Troubled mind, want to buy ArmA 2

[Gorgi Knootewoot 0]

Yesterday I finally finished "Royal Flush" from ArmA 1. I was stuck at a mission but finally managed it when I had some wine.

I think it is time to move on and buy ArmA 2. I did the canyourunit from the website and I past the recommended with my

Amd Althlon 64 x2, 5200+

3 gig ram

9800GTX+

The demo run at 25 fps but I read the patches also improve performance.

But which version shall I buy... shall I buy the retail or steam version. I read that steam never got the 1.05 version through the auto updater. So will the steam version get the same support as the retail later on?

If yes, I think I will buy the steam version today. Normally I would have bought ArmA 2 (as i did with OFP and Arma) upon release but I had a low end PC upon release and even now I am unsure how the patched ArmA 2 will run.

Thanks in advance.

[Jack 0]

Well obviously it is quite convenient to buy the Steam version, but more and more I find myself wanting the boxed version of games. The artwork is a plus and I would rather use a DVD to install a game later than redownload 8 GB+ from steam.

[Zipper5 74]

You're still able to apply all the patches after and including v1.05 onto the Steam version. You just have to download and run the patch yourself rather than doing it through Steam.

There have been quite a few performance tweaks since release, so you can expect to gain some FPS in the full, up-to-date version compared to what you get in the demo. Your PC should run Arma 2 fine, so long as you're not expecting to get crazy framerates of always above 40 FPS. ;)

I'd say go for it, especially if you like ArmA and OFP.

[Gorgi Knootewoot 0]

Thanks. I love the series and play them very often. The community, mods and editing make the game last forever.

I go for the steam version as I just read the 1.06 version will be for both steam and retail. I don't expect to have 40 fps all the time, but as long as it is around 30-35 I am happy.

[Laqueesha 474]

Retail version, retail version, retail version. I tell this to people all the time and cannot stress this enough. :D

It'll be easier to patch and update; plus you will have a physical copy to hold on to in case anything goes wrong. No installation limits in case something happens to your computer or if you purchase a new computer. The only downside I can see with having a retail version is if the disc gets scratched or damage, the game is unplayable. Plus, the disc will have to be in the drive to play, which may cause issues if you play multiple computer games on your desktop. However, with the newer patches, you can play ArmA 2 without having the disc inside the drive, which will leave the drive free for other uses. I purchased the Queen's Gambit expansion pack for ArmA 1 via digital download through Sprocket, and you wouldn't believe the trouble I had to go through to just re-download it again. ;)

[Leon86 13]

still only 15 euro's on play.com

[Zipper5 74]

I purchased the Queen's Gambit expansion pack for ArmA 1 via digital download through Sprocket, and you wouldn't believe the trouble I had to go through to just re-download it again. ;)

I did the same, and the very first thing I did with it was burn it to a DVD. :p

[Gorgi Knootewoot 0]

True. But I already have tons of games through STEAM. No difficulty re-downloading them.

I do have trouble re-downloading my NWN2 expansion set via ATARI though. But steam works pretty well. But yes... retail is good also. I love my OFP box and booklet and my ArmA box.

I can wait another few days. Tuesday I will get the retail :)

---------- Post added at 11:08 AM ---------- Previous post was at 11:06 AM ----------

still only 15 euro's on play.com

15 euro? Guess I go order here :). Thanks.

[Michael Withstand 10]

Go get it!

Aaaw 15 Euros? I paid mine for US$50 just 2 weeks ago.

[Gorgi Knootewoot 0]

Order is underway :). I hope to have it next week.

[Rommel 2]

Or go through IDEA games so the money is more directly going into BIS's pocket... funding for patches. ;)

[jw custom 56]

I fear that your system will struggle with the campaign!

[RogueBlade 0]

Yeaaa I'm thinking you need some newer hardware...

[Sinzan 10]

Amd Althlon 64 x2, 5200+

3 gig ram

9800GTX+

Turn everything down, and you might just squeak buy with a hickup or two.

You should really consider investing in some new hardware, it cost fairly little to build a respectable gaming rig. Why deprive yourself of all that eye candy?

I swear ARMAII is the most realistically rendered game/sim I've ever played but you need the muscle to push it.

my specs

M4A89GTD PRO/USB3

Phenom II x6 1090T @3.5Ghz

6Gb 3x2Gb Gskill Ripjaws DDR3 @1600 Mhz

2x Radion HD 5850 CFX

Western Digital Caviar Black 1TB SATAIII

Win7 Ultimate x64

Grand total $875.00 I bought all of this stuff some of it specifically for ARMAII.

Like the extra GPU it helps a lot:p ARMAII flows like liquid down a waterfall on this setup. of course it aint the best you can get but it's damn close.

You can see my old system spec below.

[Kristian 47]

Thats a system I dream of, but no job= no $$$ to spend on über-expensive stuff. :(

But lets not turn this into hardware discussion thread, shall we?

[walker 0]

Hi all

Gorgi Knootewoot's Spec is fine for ArmA II.

Amd Althlon 64 x2, 5200+

3 gig ram

9800GTX+

Since 1.05 I run ArmA II with no problems on this spec

Mine

AMD Athlon 64 X2 Dual Core 4800+ running at 2.50 gigahertz

3 gig ram

Radeon X1950 Pro

With the Operation Arrowhead I expect there will be even more refinement of the ArmA II version of the Real Virtuality Engine.

Kind Regards walker

Edited May 24, 2010 by walker

[Gorgi Knootewoot 0]

Thanks for all the replies guys :). I expect ArmA 2 to arrive this week and I will see how it will run. I don't have money to spend on new hardware yet since I started a new study. (and my wife+kids also want vacation). If it will run like sjit, I will first get a quad core processor and plug that on my mb.

[Arma-2-Guru 55]

You nasty people, you wait until he has ordered the game before you tell him his system will struggle, bad beans.

[desertjedi 3]

If it will run like sjit, I will first get a quad core processor and plug that on my mb.

That will probably do very little if anything for Arma II performance. But more importantly, you'd be taking money away from areas where you could improve performance.

You nasty people, you wait until he has ordered the game before you tell him his system will struggle, bad beans.

Give that comment a smiley. He needs to buy the game to support BIS (if he's a fan of the series). His rig will eventually catch up.

Radeon X1950 Pro

Arma II supports that card?

[Sinzan 10]

I don't have money to spend on new hardware yet since I started a new study. (and my wife+kids also want vacation). that on my mb.

I was going to advise you to save up some money, but it looks like your in an an easier said than done scenario.

It will indeed run on your system and your gonna F@(&ING love it, no worries:)

[Michael Withstand 10]

@TS

I think you're fine.

My rig isn't great(more or less the same with you) but in multiplayer I get high 20s(25-29)

Early campaign would give 30s+ fps while later campaign would drop to low 20s fps.

I'm saving to buy a new rig sometime next year.:rolleyes:

Edited May 25, 2010 by Michael Withstand

[Specialist 10]

I have a similar rig to yours and I think yours will run fine on medium/high graphics without Anti-Anilising on. Although, the campaign is the worst for good FPS. Multiplayer and everything else should run fine...

Edited May 25, 2010 by Specialist

[Zipper5 74]

Yes. As Kruger. says, don't be put off by your FPS being bad in the campaign. BIS has a lot of scripts going on in the background so it heavily impacts your FPS. Even my rig, which outside of the campaign gets 45+ FPS, gets around 20 on average, and sometimes lower (like in the mission in Chernogorsk) in the campaign. I believe they had to have such a heavy script load in order for it to support multiplayer and join-in-progress. Anyways, your FPS outside of the campaign and official SP missions (apart from the benchmarks) should be indicative of what you'll get most of the time in the game.

[Gorgi Knootewoot 0]

I cancelled my order at play.com. For days it has been "awaiting stock" and the game has been out of stock there for quit some time. And I can't wait longer, so tomorrow I will go to the gameshop not far from where I work.

[Zipper5 74]

If I recall correctly, there were many issues with play.com when Arma 2 was being pre-ordered on there before the release. Somehow I'm not surprised it didn't change.