Where to download ARMA 2 from?

TheMooseInNam

Hi guys,

This evening I shall be making to great leap from being a purely console gamer to entering the world of PC gaming. Don't tell anyone on the xbox forum, the shock might kill a few of the younger members

I've heard great things about this game and have been very disappointed with any of the console spin-offs that came out. However, a proper tactical shooter is exactly what I crave.

Since I'm completely new to PC gaming (never even installed a PC game before ) could someone point me in the right direction where to download this game from. I was going to get it from Steam but was pointed here instead and was told you guys have a better option, especially where mod installations are concerned.

Any help would be greatly appreciated, cheers.

PogMoThoin

Welcome to pc gaming. Bigger Welcome to the pc gaming community.

For someone who's never even installed a game I'd usually advise on Steam, its usually a foolproof way to keep games up to date, but with Arma this could come back to haunt you and could make modding more difficult and fragmented in future. Its best avoid Steam for Arma.

The developer sells this direct online, its where I bought it, no 3rd party, they get all the money:
http://www.sprocketidea.com/joomla/index.php?page=shop.product_details&product_id=33&category_id=2&option=com_virtuemart&Itemid=2&vmcchk=1&Itemid=2
Get Combined Ops (Arma 2 + Arrowhead expansion pack), its whats mostly played online these days. Install Arma 2 first, then allow Arrowhead to install in the same folder. Launch it with Arrowhead and it will run the first game as a mod.

Here's the latest patch, download and install it after the games are installed:
http://community.bistudio.com/wiki/A2OA:_Patch_v1.59#ARMA_2_Operation_Arrowhead_Patch_1.50-1.58_to_1.59

TheMooseInNam

PogMoThoin wrote: »

Welcome to pc gaming. Bigger Welcome to the pc gaming community.

For someone who's never even installed a game I'd usually advise on Steam, its usually a foolproof way to keep games up to date, but with Arma this could come back to haunt you and could make modding more difficult and fragmented in future. Its best avoid Steam for Arma.

The developer sells this direct online, its where I bought it, no 3rd party, they get all the money:
http://www.sprocketidea.com/joomla/index.php?page=shop.product_details&product_id=33&category_id=2&option=com_virtuemart&Itemid=2&vmcchk=1&Itemid=2
Get Combined Ops (Arma 2 + Arrowhead expansion pack), its whats mostly played online these days. Install Arma 2 first, then allow Arrowhead to install in the same folder. Launch it with Arrowhead and it will run the first game as a mod.

Here's the latest patch, download and install it after the games are installed:
http://community.bistudio.com/wiki/A2OA:_Patch_v1.59#ARMA_2_Operation_Arrowhead_Patch_1.50-1.58_to_1.59

Thanks a million for the info! I'll get cracking at installing it later tonight so. The gf is having a girl's night out on Saturday so planning on getting some serious game time on this over the weekend.

It's going to take a bit of adjusting to get used to the mouse but I picked up a Razer Nostromo to avoid having to press the arrow keys for movement... I'm taking baby steps ...

PogMoThoin

Use the keyboard for Arma, you'll not have enough keys on the Nostromo. Nostromo would be fine for most games but with Arma will have you using the full keyboard



What are your specs? I could probably guess pretty decent settings for your pc to get the most out of the game.

Turtwig

Don't forget you can multi bind keys in Arma. For example pressing E twice in succession can be binded to immediate evacuation of a vehicle. Or a satchel for timed detonation could be binded to double S, T or double S, R for remoted detonation. There are still ways to bind the game's controls to a small series of key. Think of it as Mortal Kombat Combo Finisher.
It is still a little going to be awkward though. Best try to play the game with a conventional keyboard and joystick imo.:)

PogMoThoin

Malty_T wrote: »

Don't forget you can multi bind keys in Arma. For example pressing E twice in succession can be binded to immediate evacuation of a vehicle. Or a satchel for timed detonation could be binded to double S, T or double S, R for remoted detonation. There are still ways to bind the game's controls to a small series of key. Think of it as Mortal Kombat Combo Finisher.
It is still a little going to be awkward though. Best try to play the game with a conventional keyboard and joystick imo.:)

Double tapping e is already mapped ingame to hold lean right. Honestly, its best to use the keyboard, won't take you long to get the hang of it. Get a decent mouse and mouse pad

Turtwig

PogMoThoin wrote: »

Double tapping e is already mapped ingame to hold lean right. Honestly, its best to use the keyboard, won't take you long to get the hang of it. Get a decent mouse and mouse pad

Yeah, but you can't lean or toggle it when you're inside a vehicle.;) Agreed keyboard is by far the best option. Decent keyboard, decent joystick, decent mouse and you'll be sorted for anything Arma throws at you.:)

PogMoThoin

Malty_T wrote: »

Yeah, but you can't lean or toggle it when you're inside a vehicle.;) Agreed keyboard is by far the best option. Decent keyboard, decent joystick, decent mouse and you'll be sorted for anything Arma throws at you.:)

Exiting a vehicle is something u usually scroll down to with the mouse, you're not saving a button, its not mapped to one

dreamers75

PogMoThoin wrote: »

Exiting a vehicle is something u usually scroll down to with the mouse, you're not saving a button, its not mapped to one

Bet you wished at times there was one :pac:

Turtwig

PogMoThoin wrote: »

Exiting a vehicle is something u usually scroll down to with the mouse, you're not saving a button, its not mapped to one

It's not mapped to one by default, but you can easily map it to one. It's quite easy, customise the controls in the options sections. Set eject vehicle to "Ex2" and you'll see how many times it saves your life when you haven't got a moment's notice to bail:).
The only thing I used scrolling the mouse wheel for is those very rare context sensitive options. Eveything else, I've mapped to a keyboard key or combo.
Another really useful bind I find is setting auto hover to "\" two "\'s" to enable it, one to disable.

TheMooseInNam

PogMoThoin wrote: »

Double tapping e is already mapped ingame to hold lean right. Honestly, its best to use the keyboard, won't take you long to get the hang of it. Get a decent mouse and mouse pad

I kitted myself out with all the Razer stuff, so I have a Marauder keyboard, Imperator mouse and Goliath mat. All the gear and none of the skill

I'll still be able to use the keyboard as well as the Nostromo, I'm sure. It's a compact keyboard, so I'm guessing that's the idea behind it.

Seriously though, the thoughts of using keys for movement scares the beejayus out of me! It's just not natural

Right, heading off to download this game now.

Thanks for the advice, guys

dreamers75

Malty_T wrote: »

Another really useful bind I find is setting auto hover to "\" two "\'s" to enable it, one to disable.

The fly by the seat of your pants style is much more rewarding and terrifiying for your passengers.

Especially the phrase "get out we are about to be a burning fireball tearing tru the sky"

TheMooseInNam

PogMoThoin wrote: »

What are your specs? I could probably guess pretty decent settings for your pc to get the most out of the game.

Asus Motherboard, Phenom x6 CPU 3.2GHz, Radeon 6950 HD graphics card, 120Gb SSD and a 2TB HD for media. MS index scores everything between 7.6-7.8

Built it for Battlefield 3 later in the year... so it'll run ARMA2 without breaking a sweat, I hope...

PogMoThoin

TheMooseInNam wrote: »

Asus Motherboard, Phenom x6 CPU 3.2GHz, Radeon 6950 HD graphics card, 120Gb SSD and a 2TB HD for media. MS index scores everything between 7.6-7.8

Built it for Battlefield 3 later in the year... so it'll run ARMA2 without breaking a sweat, I hope...

Whack everything up to the highest level, antialiasing and post processing (blur, most people dont like it), on low with 4000 viewdistance. Should fly. You can get an onscreen framerate display if you install Fraps

Forget about the campaign, its not great, best play the scenarios

TheMooseInNam

Installed Bad Company 2 there and flew throught thew first two levels. Getting my head around the mouse aiming/firing pretty quickly but found the keyboard very frustrating! Switched to the Nostromo and things improved dramatically!

Arrowhead is installing as I write this, so with any luck I'll have a bash at it later this evening.

dreamers75

TheMooseInNam wrote: »

Installed Bad Company 2 there and flew throught thew first two levels. Getting my head around the mouse aiming/firing pretty quickly but found the keyboard very frustrating! Switched to the Nostromo and things improved dramatically!

Arrowhead is installing as I write this, so with any luck I'll have a bash at it later this evening.

Keep at the KB you will wonder how you ever played FPS without it.

BC2 is a decent game but Arma is nothing like it 2 completely different games.

PogMoThoin

dreamers75 wrote: »

Keep at the KB you will wonder how you ever played FPS without it.

BC2 is a decent game but Arma is nothing like it 2 completely different games.

Arma is not a game, needs patience, its more sim like. But it can be slower paced than most shooters depending on the mission, gives a good chance get used to keyboard.

dreamers75

PogMoThoin wrote: »

Arma is not a game, needs patience, its more sim like. But it can be slower paced than most shooters depending on the mission, gives a good chance get used to keyboard.

It is a game, different i agree but still a video game.