BI, you should be ashamed of yourselves.

[MarvinTheMartian 10]

Right, before any of you start to flame me and call me a nOOb...let me just say that i have bought OF, ArmA and ArmA2. I have been LOYAL to BI. But now i feel that they are just not listening, or just do not care.

The game was released in June...as we all know the game was full of bugs and unplayable. In my opinion probably only 60% finished. This was AFTER they released it in Germany in an obviously "unfinished state". Whether or not this is true i am unsure...but in my opinion they released it in Germany first as they KNEW it was a LONG LONG way off being finished. Releasing it in Germany then gave BI THOUSANDS of play testers for FREE! After releasing it in Germany and having the ADVANTAGE of having all these play testers for FREE...why was the game still in such an unfinished state when it was released in the rest of the world? You had about 4-6 weeks after releasing it in Germany before we got it.

It is now October, and we are into patch 1.04. For myself and COUNTLESS others, the game is now more unstable/unplayable than it was when it was first released! I'm talking about the "receiving" issue, the memory leaks...the totally RANDOM CTD that myself and alot of people are experiencing. The problems with i7 processors, the problems with more than 4 cores, the TOTALLY unplayable single player campaign, the performance problems...even on my quad core i7 @ 3.6GHz with 6GB RAM and a ATI HD4890. This is practically a state of the art system...yet performance is STILL appauling. The list just goes on and on. As i've mentioned i've been loyal to BI. But now i feel i just can't be loyal anymore.

BI, you make claims that your game is a military sim. Yet none of your aircraft have countermeasures. You make claims that your AI is super intelligent, yet countless times the AI is obviously stupid. Many a time i have been running alongside an AI soldier thinking it was my team mate. And they have just not reacted to me or shot me. Sometimes they have even ran right past me...2ft infront of me...and STILL not shot me. Other times i have shot AI soldiers in the head and the rest of his squad fail to react. Just standing there as one by one i drop them all. Yeah VERY realistic! And before any of you say..."oh you must be playing it on an easy setting" ...NO...this is on EXPERT MODE. The game also has no physics?? No FLIR etc etc. But you claim that it's a realistic military sim.

Essentially since your game was released, we the general public and your "paying customers" have been loyal and BETA/PLAY tested your game for you. I do not think myself or others on this forum are being "unreasonable" to expect a game which we have paid for to run and not crash for no reason every 5 minutes...especially 4 months after the game was released and after 4 patches! You make claims in your change log the the "receiving" bug was fixed! Well can you explain why myself and countless others are still experiencing it? Can you explain why myself and alot of other people can sometimes play the game for an hour or two with no problems, and other times not play for more than 5 minutes before we experience random and sporadic crashes to desktop. Why have the MAJOR bugs in this game not been addressed? I mean...are we being unreasonable here for wanting to have some kind of explanation? I don't think we are.

Also, before any of you start to have a go at me...and say i don't know what i'm talking about. Well let me just say that i myself am i computer games developer. I am a 3d artist and have also been in the industry for 15 years. I have worked for some of the biggest developers in England. So yes i do know what i'm talking about. And i know fine well how hard it is to narrow some bugs down. I also appreciate that there are so many combinations of hardware in peoples PC's that this also doesn't help matters. But ArmA2 is just in such an unfinished state...it's comical.

Also, Bi you have been doing these type of military sims for 10 years. OF, ArmA, VBS, VBS2 and ArmA2. So why after 10 years can you not release a game of the same type that works?

Now BI are making Operation Arrowhead. Do you seriously expect a lot of people that bought ArmA2 to buy this game? I personally will NEVER buy another BI game again. And as i have said...this is a shame. As i DID consider myself to be a loyal fan of BI. To me personally, buying Operation Arrowhead when it comes out...would kind of condone that i was happy with the state ArmA2 was in. And i do not. ArmA2 was BLATANTLY UNFINISHED at release. So why should i have faith in OA?

Codemasters bought the operation flashpoint name off you. And OF2 is coming out at the end of this week. This is their first attempt at a game like yours...and in my opinion it SOUNDS superior, and LOOKS superior. Yeah sure it prob doesn't have ANYWHERE near as many weapons and vehicles as ArmA2 does. But it has FLIR, vehicles have countermeasures, a 30km view distance, Superior lighting and physics. And according to alot of reviews...runs pretty well on mid range computers. I bet that it doesnt have sporadic crashes to desktop and is infinately more stable than ArmA2. If codemasters can get it relatively right in terms of look, game engine, playability and stability after their FIRST attempt...how after 10 years and countless versions of your game? And even selling the likes of VBS/VBS2 to various militaries throughout the world. How can you STILL not get ArmA2 to work and be stable...especially 4 months after release! :rolleyes:

I haven't come here to bitch and moan for no reason. As i have said i DID have faith in BI. But that faith has been slowly eaten away...with lack of support. And to be honest...just not much feedback from you BI. I think i'm well within my rights to be unhappy at the way BI just seem to ignore the majority of complaints in your own forums. Or make claims that things are fixed when they blatantly are not (receiving bug to mention but one problem).

As sad as i am to say this...roll on 9th October, for OF2. It may not have as many "features" as ArmA2, but i bet it CERTAINLY isn't plagued with as many problems, bugs, crashes etc etc etc.

BI, look to yourselves when you realise that your loyal fans are deserting you. You only have yourselves to blame. you certainly wont be getting anymore of my money...and i think that's a shame. But deserved. :mad:

I wouldn't be surprised if this post is deleted, locked or i'm banned by your over enthusiastic so called "forum moderators". People should be entitled to voice concerns over a game they STILL can't play ...4 MONTHS AFTER RELEASE. And believe me...if i could get a refund for your game from where i bought it...i would. As i'm sure countless others also would!

[Binkowski 26]

Yet another pointless rant...really? And how can you be so 110% positive that OFP2: DR is "CERTAINLY" not going to be plagued with as many problems, bugs, or whatever. Eh, that's enough from me. This isn't worth any more of my time.

[ballistic09 241]

As sad as i am to say this...roll on 9th October, for OF2. It may not have as many "features" as ArmA2, but i bet it CERTAINLY isn't plagued with as many problems, bugs, crashes etc etc etc.

lol

I suppose you know this from your countless hours of playing an unreleased game? :rolleyes:

[MarvinTheMartian 10]

No of course not, but can it be as bad i ask myself? I don't think it can. At the end of the day...myself and the majority of people are still having serious problems. The game is still so unstable it's comical. Am i not entitled to be angry that i still can't play my game 4 months after release?

...if you think this is a pointless rant...then more fool you.

[Clavicula_nox4817 0]

I don't understand. I have seen countless posts about how the game is "unplayable" or "broken" but have honestly never seen it myself. I've had one crash, and none of these other bugs that people mention. Maybe I'm lucky? I have a pretty good system so maybe it's a hardware issue?

You said that the AI is "sometimes obviously stupid". Well, so are people, so I'm not sure I understand the problem? I have not yet witnessed anything like the sheer and unexplainable idiocy I saw in pre/early-Patch Arma 1, nor the quirks present in Flashpoint. My AI spot and engage, use cover/concealment when they can, drive over bridges, move fairly intelligently through towns, and follow commands as I give them.

You mention "entitlement". You aren't "entitled" to anything, this is BI's forum, not yours. There is no "Free Speech" on the Internet, nor are there any "Entitlements".

I bought Arma 2 expecting a slightly better version of Arma 1 (which I purchased as soon as the German Morphicon release was out) and was so pleasantly surprised that I really don't understand the hate. What is "unplayable"? What is "broken"? I thought the campaign was fantastic until the Warfare missions, simply because they just aren't what I expected, but haven't noticed any of the myriad of bugs people are posting about.

*edit*

I don't think your thread will be deleted so long as it remains civil.

[MarvinTheMartian 10]

Have you actually read the forums? Do you think i'm alone with my problems of unstability, unplayable campaign, bugs, CTD.

The problems people are having...4 months down the line are still plain to see.

And yes, i will always be civil. I'm expressing my unhappyness at a game i have purchased. I'm certainly not alone here that for sure. And as i've said...i was one of BI biggest fans. I'm just annoyed that 4 months later i still can't play for more than 5 minutes the majority of the time. I'm certainly not being rude or aggressive, as i know that doesn't solve anything.

@ballistic09 - there are plenty of reviews from games magazines out there for OF2. They even say there are nowhere near the same problems as ArmA2. So yes i can base an opinion on what i have read from countless "reviews". Feel free to search for some of them yourself!

Edited October 5, 2009 by MarvinTheMartian

[fincuan 0]

Of course the forum is full of problems, because the large majority who don't have them are out playing and not posting here how well the game runs. For me it isn't and hasn't been unplayable or broken either, and even the performance is pretty good considering what kind of pos system I have.

[Clavicula_nox4817 0]

Have you actually read the forums? Do you think i'm alone with my problems of unstability, unplayable campaign, bugs, CTD.

The problems people are having...4 months down the line are still plain to see.

How would I know that people are posting about bugs if I haven't read them? I didn't say you were alone, I asked if it could be a hardware issue. Why are you so defensive?

*edit*

To turn this around. Do you think I'm alone in that I don't have any problems?

[MarvinTheMartian 10]

no of corse not. But it certainly seems like there are more people experiencing problems than people who are not.

[Albert Schweitzer 10]

BI, look to yourselves when you realise that your loyal fans are deserting you.

you know, I would think about your point if you were a famous mission/mod maker... but it doesnt really make that impression. Go for OFP2, probably a better game for you. Win Win situation for you as well as for the community. Criticism is absolutely fine, but your points about the superior OFP2 are absurd given the information available.

[MarvinTheMartian 10]

Just because you haven't heard of me, or i dont make mods or missions...so what? Does that mean that i'm not entitled to be unhappy with for me personally an unplayable game?

My claims based on OF2 are from COUNTLESS videos and several magazine previews/reviews.

I can look at a video and come to my own conclusions thanks.

Edited October 5, 2009 by MarvinTheMartian

[jibemorel 10]

For sure this game this game is not perfect, but to me playable and the most import enjoyable.

PS : Have you seen a chopper crashing in OFP2 DR ? If not you sould have a look, before to tell the physics would be far more superior than Arma2.

[odjob 0]

no of corse not. But it certainly seems like there are more people experiencing problems than people who are not.

If you look in "ArmA 2 - TROUBLESHOOTING" im sure you are right. As been said before, most people that are not having any problems dont post about it.

[Langnasen 10]

I've had two CTD's/lock-ups with 1.04. Apart from that the only problem I've encountered with the actual mechanics of the game are the moron AI vehicle drivers. I think the entire bunch had their rations spiked with LSD.

I suspect some of the issues some people are having may be to do with the CPUs struggling with the load of all the calculations going on? I have an E8400 @ 4ghz, and I suspect it's more capable than a quad running at mid 3ghz, whatever BI may claim to the contrary. I know my Q6600 was slower than the E8400 in every game I played. I'm on a sub-par card as well (GTX8800), so it ain't graphics-load causing the problems imo, otherwise I'd be CTD'ing like a yo-yo.

When one sees a game as polished as CoD, then looks at how ArmA performs, one tries to understand the differences. Because BI have always produced flakey-running games. My conclusion, and I may be wrong, is BI simply don't have the money to employ the top coders. They struggle with stability and getting basic features polished (typical example is how the same key/mouse-commands do different things in different vehicles. In some I can open the hatch and be right there in the turret, in others opening the hatch puts me into 3rd-person view). These are the kinds of irritating issues that suggest poor talent in polishing and optimising code.

To be honest, having played both the original OFP and ArmA1, this ArmA2 is the best of the bunch. Simply because it doesn't lock up and/or CTD every fifteen minutes. It's still as rough around the edges as the earlier two, but at least one can get a game out of it most of the time.

Having said that, I've only played single missions and one campaign mission in SP, the rest has been online.

I don't think it's about they won't produce a better product, I think it's that they can't. Other studios can pay bigger dollars and get the best talent. Market forces dictate the quality of ArmA's code, unfortunately.

[kklownboy 43]

Have you actually read the forums? Do you think i'm alone with my problems of unstability, unplayable campaign, bugs, CTD.

The problems people are having...4 months down the line are still plain to see.

Yeah i read the forums. And i play the game,Sp and MP. Most (90%) of forum issues are resolved. Some posters with issues always have it, even when other poster get it fixed... And then there is the poster(s) who always find a new issue that keeps them form playing.. that most if not all other posters have fixed...

Now on to actually playing and not posting... In all my A2 playing since day one with a lot of other players online havint had ANY game breaking issues... EVER!. Heck when a issues does come up, back on 1.1.5 and 1.2 they where easy work arounds and are now fixed in 103 104 ... There are annoying Netcode issues... HOW we all hate that! And for some reason there seem to be a few guys who only like to fly and get the lame polygrey thang that totally messes it up for them (and me if I am on board:() but thats rare... its so rare i only see it posted here! or on one other server with old drivers and old version of the game... So i dont get it. the hate well i do get it its mostly trolls who are for DR (four man COOP wtf?).

Game runs great on my kit. I don't play the Campaign

[W0lle 1050]

I haven't come here to bitch and moan for no reason.

Of course not.

As i have said i DID have faith in BI. But that faith has been slowly eaten away...with lack of support. And to be honest...just not much feedback from you BI.

4 patches already, beta patches builds atleast once a week... How much more support you want? That's already more than most other companies give.

What feedback other than patches you expect from a developer team that is smaller than the average PR department the "big players" have?

No one forced you to buy the game. Also there were enough reviews which clearly said that the game has serious bugs. If you ignore them - fail.

I'm closing this, simply because I'm tired by now of that "meh we're all paying betatesters crap".

And then of course the usual "DR the saviour" line... :rolleyes: