Is this game worth buying?

[Clavicula_nox4817 0]

Thats not what he meant.  Its pain in the ass when you play online.  

You get kicked all the time for missing addons and by the time you find out what you need and download it, the server might even be gone.  

Unless its a total covertion like FDF for example, its difficult to play online with a bunch of addons.  Many addons have wierd compatibility with one another (at least in OFP).  You get lots of errors and many people don't even bother with servers that you need a gazilion different addons by different authors..

Sure for offline, no big deal.  For online its another story.  

The problem is that ARMA's addon system is ancient when it comes to MP.  In every other game, mods/addons are being downloaded automatically from the server.  In ARMA you have to search everything yourself and do it manually.  That takes time and sometimes you can't even find the right thing.

Okay, that makes more sense. I agree that it would be nice for servers to automatically upload addons when needed, but when many addons are over 100meg I don't think that can be possible. A simple re-texture of the default units for the West will run up to 60mb.

The problem with missions/servers/addons requiring other addons is that sometimes it is next to impossible to find that addon because the links provided are often broken, with no other source for them.

Can be quite frustrating at times.

[TheReddog 0]

I'd say wait for another 6 months then ask again.

[Fred DM 0]

There's a future with any game.  Your acting as if this is the only game in the world with a modding community, and BIS is the only company suporting its games.  To be fair, this is a small community compared to other games.  

I don't see it as an investment and I don't see it like an investment either.

You're still here    

Please enlighten our small community of the other 'great' games out there that pass your highly refined taste. Of course, were mostly interested in realistic/tactical military sims for both sp/mp.

Ghost Recon? that game had quality mods even years after. "Year of the Monkey" ring a bell?

Rainbow Six 1-3? still today, there are probably more people playing Raven Shield than ArmA.

there are probably more games, but those are what i could think of in 2.5 seconds.  

R6 is fine for a tightly controlled, small squad based sim. I'm currently having fun with R6 Vegas for a quick bubble-gum shootem up, but wow, you want to see negative forums, check theirs out!

But lets be honest, those games don't attempt anything on the scale of OFP/ArmA.  Maybe I'm in the minority, frankly I don't care, those games will never scratch the itch that OFP provides. Wide open terrain, total freedom of movement, full command of unlimted troops, Armour, Aircraft and so much more. It's become cliche', but you really cant compare these games to anything else.

i know that. i have Vegas, even tried it online. i've visited their forum for a while now, i know how pissed they are at UbiSoft for the poor support.

Raven Shield is a different story. while Vegas is pretty much a heartless console port, Raven Shield was the last real Rainbow Six. that probably explains why it's still played online today, and why Vegas PC is as good as dead already.

i agree that those games don't provide what OpF/ArmA does. but that's not the point anyway. the point is, that there are other PC games out there that have a huge fan community and that have lived way beyond their life expectancy.

further examples might include Hidden & Dangerous 2, Vietcong, and the Delta Force series.

[Scrub 0]

Just wanted to balance out my perspective on the inherent worth of the games' milieu -went to the 'dark side' for a while and checked out the competition's forums for my own illumination..

 They have almost the exact same issues..  Bugs, lack of support, and some have to PAY for patches that disguise themselves as expansions offering a couple weapon 'unlocks' or a map or two.  Darn my fanboyishness, I was misled into thinking we were different..

 Wait, I forgot myself for a moment.  The only thing we have in common is the bugs.  Darn BIS for providing attentive feedback, support, new features and units, and most of all patches as patches - FOR FREE.

Just look around with open eyes.  I'm not what you'd call a 'fanboy'.  I've witnessed BISs' actions since the OFP demo,  I know they listen and care what players think, that's called proven trust. And if you wait a bit (1.5 patch and beyond.. again free) you'll see the business itself is worth supporting.

[Jack-UK 0]

1.04 fixes A LOT of issues I had with with original 1.0 releases, multiplayer is actually playable now and performance is so much better. This English EU release is what ArmA should've been from the start, but better late than never I guess...

Yup i agree, the game is now very playable, with less of those annoying bugs that have been present, the performance is also much better. I'm sure once 1.05 is released we will have a bit more positive comments from those with the german/czech version.

Its now at a decent base, its all the way up from here.