Bohemia Interactive today revealed some of their plans for Arma 3 in 2016. Via a new video blog, Creative Director Jay Crowe provides an overview of the ten most significant highlights of 2015, and a list of the ten most important things to look forward to in the upcoming year.
Among the most anticipated items will be the release of the Arma 3 Apex expansion, which will bring players to the 100 km² South Pacific island archipelago of Tanoa. The Apex expansion will be supported by new vehicles and weapons, a co-op campaign – and a free platform update that will improve Arma 3’s graphics, audio, usability, and more.
In terms of updates, the year will be kicked of by the release of the free Arma 3 Eden Update in February. This update will introduce the Eden 3D Editor – a brand scenario editor which will enable users to place and edit objects, define waypoints, set mission objectives, and more, directly within the 3D game environment. This represents a massive leap forward from the classic scenario editor, which has been a staple of the Arma series since its conception. Another welcome addition will be the new Launcher-based Server Browser, which will make it much easier for players to search and join a multiplayer server of their liking. Another highlight of the Eden Update will be the audio improvements, which come in the form of new audio configurations and samples. The update will be further complemented by a variety of usability improvements. Among the changes will be the replacement of the in-game font, which should make in-game text better legible.
Next up in line is 2016’s Apex. Similar to previous Arma 3 DLC, the Arma 3 Apex expansion will deliver new premium content, and a free platform update available to everyone who owns Arma 3. In terms of premium content, Arma 3 Apex’ crown jewel is Tanoa – the new terrain which was first revealed at E3 last year. In addition, the expansion will include new vehicles and weapons, and a co-op campaign. While more specific details will be unveiled at a later date, new vehicle classes, namely Light Strike Vehicles and VTOL aircraft, have been confirmed to be among the Apex arsenal. To make the new content shine, the free platform update will provide a graphics upgrade that will apply to the entire game. The upgrade includes an overhaul of the game lighting configuration, and introduction of new Sea Shader and Screen-space Reflections technology.
Bohemia Interactive also plans to build upon their new (web-based) service, Arma 3 Units. Launched in basic form at the end of last year, Arma 3 Units aims to connect players and Arma community groups. In the near future, Bohemia Interactive will increase the functionality by enabling users to join units with their Bohemia Account, manage unit roles, schedule events, post announcements, and more. Further down the line, the studio intends to integrate parts of the service into the game itself.
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John is the founder and Editor in Chief at DSOGaming. He is a PC gaming fan and highly supports the modding and indie communities. Before creating DSOGaming, John worked on numerous gaming websites. While he is a die-hard PC gamer, his gaming roots can be found on consoles. John loved – and still does – the 16-bit consoles, and considers SNES to be one of the best consoles. Still, the PC platform won him over consoles. That was mainly due to 3DFX and its iconic dedicated 3D accelerator graphics card, Voodoo 2. John has also written a higher degree thesis on the “The Evolution of PC graphics cards.”
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