United ArmA Community

[Beagle 684]

No, not possible.

Four words:

Falcon Four point Oh.

Oh yes...best example...still divided till today.

[TRexian 0]

You know a game is dead when people start talking about making mods to work around bugs.

LMAO

I'm sorry, but from my perspective, that is just hilarious.

I guess I go back to my first post here.

Falcon 4.0.

Started having a mod community almost right away, fixing bugs, adding features. (At first by hex editing.)

That sim is almost 10 years old, and not dead yet.

Ok, it isn't "united" but it isn't dead, either.

[SlipperyJim 0]

I am talking about dead in terms of the developer stopping work on it.

This game won't have anything like Falcon's fan loyalty because before you know it everyone will give up on it and move onto Arma 2.

I pray BIS isn't going to start acting like UBI.

[max power 21]

I am talking about dead in terms of the developer stopping work on it.

This game won't have anything like Falcon's fan loyalty because before you know it everyone will give up on it and move onto Arma 2.

I pray BIS isn't going to start acting like UBI.

BIS is working on a patch right now?

Modders mod a lot of things, including gameplay tweaks and other things. I don't know if by any definition you can say that ArmA is dead. The only thing that you can say about modding gameplay aspects is that the current gameplay doesn't suit anyone's tastes and people are motivated to change it as a hobbey.

[celery 8]

That was just his version of 'I want my cake, I want it perfect, and I want to eat it too'. 6 months will tell the real story on the community.

He has a point because when most other "cakes" are released, all they need is a bit of quick arranging in the decorations that fell off during delivery. In our case the cake is missing many promised fillings and the stuff that's in it tastes a bit weird, too. The baker comes to fix some little things every few months and puts a cherry on top of it if you pay 20 euros. The baker tells that he will make a new and better cake for you in the future but only if you pay a full price for it again.

[nichevo 2]

He has a point because when most other "cakes" are released, all they need is a bit of quick arranging in the decorations that fell off during delivery. In our case the cake is missing many promised fillings and the stuff that's in it tastes a bit weird, too. The baker comes to fix some little things every few months and puts a cherry on top of it if you pay 20 euros. The baker tells that he will make a new and better cake for you in the future but only if you pay a full price for it again.

Excellent analogy!

The cake is a lie?

But seriously, I think a United Community would be a bad thing -- too much bureaucracy!

I would hazard a suggestion that the best starting point is to make small, self-contained mods that fit well with the existing game. A new vehicle, a new island, a new weapon -- these are the kinds of things that are instantly useable, popular and (perhaps most importantly) play well with other mods.

I feel some mods are too ambitious. Example: a half-finished "complete overhaul" WWII mod is not useable. But a finished WWII tank and a finished WWII map can be used straight away, even while waiting for the WWII infantry skins (sure, it may require some creativity in mission designs why modern-looking soldiers are driving WWII tanks).

I also feel some mods are too messy. They don't fit in with the feel of the game, and so don't work well with other mods. If one person makes a super-realistic modern tank, it isn't going to fit in with the semi-arcadey style of tank that ArmA uses. If someone makes an infantry skin that can raise/lower goggles, apply/remove camoflague, roll/unroll sleeves, tie/untie shoelaces, and has a special first aid kit that can heal himself, it isn't going to match the feel of the more basic existing units in ArmA.

I would respectfully suggest that perhaps mod-makers adhere to the K.I.S.S. methodology. Or at least consider it.

[.kju 3245]

K.I.S.S. means

Keep

It

Simple (and)

Stupid

Very very true nichevo.

[Shins 0]

K.I.S.S. means

Keep

It

Simple (and)

Stupid

Very very true nichevo.

I think what people are trying to achieve is a way of enhancing the game for everyone and making sure that all the improvements to the core engine that people make as modders gets used by as many people as possible. If at all possible, making the addons a 'must have' for ArmA. Like JAM.

To that end one thing springs to my mind that ensure's this kind of ubiquity : Server Side Only addons.

Take the case of Victor Farbau's VFAI addon. This is something that Server admins can just drop into their server addons folder and boom, everyone has AI that throw smoke etc.

To my mind this is a good solution. Obviously many, many types of addon cannot be server side only, but i definitely think there are many improvements to the core game that could be implemented from the server, and thus to /everyone/ who connects.

The big problem is people aren't organised enough to make sure the whole community downloads and uses addons, so the answer is to take the responsibility off of them.

[Inkompetent 0]

And well, we are already one step on the road to unified addons.

We do have the Extended Event Handlers, and mods that don't use it are well... pretty much frowned upon. Lately you can't get through the first page of an addon release if it doesn't support the Extended Event Handlers, without having a person asking for a release that does.

[benreeper 0]

Yes single addons should not be used in MP missions, only full mods. Also it would be nice that ArmA2 would allow you to switch mods within the game.

--Ben

OT: I will buy Arma2 in the same manner that I bought Arma after OFP. I support ALL PC games that I like. It costs me more to take my family of 4 to a movie than it did to purchase Arma. I've already got more than my money's worth from Arma.

Millions of people buy the yearly Madden version and the newer version not only does not fix bugs from the previous year BUT adds new ones and removes features players liked from the previous year. Compare that to people here complaining about having to buy an update every 2 to 6 years. Some people will NEVER be satisfied.