North America Release / Publisher

[rezalt 0]

It says 30 jun though. :/

[TCEd 0]

Here is a sshot I took of Steam when I was ordering, I don't know if you see a different date, but the I was looking at said June 26th, which was the date before they moved it up so it could be they haven't edited yet;

Edited June 1, 2009 by TCEd
Pic over 100kb

[rezalt 0]

Hm.. strange.. tells me "This game will unlock in approximately 1 month, and 1 hour"

and under 'coming soon' it says Available: 30 jun 2009

[BOTA:16 0]

Any update on a retail version for the US? I like Steam, but for a game like ArmA I would much prefer the boxed copy. Or can regular patches be applied to ArmA II if you buy if from Steam? Or do you have to wait for Steam to release the patch? Just curious because some non-Valve games act just like the retail version while others require Valve to release the patch via Steam.

[TCEd 0]

wow, that must be how their handling different locations then, sorry didn't know that. It would appear that Steam worked out a deal, given the info we received last week that they would be handling the UK region, that they have upgraded that deal to able to download anywhere (worldwide) yet for what ever reasons, maybe something BIS put in the deal but not sure, they are releasing at different times give your location.

In any case, if this doesn't fit what you want then you will need to look at other options.

Any update on a retail version for the US? I like Steam, but for a game like ArmA I would much prefer the boxed copy. Or can regular patches be applied to ArmA II if you buy if from Steam? Or do you have to wait for Steam to release the patch? Just curious because some non-Valve games act just like the retail version while others require Valve to release the patch via Steam.

go up to post #223, it has what your looking for.

[hoak 0]

The top post in the thread has all the updated release info, so far, for North America... I was a bit stunned to learn, and have it confirmed that ArmA II doesn't support FSAA -- I still put in my order though...

:eek:

[ilovebeer 0]

I would perfer a boxed version, how do addons work with steam? is it the same as regular addons? how does patching work with steam?

[L.T 10]

Good news for the ArmA fans of North America, although it has not been announced yet, I found a official steam page that states it will be released on June 26, 2009.

http://store.steampowered.com/app/5261/ also a prepurchase is allowed on steam http://store.steampowered.com/app/33900/

Edited June 1, 2009 by L.T
added another link

[Steakslim 1]

Yeah we found this out earlier, very good news, especially since it isn't too far behind the initial UK release.

[Arrowhead 0]

Great, I bought it. Even after hearing all the buggy horror stories. This is STILL ARMA!

[Laqueesha 474]

YES!!! U.S. players can buy on Steam.

Although I already have the German version, I will uninstall the German version and buy the Steam version when it is released.

Glad to finally have a release date for the rest of the world, any official word from Bohemia Interactive on this one?

[max power 21]

go up to post #223, it has what your looking for.

And I wonder what about us poor Canadians?

[hoak 0]

And I wonder what about us poor Canadians?

Max go back to the first post in the thread, I'm keeping it updated for North America; not just the U.S., Cananannanannada too!

:)

[thepiespy 2]

im a bit hesitant to buy ArmA 2 on steam, I love it for valve's games, and Red Orchestra has been great with steam, but i fear there might be issues with modding and getting updates working on the steam version. Anyone care to share their experience with ArmA 1 on steam?

[Steakslim 1]

im a bit hesitant to buy ArmA 2 on steam, I love it for valve's games, and Red Orchestra has been great with steam, but i fear there might be issues with modding and getting updates working on the steam version. Anyone care to share their experience with ArmA 1 on steam?

ArmA 1 in steam runs the same as the hardcopies did in terms of updating and running mods. If going by ArmA1 is a clue for the ArmA2 steam release, you'll pretty much d/l ArmA2 from steam, and after that, ArmA2 will run stand alone (won't even need to run the steam gui to run the game), without any further involvement from Steam other than as a means of obtaining the game. I cannot say if there will be updates/patches via steam, if not you just patch manually like you would the physical copy.

[Emberwolf 0]

I had two friends buy ArmA 1 on Steam. They said it was only patched up to 1.08 (with a purchase as recent as a couple weeks ago). They were able to apply a normal 1.14 patch and mod it to hell and back without any issues so far. It appears there weren't any special Steam features attached to the game.

[Arrowhead 0]

I had two friends buy ArmA 1 on Steam. They said it was only patched up to 1.08 (with a purchase as recent as a couple weeks ago). They were able to apply a normal 1.14 patch and mod it to hell and back without any issues so far. It appears there weren't any special Steam features attached to the game.

Arma 1 on Steam is unupdated crap because it was put up there in a half-assed fashion by Atari. This time, BI themselves is handling the Steam release, so I expect updates and stuff to be handled much better.

[TCEd 0]

I would perfer a boxed version, how do addons work with steam? is it the same as regular addons? how does patching work with steam?

The same as any other game. Steam is only used to buy/download the game. It installs just like every other game, the only difference is that it puts the game in your Steam folder instead of Program Files folder, not a big deal at all.

You don't have to use Steam, you can put a shortcut to the game on your desktop and never open Steam again. You can download updates & patches from any source, they will look for the games directory and install the patch, just like any other game.

Steam is only a tool to use to get the game, think of it like Xfire or some other program that runs in the background while you play your games, it has a chat feature, ect.... just like the rest of the game complement software.

[hoak 0]

To clear that up there are as TCEd suggests games that are basically just downloaded via Steam, and function just like any other game -- they may be supported with direct downloads 'in' Steam, but regular patches will work just as well.

Then there are games that license full support for SteamWorks, these games are more integrated into Steam, support integrated Steam features like: VOIP, VAC, SteamCloud and generally can only be patched in Steam.

One nice feature of the latter is SteamWorks games typically isolate themselves from the Windows registry and get a small performance boost for it. Even games only downloaded via steam, often save you from a considerable payload of registry installer and DRM crap that would otherwise add to latency to registry i/o...

:butbut:

[-DirTyDeeDs--Ziggy- 0]

thanks hoak.

I preordered ArmA 2 !!

click for larger image :rolleyes:

[max power 21]

Max go back to the first post in the thread, I'm keeping it updated for North America; not just the U.S., Cananannanannada too!

:)

I was looking on the CD WOW website and I couldn only find information on the united states in North America, and couldn't find the word 'Canada' on their site anywhere.

[hoak 0]

I was looking on the CD WOW website and I couldn only find information on the united states in North America, and couldn't find the word 'Canada' on their site anywhere.

I was talking to a feller on IRC from Canada that said he'd ordered games from CD Wow, didn't think to ask him specifics sorry...

I have an account with CD Wow and just sent them a Customer Service message/info request about ordering to Canada -- will see what they say

:butbut:

Edited June 2, 2009 by Hoak

[NoQuarter 0]

Someone should contact the New Media Maze and Clever Communications reps about some sort of stipend or royalty schedule for Hoak...after all, it looks like he is doing their work for them -and without a contract.

[TCEd 0]

lol, I agree... Hoak is doing a lot of leg work & keep us in the know.......

[hoak 0]

LOL, the BI games are fantastic games, but it looks like they're going to have some of the same initial 'getting over the hump' issues they had with ArmA, where people that want buy, have a tough time finding a place to buy, and then the first two or three patches to get things polished up.

BI's games are enormously complex and feature rich -- they're some of, if not the most capable and well supported games you can buy; yet the very things that make them great (small, focused, independent hard working Developer) conspire to make them initially hard to get, and discouraging to the impatient (learning curve and initial bugs).

The ArmA Community is the match of the game; one of the most mature and helpful you'll find in gaming. The forum Moderation may seem a little strict, but that's because the post volume is so high, the game so technical and there's so much informaition to try to keep organized. Heck there are mods and total conversion for these game that will keep you in new 'free' games that surpass anything you can buy.

Once you get past some of the challenges these games confront you with, with the help of others here, you'll enjoy giving back as well...

But hey, Max Power, I got a reply from CD WOW:

Hello,

Thank you for your e-mail.

I can confirm that anone that resides in canada can shop from our site. You can refer the below link for the same.

https://www.cdwow.us/account/signup

Kind Regards,

Joseph | Customer Services Representative

CD WOW!

Just ask Customer Servies there if you need anything, they replay FAST (probably becasue of the time zone difference).

:)

Edited June 2, 2009 by Hoak