Need some advice and answers

[ninja2dan 1]

Greetings to everyone, it's good to see a lot of old yet familiar names on the member list. I can't remember my previous account information and it appears that account was created under an old email address, so I had to create a new account. Anyways, I have been thinking of getting back into OFP or starting up in ArmA and would like to ask a few questions first.

I have done quite a bit of reading on the features of ArmA over OFP, but after downloading the ArmA demo it appears first off as pretty much the same thing. I built a new computer about 2 years ago, and at the time it was pretty high-end (512MB vid card, etc). The demo ran smooth as hell, much faster than anything I experienced in OFP. I left all settings at default, and it appears I can probably boost those settings a lot higher and still have good performance. BUT, how does the demo compare to the real deal in regards to performance? Once I have the full retail, the game map will be larger and more objects in place, and with more vehicles and scripts I'm sure that will increase any lag. I am not about to rebuild this PC because I plan to start from scratch around New Years (popping around $3k for that one). So my first question is, if I run the demo smoother than silk, how will that compare to the retail version?

I'm also curious how many of the elite addons from OFP have been ported into ArmA? I remember some of the addon groups just before I left, which was actually about the time some of them left for paid work on VBS. The main names I can remember off hand were BAS, Combat, Mapfact, and a few others. BAS had all the best helos and SF/Rangers. Combat had the sweetest Bradleys and other land vehicles. And Mapfact had some really cool map items and statics. Are any of those items in ArmA, or is it still pretty much back to the beginning? What about CoC, such as the mines pack (claymores, etc)? There are a few other elite addons that I slightly remember such as a top USMC unit and some nice weapons packs and maps. Can any of the veteran players give me a heads up on what is available now for ArmA?

Because my options with experimenting with the demo are quite limited, what can original OFP players say about any changes made with ArmA? Is there anything I need to be aware of, such as negative changes or bugs? What drastic differences are there between OFP and ArmA? I ask because I still see the OFP forums are quite active yet that game is so old, and I am curious why those people still using OFP haven't upgraded to ArmA.

Pretty much right now I'm wondering if I should go out and buy ArmA and then spend days on end downloading all the new mods and addons and maps and scripts and everything else necessary, or if I should go dust off my copy of OFP.

[Noraf 0]

my experience is that the demo runs less smooth than the game @ 1.14.

ohh, and i belive that if you hit default settings on different computers, the settings will end up different :P

[ck-claw 1]

Yeah buy the game!  

I never played the demo so cant comment

Afaik Mapfact are still very active

There are some very good mods out and some one the way!

Also some very good islands about and some wip that look excellent

I have quite an old rig,but still able to play Arma ok.

[ninja2dan 1]

I guess an easy way to get an opinion on how well it will run on my system is to list my components and see how others rate it. Remember that this system was custom built by myself about 2 years ago, so these parts are far from top-end now. Plus I had a limited budget at the time, but plan to go all-out on the next one later this year or early next year.

*Asus K8V-X SE Via Socket 754 ATX Motherboard / Audio / AGP 8x / 10/100 Ethernet LAN / S/PDIF / USB 2.0 / Serial ATA

*AMD Athlon 64 3400+ / 512KB Cache / 1600MHz FSB / Socket 754 / Processor

*XFX (Nvidia) GeForce 7600 GS / 512MB GDDR2 / AGP 8x / DVI / VGA / HDTV / Video Card

*Kingston 512MB PC3200 DDR 400MHz Memory (x2 - 1GB RAM)

*Ultra X2 ULT31851 550-Watt Power Supply - ATX, 120mm Fan, SLI Ready, SATA-Ready, 20/24-Pin, Modular

*AOpen DUW1616L PRO / 16x8x16x DVD+RW / 16x6x16x DVD-RW / 8x DVD±R DL / 48x24x48x CD-R/RW / DVD Burner

*Creative Labs Sound Blaster Audigy 4

*Maxtor / DiamondMax Plus 9 / 250GB / 7200 / 8MB / SATA-150 / OEM / Hard Drive

*Hanns·G HU196DP / 19" / 8ms / 700:1 / SXGA 1280 x 1024 / DVI / LCD Monitor

I don't overclock anything, so my processor is running at about 2.2 GHz. I am able to play most games pretty well and this setup gives me decent video and audio. My monitor is also pretty good, giving me great resolution. The ArmA demo ran without any noticable lag or stutter, but then again it is a Lite version of the game. I would assume that once I install the retail version and get it updated to the latest patch I'd want to play with the settings and see what the best config is for my PC. I'm just curious if my system specs will be running ArmA well, or if I'm going to see nasty lag and skipping like I did every so often with OFP (was running a 900 MHz with 512MB RAM and a 128MB vid card back then).

I guess my primary question really is, what are the main differences between OFP and ArmA? What features did they add to it that makes it better than OFP? If so many of the addons I love are not yet available in ArmA, what motivation is there to migrate from OFP to ArmA? I can still see that some of the annoying features (or lack of) are still there, such as not reloading on the move. But I am hoping those features are added into ArmA 2, seeing as they are already available in VBS2 and shouldn't be too hard to port over.

[Trapper 0]

If reloading on the move bothers you, then you'll probably have noticed that the animations/transitions in ArmA are more stiff and slow than in OFP.

And while the clipping inside of buildings has become much better, it adds new problems e.g. that you can't do a 180° turn while beeing crunched in a narrow hallway or staircase.

This has a huge influence on the playability of PvP multiplayer compared to the more fluid OFP controls. So coop games are dominating the ArmA multiplayer but the official CTI multiplayer mission Warfare (since ArmA 1.14) reclaimed a little bit of PvP gameplay for ArmA.

The ArmA terrain is missing detail/real cover. While Resistance introduced the jagged terrain detail "very high" to OFP, ArmA is more fixed to something like "very low" and gives you just plants to hide behind in the open.

Keep in mind to modify the default AIskill (to 1) and AIprecision (around 0.5) values in your config file if you install ArmA. Otherwise every soldier is a crack shot compared to OFP and you could become frustrated quickly in single player.

The addons haven't reached the high levels of Resistance by now. Some nation's army mods are around, but a big pack release like from BAS, COMBAT!, or FDF Mod like back in the days of OFP hasn't happened.

Soldier addons (many of them are reskins), weapon packs and sound mods are common. EDIT: Oh and some config mods like TrueMods, which add realism gimmicks.

Mapfact is still around and working/releasing interesting projects. BAS' OFP work seems to be included in stock ArmA when you look at the available US choppers and rifles but they aren't working on free ArmA addons. FDF released a sound mod so far.

Make sure to buy the ArmA gold version with the official Queen's Gambit addon. Released missions and addons nowadays tend to rely on the addons shipped with it.

[ninja2dan 1]

The lack of some of those OFP addons such as the Combat! vehicles or BAS soldier units will probably have a negative impact on my gameplay experience, because they were included in a large number of the missions I created or used. How hard is it to convert the older OFP files to ArmA? Has anyone tried contacting the addon teams to see if they might port them or at least give permission to someone else to do it for them?

The issues you mentioned regarding PvP are not likely to be much of an issue with me. I don't run a game like ArmA or OFP for the PvP aspect, as I prefer running Co-op missions that focus on realism and tactics instead of the run-and-gun form of games that most PvP turn out as. I do remember the CTI/MFCTI maps being fun, but I played those during breaks in the mil-sim missions and not much of the time.

The reason that I prefer to use a game like OFP or ArmA is to recreate scenarios that simulate real-world actions. As a former soldier I prefer to keep things as realistic as the game allows, yet still keeps people interested in the mission. I also generally played on servers with other service members or veterans who liked similar missions, and rarely did we have people complain about a 3-4 hour mission which included a 30-minute pre-mission briefing and battle plan. We used real land-nav techniques, as well as other tactics we used while in the military. At the time no other game was able to allow us such level of realism outside of OFP, and I remember spending days on end working on missions to get every detail as perfect as possible.

Regarding the lack of proper ground cover, is that something common with just the default map(s) or is that something common to all maps including player-made? Is it something that can be corrected in the future, such as static addons made available to map makers?

And you mentioned that some of the BAS addons from OFP are now part of core ArmA? What about the CH-47 variants, such as the cargo model or ability to fastrope or para-drop items? What about their Blackhawk variants including the DAP, or the Little Birds? If those are not available, is anyone planning on making similar addons for ArmA? I noticed BAS now has a new site and is calling themselves BAS2 now, maybe they plan to start work on ArmA addons?

I'll wait for a few more replies to help me decide if ArmA is really worth getting, or if I should just throw OFP on here and wait for ArmA 2.

[Trapper 0]

Well, no. The BAS addons are not included like that. You've got a Blackhawk with miniguns on both doors now and AH-6/MH-6 Little Birds which models remind me of the BAS quality. The US rifle quantity and quality looks a little bit like BAS, too. But there are no fancy scripts for everything, only tail rotor failure is simulated in ArmA now. CH-47 isn't included.

I found one of the few addon/convertion packs for you: Mapfact Air Pack

When it comes to custom terrain (only a few islands are released) and OFP Addon converting I didn't make my own experiences so maybe I'm wrong.

It looks like BIS stretched the terrain grid size when they wanted to create bigger islands with the same game engine. Every ArmA island should suffer from this grid size regarding to ground cover.

When you convert Addons to ArmA you'll have to make new high resolution textures and create normal maps, otherwise the addons won't blend in with the ArmA graphics.

ArmA multiplayer seems to have turned from OFP even more into the coop direction that you prefer. Because of cheating and your wish for realism you should still aim for a password protected servers.

Creating own missions only with stock ArmA is not that much fun as there is less unit variety than it was in OFP.

[Yoshama 0]

The AI is a bit better, it can be one of those games when you curs at your monitor till you have to clean it, but it is mostly the same. a great thing is that you can have a squad over 12. and there is some other things like the heli controls being more realistic.

I played the demo and i made sure i beet it totally before i bought it, to make sure i could beet the game. they both run about teh same for me.

the first add-on to get would be the rhs hind! the game unfortunately lacks one of the best features in ofp.

to arma (when you get it)

[wamingo 1]

*equipment*

There are some people who have claimed miracle performance on lesser gear, but my little group's experience (5 players) has been with your level of gear I wouldn't expect fps above 30 much of the time. And using scopes in forested areas and such can be quite bad, easily dropping under 15 and 10 fps.

my puter is just a tad better than yours and I'm enjoying it when missions don't become too littered with ai, so most missions are good.

The demo is pretty ok meassurement though, not much difference. Northern part of the island is a bit worse however.

[max power 21]

The gameplay since the demo has changed significantly in terms of having the 3d sights float now, and the animation transitions are somewhat smoother. Unless they patched the demo, the demo should be about 1.03 in terms of version, whereas we are now at 1.14. There has also been significant optimization since then, especially at high view distances.

[olemissrebel 0]

if i can play the latest version on a new macbook pro 17' , with XP via bootcamp, on high, with mods, you should be fine, you will never want to play flashpoint after playing ARMA, at least i don't have any reason to want to