Why is this game not more popular?

[itsme 10]

Many reasons some are due to;

Many bugs in the game

Most people are more interested in Online play than missions

Marketing

More running and planning than shooting and having fun

The higher system spec required to run the game to a decent fps

The engine looks old

The animation isnt appealing

etc...

[BeerHunter 0]

"whose ad revenue can be detrimental if taken away"

Exactly the reason I NEVER buy a game based on "professional" reviews.

I wait for the game to come out and follow the forums..that's where the shit hits the fan. Look at CoD : MW2 as a prime example. Magazine reviews raved about it but never mentioned the fault of IWNet and the problems associated with IP's not allowing server hosting , not to mention the Steam requirement. IW's deep pockets paid their salaries.

BI on the other hand..well I was impressed with the support given ArmA1 and figured that same dedication would follow ArmA2 so despite all the complaints during the initial release , I decided to throw my hat in the ring and buy it anyway.

Word of mouth advertising is VERY effective and a lot cheaper than those $250,000 full page glossy adds in computer magazines. Sold 3 games (got their interest so they bought it) via this method myself right here.

[noubernou 77]

Many reasons some are due to;

More running and planning than shooting and having fun

Planning is the fun part... If you have to run too far thats a logistics issue on the mission maker or players part. :p

[Alex72 1]

Many bugs in the game - this is really how one looks at the game. You can play and have fun all night without encounter any bugs that are game breaking. Most of the times we play we dont encounter a single bug. And we are all over the place doing tons of things. The campaign however - well that is "only" a series of missions that you dont have to play until fixed since there are hundreds of other missions you can play.

More running and planning than shooting and having fun - planning is very fun to many people. At least grown ups. Shooting and having fun is however also part of ARMA. You get both. You can do one or the other - or both. All about mission design, and the missions are already here for both.

The animation isnt appealing - The animations are made in a top notch Motion Capture studio (BIS) and they made animations for a hollywood movie among other things. The animations are better than most war games ive seen. However the execution of the animations could improve, but that doesnt show on screens and not very much on video either so i doubt that makes the "sales" less.

The engine looks old - I personally think ARMA2 looks amazing compared to many war games. It has a realistic look. The graphics is to me great and the core engine can do more things that many other engines cant. Its open to so much changes as well. Look at ACE and Mando Missiles just to name 2. This engine friggin rocks but needs a lot of attention due to its massive "size". However BIS and the community always gets there in the end.

Most people are more interested in Online play than missions - This i dont know what you mean? Online games are also missions. Maybe you mean other missions than Dom/Evo?

Thing is though that the SP/Editor players are many. Definatelly more than online players i would dare to say. I know lots of people dabbing in the editor that we sometimes set up games with together. They dont go online for various reasons. Most looking for a good tactical home and cant be arsed with testing out pub servers and get dissapointed at the end of the night. Ofcourse there are good games going on pubs as well - i know that cause i had a lot of great games on them. But you know what i mean. Personally i also hang around the editor a lot. Biggest reason is because i test addons, but also cause its fun.

The people i seen come and go just didnt like ARMA because it was lightyears away from their fast paced shooters with massive scoreboards. I dont know but more sim-oriented games/sims has always got less attention than arcade games. Look at combat air simulators etc. They have a decade of coding into them as ARMA but have a much smaller audience. Those who appreciate the complexity and depth these programs have. We simmers will always be out numbered to the shiny shallow super PR pushed games.

Now im looking forward big time to Operation Arrowhead. More fixes, hopefully new engine feats, more tech like FLIR, PEQ and who knows what else. Not to talk about the new islands, weapons and vehicles. Plus hopefully a more tested and fun campaign. :)

Just my thaughts.

[Guest]

Placebo has it spot on. Like all commercial products on this planet, the more money you have, the better you will do.

Does anybody know roughly how much TV advertisement costs?

[bangtail 0]

Many bugs in the game - this is really how one looks at the game. You can play and have fun all night without encounter any bugs that are game breaking. Most of the times we play we dont encounter a single bug. And we are all over the place doing tons of things. The campaign however - well that is "only" a series of missions that you dont have to play until fixed since there are hundreds of other missions you can play.

More running and planning than shooting and having fun - planning is very fun to many people. At least grown ups. Shooting and having fun is however also part of ARMA. You get both. You can do one or the other - or both. All about mission design, and the missions are already here for both.

The animation isnt appealing - The animations are made in a top notch Motion Capture studio (BIS) and they made animations for a hollywood movie among other things. The animations are better than most war games ive seen. However the execution of the animations could improve, but that doesnt show on screens and not very much on video either so i doubt that makes the "sales" less.

The engine looks old - I personally think ARMA2 looks amazing compared to many war games. It has a realistic look. The graphics is to me great and the core engine can do more things that many other engines cant. Its open to so much changes as well. Look at ACE and Mando Missiles just to name 2. This engine friggin rocks but needs a lot of attention due to its massive "size". However BIS and the community always gets there in the end.

Most people are more interested in Online play than missions - This i dont know what you mean? Online games are also missions. Maybe you mean other missions than Dom/Evo?

Thing is though that the SP/Editor players are many. Definatelly more than online players i would dare to say. I know lots of people dabbing in the editor that we sometimes set up games with together. They dont go online for various reasons. Most looking for a good tactical home and cant be arsed with testing out pub servers and get dissapointed at the end of the night. Ofcourse there are good games going on pubs as well - i know that cause i had a lot of great games on them. But you know what i mean. Personally i also hang around the editor a lot. Biggest reason is because i test addons, but also cause its fun.

The people i seen come and go just didnt like ARMA because it was lightyears away from their fast paced shooters with massive scoreboards. I dont know but more sim-oriented games/sims has always got less attention than arcade games. Look at combat air simulators etc. They have a decade of coding into them as ARMA but have a much smaller audience. Those who appreciate the complexity and depth these programs have. We simmers will always be out numbered to the shiny shallow super PR pushed games.

Now im looking forward big time to Operation Arrowhead. More fixes, hopefully new engine feats, more tech like FLIR, PEQ and who knows what else. Not to talk about the new islands, weapons and vehicles. Plus hopefully a more tested and fun campaign. :)

Just my thaughts.

Don't feed the troll :)

OT : I routinely have non-gamers/casual gamers over and when they see A2, the jaws drop. I think it's a bit much for most of them but it certainly is not a case of them not liking the premise or the way it looks.

[Mysteryman5150 10]

When you talk about bugs, don't most games hit the market with bugs. Especially on CPU. Not that PS3 and Xbox 360 don't have bugs, they run game updates on most games too, but they are only designing a game for 1 system and 1 set of specs to run the game. Whereas, with a CPU there are so many variations of systems and specs to deal with. I am a fan of Fallout 3, another great game for modding purposes, and that game came out with a s**tload of problems and required many patches, and Bethesda is a fairly large developer.

[Grizzle 0]

I agree that's it's mostly due to lack of advertising, but secondarily because there is no Head-shot! - God-Like! - Dominating! voice over when one scores a kill.

Easily moddable. :p.

Please for the love of God, NO! ;)

---------- Post added at 01:19 AM ---------- Previous post was at 01:12 AM ----------

As many people know I'm a huge Fifa fan and play it most days on my Xbox 360, Fifa10 is riddled with bugs mostly in manager mode, here's a bug list from Fifa10, I'll use spoiler mode so I don't destroy the thread ;)

74, obviously not all are bugs, some bugs, some glitches and a few are annoyances.......

Go find me a review which mentions these bugs and marks the games down because of them the same as they do against ArmA/ArmA2, find one?

The difference is Fifa is developed and published by EA, ArmA is developed by some little Czech developer and published by some niche global publishers, seems reviewers manage to find their "honest and full openness" pen when reviewing our games but not ones from big publishers whose ad revenue can be detrimental if taken away ;) Of course I'm in no way implying that consumers should be misled about bugs and they should be glossed over but there's a real disparity in how deeply games are being looked at when reviewed, which really harms sales potentially, and further adds to the likelihood that niche developers will fold.

Very well said! :clap:

[Rayers12 19]

I really had to work to even realize that this game existed. I was an off chance that I looked at A1 on D2D to buy it; without it I never would have found the games.

[jasonnoguchi 11]

I must admit I chanced upon ArmA only after searching for Call of Duty in gamespot... in fact, I saw the little button there many times before I decided to click on it to check it out since it doesn't exactly look exciting.

[luap 10]

ArmA II is the game I was looking for for a long time and finally found it ;) I have played many FPS games store bought and free but none of them meet the requirements as ArmA has met for me.

ArmA II has a learning curve but all games do when you start playing them. This game I must admit that with out some military background makes the curve more steeper.

I would say (most) people play single player and or editor as some have mention more - then online until they get a handle on the game before going online IMO.

Another story when it comes to how servers are governed ex: Don't use aircraft / vehicles or have to rank up to use them.

Wait for transport when a chopper is right beside you :o

This is an experience players with short attention spans can not tolerate lol.

Thanks for a great game and great community.

[Flash Thunder 10]

First its called Arma 2 The Ultimate Military Simulator

Sounds pretty intimidating right?

Advertising on the game was not large since BIS probably ran completely out of money making the game.

The game is made for a "niche" market people like me who are not easily intimidated, can spend 20+ hours just learning the basics/squad commands etc.

The game requires a very high end PC for "Optimal" performance DUAL CORE at least 8800GTS ATI equivalent Graphics card.

ARMA 2 was released early due to Budget, BIS needs to pay there employees, so it was shipped with lots of bugs/not much polish as you can see weapons share the same reload animations, AI was not completely built etc, majority of people even if they were interested were probably scared off by reading reviews about all the bugs and the HIGH requirements of Arma 2.

numerous other problems, I couldn't find Arma 2 until I drove 30 miles to nearest Best Buy to pick a retail copy up, since I absolutely hate Steam.

I think that Operation Arrowhead will capture alot more sales if the engine is more stable and the requirements arnt so demanding.

[Guest]

I make this pledge, that if I am to one day become very rich, and the world is still moderately normal, and BIS still exist and make games...

I will buy out BIS and give them millions to become uber epic :D

[Herbal Influence 10]

Well - two different aspects were there to discuss on:

1. Why is Arma2 not as popular as it could be ? - seen by experienced gamers.

This we have discussed broadly now.

2. Game is only fun on weekends because of too few cogamers online.

This hasn't been discussed deeply.

And I can't follow the threadopener with this as I already stated in the fourth post of this thread.

And I tell you why:

I had hundreds if not thousands of 1 vs 1 (take it literally!) CTI games that on average gave me thrills for 60 min up to five hours each (!) game.

I just wanna say - you DON'T need many cogamers to have fun with Arma2 online.

Only with few people you can really cooperate not with 20 of them.

Ever had 20 gamers on Teamspeak - no, thank you.

Don't need that.

No more serious tactical gamin' that way.

So - the second aspect of the original post -:

Don't wait for the weekend do a 1 vs 1 or a 2 vs AI on one of the 700 servers steadily there for you.

[Placebo 28]

Advertising on the game was not large since BIS probably ran completely out of money making the game.

ARMA 2 was released early due to Budget, BIS needs to pay there employees, so it was shipped with lots of bugs/not much polish as you can see weapons share the same reload animations, AI was not completely built etc, majority of people even if they were interested were probably scared off by reading reviews about all the bugs and the HIGH requirements of Arma 2.

The above applied to ArmA1 not ArmA2 ;) ArmA2 was published "early" in certain regions as the relevant publishers wanted to get the hop on everyone else.

[alext223 0]

Snap Placebo!

Advertising and that this isn't a easy/ taste/ style of game to play for some. If not most.

Diffrent strokes......

Before '01, Janes ATF was my number 1 game, then each of those three games that BI released. Always went back to them.

Happy days.

[Flash Thunder 10]

Well - two different aspects were there to discuss on:

1. Why is Arma2 not as popular as it could be ? - seen by experienced gamers.

This we have discussed broadly now.

2. Game is only fun on weekends because of too few cogamers online.

This hasn't been discussed deeply.

And I can't follow the threadopener with this as I already stated in the fourth post of this thread.

And I tell you why:

I had hundreds if not thousands of 1 vs 1 (take it literally!) CTI games that on average gave me thrills for 60 min up to five hours each (!) game.

I just wanna say - you DON'T need many cogamers to have fun with Arma2 online.

Only with few people you can really cooperate not with 20 of them.

Ever had 20 gamers on Teamspeak - no, thank you.

Don't need that.

No more serious tactical gamin' that way.

So - the second aspect of the original post -:

Don't wait for the weekend do a 1 vs 1 or a 2 vs AI on one of the 700 servers steadily there for you.

I totally agree with you man, when I can get my friend in the ROTC on and last an hour + without dying playing against the AI is the most fun ill ever get out of video games, I couldnt even imagine working with 2 other fireteams on teamspeak! :eek:

[walker 0]

Hi all

Zeus Regularly (Thursdays and Sundays) work with 20 plus players in multiple fire teams and with supporting elements; both coop and PvP. I know of several other clans who run to 50 players plus.

Many of the bigger communities run their big servers hidden and or locked.

Kind regards walker

[LugNut 10]

One problem is that ARMA2 is hard to categorize, and hard to explain, since it can be anything from a single player mil sim to a more conventional MP fps. The guys coming from a standard FPS, dip their toes in the water, see the learning curve ahead, think it's more a military RTS game and don't stick it out long enough to experience the great tactical gameplay offered in MP.

Another problem is that there just aren't that many like minded players out there, who like to communicate, play as a team, and in a tactical manner. I come from the "Tactical" community playing COD which was a small, small subset of the overall population who tried to play COD in a manner much more like ARMA than the usual RNG noob nonsense. With each release, the community was getting diluted by new members who embraced many of the console features shoved down our throats. It's pretty fractured now since there isn't a primary gaming platform out there, people are spread all over COD4, COD5 and even MW2.(idiots) I'd like to see more of the oldtimers migrate to ARMA, but it can be a tough sell. Besides the comp requirements, see reason one above.

I happened upon it by chance, never heard of it, even though I'd been FPS gaming for years. It's the game and environment, me and my clan mates were trying to create by modding other FPS all along. BIS saved us the trouble. :)

[Zipper5 74]

It's pretty fractured now since there isn't a primary gaming platform out there, people are spread all over COD4, COD5 and even MW2.(idiots)

I play MW2, and I've been playing BIS' games since OFP's release. It's not wrong to like both.

The game isn't more popular because most gamers have an extremely short attention span nowadays. If it's not plug and play, it's too complex for them. That's why consoles and games like MW2 are immensely popular. So, when your average gamer today is given ArmA II, he sees the bugs, the complexity, the realism, and hates it. It's just how it is. Thankfully, there are us... "Not so ordinary" gamers, who look at ArmA II, see the same stuff, and love it. :D

[sic-disaster 311]

Imo that can be described in two words.

"Too hardcore"

[noubernou 77]

Imo that can be described in two words.

"Too hardcore"

Nothing beats seeing a full 9 man squad (two 4 man fire teams and a squad leader) do a perfectly executed peel (you know squad is on line, call to peel is made, guy from one side runs to the other side and as he passes his first squad mate he tells them to go, and they pick up and run around to the other end).

Seen it done in ArmA2 and it was BEAUTIFUL.

[CarlGustaffa 4]

Imo that can be described in two words.

"Too hardcore"

Warfare, Evolution, and Domination, possibly the three most popular "game modes", too hard core? Wow...

I agree, it is simply beautiful to watch pros go at it with maneuvers most have only heard about. Due to no "training time" available, my current guys would probably go fetch an orange or a banana if I gave them the "peel" order :D

[TRexian 0]

Why do people wonder why A2 isn't more popular?

I couldn't care less what the unwashed masses want to play. Give 'em their Super Mario Blaster Shoot'em'ups and Space Vikings v. Mutant Alien Ninjas. I'll do what I can to support the stuff I like to play by spending my money and time on it.

The stuff I've got that's "old" and "unpopular" is more than enough to keep me satisfied for years to come. :)

[Binkowski 25]

It's not your standard "shoot everyone in the fwarking house with my awesome uber l33t h4xz0r skillz" game. It's slow, and takes getting used to. And actually has a learning curve. IMO.