Rock, Paper, Shotgun

“But Craig”, you’re probably saying to your monitor. “I totes remember insects casting shadows in Arma 2. Like seriously.” To that I say: “That’s cool. Let’s talk.”

This was supposed to be a post about the wonders of Arma 3′s new screenshot mode, splendidly named the Splendid Camera. It still is. Splendid Camera, I shall always call it by its full name, is one of those additions that shows you how deeply into the community’s den that Bohemia are willing to burrow to make people happy. In this case it’s a function that’s specifically designed to allow players to fly around the game, slow time, remove the HUD, and even change exposure and focus settings, just so they can take nice screenshots. That is how I discovered that both Arma 2 and Arma 3 had insects that cast shadows.
Read the rest of this entry »

Ah yes, and while we’re talking about Bohemia stuff that reminds me to post the most recent Arma 3 guide video thing. This is the one that really gets at the heart of what Arma is about: multiplayer things! If you are not chatting with chums as you co-ordinate to not get shot, then you are doing it wrong. Doing that right, of course, requires quite a bit more insight, and who better to point you in the direction of not cocking it up, than Arma superfan Andrew “Dslyecxi” Gluck?
Read the rest of this entry »

“Oh boy! I can finally get into prison early!” Oh videogames, don’t ever stop allowing me to create phrases of such ear-perking outlandishness that people could mistake me as ringleader of a merry band of elves. Other gems now possible thanks to Steam’s paid-alpha-centric Early Access program include “Hooray! Frighteningly authentic war’s happening even sooner than I thought” and “I wasn’t planning on being shipwrecked with no hope of escape today, but I certainly can’t complain.” But Prison Architect, Arma 3, and Under The Ocean are only three of the 12 inaugural games on offer. The rest – and perhaps even some freshly baked wordthinks – are after the break.

Read the rest of this entry »

Over the past few years I’ve noticed a theme of players seeming to “get” certain games as well as – and often even better than – the developers of said games do. The Arma games are one such series, where the input from ultra-dedicated players is one of the most powerful assets to the series. Who better to captain the Arma 3 trailers, then, but one of Arma’s own superfans, Andrew ‘Dslyecxi’ Gluck, who helps run the ShackTactical community.

This new trailer series (first one below) is ostensible about the Arma 3 Alpha, but this first trailer ends up being about the series generally. If you’ve not ever dabbled and want to understand the appeal, this is where to look.
Read the rest of this entry »

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.

The two Bohemia Interactive developers arrested on accusations of spying in Greece have, it’s been announced today, been released on bail. And even better, are free to return to the Czech Republic. This has come about, remarkably, after the involvement of Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras, directly in communication with the Czech PM, Petr Nečas.

Read the rest of this entry »

Update: We’ve just had it confirmed from Bohemia that the pair have been accused of “espionage”, and according to Greek investigators, “they had in their possession materials that may endanger the national security of Greece.”

Original: It seems that much has been invented when it comes to the news about Bohemia‘s employees arrested in Limnos, Greece. For one, the studio is saying the two were absolutely not in the country researching the game. In a statement intended to clear up a lot of the miscommunication that abounds, the Czech developers of the ArmA series make it abundantly clear that the arrested pair were only in the country as tourists.

Read the rest of this entry »

Update: RPS has received a brief status update from the Czech Embassy in Greece. Here it is: “On behalf of the Embassy of the Czech Republic, we can confirm that we are closely following the case. The detainees have their defence lawyer. To avoid any further misunderstanding, the Embassy prefers not to publish any statements at the given moment.” We’re still waiting to hear back from other sources, but we’ll let you know as soon as we do.

Original: Laws. They are – in spite of pocket change lawyer fees and the fact that all law books clock in at well under seven billion pages and consist mainly of pictures – really, really complicated. For instance, in the state of Pennsylvania, doing that cartoon thing where you tie a dollar to a string and pull it away when someone tries to pick it up is actually illegal. And, more pertinently, you absolutely cannot take pictures of Greek-military-related objects. That, apparently, constitutes espionage. In 2001, British plane-spotters discovered Greece was a no-fly zone for that kind of thing, and now two ArmA III devs are learning a similar lesson the hard way.

Read the rest of this entry »

Just like they did with Take On Helicopters, Bohemia Interactive are going to crowd-source a portion of Arma 3′s bug-testing to the community, as well as just letting everyone have a poke around, with a playable alpha release sometime after E3. Their military sim series has always suffered brutally buggy launches, but with plenty of players poking at it in the months before release, things should run a lot smoother. And by that, I mean a LOT smoother. Gamers will be able to start planning mods ahead of the full launch, and you’ll also totally be able to put ‘Game Q&A Tester’ on your CV.
Read the rest of this entry »