Prague, Czech Republic, Thursday 10th October 2013

Bohemia Interactive today announced the release date for the Survive campaign episode of Arma 3. Dropping in as free DLC on Thursday October 31, players take on the role of a regular soldier stationed in the Republic of Altis & Stratis.

“Our first campaign episode, ‘Survive’, introduces players to Ben Kerry, a regular soldier who’s part of a NATO peacekeeping mission in the Mediterranean. Following a couple of years of uneasy cease-fire, this US-led deployment is now in the process of a staged drawdown. The vacuum left by withdrawing forces is being rapidly filled by the opposing CSAT faction, creating the conditions for, one might say, a flashpoint� , explains Jay Crowe, Creative Director on Arma 3.



“Of course, it's not just about our own story, but another opportunity to provide yet more building blocks for the platform - new weapons, animations, 3D objects, scripted modules - each designed to grant content creators even greater freedom to create and share their own content. Looking forward to the forthcoming episodes, we’ll continue to expand Arma 3’s sandbox with additions such as new vehicles.�

Arma 3 features the large open terrains of ‘Altis’ (270 km²) and ‘Stratis’ (20 km²), 12 singleplayer showcases, 3 factions showcases, 9 multiplayer scenarios, 10 firing drill challenges, more than 20 vehicles and 40 weapons, 5 factions, the scenario editor and modding support. The singleplayer campaign is deployed across 3 free DLC episodes after release.




People can purchase the regular Arma 3 (44.99 EUR/39.99 GBP/59.99 USD) or the Arma 3 Digital Deluxe Edition (49.99 EUR/42.99 GBP/64.99 USD) from Steam and Store.bistudio.com. A boxed version of Arma 3 is also available at many of the major retailers.

FROM: Project Lead
TO: Arma 3 Users
INFO: Firstlook AAR, Documentation
PRECEDENCE: Flash

SITUATION

This past weekend the two Dutchies in the development team visited Firstlook expo in The Netherlands. It was great to meet up with some of the Dutch multiplayer communities (like Tangodown), modders (e.g. the lads behind Arma 3 Life) and individual fans. Kudos to MSI Europe for hosting us. Thanks for visiting and helping to support the game!

We did two main stage demos on a huge screen and audio setup - and it felt great! The crowd probably suffered temporary hearing loss when Korneel van 't Land ambushed the audio technicians by firing the Slammer cannon at maximum volume! The smoke machines kicking in on stage when we threw smoke grenades in-game was a nice touch also. The first part of the demo was an introduction to those new to Arma, but we concluded with a few upcoming content teasers. Confirmed to arrive with the first campaign episode: the Rahim CSAT marksman rifle with DMS marksman optic, 4-five pistol with MRD optic, and the Zubr revolver with Yorris optic. We also showed concept work for the CSAT CAS airplane and a new AAF IFV - part of the additions scheduled for the other two episodes.

Eager players will have observed we are approaching the four week mark after release. First contact with the campaign will happen this month, but it needs a little more time to polish and get final voice acting in. The exact release date for the 'Survive' episode is going to be published this week. As per usual, we'll be staging (part of) the content on devbranch first.

INTELLIGENCE

Version 1.02 on main branch was hotfixed with a new executable to address the most common cause of a multiplayer crash. We know there are still other circumstances for a similar crash. Investigations continue and some of the crash opportunities have already been addressed on devbranch.

BattlEye server 1.177 has introduced handy tools for admins to load script and event filters specific to certain scenarios.

OPERATIONS

In case you were wondering why devbranch activity is a little lower than normal: we are on yet another data lock - this time for the first campaign episode. General bug fixing continues, but we are more cautious about making changes in the core game - wanting it to run well as a stable platform for the campaign.

Now autumn is upon us, we've taken on the challenge to improve our in-game rain a bit. Devbranch users were confronted with early prototype work by accident but umbrellas were swiftly deployed. It's looking very promising, so keep looking up at those clouds for the proper reveal when it's ready!

LOGISTICS

Various devs have been busy with documentation and other forms of support for modders. Dental encoder zGuba has posted a 101 guide for tank configuration on the Community Wiki. Designer Druid continued by explaining the parameters for the wing vortices effect on fixed-wing aircraft. And finally, as of today on devbranch, a different method of configuring weapon attachments is supported (backwards compatible).

FROM: Project Lead
TO: Arma 3 Users
UNIT: Main Branch
ACTIVITY: Hotfix: 1.02 (Multiplayer stability)
SIZE: ~16 MB
CHANGELOG

ENGINE

Fixed: Common multiplayer instability related to PhysX simulation (ragdoll versus respawn) in patch 1.02. Please allow some time for all servers and clients to update - issues may persist if either isn't yet updated (they are able to connect to each other).

Prague, Czech Republic October 2nd 2013- Bohemia Interactive, the award-winning independent Czech development studio, announces that following on from the highly successful launch of Arma Tactics on mobile platforms, Bohemia Interactive is delighted to announce Arma Tactics version for PC, Linux and Mac available via SteamPlay.

Arma Tactics will take advantage of SteamPlay: everyone who purchases the game will receive PC, LINUX* and MAC** versions in one. *Linux version available 10/03/13 **MAC version available soon

Arma Tactics will receive a number of PC specific upgrades/improvements including: Amazingly visually enhanced (high-detailed textures, post effects, high-detailed light maps, enhanced shaders and shadows). Controls optimized for PC (mouse+keyboard) and full support for gamepad.

Exclusive Campaign: Terrorists seized a key dam and threaten to destroy it unless their demands are met. It’s up to you to infiltrate the area and make sure the dam remains safe. Enter the new thrilling campaign featuring additional stages, enhanced visuals and new game mechanics such as silenced weapons and mortar fire.

Arma Tactics is a turn-based close-combat strategy game, where the player takes control of a four-member Special Forces team. There are no given strategies, rails to move on, or paths to follow; it‘s up to the player to decide how he will play through both the story-driven missions and generated missions with randomized objectives. Whether using stealth or a more direct approach, players will need to use their strategic thinking and use both basic and advanced weaponry while facing many different opponents - ranging from unorganized local militia to smart and skilled mercenaries.

With highly re-playable missions, weapons to unlock and whole campaigns to be regularly added, Arma Tactics offers many hours of intense ever-changing action.
* Explore highly detailed battlefield environments that come to life with sophisticated particle systems and post-process effects
* See your men come to life with realistic animations captured by a powerful motion-capture solution
* Lead them through a thrilling single player campaign or improve your skills in generated missions
* Gather experience points to level up your characters, upgrade weapons and unlock special equipment
* Choose your difficulty – we make sure the game is fun to play for both casual players and hardcore gamers
* Take part in challenging special game modes

Available for PC via Steam NOW! Price $8.99 €6.99 £5.99

FROM: Project Lead
TO: Arma 3 Users
INFO: Patch released, Hotfix expected, Light Shafts
PRECEDENCE: Flash

SITUATION

The first post-release patch was released last Friday. It sported a long list of miscellaneous fixes and improvements, but also significantly increased Altis performance for a group of players out there (not everyone). They especially benefit from this during large-scale scenarios where a lot of AI units are maneuvering across the terrain. The Artificial Intelligence work that did not make it into release, was also included in this patch ... and said work is still on-going. Unfortunately the patch also caused a multiplayer instability related to PhysX simulation. It has proven hard to debug since it involves external libraries. Our programmers have finally found useful debugging information, and once they have a confirmed fix, we hope to hotfix 1.02. Apologies to those not able to enjoy MP at the moment.

We look forward to seeing visitors of Firstlook 2013 expo in The Netherlands this weekend! To those unable to attend: we will share teasers of future content here next week as well.

INTELLIGENCE

Devbranch has received the first version of a fancy new graphical feature: Light shafts a.k.a. Crepuscular rays. We're still tweaking the settings for various weather types. Along with the adjusted lens flares, they enhance the feeling of being basked in strong sunlight very nicely. Special kudos go to programmer Lukáš Bábíček, who developed this feature for Arma 3 in his spare time as a hobby project - and offered it to us to release!

This week's Workshop spotlight is shared by designer Vladimír Hynek. He had this to say about 'Infantry' by Binkowski: "It's a great mid- to close range combat mission, enhanced by its own voice acting and music, which really helps to make the experience more immersive. Commanding your unit wisely and gathering weapons from enemies is the key to victory."

OPERATIONS

Final MOCAP for the first campaign episode was finished, processed and plugged into the game. It's awesome to see the characters come to life! The last bit of voice acting is being recorded in the next few days, including several full new British English Radio Protocols. Look for an announcement of the exact release date for episode 1 during next week.

LOGISTICS

While the bulk of the team is busy with general fixes and the aforementioned campaign, some team members have begun preparing tools for release. We intend to bring out several packages as Steam tools. The aim is to gradually update and enhance them - starting with the basics to get going. Our Community Tools package will eventually offer updated versions of things like binarization, PBO file packing, the Oxygen modeling tool (with PhysX LOD support), Visitor for terrains, many supporting tools, as well as sample data. Which of these get in the initial suite is not clear right now. We'll keep modders updated on progress.

The stand-alone Windows Dedicated Server package is to feature heavily compressed data (the server does not need visual / audio fidelity). It will be free for anyone to download and distribute. We're also working on a Linux Dedicated Server, but we expect it may take the longest of these three releases.

Prague, Czech Republic, Friday 27th September 2013

Bohemia Interactive today released their first update for the recently released tactical military shooter, Arma 3. Building further upon the platform, update 1.02 implements numerous of tweaks, fixes and improvements, which are all listed in the spot report on the official Arma 3 website. Players will download the update automatically via Steam.

Set on the Mediterranean islands of Altis (270 km²) and Stratis (20 km²), Arma 3 features 12 singleplayer showcases, 3 factions showcases, 9 multiplayer scenarios, 10 firing drill challenges, more than 20 vehicles and 40 weapons, 5 factions, the scenario editor and modding support. The post-launch campaign will be made available via 3 free DLC episodes after release. The complete overview of content can be found here.

People can purchase the regular Arma 3 (44.99 EUR/39.99 GBP/59.99 USD) or the Arma 3 Digital Deluxe Edition (49.99 EUR/42.99 GBP/64.99 USD) from Steam and Store.bistudio.com. A boxed version of Arma 3 is also available at many of the major retailers.

FROM: Project Lead
TO: Arma 3 Users
INFO: First patch, Firstlook 2013
PRECEDENCE: Flash

SITUATION

We are in the final stages of preparing for the first post-release patch / main branch update. This does not yet contain the first campaign episode. There are a couple of fixes and improvements that will benefit the larger playerbase and would be good to get out. Recent optimizations benefit the performance of Altis, especially in scenarios with lots of AI units moving about. There are also a few fixes for Japanese and Korean versions - such as re-enabling blood and correcting broken font issues for some texts. The goal is to release later this week, but as per usual, this depends on testing.

INTELLIGENCE

If you are buying a digital copy of Arma 3, we recommend to use either Steam or Store.bistudio.com. This avoids the chance of encountering a fraudulent online Steam code vendor.

Continuing a nice new tradition of pointing out developer favorite Workshop creations, designer Nelson Duarte shares his thoughts on 'Get The Hostages' by papy.rabbit.08: "You'll have to neutralize an AA vehicle, carefully approach a small enemy camp, rescue three civilian hostages, and call in the choppers for extraction. It's a short, but very cool open-world mission, which lets you complete the objective any way you like."

OPERATIONS

Two Dutchies on the Arma 3 team (Joris-Jan and Korneel van ‘t Land) will attend Firstlook 2013 expo in The Netherlands on October 5 / 6. Those who don’t know the game yet, can get hands-on at the MSI booth, as well as grill the devs for intel. Two main stage demos top things off - including, we hope, some first looks at future content additions.

LOGISTICS

Behind-the-scenes work continues on the campaign, new vehicles and weapons. We don’t have exact release dates set for individual assets. They are developed in parallel and when patches get close to release, we see if they are ready to be released. It’s very likely development branch will see new assets staged first.

Devbranch aficionados have noted changes to existing idle animations they were using in modules and scripts. We have been splendidizing these and adding new ones for campaign purposes (in a seperate add-on due to release datalock). The new data will become available with the first patch (and devbranch before).


OPERATIONS

Two Dutchies on the Arma 3 team (Joris-Jan and Korneel van ‘t Land) will attend Firstlook 2013 expo in The Netherlands on October 5 / 6. Those who don’t know the game yet, can get hands-on at the MSI booth, as well as grill the devs for intel. Two main stage demos top things off - including, we hope, some first looks at future content additions.

LOGISTICS

Behind-the-scenes work continues on the campaign, new vehicles and weapons. We don’t have exact release dates set for individual assets. They are developed in parallel and when patches get close to release, we see if they are ready to be released. It’s very likely development branch will see new assets staged first.

Devbranch aficionados have noted changes to existing idle animations they were using in modules and scripts. We have been splendidizing these and adding new ones for campaign purposes (in a seperate add-on due to release datalock). The new data will become available with the first patch (and devbranch before).

Prague, Czech Republic, Thursday 19th September 2013

As part of the official Community Guide video series for Arma 3, Bohemia Interactive released a brand new episode on combined arms warfare. Focusing on transportation and support, Andrew Gluck (better known as Dslyexci) from ShackTactical narrates the video to explore the synergetic relationship between infantry, vehicles, aircraft and artillery.

The Community Guide series opened with a more general introduction to Arma 3, whereas the second and third Community Guide took a closer look at infantry combat and multiplayer teamwork. The fourth video celebrated a milestone in development, as the game transitioned from Alpha to Beta. The latest Community Guides focused on helicopters and sniper and launcher teams.

Arma 3 is now available for purchase on Steam and Store.bistudio.com for 44.99 EUR/39.99 GBP/59.99 USD. There is also a Digital Deluxe Edition available, which includes digital extras such as the Arma 3 soundtrack, a map of Altis, the Tactical Guide (300+ pages), and a Steam version of Arma: Cold War Assault. A boxed version of Arma 3 is sold at many of the major retailers.

Prague, Czech Republic September 17th 2013- Bohemia Interactive, the award-winning independent Czech development studio, announces the release date of the turn-based close-combat strategy game Arma Tactics for PC via Steam as well as the launch of the early access beta.

Following on from the highly successful launch of Arma Tactics on mobile platforms, Bohemia Interactive is delighted to announce the PC version available via Steam.

Scheduled for release 1st October 2013 with a price of $8.99 € 6.99 £5.99, eager gamers who pre-order now will receive a 15% discount as well as access to the beta.
Arma Tactics will receive a number of PC specific upgrades/improvements including: Amazingly visually enhanced (high-detailed textures, post effects, high-detailed light maps, enhanced shaders and shadows). Controls optimized for PC (mouse+keyboard) and full support for gamepad. Please note not all enhanced features will be included in the initial beta.

Arma Tactics is a turn-based close-combat strategy game, where the player takes control of a four-member Special Forces team. There are no given strategies, rails to move on, or paths to follow; it‘s up to the player to decide how he will play through both the story-driven missions and generated missions with randomized objectives. Whether using stealth or a more direct approach, players will need to use their strategic thinking and use both basic and advanced weaponry while facing many different opponents - ranging from unorganized local militia to smart and skilled mercenaries.

With highly re-playable missions, weapons to unlock and whole campaigns to be regularly added, Arma Tactics offers many hours of intense ever-changing action.
Explore highly detailed battlefield environments that come to life with sophisticated particle systems and post-process effects
See your men come to life with realistic animations captured by a powerful motion-capture solution
Lead them through a thrilling single player campaign or improve your skills in generated missions
Gather experience points to level up your characters, upgrade weapons and unlock special equipment
Choose your difficulty – we make sure the game is fun to play for both casual players and hardcore gamers
Take part in challenging special game modes
Additional campaign coming October 2013

Minimum Specifications:
- OS: Microsoft Windows® XP SP2 or newer
- Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo or dual core AMD XP or better
- Memory: 1 GB RAM
- Graphics: DirectX 9.0c Compatible (with shader model 2)
- DirectX: Version 9.0c
- Hard Drive: 500 MB available space
- Sound Card: DirectX9 compatible sound card[/i]

FROM: Project Lead
TO: Arma 3 Users
INFO: Release, Post-release work
PRECEDENCE: Flash

SITUATION

Last Thursday's release was a big moment for the team. It was a relief to get the game out there. Of course we realize that for most people reading this obscure development blog, it had less of an impact than to someone buying / installing the game for the first time. For those wanting a changelog from the last Beta patch, check out SPOTREP #00010. We're focusing on reading and watching all the constructive feedback and criticisms, while solidifying our short-term and long-term plans.

Daily development branch updates fired up again yesterday. If you're willing to deal with the usual disclaimers of that experimental build, it will have lots of fixes coming. Main branch patching is planned on a 2 to 4 week cycle. The short-term cycle will partly be synchronized with the release of campaign episodes, but we may get some patches in-between.

INTELLIGENCE

In a special release week Report In! interview, Big Boss Marek Å paněl shares his thoughts on Arma 3's development and future. There are many interesting tidbits in there, such as revealing intentions to release the entire Arma 2 content library to modders under a very generous license to create derivative work for Arma 3. This is but part of a big push for modding, involving Workshop support and tools.

You may have witnessed Steam Trading Cards appearing in your Steam Inventory while playing Arma 3. There are 8 cards in the launch deck. By playing and trading you can craft them into a badge and get random 'loot' dropped. Arma 3 loot comes in the form of custom emoticons and profile skins. We should point out Trading Cards are a Steamworks system and not something we spent resources on implementing ourselves. They are just a little extra, but they offer some interesting rewards like discount vouchers for Steam. We are really quite happy with how the artworks came out - kudos to our artists who did a lot of it in their free time.

Another week, another Workshop dev favorite. Karel Mořický has the following to say about 'Road To Redemption' by Ubiquitous: "The mission shows perfectly what Arma 3 is about: combined arms operation, clear objective, wide range of tactical opportunities, and responsibility."

Visit the updated official F.A.Q. for some basic questions and answers, such as where to find Digital Deluxe assets (your Arma 3 Steam installation folder, Bonus sub-folder).

OPERATIONS

Work on post-release (free) content progresses nicely. It's looking likely we'll include new heavy pistols and a CSAT marksman rifle (with new marksman optics) with the first campaign episode. Content for the other episodes is in development. The two CAS airplanes are mostly finished in terms of their most detailed artwork Level Of Detail (LOD). They are now undergoing texturing and LODing, before handing them off to the encoding, audio and animation departments. And there are yet more brand-new vehicles being sculpted by the artists.

LOGISTICS

Besides (memory) optimizations and AI fixes, devbranch contains improvements to reduce tank (or rather tracked vehicle) PhysX glitches. They should be much less prone to flipping, as if weightless, caused by main barrel collisions or ramming each other.

3-0-7 | 14 SEP 2013
Changed default terrain to Altis.
Added Fireteam Member Markers component.
Added Buddy Team Colours component.
Partially re-enabled weather parameter in Mission Conditions Selector component.
Expanded F3 Folk ARPS Platoons component:
|- INDEPENDENT platoon can now be helibourne or mechanised.
|- BLUFOR platoon now has 1 x tank.
|- OPFOR platoon now has 1 x tank.
Implemented new functions-based approach to parameters, gear etc.
Updated F3 Folk ARPS Assign Gear Script component to support new NVG classnames.
Removed ShackTactical Fireteam Member Markers component.

The moment we’ve all been waiting for is finally here: the launch of Arma 3. To celebrate this massive milestone, we checked in with Bohemia Interactive’s founder and CEO, Marek Å paněl, to talk about the past, present, and future!

We're often asked to let some of our people talk about what it's like to develop a game at BI. 'Report In!' gives you a more personal perspective on our team, a more detailed look at the way we go about our work, and fresh information about our ongoing projects.

As founder of Bohemia Interactive, Marek is one of the architects behind the successful Arma series – setting out a vision which now seems more relevant than ever. Combining ambition with a passion for original games, Bohemia Interactive has meanwhile become a recognized player in the gaming industry. The road to success has not been without struggle, however, with the most recent example being the detainment of two Bohemia Interactive employees on the Greek island of Lemnos. Fortunately, this year has been much more positive. The Arma 3 Alpha and Beta were welcomed by overwhelming support from players, and DayZ is shaping up to be a thrilling new experience. Time for a SITREP from the man in charge.

Past

For the newcomers among us, let’s start with a little bit of history. How and why was the Arma series (starting with Operation Flashpoint: Cold War Crisis) originally conceived?

We began by working on the game code itself, which resulted in a proof of concept named ‘Poseidon’. This game later became Operation Flashpoint: Cold War Crisis (and was much later renamed to Arma: Cold War Assault). It basically all started in 1997 as a home project I was working on with my brother Ondrej Å paněl. After developing for Atari computers for years, we finally made the transition to what seemed to be a more mainstream platform: PC. Our goal was to create a 3D vehicle simulation game in an open world. Five years later, influenced by many inspiring people and rejected by some of the biggest publishers, our first Arma game was released by Codemasters in 2001. It became a massive success worldwide.

Fast-forwarding a bit, after more than a decade of Arma game-making, what experience or challenge has been the most meaningful?

We started releasing our first content updates in the summer of 2001. We called those ‘add-ons’ at the time, but nowadays they would be referred to as DLCs. We always worked hard to support the modding community by releasing tools and sample content. This was in no way a small undertaking for a team of our size (we were with 10 people in total), but it more than paid off in the end. To us, seeing the creations and response of players, was and remains extremely satisfying and rewarding.

Arma 3’s development started in 2010. Could you tell us some more about the first stage of its development?

Originally, we were playing around with the idea of bringing the authenticity of the Arma series to a more sci-fi futuristic setting. This resulted in a couple of experiments, even along the lines of Arma meets aliens. However, as I suspect, many of our player base will be relieved that we ultimately decided to adjust the direction. Even though Arma 3 still takes place in the near future, with some prototype tech and vehicles, the game is much more faithful to our previous installments. Our obsession in space exploration is now vested in Take On Mars.

And then, a widely reported event in the media has been the arrest of two Bohemia Interactive employees on the Greek island of Limnos on suspicion of espionage. What is the current legal situation?

There hasn’t been any news since they were released on bail in February, but from what we know, the case is still pending and at some point the court should make a decision. It’s great for us to have our friends and colleagues Ivan and Martin back working with us, and we sincerely hope this whole unfortunate incident will be over soon. Now the only thing we can do is to wait.

On a more positive note, Arma 3 took a new development route with the Alpha and Beta. What were your motivations behind this decision, and how has the early-access approach benefited Arma 3 and your company?

We had always wanted to go for this approach, since we don’t believe it’s possible to properly test a game of this magnitude without involving our players. The rise and evolution of digital distribution has enabled us to do so. We tried to balance this new method for everyone: early adopters got the game at a much lower price, and we received their support and feedback before the game was officially released. There’s no doubt that Arma 3 benefited tremendously from the early-access program. ...

Prague, Czech Republic, Thursday 12th September 2013

OUT NOW - Available in digital and physical retail stores worldwide, Bohemia Interactive is proud to announce today’s much-anticipated release of Arma 3. The brand new launch trailer introduces players to the authentic, diverse and open combat in Arma 3’s massive military sandbox.

Set on the Mediterranean islands of Altis (270 km²) and Stratis (20 km²), Arma 3 features 12 singleplayer showcases, 3 factions showcases, 9 multiplayer scenarios, 10 firing drill challenges, more than 20 vehicles and 40 weapons, 5 factions, the scenario editor and modding support. The post-launch campaign will be made available via 3 free DLC episodes after release. The complete overview of content can be found here.

“We’re incredibly proud of the release of Arma 3, as well as of the unique collaboration with the people who joined for the early-access development. We experienced some significant setbacks in the past years, but the fantastic public response to the Alpha and Beta kept us going,� said Joris-Jan van ‘t Land, Project Lead on Arma 3.

“Together we’ve made a game that truly meets its potential - while establishing a platform to build upon and grow even further. Our long-term commitment to Arma 3, in combination with the creative modding community and Steam Workshop, means this is just the kick off. We thank everyone for their splendid support and welcome you all to join our journey ahead.�

People can purchase the regular Arma 3 (44.99 EUR/39.99 GBP/59.99 USD) or the Arma 3 Digital Deluxe Edition (49.99 EUR/42.99 GBP/64.99 USD) from Steam and Store.bistudio.com. A boxed version of Arma 3 is also available at many of the major retailers.

Last but not least, Arma 3 Alpha and Arma 3 Beta participants will be able to play the final game after downloading the automatic update on Steam. Visit this page for answers to some of the more frequently asked questions.