By Jim Rossignol on February 26th, 2013 at 5:00 pm.
From next week you’ll be able to play Arma 3. Yes, the headline gave it away, didn’t it? Pre-ordering a “Arma 3 Alpha, Arma 3 Digital Deluxe, Or Arma 3 Supporter editions” (all available soon) will soon give immediate access to Arma 3 on Steam, or at least to an alpha test of a limited build of the game that will run until the full beta test some time in the second quarter of the year. Bohemia explain: “Featured in the Arma 3 Alpha are four showcase missions (Infantry, Vehicles, SCUBA and Helicopter), a limited subset of weapons and vehicles, two multiplayer scenarios, the powerful scenario editor and modding support. The 20 km² island of Stratis, which is positioned right off the coast from Arma 3’s main destination ‘Altis’ (270 km²), will form the backdrop of the Arma 3 Alpha.” There’s much more to come, as the scope of the test expands.
Hands on with Arma 3′s alpha, as well as an interview with the Bohemians, coming up later this week.
26/02/2013 at 17:11 HatsAlEsman says:
I can’t wait to see some of the good custom missions from Arma 2 ported over. Jolly Green always makes for a fun night.
Also, they need support for ridiculous stuff as well such as the BATTLEBUS. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kZc0mwTbgwI I mean the Battlebus should really just be a regular vehicle but I fear it would make war far too easy.
26/02/2013 at 17:30 FurryLippedSquid says:
Mind blown.
26/02/2013 at 19:05 jonfitt says:
I have ridden that Battlebus!
Sometimes all you can see is gun barrels, men, and the world exploding.
27/02/2013 at 12:43 El_Emmental says:
That’s why I really really hope they’ll make sure the scripting/mod tools are much more easier-to-use, stable and frequently patched.
Imagine: making a flying BattleBus, able to take-off and land easily, refill its ammo, allow people to switch between seats, etc… done in 2-3 hours.
Now imagine two buses welded together for a twin fuselage design, or a central cabin with 2 fixed cannons and the side fuselage getting crewed MGs, some kind of powered-up P-38 Lightning – that would be glorious !
26/02/2013 at 17:13 BloonerNL says:
Some more info for you guys that I have, as the official website seems to be down right now (too many viewers):
5th March you can buy 1 of three packages: Alpha package, Digital Deluxe package, Supporter package.
Apha package is €25 and gives you access to Alpha, Beta, and the full game.
Digital Deluxe is €40 and additionally gives you downloads of the soundtrack, maps, and a guide.
Supporter is €70 and also gives you ARMA1. ARMA1:QG, ARMA2, ARMA2:A, ARMA2:BAF, ARMA2:PMC and any non-standalone DLC that “may or may not” come out for ARMA3.
Price of the game will increase as development goes on. Final price for ARMA3 will be €45.
Recommended system requirements:
OS Windows Vista SP2 / Windows 7 SP1
PROCESSOR Intel Core i5-2300 / AMD Phenom II X4 940
GRAPHICS Nvidia GeForce GTS 560 / AMD Radeon HD 7750
GPU MEMORY 1 GB
DirectX® 11
RAM 4 GB
HARD DRIVE 25 GB free space
HARD DRIVE (ALPHA) 20 GB free space
AUDIO DirectX® compatible soundcard
OTHER Internet connection and free Steam account to activate
Too bad there is not a package that has the future DLC without the older ARMA’s. I already got those…
26/02/2013 at 17:22 darkChozo says:
So does the Alpha package get you into this particular alpha? Asking because the article specifies a “supporter edition” of unknown description.
Regardless, 40% off the final price and alpha/beta access is pretty tempting for a preorder. Certainly ages ahead of the free gun + TF2 hatz nonsense that’s industry standard nowadays, though maybe this is more along the lines of a founder’s package.
26/02/2013 at 17:37 Necroscope says:
BloonerNL describes the “supporter edition” mentioned in the article priced at 70 euros. Extras for the Alpha edition are access to forthcoming beta and full game
26/02/2013 at 17:45 BloonerNL says:
Yes all three packages give you access to the Alpha. The article only mentions the supporter package, but that is erroneous.
27/02/2013 at 11:29 El_Emmental says:
Thanks for providing all these infos :)
Also, there’s an “Alpha Lite” edition, working from the 14 March to the 18 June (= 3 months and 4 days), which is like a demo:
- the full island
- all weapons/vehicles
- “4 singleplayer showcases” (mini-campaigns or missions ?)
- a (limited) scenario editor
(!) No multiplayer, no modding
The Alpha, Digital Deluxe and Supporter edition will give you 3 Alpha Lite invites. Each Alpha Lite invite will contain 1 additional Alpha Lite invite (like a matryoshka doll).
The Alpha edition, priced at 25€ (from march 5 to ~April), will become the Beta edition around Q2 2013 (april to june) and will be then priced at 35€, then will become 45€ upon release.
The Digital Deluxe edition will go from 40€ (alpha) to 50€ (beta and final price), while the Supporter edition will stay the same price (70€), but won’t be available after the game is released.
26/02/2013 at 17:46 slerbal says:
I am going to get the Alpha edition – it is a reasonable price and I am content to support them even if it launches broken :D
My hundreds of hours in Arma2 suggest that I am likely to enjoy this
The Digital Deluxe Editions and Supporter Editions are either overpriced (relative to the Alpha edition) or don’t quite seem worth it. I love game soundtracks, but Arma2′s wasn’t exactly stellar and the rest is a bit meh.
26/02/2013 at 19:14 Chortles says:
The pricing differences between digital deluxe and supporter alpha editions are in line with console collector’s editions (i.e. if a base game is $59.99, expect a collector’s edition to be $79.99 or $99.99, though in this case it’s more like $32.99, $49.99 and $91.99 for them).
26/02/2013 at 17:47 King_Rocket says:
If you impatient like me and didn’t fully read the article, YOU CAN’T BUY THIS RIGHT NOW! I just spent 15 minutes trying to give them my money, they don’t want it yet.
26/02/2013 at 18:21 cairbre says:
Me too!
26/02/2013 at 17:49 Alfius says:
What the crap is that thing in the picture?
ARMA 3 sounds great apart from the “near future” setting.
Give me kit I can spend hours looking up on Wikipedia not some fantasy gear the devs dreamt up.
26/02/2013 at 17:58 Dominic White says:
I’m personally glad they’re going for a slightly sci-fi setting this time. Less money being diverted from game development to licensing official military hardware terminology and names, and thus less money actually going to arms manufacturers.
The result is a guilt-free game of virtual soldiers.
26/02/2013 at 18:06 All is Well says:
I think it’s an Ansyr, but I might be wrong about that.
Also, check out this thread: http://forums.bistudio.com/showthread.php?132745-Is-Arma-3-authentic
I think it addresses some of your concerns.
26/02/2013 at 18:19 wengart says:
Give it a month or two and we will probably have entire modern armies available for download.
26/02/2013 at 18:43 Mr-Link says:
From the blog announcement:
” It’s also a big opportunity to get the game in the hands of our passionate community, which enables them to start work on their own creations, tailored to the fourth generation of the Real Virtuality engine”
So you probably wont even have to wait for month after release. I would say we would probably be looking at a full range of modern armies by release, not to mention the porting of armies from previous ArmA games if the upgrading process doesnt prove to be too difficult.
26/02/2013 at 18:39 lijenstina says:
It’s a prototype called Zil Karatel.
Only one made and dismantled.
There were pictures on some forums like Military photos and Russian live journals that someone did take the Kamaz 4911 chassis – ( yes the Rally Kamaz – in the civilian version -there is videos of it driving a road at 160km/h so this thing should be fast) and place that body on it because of the looks) and that was an another prototype. It could be a new development for the Russian army/Internal Troops/ FSB, but I haven’t seen anything conclusive.
26/02/2013 at 19:10 bit_crusherrr says:
It’s not fantasy gear. It’s tech in testing/development now.
26/02/2013 at 19:32 YM says:
Actually almost every military equipments in ArmA 3 are already existing or in a state of prototype so you can spend hours looking up on Wikipedia. And check out that thread All is Well posted above. Have fun ;)
26/02/2013 at 17:56 Masterpwny says:
March 5th?! They REALLY need to come out and release the DayZ standalone before mods for Arma3 actually succeed it.
26/02/2013 at 18:23 cairbre says:
Im getting the €25 version I love playing wasteland on ARMA2 its the game that keeps on giving.
26/02/2013 at 18:28 Bostec says:
Alpha version? This will probably be the final version, I better crack on and buy it. I can wait for the 12 month patch version before I dive in
26/02/2013 at 18:30 Didden says:
Yes, if it’s anything like ARMA2, it will be released on March the 6th and the dev’s saying ‘Its finished, honest!’ – at least until you get to half way through the campaign and the mission isn’t even playable.
26/02/2013 at 19:20 SuperNashwanPower says:
Why have they fitted conservatory windows to that Army Car?
27/02/2013 at 08:33 Mattressi says:
I’m pretty sure they’re skylights. I’d imagine tanks and APCs get very dark when they’re closed up, so some smart architect has clearly found a way to reduce this problem. It’s also possible that we’re looking at it wrong and they’re more like the viewing windows on the floor of some tour boats – it’s so that people above them can look down into it.
08/03/2013 at 18:24 SuperNashwanPower says:
AHA yes this makes sense to me. It is designed for anti-gravity equipped hovering War Tourists from The Future
26/02/2013 at 20:14 frosty216 says:
I’ll always be a die-hard fan, but I’m pretty sure all their games are still in Alpha. Don’t care, I’ll still support!
26/02/2013 at 22:13 Deadite says:
Suicidal goats here I come…
26/02/2013 at 22:54 Gap Gen says:
I wonder if Iran invading Greece was ever plausible before the Syrian Civil War. Unless Iran is just a not-marketing-suicide code word for Turkey.
27/02/2013 at 01:35 caddyB says:
Turkey doesn’t really use a whole lot of Russian equipment though.
26/02/2013 at 23:38 soldant says:
In two minds about this. Firstly, it’s ARMA3 and apart from the other ARMA games there’s nothing else like it.
But I know that it’s going to be just as buggy as every other ARMA release which makes me laugh at the idea of a public beta. BIS never get some things right and every release has been a massive screw up, I don’t know if I want to give them money this time around.
27/02/2013 at 08:13 Chortles says:
At least it’s noticeably cheaper than Arma 2 was at launch AND outright said to be an alpha.
27/02/2013 at 00:50 Citrus says:
Look at that next-gen terrain. Puts HALO to shame..
27/02/2013 at 03:45 yourgrandma says:
Merge the maps from arma 1/2 into 3 and i’ll take the supporter edition.