuff (driving vehicles in STALKER taken out..). Read that STALKER has loading times by the way, glad that ArmA has one big map.

Quote[/b] ]Because it's quite obvious that a machine gun fired from a prone supported position will be very accurate?

Indeed, check these videos I found on youtube. Confirms that a MG can be seen as a very accurate weapon at long distances when supported. If unsupported, the weapon is indeed hard to control.

M60E4 - prone supported

M60 - standing

PKM - crouching

SAW - standing

SAW - prone supported

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ibR8AAzLpI

[Ian Malcolm 0]

Quick video to show that the people claiming the MGs to be sniper rifles are just plain wrong (and have probably not even played the game and are just spreading rumours), and some other cool stuffios.

Nah. Played the game and i insist that M249 (SAW) has virtually no recoil when prone. That's the only eweapon in game with this problem. We already renamed it to the "laser pointer"

[robert(uk) 0]

Hey RedStorm, great review man. It's nice to see that someone can get really, really excited when they find their 'ideal' game, and they want to tell everyone else just how awesome it is!

I hope that they sort out these problems with the soundcards though, because I am using an Audigy 2 ZS and I really don't want to have to use my crappy AC97 onboard audio to run ArmA...

[Maddmatt 1]

Hey RedStorm, great review man. It's nice to see that someone can get really, really excited when they find their 'ideal' game, and they want to tell everyone else just how awesome it is!

I hope that they sort out these problems with the soundcards though, because I am using an Audigy 2 ZS and I really don't want to have to use my crappy AC97 onboard audio to run ArmA...

Someone said that turning hardware acceleration off while keeping EAX on solved the sound problems. It will still be using your Audigy, but you might lose a bit of performance.

[robert(uk) 0]

Hey RedStorm, great review man.  It's nice to see that someone can get really, really excited when they find their 'ideal' game, and they want to tell everyone else just how awesome it is!

I hope that they sort out these problems with the soundcards though, because I am using an Audigy 2 ZS and I really don't want to have to use my crappy AC97 onboard audio to run ArmA...  

Someone said that turning hardware acceleration off while keeping EAX on solved the sound problems. It will still be using your Audigy, but you might lose a bit of performance.

Well, we've got quite a while before ArmA shows itself here in the UK, so we'll see how things are then...

[Fresh- 6]

RedStorm, thank you for your post.

It was indeed over half a decade ago when I downloaded that obscure demo which would forever change my gaming experience.

And while it's true that OFP had glitches, it was still a groundbreaking game and remains my all time favorite. I have no doubts that ARMA will follow that tradition. Regardless of the negative impressions voiced by some, I will buy the game. It will be patched over time and made perfect. Greatness takes time.

Now, just to say it, I'm like an obsessive mental patient who checks the 'Sprocket' website three times a day in hopes that ARMA will be for sale.

Please, for the love of man, get this online distribution thing up and running.... THANKS BIS!

[Stryder 0]

Can you (the OP) comment on the AI in the game? (perhaps give us some vids )

This is the single most important aspect of ARMA for me.

Also about this sound issue... I have an Audigy card as well... I sure hope BIS comes up with a solution for this. Sound is more critical IMO in creating immersion than even graphics (see the Thief series)

[versus 0]

well i got the game today and it does sound a little strange with the X-Fi:

-every object occludes sounds the same way (a bush occludes just as much as a solid wall. seems ridiculous)

-object/vehicles closing in from far or heading off sound pretty cool at distance but the transition from sounding very close to sounding very far is way too fast and sudden. (including the transition in volume)

i also tested the game with my onboard sound solution (soundmax)...and it did in fact sound a little better. reverb was more noticeable (it's there with the X-Fi but way to soft) and the occlusion sounded more realistic. however the transitions where still too sudden and every object was still occluding the same amount. i also had a soundbug which wouldn't let me hear the radio messages. in fact i would only hear the voices directly from people...which was kind of cool...but once i was 50m away from them i couldn't hear them anymore

so now i switched back to X-Fi...

@Stryder

for what it's worth, i've only been playing this game for a couple of hours (as much as it can be played with the german version performance bug) but i'm totally convinced that the AI is much more sophisticated than it was in OPFP, especially in close quater combat.