ArmA, the Zulu Alpha way.

[HeadTrauma]

Firstly, apologies if this is in the wrong section. Mods, please move if required.

I decided to post this here to give some of you new DayZ players a glimpse of what the "game" you bought is actually capable of and what it is we at arma.co.za get up to. Majority of the Red Brigade (from DayZ) guys are actually part of a bigger local ArmA milsim community. DayZ is a sideline for us. Our main focus is co-op and TvT matches against/with other communities or on our own.

Regarding what ArmA can do;

Well, firstly, as your fresh ArmA install stands now; there are 5 islands available to you. Chernarus is 1 of the islands. So there are 4 other "worlds" for you to explore.
In terms of weapons; there is in excess of 300 weapons and variants, each with its own unique ballistics modelling and different ammunition types + tons of IFV's, tanks, APC's, helicopters, boats and planes.
There are 2 (I think?) single player campaigns, but honestly, in the 4 years that I've been playing ArmA 2 I have never touched them. The best is MP.
There are tons of mods out there. You can play WW2, Vietnam, other zombie mods, more islands, weapons, tanks and it is all free.

Please note; I'm not saying you have to play the arma.co.za way, just that you should maybe have another look at what you have installed on your PC. You might just be pleasantly surprised :-)



^^that is an excerpt from the mission we played on Sunday night. For more footage check our youtube channel.

[Ovenmit]

Joh, was fun that mission.

[T_Kill3r]

I've only played the free version of the game, and I've probably also played way too much call of duty, but from that video I don't see where the fun is. It seems like you're standing in one spot the entire time and waiting for enemies to appear on your screen. Maybe there's more going on than what I can see, but what was going on that's actually exciting?

[joedamage]

Yeah, you're seeing only 5 minutes of a 3 hour mission. There are 2 other patrols and a command element operating elsewhere at the same time. You can see more of the mission, from different points of view here: http://www.youtube.com/armacoza (you'll need to have a look around there...)

Arma 2 with the mods we use is nothing like a couple of Call of Duty players hopping onto an arma server for some casual play. There is structure and organisation that you don't see there.

[Squirly]

@T_Kill3r: ArmA is not CoD. If CoD is a Bar One, ArmA is a chocolate souffle. The first is easier to get, easier to eat and finished pretty quickly. The second takes time, patience and effort but is on the whole a lot more rewarding. You won't find a wacky grenade kill every other match, mostly because grenades aren't even used that extensively (just like in real life) - instead, the awesomeness comes from having a long, involved and deep game with countless little awesome things that a player who doesn't KNOW ArmA won't even recognize. It's really a matter of knowing what you're looking at.

Mind you, I haven't looked at the video. I'm just going from some (few) personal experiences.

[Zoop]

I've only played the free version of the game, and I've probably also played way too much call of duty, but from that video I don't see where the fun is. It seems like you're standing in one spot the entire time and waiting for enemies to appear on your screen. Maybe there's more going on than what I can see, but what was going on that's actually exciting?

The fun part about ArmA is that it isn't designed to enable even braindead people to play, like in CoD or BF. Kills are highly rewarding, because it actually takes real skill, patience and a fair bit of intelligence to get them.

In BF3, skill is almost entirely dependent on who can click the fastest. You really have to play a game like ArmA to fully appreciate just how simplistic and rather brainless something like CoD or BF really is.

That's not to say CoD or BF are bad games, but they don't come close to something like ArmA. Granted, I've only played DayZ and haven't delved into ArmA yet, but the few firefights I've had in DayZ made up some of the most exhilarating moments I've ever had in my gaming career.

[Dark_Cloud]

Its those moments in Arma that make it the most satisfying gaming experience I've ever had. Those moments on the battlefield where you're moving into a target area and your palms are all clammy because you know its all going to go to sh*t. When your lying in the grass and the dust is kicking up around you and your heart is beating miles a minute because you know that its actually a big deal if you get hit. The moments when you're passing in and out of consciousness after being hit and you see a buddy dragging you out of the fight while others are frantically trying to suppress the enemy and give you a chance. The moment when you think your done and someone plunges epi into your chest and it all comes rushing back.

Man, this game is visceral. The stakes are high and it feels more real because of it. There is nothing like being part of a well oiled team up against vast odds and through planning and tactics you make it through, bloody and dirty but alive. Courage actually feels like courage when death holds meaning in a game.
With transport and CAS in the skys raining down viscious thunderous fury that makes the ground shake and having medics darting up and down the line trying their best to keep you alive. With the radio crackling with the voices of desperate men trying to get a hold of a manic situation.

Its the stories that people share after almost every game. You sit in TeamSpeak and just talk on end about the crazy situations that develop and the fear and relief you've gone through. Playing a game. When last did you do that in an FPS?
Like I've said, its an experience that I treasure. One of the reasons I play with the ZA guys.
Do your self a favour and check it out.

This video captures the feel of Arma for me,

[Zoop]

Yep, I want to get into the ArmA 2 side of the game a bit. Break away from DayZ slightly.

I just played a bit of BF3, and it basically devolved into a bunch of people rambo-ing around the map, and me swearing at people using rocket launchers and snipers in close quarters. Highly doubt I'll ever be able to play something life BF3 again after I played DayZ. The experiences just cannot be compared.

Just one question, what servers do we have in SA? I've tried searching before, but I can't find any ZA servers.

[LordHeart]

http://www.arma.co.za/

You can also just filter for .co.za and it will be there. But the Zulu Alpha community plays with a bunch of mods that increases the realism.

[joedamage]

Visit http://www.arma.co.za. Our group runs it's own Arma server and it's own TS server. They're locked, but thats just to avoid casual idiots from overseas dropping in and screwing stuff up. The password is easy enough to find. Its open most nights for general play. The ZA mission team trains on Tuesdays and does more serious missions on Sunday nights. (you can also search for arma.co.za in the server browser)

[Zoop]

If I want to install the mods the Zulu Alpha team uses, do I have to install it on a separate install of ArmA 2 to avoid it clashing with DayZ?

[Ovenmit]

look up modlines/modfolders Zoop. Basically you can have one shortcut for DayZ and one for Arma.co.za. No separate installs needed.

-mod=

will load whatever modfolders you need

[joedamage]

Also, check out the setup information here: http://www.arma.co.za/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=14 for more details. We use the Six-Updater to keep our mods up to date. (I believe it also keeps Dayz up to date)

[PHOENIX_ZA]

Basically you should just make a seperate profile in Six using our mods. All are available from six, except for one, the @za mod collection availabale at our site (around 50 Mb).

[HeadTrauma]

Do it Zoop...you know you want to ;-)

[Drone]

^ This looks very interesting. Where would one get the game? Steam?

[joedamage]

Steam, or, if you don't want to be burdened with downloading... one of our members will ship a couple of DVDs with the game and all the required content: http://www.arma.co.za/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=14#p20. For that to work, you will need to purchase a CD key at Sprocket

[HeadTrauma]

http://www.arma.co.za/


Check our front page for tonight's mission :)

[bflyblue]

http://www.arma.co.za/


Check our front page for tonight's mission :)

"drive a tank, see the world," they said...

[LordHeart]

Do they say that? I don't think you see much from those peepholes in tanks.