ARMA Reforger - alternate 1989 cold war milsim - now available on Early Access

[Alienman]

They're spawning NPCs in the new zeus mode on stream.

Yeah, just saw. Man, looks weird all this. Not sure who it is for tbh, after they presented workshop and gamemaster. It's stuff we already have.

 

[Konjad]

Well, damn, didn't expect the release to be so soon! I might even sucker myself for EA.

 

[Alienman]

According to the steam forum there is no singleplayer.

 

[ADL]

Hitting my refresh rate (75) using these settings in a multiplayer server with a firefight and vehicles happening in the background. I think our performance woes are over ARMAbros.
Specs: Ryzen 2700X, 32GB DDR4@3600mhz, 6900XT, WIN10Enterprise LTSC IoT, game and OS installed on a 3500mb/s read 3200mb/s write NVMe

 

[Alienman]

Graphics have never been a problem for me. It's having any kind of AI that tanks the performance.

 

[Modron]

Are the tires round enough?

 

[Hace El Oso]

Nothing good will come of this. Give an inch to consolization and you’ll be giving miles in short order to try and capture that sweet $$$, and enfusion was always intended to run on consoles. “SimulatorSimulation Game”, yeah.

I’m curious if they’re trying to offer anything to the traditional ArmA audience with REFORGER or not. Has anyone here tried it?

Page 76 and 77 made me laugh, their target audience is mainly single males likely to have children

I had the same first impression, but after thinking about it they’re identifying two groups, grognards(group 1) and casuals(group 2).

 

[Alienman]

It looks pretty damn poor so far from what I have checked on Twitch. No singleplayer, no Steam workshop except the in-game one. It's just some weird death match Arma thing with worse everything. The AI actually got worse.

 

[Narushima]

An incomplete early access for € 30. Wow, you really spoil us, Bohemia.
I'm not interested in this, and I never buy early access games anyway.

 

[deuxhero]

So who are the three factions and is everyone still male?

 

[anvi]

Looks like a slimmed down version with a lot of lacking stuff. Hope Arma4 isn't a let down but that's kinda how BIS work.

 

[Konjad]

 

[ADL]

This was a pretty good overview as well.

my first impressions

Been playing for about three hours now, in all the ways that matter to me, this is a vast improvement because it plays significantly better and runs significantly better. That's worth the asking price alone and I can't imagine what kind of ARMA player would throw a fit over a $30 purchase if it meant getting access to Enfusion 2-3 years ahead of the "full release" in ARMA 4.

After playing this, I think the consolization "ARMA has gone casual" concerns are extremely overblown. It's been a year or so since I did anything serious in ARMA but I believe I actually have more control over my character in infantry than I did in ARMA 3 despite the controls being simplified. Haven't encountered any cumbersome and often unresponsive context menus either. Everything feels like a video game that you can pick up and play. Just because it's a milsim doesn't mean it has to feel like one.

It's not ARMA4 and anyone expecting that will be complaining that it's a little light on content. That being said, let's keep things in perspective, this is a $30 game with mod tools and I'd imagine modders will be all over this because we've been anticipating an ARMA game on Enfusion since before Apex released six years ago. As with every ARMA game, it'll be a couple years before the groups doing hardcore milsim operations leave ARMA3 in favor of Reforger just like they stuck with OA until 3's modding scene matured a bit. Just because the more serious groups might stick with 3 for a while doesn't mean Reforger is shit.

This gives people a new ARMA game on a new engine that looks better, runs better and plays better. Not sure if that's enough of a crowd-pleaser for this to be a successful release but I like it and it gives modders a couple years to start making new stuff, porting old stuff and getting everything in a better place than ARMA3 was at release.

 

[anvi]

Hope people play it, there is a lot of competition in those sorts of games.

 

[V17]

I've got to say that the environmental design is looking great from those videos. This is basically what some less developed parts of Czechia still look like, especially the interiors are disgustingly precise. You could almost use this as a small virtual vacation to Bohemia, perhaps even more than Kingdom Come (which is also close to reality, but many things have changed in the last 600 years).

 

[randir14]

Whatever audio engine they're using is really good...gunshots even sound different depending on where you're shooting. For example the firing range in the tutorial has them echo off the ceiling, and if you step out into the open the gunshots are much more spacious.

 

[Konjad]

Played for a while today. Here are some screenshots of the gameplay I've made:

Spoiler

 

[Konjad]

It's difficult to find a server that doesn't throw an error at you. If you do, net-code is terrible, people are micro-teleporting, and you might get disconnected within minutes. Even voices over microphones have a stutter sometimes. Finally, there are some visual bugs affecting gameplay.

The gameplay is... acceptable, but I can't think of any reason why would you play this instead of ArmA 3, Squad, Insurgency or whatever else. Shooting feels enjoyable, but there is little content in general. Feels like a quickly made game to show a map than a well thought-through title. Good audio and vehicle-handling though, but vehicles don't seem to have a realistic damage.

Perhaps worth when it's fixed and on a decent sale, otherwise don't waste your money. This game bodes bad news for the upcoming Arma 4.

I'll go back to playing Arma 3. Probably the last good entry in the series

 

[RobotSquirrel]

Remember though that Arma 3 had a similar launch. We were still playing with Arma 2 while we waited for Arma 3 to get to a better state.
The console version has me a bit worried though because really they should be waiting to do a port not just leading in with one PC first guys!. I mean I like what they're doing with reforger but not enough to buy it in EA this time. I learned my lesson from Arma 3's EA launch.

 

[Alienman]

but vehicles don't seem to have a realistic damage.

Noticed this on a stream I watched. Guy blasted straight into another car, no damage to either vehicle or driver. Pretty disappointing stuff.

 

[Konjad]

but vehicles don't seem to have a realistic damage.

Noticed this on a stream I watched. Guy blasted straight into another car, no damage to either vehicle or driver. Pretty disappointing stuff.

I later noticed that buildings cannot be damaged or destroyed either...

 

[Trans-Financial-Man]

I have absolutely no interest in real world MilSim stuff. I only got ARMA 3 recently due to being invited to a group that exclusively plays with the Warhammer mods. Suddenly I have my dream Warhammer game. Planetside but Warhammer. There is no feeling quite like being in a drop pod launched from a ship and crashing into a battlefield with your squad. Opening the doors and unleashing pain upon xeno scum. One of the best video game experiences I've had in recent memory. I hope we get some Warhammer mods for this. And of course Halo and Star Wars.

 

[ADL]

Nice implementation of 3D scopes.

I have absolutely no interest in real world MilSim stuff. I only got ARMA 3 recently due to being invited to a group that exclusively plays with the Warhammer mods. Suddenly I have my dream Warhammer game. Planetside but Warhammer. There is no feeling quite like being in a drop pod launched from a ship and crashing into a battlefield with your squad. Opening the doors and unleashing pain upon xeno scum. One of the best video game experiences I've had in recent memory. I hope we get some Warhammer mods for this. And of course Halo and Star Wars.

That's pretty much what Warhammer 40K Eternal Crusade was supposed to be before they turned it into a lobby shooter instead of the MMO they promised their customers. Emphasis on the word customers because they sold pre-orders and early access.

During the ARMA Reforger reveal stream they mentioned "mod tools to bring your favorite fantasy and sci-fi universes to life" so they're counting on it.

 

[Trans-Financial-Man]

Nice implementation of 3D scopes.

I have absolutely no interest in real world MilSim stuff. I only got ARMA 3 recently due to being invited to a group that exclusively plays with the Warhammer mods. Suddenly I have my dream Warhammer game. Planetside but Warhammer. There is no feeling quite like being in a drop pod launched from a ship and crashing into a battlefield with your squad. Opening the doors and unleashing pain upon xeno scum. One of the best video game experiences I've had in recent memory. I hope we get some Warhammer mods for this. And of course Halo and Star Wars.

That's pretty much what Warhammer 40K Eternal Crusade was supposed to be before they turned it into a lobby shooter instead of the MMO they promised their customers. Emphasis on the word customers because they sold pre-orders and early access.

During the ARMA Reforger reveal stream they mentioned "mod tools to bring your favorite fantasy and sci-fi universes to life" so they're counting on it.

I know all about Eternal Crusade. My fury at the fate of that game will rage long after the stars go cold. Fucking scummy French Canadian fuckwits taking the piss out of us for daring to actually be excited for the game and angry at the "scope reduction."
In my old age few things make me rage more than a game with missed or squandered potential. Games like Eternal Crusade, Dust 514, the list goes on.

 

[Parsimonious cook]

Well tbh fam, I am not impressed with the state of the game so far, though that is to be expected (only the original OFP was good on release and that game was pretty much done in a different universe). Didnt play it myself, though I can share a few notes from people from my mil sim group, most of whom have several thousands of hours in ARMA 3:

- gameplay is pretty much the same as in Squad, including FOB building (personally I like Squad, but Squad (and Post Scriptum) provide better Squad gameplay than Reforger does)
- Zeus mode is baaaaaaaaaad in comparison with ARMA 3
- AI cant drive vehicles, their gear cant be edited
- the controls are not as cumbersome as in ARMA 3 (perhaps the biggest positive so far)

Generally it is obviously focussed on PvP (hence the lame Zeus mode), at least at this stage. The game feels somewhat consoletarded as well. However, all of this is not surprising, since Bohemia Interactive learned to rely on the community for quality content and they apparently aim at just providing a platform (ARMA 3 was shit on release too). IMO the game might be worth it a few years from now, when the modders fix it - hopefuly ARMA 4 gets a better start, but I suspect it will follow the same trajectory.

 

[Data4]

Damn. Was hoping it'd be a redux of Cold War Crisis with the new tech.

 

[ADL]

Day 2: Workshop is loaded with a bunch of placeholders and junk mods but there's a couple worth using. Took a look at a couple projects I was interested in from ARMA3 and DayZ standalone and they are all investigating whether it's feasible to port their stuff over. Everyone wants to because of the vastly better infantry controls, performance and context menus (pictured below). Everyone's still figuring out custom maps but there's some good progress from what I saw in the channel.

AI needs significantly better pathfinding, the ability to drive and switch between weapons but they can leap over cover which is pretty cool. Don't think I saw that in ARMA3.

 

[Alienman]

Great AI, going in a straight line to slaughter. VCOM AI mod had the AI climb over stuff, if you have the advanced movement mod.

 

[Matador]

Not buying this in this state.
- PvP only ARMA, with unstable servers (ARMA pvp is shit without community)
-No SP content. No content
-Community manager transplaining that ARMA games are about peacemaking and Agenda 2030.
- 30 eur
- It´s not even ARMA4 early access with discount like ARMA3 was. This is very bad sign folks. ARMA 3 early access was not perfect but it was worth supporting.

Another franchise destroyed by Evil forces.

PD: I have purchased all content ever released in Arma franchise and even Dayz game.

 

[Konjad]

PD: I have purchased all content ever released in Arma franchise and even Dayz game.

How did you like Arma: Tactics?

 

[Trans-Financial-Man]

Not buying this in this state.
- PvP only ARMA, with unstable servers (ARMA pvp is shit without community)
-No SP content. No content
-Community manager transplaining that ARMA games are about peacemaking and Agenda 2030.
- 30 eur
- It´s not even ARMA4 early access with discount like ARMA3 was. This is very bad sign folks. ARMA 3 early access was not perfect but it was worth supporting.

Another franchise destroyed by Evil forces.

PD: I have purchased all content ever released in Arma franchise and even Dayz game.

Everything you said is correct. I'm going to wait for ARMA 4. Hopefully by that point we have some decent mods and the game is in a better state.