SimHQ Contributing Editor "adlabs6" reviews the popular new title based-on the Arma 2 engine.

http://www.simhq.com/_land3/land_131a.html

great job adlabs... good review/writing.

Thank Tepl. I'd read the early notes on using the switch and that a dedicated module would be out soon. I had presumed that it would be delivered and updated in the later update patches (as with the Arma series). But this is not the case, and was why when I checked my installation folder after patching and didn't find any dedicated module released.

I'll try to get that segment struck tonight.

Nice review, well done. Right on the money about ArmA-series bugs still living on here. I was pretty disappointed to see that AI drivers don't even bother attemping to cross the pontoon bridges on the large map. In the editor, I placed an AI tank on one side of the river and gave it a waypoint on the other side. It literally drove in a direct line into the water and exploded. That we're still having to deal with this kind of wacky behaviour over ten years into the OFP/ArmA series is superlatively frustrating.

I think the maps are very detailed and run quite well given the amount of enterable buildings and the details of some the larger structures. I wish there was a bit more variety - I guess eastern Europe is probably pretty flat, but still, I find a lot of the terrain offered looks the same before too long and lacks variety of some old ArmA-series maps like Takistan or the classic Sahrani. The wide-open plains do make for some pretty cool tank battles.

There is a small firestorm brewing on the IF forums with regards to the modding policy announced earlier this month. Essentially, mods can only be developed and deployed for IF under approval and license with the publishers as free or paid DLC. I am not a big 'mod guy' but this arrangement seems pretty draconian and honestly a little backwards, particularly given that Bohemia right now is rolling in cash with ArmA II CO being among the top selling games on Steam thanks almost entirely to a community-developed free mod (Day Z). I wonder if this will negatively impact the longevity of interest and support for this game, or whether the team can flip it into a really viable model for development and deployment of content sourced from the community.

Nice review adlabs.

I am hoping I will be able to join you guys sometime for some co-op missions soon. A persistent mission like Evo or Domination would be cool too, despite what Magnum thinks of those.

I'm actually working on a soundmod in collaboration with the AWAR devs which should be included in the next patch if all goes well.

Its not a full replacement pack, but I've been making some significant improvements that I feel everyone will enjoy particularly with some of the weapon sounds.

Good review!

One thing that could be worth mentioning is that commanding a vehicle and giving orders to the driver has been improved somewhat. It's much more direct than the horrid 30 degrees at the time commands from arma2. It's now actually possible to ride around in a stug without taking over the driver duty all the time. I didn't finish the OA campaign due to the poor implementation of vehicles, in IF I find vehicles quite enjoyable.

On the bad note my tanks keep turning their back towards the enemy and getting killed making platoon warfare frustrating.

I wish they could implement spotting for the crew. It's sometimes quite hard to see where you hit with a round. In real life, you'd have another crewman spotting for you and give you corrections. "Short" and "long" replies would be quite sufficient.

-C-

Nice review ad labs, I've been AWOL fro the SimHQ online scene now but remain a big fan of the OFP through ARMA2/OA series. Spent much of my time In the editor just tinkering. I wasn't sold on the idea of Paying for a Mod when there are so many remarkable free efforts available, notably the I44 offering.
That said I took the plunge and got a copy. It's WW2 ARMA, no more and no less. however I think the standard of the models and maps sets a new standard for the series. In my opinion it looks staggering, the model the men the vehicles and equipment are second to none. The terrain is atmospheric and absorbing. In contrast to Fattys take, I love that it isn't a hill fest, subtle rolling terrain is Tankers heaven and that along with the new armour system makes for a pretty compelling Tankers environment. I hope this becomes the game of choice for WW2 tank fans and catches on online.
Thanks for the write up Adlabs you gave a fair and accurate account of how "it is" ARMA is the ultimate combat toy box and I love playing with it.