Why is this game not more popular?

[RSF TheCapulet 59]

Nah, most people who wave off Arma are under the impression that they'll have to actually learn how to set everything up before they can even start to learn how to play, which is an entire process in its own right.

User unfriendliness is the #1 enemy of this series. Yes we have awesome tools that do a good job, but for most even having to learn about the existence of such tools counts as extreme user unfriendliness. Not to mention those tools are still another thing on the list of things they need to learn and thus scare them off (because we all know most people in the world are scared off by needing to learn something!).

I actually have to agree with this. Every time I mention Arma 2 in teamspeak, I hear a quip back from the clan idiot, "You have to get a damn degree in computer science to even start the game". Obviously, he's an idiot. Lol, but that's just it. To be more popular, the series would have to cater to idiots in a bigger way. To make things "Idiot proof". To make them so easy, a caveman (Idiot) could do it. And therein lies diminishing returns.

[Herbal Influence 10]

... and it would sure give an impact if newbies wouldn't enter a 'closed shop' because so many server use special addons, islands and missions.

I recommend and do so often to play simply Mountain Warfare if you want to have companions.

And leave 3rd view "on" ... it's easier to find into the game then ...

It's much more elaborated than you think and there is a lot to edit in the settings - chose one town only, for example.

But again and again I am puzzled how many autist-like people are online nowadays ... Cogamers that call a simple "hello!" (by chatline - and yes, I modify it, so people can distinguish it from AIs language ... ) if they come on MY SERVER an unwanted "socialising". Unbelievable ... at last for me ... and a reason not to have fun playing online too often.

Edited January 3, 2012 by Herbal Influence

[EveMikado 10]

Why ?

A simple example : http://ace.dev-heaven.net/documentation

Do you really think it is a documentation for common players ?

[dmarkwick 261]

I actually have to agree with this. Every time I mention Arma 2 in teamspeak, I hear a quip back from the clan idiot, "You have to get a damn degree in computer science to even start the game". Obviously, he's an idiot. Lol, but that's just it. To be more popular, the series would have to cater to idiots in a bigger way. To make things "Idiot proof". To make them so easy, a caveman (Idiot) could do it. And therein lies diminishing returns.

I think it's a genuine concern. In particular, beyond the necessary minimum knowledge you need to even add mods in, there's the ever-increasing "mix of mods" issue, where you need to have a particular, and ONLY that particular, mix of mods to join a server. The engine needs a way to dynamically disable mods that are not required/listed, rather than simply say that you have a mod that's not allowed.

Now, as I type that I know that's a bigger ask than it seems, but IMO the greatest accessibility shift the devs could make is the dynamic ability to manage mods within one session. Even if it means a "silent" internal boot of the game, the perception would be one of a more fluid & manageable experience.

[[evo] dan 79]

^this hits the nail on the head. It would be an ideal solution. (and maybe giving links to mods you don't have)

[Maio 293]

Dan;2083976']^this hits the nail on the head. It would be an ideal solution. (and maybe giving links to mods you don't have)

Or a much more simple solution could be added where you can separate the modded servers from the vanila ones in the MP browser. This will be a great aid for newcommers.

I made a ticket for ArmA 3, and if BIS decides to implement this for A3 maybe we will get it via a patch for A2 :)

[Herbal Influence 10]

And now ... I am doing BIS games since 2001 ... now I don't know how to get "green servers" for multiplaying. Really frustrating. Since I graded up to 1.60 it's all yellow and most of it is red - so few is really accessible.

I have 11 years of intense BIS gaming experience and I am not able to tell what version of the game I would recommend. Arma2, OA, Combined Operations? Which version? Which Add-ons?

As I am also much into Linux I quite well know this effect: Nerds refering to nerds only. Fascinated by technics, not caring for people who don't want to follow them into their deep caves of nerds. Really frustrating.

This is not sparing money for professional marketing.

This is costly Anti-Marketing.

This is "kiss-my-ass"-"Marketing".

The salaries of the developers, the profit of BIS could be doubled if they would take a close look at a beginner who tries to enjoy the game from the time of installing it on ...

In other words again: Arma3 could be sold for 99,00 Euros each if they would take care of the Non-Nerds too. I know it's worth 399,00 € ... but the game is completely gone a nerds trail ...

Edited January 10, 2012 by Herbal Influence

[katipo66 94]

Yeah MP is still a joke, maybe even worse for me at least, just about everything is red or password protected, there's only about 10-15 servers under 100 ping, then go anywhere from 100 to 1000!?

Then discovered insurgency and then realized it has a 1:4 ratio, so when 4 Blufor players join, then one Opfor player can join :confused: I found out its so it doesn't make it too hard for them [insert a gay dancing banana] small rant

Jumped on PR to have a look... 3 players :bounce3:

[grillob3 11]

Yeah MP is still a joke, maybe even worse for me at least, just about everything is red or password protected, there's only about 10-15 servers under 100 ping, then go anywhere from 100 to 1000!?

Then discovered insurgency and then realized it has a 1:4 ratio, so when 4 Blufor players join, then one Opfor player can join :confused: I found out its so it doesn't make it too hard for them [insert a gay dancing banana] small rant

Jumped on PR to have a look... 3 players :bounce3:

Saturday mp 97 players http://arma2.swec.se/game/data/4414680

Today mp 61 http://arma2.swec.se/game/data/4422003

[BadgerDK 10]

Then discovered insurgency and then realized it has a 1:4 ratio, so when 4 Blufor players join, then one Opfor player can join :confused: I found out its so it doesn't make it too hard for them

I used to think that too, but the human slots are simply a kind of ai upgrade. Two humans playing a good, coordinated game can stall the COINS fully. You should try the totalboffin Insurgency Simulator, it is more balanced and has more interesting features than normal insurgency. It also shows why this game should be way, way more popular.

[katipo66 94]

I used to think that too, but the human slots are simply a kind of ai upgrade. Two humans playing a good, coordinated game can stall the COINS fully. You should try the totalboffin Insurgency Simulator, it is more balanced and has more interesting features than normal insurgency. It also shows why this game should be way, way more popular.

Yes after playing a bit more i realized that even one Opfor player against 7+blufor can cause major havoc and maybe take away from what the mission was designed for in terms of coop, when i first started playing i used to hijack their vehicles they kindly left abandoned and happily use it against them and have been kicked for being a bit over enthusiastic in the fight :)

I think one helpful solution is a 30sec delay on Opfor respawn, it would be great to see a pure PVP insurgency

Cheers, ill check out totalboffin as ive become bored with the normal one, although i think my ping might be too high?

[Atkins 10]

The salaries of the developers, the profit of BIS could be doubled if they would take a close look at a beginner who tries to enjoy the game from the time of installing it on ...

Can't emphasize enough how important this point is.

[pipscouse 10]

Agree absolutely. There are amazing aspects to this game that I just can't take advantage of (including the whole mod and add-on scene) because I don't know my way around computers very well. I am an idiot and of an age that didn't grow up with computers, consequently need idiot guides to everything.

[Herbal Influence 10]

I just wanted to make sure, whether I have upgraded everything ... but - what the heck - on the arma2.com-page you can get an update to 1.60 for Combined Op, but also an update (next there below) to 1.10 for Arma2 ... not a single word explains whether you should implement both of them and if, in what way.

And that's not funny: For if you do it wrong, you can possibly reinstall your whole BIS-games again ...

And yes, for there are so many unplayable servers, you try to find out what can help ..

[galzohar 31]

IIRC the combined ops update updates both if you have both install, but if you have something like retail A2 with Steam OA, you need to patch A2 with the A2 patch and let Steam auto-update your OA.

Also, patches are not supposed to install themselves if the game version is not the one that the patch is designed to patch.

[lukio 18]

So this is my theory on why the game isn't that popular.

Personal first steps experience (basically long rant and listing of frustrating moments).

To begin with I just recently bought ARMA2/CO on Steam because I had played ARMA2 Free for a while and was really getting into the whole "slow paced", tactical and simulated environment (having been a great fan of Raven Shield / SWAT 4 etc.). Of course first thing I did after playing through some tutorials and several missions was trying find a server to play on with other people - Coop or MP wouldn't matter. First of all the horrific Gamespy browser interface. After overcoming the awful keyboard settings and interface usability in Arma2 it was just another "oh well" moment. So I searched for some servers with good to decent ( 30 - 80s) ping. Found a couple immediately about 9, then checked for players. 3 of them had players on them, so I joined the first one. I got disconnected because I didn't have the right mod. Next one. I got disconnected because I didn't have the other right mod. Next one. I got disconnected because I didn't have yet another right mod.

Time taken: 1 1/2 hours.

After this first humbling experience and trying to find (aka Google) these mods on some community sites or clan sites I followed the instructions, tried to use a horrible updater which also was quite unintuitive, put them in the directory, created this godawful desktop shortcut with all the @parameters in the command line and launched the game to again join a public server with my "base" set of mods (CBA, ACE,ACRE). After some filtering around I finally managed to join a server. Henceforth I join a faction set myself into a slot and tell the game that I'm ready for some nice coop tactical strategy simulation gaming.

This took around 2-3 hours to figure everything out and create the correct desktop shortcut etc.

Happily that I am finally connected to a server I great everyone and want to join up with them. Where is everybody? Oh they are fighting somewhere and I'm told to wait in the base. After standing in the base I noticed that my crosshair is gone and 3rd person view is disabled. I ask the people why (Because as a new player I really enjoy seeing where I am pointing to use objects and double checking my cover with 3rd person). No reply. After waiting for 40 minutes in the base I get disconnected (don't know why).

Time taken: About 1 hour.

Roundabout 5 hours of time invested and not one moment of actual playing (although I have the full, legal version of the game). Entry level players repeatedly run against walls just to actually get the game configured and understanding the core mechanics, even after that there are so many barriers to overcome and the mod fragmentation does more harm than actually benefit the game. If you just bought the game and then install any kind of mods, you basically also should count in additional 10 - 20 hours of configuring, playing and understanding these mods. So that makes around 30 hours of personal time just to walk around with some buddies through the desert or doing a patrol in Chernorus.

TLDR

The game isn't brand new and some mods are really good, but generally it is rendered inaccessible to anyone who wants to give it a honest try and jump into Armed Assault. Luckily there seem to be some community driven events to counter this, but imo it is BIS's job to make the game more accessible (not by dumbing the simulation core down, but by integrating more useful services and making the process to actually join a game intuitive and less intimidating). I assume there is only a fraction of players who bought the game actually playing on a regular basis (5% maybe) and even now - several years after release - there would be more potential.

Currently ARMA 2 reminds me of a great game (edit) with a large audience car but you have to build the parts together on your own befoce you can drive. Each time you drive somewhere though you have to change the chassis or the wheels and on some streets swapping the gearbox is required as well. Many players have a drivers license, but to be able to drive you actually need to be a hobbyist mechanic with a range of tools in your garage. A decent driving experience without being forced to tinker around too much is imho what would make this and future games of this series more popular.

Edited February 25, 2012 by Lukio

[BadgerDK 10]

Great post.

[wazthatme 1]

Most gamers are younger like myself from 13-20 years old and like 78% love run and gun games like COD and GTA and others like that where there is little to no skill needed. Also this game is not out there like the others are like BF and SOCOM I mean I found Arma by looking for a zombie game and I found the undead mod. So if it was not for that I wound not have falling in love with ARMA. I think if they sold at best buy or gamestop it would be bigger and also have more ads cuz I mean I never heard of the game before and thats sad.

[BadgerDK 10]

Most gamers are younger like myself from 13-20 years old

No :)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Video_game#Demographics

But the big studios have big marketing budgets. With enough marketing you can sell shit for food.

[ChiefBoatsRet 10]

Some people fish, build models, collect guns,or hunt as a hobby. I play Arma. I consider this a hobby that is perfected by the amount of time and energy that I put into it and it is improved and made better by other enthusiasts. The inner nuances are dug out by time spent with friends exploring this large sandbox in multiplayer in a good community. It is a niche inside of a niche, and hopefully will never become a mainstram game with all that goes along with being "accessable". Arma takes time and energy but for me the end result is the great feeling of completing a long hard fought mission with teamwork and tactics, not collecting ,trinkets,leveling up and scores like a pinball machine. Thank you BIS for staying true to yourself and the game you started over ten years ago.

[Craig_VG 20]

Some people fish, build models, collect guns,or hunt as a hobby.

I do all those things. :D But sometimes I want to stop doing them so I could just play arma the whole time!

[lukio 18]

Some people fish, build models, collect guns,or hunt as a hobby. I play Arma. I consider this a hobby that is perfected by the amount of time and energy that I put into it and it is improved and made better by other enthusiasts.

Playing a game enthusiastically is definitely a hobby. Thing is though that all the other hobbies you listed are easy to get into but hard to master, which makes them popular. ARMA is not easy to get into and remains hard to master. Popularity doesn't mean dumbing down the game and moving it out of its niche genre, its all about making the entry level experience less of a hassle and more streamlined.

[xx_fr0st-w0lf_xx 10]

There are 5 reasons why arma 2 is not popular in my opinion

1) Bad advertisement.

I Have never heard of anyone but myself that knew what arma 2 was before mentioning it to them. Nobody knows what kind of game it is, what platform what style. Sure BI may not big as other companies and rather not spend money on advertisement, which I am Okay with, but there must be a way to get it more known. Maybe youtube or facebook or other gaming sites where they can show off what arma 2 can really do

2) You need a very good PC

Your standerd Joe pc gamer cant play arma 2, hell my friend who just bought his new gaming pc cant run arma 2 with more then 30 frames, imagin back when arma 2 came out. It requires way to much and it is a real pain to run this game with more then 40 fps. When I first got arma i was focusing more on improving FPS then actually playing the game. Sure given time dedication and money you can make arma 2 running like charm (and when you do the game looks beautiful) but there are not many people who are willing to put much hard work to make just one game run

3) Not user firendly

So you found out about arma 2 and you got it tweaked to your perfrence now its time for you to learn the ropes of this game, which is much harder then it seems. The game has so many diffrent controls most that you will never really use. This can be itimidating for the new player looking to enjoy the game. When I first got arma 2 the first thing I started was training missions. On my very first one, while listening to my instructer a insurgent out of no where came and shot him in the face. I had no idea if this was scripted or a bug. I later found out the last part was to kill (or tag) these 3 men. Arma 2 can be very frustrating to learn.

4) Many bugs

So you got used to the controls and your ready for some action. Chances are you going to be riddled with bugs of some sort. When I first started harvest red on one of the first scenes one of the character dissapeard from thin air. It sometimes skips over dialogue or triggers not reacting properly. Some missions are just unbeatable because of the bugs and you cant progress in the story unless you restart everything over. This can be real annoying.

5) Multiplayer

When you first go to arma 2 multiplayer looking for simple match you will constantly get "missing mod....., missing island". You do not know what you need to do to get these things and when you finally do join a match everybody is usually doing there own thing leaving you to do what you have to do. The multiplayer the first time you play it is very unwelcoming. Once I joined a clan that all changed, arma 2 became the funnest game I have ever played, sadly being in a clan takes a lot of your time with scheduled events and training sessions and with manny real life issues I find it hard to keep up (that is why I had to leave )

Don't get me wrong I love arma 2 but not many people are going to go the extra mile to play a fun game. Arma 2 can be amazing when dealing with community addons and fun online clans but not many people are going to take the time and figure out how to do it. Most people say you need phD to play it and who am I to say they are wrong

This is why arma 2 is not as popular as it should be

[Herbal Influence 10]

I was astonished recently when I saw the amount of servers hosting a mission I didn't know at all. :confused:

And only half an hour ago it was more than 6000 gamers online where in the last years have only been 1000: During European daylight time!

The solution is the new Zombie-Mod DayZ.

Another info (German) who obviously can only think in "Steam"-Terms, which is a No-go for me (data privacy).

So. Now we know the answer. After 2,5 years of discussing here: Mods for the public! Not being fixated on military terms ... which annoy many people.

[[frl]myke 14]

I was astonished recently when I saw the amount of servers hosting a mission I didn't know at all. :confused:

And only half an hour ago it was more than 6000 gamers online where in the last years have only been 1000: During European daylight time!

The solution is the new Zombie-Mod DayZ.

Another info (German) who obviously can only think in "Steam"-Terms, which is a No-go for me (data privacy).

So. Now we know the answer. After 2,5 years of discussing here: Mods for the public! Not being fixated on military terms ... which annoy many people.

Congrats. Reviving a nearly dead thread for something that is now since 3 weeks one of the top themes. You should browse the forums a little more mate. Or try the search for "DayZ". ;)