Gryzemuis on 25/3/2013 at 14:31
Quote Posted by Thirith
Have you played any of the previous games in the series?
No. I know nothing about the Arma games. I haven't played an online shooter since 1999-2002, when I played a lot of UT CTF. Since then I only played single player games offline, and MMOs online.
I was just making a suggestion. I don't know if it would be true. I could see how more practice with a new game would make it easier for you to get on top or stay on top in that game. And therefor a certain type of players might feel pressured to pay extra for early access.
But then again, I don't even know if Arma is played competitively (clan versus clan, cup, ladder, whatever).
Thirith on 25/3/2013 at 14:42
That strikes me as an odd point to make. Yes, it may hold true, but then, some people will find that buying a top-of-the-line PC will give them an advantage, so they may feel pressured into buying top tech, or a more expensive internet connection, or spend more time playing the game and therefore spend less time with friends, partners, family etc. etc.
There'll never be an equal playing field - but a good (MP) game will make sure that there's fun to be had even for those who are only learning how to play the game. I seriously don't think that early access will make all that much difference, unless the game is badly designed to begin with... and early access to alphas (i.e. more people testing the game early on) should actually help developers address balancing issues earlier on.
DDL on 25/3/2013 at 16:35
My experience of the ARMA series is usually "spend an hour staring in disbelief at the control system" ("walk, slow walk, run, double run, sprint, crouch, crouch run, crouch walk, slow crouch walk, duck walk, funny walk, hopscotch"), followed by "haphazardly tromping through woodland for an hour", generally followed shortly by "being shot in the head by someone a mile away".
I suspect I would need early access purely to get the hang of the controls.. :P
And yeah, it's usually coop vs bots, because most of the modes are scenarios rather than pitched battles or deathmatches (because, I suppose, "realistic military sim" and "team deathmatch" don't really share a lot of common ground).
Thus, if you had it PvP, one team would have to play "milling around patrolling a base", or "driving a convoy" or something similarly tedious.
catbarf on 25/3/2013 at 16:53
I dunno, maybe the ArmA games aren't the right platform for it but I could definitely see a realistic, open-world game where two similarly matched forces are deployed at opposite ends of a several-mile-wide map and fight for control.
Neb on 25/3/2013 at 17:48
Quote Posted by LittleFlower
I could see how more practice with a new game would make it easier for you to get on top or stay on top in that game. And therefor a certain type of players might feel pressured to pay extra for early access.
But then again, I don't even know if Arma is played competitively (clan versus clan, cup, latter, whatever).
Not really. The point from when the admin starts a new game to actually spawning can take anywhere up to half an hour (role slotting, main mission plan, squad mission plan), so on the whole it's just communities that play competitive games internally rather than having to go through the headache of organizing matches with another group which may have upwards of 50 members.
The main draw of the alpha for communities is that they can get to work porting their mission and server frameworks for the new game. Many groups have their own custom mods so that everything is set up just the way they like it.
Quote Posted by DDL
And yeah, it's usually coop vs bots, because most of the modes are scenarios rather than pitched battles or deathmatches (because, I suppose, "realistic military sim" and "team deathmatch" don't really share a lot of common ground).
Thus, if you had it PvP, one team would have to play "milling around patrolling a base", or "driving a convoy" or something similarly tedious.
If you can find the right bunch of people in large enough numbers then team vs team is a wonderful thing (the AI is so much more realistic ;) ), especially if the author knows how to make things interesting. And you're not so much milling around a base as laying in the mud, staring into the fog with wind whistling through the trees, your hairs standing on end as you're not even sure which direction they'll attack from, before finally tracers are skimming your face and things get crazy.
COOP can get tedious, unless you're talking last-stand difficulty. Those are usually the missions where everyone has a laugh.
Jason Moyer on 26/3/2013 at 17:40
I kinda wish Warfare were more popular, but it doesn't seem like anyone plays it.
