colt

The new pictures are the first time I've actually thought "Wow". I have to admit and say that the previous 'shiny' pictures have had me feeling a bit 'meh'. Part of appeal of the original OFP was it's 'grubbiness' and these latest pictures look sharper (good) whilst maintaining a more natural and subdued colour scheme.

An ALFA Antiterror Demo has been released, weighing at a staggering 1144 mb ( to much for my little 56k ) Link to Bluesnews with download links: http://www.bluesnews.com/cgi-bin....d=62611 Kinda' being looking forward to this game for a while as it reminds of Sabre Team on the Amiga.

I really think this is a terrific game. As has been said before, it's nice to play a game like this but with modern warfare. A couple of niggles concerning the camera and because of the range of the guns some much bigger maps would be cool. Being able to set single or burst fire, as well as forcing a player to move to a spot regardless of enemy fire would also be good additions. Looking forward to it's release. *Edit* I've decided to withdraw the rest of this post this post because of what CsonkaPityu has said. Before I posted, I did recheck reputable demo hosting sites such Gamershell, Fileshack, etc... to see if there was some mistake and MiST had asked sites to remove it, but the 1 gig demo AND the smaller demo are still publically available. Haven't got a clue whats going on

To be honest, if I was in your postition I'd wait unitl ArmA was fully released and you had a copy in your hands (or a demo at least). Don't forget that the engine should be far more optimised and it could run very well on your current system. Another advantage to waiting is that the price of those components could drop, so even if the game runs choppy on your current rig, you can still go and buy your system but maybe save some cash.

Just thought I'd bump this, seeing as the game is out in some countries. Someone on SimHQ has it and (hopefully) is going to post some impressions later on.

@ chris330 No, I do mean Shadoworlds . Shadowlands was set in a sort of medieval setting, Shadoworlds was the was a kind of follow up, keeping the same game mechanics but set in the future on a space station. It was very atmospheric: http://www.classicgaming.com//amigareviews/shadowor.htm#shadoworldscu  scroll down for english review. Also with Interceptor, have you still got the blue wheel disc? Now that was copy protection. Another speacial mention has to go to Thunderhawk by Core. Although it wasn't an out and out sim, it's mission briefings have never been bettered. A lot of new games could learn a thing or two from old games in terms of presentation.

Man, the Amiga was fantastic. I had the Commodore Vic 20 and 64 and I was interested in sims. One day I was reading a magazine (C64) and saw a feature on a new game FA/18 INTERCEPTOR. Now that game was an eye opener in terms of graphics, going from Gunship's graphics to FA/18 inteceptor's =   ( I can still remember going to the external view and just watching the afterburners go and off for ages   ) Midwinter was good. Going up to a mountain top on a cable car through the mist, then either hang-gliding or skiing down. Although there was that infamous shortcut that meant that you could complete the game in abount 15 minutes. Flames Of Freedom very interesting game. The sea effects were terrific. My other favourite Amiga Games: Falcon series F16 Combat Pilot (fantastic night time effects) M1 Tank Platoon Flight Of The Intruder Player Manager Syndicate Sabre Team Shadoworlds SWOS Kick Off 2 The one game I kind of regretted never playing was Hunter. I remember playing the demo but for some reason never got round to getting the actual game. Here's a good review site with magazine articles http://www.classicgaming.com//amigareviews/ And of cousre there was the PD scene: Jesus on E's (slightly topical)  Budbrain State Of The Art Â

The trouble with ArmA screenshots is that we can always say "Well, it just looks like OFP but with more detail/colour/shadows etc... What's it showing that the mod community hasn't?" A lot of ArmA's gameplay improvements (not all) lie 'under the hood' so to speak and can't be shown unless it's via a video trailer or an actual demo. Having said that, it would be good to see some of the new features being depicted in screenshots in the near future. Slightly off topic, but does anyone know the current maximum vertical distance in OFP? Is it linked to horizontal view distance? Because if BIS can vastly increase both the view distance horizontally and vertically and get it to run well on average systems, aeroplane flying will be terrific fun.

I really hope that buildings are more robust in ArmA. Some intense town & city fighting would be so much better for it. Buildings in OFP were very 'eggshell' like. I also love seeing those mountain ranges. The colour and and shadows make everythng dense and lush. Hope it looks that good up close.

I was going to introduce 'Jerry Springer - The Opera' in this follow up post, but I've been beaten to it. Christian Voice also burned placards and BBC executives behind the decision to screen this and their families received death threats. Look at 'Right To Life' groups in the US. Many of them would claim to operate under the 'Christian flag' and yet abortion doctors have been killed and clinics have been bombed. In my opinion, the more a society or country becomes secular, all religions of that country ultimately become more moderate. Where people of a religion is highly concentrated, that religion seems to become increasingly irrational to the laymans eyes. Just look at parts of the Middle East and the 'Bible Belt' in America. How would America be perceived if the fervour of the 'Bible Belt mentality' was replicated across the entire US? It seems as though every religion goes through a turbulent stage - look at the Spanish Inquistion. Â We just live in a much, much smaller world now and every protester (and satirist )is beamed across and in to living rooms at the a touch a button and the more sensational the protest, the more airtime and scrutiny is afforded it.

Speaking as an Athiest. Showing the Prophet with a bomb sticking out of his headdress or brandishing a dagger with a menacing scowl on his face is obviously going to stir things up and I think it's offensive to Muslims. The drawing is saying that the very essence of Islam is violent and destructive. As for people saying that Christanity or other religeons are mocked / satirised in the West (national papers or TV shows / films). That may be true, but those Gods are never depicted as inciting or preaching violence. They're always shown as benevolent. What would the reaction be if a paper, as a critque of say Christianity; used Passover as an example and  published a drawing of God frothing at the mouth and holding a knife to the throat of a new-born baby? I don't think the reaction would be "meh". As for other Euopean countries publising the drawings as a "show of solidarity for free speech". I think that's complete bollocks. It smacks of just goading Muslims in order to provoke more anger and hostility, creating even more of a news frenzy. ::: As a slight tangent, it is interesting to note that in society, those that are Muslim, follow their religion with a passion and try to adhere the teachings, pray regularly, attend Mosques etc... I find it very rare to find a Muslim who will say 'I follow Islam but not very well'. Whereas here in the UK, if asked someone there religion and they say Christian and you followed up with do you go to Church regularly? Do you pray often? Do you mark the religious days appropriately? The answer will probably be 'no'. To me it seems that those who follow Islam, their religeon is the central core to their being. Other religions and their followers may be slightly more ambivalent to what they see as encroachment into offensiveness but there ARE boundries to all religions and they should be respected. As with anything in life, if you attack something that people feel passionately about, expect a passionate response. Naturally, individuals and groups threating violence go beyond what is acceptable.

The only thing I'm wondering about the new map is that if the campaign is about a North / South conflict, will there be some sort of 'border' hard-coded on to the island. Â I mean will there be an invisible border with maybe a couple of signposts with "...now entering..." dotted about the landscape or will there be a massive fence with watchtowers at set intervals? Personally I hope that the island is completely free of any potential "security borders".

Just wondering if it would be possible to have a Q&A topic sometime in the future. I was thinking that a Mod could open a topic and then forum members could pitch a maximum of say 2 or 3 questions  per member and after a week it could be closed. Then Placebo could cherry-pick some of the best questions and provide answers in a Flashnews update. Although I wouldn't expect anything to happen until a few more Web and Magazine articles have been published. A mod can lock this straight away - just mooting an idea for some possible community interaction.

Does the article mention any news or developments concerning publishers?

I know we had large areas in OFP and there was that Nevada test range map that was the largest (I think) to date. But with ArmA delivering "...over 200 sq. kilometre" size maps, how is it possible? Can anyone answer in layman's terms. I hope they keep the natural barrier of the water / sea. I'd hate to come up against some bizzare impassable rockface or an invisble wall :shudder:

The antithesis of Wikipedia: http://uncyclopedia.org Design your own guitar (click on 'Build your dream guitar' need Flash): http://www.nymphusa.com/tele/

Well I don't play multiplayer , but could you imagine playing in a nail biting, tense game, possibly the best game you've ever played and you have one shot to win the match. You line up the opposition in the cross hairs... steady... steady... pull the trigger now aaaaannnnnnnndddd... *jump* Bit of an atmosphere destroying moment. Don't forget that ArmA will have Join In Progress as well, so you could have some dickhead join in just to disrupt the game. Personally, I wouldn't object to some sort 'context-sensitive climb action' added to the scroll menu when you come within a foot of an obstacle above knee height. Just select the'climb action' and a pre-programmed animation kicks in.

"...to seamlessly explore massive environments (over 200 sq. kilometres)" Â Â Highlights for me: -Reworked lifelike animations. -Fully streaming game engine allowing extremely large environments loaded with various special effects. * -New huge sized battlefield (landmass exceeds that of all islands from Flashpoint & Resistance combined* Â -New densely populated battlefield (approximately twice the number of objects on all previous islands combined).* -...many different, fully accessible buildings. -ArmA s campaign features a brand new story-line, with a modern day setting. -Updated controls and command interface. -Built-in scenario editor. -Versatile object/vehicle animation system. -Many useful scripting functions. I relly enjoyed reading that press release. The only downer is that they haven't found a publisher, but it's an important decision, so they have to choose wisley. I know that aircraft flight model has been improved for Elite and it would have been nice to get some info on that (the flight model). *What kind of minimum system specs are needed to get a decent performance? Â Would the 'streaming terrain' technology mean less cpu work load. Can any one explain how the 'streaming game engine' works? Nice going BIS. Roll on 2006...

Well, once a publisher is announced we're looking at around at least 3 months of magazine publicity before the game is released. So the date when the publisher is announced + 3 months magazine publicity = release date. <span style='font-size:7.1pt;line-height:100%'>Maybe...</span>

Hmmm... I've had the magazine for a week and never noticed that   Good spot. I suppose the only question now is when in 2006? Oh well, if it gives them time to further polish the game or implement some new ideas that have mentioned in this forum, then cool.

Hope does not imply suggestion in this case because there is a sticky at the top of this forum saying that ArmA is feature locked. Hope in this case is a bit like seeing a wrapped present with your name tag, underneath a Christmas tree on Christmas Eve. You know it's for you, but you can't open it yet. So, you let your imagination run and cross your fingers... When you finally open the present it might meet your expectations, it might disappoint them. Sometimes it can exceed them. As long as people keep it in perspective (which they have done) I don't see any harm, but I'll leave it to the Mods discretion. Â

I'd really like to see a more intense CQB in OFP. Of course it should remain a battlefield simulator, but often when I approach a town or especially a city, part of me would love to have the Full Spectrum Warrior feeling. Hopefully, ArmA and the much improved collision detection, physics and ricochets will help provide this. Leaning being implemented will also be good. I hope the AI, both friendy and hostile can lean as well, but that might be too much to ask for. Map makers might put out some interesting city maps. The optimisation BIS has done for Elite might allow for some good sized cities without put too much strain on the CPU.

Our ArmA, which art in Development, hallowed be thy Gone Gold Announcement; thy Release Date will come; thy will be Published in Europe the same day as it is in The Rest of the World. Give us this day our daily Screenshots; and forgive us our Questions as we forgive those Mods who lock threads against us; and lead us not into Whining, but deliver us from Boredom. For the Gameplay, the Editor, and the Value for Money are yours now and for ever. A-whenisitout?-men.

Ack... I hope this doesn't turn out to be another Independence Lost. Who remembers that? Hopefully, their just hammering out details with a publisher and can't comment on anything.

See sig Just make sure it's from the Band of Gypsys first set of the second night at The Fillmore East.