Great online gaming forum and server

[Cadman]

When this site gets the best of me and I need to take out my aggression on someone, I log onto the AWP server and shoot it out with a nice game of ARMA2.

Counter Strike, World of Warcraft, and other games are also hosted there. There is no cost as the site and server is supported by donations.

[USS Michigan BB27]

What is ARMA II?

[Cadman]

Armed Assualt is a first person shoot style game with strategy. But unlike many FPS games, this one allows for some flexibility. You typically have a huge map to play on and are not fenced in with narrow objectives. You capture towns to earn points to build your squad. On a multi-player server like the AWP one the map literally takes an hour to drive from one side to the other. There are three sides; the resistance that initially controls all towns. The Bluefor and Opfor teams. Bluefor is based on US style weapons and vehicles. While Opfor is based on Russian style. You can recruit a squad of up to 18 troops. As you earn points from your kills and towns captured, you can buy vehicles ranging from humvees and BMP's to T-90's and M1A1 TUSKs. One player on each side is tasked with being a commander that builds up your bases using a mobile command center (MHQ). Eventually you can build air assets from simple transport helicopters to fixed wing jets. The game can be won by taking all the towns, or taking out your opponents bases. Unlike real war, you respawn 20 seconds after you get killed. Your troops and vehicles don't. If destroyed you have to build more.

[Cadman]

ARMA2 is now a free download. I would suggest that you download it and give it a try. http://www.arma2.com/free

It's more strategy based than most FPS games. I don't get the chance to play very often but try to play a game from time to time.

[Zad Fnark]

Hi Guys,

I'll add my $.02 about ArmA2.

Yes, it's a first person shooter, but if you try treating it like your usual XBox game, you won't last long. The whole ArmA series are more simulator than anything else.

The whole series started with Operation Flashpoint back around 2001, if I recall correctly. Yes, it's pretty open ended. You can lose yourself in a 10 by 10 mile map and simply explore, if so inclined.

Usually, I play on Saturday nights with my two brothers, setting up my own server and we play co-op missions. The main thing with us is to keep the user made mods and addons in synch. There's lots of user made stuff out there, including some full-blown WWII mods.

Lots of our funnest times were some of the Flashpoint missions we used to play. Users have been making the old maps for ArmA2, so I have spent lots of time re-making these for the current game. There's a pretty powerful mission builder along with a whole scripting language, so pretty much anything's possible. I've gotten reasonably good over the years with the language.

The last patch has made the AI very ugly. The computer was already much smarter than Flashpoint, and missions which were easy for us then are almost impossible at times now.

This is probably the only sim where you can, from a first person standpoint, operate on foot while at the same time others are in air, land and water vehicles. (maybe except for the old WWII online, if it still exists).

On one of the maps, you can roam around on the USS Peleliu, named Khe Sanh in this game.

The airplane part of the game really can't compare to a more dedicated sim, but it is good enough. Helicoptors are actually pretty good, in my opinion, though the collective/throttle is combined.

ArmA2, in its first instance, had an Eastern European setting, like Flashpoint did before it. It is fun using a T-34/85, complete with bow gun.

The first ArmA had more of a Latin America feel to it.

I created a town defense mission with US Army troops holding a town along a river against a determined assault by Russian forces. I also added Russian helicoptors + troops to add that third dimension. It's funny how that one mission never plays the same twice. One time they'll roll right over us, and the next we'll stop them easily and their survivors will flee the area.

This can be as real as you want it.

Sorry if this got a bit rambling. I had lots of thoughs after I read this thread.

Ed-

[Cadman]

You should try CTI (capture the island). Get your brothers together and join us on the AWP server some Sat. night.

What mods are you using now? I would love to do more Naval mods.

[Zad Fnark]

Hi Timothy,

I've kind of lost track, as I've pulled in a number of addons. Lots of them are maps. There's one called Celle, which is a nice open country Western Europe type map.

I've found that I don't really need to use any new weapons addons. The stock game is pretty good this time around with regard to variety.

The Chinese Army mod is pretty good.

Ed-