Latest ArmA2 & ArmA2:OA Press Coverage | NO discussion here!

[kavoven 4]

Just occured to me, but why there is no release date confirmed by the game publishers? If the street date is just a few months away there should be some advertising going on.

Perhaps they need more time?

No problem for me that just means less bugs

[pathetic_berserker 4]

Just occured to me, but why there is no release date confirmed by the game publishers? If the street date is just a few months away there should be some advertising going on.

Perhaps they need more time?

No problem for me that just means less bugs

I think i read somewhere that it should be ready by xmas but they're hoping for similtaneous world wide release. So I supose they're giving them selves time to get it co-ordinated.

BTW the latest vids and screens show some great improvements and a good bit of listening to the community. Well done BIS! I think I'm feeling a little of that ol'OFP anticipation on this one.

[sk3pt 0]

From the PDF:

"AI share information, flanking and taking cover to surprise and outsmart players."

Does that indicate that an AI squad will receive reinforcements from other squads on a different location on the map, like air support ?

Promising.

[jakerod 254]

From the PDF:

"AI share information, flanking and taking cover to surprise and outsmart players."

Does that indicate that an AI squad will receive reinforcements from other squads on a different location on the map, like air support ?

Promising.

That is actually already possible... at least in the mission editor using guard waypoints. Although maybe they share even more information now and coordinate better.

[twisted 128]

Just occured to me, but why there is no release date confirmed by the game publishers? If the street date is just a few months away there should be some advertising going on.

i think the media attention and info pdf's being released are the advertising.

if so then i hope BIS don't let the attention die out before the game is released. If BIS are smart they'll keep quiet until just before release, then spend a month making noise then release the game to maximise sales.

if BIS are not smart they'll make a noise (like is starting to happen now with all the press releases and previews) then try to sustain the momentum for 3 months (very hard and very expensive to do) so people will start getting bored, start thinking about the next big budget game or start nitpicking the details so much that by the time the game is out it has been carved up already.

take the time to get the game right. but keep the big noise and excitement for when you need to make the sales.

[Jensen1 0]

Holy Hell the Sound Engine looks mighty sweet!!!

The Sounds

• 3D positioning with Doppler effect

• 3D environment effects including distance

based distortion, reverberation, occlusions

and obstructions

• Speed of sound and supersonic bullet crack

simulation

• 978 separate sound samples (footsteps, gear

noises, movements etc.)

• Each vehicle sound is composed from

more than 40 noises (engine, friction of tyres

on surfaces, etc.)

• New simulation of the sounds of aircraft and

helicopters

• Improved sound of tanks with separate noises

of the engine and treads

[Second 0]

Oh damn   At minute i saw man throwing handgrenade into building and pulling back while other team member was at other side of door covering made my poor heart beat. It's really unhealthy.

I even tried to play ArmA and enjoyed it. I think i need services of exorcist.   (go away cursed spirits! )

...

But yeah. Few promising news, hopefully more will come  

[ck-claw 1]

Now i actually saw an advert on UK tv the other night-

Can't remember what game/platform but had a huge '505 Games' logo in the advert!

So ya never know with the media campaign  

[sparks50 0]

Im just waiting for the HD version of that trailer

As for advertisement, I suspect its overrated. Surely most pc-gamers in 2008 are on some sort of forum/community? spend the money on wages, make a great game and the word will spread.

[DaSquade 0]

I was wondering if this new sound thingy (engine/type/system?) will be working aswell on motherboard integrated soundcards?

Afaik, most 'low cost' (witch is often the case on motherboards) have a limite of 'rendering' sound channels. I don't know any numbers anymore, but this was discused in a topic once. The soundblaster X-Fi was mentioned, but someone told that at that moment, the game engine wasn't fully optimized to use it, especially refurring to the build-in X-ram. Again if not mistaken sound progressing etc has some from of impact on the performence.

So, i'm wondering if there is actually some kind of SDK dev support from creative throughwards game devs and if so, if BIS tried to contact them?

[Praelium 0]

Im just waiting for the HD version of that trailer

As for advertisement, I suspect its overrated. Surely most pc-gamers in 2008 are on some sort of forum/community? spend the money on wages, make a great game and the word will spread.

Tv advertising might not be too effective for video games, but pay Gamespot or IGN to advertise your trailer and it'll probably get popular quickly.

[sparks50 0]

They should seek advice with Eidos

But really, who has ever found a game they bought by clicking on a advertisement?

I guess I'm not the target market for those kinds of things.

[Praelium 0]

Well, not advertise as an ad, more like a featured trailer. For example, visit Gamespot and notice the three links to screenshots, videos, ect. Sometimes they'll list it as being "Featured", which I assume is the same as "They payed us to put it here".

I agree that most other advertisements don't work.

[jakerod 254]

Well, not advertise as an ad, more like a featured trailer. For example, visit Gamespot and notice the three links to screenshots, videos, ect. Sometimes they'll list it as being "Featured", which I assume is the same as "They payed us to put it here".

I agree that most other advertisements don't work.

I don't know about that. I swear I saw a picture from Dark Forces on that featured part the other day. I was a bit confused. I do think they should take a look at putting it on Gamespot though or something similar.

[Placebo 29]

I have a question for the developers. Is the soon-to-come video advertised on Arma2.com the same one IGN posted? I'm confused because at least two, or maybe three, of the teaser screenshots match a scene from trailer.

That is the publisher's trailer, ours will be a longer community version......

[Jensen1 0]

sweet !!

[kavoven 4]

I have a question for the developers. Is the soon-to-come video advertised on Arma2.com the same one IGN posted? I'm confused because at least two, or maybe three, of the teaser screenshots match a scene from trailer.

That is the publisher's trailer, ours will be a longer community version......

Ha, thats great

[forum troll 4162 18]

http://www.arma2.com/supply/presskit/folder.html?lang=en

it keeps telling me the pdfs are damamged. could someone provide a mirror?

[Scrub 0]

I've been catching glimpses of ArmA II from the shadows for some time now, no time for much else.  Gotta say, I'm getting excited again!  Good luck BIS!  I'll be looking for the release.      

'Till then, found this for you all:

ArmA II

A brainy fight in Georgia

Words: Tim Stone, PC Gamer UK

Will Operation Flashpoint 2 turn out to be a war hero or a disgrace to the regiment? After a day spent discussing and playing rival soldier sim ArmA II at Bohemia Interactive Studios’ forest-hemmed Czech HQ, it’s tempting to answer: who cares? Almost two years on from the release of the excellent (once patched and modded) ArmA, BIS are well on the way to completing a sequel that’s bigger, smarter, and more realistic. Thanks to an intriguingly complex backdrop and a character-crammed campaign with more twists than a narwhal’s tusk, ArmA II should also prove far more involving than its predecessor.

That backdrop is NE Chernarus, a large portion of a fictional Caucasian nation gripped by civil war. Think early ’90s Yugoslavia spliced with contemporary Georgia/Ossetia. Enter a NATO rapid reaction force, the diamond-hard tip of which is a player-controlled five-man USMC Special Forces group, Team Razor. While the country and combatants are fictional, the studio has chosen to base their vast seamless venue on a swathe of authentic Czech countryside.

As lead designer Marek Spanel puts it, “There’s logic in a real landscape. Dozens of generations created the villages, forests grew naturally... you can’t hope to create that look artificially.†The architecture and place names have all been Russified and a convenient river transformed into a Caspian Sea coastline, but there’s still sure to be a few Czech gamers who find themselves fighting in eerily familiar surroundings.

Not only is the landscape more credible in ArmA II, it’s also more lively. New excuses for screwing up rural ambushes will include “I was distracted by a snuffling boar†and “If I’d set off the satchel charges, I might have hurt that ickle fawn.†In more built-up areas domesticated fauna and a wide variety of civilian models including Chernarussian babushkas will provide the distractions. Though Marek was keen to stress that the series still placed more value in RPGs (rocket propelled grenades) than RPGs (roleplaying games), interacting with locals does appear to be more important this time out. One situation described to us involved players trying to persuade a suspicious granny to leave her dacha before laser-guided munitions started raining down. If you lose your team’s Slav speaker such conversations will be difficult, if not impossible.

With comrades so useful, it’s splendid that BIS are finally allowing us to drag, carry, and treat wounded soldiers. Hauling an injured buddy to safety while bullets fizz past has to be one of the most exciting and gratifying things you can do in a military shooter. Whether AI enemies will help each other out in the same way remains to be seen, but they should take advantage of the other AI improvements. Expect to see hostiles using building corners for cover and – this one’s a biggie – using speculative suppression fire to support advancing comrades. As near-misses now cause weapon shake (more fear = more sway), such tactics can turn firefights.

Other reasons to be cheerful about ArmA II? It’s going to feature over 70 portable weapons ranging from civilian hunting rifles to MANPAD missiles, and 136 different vehicles including UAVs, fishing boats and bicycles. HALO parachute insertions are now possible. You can play through the entire branching campaign co-operatively. The old sound engine has been replaced, meaning vehicle signatures now consist of dozens of separate sounds. Just about the only area of ArmA that BIS might have improved but haven’t – not significantly at least – is the clunky menu-driven interface. If Operation Flashpoint 2 doesn’t feature a slicker, more intuitive GUI we’ll eat our sweat-stained boonie hat.

Of course, the really interesting question is “Can OpFlash 2 compete in more crucial areas like AI and operational freedom?†As soon as we’ve gathered enough intel to hazard a guess, you’ll be the first to know.

Nov 25, 2008

[froggyluv 2135]

Thanks Scrub  

Thats sounds pretty positive overall. More than anything I'm siked about the new AI. Leaning and using corners is something I'll have to see to believe- but it's more than welcome  

[Second 0]

Thanks Scrub  

Thats sounds pretty positive overall. More than anything I'm siked about the new AI. Leaning and using corners is something I'll have to see to believe- but it's more than welcome  

Long time ago in different time (was it half year-year ago?), there was one such video. City street where men stood behind building walls, pillars and took shots at enemies. I would hate to doubt that it was scripted event. But i can't find it from youtube... Maybe it was just a wild dream

Sadly new AI videos mostly just starts to jump from character to character.

[Jensen1 0]

Thanks Scrub  

Thats sounds pretty positive overall. More than anything I'm siked about the new AI. Leaning and using corners is something I'll have to see to believe- but it's more than welcome  

Long time ago in different time (was it half year-year ago?), there was one such video. City street where men stood behind building walls, pillars and took shots at enemies. I would hate to doubt that it was scripted event. But i can't find it from youtube... Maybe it was just a wild dream

Sadly new AI videos mostly just starts to jump from character to character.

No you werent dreaming, i remember that vid too.

[Rawr 0]

Long time ago in different time (was it half year-year ago?), there was one such video. City street where men stood behind building walls, pillars and took shots at enemies. I would hate to doubt that it was scripted event. But i can't find it from youtube... Maybe it was just a wild dream

No it wasn't just a dream.. unless I'm dreaming right now, because I'm wathcing that video as I write this. It's a video from GC 2007, that's more than a year ago.

>>clicky<< There are 3 videos on that page. The first video is the one you're talking about. Although, can't see any of them taking any shots. But it definitley shows AIs leaning and hand signals.

[Second 0]

No it wasn't just a dream.. unless I'm dreaming right now, because I'm wathcing that video as I write this. It's a video from GC 2007, that's more than a year ago.

>>clicky<< There are 3 videos on that page. The first video is the one you're talking about. Although, can't see any of them taking any shots. But it definitley shows AIs leaning and hand signals.

Oh yeah! That is the one. I just dreamed that shooting thing.

[Scrub 0]

BI's HD trailer released! ArmA II Homepage