Is it time to buy ArmA 2?

[Duberdicus 10]

Hello all, this is my first post in here, and hopefully, it won't be the last one:D

I've always been a fan of the game's concept since the first Operation Flashpoint, but I haven't bought the first Armed Assault and ArmA 2 for the very same reason: the bugs that were, at least, present at the release of the game.

Although I'm extremely fond of the game, and I'd really like to play it. But the thing is: I'm not into wasting my hard-earned money on something that is broken, and I'm sorry but ArmA 2, when was released, was pretty much broken to say the least.

I can remember some pretty annoying bugs that completely destroyed the game experience for me. For example, the AI driving. I mean, c'mon, they already fixed that right? Even if I drove drunk I wouldn't do such a bad job.

Also, the squad commanding. The AI of our fellow comrades was completely bad. At the time, at least.

So, is the game reasonably patched now? Did these problems have been fixed?

Please be completely honest, as I'll be ordering the game tomorrow if BI really fixed the game up.

Greetings.

Edited April 18, 2010 by Duberdicus

[Alex72 1]

Many asked the same questions before you so browse through the forum and read what people say to get an idea. Personally i havent had any game breaking problems since day 1. But then again i started the campaign much later and it worked right through for me without problems.

Go for it.

EDIT: And if you do like these series and have played them then you know what you get so theres no reason to wait. Again, go for it.

[NoRailgunner 0]

AI is much more improved than the good old kamikaze AI from OFP. ;)

But

- since the latest patch AI is screwed up - they got stuck in an "danger-stasis/loop". If some shots are fired and you are in charge the AI wont follow your commands as fast as you would expect it - until AI buddy #2 declares "Its safe"

- AI medics who dont follow the orders and wont give first aid as fast as possible. They let wounded die even if they are one step close to them

- AI flying "skills" - nuff said

- AI has troubles to drive in convoys and stay on some roads

- no working interiors in vehicles, instead you get a simplistic sight which ruins the immersion for most players

- you may lurk here for moar A2 issues: http://dev-heaven.net/projects/cis/issues

I would not recommend Arma2 if you like to play with AI until most of the AI bugs/issues are fixed. Perhaps its a good idea and wait till Operation Arrowhead is released. But if you are really addicted you wont see any bugs or issues. The choice is yours - keep your eyes peeled!

Anyway

[stk2008 14]

As I have said before im a fan boy and think OFP,ARMA and ARMA 2 are the best things since sliced bread and then ACE and ACE 2 came out well if it was legal I would marry this game and mod hehe.

There is still bugs yes the game does require a good pc to run and then even if you have a good pc dont mean it will run well any way but my specs are

Q6700

8800gt 512MB

4 GB

etc etc

and i have

1440x900

2500m view

all set to normal apart from

shadows OFF

AA OFF.

And it runs ok but I would like an ATI 4870 1GB heard they handle this game well.

As for the AI yes there not great ok but not great.

They can be thick as £$%? some times others to smart eg see you even when its impossible to.

I play a lot of coop and its great fun still but PvP and thats great out smarting another human I all ways play as sniper.

BUT this is the worst part about this

THERE IS TO MUCH AI WARPING

It is not my connection,pc etc etc its the game engine my ping is low so its not this.

If I look through scope at target say 800m plus the AI seem to warp forwards every 3 seconds then is ok then warp again etc.

But still the game is great and I will continue to support BIS as they do us because I just want to see what they can do next as what they have done so far is

A WET DREAM FOR ME hahahahahahahahaha.

dan

[jakerod 254]

It might be a good idea to wait until ArmA II: Operation Arrowhead comes out. There might be some kind of pack that includes both of them and it could very easily be cheaper for you.

[Zeron 10]

The problems you mentioned arent fixed.

[kremator 1065]

Yes order it ... you won't be disappointed

[Arma-2-Guru 55]

The problems you mentioned arent fixed.

Rather blunt, I think the AI driving has been improved and a lot of other things too.

[Nielsneo 10]

Q6700

8800gt 512MB

4 GB

etc etc

and i have

1440x900

2500m view

all set to normal apart from

shadows OFF

AA OFF.

That's strange. I have the same processor, 8800 GTX 756 Mb and 2 Gb RAM.

I run the game on 1650 x 1080 with 2500 viewdistance and have all settings to high, 4xAA and PP disabled (as i hate blurring effects) and have about 35 to 50 fps.

@OP : There are a number of Addons and mods that have had positive effects to certain bugs. Some for AI.

I have the german version of A2 and even tho it was not very stable i loved the game. So i should defenitly recommend it but some have pointed out that it might be a good idea to wait for Operation Arrowhead.

[Tonci87 163]

Simple Answer: YES

[Whoatherefatty 10]

Arma 2 in concept is my idea of a perfect war game. I only recently(within the last 2 years) became aware of this game. I was over in console land watching CODs and MOHs and thinking what kind of popcorn bullshit is this? What fun is run forward until the screen flashes red then hiding for 5 seconds, repeat. There was a time when console shooters were pretty good (GR2, RS3 & expansions) but with the advent of the 360 EVERY shooter started copying everything HALO. Recharging health: Check. Run 'n' Gun Hop 'n' Pop: Check. Overpowered mele insta kills: Check. About an hour of cutscenes and hollywood stories: Check.

Then sometime in late 2008 I stumbled across an arma video on youtube of a few jets buzzing a tower. :eek:

I clicked related videos to see all the fake news type videos:eek::eek::eek:

I bought the game when it came out in the US and have loved it ever since. The patches have done a lot of good. There is more work for BIS to do however none of the bugs take away from this being the most authentic, immersive and visceral shooter I have ever played. I would recomend to any fps, tps, or even rts fan.

Off topic, but I actually got freaked out by this game playing a spec ops mission I made that takes place in the wee hours of the morning. It went bad out of nowhere and I got surrounded. I was laying in a bush under the stars with about 10-20 russians with in 50 meters walking around hunting me. I can hear foot steps, I see silouhettes..... It seems like I have a window to sneak out of there then all the sudden the darkness explodes with about 4 different muzzle flashes. All I hear is whizzing, crackling, snapping, popping and I'm sprinting full tilt towards saftey.... So I though. I make it over the hump and see.....a beach. :( I said my last prayer and dug in. Less than 2 minutes later red screen.

[stk2008 14]

That's strange. I have the same processor, 8800 GTX 756 Mb and 2 Gb RAM.

I run the game on 1650 x 1080 with 2500 viewdistance and have all settings to high, 4xAA and PP disabled (as i hate blurring effects) and have about 35 to 50 fps.

@OP : There are a number of Addons and mods that have had positive effects to certain bugs. Some for AI.

I have the german version of A2 and even tho it was not very stable i loved the game. So i should defenitly recommend it but some have pointed out that it might be a good idea to wait for Operation Arrowhead.

Umm well your gpu is better than mine yours has faster clock speeds all so you have more video memory to.

I have ran it with higher settings bu do get slow down oh well may be im to fussy hehe.

Im after a 4870 they seem to work well with this game.

[Zipper5 74]

It's strange how people keep referring to the first release of Arma2 as "broken" and "unplayable". I got the 505 Games version on day 1 and I never found anything that broke the game or made it unplayable. Sure, it had issues, but it was perfectly fine for me. The releases before the English one were the only broken ones, and they were fixed with a patch release on day 1 (which was the same patch shipped with the 505 Games version - 1.01 beta).

Given you enjoyed OFP I can't see how you found ArmA or Arma2 broken. You must not have gotten OFP at the start. It too was "broken" by your standards. Since Arma2's release (and ArmA's if it's any consequence) hundreds of issues have been fixed and improved, and new content has been added for free. That, on top of all the mods made for the game, would justify myself (at the very least) purchasing the game.

From personal experience, however, I wouldn't call the difference between the release version of Arma2 and the current version of Arma2 a "night-and-day" scenario as I never had serious issues with the first release and it is continuing to be improved. But who knows, you'll only find out how it is for you if you give it a try.

[Nielsneo 10]

Umm well your gpu is better than mine yours has faster clock speeds all so you have more video memory to.

I have ran it with higher settings bu do get slow down oh well may be im to fussy hehe.

Im after a 4870 they seem to work well with this game.

Arma2 is a very CPU dependant game. A friend of mine has the 4870 but still runs Arma 2 with lower settings because he has a dual core processor. So you would see some gain with a 4870 but not that much.

[trickster1982 10]

I would say give it a go, the community have released plenty of excellent missions & campaigns that the bugs your worried about will be barely noticable due to decent scripting & so forth, just make sure you have a decent rig so you get the most (or almost the most) out of the visuals :)

[Flash Thunder 10]

I say YES if you're going to make your own missions and mess around in the editor.

If you're buying for multiplayer and the official BIS campaign.

No.

but since OA is coming out soon you should probably hold off for a special or something, they might do a bundle with A2 and OA or some gold edition...

[lettuceman44 10]

When is OA coming out?

I too am trying to decide whether to buy ArmA2 now or later.

[Alex72 1]

^^ Why dont you check the OA thread stickied in here?

To help you skip a click or two though i think its around end of june this year. So a few months away. ;)

And

[Wildgoose 1]

buying now from direct to drive sale, would be a good option....http://www.direct2drive.co.uk/2/8651/product/Buy-ArmA-Gold-Collection-Download

£8.95 for ArmA 1, ArmA Queens Gambit and ArmA II

Get it quick and save ££££

Edited April 21, 2010 by Wildgoose
broken link

[jibemorel 10]

£8.95 for ArmA 1, ArmA Queens Gambit and ArmA II

Get it quick and save ££££

The same for 4.95 Euros : http://www.direct2drive.eu/2/8651/product/8651/product/Buy-ArmA-Gold-Collection-Download

[jeza 5416]

So, is the game reasonably patched now? Did these problems have been fixed?

Please be completely honest, as I'll be ordering the game tomorrow if BI really fixed the game up.

Greetings.

Well from my point of view matey, i played since ofp unpatched not online and did the same for arma1 for a few months, and tbh even then I thought this is the greatest war game ever made, I mean the sheer scale of it is just silly and yet it still works. As for arma2 well awsome improvemnt, even without the patches i loved it, the patches made it even better the mods and the community just make it un-matched in my opinion. So i Suggest you go get it, however i am abit biased as part of the uk BIS Party-Political group :P .

[jibemorel 10]

For 5 Euros you can't make a big mistake anyway

[CarlGustaffa 4]

Buy it now in order to fully appreciate the new features of OA... And frown upon the new bugs :D

[dr_zakharotta 10]

Well, If it's still buggy, why you havent tried the multiplayer experience with mods like A.C.E.2??

it's a complement of community to the game.

[desertjedi 3]

I think it's good to hear honest opinions about Arma 2 even if they're not flattering. You can be critical and still be a fanboy! That's the case with me.

I've basically played no other game besides Arma for the last 1.5-2 years.

I play alone with all AI and I could not tolerate Arma 2's AI gameplay through all the patches up through 1.04.

But with Arma, I picked up the game after it was "fully" patched (1.14 anyway), worked great and the mods were simply phenomenal!

Now, I bought Arma 2 right from the start. I'm just starting to get back to it and noticed major frame rate improvement with patch 1.05.

Basically, I'm waiting for BIS to patch the living crap out of it and modders to completely transform the game from its vanilla version before I get serious. But, at some point, I'm sure I will get serious.

But, I do have to say, if the game is inexpensive there as it is over here, what are you waiting for? The Arma series has completely ruined me for gaming - I simply can't play other games any more. They're that good! If that sounds like fanboy-talk, you're right!