A night in Arma

[Benny]

To try and whet your appetites because attendance is poor...the below is as it happened with some license, but the gameplays is pretty much as I describe it. If you like tactical team work, don't want to run and gun this game is fantastic. There are issues, but not show stoppers.

I'd also add that I played the demo a few months back and you couldn't get me to play this for love or money. The single reason I tried it was Armitage nagging me at the LAN (and a sly agreement made in the admin meeting), but I am glad I did, because the multiplayer makes the rest of the game look poor. Enjoy and if the response is good I'll post up part 2, which was much more fun. Flames lighting the sky as the sun comes up, taking off you nightvision and your eyes adjusting at dawn was superb (all in game effects!!)

-----------------Part 1------------------

The scene opens with a fade from black into, well, black. You can hear water lapping around the boat and the occasional glare from a searchlight scanning the water in front of you. Your eyes slowly adjust to the gloom and you can make out the nearby coast and the rock formations on the approach. Flicking on the night vision lays a brief green glare and then as it adjusts you can make out where you are.

The first part of the mission is to meet a local contact on the beach, so pointing the dinghy shoreward you power it up. 2 team members lie in the boat in front of you as you power the craft up the beach. Killing the engine you track the contact down, keeping low and quiet. He gives you the next part of your mission, kill the generators in the local dock area and itââ,¬â,,¢ll kill the alarms in the camp you need to attack.  

I head back to the dinghy as Armitage and Boon tab across the steep grassland in the moonlight. Taking the dinghy I try to go past the camp to come back in from the other side to pincer the camp. Naming no names, someone has been spotted. The alarm starts to sound and my gentle run up the hill is suddenly punctuated by the whizz of bullets as they pass me and the gentle phut as they kick up the grass and dust around me. I canââ,¬â,,¢t see where they are coming from so start to zig zag toward the sheltered side of the hill and then go prone.

Meanwhile Armitage and Boon are picking off soldiers from the other side of the camp. The enemy slowly figure they are being hit from behind whilst they spam my position and turn to focus their attentions on the harbingers of death that are hidden in the rocks behind them. I use the breathing space to tab up the hill and get a good sniping spot to start taking them out. Scope tuned in I start taking them out whilst they circle Armitage and Boon. First shot kicks up the dust 10 feet in front of their feet. Iââ,¬â,,¢m shooting short. I didnââ,¬â,,¢t account for how far away they were. I lift my scope and aim 5ft over their heads, squeeze the trigger, thereââ,¬â,,¢s a faint flash of red and he drops. Iââ,¬â,,¢ve got my range. Now we can start picking them off.

What I donââ,¬â,,¢t notice is the single soldier tracking my muzzle flashes up the hill and slowly flanking me. By the time I do notice, Iââ,¬â,,¢m dead.

--------------------------

To come in part 2...sunrise, covert assault from Boon involving landmines and a great big explosion lighting up the island...subtle, very subtle.

[Sn00ks]

I joined one online session a little while back and as it was the first time I loaded the game I was a bit confused about all the buttons and things.
 
So I thought I'd try the boot camp to familiarise myself.
 
How many buttons!!!
 
This is what puts me off playing this, it just seems too complicated.
Maybe I'll give it another go. :eyebrow:

[b00n]

I joined one online session a little while back and as it was the first time I loaded the game I was a bit confused about all the buttons and things.
 
So I thought I'd try the boot camp to familiarise myself.
 
How many buttons!!!
 
This is what puts me off playing this, it just seems too complicated.
Maybe I'll give it another go. :eyebrow:

There are a lot of buttons, and it takes some getting used to, but most of them are for squad command in single player.  In multiplayer, it really isn't that bad - here are the buttons I used last night:

WASD - movement
Shift - walk
QE - leaning
R - reload
F - change fire mode (semi/auto/grenade/smoke)
G - check gear
ZXC - prone/crouch/stand
V - vault obstacle
N - nightvision
LMB - fire
RMB - Use optics/zoom
Mouse Wheel - change weapon/choose action
Capslock - voice comm

And that's it. I use more than that for CoD4!

Looking forward to being regaled by part 2 Benny, just gloss over the embarassing bits, nobody will know.

[Benny]

Having knocked out the generator we headed inland to the camp. We needed to clear out the troops and find the intel to locate the general weââ,¬â,,¢d been sent to assassinate. The camp wasnââ,¬â,,¢t far, but it was uphill with little cover.  With some fairly lateral thinking Arm and Boon decided to try and hijack one of the passing jeeps and head for the main gate.

I headed up the steeper slope to try to get to a cluster of rocks near the main gate. Once the hijack team had reached the road they scoped the main gate and started counting the troops, there were at least three on the gate and it looked like another 5 or 6 inside.  Nothing too difficult. Once in position I drop to prone and shuffle around the corner. AN easy silenced shot takes out the man on the gun in the gatehouse, but itââ,¬â,,¢s raised the local alert. People start searching along the fenceline and Iââ,¬â,,¢ve got nowhere to go other than squeeze against the rocks and hope they donââ,¬â,,¢t see me.

Morning light is coming on, but itââ,¬â,,¢s still dark enough to remain hidden. One lone soldier comes close and pays the price. And for being too blasé, so do I. A distant guard spots me and clinically eliminates the problem. Whilst Iââ,¬â,,¢m respawning Tango and Cash have hijacked a jeep. As I jog up the hill to get in the vicinity thereââ,¬â,,¢s an almighty explosion.  I get to the fence at the back of the camp and find a huge burning pile of vehicle. At the front gate is a another smouldering wreck.

Overseeing the wreckage is a grizzled veteran. Armitage stands watching the burning pyre. ââ,¬Å"Turn your NV off, itââ,¬â,,¢s beautifulââ,¬Â he barks. Despite the remaining troops hiding in the huts around us we stop and take a minute to admire the burning wreckage. The smoke column drifts lazily into the morning sky, visible for miles. Subtle. They will never know we are here!

Weââ,¬â,,¢re joined by Boon who, Iââ,¬â,,¢m sure sheepishly rubs his boot on the back of his leg whilst looking at the floor. ââ,¬Å"I may have let them know weââ,¬â,,¢re hereââ,¬Â. After clearing out the huts and having a quick break by the ammo crates whilst we wait for the local response. None comes.  Then thereââ,¬â,,¢s a crack of thunder.  One of the helicopters that has been hunting for us all morning is spiralling downward into the hill. Armitage is chuckling away to himself with an empty tube on his shoulder. ââ,¬Å"I found this in the ammo crates..ââ,¬Â is the only sensible response we get before heading out for the final part of the mission.

The sun is coming up over the hill and the drizzle that has been on and off all night seems to have stopped for now. All the weather affects are so subtle you barely notice but the mood of the game changes as the sun rises. A dark wet night gives way to a bright, crisp morning. Things are looking up!
The ground is now bathed in light as we head for the airfield, itââ,¬â,,¢s taken us far too to get this far, but it feels good. Iââ,¬â,,¢ve missed out the minefield and the helicopters, but to get those youââ,¬â,,¢ll need to play.

Fanciful enough Boon?

[b00n]

Fanciful enough Boon?

Perfect.  Just enough to whet appetites without giving away all the juicy details of our hijack attempt (suffice to say, if you had to put a musical score to it, the Benny Hill theme tune would have been fitting), and the subsequent loss of same vehicle (very soon afterwards, terribly unsporting of those Johnny Foreigners - just not cricket!).

[Benny]

I joined one online session a little while back and as it was the first time I loaded the game I was a bit confused about all the buttons and things.
 
So I thought I'd try the boot camp to familiarise myself.
 
How many buttons!!!
 
This is what puts me off playing this, it just seems too complicated.
Maybe I'll give it another go. :eyebrow:

As said above, I only used wasd, the mouse and the stance keys. no more than CoD really. I wouldn't fancy rebinding it to your nostromo though!

[sulky_uk]

ill try and get on tonight, but can i make a sugestion, can we use teamspeak as it may help with the lag issues on the server and also when the server goes down we all dont have to guess what is happening...just an idea

[Zootoxin]

ill try and get on tonight, but can i make a sugestion, can we use teamspeak as it may help with the lag issues on the server and also when the server goes down we all dont have to guess what is happening...just an idea

Hell No!!

Everyone on the hook tonight! young fella me lad.

[Benny]

ill try and get on tonight, but can i make a sugestion, can we use teamspeak as it may help with the lag issues on the server and also when the server goes down we all dont have to guess what is happening...just an idea

You can sir, however (and Zoots post notwithstanding) there have been no issues with the server since Whiteys marvelous work last week. No crashes, no lag, no hangs and no problems with voice.

Now, when do I get my Orwellian badge?

[A Twig]

Dagnammit, if this will work on Windows 7 64 bit, I shall be getting involved...

[b00n]

Dagnammit, if this will work on Windows 7 64 bit, I shall be getting involved...

It will indeed. :thumb:

[sulky_uk]

if it works on the heap of crap vista 64 that i have then it will work on just about anything

[Zootoxin]

Hi Guys,

I had another 30-40 mins on Arma last night with Arm, lex and Boon and I have to say this game goes from complete confusion to basic understanding quite quiclky and once that happens the possibilities really start to open up.

Don't get me wrong this game is not easy but is totally engrossing, you really get a feel for everything around you and the equipment you interact with, I was mildly impressed by the sound of my brothers in arms getting in and out of the jeep.

This game could be epic if we have enough people and time invested in it.