We have been invited by 505Games to take part in the ArmA2 Lan Party in Paris, today June 4th. Thanks again Marlène.
It has been a great and eventful day. Our head still buzzing after 6 hours in TGV and 6 hours gaming, we do need some time to build a coherent review about what we have been feeling, seeing and hearing. But here is a quick summary of the Lan Party Event.
At 11:00, gathering in front of Milk web cafe gaming room were members from the Press, on-line or not and members from the French ArmA community. After having been greeted by the 505Games Team, Jan Prazak from Bohemia Interactive has made a short global presentation about the game and spent some time in showing features from the High Command mode with Franck Poulain assistance.
And the the long awaited time started ... playing ArmA 2 ! Playing Solo Mission, Playing Campaign.
Then, most of the time playing on Lan, in Cooperative campaign, Cooperative and Warefare modes.
Stavanger has informed us about the release of a new ArmA 2 review on the ePrison.de web site. Of course, as the preview is all in German, you must show some language knowledge ..., but the game evaluation is easy to understand - Bronze Award and 83% scoring- and if not, you can have a look at the screenshots from the review showing interesting details about the game.
Recta DP has released on the BI Forums a changelog of the upcoming Beta patch v1.01 for the German version originally posted on Gamestar.de.
Changelog
Engine * AI improvements: collision avoidance, MicroAI communication, suppress fields * Improved: AI coordination in combat * Improved: automatic VTOL vectoring. * Improved STOL takeoff/landing control * Improved: shot simulation * Enabled taxiing for Mv22 * Fixed: weapons inside vehicles were sometimes white. * Fixed: Some crash opportunities * Fixed: flickering textures sometimes * Fixed: muzzle flashes and other alpha objects cutting into the water. * Fixed: long cutscene animations could cause bad LODs/textures. * Fixed: Terrain LOD causing white dots
Communication * radio chatter improvements * generic conversations about known targets improved
Campaign * music soundtrack added to more places in the campaign * various improvements in cutscenes * improved Star Force transport service (player can better command it, occasional problem with Star Force froze on spot fixed) * on screen notification for each evidence collected added * various smaller fixes and improvements * some missing dubbings fixed * improved cooperative play in the campaign
Environment * Improved sea rendering * Various smaller fixes and improvements
Sound effects * effect for player near big explosion (beep in his ears, temporarily deaf)
UI * improved GPS support (RCtrl + M when GPS is available) * tasks without map (J key by default) * list of players without map (P key by default) * improved rendering of perihperal vision simulation (dots on the screen edge simulating real world field of view) * leader icon displayed on screen permanently for Regular difficulty * tasks faded out to be less intrusive in the middle of the screen
Models * fixed cargo compartments in aircraft (cargo should not switch positions with pilots during flight) * fixed camera position for BTR and T90 gunner optics views * fixed view gunner lods for turned-out crew in wheeled vehicles * improved hand animation for AA laucnhers * twisted arms for AA missile launchers * fixed fire geometry of billboards model * tractor and bus sound changed * added sign on hotel building * fixed municipal house ruin * changed texture on G36, fixed MG36 icon * fixed gunner animation on BRDM-ATGM * improved model of AK-107 * improved enviromental reflection map * improved A10 gun cursor * fixed T34 icon texture, fixed optics and turret stabilisation definitions and added exhaust smoke
Foxhound from Armaholic has released a thrilling report by Rock-RKSL about the London 505Games Press Event. The full article need to be read and read again on the Armaholic web site. Here are some extracts :
... System specifications: ... For anyone worried about having to upgrade for ArmA2 my best advice is to wait and see. If you have a dual core processor already lowering some of the game settings to "normal" or "low" is likely to give you an extra boost in performance even if you don't have a cutting edge PC. ... The Changes: What's new? The game engine ... The biggest change is the engine optimisation. It isn't something that hits you immediately but its something you come to realise. In Armed Assault the object density was quite low to maintain performance. In ArmA 2 there is just so much more going on around you that you have to spend a moment to wonder if the PC you are playing on isn't hooked up to a server farm in the next room. OK, so its not mind blowing ultra realistic graphics but the sheer number of moving grass objects, trees and detailed shaded/rendered objects is very impressive and while the demo PC was a good spec I was very impressed to see the engine could handle it easily. ... Command System Following on from the interface changes, you now have the ability to control large groups of AI. The method we were shown was frankly one of the most impressive parts of the demo and there were lots of "WOW" moments. ... Capability: Game Logic Modules This was another "WOW" moment. There has been much forum chatter about the screenshots showing AI dragging or carrying injured people from the battle field. All this capability is down to a library of Game Logics, each performing a set function. It was very briefly demonstrated but the pace of the demo didn't really allow for too many questions at that point. But the idea is to place the appropriate game logic, then link unit to the game logic. The AI will perform that action coded to the game logic ... AI: Artificial idiocy or Intelligence I suppose this is the most hotly anticipated area for a lot of people. Has it improved? Well I have to say "Yes!". How much has it improved is really hard to see without some serious testing. ... The Editor I'll cut to the chase here. There is no VBS2 style real time editor that I found and believe me we poked around all the settings and options a lot. ... Campaign Again this is another area that made me smile and pay closer attention to what was said. Many people criticised Armed Assault campaign and SP playability. From what I heard and saw I really don't think that's going to be the case here. ... Summary There's a lot of good, not much bad and no really ugly. There are a lot of impressive features in this game. Huge amounts of subtle detail really, I'm usually fairly cynical about marketing claims but ArmA2 is the first game in a long time that has actually made me say "wow" out loud and in public! ...
The minimum system requirements: • Dual Core CPU (Intel Pentium 4 3.0 GHz, Intel Core 2.0 GHz, AMD Athlon 3200 + or faster) • 1 GB of RAM • GPU (Nvidia Geforce 7800 / ATI Radeon 1800 or faster) with Shader Model 3 and 256 MB VRAM • Windows XP • DVD (Dual Layer compatible) • 10 GB free HDD space
The recommended system requirements: • Quad Core CPU or Dual Core CPU (Intel Core 2.8 GHz, AMD Athlon 64 X2 4400 + or faster) • 2 GB RAM • Fast GPU (Nvidia Geforce 8800GT / ATI Radeon 4850 or faster) with Shader Model 3 and 512 MB VRAM • Windows XP or Windows Vista • DVD (Dual Layer compatible) • 10 GB free HDD space
ArmA Database.de announces release in May, the 29th in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. Games Tiscali.cz announces ArmA2 release in June, the 17th in Czech Republic and Slovakia.
In a WG247.com Blog entry, Patrick Garratt informed us about ArmA 2 release date :
505 GAMES ARMED FOR ARMA II MILITARY SIMULATION SHOOTER IS GIVEN 26TH JUNE RELEASE DATE Milton Keynes, 29th April 2009 - 505 Games and Bohemia Interactive today confirmed 26th June as the long anticipated European release date for ArmA II. The sequel to Bohemia Interactive’s celebrated military shooter promises to deliver more of the authentic battlefield experience the series is famed for, while developing each area of game play with expansive new features.
Featuring the most realistic warfare ever, ArmA II promises to build on the excellent features that have made Bohemia Interactive a respected name among gamers. Players can expect in-depth team-based combat, a comprehensive playbook of military tactics and an enormous battlefield to push strategy to the limit.
ArmA II benefits from a 3rd generation game engine that has been in constant development for 10 years; no other developer can offer such a great heritage in creating open-world military shooters. The Bohemia engine has been recognised as a benchmark in producing realistic warfare simulations to such an extent that the developer has used its Real Virtuality engine as the basis for training simulators used by armies across the globe, including the United States Marine Corps, UK Ministry of Defence and Australian Defence Force.
This experience is also helping Bohemia Interactive to craft an incredibly detailed storyline, full of political intrigue and plot twists, which blurs the boundaries between fact and fiction. Set in the near future in a fictional post-Soviet country called Chernarus, players take on the role of a United States Marine Corps Force Recon squad, who are called to the country as a peacekeeping force to prevent further civilian casualties and ensure ongoing stability.
“It has been a pleasure building on the success of the first ArmA title,” commented Alex Price, Senior Global Brand Manager, 505 Games. “ArmA has such a vociferous community behind it that we new we had to get this one absolutely right. We are confident that the dedicated fans won’t be disappointed as will as any newcomers to the series.”
ArmA II will be released for 26th June exclusively for PC. For all the latest information please visit www.arma2.com
No, ArmA2 will not support any Mind Control Device, you will go on mouse/keyboard/joystick playing for a while. But Bohemia Interactive is working with Czech Universities on research about brain functioning as shown here in the Developer Blog. We hope you enjoy the fun.
katonkabong informed us that ArmA 2 will optionally be delivered with a device that allows controlling parts of the game with your mind !
This new device called EPOC was developed by Emitov and will allow the player to select his weapon and reload his rifle, whenever he thinks about the reload codeword (can be configured easily).
Basically the Action Menu (With which you can mount a vehicle for example) will be replaced with this mind control device ! It will also allow the gamer to enter his chat messages by thinking what he would like to type !
Here's a screenshot of the device :
And here is a prototype beeing used by a BIS Developer (click to enlarge) :
The system will cost approximately 300 $ and can be configured with any language. It may take some time to teach the system the designated codewords, but once that is done...ArmA 2 will feel like a Sci-Fi Game !
The game is not released but 505Games is getting ready for it. Here on the 505Games site, we can learn that the game is 18+ PEGI rated and have a look at the picture on the box ... and that we had to expect a release on PC !
ArmA II Prepare to take warfare to a new level with an incredibly realistic war simulation.
In ArmA II, you’re part of an elite squad of American soldiers sent behind enemy lines to restore peace to Chernarus, a Soviet country ripped apart by civil war as warring rival factions fight to take control of the troubled state. In an epic story full of plot twists and turns, it becomes clear that the troubles plaguing Chernarus are deeper than anyone thought and the battle intensifies to extreme levels.
Building upon the foundations laid by its predecessor, ArmA II features refined graphics; unscripted AI opponents that ensure no skirmish ever plays out in the same way; 225sq km of game play area including more than 50 different towns and villages, alongside lush forests and wind-swept beaches; 136 different vehicles variants including helicopters, tracked armoured vehicles, boats and even bicycles and 81 weapon variants.
FEATURES
* SINGLE PLAYER MODE with emphasis on resource management and RPG elements, the player commands a squad through a story full of twists and surprises * Cooperative MULTIPLAYER and team-based large scale multiplayer over entire map for 50 live players * Built-in MISSION EDITOR allowing player to expand the game beyond original content * Complex weapons SIMULATION based on technologies used in military training and real-world data: ballistics, deflection, material penetration, glowing tracer rounds * AUTONOMOUS AI providing them ability to react dynamically depending on player's action: AI-controlled soldiers and vehicles maneuver, flank, take cover and surprise player in many ways. * AI where squads navigate in REALISTIC FASHION, soldiers can find proper cover with millimeter precision, lean from cover and return fire. * Advanced dynamic CONVERSATION system, integrating preset conversations and dynamic queries about the game environment. * GESTURES and combat communication of units: Soldiers shout and use same communication means as in real combat situations * Comprehensive library of over 60 fully simulated modern FIREARMS * Over 60 playable VEHICLES
Ivan Buchta, Lead designer of ArmA2 was on Sahrani Radio yesterday for the 2nd part of his interview and you weren't tuned on the ArmA Radio Station, but Jerry Hopper has informed us that all can get a replay of the show from Sahrani Radio. In re-recorded Part1 Ivan Buchta is answering audio-questions, in Part 2 he is answering written forum questions.
Jerry Hopper from Sahrani Radio send us some news of upcoming Ivan Buchta's interview on Good morning Sahrani.
Sahrani Radio brings you an exclusive interview with Ivan Buchta, Lead designer of ArmA2
In this 2.5 hour- 2 part special, Mr J.Kingsley & Jerry Hopper dive into the depths of the upcoming blockbuster from Bohemia Interactive ArmedAssault 2. Armed with over 100 community questions, this is probably the most revealing show of this year.
In part one, Ivan Buchta tells about himself, and answers all the questions that the community have left on our answering machine. In part two, Mr Hoppper & Kingsley try to get as much of the submitted written questions answered.
We rerecorded the complete interview to serve the community even better. Our first recording wasnt worthy for the community, and therefore we present you this new 'ClearVoice' version.
The special edition of the Goodmorning Sahrani show will be aired in 2 separate episodes.
* Episode 1 - Saturday 4 October at 19:00 GMT+1 * Episode 2 - Saturday 4 October at 20:30 GMT+1
DeadfastCZ informed us on the BI Forums, that he has posted, an English translation of a YouTube video featuring an interview about ArmA 2 with Marek Španěl (Bohemia Interactive Studios CEO) from Level 165 (Czech gaming magazine) with English subtitles.
Thanks to raphael for the info about the release in Czech previously posted by bella1 on the BI Forums.
A few days ago k@voven informed the Arma community on the BI forums that the german PC-Games Magazine has written a preview about Arma 2. They also released a short interview video with Maruk. Flashbang151 informed the community that in the BI forums Lester posted a link to this video a few days back in the Mapfact forums.
Due to copyright on this article and video, we had to remove them from our server, since the German PC Games magazine Senior Editor required it. We are sorry for the inconvenience.
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ARMA2: COMPLETE COLLECTION announced
A new home of sorts for
