chrisb

Never got around to looking at Skyrim, it does look good, the bits I've seen of gameplay on YT. The story line seemed sort of linear, even though the world was open. I'm probably wrong about that, just seemed everyone had to get here or there to have this or that happen, to move the story along.

In that case, it makes it all the more interesting, thanks.:)

Oh, thanks for the reply, will be looking at this for sure.

I think some on here forget, BI are a business producing a product, that product should be complete and usable for the intended purpose i.e. clean no bugs. Lets leave content and performance to one side, just plain work without problems, across the board. Having a members club, or community if you like, is not some clause that you can use to say, its o.k. they’ll understand, we’ll do what we always do, that’s release patches for the next three or four years. When your lucky enough to get a supporters or owners club for your product, then you should work even harder to keep that loyalty, not take it for granted. I talk from experience, albeit on a vastly smaller scale, but still an influence on how your business performs, you want (need) to keep that loyalty, word of mouth is very important, or certainly was for our product, its even more important nowadays, because word of mouth ‘is the internet’ via forums, groups, clans, gamers in general, reviews (factual one’s), etc. I think what BI did just over a decade ago was commendable in its vision, they were the first to do this type of thing in such a way. Some are only now, beginning to open their eyes and see how great it was, they led the way earlier than more or less anyone else. But that does not bare any influence now, well over a decade down the road. A2 at 1.62/1.63 is just about right (for me at least, not for some), a great game, o.k. movement could be better, but we bought what we saw. But we bought it thinking they were learning from earlier mistakes, but even that took years to correct properly. Now with A3 you would think they would take all that from A2 and learn, no, it’s the same again, bugs, unplayable for some, the mp side really needs some work. Why didn’t they learn, why do they take for granted their community, I don’t count myself in that , here, as I have not been here that long on the 'official' forum. But I've been in a group playing the game regular since Arma came out, so am part of their wider playing community, but also had ofp & Elite, although really only messed around with elite, left ofp. When Arma came out, it became a part of my hobby (wargaming). I have bought soo many of their products, I like supporting them, CC terrible game, for me, but many love it. OFP & Elite I had both at the time, but as said, only played elite in the editor, why, because it was playable straight out the box. Arma, A2, OA, plus all the dlc bits PMC/BAF/ACR etc. TOH, TOM, then, because Steam was required and it was convenient, I bought the Gold edition of the early games, just for supports sake, don’t play them, but its there. I don't even play their campaigns, its just the format of the game that is important to me, the all important 'Editor'. Iron Front. o.k. not theirs but still an offspring if you like, VBS2 TBK UK edition (that was free). Then onto A3 at Alpha again on a supporters basis albeit the one below 'EED' or 'EDD' or whatever it was called. And here we are, a product that is working but needs repair desperately in some areas. Well over a decade down the road and its still the main topic, bugs, performance. Defend them if you must, but I come from the tradition of, it should be fit for purpose when its sold to you, for years of enjoyment, not frustration.. This community is just one of many, that have the same issues with the product, but still stick around because there is nowhere else to go for the same genre, at the moment. That’s probably why they can take their players, not community, players 'in general' for granted. Roll on competition, then BI, well they’ll have to up their game somewhat, even though they were the first, means nothing in business much, especially when loyalty seems to flow one way. Oh, and patching a product to work properly is not loyalty, just for anyone that may take the stance that from that viewpoint BI are loyal. They are loyal in other ways, yes, but the fundamental basis is for the product to work, correctly, for what it was made, in A3's case probably MP, more than anything else.

Another game that looks interesting. Does anyone know if its going to accept community content i.e. mod/addons etc ?

You have probably already got this, but I think this is what they were referring to: http://www.armaholic.com/page.php?id=19946&highlight=CMI ;)

This looks really interesting, will try it out, thanks for your work and sharing it.

Indeed you can, also without using AiA, but the problem is, they all come with the insane A3 ai, which is enough to frighten any serious player off ;)

Just in my case, A2 will win out, its got so many great terrains, I just haven't got to explore every part of each of them, need a lifetime probably. I would not boycott, I like terrains so if any new ones come along I will invest or download and where appropriate donate. I'm recently playing on Sauerland, I downloaded even though it was made for Dayz, now I'm not a dayz player but the terrain is a testament to how an island maker with a vision can make something great and perform really well (in my case). 625 sq km 25x25 full of fantastic landscape, Cherno fans would love. Large cities x4, not like Cherno where a city was really a town size, but actual city sizes plus good performance in those cities. Meticulous detail in and around the cities, towns and villages x30. A great rail network, highway etc, plus large industrial areas, forests, rolling hills, good roads/lanes, river and lake, which is going to have a waterfall in the next update I believe, possibly with a cave behind the waterfall. It’s a vision the maker has, for his preferred game ‘Dayz’, but it also keeps interest in A2 alive and very hard to beat, for me anyway, dayz has its cons, but there are some interesting things coming out of it, that can be used in A2, or I suppose in A3 (performance depending of course). A real war torn type feel in the cities too, bomb damaged buildings etc, of course aimed to look a little apocalyptic but looks more war torn than anything else, which is great. To make such a large terrain so detailed and one which I would describe as ‘heavy’ yet run really well, some nice things coming from the dayz side. I don't think BI are too ambitious, just that they should have waited, dumped the underwater thing and released at a later date ‘with a full game intact’ and performing for the many that it doesn't mp wise..

I get a lot, around 75%, from Armaholic, also some from Armed Assault. There are a number of other places to find good mod/addons for the series, just a google search. Armaholic will certainly remain the mainstay of most players for their downloads, its quick reliable and organised. When you have all that going for you, your bound to be popular, and AH is. It will probably remain first call for mod/addons for most players.

Snow/winter terrains offer some of the best, most atmospheric game play, for those with an imagination of course. Smokey chimneys, a units breathe in the cold nights air, a snowy night seeing a town, village or camp lighting, fires etc. All adds up to a really great immersive feel.

Its a shame things haven't gone as planned, maybe take a rest from it a while, then see if you want to continue later. Doesn’t matter regards Royal or not, most players won’t mind if it has a castle, villa or ham burger stand, provided its performance and ai friendly, then that about ticks most boxes, well for me it does.:D

That's right, my rule of thumb is min-25fps, if it goes below that, then your ai are going to get stupid pretty quick. Around an average of 35-40fps and your fighting the best the game has to offer, which is pretty poor anyway. No one can predict what ai amounts anyone can have, its too reliant on your own personal pc setup. Older pc like my AthlonIIx4 can give me higher than I need, I don't play SP with high ai counts, 150max for A3 (well I don't really play A3), don't try to meet more than 30-40ai at any one time. Group plays a different thing.

Thanks for clearing that up. Yes waiting, as it looks as though they will make the mark, is possibly a better option. They will do what BIS did I dare say and have a Supporters Edition etc, I bought the Digital Edition, I can see perhaps that happening.

Have to say I’m not really into medieval games now. But that trailer looks very impressive and the idea of open world always appeals to me. Wish they would have had kickstarter around when I was starting out, would have made life easier perhaps. Not backed via kickstarter and don’t really want to read through all the details. Anyone give me a quick rundown, is it pledge and provided it reaches its target pay up, or what happens, when, who & where do you pay. ? :)

Really sorry to hear of your loss, my deepest sympathies to you and your family. I know just how sad this time can be.

Congrats on your release, a mega job this project, its all very much appreciated. Thanks for sharing it.:)

Shame that, but the Roccat's are good.

Use PboView to open one. I think of them more as a complete mini mod folder, wrapped up neatly. That's just me though.;)

I liked Commandos, got into it a little with Behind Enemy Lines, got quite attached to the characters, wanted to keep them alive in a mission. Is this like that, only without the attachment I suppose.

Isn't Arma Tactical a little like this, not got either but they look similar. I had a board game (hex), where this type of setup was done, included walls, doors & furniture, not a lot, just enough to give it some realism. I think it was an offspring of SL or the newer ASL, might be wrong, may even have been a mod or a completely different game, good whatever it was, long time ago. This reminds me of it.

Was reading some reviews regarding the Shogun Bros 'Ballista Mk1' gaming mouse. All the reviews I read sort of had it down as a really nice gaming mouse, so seeing as it was not too expensive and also I like gaming mice, got several, I bought one (£50 on amazon, inc postage, not bad). I have to say this is one serious gaming mouse, anyone thinking about changing, or like me just like adding to peripherals, should give it a look. The reviews mentioned 'weight', perhaps with it not having supplied weights, well it weighs around the same as a Roccat Kone Plus with two of its weights added, that's a little lighter than the Rat5 but around the Razer Naga Epic. It glides across the hard gaming surface I use like no other has, which is soo smooth, a pleasure to use. It has an insanely high 8200dpi but it goes up in increments of 200, from 200 right the way up to that really too high 8200 (nothing over 3000 is much use for me). I have it set at 1200 Y and 1400 X at the moment. There is the possibility of 4 on the fly dpi setups also separate X&Y adjustments on the fly (useful for sniper mode). It has some really nice features on the mouse, includes 7 configurable gaming buttons with 5 modes, so in essence a possible 35 on the fly uses. Memory is on the mouse so that's handy plus it has a large (5868b) macros memory to fill, plenty there then. I always have to have the 2 left hand side thumb buttons for slow forward and freeview, the 2 to the right side, next to the right mouse button I am still deciding. Wheel is usual middle click with left and right tilt, the tilts I use for mirrors (left & right) when driving and 'gear' & 'weapon fire mode/gnade' when in infantry, centre mouse click for reload. The only issue (well none issue really) I have with it is, I would have preferred the 2 main mouse buttons to have had more of a click about them, if you understand what I mean, but really it is a none issue as the mouse is one of the best I've used. My Roccat Kone+ is standing idle at the moment, the Ballista is better imo, I was using the Roccat on a regular basis, not anymore. Thought I would put it out there. Anyone else here using one ? The makers names a little odd (Shogun Bros), sounds like a cheap game.. Just one review for info: TechRadar

I'm a big fan of snowy terrains, will be great to see how you progress, looks good.

My interest in the series was beginning to wane a little, testing had become more of a pastime than playing, which isn’t too bad because I love testing what can happen when things are mixed up a little. But on the whole I was loosing interest quite quickly, especially when the group I played in called it a day at the end of 2012, we started playing this series a couple of months after Arma (first arma, not ofp) was released. It was all about the editor and making our own campaigns, mostly ongoing type campaigns, we were a war gaming group prior to this series, for many years. Still, as said, the group stopped playing and I started testing more again. Then around August of last year I was lucky to be asked to test a mod that completely remade the wheel, A2 wise. This has reignited my interest in playing more and testing less, which is great because I was sort of played out a little, with A2. Part of my old group reformed and started playing, all down to this new mod, so that’s even better. Now the mod to which I refer, in my sig, is only available for A2 at present, its been developed by a serious war gaming group, similar to our group at its peak. Indeed they are playing the same mission/campaign type ‘Open World Ongoing’ that we played. The mod has been designed for that specifically, which is a real bonus for myself and players who play that type of game. So, there will be no chance of me playing A3 seriously anytime soon, its A2 (KAI) all the way. All that said, A2 is a better game anyway, with or without the mod I play with. A3 is purely a game, A2 with its mod/addons is a game with a very heavy leaning towards simulator, that's a totally different beast and cannot be said about A3, unfortunately. It may change later, in a year or two, or something else might appear on the horizon that takes its place, who knows, until then, A2 is the best of its type available. Certainly for those that are more interested in realistic game-play, imo.

Looking very smart.:)