Consider those that can't play multiplayer

[BKnight3 0]

I'm sure its quite the minority of the playerbase nowadays, but think about it, not everybody in the world has broadband. Of course, not everyone is in a third world country, nor is broadband always easily accessable all across the globe.

Take for instance, MY situation several years ago when complaining on the old forums and was labelled a troll for my whining:

I was a US Navy sailor serving on a ship, and believe it or not, we have VERY limited, RESTRICTED internet access. If you think a ship on the high seas can get internet the way hollywood portrays, you try it someday. And NO, porn is not authorized internet material.

Console playing is the norm, with personal laptops for a good amount of crew. Lan parties happen every now and then (mostly playing CS or some sort of RTS), usually organized in the galley or workspaces, with the WoW (and then EQ) players suffering from withdrawl.

Patching usually sucks, and some of the games that requires you to register online before even playing singleplayer were frustrating ass hell. Guess what the hell sailors/marines do the moment they pull in port, and its NOT play videogames(the only exception being the previously mentioned MMORPG players that "need" that fix).

What happens to a game like Arma 2 arrives in such an environment? Well let me tell you what I saw/did with Arma 1.

Personally, I complained with what little reliable internet I had, got labelled a troll, tried to deal with the game the way it was until we got back to port.

While were still underway however, I noticed the previously excited marines that bought the game simply stop playing the game and throwing them overboard(at the scheduled times of course). When I asked them what they felt about the game, it was a mixed bag, some of them even laughing it off, but the majority of them saying, to put it simply, it was "insulting."

Do other customers in similar situations without multiplayer capability do the same? I wouldn't know.

Did history repeat itself again with Arma 2? I wouldn't know, I'm not in the military anymore, but will train again to go IA.

Now I'm sure this is the part where I get called a liar, or even discredit this scenario. But take it from my perspective (and potentially several thousand), on the high seas, in a steel box, with a game that "is not broken."

Former Fire Controlman 3rd Class serving on USS ESSEX LHD-2, 7th Fleet/31st MEU.

[Guest]

Um, i apreciate what your saying and everything, but i am lost as to what your trying to say in the post?

[cjsoques 0]

Yeah I don't understand what the problem was/is? Post didn't have a point from my point of view

[armafreak 10]

I understand exactly where he is coming from. I live and work on a tiny island in the middle of the Indian ocean. Internet streams to me at an amazing 22kb's, and I pay almost $1/hour US for that service. Now imagine how much it cost me to download it from Petergames the day after release. Well in actual fact it finished downloading 12 days after release. I've been quite fortunate with the Campaign (FPS, bugs) and am thankful for that. But yeah, miss the big city lights and high speed internet..

---------- Post added at 09:36 PM ---------- Previous post was at 09:35 PM ----------

In short, most people are happy they have MP as a backup if the SP is shonky, whereas in an isolated environment, SP is all you have.

[Windexglow 10]

I believe he's asking how lan is. It appears arma1 did not support (or did a horrid job doing so) lan.

[BKnight3 0]

Um, i apreciate what your saying and everything, but i am lost as to what your trying to say in the post?

Sup richie, love your work btw, you're one of the only reasons I gave Arma 2 a chance.

What I'm trying to say, the majority of those without multiplayer capability will be forced simply to "enjoy" the campaign.

What happens when they "enjoy" that campaign in its default delivery without the ability to patch it, they will simply remove the game from their inventory. Of course, this is a win/win for BIS, with the customer still losing.

[Zipper5 74]

There really isn't much BIS can do about this guys. Game's already released, they're already patching it. They can't give you an internet connection or a boosted speed. While I understand the frustration, it's kind of odd to see this being posted now when it would have had more of a purpose before the release of the game.

[BKnight3 0]

There really isn't much BIS can do about this guys. Game's already released, they're already patching it. They can't give you an internet connection or a boosted speed. While I understand the frustration, it's kind of odd to see this being posted now when it would have had more of a purpose before the release of the game.

True, but one would think they would have learned after Arma.

[Litos 10]

I see what you're saying. I feel bad for people with such limited internet access for many reasons, but I can't imagine myself like that for example, because most of whatever I do is based on the internet and the computer.

I guess ArmA 2 will do a bit better in all areas, but multiplayer is still it's best part.

[armafreak 10]

Zipper5, we are not asking for anything really from BIS, especially not an increase in internet speed.. The original post was simply highlighting the difference between having the option to play MP or not. While the game is being patched, most would tune into the MP until the SP is at a playable state.

But this is not a dreary feel sorry for us post, rather its a simple reflection...

[cjsoques 0]

I'm sorry but I have to disagree, their multiplayer sector is the weakest part of ARMA2 right now, they have a lot of work to do on that end.

For single player that are limitless possibilities such as:

1. Campaign, it's never the same experience twice

2. Single player missions, again just like OFP and ARMA1 the experience is never the same

3. The Armory, I've found myself eating up time just using one vehicle at a time in the armory and doing all the challenges that come up

4. The Editor, this is the feature I've used the most and you could go forever and not get bored of this. You can make wars, simulate scenarios, create your own missions, whatever you want to do in the ARMA2 world

Trust me, in the state that multiplayer is at now you aren't missing much. The major FPS drop, the lag and stutter on even the servers I have the best connection to, and the horrible layout of multiplayer in general.

I understand the situation you are coming from, but it is unrealistic for BIS to spend an extra 6 month to a year to perfect their system when their publisher is making them release and they need to make money on a relatively finished product. Every PC game...especially simulators like ARMA2, go through many patches after release, the patches sometimes even come out before release.

If you've played PC games for a while you should know what you signed up for when it comes to patching and you can't except for BIS to cater to the 0.1% when they have a business to run. Again, I don't understand the complaint or what you want BIS to do about it, it's a natural phenomena of the PC gaming industry when it comes to patching.

[Thirdup 0]

IMO, ArmA (1 & 2) has never really excelled as a "canned missions out of the box" stand-alone game. But that's where the editor comes in. If you can't d/l a mission to suit your taste, you can damned sure make one.

A lot depends on your playstyle. I play coop AI missions with a few buddies on our dedicated server. I can log in and grab an Ai squad and play the entire night if nobody else is on (and I could just as easily be on a LAN hosting that game alone).

ArmA is very open-ended in that aspect.

Edited July 8, 2009 by Thirdup

[BKnight3 0]

I'm sorry but I have to disagree, their multiplayer sector is the weakest part of ARMA2 right now, they have a lot of work to do on that end.

For single player that are limitless possibilities such as:

1. Campaign, it's never the same experience twice

2. Single player missions, again just like OFP and ARMA1 the experience is never the same

3. The Armory, I've found myself eating up time just using one vehicle at a time in the armory and doing all the challenges that come up

4. The Editor, this is the feature I've used the most and you could go forever and not get bored of this. You can make wars, simulate scenarios, create your own missions, whatever you want to do in the ARMA2 world

Trust me, in the state that multiplayer is at now you aren't missing much. The major FPS drop, the lag and stutter on even the servers I have the best connection to, and the horrible layout of multiplayer in general.

I understand the situation you are coming from, but it is unrealistic for BIS to spend an extra 6 month to a year to perfect their system when their publisher is making them release and they need to make money on a relatively finished product. Every PC game...especially simulators like ARMA2, go through many patches after release, the patches sometimes even come out before release.

If you've played PC games for a while you should know what you signed up for when it comes to patching and you can't except for BIS to cater to the 0.1% when they have a business to run. Again, I don't understand the complaint or what you want BIS to do about it, it's a natural phenomena of the PC gaming industry when it comes to patching.

How long have they been making this game again? I thought they were working on Arma 2 the same time they were making Arma 1? It was one of the reponses on why Arma 1 had so many bugs.

[cjsoques 0]

IMO, ARMA2 is supremely more superior and stable than ARMA1 and I applaud them for that. Again, that is just my point of view and my experiences with it.

I was so pissed and dissapointed with ARMA1 that I got temporarily banned from the forum because I was venting so much of my anger. The game was more or less unplayable for me as I never go to do more than a couple missions because of so many crashes and was only able to do minor stuff in the editor before a crash and forget about multiplayer.

From the way I see it, I notice by leaps and bounds the improvements they have made since then.

[maxter 10]

People would still find stuff to complain about if the game had been in development for 20 years. Just saying.

[Zipper5 74]

They have been working on the concept, "GAME 2", which has now been filled by ArmA II, since before ArmA's release. Since then it has undergone many, many obvious changes. Including the name of the game. ArmA was indeed a stop-gap between OFP and ArmA II that was almost a lesser version of ArmA II itself.

People would still find stuff to complain about if the game had been in development for 20 years. Just saying.

QFT.

[BKnight3 0]

IMO, ARMA2 is supremely more superior and stable than ARMA1 and I applaud them for that. Again, that is just my point of view and my experiences with it.

I was so pissed and dissapointed with ARMA1 that I got temporarily banned from the forum because I was venting so much of my anger. The game was more or less unplayable for me as I never go to do more than a couple missions because of so many crashes and was only able to do minor stuff in the editor before a crash and forget about multiplayer.

From the way I see it, I notice by leaps and bounds the improvements they have made since then.

True, it is a vast improvement. I just hope they get it right next time.

[cjsoques 0]

Everyone hopes that the game they are waiting for "gets it right". But you honestly can't expect the developers to not come out with a slew of patches in the wake of a release. Tell me a game, especially a simulator, that has not had dozens of patches after their release.

No matter how good a PC game is, it is just a fact of PC gaming life that patches will be required. It's always been this way since patching has been possible and it doesn't look to change anytime soon.

[Guest]

Ah ok, i understand what you mean now :)

I agree, if you don't have access to multiplayer, singleplayer is all you have. And if singleplayer is broken, you are truly stuffed. I personally think the arma 2 campaign is total crap, but thats just my opinion.

The editor however is pure awesomeness, you should definitely give it a go!

Rich.

[armafreak 10]

Thank you richiespeed13, I actually stopped looking at this thread as it threatened to turn into one of those self-perpetuating loads of dung that are so often prevalent on this forum. It was a simple statement, missed by those that dont share the same circumstances. In times like this a little empathy goes a long way and I really enjoy this game, I paid an absolut fortune for it (retail price + 22kb's @ $1/hour x 12 days) and I am not knocking it, I love it, but I understand where the original OP is coming from...

[Squigibo 10]

Uh.... so what?

So you don't have internet. Who cares?

I bet you didn't have a few corvette's on board to race around in either?

Does that make a corvette bad?

I bet you couldn't play World of Warcraft on board either? Or how about the hundreds of other games that require internet to fully appreciate the game. Does it make all those games bad because you personally don't have internet?

I see why you were labeled a troll. It still fits.

[Lauxman 10]

The ArmA2 campaign is indeed a pile of steaming crap. But people without good internet aren't the only ones who suffer.

New players who don't know that multiplayer and the editor and addons are the reason why OFP and ArmA are so successful will not give the game a chance after seeing the horrendously designed campaign.

I know better, so I'm fooling around in the editor and waiting for some good coop servers to spring up, as well as the great mods like ACE2, but how is someone trying to get into ArmA 2 going to know about those? What they get is a trainwreck of bugs in a campaign. It is almost unacceptable.

[Guest]

Uh.... so what?

So you don't have internet. Who cares?

I bet you didn't have a few corvette's on board to race around in either?

Does that make a corvette bad?

I bet you couldn't play World of Warcraft on board either? Or how about the hundreds of other games that require internet to fully appreciate the game. Does it make all those games bad because you personally don't have internet?

I see why you were labeled a troll. It still fits.

If your calling him a troll, then i do not know what the hell you should be labeled. Your comment is ignorant and imature, did you even read his post?

He was not trolling at all, he was simply explaining his problem in a calm and polite manner. Calm down!

[Dogtags 0]

Ah ok, i understand what you mean now :)

I agree, if you don't have access to multiplayer, singleplayer is all you have. And if singleplayer is broken, you are truly stuffed. I personally think the arma 2 campaign is total crap, but thats just my opinion.

The editor however is pure awesomeness, you should definitely give it a go!

Rich.

richiespeed you are spot on. I would like to add my vote that SP in ARMA2 is very good. Forget about the pre-made missions just do the random generated missions over and over, different every time and up the settings if you want a really tough challenge. Also as already said the editor is amazingly easy to use and you can make your own single player missions WITHOUT scripting. Of course if you want fancy story lines, animations, speech and special functions you will have to elarn to script but you can get so much out of it without scripting, hours of entertainment.

[Squigibo 10]

If your calling him a troll, then i do not know what the hell you should be labeled. Your comment is ignorant and imature, did you even read his post?

He was not trolling at all, he was simply explaining his problem in a calm and polite manner. Calm down!

What problem? Because he can't play Internet and bashing a SINGLE game? How is bis supposed to FIX the fact he can't play on the internet being at sea? Why is this OUR problem? He may as well bash the Navy for not allowing him to play on the internet on a warship. And that's BIS's problem?