Aa Q&a

[RGM-79N_GM_CUstom]

http://www.firingsquad.com/features/...ult_interview/

[FriedFish]

They mention that they are going to be looking for a publisher at E3. E3 starts on the 10th of May, so lets hope for some good news in a couple weeks. I really can't wait to get a copy of this game.

[Bodofooko]

Thats too far away...I need this now...right now.

[Obi]

Originally Posted by Paul R. Statham

ArmA and multiplayer are really going to slot together well, our netcode has really matured as we've worked on it and certainly we're expecting ArmA to support 60 players as minimum.

Someone in another thread was talking about the netcode. This quote is a good sign.

Then a level beyond that we're going to have hard coded into the game a mode of play similar to the immensely popular capture the island, this aims to be a persistent, largescale conflict, fought over the whole island for hours, even days at a time. It will have a constantly changing battlefield, a real ebb and flow type warfare that really challenges gamers.

This game type sounds really ambitious and is going to be epic if it works out.

fortunately with a little tweaking all content from Flashpoint can be converted to work with ArmA so basically as soon as ArmA is released people should start seeing addon/mod content released.

Thats really good new too.

I am very excited about this game!

[IRS_Agent]

It'd be nice if they'd ballpark us some system requirements!

[Mateo]

Originally Posted by IRS_Agent

It'd be nice if they'd ballpark us some system requirements!

Agreed, especially after seeing what a beast GRAW has turned out to be.

[houdini]

This is great stuff. I'm sure we'll have plenty of MP/COOP mission variety once this baby's released:

Paul R. Statham:The modding community is part of the reason we're still around today and in a position to create our future games. ArmA will ship with a built in mission editor, this mission editor is completely fully featured and is essentially the same one that we use to create the campaign, single player missions and multiplayer missions, using it gamers can create their own campaigns and missions, create their own cutscenes, implement music and speech files into their missions, basically do any of the things that we ourselves do in the content that ships with the game.

Ye gods, are we going to have another thousand mods to contend with, like in OFP?

In the areas of modding support we're definitely looking at ways we can help the community to make a jump start on getting their content created and released, we're looking at releasing the tools they need around the same time as the game ships and we're already working on the documentation they'll need to use the tools.

[UnDeaD77]

Looking at the screens, looks like they'll be alot lighter than any recent game. Looks like even FX cards could run this game in high detail.

[RGM-79N_GM_CUstom]

^^^^I woudln't go that far.

[Mateo]

Originally Posted by houdini

Ye gods, are we going to have another thousand mods to contend with, like in OFP?

I hope so. I want the FFUR boys to have something to do, you know?

[houdini]

They've already started

Here's the jist from the link above:

Modern Warfare Mod

NOW RECRUITING! Send me a PM if interested!!

About the Modern Warefare Mod...

--- The Modern Warfare Mod is a mod being developed for Armed Assault and will publicly launch immedietly when ArmA is released. The time setting is set for the 1980's no specific date yet and will lead up to Current events such as Operation Iraqi Freedom, it will include US, Canadian, NATO, Russian, Counter Terrorists (Global), Police, and many modern units. One word accuratly describes resources and releases... "HUGE"... Model and Texture details etc will be High, Accurate, and Realistic.

Isn't ArmA modern already? LOL!

[Mateo]

Originally Posted by houdini

They've already started

Here's the jist from the link above:



Isn't ArmA modern already? LOL!

Hey, I missed that post.

Come on, you know you want to play around in the Operation Iraqi Freedom, FFUR style.

[H-Hour]

That developer sounds like someone involved in the community and eager to make a niche game. Not too many developers come off like that for me in these interviews. I didn't hear him talk about any improvements or specific work done on enemy AI behavior, though. I don't have experience with OFP, but it strikes me as odd that neither AA or GRAW really talked much about improving enemy AI behavior.

What can you guys tell me about the OFP AI, and do you have any information about whether Bohemia has undertaken improvements?

I recognize the difficulty in coding quality AI, which is why I'd be interested to know what developers understand the importance of enemy AI in a tactical sim and are working to improve it.

[houdini]

In my limited experience with OFP...the AI aren't to be trifled with. Probably the best I've seen...especially in such an old game.

First, they're particularly handy with their weapons. If you don't have cover, you're dead...period.

Second, they're very good about running to cover and shooting from a prone position.

I'm sure other, more experienced, OFP'ers would have more to say about this.

If you play single player missions, you'll notice there's a definite scripting to routine patrols, but there seems to be some variance. For example, on one mission in OFP the rest of your squad gets ambushed by the Commies and wind up dead. You've got to E&E your way around all the baddies to get to a safe extraction point. In the thousand times I unsuccessfully played that mission, the bad guys were on the same patrol route. As soon as you react to them...such as taking a pot shot at a patrol of 5, then all bets are off. Everytime I played that mission, it was different. Quite amazing really.

I understand why OFP has such a cult following. To those who are looking for a real combat "simulation" this is still the best game I've played. Ghost Recon is a great game, but lacks the scope and expansiveness of OFP. Hell, the developers of OFP (BHI) has even opened an Australian division that specifically makes a combat simulation for military units...I believe the USMC is a client. This simulation, or some form of it, is available for public consumption somewhere in the thousands of dollars, and I think it shares development with OFP, Armed Assault, or Game 2. If you search the OFP forums, I believe someone's posted a link about it.

One downside to OFP though: I don't think you get much in the way of MOUT missions...working inside of buildings is very cumbersome and awkward in-game. Hopefully, that's something they'll improve upon form Armed Assault, at least to provide variance for those that like to script their own missions.

H-Hour, weren't you one of our GR mission developers? I haven't played GR in a long time, so forgive me for the slight.

[H-Hour]

Houdini, yes I've done some GR mission scripting.

About your E&E mission story, do you have any idea how the randomization following engagement was created? Are the AI making random strategic decisions on-the-fly, or is the random response scripted into the mission? I've heard about the CTI game, which sounds very cool. How is the AI handled for that? Are their strategic decisions all scripted into the game, or do they react dynamically to the players' actions?

In GR, there were absolutely no dynamic strategic decisions being made by the AI. This meant that you either had to script a single scenario that would react pretty much the same exact way on each run-through, or you had to do the work of scripting three missions and code it to select actions randomly from all these different responses. Even then, the result was not a dramatically different mission, just a mission in which you couldn't memorize AI locations.

Also, what about tactical decisions? Will the AI walk out of doors or crest hills into obvious killing grounds, over and over, like in GR?