After the recent discussion about safety vs fun, I began to really ask myself why I even play this game.
I'm not really interested in military. I don't watch war documentaries, or war movies. I am somewhat interested in military hardware, from a technical side (military hardware is always the cutting edge). I did basic military service, but nothing beyond that.
I came into the military shooter stuff through a game called Hidden and Dangerous. It was a World War II themed tactical shooter with some strategical elements (you had control over a four man team, controlling each member individually).
The game got me hooked from the start, and I can't even say way. For one, I loved the atmosphere (it had great sound and awesome graphics for it's time) and could be played coop (you can actually download it still, it's free in the meantime).
I liked sneaking around in rainy Italian forests or through snowy Norwegian industrial complexes. I crawled to half of Greece on my belly. It just got me hooked, and lead me to play Operation Flashpoint, Ghost Recon, and eventually Arma 2 (I somewhat skipped Arma 1).
All those times, I've never been really interested in military, it#s history, tactics, strategy or anything like that... I guess it was just the experience itself. I liked experiencing it.
And that is still the reason why I play Arma. I like experiencing it. That's also the reason why I play only coop or single player and not PvP: I'm not doing it to compete with anything, neither with humans, nor with AI. I just want the experience. The "moment" so to speak.
That's also why I went into mission making: To craft those moments for myself.
OK, I admit, this may all sound a bit esoteric. My girlfriend once asked me why I play war, and I couldn't really answer. I guess "the experience of the moment" would be the most fitting answer...
A big "Thank you" to CiA for continued experience and moments!
I personally found Arma 2, due to DayZ mod. I played DayZ on different servers and terrains for more hours than I have on steam. I liked the shooting mechanics of the game where you have to consider bullet drop and stuff so it lead to a bit of skill needed in some situation. DayZ was main reason I played Arma 2 only because I came to it late in its lifespan.
Simultaneously tried some more PVP on Arma 2 like Wasteland and had good fun shooting players in arma.
Arma 3 got released in like Sep 2013 and I brought it in Dec 2013~ because I upgraded my PC so I could actually run it. Played only multiplayer PvP in Wasteland/King of the Hill/ DayZ Clones like Epoch etc for a time and had some fun moments too.
Found CiA by watching a stream from Bohemia in like April 2014~, applied and have only been really playing coop now. Almost 2 years here. Had a lot more fun in Coop than PVP after that. Still play occasional Wasteland run with friends.
I keep playing Arma for our random mishaps, epic fails, epic wins on coop nights and occasional banter. Also because it looks awesome and no other game really has the scale of Arma.
Good question -- I've asked myself this before. I think I like the game for it's depth and diversity. Often times in a slow part of a mission I find myself gazing across the terrain. I love the fact you can play the same mission again and get completely different results each go -- especially missions that have a variety of play types (air, armor, infantry, etc).
Over the past year, my favorite part is creating a mission and watching it unfold as I didn't intend. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't and it's back to the drawing board.
(03-22-2016, 02:51 PM)Etzu link Wrote: [ -> ]Over the past year, my favorite part is creating a mission and watching it unfold as I didn't intend. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't and it's back to the drawing board.
Ah, that's my greatest fear Since you never know what happens.
But yeah, I can relate to the landscape part. That was what fascinated me with Hidden and Dangerous as well. And that's why I liked Arma 2 so much (Chernarus)
In short, because it stopped a repeated nightmare I had about me having to fight for my life and my weapon doesn't fire, or the opponent isn't affected.
In long, because the combination of depth, diversity, realism and immersion leads to the highest potential for gratification for me.
(03-22-2016, 03:49 PM)Variable link Wrote: [ -> ]In short, because it stopped a repeated nightmare I had about me having to fight for my life and my weapon doesn't fire, or the opponent isn't affected.
Ah interesting. Was it just a random nightmare or did something happen to you?
I'm on the same boat as Varanon. I'm not interested in the military, nor tactics or history of war. I really like the technical side, and the big vehicles that come with it.
I can't really say why I play the series tho, I think it's just the freedom of getting a beer without pausing the game and still win .
Ofc it's also the It's the situations that really make you "wow, did that just happen?"
OFP really hooked me with the CTI TvT games, as I always had the dream to combine Red Alert with Joint operations. The teamplay there and in CiA is also something that is really satisfying when you win
I've never been a military geek either but I do like aircraft, helos mostly, partly because I like gadgets/things with lots of buttons but I'm also quite interested in how aircraft work and how to use them effectively, so I sometimes read stuff or watch programmes about them.
I started with ArmA2 and played the campaigns and some SP missions before trying MP. The server I settled on for a while played large scale TvT, like 20-30 on each side and I enjoyed the banter and working as part of a team but the briefings would last 30min+ and even once the mission started there was often a lot of waiting around before moving out and if you died then you could have another long wait before the next mission, so I started looking for another server that would provide a better playing vs waiting balance. Also with TvT sometimes you'd get people who took it personally if you killed them and they'd make it their mission to kill you repeatedly to soothe their ego, which got tedious.
Most of the other servers I tried were either populated by people JIPing at different times and doing their own thing or cliques of friends who didn't really welcome strangers or make them feel part of the team.
So I'd have to say the main reason I play ArmA now is because of CiA, who made me feel welcome and an important part of the team, even if I was only a lowly rifleman, from the start. I haven't had much time for SP lately but I look forward to co-op nights, as for those few hours I can forget about whatever's stressing me out IRL and immerse myself in the mission and working as part of a team to try and win. Playing ArmA (or anything else) SP I'm always aware I'm the only real person playing and it's just a game, so I find it hard to get immersed and stop myself thinking I should be doing something else.
Playing ArmA co-op it's as much about the social experience as the mission or shooting things. It doesn't really bother me if I get to the end of a mission and I haven't got any kills, I'm just glad to have made it, had the experience and hopefully helped the rest of the team to make it too.
I played Hidden and Dangerous too, also "Delta Force Land warriors" (and "Delta Force Black Hawk Down")Â and loved playing delta force coop with just one friend.
My war gaming went quite for a while, sticking with RTS games mainly (Anno I love)... then I found Arma3... which I played a bit... then a bit more, then made missions and made more and now Im just hooked!
Has everything! Not bothered with the single player campaign, Im only interested in the Coop side of things, and with no re-spawn and even no revive sometimes adds the tenseness I love in a game. No hand holding, and a punishing death! that makes you value your life more (in game).
Im not a fan of the usual pvp, its fun occasionally, but I hope to build a coop mission that is also pvp (two sides with there own missions, just like the CiA coop nights, but, you will at some point cross paths with the other human team. Playing against real players is a whole different experience with human reactions and choices, and can (if the setting is right) get extremely tense!
The thing I liked about H&D was that it wasn't Call of Duty or Medal of Honor, it was a game that would punish you BADLY if you got shot, and it could be played in Co-op, something I hadn't really done thus far.
So when I saw Flashpoint for the first time, I played it and got hooked simply because I felt completely overwhelmed. I remember playing the Demo first (It was a mission called Ambush). There was this point were you had to enter the truck and get ferried to your attack location. On the way I admired the large terrain, the fact that I could see the mountains in the background AND walk/drive/fly there. When we got out of the truck, I felt incredibly tense, like I was really there, and felt like I was in something that was completely over my head. Some sergeant kept yelling order and tips ("maintain your distance interval from each other. I don't want to see half my squad get taken out by a grenade"), and I thought this is how it must feel to be in a real war.
Over the years I lost some sight of it. Arma came out, and I tried the demo but somehow the demo failed to make me interested (and I didn't really have a machine that could run it).
When Arma 2 came out, I saw a few of the trailers, and specifically, one video by Richie Speed:
During my army time I had been in a night exercise, so I knew this is how a night fight looks. This video actually convinced me that I wanted Arma 2, especially since this video again evoked that feeling of being in way over your head.
I never was a military man, never was too interested into real-life conflicts; as some others, what I found fascinating is the technology, the vehicles, planes, helicopters (especially helicopters). Word War 2 tanks I found very interesting since armored warfare during WW2 developed so quickly that it was easy to follow.
But what really captured me in Arma is the feeling. The experience. I remember (I am almost ashamed to admit it) test-playing one of my own missions were your team has gotten scattered at the beginning during para jumps and needed to RV at a barn south of the airfield in Chernarus. It was an MP mission but I played it alone and it was scripted so that the AI looked for the barn by itself. So I was waiting near the barn, carefully checking around the corner, and stared right at a pair of boots. Which, luckily, belonged to a civilian.
I like the feeling of being outnumbered and outgunned in a stealth mission, were a mistake can make the difference between win or fail. I usually like Stealth missions best, even if I don't fire a single shot. Varanon had a mission in Arma 2 (Zargabad Dawn) were you just had to get out of the destroyed city but stop at the company's headquarter (it was a PMC mission) to pick something up. I didn't fire a single shot in that mission, still it was one of the best experiences I had.
I love stealth missions once one goes around although I usually play those with smaller player count which was why I made the stealth theory thread on how best to create/approach a stealth mission.
I actually started with America's Army: Special Forces and really enjoyed (the most intense experience for me was the special forces stealth practice thing where you have to sneak past people without getting spotted). I played a bit of PvP but I mostly end up getting shot unless I got a team leader who really knows what's he's doing and position his unit in good spots. I started to lose my occassional interest in adversial multiplayer and decided to play coop (Interdiction, SF Snakeplain, and that one other one). Later I tried some of the custom maps with a few players although later America's Army servers died off a bit but at the time I have already went to Left 4 Dead for the bit that I was 13. I later didn't return to it since I stopped using a mouse because wrist problems (I only got a trackball a year after Arma 2, but I'll get to that later).
I really like the tactical shooter genre where a few bullets either kill you or really cripple you. I like how you have to think to complete the objective. Positioning matter and being rambo is a stupid way to die. Problem with America's Army AI at times would be well, AI can be kind of dumb and adversial MP is the main thing (coop is secondary, though it was still fun). Some missions you have a humvee to drive, but mainly infantry. I was interested in something like America's Army but mainly coop oriented so I looked something up. I saw Arma 1 which hook me. This was before Arma 2. I really wanted to play something like this. Coop as the main thing, some AI, and all the vehicle arsenals and scenarios I can think of. At the time, I was still a kid and don't have my own cash.
Some time later, a buddy recommended I get Rainbow Six Vegas 2 so I did. Not a real rainbow six game and its nothing like Rainbow Six 1 (which I got on CD, though haven't played much). I got ravenshield later... enjoyed that a lot better without UDontPlay on my ass.
I got OFP DR first around 2010? I wasn't really allow to buy games too much then and "arghed" version works online for the time being. At the time, I play games exclusively on a controller and OFP DR supports controller out the box. I'll say it was fun for the time being. Too bad the network connection was bad when I played with Maverick and it was too jerky. Maverick plays Arma more. Also told me its the better game. A buddy of my at school was like "ARMA looks awesome man" (the one guy who actually took a look at Arma whereas no one else knows wtf it is... even though he even encouraged me to grab Arma even more he didn't). I'll tell you, Arma 2 caught my attention when it came out since I had my eyes on Arma 1 before. Unfortunately, if things aren't going too well on a controller for me it'd be hard to play due to my wrist back then. Eventually during winter sales 2011, I paid some allowance cash to my buddy to buy me Arma 2 because I got no debit card/credit card and eventually I got combined arms. I played the crap out of it then with a controller and keyboard. (Yes, I use controller to shoot at infantry when I play it as an infantry too. Its okay long range if you move it slow enough, sucks for CQB). I played the campaign some bit and then I hopped on MP servers (Domination was popular at the time. Also this was during the time before DayZ casuals came along and start TKing everyone at the base so people actually did talk and communicate to get an objective done like how PR coop servers are like nowadays where people actually work). I did play a few no respawn missions before but the easier ones. I die a lot as a newbie and die more with a controller. I'm also hesitant to shoot enemies at the time to avoid FF since I wasn't too good with IDing targets yet.
I eventually found a revive (no respawn) regular mission local server hosted by generalcarver and some guys so I joined them and play. I try to follow where I can. One of his mission had insane number of choppers and tanks attacking and you got to take them out (it uses his own revive script where you cannot die). Of course you lose when everyone is incapped which was common. Of course I was incompetant with AT even javelin since its so slow to turn with a controller with AT. It was NLAWs and Javelins, easy to shoot stuff nowadays in Arma since guided. I was never told what I did wrong although I try to follow orders or anything (I do suck since I use a controller and stuff), but whenever I join the server then I keep getting kick without being told why... I rather knew why. Guy did make missions too... well, I guess that blows. I decided to start getting into making a few missions although I didn't make no revive/respawn missions yet. I was bored of unorganized domination stuff where most people rush in rambo style. I mainly play with either cavemans or maverick. Some other clan ask me to join so I did join their organized domination group. THey play themselves, but fun guys and pretty organized. It pretty much vanish later when the leader left for military service with some eastern european PMCs. So I made a few with some other guy or when maverick or caves isn't busy (hard to recall it all). I think I got a trackball later down the line too, and it hits me that... these respawn/revive stuff got boring and repetitive plus, there was no punishment...
Starting off, back in America's Army or any old school tactical shooter be it Hidden and Dangerous, old Rainbow Six, Ghost Recon, etc. If you're dead... you're dead. After all the fail maps/missions I made in past games, I decided to try my luck with Arma sometimes. I don't remember when, but I love how I can get something out much quicker in Arma than the other stuff since drawing maps from scratch takes a while. I forgot what's my first attempt with no respawn/revive missions were since I got many missions after that now. Some of them kind of suck or gun whorish. I forgot. Variable eventually ask me to join CiA coop night. Also mission feedbacks encouraged me to make more... I guess I can go in more details of later (I can't recall all the things in specific orders, but this was some background how Arma started for me).
TLR on why below... which can still might be a little TL.
As for the why? If I were to take every other tactical shooters nowadays and try to create whatever I want with it, there will be limitations. I really enjoy tactical shooters. The thoughts behind it, the thinking, the punishments for mistake, etc. Its a genre I enjoy and rewards the strategy, not the egotistic statwhore who wants all the kills. It is about the plan and the atmosphere feels great too. Why Arma over the rest even though there are other great games too. Arma feels more limitless to me. You have so much factions and arsenal in Arma 2 from guerillas to conventional armies. Its like playing some other games in coop missions again, but isn't as hard to make your own missions, you have more factions to choose from, etc. I really enjoy making missions as well (I also mainly receive more taste preferences on my guerilla missions moreso than conventional army. I guess they're more underrepresented too). Arma doesn't get repetitive to me and it never has (unless you want to play the same taste of mission over and over. Besides the planning, authenticity, and other great stuff. The ability to make missions keep it fresh and it never gets old since you can change the atmosphere with a new map, time of day, factions, or even what the mission is about. I also really love games that are community driven with mods and stuff (since the games that are supersaturated with E-Sports fandom leave a bad taste in my mouth by the toxicity of some kids no offense to anyone). Stat whoring doesn't appeal to me, plus it also gets repetitive... there's no substance to it like Arma. Other tactical shooters are great too, but Arma just have so much more content that... it never gets old to me. Maybe I have more to say, but the thoughts are sporadic and I'm writing this free form.
Oh, I think exhausted everything I had to say about OFP/Arma in previous similar topics. But let me add this, I started to play it because it was the only game in which I could drive Å koda and still feel like a hero.
I am also not very fond of weapons and military vehicles, people who know me in RL have no clue what I do at home, and would never guess that I play this kind of game. But this game made me know that AK-74 is not a typo of AK-47.
Contrary to above, I am somewhat interested in military, (military) history, related hardware/topics, etc. We are one of those rare countries with mandatory military service. As a result most male (and limited female) populae has some kind of personal interface to the topic. I suppose that is why the franchise is so popular here. Comfortable way to relive army memories without really having to sleep in a tent at -20c 8)
I think Arma was already out when I discovered OFP gold edition at discount basket of local computer shop. What really got me was that it simulated regular armed forces, not the usual special force x. You dug mines, patrolled, were on sentry, bugged out when T-72s got to visit, were left behind enemy lines, etc.
I missed A1 and played A2+OA+DLCs mostly in SP. I did not really get to serious multiplaying until A3. We started casual gaming with my old MMO friends. Future theme wasn't really my thing but gameplay/engine improvements were worth it. As it was hard to find good missions I started making them myself.
I am bit of a hermit and I was never actively seeking a clan. I considered applying to one of the more active MILSIMs but timezone was wrong. Then some gentlemen from CiA commented my missions in my WS and Variable asked me to join COOP night.Â
Arma 3 is much more than a regular game but it is still a game and has to be treated as such. We use certain common (small unit) tactics, we strongly emphasize communication/teamwork, but we are also striving to have fun. Balance of those is what makes this enjoyable.
Arma can offer experiences, mission moments, like no other. Complexity, scale, experience, all those things mentioned above. Overcoming tough objective with teamwork, relying on your comrades to support, or supporting them yourself.Â
What is unique is the mod culture and flexibility of the platform. You can craft very diverse missions with huge pool of units, maps, ranging from conventional armed forces to more exotic scenarios.
Technically from gaming/playing viewpoint I suck at FPS style games. I don't have particularly good mouse/eye coordination. I wouldn't do well in PVP in most games and outside Arma my gaming addictions are RPGs, strategy, sims.
Playing missions is nice, but my thing is really mission making. I find it rewarding if people enjoy my missions but I don't particularly like them when we play them. Instead of enjoying experience, I spot the errors. Why didn't that work, why did I place enemies here and no there, ugh this was a bad design decision, ugh I didn't even consider this approach, etc bla bla. If we are playing my mission and I sound unresponsive, I am likely alt-tabed out going through the scripts and trying to find errors. Well, depends on the situation 8) . It is also difficult, although perversely rewarding, when you know that team is about to be brutally murdered but you can't spoil it.
Since you never know what happens.
. 