Rock, Paper, Shotgun

German games mag GameStar has managed to get a look at Arma 3 in action. The tech is looking several strides ahead of the previous Arma game, and surprisingly bright and colourful, too. The demo shows a bit of sniping, vehicles, and the new physics in action. The resolution and view distance of the landscapes also appears to be better than real life. At the end of the demo, there’s something a bit new, too: underwater combat. It’s all the rage, eh?

And don’t worry, Englishers, the actual presentation is in our default language.

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Op Archers? Owners of Operation Arrowhead, anyway. If you are one of those people – as you should be if you like soldier simming – then you are entitled to a preview version of Take On Helicopters, the forthcoming commercial chopper game from Bohemia Interactive. It looks like this is a sort of add-on for Operation Arrowhead which demonstrates the new flight model and pilot animation using a “light chopper” (pictured). Perfect if you were wondering how you were going to be able to get through another weekend without some simulated hovering.

UPDATE: Get Arma II for free here. That means you can play in multiplayer, but not Operation Arrowhead.

According to the releases that have just popped up from BIS, Arma II is available for free, while OpFlash has been renamed for future release. Sadly, they do seem to be jumping the gun somewhat, as the download links are not actually live on the site in question. When the links do appear, you’ll be able to get a version Arma II, minus the single player campaign, minus fancy graphics, but with all the awesome multiplayer and editor stuff, for nowt. Hell, we might just have to run some “Arma II 4 Nowt” RPS evenings so that some of you who haven’t yet tasted the pungent, leathery-yet-addictive taste of hard simulation can find out what it’s all about.

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I’ve just been transcribing an interview with Marek Spanel, the boss of Bohemia Interactive and one of the most PC-focused developers in Europe, and this came up: “If it were not for digital distribution we would no longer be doing PC games. It’s as simple as this.”

Obvious to us, perhaps, but it’s an interesting measure of where we are now with PC gaming. You might still be able to get a cheap boxed copy from a mail-order outlet, but the chances are you won’t find PC games at all in the shops at all. And as far as PC developers are concerned, digital is all. Retail is over. Which reminds me, I really must write that thing about Steam’s hegemony…

The Spanel interview – containing details about Carrier Command, Arma III, and Take On Helicopters – will appear tomorrow.

Arma 2 is going free-to-play. Really. It’s a bold move from Bohemia and a fascinating one. It’s basically a cut down version of the game, allowing you to play the multiplayer aspect – complete with multiplayer servers and the powerful editor – for free. The original games will remain, and you will need those if you want mod support, the full suite of graphics options, or the story campaigns. This is, then, like a big fancy demo. Of a genuinely great PC game.

Trailer below, some additional info here, and we’ll have more on this next week.
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Carrier Command is being remade by Bohemia Interactive. I know! I’ve even been playing it, and I’ll be putting up a hands-on preview, as well as interview with BIS boss Marek Spanel, on Monday. In the meantime you can take a look at the trailer they’ve released for the E3 reveal of the game. It’s an all-new engine, not the Arma 2 engine, as we’d previously thought, and it’s really not much like BIS’ other games. Intriguing indeed! More on that next week.
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Earlier in the week I managed to have a chat with Bohemia boss Marek Spanel and one of the games he talked about was this: Take On Helicopters. It’s a civilian helicopter sim set at first in Seattle, and then on a more global stage. The game uses the Arma 3 engine, and a fresh take on the dev’s helicopter handling and controls. It will be an in-depth sim, but should be a little more accessible than you might expect, too. It’s about commercial competition, and managing a helicopter firm in tough times. For a game that features limited explosions or man-shootings, it’s looking fairly interesting.

My interview with Marek – which discusses this, Carrier Command, and Arma 3, will appear on Monday. You can check out the Take On Helicopters E3 teaser – which inevitably just features shots of a helicopter – below.
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AND YET IT STILL COMES. The next offering from the infinite wheel of trailers is BIS’s Arma 3. They’ve gone for the live-action teaser trailer approach with this one, and something of a mood piece rather than giving much away about the game. I’ve attempted to ameliorate this by including a second, fan-made video composed of all the screenshots to date stitched together and given an ominous soundtrack.
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We do love a bit of Arma 2 action here at RPS – it’s a regular for game nights, and an all round top manshoot – and so it’s a delight to be able to announce this year’s Bohemia Interactive Community Awards. You can nominate your favourite mods, missions and videos just here. For a reminder of the highlights of last year’s event, check out the winners here. Full details of the awards can be found beneath the click.
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