Need an unbiased opinion from a veteran

[blackdog~ 0]

Hi,

I think it's crap.

Kind regards,

blackdog

Don't pay attention to this guy. Even though he's been around for a long time, he seems to have now become a troll that can only whine.

He thinks it's "crap", yet he spends plenty of time here. Guess he doesn't have anything better to do. Only an idiot would hang around on a specific forum that represents something he can't stand... Genius at work.

Hello mate.

I respect your opinion much very.

I can understand your extreme anger and vicious tone towards myself as a person. This is after all the internet and the internet is to be taken very seriously. I would like to apologize for hurting your feelings.

I do not know why I still come to this forum. I really do hate a good 85% of the people who regularly post here. And I really do loathe Armed Assault, as it's a genuine disappointment.

Perhaps I still come here because I think that this forum will get better. Maybe the game will get better, and maybe some of the familiar faces that made posts worthy of reading who have been gone for two or more years now will come back. I don't know. Right now all I can do is mock the stupidity I see in many of the posts I am unfortunate to waste my time reading by being an idiot myself. While my posts may be idiotic, I attempt to always prove a point that other forum members will take notice of. Then maybe other people won't be such morons.

Recently I've just been pissed off because I spent an unknown amount of commie dollars (too much no matter what the amount) on an incomplete and buggy game that will no doubt be the next thing I delete to make room on my cluttered Start>Programs menu.

I feel that OFP addon makers accomplished more in their spare time with the engine at hand than BIS did with many months of paid work. It is simply not acceptable in my eyes that things like the Army flying harriers and cobras in addition to the campaign being absolute shit were allowed to be released in the full game. I mean really - do you see any mod makers releasing mix and matched total conversions for OFP? No. They strive for accuracy and efficiency in their work.

People can say that ArmA is a platform and not a game (just as they said VBS1 is a simulation and not a game) all day long but what I bought was surely marketed as a game, and it simply is not up to standards.......

Whatever your opinion is about me, I'd appreciate it if you would cease your flambation (not a word but it should be) in public. If you would like to complain about my attitude or views by private message then feel free.

- blackdog

[whisper 0]

Perhaps I still come here because I think that this forum will get better. Maybe the game will get better, and maybe some of the familiar faces that made posts worthy of reading who have been gone for two or more years now will come back. I don't know. Right now all I can do is mock the stupidity I see in many of the posts I am unfortunate to waste my time reading by being an idiot myself. While my posts may be idiotic, I attempt to always prove a point that other forum members will take notice of. Then maybe other people won't be such morons.

1) it is definitely not with stupid troll posts that this board may become better.

2)

Quote[/b] ]Hi,

I think it's crap.

Kind regards,

blackdog

is hardly "making a point"

[Radic 0]

So I have been playing OFP since release and was to purchase ArmA. However, after playing the demo, it feels disloyal to OFP and somewhat flawed in terms of the atmosphere and simulation OFP provided. Of course I take the demo with a pinch of salt, but I remember the original OFP demo being far better and a real technological advancement for its time. To this day no one has truly surpassed the concept.

I have this horrible feeling that the enthusiasm the devs had back then somehow just faded over time. Correct me if I'm wrong.

But what I really want to get to is ArmA. So, does it truly beat the original OFP series? Most importantly, is the multiplayer aspect enjoyable through being lag free as I found lag is what usually kills a game, not even the playability in most cases. OFP suffered from terrible NetCode and was truly enjoyable over LAN. But other series such as Battlefield have a good online netcode. Someone fill me in.

Cheers.

Things to consider: There's very promising things on the horizon in the 1.05 patch - ie. the new ironsight system and apparently reworked flight model (I hope? ). And the BIGGIE: This project that's under way to port the original OFP Campaigns over to ArmA!

[max power 21]

No flight model changes on the list for 1.05, except for VTOL for the harrier.

BIS ArmA Version History

[Nicolas Eymerich 0]

So I have been playing OFP since release and was to purchase ArmA. However, after playing the demo, it feels disloyal to OFP and somewhat flawed in terms of the atmosphere and simulation OFP provided. Of course I take the demo with a pinch of salt, but I remember the original OFP demo being far better and a real technological advancement for its time. To this day no one has truly surpassed the concept.

I have this horrible feeling that the enthusiasm the devs had back then somehow just faded over time. Correct me if I'm wrong.

But what I really want to get to is ArmA. So, does it truly beat the original OFP series? Most importantly, is the multiplayer aspect enjoyable through being lag free as I found lag is what usually kills a game, not even the playability in most cases. OFP suffered from terrible NetCode and was truly enjoyable over LAN. But other series such as Battlefield have a good online netcode. Someone fill me in.

Cheers.

Things to consider:   There's very promising things on the horizon in the 1.05 patch - ie. the new ironsight system and apparently reworked flight model (I hope? ). And the BIGGIE: This project that's under way to port the original OFP Campaigns over to ArmA!

I'm usually pay for what a game is.

Not for what a game will be.

I've got Arma since yesterday and in my opinion it is a back-step since flashpoint.

Some example?

Ai is cheating. one shot in mostly case = head shot.

It makes unplayble some mission.

Ai knows always where you are (after you've shooted, of course)...

Some animations (look when your character is running or, even worst, when he get up a ladder to understand what I mean) aren't good.

Yes, It's true...

The graphics is very very improved

But is the graphic a reason to purchase a game?

[Timblesink 0]

Hi,

I think it's crap.

Kind regards,

blackdog

[/img]http://i108.photobucket.com/albums/n11/melipone/smartdog-1.jpg[/img]

[SeppSchrot 0]

Quote[/b] ]

What I loved about OFP-

-The general atmosphere i.e. war torn planes, dull colour tones and the general war feel (no I'm not a sadist but I can appreciate what is almost poetic )

You get this in ArmA pretty much as you did in OFP.

The polished graphics even support it, (if your PC can handle it)

for example do the shader effects allow scriptable camera focus (blur) in order to archive new dramaturgical effects.

ArmA has gained here, though it sometimes is looks a bit too shiny, not dull.

Quote[/b] ]

- The sounds- Rolling tanks from great distances, Mi-24's with paratroopers etc dropping over your location. Music might be a bit cheesy at times but I can honestly say I thought it was pretty much perfect for this game.

The sound engine, at least at the moment, is one of my biggest disappointments. Simply, it's broken. You just can't tell anymore the direction of tanks, sounds are cut of or aren't even propagated in multiplayer games.

I've never realised the maximum number of sounds playable at the same time has a hard coded limit in OFP. But in ArmA you do! For example, when you hear a tank engine near you and you

fire your rifle, the sound of the shoot -replaces- the tank sound and then the sound(file) of the tankengine starts from the beginning.

This is odd

On the other hand's side, the music is better in ArmA.

Quote[/b] ]

- Seclusion- The feeling of being in a huge place, on your own (in solo missions) and suddenly seeing a small platoon over the hills on the horizon... same can be said in the opposite way for having an own platoon though

- Immersion- the feeling of truly being in the world of OFP and a game that could actually make one go on edge i.e. fear of being shot... the first such game for me

No problems encountered here.

I suggest trying the 'On the run' mission. You'll find it in the 'User Missions' forum.

Quote[/b] ]

- Simulation- keeping true to life as is possible whilst maintaining playability... things like locational damage, authentic weapons, realistic carrying load etc...

From an infantry perspective, ArmA is very realistic.

Vehicle wise ArmA has still a long way to go IMHO.

Personally, I came to the conclusion that I still _can't_ live

without my OFP installed. ArmA is still unmature at the moment.

As said before, if you think you pay for a game, you will most probably be dissappointed.

I've bought ArmA because I've had so much fun editing Flashpoint since 2001. The cool mission editior, the mighty script language, dozen of community addons from driveable shopping-carts to WW1-planes... this is something for me.

I just enjoy creating stuff.

As a consequence, the lame campaign or missing vehicle xyz are no issues to me. Shortcomings in the engine are...

I think these two points of view are the reason why ppl. clash that often in this forum.

[whisper 0]

I'm usually pay for what a game is.

Not for what a game will be.

I've got Arma since yesterday and in my opinion it is a back-step since flashpoint.

Some example?

Ai is cheating. one shot in mostly case = head shot.

It makes unplayble some mission.

Ai knows always where you are (after you've shooted, of course)...

Some animations (look when your character is running or, even worst, when he get up a ladder to understand what I mean) aren't good.

Yes, It's true...

The graphics is very very improved

But is the graphic a reason to purchase a game?

Well, that's very strange cause on my PC, AI is definitely not a 1 shot-wonder shooter, nor does it magically knows all the time where I am once I began shooting. I can still outflank them, or take cover in time, etc...

And graphics is far from the only improvement over OFP. You get now simulated lighting conditions (can't see much when facing the sun, for example), way more detailed terrain (and it is more than just graphics, ambient life and moving flora makes for a better immersion and impacts gameplay ("movement" not necesseraly means "ennemy" now), 3D ironsight with soon to come improved handling, more advanced ballistics with ricochets, penetration, larger terrain visible without size limit, more AI handled by the engine without CPU impact, more players handled on MP without CPU impact, as far as I've seen, Join in Progress in MP, and I certainly forget other features added.

The question I ask myself, is how could one restrict ArmA to a graphical update of OFP, tbh.

It is not. It is far more.

Between both games, if you ask me :

- OFP single player content was better, it's a big disapointment in ArmA, here.

- General physics is improved in ArmA, even if you find, again, these itching behavior present in OFP, sometimes. A few flying tanks here and there, character sometimes blocked in building for no reason (even if this very point is far better in ArmA than OFP)

- Environment is a winner for ArmA. Visually, everything is better and more immersive. For sound, the engine has some improvement (occlusion, etc...) but is not enough 1) stable (source of many CTD for many people) 2) reliable (sounds disappearing, etc...)

- I prefer infantry physics of ArmA, ofc, like ricochets, and all that. Same for weapon handling. At last, recoils are not these magic "come back in center" ones, and have horizontal component. Way, way, way better.

- animations, I'm not too sure. Sometimes I feel more "in character" in ArmA, because some things were too "robotic", "staged" in OFP, and sometimes it's the complete opposite, where OFP looks more fluid. Biggest gripe being anims that last too long, and pauses between anims.

- flight models : with joystick, ArmA feel better than OFP. With mouse, they are tricky. I'm not too sure also that all the added aspects add to realism, too. Certain points are still odd, like the way the choppers bank.

- Mission Editing : I prefer everything in ArmA. More possibilities, I like sqf syntax better, ....

- MP : So far, ArmA wins for me. No more hours of waiting for a game to finish, which is one of the main reason that made me quit OFP. If I know I don't have much time at hand, at last, I can launch ArmA, list servers, and play more than wait. If I get disconnected because of freaking ISP, I can come back without problem in game. A dream I didn't even make in OFP. And as far as I've experienced so far, it looks like we can play with more players.

All in all,I don't regret buying it, at all.

Too much instability when I 1st bought it, but now it's over. And, would I buy it for singleplayer and mainly campaign, I would be rightly pissed off, tbh.

[Maddmatt 1]

Ai is cheating. one shot in mostly case = head shot.

It makes unplayble some mission.

Ai knows always where you are (after you've shooted, of course)...

In my experience the AI are not all that accurate, it's just that unlike most games they know how to use a gun.

I find myself shooting more accurately than the AI most times.

You need to use cover, it's not just about who can quickly pull off an accurate shot.

Quote[/b] ]Ai knows always where you are (after you've shooted, of course)...

Again:

Well do you expect, to remain undetected after you have fired a gun? Noise, muzzle flash and sometimes tracers make a shooter easy to spot.

[Tracer 0]

The AI is Borked! One of the dev's has already said it'd fixed in the 1.05 patch.

Two examples posted and clarified;

I hide in a forrest (note forrest not sky line) overlooking the road 80m away, set satchel charges for convoy and detonate. As usual some soldiers survive, but as soon as they exit vehicles i'm under direct fire and killed. Impossible since i've been in that position for approx 5mins without moving.

The other person posted his scenario;

Hiding in a church tower (or the like) and again satchel charges are used against a convoy. Survivors or tank kill him whilst he's hiding behind solid wall in tower.

Again impossible for AI to know this.

Which of course was correct, as the dev said it was a bug which is fixed in new patch.

So yes AI can 'see' and find/shoot you through anything just now.

[NeMeSiS 11]

Well thats more or less a bug with the satchel (or a 'feature' which isnt very handy when it comes to satchels, at least i think it is..).

When you damage someone he will automatically know where you are, for more info about how the AI detects stuff, read the notes here.

(From what i saw this part is quite accurate when it comes to ArmA, not sure if the actual values have changed)

With Resistance (1.91): No matter what class of unit the target is and no matter what the skill/class of the enemy AI, the magic 'knowsAbout' number is 0.105.

With CWC (1.46): No matter what class of unit the target is and no matter what the skill/class of the enemy AI, the magic 'knowsAbout' number is 0.7.

What this means is, the AI will not fire on an enemy soldier until his 'knowsAbout' level of that enemy has reached the 'magic number' or higher.

This suggests that the knowsabout level must reach the magic threshold before a unit knows if another unit is an enemy or a friendly unit.

Also... As soon as An AI unit gets hit with a bullet his knowsAbout level for the unit that shot him will instantly jump to 1.5, even if the shooter is 1000m away. Vice versa is also true. If An AI soldier's knowsAbout level for an enemy is 0.7 and the soldier fires and hits the enemy, his knowsAbout level about the enemy will instantly jump to 1.5.

[CsonkaPityu 0]

Well i've been playing OFP since the demo, didn't play it online much though, so take my word with cartloads of salt, etc. This is just single-player impressions.

In all honesty i cannot recommend version 1.02. The game sucks.

From a technical perpective it's not good at all, constant switching of the LODs while i'm not even moving. Horribly bad physics. Couple that with the computer specs required, it's not good. These things aren't even because of my crappy rig, the game does the same stuff on the minimum settings with smooth framerates.

The game also mixes sattlelite maps with the old tile system of OFP. At a distance you can see a nice wheatfield but when you walk into it turns into grass. Disorienting.

Tree trunks sway in the wind in a totally unrealistic manner. The leaves don't budge however, so you get the drain on CPU power but not the immersion.

Gameplaywise it's crap, the driving feels weird. I constantly have to move the mouse a bit in order to keep the vehicle turning and it's one of those things that make it very annoying to drive around in this game.

Ambience is bad, nothing has force, a tank can blast away while you're next to it and you will just hear a poof. The grenades explode like tiny concussion grenades, but they kill with the force of a real hardass high-explosive military grenade.

Campaign stinks, the missions stink.

The setting of Sahrani is a huge turn off, it's a full frontal assault on the suspence of disbelief for anyone with a modicum of knowledge about the US military or even common sense. Pinetrees next to Tropico, coupled with a pathetic unit line up. Both sides are ill equipped and internally completely unbalanced. No missle defence systems, no radar/anti radiation weapons, nothing modern. This is 1985 in ACU (catsuit-fit ACU might i add, the soldiers shouldn't have washed their uniforms at 90 degrees).

Modless arma isn't any good and mods rarely ever reach a quality that rivals the actual game. I hope mods actually will start making missions for their addon packs in ArmA... but what can i ask for? They aren't payed proffessionals, they don't need my approval.

If you want single-player value then don't get the game it has none. I give this game 6/10.

edit: ouch that's a wall of text i didn't want to produce...

[blackdog~ 0]

Perhaps I still come here because I think that this forum will get better. Maybe the game will get better, and maybe some of the familiar faces that made posts worthy of reading who have been gone for two or more years now will come back. I don't know. Right now all I can do is mock the stupidity I see in many of the posts I am unfortunate to waste my time reading by being an idiot myself. While my posts may be idiotic, I attempt to always prove a point that other forum members will take notice of. Then maybe other people won't be such morons.

1) it is definitely not with stupid troll posts that this board may become better.

2)

Quote[/b] ]Hi,

I think it's crap.

Kind regards,

blackdog

is hardly "making a point"

Hi mate,

1) I appreciate the fact that you numbered your reply to make it easier to comprehend. Maybe I should perhaps take this posting style into consideration for my own posts.

2) Do you think I don't know that? I'll continue posting in a style which you and others may consider annoying and rude until the game levels above my post quality. Once the game gets better, I'll match my attitude on this forum with it. Maybe I'll even become a worthy contributor to the community again.

Much very,

blackdog

[hoz 0]

Timblesink WL+1 for spamming.

[Tracer 0]

Well thats more or less a bug with the satchel (or a 'feature' which isnt very handy when it comes to satchels, at least i think it is..).

When you damage someone he will automatically know where you are, for more info about how the AI detects stuff, read the notes here.

(From what i saw this part is quite accurate when it comes to ArmA, not sure if the actual values have changed)

With Resistance (1.91): No matter what class of unit the target is and no matter what the skill/class of the enemy AI, the magic 'knowsAbout' number is 0.105.

With CWC (1.46): No matter what class of unit the target is and no matter what the skill/class of the enemy AI, the magic 'knowsAbout' number is 0.7.

What this means is, the AI will not fire on an enemy soldier until his 'knowsAbout' level of that enemy has reached the 'magic number' or higher.

This suggests that the knowsabout level must reach the magic threshold before a unit knows if another unit is an enemy or a friendly unit.

Also... As soon as An AI unit gets hit with a bullet his knowsAbout level for the unit that shot him will instantly jump to 1.5, even if the shooter is 1000m away. Vice versa is also true. If An AI soldier's knowsAbout level for an enemy is 0.7 and the soldier fires and hits the enemy, his knowsAbout level about the enemy will instantly jump to 1.5.

Ah, so that's what BIS have implemented in the SP missions?

Lot's of other posts regarding the 'all seeing AI'

[bravo 6 0]

im no veteran and im nobody..

but i give my opinion anyway.. ban me if you like.

At start i was really disapointed with arma. I had a bad video card and the game it self was loaded with bugs.

Now that BIS gave us a better patch (1.02) and i got my self a better video card, ARMA runs better and looks more realistic even some bugs.

So i imagine when BIS release the 1.05 or even future and better patches i belive from the deep that ARMA will shake the world. It will be The Ultimate Combat Simulator for a long time.

So i suggest you to get ir when 1.05 gets out. You will not be disapointed, but remember to have a decent computer to run it smooth or else..

cheers.

[robert(uk) 0]

Oh you can tell very well that ArmA is related to OFP when you have played for a long time with it. For example, getting killed by AI from 300m away with a single headshot, that's definitely OFP style. If you are considering buying it, and enjoyed OFP, I would say go for it, because after all, this is BIS, and we all know how they will stick with us until the game is as we expect. Remember the great community that exists thanks to OFP also, and how that will hopefully grow and improve thanks to ArmA...

[whisper 0]

Well thats more or less a bug with the satchel (or a 'feature' which isnt very handy when it comes to satchels, at least i think it is..).

When you damage someone he will automatically know where you are, for more info about how the AI detects stuff, read the notes here.

(From what i saw this part is quite accurate when it comes to ArmA, not sure if the actual values have changed)

With Resistance (1.91): No matter what class of unit the target is and no matter what the skill/class of the enemy AI, the magic 'knowsAbout' number is 0.105.

With CWC (1.46): No matter what class of unit the target is and no matter what the skill/class of the enemy AI, the magic 'knowsAbout' number is 0.7.

What this means is, the AI will not fire on an enemy soldier until his 'knowsAbout' level of that enemy has reached the 'magic number' or higher.

This suggests that the knowsabout level must reach the magic threshold before a unit knows if another unit is an enemy or a friendly unit.

Also... As soon as An AI unit gets hit with a bullet his knowsAbout level for the unit that shot him will instantly jump to 1.5, even if the shooter is 1000m away. Vice versa is also true. If An AI soldier's knowsAbout level for an enemy is 0.7 and the soldier fires and hits the enemy, his knowsAbout level about the enemy will instantly jump to 1.5.

Ah, so that's what BIS have implemented in the SP missions?

Lot's of other posts regarding the 'all seeing AI'

It is a bug confirmed by BI :

http://bugs.armed-assault.net/view.php?id=1614

and that should be corrected in 1.05.

Not "what BIS have implemented" (at least not what they wanted to), but a bug.

Now, in how the reaction is implemented, they indeed get a short clue about where you are when you shoot them, but :

- if you're out of LoS or out of range, this knowledge will quickly fade away, ie they'll lose anyknowledge of you pretty fast. Usually 1 guy will be sent, but as time passes when he comes, he'll know nothing about your true position and just search around.

- if you are in LoS and in range, well... when you shoot you are spotted, that's quite easily understandable.

If you ask me, ArmA AI is way too easy to beat. This is not gloating, I'm not really the best in ArmA (or any FPS), but still can hold my own, that's a clear indication it's not that hard.

[Tracer 0]

Yes i understand from OFP -a long time ago- but the issue appears worse because you, as a physical entity in the game, think that you are hiding behind the new feature called grass! also i and the poster, hadn't fired a shot and where completely hidden (you can see how well in 3rd person vew) The AI still looked straight at me and shot me dead. Try the convoy SP mission?

Hell i beat OFP/Red Hammer and Resistance all those years ago! But when AI is picking you off with iron sights and your 200m away with a scope in ArmA, it's not about gloating but about you trying to beat an enemy with a 'sixth sense' hardly realistic... Sure we as human OFP 'old timers' can adapt, but it's not selling the game to the ordinary punter who's new.

Anyway, the new patch is around the corner

[whisper 0]

well, the bug is exactly that : a mine or stachel you put exploding IS atm considered by the engine as you shooting, so the default behavior (giving to ennemies a knowsAbout of 1.5 about you) kicks in.

This bug is resolved in 1.05, making the convoy ambush and all the mine/satchel missions easier.

And apart from that, I don't find the AI too magical

[Albert Schweitzer 10]

im no veteran and im nobody..

but i give my opinion anyway.. ban me if you like.

At start i was really disapointed with arma. I had a bad video card and the game it self was loaded with bugs.

Now that BIS gave us a better patch (1.02) and i got my self a better video card, ARMA runs better and looks more realistic even some bugs.

So i imagine when BIS release the 1.05 or even future and better patches i belive from the deep that ARMA will shake the world. It will be The Ultimate Combat Simulator for a long time.

So i suggest you to get ir when 1.05 gets out. You will not be disapointed, but remember to have a decent computer to run it smooth or else..

cheers.

I fully agree with all you said. I realy have troubles with ArmA too, but I see the potential and I see that this potential is being positvely exploitet from one patch to the other. ArmA was released too early, so what, I already enough fun for now.

But could I ban you anyway?    

[Wolfrug 0]

Edit : That's...strange. It all got posted in the wrong thread!

[Scrub 0]

To the origional poster:  How is ArmA looking to you now with the new freeaim ironsights, VSTOL, bug fixes and misc. other features getting out into the forums?

2) Do you think I don't know that? I'll continue posting in a style which you and others may consider annoying and rude until the game levels above my post quality.

Maybe I'm misunderstanding you, but are you trying to say that we, the rest of the forum, are going to pay the price for your issues and listen to you be an arse in our threads, all mocking and snippy and such?  (This actually is a question, but I'm sure you can guess my opinion if I understand the behavior correctly)

[OrLoK 20]

Hello

In reply to very origional question.

In comparision to Ofp, Arma is essentially the same  game....

But, there are bugs, I assume this is because everything has had to be translated to the new engine.

They do seem to be being adressed in patches.

Performance for me from 1.00 to 1.04 is vastly improved.

When you first play the game you may be dissapointed with overall performance and the fact that it feels just like ofp, and you may think "why did I buy this?"...

But.....

Once you have adjusted the graphic settings to suit your card/cpu etc it's just fine to play (looks vs fps.)

You may not be able to run it on excessive resolutions (I for one run on 800x600) and consistantly have either one of the highest kill counts and/or survive the mission or have contributed to the coop mission.

Not boasting there, just saying that graphic excess does not mean you will be a god within the game. You still need teamwork and communication. (Plus Im getting good scores, prob because Im a vet not a new bf2 convert)

As to actual gameplay, it essentially IS ofp.

The controls are similar with only a few differences in the new(? I think may have been introduced in xbox ofp?) icon action menu.

It's ok, but I occasionally find myself "gearing up" rather than entering vehicles.

The atmosphere, is different.

It could be that Arma seems to be based in a more middle eastern/arid environ.

Ofp felt alot more soggy and damp to me. Much more eastern eruropa.

Also as others have said, the campaign is , err not so great.

Nothing terible, just is missing something.

Also with no ability to carry over weapons from one mission to the other it feels alot more disjointed than the old Ofp Resistance game.

The MP is where the game (can) shine.

Excellent fun to be had in almost all game modes.

Of course this relies on your fellow players.

I reccommend joining a clan or finding private servers to play on, as the new generation of players mostly have a different playstyle from that which is needed by Arma, so ALOT of TKing is happening at the moment.

This will Pass, as it did in Ofp, but you'll have to wait quite a while.

Now, although i stated that you may think "why'd I bother?", Please bear in mind that after all these years since OFP came out we have got used to alot of very attractive games like HL/doom/Bf2 etc and when we think back to ofp, we tend to see it through rose tinted glassed, or if you still play it, you've prob got anything up to 10gigs of sound / visual addons in your mod folder.

If you compare it directly head to head with ofp, Arma is def the most superior game (including stuff like Joining a MP game and not having to sit in a lobby for 30 mins(mostly))

If I were left on a desert island and had to choose from ofp or arma (and patches), it would def be Arma.

No hesitation.

As i stated there are bugs and differences (flight model is destinctly dogey at the mo, but seems to be getting better  patch by patch), but when you think of all the dedicated OFP/VBS1 Modders/Scripters/Designers out there and all the experience they have gleaned in the past 5 years or so, the amount of fantastic (professional) community mods/gameplay changes will make this a game to be reckoned with.

If you loved OFP, you will love Arma, just remember it wasn't an easy ride with OFP and it wont be with Arma, but put the effort in and  you'll stay together for a long long time.

Rgds

LoK

Ps please excuse spelling/grammer, can't be arsed to fix tonight, prob do tomorrow or mabee not, who knows....stay tuned....