Fresh-

I don't need to prove anything, and it's not 'horror history', it's what happened, and i lived it. Funny enough that you mention rFactor, i was once lucky enough to steward the largest rFactor community website as admin, the one my bosses once thought to 'liquidate', and which was eventually made to run 'sustainably'. That website was like a baby to me for almost 4 years, and since i left, i don't think those tasked with taking it over have released many mods, if any. In fact, i think the site might literally be 'neglected'. So hopefully that 'community' now lives in the official forums, but i doubt it's still as active today as it was a few years back. I think Assetto Corsa has now taken the mantle, and for good reason. Point being, it was precisely an aspect of 'monetization' that eventually led to the inherent downfall of that 'community', or at least its primary 'meeting ground', even if you weren't aware of it. But more importantly, as somebody else mentioned in the comments, introducing 'monetization' into modding potentially introduces copyright liability and other unwanted complications. Many people don't realize that when replicating 'assets' into the game engine, in some cases, a form of copyright infringement can have taken place. Again, from my personal observations within a similar environment, if one creates replicas of existing 'content' (planes, vehs, guns, products) for a free mod, no profits = no foul. In fact, perhaps it's deemed as 'free' advertisement and considered a positive thing. On the other hand, if your 'content' is sold or generates 'revenue', and is based off of existing 'base models' for which BIS may not hold a license, then you're now facing an entire different set of circumstances, depending on your 'revenues', and why that saying goes, 'money changes everything'. Chairborne said it best in a roundabout way, these communities should be left for the folks whose primary drive is passion, fun, learning and collaboration, not profits.

Some years ago I went to work for a company involved in sim racing, and the bosses there had an idea to monetize the space. From their perspective, it was all about 'growth' and bottom lines, a dream to somehow cash in on this 'growing industry' we call 'gaming'. In order to do so, they purchased one of the most popular modding sites at the time and began their 'project' around it. Initially, the idea was to allow users to compete against one another for real cash, and for a while that's what they did. But very long story short, their 'expirement' was i believe a costly failure, and in the process, it basically damaged that modding community beyond repair, at least the websites and forums they'd been using. The community was split on these 'plans' for introducing monetization. Perhaps the community lives on in newer titles, i don't really know, i walked away a few years ago saddened by the entire chapter. In the process however, i did have many dealings with many modders, and most of them were fair and genuine, doing it primarily out of passion, and usually ready to help the community in any way possible. Money was not their primary motivator and in fact, they were mostly opposed to any monetization of their hobby, especially if others were to gain financially from their passion. Because of who i worked for, some of them were hostile, but i always understood and respected their 'position', despite being at odds because of my own employment. I also discovered that the possibility of making 'money' often attracts the most unscrupulous characters, those who will lie and cheat to make a buck. I also encountered people (usually younger kids) who'd take credit for stuff they didn't actually make, either for name recognition or perhaps out of misguided passion. After all, ripping models from other titles does require some skill. So while i think it's a free world where people have choices, i think introducing monetization in the BIS environment is an overall bad idea, at least from my direct experience. Money really does seem to ruin things. I think donations is a far better approach, and it should be encouraged within all of these communities. If you like someone's work, take time to send them a few bucks to thank them. And for those modders who want to make a living from it, check out the BIS job boards, they often hire , as do many other gaming companies, or, sell your mod to BIS and see if they'll include it in a future DLC.

Agree, and not only in the physical appearance of the cockpits, but also the flight model and throttle behavior, especially before a 'Jet DLC'. If we explore these forums to see what users are saying about the flight model and the way the throttle behaves, we'd discover many are all saying the same thing, which is, airplane flight model seems a bit funky and throttle travel is downright extra funky. I suppose most of us have gotten used to it over the years, but maybe now's a good time to revisit that. Maybe BIS should hire one of the 'Eagle Dynamics' (DCS) engineers to consult on the flight model and its issues, it would seem like such an easy fix.

Thanks for addressing this 'issue', i have zero doubts that with enough community involvement, a solution will be found. The post i found most intriguing so far is the one by user 'Chews' about BattleEye filters. Also, the recent one from STRIDER890 is interesting: "I think this is a memory leaking problem because some textures are missing in MP. For me cure for low fps bug is deleting a Arma 3 folder in app data. Works every time." I'd like to try that too, but it's not clear what else i'd be deleting upon deleting that folder. Keep up the good work friends, a solution will hopefully soon be found.

Forgive me if anyone else has suggested it, i didn't see anything in the forums about it, and my error messages aren't easily sent. I too have been suffering from the 3fps 'bug', and i'd like to make the following suggestion regarding submitting feedback. Is it possible to add 'send' buttons on the error messages so those could be sent directly to BIS? (I guess you'd need a dedicated SMTP mail server like JangoMail or similar to handle the log traffic, but this would likely generate more feedback for you guys.) I have no idea if this would help the DEVS to examine logs to see if any of the crashes share a common trigger, or if even the logs reveal such things. What i do know is that many users have short attention spans and probably won't take the time to share their crash data in the forums or feedback tracker, especially if they aren't yet Arma addicts. Here's my suggestion for sending error logs directly to you guys (in green) : Cheers and keep up the good work friends!

I'm glad to see that I'm not the only one who thinks the flight model is bizarre and needs some tweaking. The throttle is also an issue. I hope those are finally addressed. The folks over at DCS seem to have a good grasp on simulated flight models, maybe BIS should consult with them.

I have to admit, there are times when i wish BIS would look into a new engine, but overall, i don't see how they could feasibly do it. From this perspective, just losing the AI commands so many of us have memorized from the original 'OFP' would be a massive turn off. As i see it, BIS should keep the same engine, but seriously work on tweaking it in ways that could revolutionize the experience, such as, fix the wacky physics that cause vehicles to fly or be damaged in the smallests of collisions. Fix all the other broken or bad stuff, without necessarily focusing on making it 'massive multi player'. If I was the boss at BIS, I'd hire a 'flight simulator' expert and a 'race car simulator' expert and i'd pair them with engineers to tweak vehicle behaviors. As much as i love flying, the flight model feels a bit arcadish and unrealistic. Keep it simple in the cockpit (as it presently is), but make flying/landing (airplanes) more realistic, especially with the way the throttle behaves. As for the vehicles, the day ARMA can be connected to a force feedback steering wheel and deliver an authentic driving experience, complete with accurate physics and feel, will be the day the 'racing' community might discover a real gem, alongside the rest of us. I don't know if that's even possible, but as an avid fan of 'rFactor' for many years, i've experience the potential of that 'driving experience' and was left spellbound. I have always hoped for that kind of evolution from the ARMA engine. Until then, i have to say, despite its shortcomings, in my opinion, playing ARMA3 is still the best thing going out there. Let's hope they tweak it into perfection :)

Fascinating thread gentlemen...since the engine is new, we can only hope it will be optimized over time with the observations you bring to the table. Perhaps there are unforeseen engine characteristics causing these FPS differences. I have a good feeling things are going to be ironed out, as they always have been in previous engines. In the meantime, I'm still having a hoot in multiplayer. I have my settings on 'very low' until I upgrade my video card, the engine seems fine and it's still beautiful!

Sorry, I can't figure out how the 'tracker' works...I must be having the same mental problems Monty was having. So I'll just mention my bug here, figuring someone will see it. Tonight while playing multiplayer I was in a supermarket in Berezino...big glass windows. I was inside the market firing out towards some AI but wasn't able to kill them until they went prone. Each shot produced the sound of glass breaking but didn't seem to continue to the target (unless prone). As well, it should be reported that once the glass is broken, I should be able to run out of the broken window, something that also can't be done. My apologies if posted in the wrong place.

Why not just wait for the demo and see for yourself? Assuming you have a kick ass computer and get used to the game's style, you'll discover the most brilliant piece of gaming software yet conceived, in my opinion. It's worth every penny, hands down!

Below is my current computer setup and so far in my experience it's not quite powerful enough to play ARMA2 as it was designed to be played. Things are smooth when in the editor on empty maps, but as soon as more units are added to the mix, things start to slow down. I downloaded ARMA2 last week from Germany and ever since I've been reading up on overclocking, something I've never done before. I went out yesterday and bought a much bigger CPU fan. I've overclocked the Core Duo up to 3.15Mgz. I'm happy to report a significant improvement in overall computer performance and in fact I can't believe I didn't do this sooner. The Evga Nvidia 680 SLI is very overclock friendly, something I never knew. I haven't overclocked the memory or GPU's yet, that is next. Hopefully I won't burn the house down. Unfortunately, even with overclocking, it may not be enough. Considering the SLI is basically useless (as far as I know), I'm now thinking of upgrading the video card (GTX 285?) and adding RAM (total 4Gig). I'm also considering upgrading to a quad core (Q9650?). Will these upgrade allow me to run the game with satisfaction? I was also debating if I should just bite the bullet and get a newer motherboard with Intel core i7 but everything is still so expensive. Being poor like the rest of the planet, I'm having a hard time justifying that expense at the moment. Do any of you have a similar rig? What are your thoughts running ARMA2? Evga 680SLI Intel Core Duo 2.4 Ghz 2Gigs RAM (Corsair DDR2 800MHZ) 2 8800GTS 640mb (SLI currently disabled) I don't use RAID, just plain old SATA. Windows Vista

Sorry Zipper, I guess I missed that fact. Glad to hear it's temporary. And yes, Chernarus is beautiful!

Now that I've been playing for awhile I'd like to share this impression: In my opinion, departing from the island concept was a mistake. I understand the idea of mapping real world areas, but the territory delineation into empty space is akward. In other words, big green empty space is awful, especially when flying upon it. I wonder why you didn't make Chernarus an island? Instead of the green space there could have been water. Make giant cliffs if necessary. I wonder if anyone else shares this impression.

This looks encouraging. Here's a question for y'all. Does this work with Evga 680Sli with 2 evga 8800 GTS? I'd like to use SLI if possible. When you suggest switching the exe's name, I'm unclear on what software profile is getting picked up. Is that something in the NVidia control panel? Pardon my ignorance on this subject.

Alan, I've been thinking the exact same thing as you...which is why I came looking in this section of the forums. Specifically, modding realistic flight models and cockpits with all working instruments, basically something enhanced. While I think the graphics and gameplay of Arma2 are great, I can't help but wish for more realism within the planes. That said, this is not primarily a flight sim, so I understand why they keep it simple. Here's an idea of what's possible, a simple sim which delivers in terms of gauges: http://www.hangsim.com/mf/

I use an older Microsoft Sidewinder joystick with throttle and I've found the throttle works well in the airplanes. It's not perfect, but it is much improved on the previous game. Dr are you sure the settings are correct?

BTW, can you tell me what the driver file you downloaded was called?

Cobra, I have the same setup as you. When I first started the game I had the same issue as you. I've tweaked things and it's looking better. The fillrate is seems crucial. I also found that disabling the SLI it worked much smoother. I haven't tried the -XP yet because I need to go read up on it more. I've set everything to LOW. It's works OK. But my conclusion is this: The 8800 is now dated and we're probably going to have to upgrade to a GTX285 , HD4890,etc...Considering what this software can deliver, I have no problem upgrading...well except for the $450..but that's another story.

Simply put...ARMA 2 is brilliant!! Thanks BIS for creating another masterpiece! There will always be critics who sit around and complain about this and that...how unfortunate they cannot see the bigger picture. Maybe those folks should go play on Wii or playstation, the digital refuge of dumb gaming. I downloaded this beauty from Germany and have no regrets. I will probably end up buying a hard copy when it comes out later in the USA, just to be sure. And while it's not perfect, nothing ever is. So, in my opinion, patch on to perfection!!! Thanks again!

Funny, I used to hate Steam, but now i dont' mind it. I've been able to purchase and download some of the classic games for cheap without leaving the house. Overall I've had no problems with it. I wish BIS would consider setting up something similar to Steam. They could sell ARMA 2 via digital downloads themselves and leave the physical DVD distribution to the middle men.

This is off topic, but since we've started talking about it. Would it be possible for BIS to setup a mailing list that we could subscribe to? It's very simple to set up. Bis could get an estimate of how many people are truly interested and we could be notified when the goods are ready to move. In addition, many of us fans are grown adults and have money to spend. Why not offer a 'special' download , pre release version, (as is, patched later) for the die hard fans who'll gladly pay $65-75? Some folks want to wait for a 'finished version', some folks can handle the imperfections of a masterpiece. In any case, this thing could be patched to perfection. All said, Â this Arma series is priceless. Keep up the good work!

Regarding on-Line sales...i think it's a great idea. At first I was reluctant, but that's how I ended up getting Arma, through Metaboli. I later purchased a hard copy in the store. I think BIS should allow us to submit our email address on the ARMA2 website and send us an email when ARMA2 ready to be released. This would also give them an idea of how many folks are interested and it would let us know where to buy/download upon completion. Why not deliver the goods directly to the fans? Anyway, I can't wait for this thing!

Yea! I always thought the throttle setup needed tweaking. This a great suggestion. I agree 100%. This would really be an important improvement.

I hope BIS will re-examine the flight model of planes in ARMA2. I hope they will incorporate more realism into the flight model, better lift, maybe even adding a 'trim' option. Trimming an airplane is fairly crucial in real life. As well, better gauges and cockpits. For ideas of elegant simplicity, check micro flight by ilan papini. Somehow he manages to get clear and functional gauges working in his sim. And another suggestion, super easy to do, very important: While in Options under controller settings, please include a distinction between helicopter and airplanes. I use a 'reverse' throttle when flying the helicopters. Upon entering a plane or helicopter, I have to go into options and remap the controller, depending on what I flew last. It's a big pain. In the end, thanks for everything. Arma is excellent. I'm really looking forward to ArmAII.

Happy New Year everyone. Seems to me ya'll missed the most important factor regarding Arma2 sales in this shitty economy: ADDICTION. People will do anything to satisfy an addiction. And as someone else pointed out, in these shitty times, people want distraction. As I see it, this series from OFP to ARMA2 is highly addictive, much like cigarettes or alcohol. Research has shown that video games can cause the brain to have certain reactions which we become addicted to. Perhaps even more than other titles, anyone who's become well acquainted with the series can attest to the countless hours spent immersed in battle, sometimes heart pounding like no other game can deliver, especially multiplayer. I don't think any other titles compare in terms of immersion and reality. This stuff is addictive. BIS has a very loyal fanbase which should keep them sustained and hopefully profitable. Let's face it, there's a bunch of Arma addicts roaming these forums, I being one of them. If a mere $50 can satisfy my ArmA2 desire, no problem. Credit card if need be. I just hope it'll work with SLI. Ps: Nobody's mentioned anything about the flight model in the forums..guess I'll go post to suggestions.