ArmA is just ... disappointing

[Foxtrot1213 0]

Thanks guys for the replies. I got this game 4 days before, and I thought that evolution is a part of this game

[NeMeSiS 11]

Thanks guys for the replies. I got this game 4 days before, and I thought that evolution is a part of this game  

You arent the first one to think that, that mission is seriously overplayed.

Which is probably my biggest dissapointment: Public MP.

[Ezekiel 0]

Quote[/b] ]Ok, we've landed in our blackhawk about 20 meters from the waterline.. get out and dismount the ai.. Set formation.

Set AI to return to formation..

Damnit...Return to formation...

They do just what you tell them. They return to formation. It´s not their fault if you are not able to select an appropriate formation first.

User error, not game bug.

The problem with this is 'how does the AI know whether or not you want them to swim?'. For all they know, you could be planning on crossing a river and to have them refusing to swim when you tell em to return to formation would be a nightmare...

Personally I think there should be 2 distinct conditions for AI - crossing water and crossing bridges. That way you can order them to cross either at a certain point (presumably their AI is smart enough to work out the rest). Even if you don't order them to cross, the AI needs to have a clearly defined sense of 'this is how to cross a bridge/river' and 'I am crossing a bridge/river'. I'm no code guru but I think its plain that the AI currently doesn't make enough of a distinction between normal terrain, water and bridges. Strangely they can recognise roads and factor THEM into the their path finding well enough..

[hula 0]

I've given Arma a fair crack of the whip but I have returned for the time being to OFP.

If I were to pick up on any points why I don't like Arma they would be:

i) At present it does stutter. No matter how you tweak it and patch it up when the going gets heavy then the frame rates drop and I have a fairly beefy system too that can fly through all my other games until it meets Arma. If I were BIS I'd have sacrificed scale and cities in favour of framerates on the initial launch just to have reached a happy medium for MOST of its' users.  

ii ) Alot of people have criticised the campaign which wasn't brilliant but I'm not worried about that because the community is bound to produce some cracking experiences and addons to make the platform shine however they should be given the tools to make this happen straight off as the community will be the saving grace for Arma.

iii) I hate the sights on the guns now its like looking into a tube at arms length, send it back to how ofp does it!

iv) Helicopters are annoying to fly now. I don't care for comments like 'you have to spend more time getting use to fly them' This is a game not a simulator I want to be able to jump in and get going with only a small learning curve to worry about. There was nothing wrong with how helicopters handled in OFP and if ain't broke don't fix it should have been observed here. I wasn't alone in purchasing Arma many of my friends purchased the game in the hope that we would could now have many more multiplayer battles between ourselves, the chopper issue was just one reason that Arma now sits idle on our shelves.    

v) I do like the ability to use a machine gun as a commader in a tank but allocating of targets now seems to have taken second place to using the machine gun. I'm damn sure in real life the commander would be less interested in popping off his gun than assigining targets, especially other tanks that will rip his ride open! Being a commander in OFP in say King Homers M1A2 SEP is a great experience and this shoulda been emulated for Arma.

It's a shame really because there is so much to like in Arma and I suppose like many I'll return to it in the future when through various mods and patches it comes into its own.

Hula.

[eddogg823 0]

Arma is just....crappy.

[pMASTER 0]

* "Vegetation lack": It's nearly unimportant which system you have, your fps severely run down if you are in a forest

* "Uber-AI" with clairvoyant and exceptional marksman abilities

Except of these points, I don't have anything to complain about. I mean, concerning the bugs ArmA has nothing what we would not know from OFP.

[Brendan.K 0]

The AI can see through just about anything, even at night without Night Vision Goggles. They are also expert marksmen from about 1000 meters away and a guy with an AK47 can headshot me in the cockpit.

[Hostilian 11]

Balschoiw..

No idea what you're talking about (To be honest, I dont think 'you' know either).. The problem is that AI seem to think that its perfectly ok to walk/swim through water as part of their route to 'returning to formation'. If you cant see that this was the main point of my earlier post; you either didn't read it properly (likely) or you're just a happy-flamer (also likely) or you havent played the game and seen it happen. AI behave stupidly aound water when they have just dismounted (boat/chopper whatever).

The AI 'didnt' return to formation (which was on the default). They ran around for a bit then went straight into the water - there was plenty of room for them to manoever themselves into the formation selected (there was only 1 or 2 ai in the chopper).

I have been playing ArmA and OFP long enough to know how to set formation and get AI to follow.. Nice helpful post, thanks..

#C

[Balschoiw 0]

Quote[/b] ]No idea what you're talking about (To be honest, I dont think 'you' know either)..

Nice one

If you disembark from a chopper the group will try to get into default formation or whatever formation they are ordered to.

If you are close to water this means that their default position is in the water at times (dependant of leader position) , so they will go there as they can now swim.

Quote[/b] ]The problem is that AI seem to think that its perfectly ok to walk/swim through water as part of their route to 'returning to formation'.

So what ?

Quote[/b] ]you either didn't read it properly (likely) or you're just a happy-flamer (also likely)

I´d be careful with your accusations. A happy flamer ? Get a life.

Quote[/b] ]AI behave stupidly aound water when they have just dismounted (boat/chopper whatever).

They just need to be directed properly, and yes, I have my share of knowledge here, working on missions that include men near water, in water or in boats, helos, whatever.

Quote[/b] ]Nice helpful post, thanks..

Nice flaming post.

[Hostilian 11]

Once again, you are flaming and once again your reading and comprehension skills are letting you down.. Are you trying to pick a fight or something?

I said that there was more than enough room for the 1 or 2 ai to maneuver themselves into position without going into the water.. I was leading and there 'was' enough room.

Quote[/b] ]

AI behave stupidly aound water when they have just dismounted (boat/chopper whatever).

As have I (mission editing) and its a nightmare.. Even if you try to send single AI up from the beach to a point in a straight line with no visible obstructions they will refuse and eventually go swimming (though it is dependent on the terrain to an extent). It simply is much more fiddly than it should be...

They just need to be directed properly, and yes, I have my share of knowledge here, working on missions that include men near water, in water or in boats, helos, whatever.

Quote[/b] ]So what ?

So you think that its ok to go into the water and lose their equipment when they dont have to? Hmmmm. O....K..

This thread is to post negative experiences with the game.. I have posted mine and you replied with a totally incorrect comment as to 'MY' experiences.. Were you looking over my shoulder or something.. How the hell do you know?

In fact.. Not bothering to finish this.. Your flaming will end up getting this thread locked (and I have noticed your inappropriate and superior attitude to other casual posters in the past).

And for the record, I didn't say that your initial post was flaming.. It was one of the options.. 'Your' second post definitely was though - as will be your next.

#C

[Black Sphere 0]

This thread is to post negative experiences with the game.. I have posted mine and you replied with a totally incorrect comment as to 'MY' experiences.. Were you looking over my shoulder or something.. How the hell do you know?

In fact.. Not bothering to finish this.. Your flaming will end up getting this thread locked (and I have noticed your inappropriate and superior attitude to other casual posters in the past).

And for the record, I didn't say that your initial post was flaming.. It was one of the options.. 'Your' second post definitely was though - as will be your next.

#C

Ditto and agree 100%!

And for the record, don't try to mess with Balschoiw mate, you'll definately end up on a shorter end (with mods), you see, he's a VIP ...

If you are close to water this means that their default position is in the water at times (dependant of leader position) , so they will go there as they can now swim.

So this is not a sloppy and rotten game designing or something? This is not such an in-game flaw that is laughable? For you of course is not, as we're already used you're able to 'justify' and to 'clarify' any and every such thing in ArmA, this is your pass time hobby.

Get a life.

Look who's talking about that; a person with nearly 6000 posts. And ffs leave the people be with their 'ArmA problems' if you're so lucky that you don't have them, and stop with your incursions into this thread, you're not helping in any way, quite contrary, as stated in Cakes_x's quote.

[Balschoiw 0]

I don´t even feel bothered to answer all that nonsense you 2 are pulling up now.

Any personal vendettas of any kind can gladly be taken to PM.

@Black Sphere:

whatever...

[W0lle 1050]

Cakes_x, Black Sphere and Balschoiw

This is thread is not for sorting your personal issues, it's also not a troubleshooting thread (as stated before).

Sort your personal stuff by PM and not in the forums. If it continues I'll hand out WLs and PRs.

Edit:

Quote[/b] ]And for the record, don't try to mess with Balschoiw mate, you'll definately end up on a shorter end (with mods), you see, he's a VIP ...

Just FYI: That VIP status is from 2003, which is 4 years back, and it has nothing to do how someone is treated here.

[Dashkatt 0]

OK, I'm not posting to upset anyone's tender ego. I'm responding to the original intention of this thread... ArmA is just Disappointing.

I've got a great system, (running STALKER with no problems). But when I try to run ArmA it's as if I just pulled half the memory and cut the processor in half.

I recently got the 1.08 patch and fix. I had high hopes that it would make the game playable. It did not. The lag, the inability to quickly focus the gun sight on the enemy and other issues have left me feeling like I wasted my 50 bucks and waited almost 4 years for nothing. Such a shame.

I did receive an email from Codemasters that had attached a link for the new OFP2 video just released. I find it almost laughable that after all this time that Codemasters may just have the military sim that we were promised from BIS.

I didn't buy a great video card, fast processor, extra ram, a 22" monitor, etc., etc., just to turn all the settings back to the 1995 level of gaming.

I'm disgusted to the point of giving up. Don't bother flaming me, I rarely come to the ArmA boards much anymore.

[Caaahl 0]

OK, I'm not posting to upset anyone's tender ego. I'm responding to the original intention of this thread... ArmA is just Disappointing.

I've got a great system, (running STALKER with no problems). But when I try to run ArmA it's as if I just pulled half the memory and cut the processor in half.

I recently got the 1.08 patch and fix. I had high hopes that it would make the game playable. It did not. The lag, the inability to quickly focus the gun sight on the enemy and other issues have left me feeling like I wasted my 50 bucks and waited almost 4 years for nothing. Such a shame.

I did receive an email from Codemasters that had attached a link for the new OFP2 video just released. I find it almost laughable that after all this time that Codemasters may just have the military sim that we were promised from BIS.

I didn't buy a great video card, fast processor, extra ram, a 22" monitor, etc., etc., just to turn all the settings back to the 1995 level of gaming.

I'm disgusted to the point of giving up. Don't bother flaming me, I rarely come to the ArmA boards much anymore.

Did you try some of the tweeks, metioned here in this board? Mouse Lag -> crappy aiming for example. I had this problem too and thought, it would be fps related but then i found out, that theres a huge increase in aiming comfort, after i installed the specific mouse drivers for my logitech mouse.

Thats just an example. There are a lot of tips regarding gpu settings in control panel etc.

I could play very well even with my 7800 GS, and now with the 8600GT (with only 256mb RAM) its even better, of course.

PS: Defragging the arma-hdd can bring alot, too...

[Jamoose 0]

This game doesn't have that gripping feeling that OFP had. The main example being, there are no characters and not much of a personal story but just a pretty boring war campaign, unlike the encounters you get in OFP like meeting the resistance all by yourself and of course, the resistance campaign.

Secondly I can hardly run this game on my PC, even on Very Low settings and this has made me start going back to OFP because apart from better graphics and a few gameplay touch-ups, it's more or less the same.

[NeMeSiS 11]

OK, I'm not posting to upset anyone's tender ego.  I'm responding to the original intention of this thread... ArmA is just Disappointing.

I've got a great system, (running STALKER with no problems).  But when I try to run ArmA it's as if I just pulled half the memory and cut the processor in half.

I recently got the 1.08 patch and fix.  I had high hopes that it would make the game playable.  It did not.  The lag, the inability to quickly focus the gun sight on the enemy and other issues have left me feeling like I wasted my 50 bucks and waited almost 4 years for nothing.  Such a shame.

I did receive an email from Codemasters that had attached a link for the new OFP2 video just released.  I find it almost laughable that after all this time that Codemasters may just have the military sim that we were promised from BIS.

I didn't buy a great video card, fast processor, extra ram, a 22" monitor, etc., etc., just to turn all the settings back to the 1995 level of gaming.  

I'm disgusted to the point of giving up.  Don't bother flaming me, I rarely come to the ArmA boards much anymore.  

Did you try some of the tweeks, metioned here in this board? Mouse Lag -> crappy aiming for example. I had this problem too and thought, it would be fps related but then i found out, that theres a huge increase in aiming comfort, after i installed the specific mouse drivers for my logitech mouse.

Or just set frames ahead/flip queue size on 0.

[PASTOR 0]

Beside the 1002123 bugs and flaws, what annoys me the most is the ridiculous ai, or lack of ai in the game. Everything is scripted in this game, every reaction except fire back is scripted.

1. The enemy will not retreat even if they are 10 men facing 10 armored units, they will continue to fire their AK against the tanks. This is unrealistic. By default, if not forced by the creator of the map they should have popped smoke and ran like hell. If they aren't equipped with smoke they should have ran anyway.

If they were equipped with a radio and there were any other friendlies patrol's around they should have called for help and gotten help. There should be no need to script this, as it should have been done by default.

2. The game can see you behind a tree and kill you. The game will not see you if you are 300 meters away on an open field. However if you fire at them, then they suddenly see you and return fire.

More hilarious is actually when they do spot you hiking in the forest at 1000 meters away they shoot and kill you.

The only thing that actually save Arma from entering the oblivion is the editorial possibilities. It's fun to use the editor, but playing the game is at times so frustrating that I have to go out, have a beer and uninstall the game for a few weeks before giving it another shoot.

[Gisen 0]

You have absolutely no idea what scripting is.

Sorry, but you're absolutely wrong.

Arma is definitely not perfect but please criticise it for valid things, not things you know nothing about.

[PASTOR 0]

The AI of Arma is not very advanced without scripts, they only fire back and thats it. If they are given proper code/script from within the editor they can do almost anything. Hence my statement. What I meant is that the AI is very limited without scripts. I feel that basic things like retreating, using search lights (if they are in the vicinity), manning a cannon, instead of using an AK74 on the tank the soldier rearms by taking the weapon from the dead AT soldier next to him etc. shouldn't have to scripted, it's actually how things work in real life.

I have used the editor and seen how the AI soldiers within your own squad and the enemy respond with a script and without a script. Now I guess, because of this statement that you are more into arma editing than I am. But claiming that I have "no idea what scripting is" is a bold statement, but please lecture me?

[Sc@tterbrain 0]

I have had my share of feelings of dissapointment over ArmA.  But considering there is nothing like it currently on the market, i'm still here.

The ArmA part deux (Arma II) news may change that.  Never before has a developer made me want to give up PC gaming alltogether.

Fly fishing or competitive pistol shooting may soon replace PC gaming as a use of my valuable free time.

[KeyCat 131]

@Pastor: No offence but I suggest you get your facts right. As said previously the current state of AI is far from perfect but the things you complain about are completely wrong!

1. AI is not "scripted" per se (of course there are code that decides/tell them what to do - search for FSM). They do retreat, they do flank you, they do refill their ammo when needed, they do man MG's etc. automaticly without a single line of script. Sure it can be improved with scripts but it ain't nearly as bad as you imply.

2. Objects like trees, bushes etc. does indeed block AI's line of sight (smoke screens does not!?). What you experience is that the AI use their "uber triangulation" capability to pinpoint your location (within centimeters) when you fire your gun and they have a pretty good memory of your location (see this thread for more info and example mission One tweak that will change alot).

Again, I'm not saying it is perfect, just trying to set things strait in an effort to avoid false rumors!

/KC

[pMASTER 0]

The only thing that really screws my day is the bug when for example an emeny goes prone in a watchtower and just because the muzzle points through a steely (! wall he is able to kill you.

[efefia 0]

Quote[/b] ]Topic: ArmA is just ... disappointing, Negative experiences and complaints

53 pages and counting.

Quote[/b] ] Topic: ArmA is just ... awesome!, Share all your positive feedback here

14 pages...

Now granted a lot of these 53 pages are people trying to answer back at the critics, might I suggest your time would be better spent making the positive feedback thread look a little more lively instead of trying to argue against that which can't be argued against (opinions, people, opinions). For new visitors to this board the first thing they see is a 53 page negative comment thread and a 14 page positive comment thread, get things into perspective folks.

[Maddmatt 1]

...

Quote[/b] ] Topic: ArmA is just ... awesome!, Share all your positive feedback here

14 pages...

Now granted a lot of these 53 pages are people trying to answer back at the critics, might I suggest your time would be better spent making the positive feedback thread look a little more lively instead of trying to argue against that which can't be argued against (opinions, people, opinions). For new visitors to this board the first thing they see is a 53 page negative comment thread and a 14 page positive comment thread, get things into perspective folks.

But you forgot to count the photography thread, video thread, and all the editing and modding sections of the forums. They have more posts than this thread

Not everyone bothers with these dumb threads.