Unique Features – ArmA: Armed Assault

What makes Armed Assault unique? You don't have to look much further than some of the concepts of Operation Flashpoint and realise that ArmA will bring the gamers some new and interesting concepts. Here are just a few features that are unique to ArmA.

Environmentals

• HDR Lighting - Dynamic lighting with full real time shadows, blinding effect, eye light/dark adaptation.
• The engine allows for vast terrain sizes: see Sahrani, all of the island is available at once without any loading screens and waiting
• The entire map is covered by extremely large non-repeating satellite map
• Dynamically simulated night sky (star constelations, moon phases)

Gameplay

• Team Switch - Switch between playable units who are members of your team.
• Situational awareness - Full support for looking around while moving, including support of TrackIR for head and body tracking. Unique simulation of real world field of view on the monitor. Comprehensive support for wide-screen and triple monitor configurations for extended field of view.
• Swimming - The ability to swim is now available!
• Large number of troops possible - 100+ units in one group (12 in Operation Flashpoint), 144 groups per side (64 in Operation Flashpoint)

Realistic weapon simulation

• Bullet deflection
• Penetrable material properties
• Destructible environments
• Simulated ballistics
• Simulated speed of sound
• Supersonic bullet crack
• Simulated weapon shaking based on character stamina (with ability to hold breath for a moment to get the weapon fully stabilized)

Multiplayer

• ArmA Warfare - first person strategy, multiplayer combat over the entire island
• Join In Progress - Join multiplayer games while they're in progress.
• Support for large scale battles.
• Gamespy in-game server browser technology
• Built in voice over net with bandwidth usage balancing
• Persistent multi player battlefields

Engine

• Background streaming of data on the run
• Advanced Surface Definitions
• Advanced sound phenomenon modeling, including speed of sound delay and supersonic bullet effects

What you see is what it is

• You're there with your virtual self: there's no fake gun drawn on screen with bullets hiting targets in the middle of screen by miracle: every bullet is simulated and travels from the virtual muzzle on its path to the target.

F AI R

• The game is fair to both human and artificial players: the approach is to give them both equal opportunities. If AI can do something, the player can and vice versa.

Creativity

• The game is very open and friendly for anyone who wants to create their own content (even more than Operation Flashpoint is)
• More flexible and configurable animation system
• More complex vehicles possible, with multiple or cascaded turrets and multiple gunners
• Extended scripting capabilities with better performance