Does the LFS forum likes it?
It's a (much) bettered out ArmA, wich uses the new version of it's engine (Real Virtuality III, OFP used I).
Anyway, if you don't know about it, some destacables are that this version is set in a RL enviroment (Russia), and feautures 6 Factions (USMC, Russia, Cherorusa Defence, Cherorusa Red Star, NAPA and Civilians).
Also, my fav part of this is that it has a storybased campaign like any other game (not like the last one, wich was pretty boring). This one has important characters, including you (you are part of a USMC SF squad), and your actions have consecuences.
Better animations and voices (finally), as well as new models and overall feel.

For me, it's a must buy. What do you think?
http://www.arma2.com/

How easy are these games to get into? Is it like counter-strike where you have to play for 8 hours a day, every day to stand a chance of being good enought to even just have fun, let alone winning anything?

I really want to get it and play it, but don't want to have to commit everything to get enjoyment out of it.

Quote from Crashgate3 :

How easy are these games to get into? Is it like counter-strike where you have to play for 8 hours a day, every day to stand a chance of being good enought to even just have fun, let alone winning anything?

I really want to get it and play it, but don't want to have to commit everything to get enjoyment out of it.

I just got ARMA to try it before ARMA2 comes out and I have to say it's not the easiest. ARMA is far from CS and DOD and that genre of game which is more fast paced. From what I've seen so far of ARMA its a slower paced game but very in depth and hard!

Not something you'll just pick up and do well in.

Has this game also some magically indestructible cement? I always cringe when I see Abrams fail against a single soldier because the house he's in somehow doesn't even get a scratch from a 120 mm tank shell... Blows all realism right out the window...

Quote from Crashgate3 :

How easy are these games to get into? Is it like counter-strike where you have to play for 8 hours a day, every day to stand a chance of being good enought to even just have fun, let alone winning anything?

I really want to get it and play it, but don't want to have to commit everything to get enjoyment out of it.

You have to like those games - it can be quite frustrating to run 10 minutes to a good position only to be sniped 10 metres away from it and having to do it all over again... So there is quite a steep learning curve about it...

Well Crashgate, I bought ArmA I when it came out. And I gotta tell you, it was really boring.
This is because it was buggy, not optimized, nothing. It's just an "spiritual" sequel to OPF (OPF2 is coming out, but looks like they killed the franchise, as on many other tacticals), so it's a new team out of a sudden. Campaing was not what it should have been. The only base it had was Online, but there were just *too* many versions to even get someone.
So, hopefuly, and as I see all they've done, this one is a much better version, by the experience the team got with the first one, as well as the feedback.
If I was you, I wouldn't just get into it, but download a demo or something, or even getting a copy of OPF1, wich on SP was pretty decent.

Quote :

Has this game also some magically indestructible cement? I always cringe when I see Abrams fail against a single soldier because the house he's in somehow doesn't even get a scratch from a 120 mm tank shell... Blows all realism right out the window...

Dunno, but you can see a tank f'ing up a house in the trailer

You've got to patch it up to at least 1.14 dude, and you must get ACE mod too (probably the best thing thats happenend to Arma since it was released)

I loved OFP and ArmA, so I'll get this one. It isn't the standard shooter though and requires a lot of patience. It really shines in large scale coop missions.

Agree, i'll definitly buy ArmA II . Very realistic(in terms how fast You will die :razz "sim of full-scale-war".

I will definitely get ArmA 2. Hopefully, they'll add some neat features from VBS2 such as the vehicle boarding system seen on its tech trailer.

Btw... are you sure they have better voices? I still hear the same old "Man at 10 o'clock! 50 meters!" in the trailer.

this game is really getting going now. Check out this detailed video with the new TrackIR5.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9wXx3vMy_AQ

Definately one to watch in HD

That looks gobsmackingly awesome, tbh.

Quote from bbman :

Has this game also some magically indestructible cement? I always cringe when I see Abrams fail against a single soldier because the house he's in somehow doesn't even get a scratch from a 120 mm tank shell... Blows all realism right out the window...

I think they have some destructable walls in ARMA2, not on the same level as Red Faction Guerilla obviously but it's still an improvement. The trees have better collision models now too, so you won't down a chopper when you clip a stray leaf.

Quote from StableX :

this game is really getting going now. Check out this detailed video with the new TrackIR5.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9wXx3vMy_AQ

Definately one to watch in HD

Ooh finally you can go over fences not higher than 1m. It only took Bohemian like 8 years....

It does look awesome and I hope my machine can run it. I really doubt they have done the graphics that well though.

Having not so many bugs at release would also be ace, maybe not bug free, but you know, playable. But I guess the trend in PC gaming is to have as many bugs you can fit just to **** up with people who actually buy the damn thing to support good games.

Also, it would be nice if the enemy didn't see you trough the bushes. Or also give the player the magic of see-trough-bush-o-vision. I mean, hell, not even thermal camera sees trough bushes that well.

Quote from Blackout :

post

True.

Operation Flashpoint was pile of turd(concerning the amount of bugs) when I picked it up at the store, but you have to give it to Bohemian, they fixed bugs in OP for the next 1½ years (iirc and all that) after the release. Not something you'd expect from i.e. EA.

Sorry for the bump but anyone using vista or 7 with 8gb of ram add -winxp to the end of the target location e.g. "D:\Programs\Bohemia Interactive\arma2.exe" -winxp

I think that it limits the ram to 3gb but anyway it works if you have the no textures / white objects bug.

The Arma 2 Demo is due for release tomorrow afternoon (25th), 2pm-ish GMT, according to the BI forums.

Though i wouldn't hold your breath, this is the third time they've given a release date and not delivered. Maybe they'll honour it this time ?

It's a 2gb download !! for a demo !!, and apparently you'll need a computer powered by NASA to be able to play it at full tilt. But the general census is it's a whole chunk better than Arma 1...which is not saying much really...

I'm pretty keen on Arma II.. don't play much in the way of war games but I thoroughly enjoyed BF2, and next to Arma 2 Battlefield looks positively cartoonish (not that it was exactly striving for realism in the first place, but anyway). Arma 2 looks intense..

Has anybody been able to check out the game so far? What do you think?

Well, I loved OFP, ArmA and now ArmA 2, and I think that those are the best games ever next to LfS and Red Orchestra.

But then, you need a lot of patience to play it. Not only does it run sluggishly on most machines, it's quite buggy, and you really need to advance cautiously or you will die numerous deaths.
Also, multiplayer isn't really pick up and play, as you need lot's of communication and coordination to get the most out of it.

Quote from Mazz4200 :

The Arma 2 Demo is due for release tomorrow afternoon (25th), 2pm-ish GMT, according to the BI forums.

Though i wouldn't hold your breath, this is the third time they've given a release date and not delivered. Maybe they'll honour it this time ?

It's a 2gb download !! for a demo !!, and apparently you'll need a computer powered by NASA to be able to play it at full tilt. But the general census is it's a whole chunk better than Arma 1...which is not saying much really...

Well the full game is almost 10gb and it ****s up with more than 3gb of ram. so use the-winxp tag if you are on vista or 7 and use 8gb of ram

have always loved ofp, Arma and now Arma 2.

Been playing on the Domination co-ops online. Not too shabby. Still similar enough to ARMA that i can enjoy it .

Just like any game though you get your idiots, and the best gaming can be had on custom map editing with some friends in a co-op mission. We'll organise one some time

Still unsure if I should buy this. I'm really, really pessimistic about PC gaming. The last game I bought for PC was Empire Total War, and it just became playable this week so I could finish the campaign. It's been 4 months since the release, ffs.

I'm pretty sure I will like the game, but it will be the most frustrating love/hate experience if it crashes all the time or runs badly.

Quote from Luke.S :

Well the full game is almost 10gb and it ****s up with more than 3gb of ram. so use the-winxp tag if you are on vista or 7 and use 8gb of ram

I'm busy downloading the demo now, but that's mainly so i can find out if my machine can play it. I still use WinXP so no worries there, but my system is pretty much on the button with regards to the recommended specs, apart from the CPU. After reading some of the comments on the BI Forums it looks like i'll be lucky to get 20fps . Think we need Kegety to weave some of his magic again.

Quote from Blackout :

Still unsure if I should buy this. I'm really, really pessimistic about PC gaming.
I'm pretty sure I will like the game, but it will be the most frustrating love/hate experience if it crashes all the time or runs badly.

If Arma 2's too much for your system try Arma 1. Fully patched up and with the ACE mod installed it's actually quite playable. The CWR mod is a great addition too.

Quote from Mazz4200 :

If Arma 2's too much for your system try Arma 1. Fully patched up and with the ACE mod installed it's actually quite playable. The CWR mod is a great addition too.

he's already done some work to it.....he's removed the motion blur (leaves alot of people motion sick lol) and then you reduce the head bobbing.

i was having trouble with this game. the game looked really bad. after reading into it i found that the Nvidia driver (18x.xx) was the issue (along with my 8gb of ram). i installed the 178.25 driver and tweeked my arma2 config file. it now runs as smooth as silk and there is no graphics loss.
my config is as follows:

language="English";
adapter=-1;
3D_Performance=-80000;
Resolution_Bpp=32;
Resolution_W=1680;
Resolution_H=1050;
refresh=60;
Render_W=1680;
Render_H=1050;
FSAA=0;
postFX=1;
HDRPrecision=8;
lastDeviceId="";
localVRAM=512;
nonlocalVRAM=2048;
sceneComplexity=160000;

there's no point having FSAA turned on yet as this dis-ables your shadows.
making your config file reado nly also stops arma from messing with your settings.

and aye. the game looks amazing. the mp coop is good too but as frankysaid, you still get muppets.
CHECK YOUR FIRE!!!

See, that's what I mean. You got to modify your game it to work properly! WTF honestly!?

Got to see the demo. I got Athlon X2 5400+ with 8800GTS and 2GB of RAM, partly qualifies with the recommended specs, but I doubt it's going to be that great.

edit. Actually my specs seem to be spot on with the recommendations with the demo, well, what do they know...