Why is this game not more popular?

[zeep 3]

Omg 78 pages already as to why this game isn't more popular!

[t1337Dude 10]

Dunno about you but imo im glad that Arma2 has EX copy protection (i didnt know it did) it means people are actualy buying the games meaning BI have more money (hopfullly) to improve Arma 2 and go on creating great games.

Versus more popularity leading to more sales. A pirated copy doesn't necessarily translate to a lost sale. That person may have no bought the game in the first place. On the other hand, if someone pirated the game and thought it was good, they would spread positive feedback about the game and may buy it in the future.

[dmarkwick 261]

Versus more popularity leading to more sales. A pirated copy doesn't necessarily translate to a lost sale. That person may have no bought the game in the first place.

This is exactly what happens. Publishers like to bandy around x million dollars lost based on x numbers of illegal downloads, but of course there are people who will download simply anything and/or everything, with never any intention of buying anything ever.

On the other hand, if someone pirated the game and thought it was good, they would spread positive feedback about the game and may buy it in the future.

Yep true but it's reliant on at least one "generation" of game being lost to piracy. Making it more difficult to use and/or pirate is not the answer, as shown catastrophically by recent game releases, as they are always cracked on day one. I think that the way forward is to make it more attractive to buy. Huge printed maps, extensive manuals, extra disks for 1 vs 1 play. You know, the way things used to be when PC gaming was great :)

[KeyCat 131]

- Extreme copy-protection. If a game can't be pirated and it isn't very popular on its own, the lack of piracy isn't going to help

You must be kidding, right?

And for the record. BIS uses one of the most sane and fair (for their paying customers) protection out there and I'm glad it's effective against piracy so BIS receives the money they deserve and can continue their developing (and bugfixing)!

Do a search for "SH V + DRM" and/or "Assasin Creed II + DRM" you will know what I mean.

/KC

Edited March 26, 2010 by KeyCat

[galzohar 31]

The only problem with the DRM the game uses is that when someone pirates it and gets hit by it he'll go "WTF is this stupid game, good thing I didn't buy it" rather than "look at this awesome game, I should buy it so I can play online". If they at least would give you some kind of a message after a certain amount of time then they would reduce the damage their DRM is causing.

The only good thing about the DRM is that it makes pirates think they got a working crack and release it only to find out later that they didn't really crack the whole thing, giving themselves a bad reputation and making it harder to find a working pirated copy.

But then again the DRM is probably one of the last lines on the list of "reasons why this game is not more popular" list.

[avibird 1 154]

Most gamers today want out of the box player vs player gameplay with a easy join in progress system from server to server ie like BF games. This is the number one reason why most new players don't stay with this game.

I know coop play is the best way to play this game design by far but most gamers don't get it and they will never get it because they don't stay around long enough to understand why and that is sad.

Out of the box good player vs player missions we get them here but coop play we keep them here for life.

[galzohar 31]

I wouldn't say "coop is the best way to play this game". There are things you can do in coop that you can't do in PvP, yes, but the same goes for PvP letting you do things you can't do in coop. If you only play one you're only really playing 1/2 the game.

But yes, what people want (at least when they first start playing) is what AVIBIRD just said. Heck, that's why domination/evolution/berzerk/warfare are the most played missions on public servers, as they (try to) give you just that (at the cost of all other nice things this game can do and can't be done in such missions...).

[Magnum0311 10]

Because you can't play it multiplayer.

[noubernou 77]

Because you can't play it multiplayer.

:confused:

[Zipper5 74]

My only guess is he's trying to give his thread some publicity.

Multiplayer is playable. You just have to have what the server requires. Just like any other game that is modded.

[Deadfast 43]

Because you I can't play it multiplayer.

There, this would be more appropriate.

Personally I just had another great Friday multiplayer night ;)

[t1337Dude 10]

You must be kidding, right?

And for the record. BIS uses one of the most sane and fair (for their paying customers) protection out there and I'm glad it's effective against piracy so BIS receives the money they deserve and can continue their developing (and bugfixing)!

Do a search for "SH V + DRM" and/or "Assasin Creed II + DRM" you will know what I mean.

/KC

Nope, the anti-piracy system BIS uses is absolute lunacy. A pirate will download the 8gb, install it, use cracks, see that the game is buggy as shit, and will uninstall it and spread negativity about it elsewhere. They don't know what FADE is, they don't care. Other pirates will actually eventually buy the game, notice the game was buggy enough even without FADE activated, and complain furthermore. Additionally, people who bought the game weren't even able to use no-CD cracks until the latest patch. If I bought the game before this point, I probably would have been very unsatisfied.

---------- Post added at 01:40 AM ---------- Previous post was at 01:39 AM ----------

Most gamers today want out of the box player vs player gameplay with a easy join in progress system from server to server ie like BF games. This is the number one reason why most new players don't stay with this game.

I know coop play is the best way to play this game design by far but most gamers don't get it and they will never get it because they don't stay around long enough to understand why and that is sad.

Out of the box good player vs player missions we get them here but coop play we keep them here for life.

Lots of gamers love coop, but the problem is that ArmA 2 is too difficult for most of these gamers.

[Placebo 29]

the anti-piracy system BIS uses is absolute lunacy.

Utter nonsense.

[jw custom 56]

Nope, the anti-piracy system BIS uses is absolute lunacy. A pirate will download the 8gb, install it, use cracks, see that the game is buggy as shit, and will uninstall it and spread negativity about it elsewhere. They don't know what FADE is, they don't care. Other pirates will actually eventually buy the game, notice the game was buggy enough even without FADE activated, and complain furthermore. Additionally, people who bought the game weren't even able to use no-CD cracks until the latest patch. If I bought the game before this point, I probably would have been very unsatisfied.

So you suggest that bis should put up a free download and if people like it they can pay for it, what planet are you from :eek:

P.S. tell the pirates to try the demo :)

[Bulldogs 10]

I think it'd be better if it was more obvious why the game is having issues due to piracy/cracks. Something more definitive than "original games do not fade", something more like, "Ha, you can't aim for $*#@ because you pirated this game.... Original games do not fade", splashed in big letters all over the screen.

[galzohar 31]

No, what would be a good idea was to somehow let pirates know that their game sucks because their copy is illegal. Right now they think the game is just messed up and have no idea it has anything to do with their crack unless they did prior research which most probably don't do. Sure the whole point of FADE is that you don't know it's activated until after a certain amount of time playing, but you can always give the message after a while and not right at the start - Preferably before they dump the game and go spread the word about how "terrible" it is.

[Alex72 1]

Other pirates will actually eventually buy the game, notice the game was buggy enough even without FADE activated, and complain furthermore.

Que? What?

Seriously its getting annoying with all this bug bullshit. How come i dont see these oh so many bugs everywhere when i play? If you dont like the game just move along and find something else. I never understood people hanging around places where its negative to them. ARMA2 is very positive to me so i like it. If i felt it was shit i wouldnt stay around a second longer. I mean why should you? To spread bullshit? Because your a masochist? Retarded and doesnt know better? Ok sure there are reasons i guess, but to a normal person - just move the fack on to something more positive and bring that smile back instead.

About FADE. I guess the slow destroying of gameplay can put some off that arent informed about it. But if someone downloads (pirates) a game and dont even check the forums etc then they cant be that interested to begin with. And if the aim goes worse and worse with time, changing you into a bird at random times etc and a person think thats normal well..... Got no words.

[spooky lynx 73]

Seriously its getting annoying with all this bug bullshit. How come i dont see these oh so many bugs everywhere when i play? If you dont like the game just move along and find something else. I never understood people hanging around places where its negative to them. ARMA2 is very positive to me so i like it. If i felt it was shit i wouldnt stay around a second longer. I mean why should you? To spread bullshit? Because your a masochist? Retarded and doesnt know better? Ok sure there are reasons i guess, but to a normal person - just move the fack on to something more positive and bring that smile back instead.

At first you should know that you can see all the bugs only after you buy the game and play it for some time. At second, you should know that person may like general idea and concept of the game, but realization of it may be not so good as it can be.

BTW, I've found some strange "limitations" of the engine... Female characters can't enter the naval units:confused: Yes, I know old sailors' proverb "woman on board of the ship brings misfortune", but didn't know that some of BIS devs believe it so much:biggrin: Oh yes, female characters have no proper voices too.

[galzohar 31]

About FADE. I guess the slow destroying of gameplay can put some off that arent informed about it. But if someone downloads (pirates) a game and dont even check the forums etc then they cant be that interested to begin with. And if the aim goes worse and worse with time, changing you into a bird at random times etc and a person think thats normal well..... Got no words.

To be honest I know of people playing with FADE Arma 2 versions that never got turned into birds. All you see is crap graphics and spreading weapons (though to be honest the spread of the FADE M16A4 is not a whole lot bigger (if at all) than the spread you get in, say, BF2PR, so people could believe it is a part of the game, at least until they try the pistol and really get some crazy spread and come post it on the forums and get laughed at). They need to make you turn into a bird and fly you on a pirate's shoulder or something and have it not take so long so they don't throw away the game before they even get close to the point where they get told "lol@you for pirating the game".

[JdB 151]

Nope, the anti-piracy system BIS uses is absolute lunacy. A pirate will download the 8gb, install it, use cracks, see that the game is buggy as shit, and will uninstall it and spread negativity about it elsewhere. They don't know what FADE is, they don't care. Other pirates will actually eventually buy the game, notice the game was buggy enough even without FADE activated, and complain furthermore. Additionally, people who bought the game weren't even able to use no-CD cracks until the latest patch.

If I were BIS, I wouldn't exactly care about what a pirate thought of my product, or worry about how much my copy protection was limiting his use of the stolen product, since that is precisely the point of copy protection software. FADE does not in any way hinder any person that has legally bought the game from using it unless they try to use no-cd cracks, trainers and other software that tries to alter the way the game functions, or have messed up their install because of i.e. a virus scanner. Bugs in the software itself are completely unrelated to the functioning of the copy protection software. No bug has ever triggered FADE for me, and FADE has never caused anything that looks like a bug to me.

Any pirate that experiences FADE, and thinks that the effects of FADE are due to the "crappy buggy game", and not their theft of the product need some lessons in "Buy a BIS game instead of pirating it, and stop suffering from FADE 101".

[Zipper5 74]

^ This.

Frankly, FADE is one of the most ingenious anti-piracy measures I've ever seen in a video game. It works, and is so far uncrackable. Why should we care what pirates think of the game? They're stealing it in the first place. They should be treated to a broken and unplayable piece of software if they didn't pay for it.

But I think it's time we got off the subject of piracy.

[galzohar 31]

Any pirate that experiences FADE, and thinks that the effects of FADE are due to the "crappy buggy game", and not their theft of the product need some lessons in "Buy a BIS game instead of pirating it, and stop suffering from FADE 101".

And how exactly do you suggest they would get that lesson? I suggest you actually focus on the facts of what is happening rather than what should be happening.

Is FADE great anti-piracy? Yes. Could they have done it better so that people don't think the game is horrible and spread the word? Definitely.

[Smurf 12]

They need to make you turn into a bird and fly you on a pirate's shoulder

Plus that banana song. Would be epic.

[Zipper5 74]

Try teamkilling in Evolution. ;)

[jw custom 56]

And how exactly do you suggest they would get that lesson?

Leave it as it is, if they wanna try the game before buying then they should try the demo(thats what is there for) it will give them a good indication of what ArmA 2 is about.

All this crap about this game not being more popular because of the piracy protection is BS.