Should I buy Operation Flashpoint

[0311 0]

I remember playing Operation Flashpoint back in the day at it was an extremely fun game. I tried Arma on a friends computer and it was so buggy I couln't even order my men to do anything. Not only that, none of my fully automatic weapons would fire.

I have a decent computer and I think I would be able to run OPF at full capacity on it.

I'm just wondering if I should buy OPF because ARMA seems so buggy to me. I don't want to have to download a million patches just to run Arma.

[jakerod 254]

You will only have to download 1 to play ArmA. You will also have to download 1 to play OFP too.

I personally would just wait for ArmA II at hopefully the beginning of next year. But if I could only choose OFP or ArmA then I would choose ArmA especially with Cold War Rearmed still hacking away at it.

[Maddmatt 1]

I have never experienced either of those problems in ArmA. Maybe it had some messed up mods of something.

If the weapons didn't fire, maybe they had no ammo or you needed to reload

ArmA was pretty buggy on release, but it's had a few large patches since which also added some cool new stuff.

Quote[/b] ]I don't want to have to download a million patches just to run Arma.

What? There is nothing difficult about downloading a patch  

You're free to play the game without them if you want to for some strange reason.

OFP is incredibly old by now, it was a great game at it's time but I wouldn't want to play it now  

ArmA 2 is probably not too far off, but who knows what could happen to that release date. Maybe wait if you're not too eager to play ArmA.

ArmA should be very cheap now anyway so it's not like the price should be an issue.

[456820 0]

Well to be honest ArmA I've never really liked ArmA, first time I played it, it felt buggy, boring and just plain crap and even with the patches it doesn't feel much different. I know everyone will say OFP was like that without it's patches but when I used to play OFP and didn't know what a patch was I still had a lot more fun then I ever had playing ArmA.

Where as a lot of people will give the exact opposite of what I said. It's all down to opinion. Since ArmA II is apparently near maybe you should stick with what you have played and what you know you like and buy ArmA II when that's out.

[chops 111]

I have both games. Though I uninstalled Arma out of frustration. It just doesn't do Operation Flashpoint (OFP) justice as a sequel. Seems a lot of Arma modding being done are more like repairs than enhancements or modifications.

The highlight of OFP for me is the diversity and quality of the available mods, the pick of the bunch being Wargames League (WGL). It's a realism mod and changes the engagement ranges, ammo and armour values, soldier loadouts, the whole game.

It adds USMC units too.

There are thousands of addons too. http://ofp.gamepark.cz/

Also have a look at this OFP thread for some info on mods, addons, missions, campaigns etc. Or send me a PM if you like and I'm happy to recommend the best stuff I've played with.

I imagine you'd be able to buy Operation Flashpoint at a pretty low price these days. The graphics are indeed old, but it's generally all-round better package.

[max power 21]

I love ofp, and when I got ArmA I uninstalled OFP and never looked back.

[ck-claw 1]

I love ofp, and when I got ArmA I uninstalled OFP and never looked back.

Yepp,same here almost!

I fired up ofp for the first time in yrs,just so i could do a port of ctf 'Dead Mans Alley' to arma!

[jakerod 254]

I love ofp, and when I got ArmA I uninstalled OFP and never looked back.

I installed it and played OFP w/ ECP for a while but I think it was before I got ArmA. Recently the only thing I have gone back for are things like checking to see a list of the SP Missions (I wanted to remake them in ArmA) and testing something with helicopters. Other than that it is all ArmA. OFP is a great game, but ArmA is better in my opinion.

[M9ACE 0]

I remember playing Operation Flashpoint back in the day at it was an extremely fun game. I tried Arma on a friends computer and it was so buggy I couln't even order my men to do anything. Not only that, none of my fully automatic weapons would fire.

I have a decent computer and I think I would be able to run OPF at full capacity on it.

The questions that should be considered is; what version of ArmA did your friend have on his computer? What type of hardware does he have?  What version of DirectX 9.0C does he have?  There are several variables that can affect performance.  Try installing ArmA and test it out each time you patch it to compare performance.  Depending on your hardware and software configuration, you might see a significant change for the better on your own machine.

I'm just wondering if I should buy OPF because ARMA seems so buggy to me. I don't want to have to download a million patches just to run Arma.

OFP has its share of patches to install as well.  I have both games on my computer, but I have not fired up OFP in several months now.  I would go with ArmA since it can be acquired for a relatively small amount of money.

[Praelium 0]

You can buy Arma here for about $10, including shipping. Quite a good deal, I say.

[trunkz jr 0]

Just wait for ArmA2 or OFP2 as an old OFP will just collect once the others come out.

[jakerod 254]

You can buy Arma here for about $10, including shipping. Quite a good deal, I say.  

Personally I think that would be worth it. $10 for a game that has kept my interest for over a year (at least). Plus you can learn how to make missions in the time frame between buying it and the release of ArmA II. That way as soon as ArmA II comes out you can know how to make your own missions.

I stand by that you should buy ArmA over OFP. Although if you can find OFP & OFP:R for that price too I would just buy both.

[Daddl 10]

I'd get OFP Goty - three games for the price of one, and each one (yes, even Codies' "Red Hammer") way better than the ArmA campaign. The graphics may look dated, but if you play on modern hardware you can raise the quality settings quite a bit so it doesn't look too bad.

I bought ArmA when it was released and was utterly dissapointed. Even for online play I still prefered OFP to it's successor. Maybe it got improved with patches and the addon, but for me the great campaigns still make OFP way superior to ArmA. After all a game's first goal is to entertain - and ArmA never really delivered on that, despite much better graphics.

[POPKA 0]

Yeah Arma has been frustrating me a little too recently, I generally have more fun with OFP (I still play it more than any other game) I spend most of my time on it making little addons for my own personal use/ 2 player lan play. Once you learn how to manipulate the dev tools & mission editor the game really opens up. Runs fine on Vista too. The fact that Addon creation it is so *comparitavly* easy too is a really big + for me.

[Maddmatt 1]

I'd get OFP Goty - three games for the price of one, and each one (yes, even Codies' "Red Hammer") way better than the ArmA campaign. The graphics may look dated, but if you play on modern hardware you can raise the quality settings quite a bit so it doesn't look too bad.

Well if all you're really interested is in the SP campaign, then OFP is a good choice. The CWC and Resistance campaigns were excellent.

But as for MP, nothing beats ArmA

That's if you join a good group, public MP is about as bad as with other games.

Also, the CWC and Resistance campaigns are in the process of being converted to ArmA (and probably ArmA 2) by the Cold War Rearmed team. So they'll be even more awesome there

[0311 0]

All good points.

I am really worried about having to download patches. I'm moving to a new house this week and I wont have any internet there for some months. So I will have to use the wireless internet at starbucks or somewhere just to check my email.

I'm guessing OPF GOTY straight out of the box should run just well without any internet since it IS the final version. Arma might need quite a bit of patching?

I dunno. I really enjoyed playing OPF. And with my new machine I should be able to enjoy it at max settings.

But I do think I will give Arma another try maybe once I finally DO get internet in the next year.

[jakerod 254]

All good points.

I am really worried about having to download patches. I'm moving to a new house this week and I wont have any internet there for some months. So I will have to use the wireless internet at starbucks or somewhere just to check my email.

I'm guessing OPF GOTY straight out of the box should run just well without any internet since it IS the final version. Arma might need quite a bit of patching?

I dunno. I really enjoyed playing OPF. And with my new machine I should be able to enjoy it at max settings.

But I do think I will give Arma another try maybe once I finally DO get internet in the next year.

ArmA probably only needs one patch now. I would say I guess that if you are going for SP missions right out of the box then OFP:GOTY probably would be a good bet. ArmA had some good missions but a lot of them are old OFP ones converted to ArmA in a very low-quality fashion.

Once you get your internet though I would recommend ArmA or if its out by then ArmA II.

[Maddmatt 1]

I am really worried about having to download patches. I'm moving to a new house this week and I wont have any internet there for some months. So I will have to use the wireless internet at starbucks or somewhere just to check my email.

So download them now and burn them to a DVD

[xawery 0]

Buy ArmA. There are some verrrrrrrrry interesting mods in the pipeline, which make up for almost all the shortcomings ArmA displays. Both in MP and SP.

[Daddl 10]

But as for MP, nothing beats ArmA

That's if you join a good group, public MP is about as bad as with other games.

Also, the CWC and Resistance campaigns are in the process of being converted to ArmA (and probably ArmA 2) by the Cold War Rearmed team. So they'll be even more awesome there

Well, the conversions (last I checked, which -admittedly - was quite a while ago) don't seem to be complete yet, are they? OFP can be bought for less than 10 bucks, and it's still worth it's money. Only one patch to download, and no extra mods and addons required (as surely would be the case for the ArmA conversions - with all the islands and extra units required).

As for MP, I really hope it improved. When it was new, ArmA MP sucked big time compared to OFP - I'm sure it's patched up now, but I had the impression he was more interested in SP anyways.

[raum_schiff 0]

Quote[/b] ]I am really worried about having to download patches. I'm moving to a new house this week and I wont have any internet there for some months. So I will have to use the wireless internet at starbucks or somewhere just to check my email.

On the OFP side, you'll only need to patch to 1.96, but to really enjoy it with your new machine (IMHO) you'll need to download some replacement addons, ex: SLX or GRAA (GRAA is the lighter of the 2).

For Arma vs Ofp I can't tell as, I'm using Linux and Playing OFP through Wine ( Arma is not playable with wine).

Nonetheless, Ofp is around 5€ (in Europe) and Arma2 will be released soon, so buy OFP and wait for Arma2 ...

As far as I am concerned, I'll buy Arma2 ( if it is not copy protection ladden ...) and do my best to make it work with Wine. ( some sleepless nights ahead !!! )

Bregs,

Raum_Schiff.