Is this game right for me? Honest question.

[n88tr 10]

I'm used to FPS games. Not necessarily mindless slaughter like Painkiller or Quake but I've never honestly taken a breath so much in war sims, which I think this game is.

I've made maps for some other PC games Like FarCry, FarCry 2, Command and Conquer 3, etc. I am now trying some new games like this one, hopefully so I can keep mapping interesting.

When, and if I buy this game it will primarily for the mapping editor. I know I will have to play a little bit to get a feel for what kind of maps I should be making instead of going into the editor blind to what kinds of maps people like to play.

The one thing the concerns me is that this game might be too tactical a shooter for me. I understand taking cover, reloading behind cover, etc but is this game very different than a conventional shooter, ie no health packs and 1 shot I die kind of game, is that what this is?

Thank you very much for reading my thread and I hope this works out for me!

[cartier90 0]

Download the demo....

http://www.arma2.com/arma-2-demo_en.html

As for the editor, If you have made maps then you are more au fait with comps with me, you should love it.

[voodoochile123 10]

The maps are huge but I don't know much about the editor.

This game is very tactical. If you run anywhere guns blazing, Rambo style, you'll just get shot. It's all about working as a team and approaching enemies with extreme caution and getting behind rocks or trees or buildings and shooting at them with controlled bursts. Then you provide covering fire while your squad mates try to inch forwards carefully and get better positions.

You can stand up, you can crouch and shoot, and you can lie down completely flat in the grass. Some times you have to lie down and inch forwards through the grass to sneak up to a position.

It can be slow sometimes but there is plenty of fast paced action too. Even the slow moments though are great, because the whole thing is so intense, I never get bored for even a second. It's incredible.

As for the other stuff, there are no health packs or anything like that, but they did give you at least a chance. So if a squad mate gets shot, they may survive depending on the wound, but usually they will fall to the ground and the screen will go red. You then need to have another squad mate go over to them and heal/revive them. I think you only have a minute or so to do this before they bleed to death. If someone reaches them and does first aid though, they are back on their feet again and good as new pretty much. So it does make life a bit easy on you.

There are difficulty levels which changes all this too, so I suppose you could have it on a very easy mode which would go far easier on you.

Whether I would recommend it to you, I'm not sure. I've played lots of different types of shooters and this is nothing like the action shooters like Quake or Unreal Tournament. But it's still exciting and it's something I love just as much as the other types of games. Maybe you would too? I don't know. Perhaps you could try the demo out too, to get a better idea.

[wamingo 1]

If by maps you mean missions, then I can tell you there's demand for good missions - especially coop mp. That should be an incentive for those primarily interested in the creative side of things.

And as creative people are usually interested in flexibility, the editor has a bazillion options if you dig a little deeper...

However, I think the only person who can tell you whether You will like the game is you.

[bushlurker 46]

Hi n88tr!

Well... Voodoochile said it all there... This isn't really a "game", its far more of a "military simulator", so its missing a lot of standard game devices like "health packs" and stuff...

Try the demo! - You'll either love it, or run screaming back to "proper games" and never be heard of again... :)

You're into editing??? Thats VERY good! You've come to the right place - there's more modding and editing possibilities with BIS games than almost any other game around... Try the demo - a chopped down editor is feaqtured there...

Don't get confused by the nomenclature... by convention the terrains in BIS games are known as "islands" even tho sometimes - like chernaurus, they're not - and actual scenarios are generally known as "missions"... Island/terrain creation is possible (everything is possible in this game), but its complicated, time consuming and requires patience...

Mission creating, on the other hand, can be done entirely with the built-in Editor, or scripting, or a combination of both.... Try the Demo - check out the editor...

Theres an editing section on this forum plus several other websites - notably OFPEC, for example, devoted to editing...

Do some reading, get the demo! - you may find it's not for you, or you may find you never play anything else ever again!

You might also want to take a look at this... Mr Murrays Editing Guide... its for Arma 1, but its 99.9% valid for Arma2 and covers using the basic editor facilities superbly...

either way - have fun!

B

Edited July 7, 2009 by Bushlurker

[Big Dawg KS 6]

]When, and if I buy this game it will primarily for the mapping editor. I know I will have to play a little bit to get a feel for what kind of maps I should be making instead of going into the editor blind to what kinds of maps people like to play.

ArmA2 editor is a powerful tool. While you can't create/edit terrain with it, you can make very complex mission scenarios for both SP and MP fairly easily on existing "islands" (does not technically have to be an island, but is how we refer to different worlds/terrains in ArmA). You can make just about any type of gameplay imaginable with it if you're willing to learn. We should also get tools at some future point which will allow us to create new islands, but until then Chernarus (main island game ships with) is actually pretty beautiful, and pretty massive, it will definately be able to last you.

Try the demo, it includes the editor. That way you can see what both the gameplay and editor are like.

[n88tr 10]

Ok good, I'll get the demo.

If I make missions, thanks for the right word, in the demo editor can they be used in the full version game?

[bravo 6 0]

in the demo you can't save the missions.

[jakerod 254]

Ok good, I'll get the demo.

If I make missions, thanks for the right word, in the demo editor can they be used in the full version game?

I think the demo version has the save option disabled so you won't be able to. Which, since its a demo, it makes sense.

[maxqubit 1]

At TC ... if you have never played any OFP i think you will call this game 'sloooowwwwwwwww' ... meaning it can happen that you walk for 10 minutes to see no enemy at all, and suddenly you are dead by just 1 bullet of a never seen enemy.

The 'action type' gamers (not necesserily a bad gamer) are normally put off by this 'void of action' type gaming. Just play the demo and have a good feel of the pace etc of the game.

It goes without saying that with the powerfull and marvel which is the editor you can create more 'direct into the action' stuff ... but even then the pacing will be 'slow' BUT DEADLY:)

[Trapper 0]

No, main issue of the mission editor in the demo is that you can only test play the mission but not save it.

I only know the mission editing side from OFP/ArmA but I would say creating a good mission could take the same time as building an island.

In the previous games there was a huge variety of islands themes and missions beyond of the mil sim borders. Also all kind of addons (playable vehicles/models) were made.

Stalker like island+missions

Sci-fi scenarios (Terminator, War of the Worlds, Stargate, Zombies...)

By scripting in a mission you'll be able to add arcadish options to the player like restoring health by just pressing a key when ever you want.

[n88tr 10]

Ok thanks Trapper, that was informative.

I understand the mission editor thingy now but is there an editor where I can deform terrain, add buildings, foliage, that kind of full-blown editor?

If I can only make missions, wouldn't things get kind of stale after a while?? Not trying to bash the game but I would think things would get predictable after a while, taking cover behind the same rocks, buildings, trees etc.

And I tried to download the demo but my downloader said it would take 4 days at 28.8 kbs so I want to know all I can about this game before I go and actually purchase it because the download isn't working out.

Thank you again for helping a newb out!

[whisper 0]

You need to see the vastness of the land :)

smtg like 225 square km of terrain (if I'm not mistaken), you don't run behind the same bush all the time ;)

BTW tools exists also for creating you own landmass, it's another (lot of) challenge

[KorJax 10]

Yeah I have the same concerns about the mission editor but really it doesn't matter too much considering the landmass is 225 square kilometers in size.

I think there is a way to make a new landmass but the one that comes with the game is so huge you're never likely to run into the same place twice.

[ebud 18]

Ok thanks Trapper, that was informative.

I understand the mission editor thingy now but is there an editor where I can deform terrain, add buildings, foliage, that kind of full-blown editor?

If I can only make missions, wouldn't things get kind of stale after a while?? Not trying to bash the game but I would think things would get predictable after a while, taking cover behind the same rocks, buildings, trees etc.

And I tried to download the demo but my downloader said it would take 4 days at 28.8 kbs so I want to know all I can about this game before I go and actually purchase it because the download isn't working out.

Thank you again for helping a newb out!

This is your terrain editor. It doesn't work like your expecting. Different process. Terrain editing is it's own process.

http://community.bistudio.com/wiki/Visitor_3_Manual

[Master gamawa 0]

If I can only make missions, wouldn't things get kind of stale after a while??

Ha! HAHAHA!

I'll link you the map/island section in armaholic site for the Armed Assault game just to show you:

http://www.armaholic.com/list.php?c=addons_islands

You can find the rest on your own. There are so many addons, maps, scripts and game conversions that it's impossible for things to become stale. Of course Arma2 just came out so don't expect to find a great variety. Give it some time... :)

[jakerod 254]

Making islands is really fun although time consuming. I made a bunch of the first game OFP, but due to some hardware/software limitations on my side I didn't get to make any big ones for ArmA only one small one. Its a time consuming process but you can get great results.

[jw custom 56]

No, main issue of the mission editor in the demo is that you can only test play the mission but not save it.

They are saved because i still got my demo missions(missionname.ArmA2DemoWizardMission) which i hosted while waiting for retail :)

At TC ... if you have never played any OFP i think you will call this game 'sloooowwwwwwwww' ... meaning it can happen that you walk for 10 minutes to see no enemy at all...

Depends on where your playing because my missions always have instant action(almost) as i hate walking/driving/flying 10k to find the enemy :p

@n88tr

If you like making maps/missions this is really nice in ArmA II... one thing you should know before buying this game is that it takes a REALLY good box to run it with very high video settings!

Edited July 13, 2009 by JW Custom

[n88tr 10]

Yeah making terrain looks awfully complicated. Gonna have to think about this one if I really want to do this.

Thank you so much for helping me learn about this complicated game!!

[calavera999 10]

This series is a simulator. Its not like any other FPS, its very ambitious and very complicated in the controls to a point its unnecessary. But it has to be due to what the game can acheive. You have to think like a soldier to not get shot, which gives it a real learning curve. Running and shooting without pre planning paths and situations WILL get you killed.

So, no. I dont think this game is for you if you dont want a simulator. But dont shy away from it, give it a chance. You may love it.

[Kabolte 10]

If I can only make missions, wouldn't things get kind of stale after a while?? Not trying to bash the game but I would think things would get predictable after a while, taking cover behind the same rocks, buildings, trees etc.

With a good imagination and experience, it can never get stale. For example, you could have Russians attack Marines that are fortified on a mountain top and you play as the Marines. You could place bunkers and fortifications where ever you want (you could place all the buildings you can want, but not and vegetation or rocks, sorry) to make it easier to defend the fortification. You could then have an airstrike destroy those bunkers if you want it to be harder. You could give both sides whatever units you see fit, even if that's 500 infantry (I would not advise this). Then after you finish the mission, you could decide you want to change it around a bit so that you're that jet fighter that destroyed those bunkers. Or you could make a completely new mission in a completely different part of the map.

And of course, you could make a new Island if you are patient enough.