ArmA2 1.03 Impressions - ALL Impressions/Videos/Screenies Here

[ck-claw 1]

Absolutely mindbending. It's like a Fulda Gap sandbox. Yes - it's tough as hell, and I am dying constantly, but it feels tremendously authentic. I was so horribly disappointed with COD4 and its need to force me down a specific path. A game hasn't impressed me this much with its scope and ambition since Combat Mission or X-Com. I'm not going to be any good at this game for a long long time, and I don't care - because the journey will be breathtaking.

Well would ya look at that! A positive person on the forums! ;)

Glad ya like it Hi-Power.

+1 Alex, Recycle-'The Possibilities Are Endless!' :D

[grub 10]

Thanks for the help guys. *Planck* I'm guessing you know what I'm on about so I'm going in. Just have to assemble my new rig.

[BitterSeth 10]

So seeing as there's hopefully going to be lots of new people with their new impressions, we need a new impressions thread.

I am one such new person and I'd be glad to offer my impression of the game.

To keep it short I think the game itself is totally awesome. However, it's hard to get through the game's problems to see it's awesomeness. The graphics are first rate. The missions are varied and interesting. The AI is smart except when it comes to path finding. This is definately a game I will be glad to add to my collection, assuming glaring problems are addressed and it seems that is the intent.

The hoops you have to jump through if you have an nvidea card or a PC with greater than 4 gig of RAM are definately strikes against it. And the fact that my game crashes on every 3rd save ("cannot commit"( is frustrating at best especially with no way to turn off auto saves.

All the controls are cumbersome but seem necessary to keep up the high level of detail, control, and realism.

This game could definately be among my "best games ever" if things are fixed.

I also think the graphics could be optimized a bit. While the graphics are top rate I do no see them as being any better than GTA IV. And while I can run it with maximum detail I cannot run ArmA II with such with Intel Core i7, 1 TB RAM, and Nvidea 260.

So I guess the moral of the story is I think ArmA II has the potential to be a truly great game.

[McArcher 0]

My impressions of 1.03 are:

1) game still crashes to desktop

2) AI is still stupid

3.1) sound is still disgusting. my ancient computer games made much better sounds than this game. especially, when i hear more that 1 truck/heavy veh. near me, I want to switch sound off and throw the game disc into window... but i hope, I'll have patience for the patches....maybe patch 1.96 like in old good OFP.....

3.2) no audio engine selection in settings.

btw, what audio engine is arma2 using? I hope it is not software render??? I hope Arma2 knows what EAX is???

4) I've found a new bug. Aiming mode animation disappears often. I mean , I push the default right button of mouse to aim the gun, but see no animation...though my movement speed decreases.

5) In Warfare BE missions, russian side cannot build defensive structures. Some people say, that this is localisation error of the game. Can you comment on this? Maybe many bugs (especially crashes to desktop) are cause by such bugs?

Edited August 18, 2009 by McArcher

[mattxr 9]

Very good Gol Aircorps Testing Video...

[justme2024 10]

So im going to keep my impressions fairly short, as alot of them have been iterated before here... but i also thought it doesnt hurt to have one more impression into the pot.

I remember playing OFP when it orginally was released, and it was awesome. the music, the campaign, the MP, the realism, wow. I never got to play arma as my pc was not up to snuf... i recently got a new core i7 920 and was excited to get my hands on arma2. I read the forums, i knew what i was getting into... but still very dissapointed.

Like people have said there are good things in here, the graphics are great, the mod possibilities are amazing, its huge... but its all just crapped on by problem after problem after problem. I dont accept the excuse that BI is a small developer ( i payed full price).

The AI has alot to contend with, and i understand, but what good does it do if they can get up to 1mm precision if they cant even find there way to the corner to begin with, or even make a tactically correct decision on which corner to go to?

Why if i order them to a vehicle, must i be sure to not sit down before they do, or they tell me they cant get in?

I also enjoyed one of my AI trying to shoot through a house at a moving vehicle, tracking it, even though they couldnt see it. I have seen the youtube videos about hte AI and cover etc etc, so i dont know if it was just a glitch, but it is what it is.

The game takes a beast to run (windows 7 285gfx here) and it still runs clunky, and it just crashed to the desktop in the middle of a mission.

What is with the sound? and im not even talking about the atrocious voice acting, its the bullets, its the horse that clomp clomps behind your character when your on pavement, the horrible music... again its all hit or miss, but the misses are more often then you would like.

BI has a strong community, a strong mod potential, yet i have to search a third party site to try to find missions, and even then who knows if they are good or not.. why not have a built in system?

Hit points for vehicles... really? adn the command system is still incredibly complex, which is good for certain cicumstances, but god damn, they couldnt come up with a better system?

The campaign seems like it should be this great war story, or incredibly visceral experience, but its not. its hard to say if its the mission design or exactly what, but its no where near as good as the orginal.

I wont even bother attempting to mention the hell of MP (North American customer here).

Its like i can see this amazing, great game off in the distance, but its got sooooo many problems i will not be purchasing another BI game unless i hear that they finally created a whole new arma from scratch, and not continue to build upon an engine that, looks great, but its foundation is from 8 years ago, and its time to re-do the whole damn thing.

[jakerod 254]

Why if i order them to a vehicle, must i be sure to not sit down before they do, or they tell me they cant get in?

Quick point on this... you did one of the following:

Ordered your AI into a position and then took it from him ex. ordered him into gunner and then took over the gunner position yourself.

You ordered him into it but there was only one seat left and you took it.

You ordered him into either a different vehicle or a different position and then told him to get into the vehicle that you had just gotten into confusing him and causing him to say Can't get there. He would've gotten in in this case he just would have replied with a negative and then gotten in anyway.

[justme2024 10]

Quick point on this... you did one of the following:

Ordered your AI into a position and then took it from him ex. ordered him into gunner and then took over the gunner position yourself.

You ordered him into it but there was only one seat left and you took it.

You ordered him into either a different vehicle or a different position and then told him to get into the vehicle that you had just gotten into confusing him and causing him to say Can't get there. He would've gotten in in this case he just would have replied with a negative and then gotten in anyway.

all i did was this:

ordered all to get in the helicopter (via mouse over the helicopter) nothing more specific than that

then got in before they did

Im sure that when i ordered them in, they each though, i want X position, but then as i sit down, i take X position, and the AI is like its not avail. adnthen fails to get in

And i also forgot to mention, what the hell is the point of having a city and buildings if most (quible over that word if you want) are not accessible. At this point they might as well just be really tall, boxy walls. Granted the AI cant really do in doors well anyways, but still.

[Wrestler 0]

Today I started the campaign again, and I have a question: did that patch 1.03 removed music from the intro of the campaign (the moment when you hear "Welcome to the operation Harvest Red...")?

[FINALCUT 10]

just curious about the tall stack looking thing,is that some kind of snorkel,also,is the bmp3 slower in game then this one is.ours seems so much slower then these do,and can ours swim in game.if so,is the snorkel visible in game,have not had a chance to test this.thanks.

[datter 0]

Posted elsewhere, but to avoid further chastisement it's now here too...

My impressions.

I don't hate ArmA2 nor do I hate BIS despite what people seem to think based on my recent blog post. I bought OFP on day one, and enjoyed it and Armed Assault for years and was one of the many people here and elsewhere telling those with problems to stick with it. I would explain that although the road is bumpy, it goes to a place few other games try to so it's worth making the journey. As it happens, despite all my posts along those lines and near fan-boyism that went back to the old days... I'm starting not to believe it myself anymore.

Currently I have ArmA2 running acceptably on the rig in my sig... or did anyway until upgrading to Win7 64bit with 8GB of ram. Now there are new problems to sort out, like my local vram not being detected properly, and SLI no longer providing any benefit where it once did etc etc, odd graphic glitches and crashes, an unplayable campaign due to CTD's I no longer want to cope with. Etc.

That last line is the thing though, "problems I no longer want to cope with". The years of same-ness with regards to BIS games and problems like these have apparently worn me down, and it's only happened very recently. It seems that where even weeks ago I was willing to spend an evening tweaking my system and ArmA2, then writing a blog or forum post to help people out (like this, this, this, this, this, this, this, this, this, and even this) now, I'd just rather play something I don't have to screw with. Hell, I went back to playing Empire Total War and that's not exactly a bed of roses either.

I fear the trend of putting up with the bumps to take a unique journey is about over for me, or very close to it as I haven't touched ArmA2 in a couple of weeks now and that's too bad. If there weren't alternatives on the horizon my sticktoiveness might be a bit stronger, but I find myself wandering in both thought and attention as to where my future milsim free time will be spent.

Edited August 25, 2009 by datter

[ffs 10]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y9EpU2sa__U&

[Zipper5 74]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y9EpU2sa__U&

It's a shame that, despite that being a welcome improvement, some of the sounds are now cut short, as you can hear in that video. Otherwise it'd be perfect.

[nikiforos 450]

In a way im happy because I do not have to spend cash for a new computer, but sad that the game isnt good enough .

I was prepared to splash for a new rig but after reading all the negative comments about the game I will at least wait 6 months to buy a computer.

PS

Im a big fan of Operation Flashpoint and I will get this ARMA2 even if i dont have the rig to play it.

[mr reality 0]

I dont touch arma2 now, situation very similar to datters post above.

I'm currently playing eve online, so that takes most of my gaming time anyway.

I will however ponder over the thought of buying a new PC when operation arrowhead is released (Mine is three years old now). But i will most certainly buy a preowned copy. The main reason being, i havent been able to play the campaign and i've only messed about in the editor. So i havn't really had my moneys worth out of arma2.

[koroush47 10]

I dont touch arma2 now, situation very similar to datters post above.

I'm currently playing eve online, so that takes most of my gaming time anyway.

I will however ponder over the thought of buying a new PC when operation arrowhead is released (Mine is three years old now). But i will most certainly buy a preowned copy. The main reason being, i havent been able to play the campaign and i've only messed about in the editor. So i havn't really had my moneys worth out of arma2.

I'll buy it from you :)

[grub 10]

One word guys.

Patches... Patience is a virtue. :)

[Borg 0]

I bought ArmA2 yesterday, played it the whole night.

I have played OFP since the beginning and ARMA, and now I can honestly say that ARMA2 is the best one yet.

And with TEH PATCHEZ it will be even better!

The only complaint I have is the performance and some things in the campaign that just goes weird.

Played the SecOp mission in the scenarios.

It's so much fun!

I also saw how improved the AI has gotten.

Ex. They reported movement in the forrest and then they changed the "direction" of the formation so that they would be facing that area, even when I hadn't ordered them ANYTHING!

I read somewhere that people are complaining about not being sure if the medic will help you or not.

That is not the case for me, they always show up. even if I don't give them the orders.

Combat has been improved too, somehow it creates a bigger sense of unawareness and danger.

Just too bad my soldiers kill all my enemies before I do!

I want to shoot some too!

[funkee 0]

ArmA2 1.03 M16 ACOG... is this supposed to look like this? (I hope not):

[sparks50 0]

NWD has some good Acog reticles.

http://forums.bistudio.com/showthread.php?t=83779

[funkee 0]

dude i just want the acog sight to have correct size. as u can see, this one on the screenshot is oversized and dont fit the screen. any chance to fix this in 1.04?

Edited August 29, 2009 by funkee

[sparks50 0]

Personally I would rather have it the current way, I think it makes better usage of my widescreen monitor.

[funkee 0]

you mean better hardware usage when my FPS drops in half since this zoom in almost whole screen. otherwise its unrealistic. somebody fix that plz :(

Edited August 31, 2009 by funkee

[hrPUFFnSTUFF 10]

first impressions arn't bad, you start out thinking a few tweaks and this will be great! from there it's all down hill. The more you attempt to play the lower the opinion falls. intollarable all types of glitching and lockups apear more consistantly no matter what rig you have and much worse for some.

The engine feels like it was gaffa taped together. the interface is a train wreck with sliders that should not be there at all and no explanation as to the impact they may or may not have. the graphics are dated and inaccurate. The sound is appalling using HW excellerated or not. Single player campagne is unplayable unless you are increadable tolerant or just mindless of the cash you spent on it or just bought it to make small missions for yourself with none of the platforms supposed grandure and scale.

Online play was a letdown aswell as tellaporting, disconnections, mission breakers and a unstable community all combine to make the experiance a frustration.

In conclussion, frustrating is the best description I can give. The software(can't call it a game) sugests it offers alot but simply doesn't delliver. Conceptualy brilliant though! once the concept is matched by the software it will be as good as it can get.

I will quallify my comments by saying I have worked for the Australian SAS when I was younger for 5 years and know what sounds real and doesn't. I have a diploma in system administration(lvl4) and though I grew out of pulling my pants down in public a long time ago, my rig spec's are; QX9650@3.33, 4g DDR2@800 4/3/3/7, 780i sli, 2xGTX285 2gig editions, 4xRaptor's RAID0, X-Fi Titanium Pro, Enermax Galaxy. Viewed through a Samsung Syncmaster 305Tplus@ 2560x1600 and a 12meg PPPoE adsl2+ connection.

[desertjedi 3]

First impressions....

I really hate the visual "style" of Arma II. It's like a Slavic rural rust belt. The color scheme, IMHO, is pretty gross....lots of ugly greens mixed with orange trees and pink-roofed buildings. Oddly, when you're up 500 feet in the air looking down, Arma looks way more impressive and realistic than Arma II does (IMHO). Arma II just looks strange. Also, Arma II is very dark, dismal and a bit depressing-looking. Is any of this important to a combat simulator? No, not really.

Another thing I don't care for is the overload of visual detail. It's like combat in a junkyard. There's just way too much stuff and way too much detail. I don't want see people's backyard crap in a combat simulator. I didn't buy Arma II to play an FPS. I think this was actually a strength in Arma 1 - you had buildings, roads and flora and that's about it. I don't want see all this realistic stuff like people's dirty laundry. Being a combat sim, theoretically, the game could be stellar fighting amongst big lego blocks. Again, not that important - just bothersome.

The mechanical voice-dubbing in Arma II is a big step backward. I don't what the f*#k soldiers are trying to say so I just read the text. Some of the resulting sentences are simply ridiculous to listen to.

I tried a simple MP co-op mission from the SimHQ pack as the only human player and was greatly disappointed. The enemy AI was useless and I felt they posed no real threat. They just lied around or ran around with no obvious purpose. I ended up shooting a lot of them in the back as they were running around. There was no tension like when I play against Arma 1 AI. It just felt like the enemy was retarded. I was playing against some militia (MEU?). Are the real enemy soldiers any better?

Well I'm off to a slow start. One positive note is that my opinion above is probably better than my initial opinion of Arma 1. :D And Arma 1, IMHO, is simply a phenomenal game!

I'd like to try a more typical, military-style infantry engagement and see how things go but not sure what MP co-op mission to try.

Edited September 2, 2009 by DesertJedi