Screencaps

[Binnatics]

I got in, and after staring at the menues and the MANY customization options, I decided to run the prologue first, called boot camp. I got some basic training instructions; walking, shooting, aiming, using and navigating with compass and map, and of course after a short moment of practising we were called in for investigating a shooting. That seems to be the start of an escalation between various 'peace-keeping forces' in the area. On a first combat mission, they send me out to investigate an emergency call from a friendly convoy, and as we move in, we discover hostiles. My fellow crew members manage to shoot all enemies before I even get them in my scope,  :D but we survive and rescue the convoy. When we return to the city we come from, a massacre took place. That's the prologue, now on to some real missions. So far, everything has been quite scripted, but that's normal with a prologue I think. I'd like to operate without a crew, so that I can practice my own shooting and way of approaching, but that will come. The amount of missions to pick seems quite large, and the world looks terrific. At certain moments, like in nightfall, I seem to suffer a bit of frapdrop, but so far the graphics are stunning.

Here's my two first screenshots:
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I drove over a fellow soldier :-D

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Flying back to Kavala, the city that is under attack, right after we took over control at the convoy site.

[Art Blade]

that was my biggest problem in ArmAII, not being able to see the enemy. My team was shooting and getting shot while I was wondering what the heck was going on and where everyone was. I sometimes even didn't see my own team but got shot at all the time.

[PZ]

Nice, Binn  :-X +1 for posting the first ArmA III pics!  I can't wait to see what you think of the game.

You hit the nail on the head, JRD, ArmA III seems so clean and precise, which for me is quite a refreshing break from the games like FC4.  One thing - did you watch the video on YouTube?  When watching in a larger window or full screen, you can see most of the enemy unlike ArmA II.

Like you, I also like the way the weapon systems w@&k, sound, and appear on the screen.  Because it is a simulation, everything is much more realistic.

I think the convoy mission in the video was just the kind of thing I would like to do - thinking about the attack point, planning the squad positions, and then flawless execution.

The mods and missions available makes the play value of the game unparallelled in my opinion.

I'm going to need a new gaming rig.

[JRD]

The mods and missions available makes the play value of the game unparallelled in my opinion.

I'm going to need a new gaming rig.

Oh, yes... check this out! Custom missions, Official missions, ADDONS and MODS - Discussion and tons of content available!

>:D >:D >:D >:D

Binn... this game seems to take off like the first game of the series (Operation Flashpoint - Cold War Crisis from 2001). You satart as a soldier in boot camp and soon you find yourself in a squad, getting orders from the squad leader and going on missions. It is all meant for you to see how a platoon or squad works. As the story evolves, you will find yourself alone at some point before joining some sort of guerilla and start fighting off an "unknown" military force. The game gets less and less scripted as you gain control of your own squad. A few events will always be scripted but it is necessary in order to keep a campaign on but, just like in FC2, you can play the same mission over and over and it will never be the same.  :-X

[Binnatics]

You are right JRD, I gave it another go today and now I was out on a mission with one other guy, called the squad leader. He told me what to do, warned me when enemies were near and asked to take down certain guys. They are marked red, so maybe he has some sort of 'pointing device', dunno. Anyway, now I was able to kill some soldiers and got killed a couple of times too. That's where I had to find out how to save; was hoping for a quick save button, to not have to get back to the auto save every time, but I couldn't find it. IT was a little disappointment, but later I found out in the main popup menu you can save, as it looks on any given moment of your choice ;)
I am really shocked by the graphics potential of this game. It made me even use my GPU clock and mem booster for the first time. I experienced quite some annoying framedrops but didn't want to loose the magnificent graphics quality, so I pushed the needle forward. The GPU clock is currently running at 1107 Mhz while mem is set on 7033 Mhz. GPU temp only got til 60ºC once, but arounf 50ºC everage. It's funny to finally test the ability of the GTX780 Direct CU II (custom asus cooler) and see the Framerate win. Great 8)

Here's some screenies to give you an impression of the ingame graphics:
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One of the most amazing parts of the graphics in this game are the almost true 3D models for trees and plants. Every brench is a 2D object, with even different leaves composed to them in various angles, so the impression of a 'real tree' is nearly there. Really cool :-X

PZ, if you plan to get this game, which I figured you are, make sure you get a good graphics card. It's worth it ;)

[JRD]

Nice pics Binn.  :-X The game looks fantastic. I hope I can run it on my rig. I plan to buy it this weekend and seize the 35% price drop.  >:D

In the OFP-CWC you got to play with different characters. One private, which is your main character, one tank commander, one special ops and one pilot. Throughout the campaign you got to drive all sorts of land vehicles and use many diffrent weapons, command a tank squad, fly an Apache helo and an A10 fighter and do all sort of stealth missions with the spec ops guy. It doesn't seem to be the case in AIII though but you have custom missions you can download so I hope we can enjoy those.

[PZ]

Thanks for the link, JRD - that looks like it has lots of potential.  You guys remember the old Armaholic site? That was the one where I got most of my ArmA II mods, and they also do ArmA III - tons of missions and mods there too.

Graphics are impressive, Binn - thanks for posting.  Yes, you are correct, I'm setting the stage to get a new gaming rig with a contemporary graphics card mostly to play this game.  From all that I have seen and read, this simulation is just the refreshing breath of fresh air I need from the increasingly restrictive Ubi games.  Don't get me wrong, I still love AC:Unity - one of the best in the series, but am seriously disappointed in the outrageous main mission line in FC4.  Ubi has totally ruined the Far Cry series for me because they increasingly cater toward the mindless gamer.

I'm now willing to invest the time and energy in ArmA III to reinstate my confidence in the gaming world. 

From what I've read, ArmA III will require complete dedication because there are so many key presses and combinations possible.  But, the weapon sounds, the 100% open nature in most of the missions, and ability to mod will give me countless hours of gaming fun.

[PZ]

...I'm going to need a new gaming rig.

Funny update - my wife asked what I wanted for Christmas and I told her a new PC (I mentioned this in another topic), but that I wanted to wait until the after Christmas sales. 

Then she said "Can we get you a game or something for under the tree?" I told her that I am not interested in anything except ArmA III and explained that you needed to get it through Steam, etc.  I then told her that she could simply put a card under the tree for the PC and she replied: "Okay, a card that says a PC of your choice"  ????

Wow, I have a great gal  ^-^

[Binnatics]

Excellent ^-^ :-X

I'm looking forward to share the experience with you guys! And I think there's lots to learn too. I'm particularly inexperienced in the whole ArmA branch and the simulation type of games. :-D ;)

[PZ]

It will be a challenge, Binn, and to get good in the game, from what I recall, you need to immerse yourself fully because of what many call over complicated controls.  However, if that voice activated application works, then that might solve many issues.

I still remember modding ArmA II, and like many games, that was the most fun for me because you could code to your heart's content to get what you wanted out of the game.

It will be fun sharing stories and experiences with you guys  :-X

However, it will likely be a while unless newegg has a blockbuster sale.

[JRD]

Downloading... it will take about 2hrs at my current internet speed!  :)

[Binnatics]

Great! Hope you can run it without trouble. I made it to camp maxwell. It's an extremely difficult game. I have difficulty settings on normal, but keep getting killed. And it seems the game only allows you one single save-moment in the entire mission. Once used, it grays out. Even when it turns out to be worthless. So you got to use it wisely. There are a couple of autosaves though, throughout the mission.  :)

I really enjoying myself, but I have to get used to this military thinking. I keep fucking up, because I expose myself or because I start a fight with too many opponents. And the different ways of aiming ar still confusing me as well. But, I'll get a hang of it sooner or later ;)

[JRD]

Yeah, it's a steep learning curve. I do have some experience with ArmAII and The original FlashPoint but I'm sure I gonna need some time to get used with all commands.

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All right. First few minutes of gameplay!  :)

Just did the basic boot camp where you learn basic movements, navigation with compass and map, how to shoot and interact with ammo crates and objects and driving land vehicles

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The game looks great. I left the settings in auto detect and got a HIGH with 45-50 FPS so I'm happy with the performance of my rig. It runs smooth.  :) The area are prettier than in ArmA 2 and overall models (soldiers, vehicles, houses etc) are detail rich. Texture and colors are also very nice. Didn't experience much of a day/night cycle yet to see any light effects on my monitor but so far it is great. No abnormal voice over as the patched lines in ArmA 2

I got the basic instructions from my team leader but was able to free roam the area without nothing but a warning from him saying I should be firing from the shooting area but as I was running around, nothing stopped me from doing what I wanted so it shows some freedom.

The commands so far are basically the same so I'm already familiar with switching from 1st person to 3rd person and the different ways of aiming. The rest of the basic commands will come back as I use them I hope.

I'll get some sleep now but will give it another try this weekend and get back here for more impressions.

[PZ]

Glad you guys got it going rather smoothly, it seems.

I hope to be joining you guys soon  ^-^

EDIT: just created a new ArmA3 board and split the rather long topic into several to keep things organized a bit better

[Art Blade]

nice w@&k PZ, also the mod topics and so on +1 :-X :)

[PZ]

Thank you, AB  ^-^

[Binnatics]

Cool that you did that, PZ! Yesterday night, before going to bed but after I shut down my rig, I thought; I have to ask for a gameboard for ArmA III. Then I thought, I can do that tomorrow. Or maybe it will already be created. Now look ^-^ :-X
I think it is already tome to create a directory called ArmA games, and I think the DayZ topics fit well in there too.  :-D

Great that you can run it JRD! Looking forward to more of your end! I had to w@&k today, but tonight I will definitely go on ;)
I'm about to go to a crash site with my squad, and sweep the area for survivors of a helo crash ;)

[PZ]

Good idea - when we have three related works, it is time to create a new category  :-X

[JRD]

I'm doing my first mission where you have to drive a truck then you realise you are under attack and have to get back to your base... I dide three or four times before I could see where the enemy was coming from.  ;D . That's how I remember those games. Once I got through the first encounter the remaining ones were a bit easier. I managed to heal myself and use a couple first aid kits found in dead bodies, which helped me get through the mission. Looting dead enemies is vital as you will run out of ammo pretty fast.

Great fun!  >:D

So far, no crashes, no bugs, no glitches and HIGH settings with smooth gameplay and nice graphics. Oh boy I'm glad we had this discussion about this game right on time for the sales.  ;)

[PZ]

...So far, no crashes, no bugs, no glitches and HIGH settings with smooth gameplay and nice graphics...

???? am I in the Twilight Zone?  ???

[JRD]

I said so far................ don't jinx it!  :-()

[PZ]

  :-X

[Binnatics]

Good idea to have plenty of first aid kits. Urrm, JRD, my character kept complaining after I got shot a few times. I couldn't run anymore, couldn't focus, and couldn't heal myself. I guess that's when you need a medic? Is it caused by blood loss or is it just an open wound that isn't curable with a simple FAK?

I experienced only one tiny glitch, once: The buttons in the overlay menu started to flicker. Quite annoying, but not too bad. The next time I played, didn't occur. Hope it's just a one timer.  ;)

[PZ]

For some reason this reminds me of Dogon Sediko

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[JRD]

I'm not quite sure about the healing process in this game yet but it seems you can approach a dead body and point your cursor to it and check the icon that will pop up. Either a rifle icon will show up or a medic icon (like those you see on the side of ambulances). You just have to press space bar and you will use a medkit. I also realized this very same icon will show up if you are shot but only if you have a medkit with you.

My biggest problem right now is that once I am hit, a whole train of bullets is on my way and I don't even know where they are coming from.  ????