Marshal

Well we finally get an announcement - so who was it that said that peer pressure wouldnt make BIS say anything? Anyway, I'll reserve judgement until I see some moving footage from the game and not just screenshots. I do hope however that BIS decide to take out the moving grass which is used in OFP: Elite because its not needed and just uses up processor power. Im just playing COD2 on XBox 360 and it has grass which looks nice but it isnt animated, why should it be? How often do you go into a field and see the grass moving and what does moving grass add to a war sim anyway? This is an encouraging announcement, so lets hope that the game wont be to far from release.

So here is the current situation for anyone wanting information about ArmA. The community are eager to hear news from BIS who had promised at E3 that their new game would be released by Q4 2005. Unfortunately, other than 4 screenshots and an official ArmA website that hasnt been updated since late September with the promise of 'More screenshots and news will be available soon together with the new version of our official Armed Assault website'. We are being kept in the dark as to the current state of the game. Then we have the moderators who say things like the following: So the official line from a moderator is that BIS DO NOT HAVE A PUBLISHER. We finally have an answer even if the moderator let this information slip without knowing it. But, let me add that we have many legitimate reasons for being angry with BIS. They dont have a publisher so in other words they will be breaking no contract to keep us up to date with whats happening with the game. Many people here speculated that the reason why we were hearing no news was probably because they had signed a contract with a new publisher that meant they couldnt release any details about the game. This obviously isnt true. We now know that this is incorrect. BIS do not have a publisher (as revealed by a BIS moderator today), so why the lack of news? Any news is of interest to this community BIS whether that news tells us that the game is postponed for 6 months or will be out as predicted, surely you respect your community enough to give us some answers or information? You told us that the game would be out in Q4 and thats all you've said, then when an expectant audience ask questions because there doesnt seem to be any information about the game which is supposed (according to yourselves) be released within the next month, you just either ignore the requests or lock the topic without an answer. You made the announcement of Q4 so you've created your own problems if everyone is on this forum asking where is the game. By refusing to answer any questions will not solve anything. All that will do is bring bad publicity to your game because the community thinks you've abandoned them. I will be writing to PC Zone today to ask if they will contact you for an official answer. Maybe you dont think we are worthy of your time but perhaps a games magazine will?

The big problem with this situation is that people will just give up and go and play something else. By the time ArmA finally comes out (if it ever does) will we really be bothered? The vast majority of original OFP players dont play the game anymore due to the state the game is in right now (cheating and lack of players). If BIS are trying to send their community to play their rivals games then theyre doing a pretty good job. Even if the game is almost ready, that would not explain why the MODs are not doing their job in this forum because the MODs do squat about coding the game and are employed to keep us all here in order. They have seemed to have let things run riot in these forums of late and only lock threads with irrelevent comments and do not answer any questions. Heres my final speculation - maybe Codemasters contract means that they cannot produce a game for so many months-years like some band contracts are with record companies? Maybe BIS had to buy out of their contract with Codemasters because Codemasters were not enthusiatic about publishing a rehashed 4 year old game which just had tarted up graphics and a new island? Maybe BIS are waiting to recuperate funds from OFP:Elite so that they can finish ArmA? Anyway, Ill be playing BF2 and Ghost Recon 3 which are either all ready out or have a proper release date. IF BIS cant be bothered to treat their fans with a little respect then Ill take my money elsewhere.

What I mean is that you need to have a good internet connection (broadband) to play HL2 because at some point it uses Steam to confirm that you are using an official version.

No matter what steps a company takes, games will always be cracked and they usually appear on the scene before the game hits the shops. Lets take OFP Elite for example - it was on the newsgroups over a week before its official release. If you ask me this can only be put down to employees within the industry who are getting the games straight from its source. I agree that Steam is a silly system because you have to be connected to the internet to play it. I know a few people who are still living in the stoneage times of having a 56k modem and Steam just stops them from playing the latest games (even though HL2 was mainly sold as a single player game).

But now that you've finally woken up from your winter hibernation Placebo - can we have some news please? If your job description is 'avoid the question at all costs' then can we all get a job at BIS as it seems a pretty easy job to do?

I think a few of the guys here would be quite surprised at what Ghost Recon 3 has to offer. Ubisoft are not rushing out the game either, it has been put back to March 2006 to get everything right. The whole of Mexico City has been mapped and will be playable in the game. As a player you can watch what your squad mates are doing with the aid of small screen cameras (A special feature for the XBox 360 version), you can call in helicopters to strike tanks. Troops cower from explosions and the screen blurs and shakes as missiles land near you. The game is based on the latest military technology that should surface in 2013 so to say that the game is not realistic is wrong in my opinion. I dont know why people here keep believing that you can have a realistic game without good graphics? Surely realism means that its as close to real life as possible? The better the graphics the more realistic it will look. Its no good having good physics in a game engine if the characters look like cardboard cutouts now is it? I will still keep an eye on these forums, but lets just say that there are plenty of other games that will be taking up my interest until ArmA appears. I dont know why so many people hang out here when you could all be saving your time and go and do something more constructive. No matter how many times the same old questions are asked it doesnt seem that BIS are listening anyway.

Perhaps BIS have had to go back to the drawing board after seeing the latest movies of Ghost Recon 3? The movement of the soldiers in that game and the feeling that everything is really happening looks phenomenal. Im now looking forward to its release in March and will just pop along here now and again and see when BIS gets its act together. Theres really no point keep asking the same questions because you still just meet silence. Save your electricity guys and go play something that is out!

I guess anyone would react if somebody told them to get a life, so my little rant is justified

Hey Ironsight - your telling me to get a life and your the one with 2000 odd posts on this forum - so you go figure who hasnt got a life mate Have you got a little cord at the back of your neck that lets you speak when you pull it? Looks like that judging from your avatar actionman?

Well weve got to try and find something to occupy the time eh!

Well if BIS wants to take on the strategy recommended by the few here who believe that we will still see ArmA out by the end of the year then I hope theyre not surprised at the lack of sales due to poor publicity and a black out on their game. Its time to stop kidding yourselves here. If ArmA comes out before Christmas it would be in the release lists of all the PC magazine and the PC software stores - it isnt. The reason why were all here having this discussion is because the game isnt ready -whether BIS want to announce this officially or not does not alter the fact that you'd have to be a complete idiot to believe otherwise.

Did you know that the anagram of Armed Assault is U R MAD ASS LATE

Did you know that the anagram of Armed Assault is U R MAD ASS LATE

And its also obvious to me that you dont know what your talking about. Im 37 and run my own business so I guess I do know about life and business! Whatever the reasons, there is nothing stopping BIS making a simple announcement like the following: Dear OFP Community, We are writing today to inform you that contrary to our earlier expectations, ArmA will not unfortunately appear in Q4 2005. We need just a little more time to finish the game which is almost complete - we will post more information soon. Now then, whats wrong with that? It tells the fans here that the Q4 date is incorrect and that they need more time to finish the game - thats all we need to hear. So you think were juvenile for requesting to know why were not seeing any more information or screenshots on this game that is supposed to be out within the next month? How do you come to that assumption? We have a right to know whats happening with the game. Your talking about us not knowing anything about how to run a business - well Ill tell you this, if it were my business I would let my fans know whats happening with a product that they are obviously desperately waiting for and I would fully explain to them why there is a lack of information or screenshots - why would any company just completely close ranks and say nothing? Youve misquoted what I meant. My point is that people will spend the money on other FPS's if they cannot get any information about a game that is supposed to be hitting the shelves before christmas. Money burns holes in gamesplayers pockets - If a game doesnt come out then usually most will look at the reviews and see the next best thing. I also picked up PC Zone today and there are several FPS's coming out in the next couple of months that look absolutely jaw dropping, if people here believe that maybe BIS are holding back until the new BF2 addon pack is released next Friday, then maybe they havent looked at the releases coming out in the next few months. How long do you think BIS should wait for release to make sure that there is no competition to compete with their new game? Compare this fiasco with the release of Peter Jackson's King Kong. Everyone is expecting it to be released on December 15th. What if it werent released and Peter Jackson didnt bother telling the audience why? Do you think that would be acceptable too?

Yeah but at least the companies making those games keep their fans clued up to why its been delayed and when it will probably surface. No news = Bad news and companies who decide to ignore their fan base will only start creating problems for themselves.

You must be the only person who got a OFPR update then mate unless you mean a patch? A patch isnt a new game is it? Just tidying up on bugs in the original game. Isnt it obvious that a successful game gets an sequel? Am I wrong to expect an announcement regarding this game because it doesnt seem to be any where near complete and Im curious that no announcement has been made even though the site says 'release Q4 2005' ? Moderators, we are all grown up enough to realise that game makers sometimes cannot make a release date that they were working towards, but we do expect for the company behind the game to make an announcement if they cannot deliver on their specified date. Keeping quiet only gets people mad (as you can see here). Please dont blame or ban us for holding an interest in your product or for asking a simple question which should have been answered long ago. Were not trolling at all - we just want an official announcement that the game wont appear in Q4 2005 because of a lack of publisher or because the game needs more work. Why is that such a hard thing to announce?

Hellfish6, Can I ask a simple question? Why do the moderators on this site happily lock topics without answering any questions? Why cant you say whats happening with the game? I ran the TNT League for 2 years and if the members of the forum had a question then I would, as moderator answer that question and then lock the topic if it was getting out of hand. Do you realise what the situation looks like to the community with many people asking about some information with a constant 'no comment' from the moderators of this site? If BIS dangle a carrot in front of our noses which says 'finish line in Q4 2005', dont you think that we should have some more information by now?

OFP for the XBox was supposed to come more than a year ago, so that pretty much explains why BIS are not saying anything about ArmA - they dont seem to keep to deadlines. Take all the facts into consideration - 4 screenshots, an official website that lets anyone post criticising comments without any moderation, the constant asking of the same question without reply here on their official forums and unless your completely stupid, it all spells out that they are way behind schedule. The paying public will soon find another game to spend their well earned cash on if BIS are so pig-headed to make no announcement - either good or bad - about this games present state of production. As for ArmA competing with the XBox version and taking away sales - theres no fear of that, but if BIS had their asses in gear then they would have just released OFP/ArmA/OFP2 or whatever you want to call it on the PC or XBox 360 which has more processing power than any current PC on the market. People here keep saying 'Why can't you wait' - well I've waited 4 years for an update - If BIS make statements at gameshows saying that their product will be out in Q4 2005 then they should either deliver that promise or release a statement saying why they havent. Saying nothing only pisses people off like myself and Ill go and spend my cash on another game like Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter (XBox 360). Keeping everyone here in the dark will only frustrate potential customers and drive them away from the game. I can think of many games in the past which have come out way after its original stated release date, and when they do finally come out the current technology on the market available usually far out performs the product that you were so looking forward to playing. So go ahead BIS keep quiet or let us know some info so that we know where we all stand. Or would you rather dig your own grave?

Seems like theyre in need of a proper webmaster who can take care of things - I could do that

I knew my post regarding trying to get some new info on the game would be locked. But I had to laugh at what the moderator wrote: This is a bit of a funny statement because not only is there no info coming out, it is clearly stated in a topic on this forum that we should not bother asking for anything else as the game is now in production and its to late to ask for things to be included. Well if the game is that far advanced where fans 'most wanted' things cannot be included, why isnt there any information on this site regarding this game which is obviously according to BIS almost finished. Also, if BIS is not working on OFP2, why is their banner still on the Codemasters OFP2 website?

Over the past few months OFP players have constantly asked for details for ArmA. Topics start up all the time asking whens the game coming out and every one gets locked. Why dont BIS just make an announcement of the current state of the game to stop all the speculation? This topic just keeps going around and round in circles with the community asking for some current information and the admins here just locking the topic making no comment. I see that Lead Programmers take part in the forum and yet cannot answer any questions - why? BIS all you need to do is make an official announcement on these forums saying 'Guys here is the current state of the game, here are the details that youve all been asking for so now please be happy and let us finish the game.' The constant questioning and locking of topics asking about development is completely unproductive. Whatever news that is available will be of interest to the community here no matter how small. The old saying of 'No news is good news' cannot be used in this situation. The community want to know whats happening, especially as you have said that the game 'should' be released in Q4 2005. By just not talking about it will not make the problem go away, in fact if anything you will drive potential customers away from your new product because they will get bored with asking the same questions without any response! Now I guess this topic will be locked

You do NOT pay their wages. BIS employees do not get paid via royalites (or if they do it probably isn't much). They get a wage from the publisher. The owners of BIS would receive royalties. Just like a Grip working on a film isn't paid by you buying a ticket to see a movie. However, just in case you have picked up on this I'll explain it clearly for you. YOU HAVEN'T PAID THEM A CENT FOR AA. Got it? Clear enough? So no, you don't pay their wages. Obviously you haven't been around any games before they have been released, but here's a tip. 99% of them DO NOT release hour by hour, day by day or month by month updates to the public. So before this get topic gets locked I'll explain a couple of things to you and all the other stupid idiots that whine. 1. Games are complex. Example: here are some rough plans for a car and 200,000 pieces of metal. Day 1: When are you going to be finished? Day 2: When are you going to be finished? Day 3: When are you going to be finished? Day 4: When are you going to be finished? Day 5: When are you going to be finished? Gets annoying asked a stupid meaningless question over and over doesn't it? 2. How long is a piece of string? What on earth makes you think they know EXACTLY how far along they are? They could probably spend a whole week analysing exactly where they are up to...time that is better spent building it. 3. They probably (like 99% sure) have a deadline they have to meet. And they probably don't want that known publically until close to the event in case they miss it. Partly this is so whining bitches like you won't be disappointed but mainly because they then probably don't get paid as much and their reputation as a developer slids a little. So go back to your Mother, ask for some milk and cookies and sit down and shut up like a good boy until BIS are done doing what they do best....which is making games, not pandering to pathetic little kids like you. /rant If the employees of BIS do not earn revenue from their games that we buy, can you please explain where all the money goes? Of course our money pays their wages, otherwise wouldnt they just give their games to us for free? And you start off by trying to dictate that they dont get paid via royalties, but then say that if they do it isnt much. So why did you bother trying to state something that you obviously do not have the answer to? If you know so much about the industry then you can post a reference that they get paid by the publisher or did you just make that up for the sake of argument? Are you also saying that BIS employees have remained unpaid recently because they have no publisher? But you have missed out one major piece of information. BIS publicly announced that the game would be out in Q4 2005. So if the games not ready yet whats the harm in releasing a statement that the game will take a little longer because they have hit upon a few problems? That may not be good news, but at least we all know where the game stands. Why promise an audience that a singer is appearing on stage at 9pm but by 10.30pm theres still no sign of him. You go to the stage door and ask a member of staff 'when will he arrive' to be told 'no comment'. Thats exactly what we have here. Well lets think? hmmm, now what possibly would make them know how far they have got with the game, oh yeah, silly me, thier making it themselves of course, so who else would know if they dont? Doh! Yeah and they announced that deadline as Q4 2005 at E3 and still no news. Perhaps you could pick up a dictionary and then you'd realise that the word 'bitch' is related to the female of a species. I am a male and expect to be treated like a human being, just because you dont agree with my views does not mean that you have to insult me or anyone else here. In all probability I am older than you and the only person who looks like theyve spat their dummy out of their pram is you. So if you cant take part in an adult conversation then I suggest you go back to watching The Simpsons.

Well what 'good reason' would you suggest? According to them and if theyre on track, the game should be out within the next month and they refuse to answer the constant and simple question of 'any news?'. Personally it gives me the impression that there must be some type of problem if they are unwilling to give any news at all. We are the paying public who pay their wages, dont you think that we deserve a little news once in a while? It doesnt look good either when you read all the bad comments on their official ArmA website written by disgruntled games players - it seems that they're not even moderating the messages?

Considering as you say that BIS havent got a publisher, can you explain why they would use that excuse to post wrong information on their own website? It doesnt really matter whether they have a publisher or not - the details coming out of the BIS camp should be accurate. If you havent experienced any cheating during MP games then I would suggest that you have hardly played the game at all. What I meant by A grade shooters was that it should at least compare in the technology department. Anyone remember Hidden and Dangerous 2? Thats what Im talking about - a very nice game similar to OFP (in fact OFP probably borrowed a lot of ideas from the original H&D by the looks of things). I like OFP, I played it for 4 years, so why should I have to go and play CTF on another game because BIS dont know how to program games the way other games firms can? I bet that all the people here talking about OFP Elite havent even seen the game in action. Everyone says it looks great from the screenshots, but the game I played on the XBox looked nothing like the screenshots. Ever heard of box art being tarted up in a paint package? I believe that is what your all talking about as the XBox version I played looked nothing like the pictures on the box (and thats the reason why it was returned to the shop). Please go try the XBox version and then come back and give an honest verdict of what you think of the graphic quality, over use of fog and framerate.