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Author Topic: America's Army 2 Remake - Army Ops in development  (Read 302348 times)

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Offline KAEPS133

America's Army 2 Remake - Army Ops in development
« on: Sunday, October 01, 2017, 12:54:52 PM »
Hello everyone,

I'm Daniel, CEO and developer at Polygon Art. Polygon Art is a small german indie game developer focusing on PC FPS games. After releasing Beyond Enemy Lines (Tactical Sandbox Singleplayer FPS) very successfully on Steam this february and retail this summer, I'm now working on some new games. One is a small, unannounced FPS game for a smaller publisher (as a contract work) and the other one is the research and possibility study of Army Ops.

FAQ

What is Army Ops?
America's Army 2 remake with modern technology.

What does research study mean?
A not named bigger publisher contacted me to research a market for a new competitive First Person Shooter.
I pitched them the idea of a modern version of America's Army 2 and they highly liked it. My task now is to build a basic prototype, get in contact with the AA Community and ask for their toughts, what they would like to be improved in a new game compared to AA2 and present the final results to the publisher.

What is the current state of Army Ops?
Army Ops is in a very early prototype state. However it is already possible to host and join servers, pick a team and a squad role and kill other players.

Whats the future of Army Ops?
Difficult topic. If the Publisher says yes to the concept of Army Ops, it will be the next big Project of Polygon Art. If not, the project will still be continued in my free time with a smaller scope (for the start) and slower progress. Either way - this game is getting developed.

Questions
What do you think about the idea?
What would you love to see in Army Ops?
What should be the first game mode developed for Army Ops?
What Map would you like to see in modern days graphic?

Media
Ingame Menu System recreated in a custom build Unreal Engine 4. All graphical elements are recreated to be nearly identical to the original America's Army Menu.









Links

Polygon Art: http://polygon-art.com/
Beyond Enemy Lines: http://beyond-enemy-lines.com/
Army Ops Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Army-Ops-2020118398208197/

Please like and follow the Army Ops Facebook page, reply to this thread and give your opinion. As more buze and feedback I'll get, the easier it is for me to get it greenlit by the Publisher.

Thank you,
Daniel (AA Player since 2005)

Offline LegionQC

Re: America's Army 2 Remake - Army Ops in development
« Reply #1 on: Sunday, October 01, 2017, 14:27:18 PM »
my only question is what will be the system requirements ? would love for your game to be a low system requirement type of game something like CS:GO maybe a little less powerfull would be best ! you would definetly get more players that way ! Also please don't make it Pay to win . will your game be exactly the same MAPS as AA2 :) ? no AA:PG Bs keep it classic . what about the aimbox and shooting scripts ? please don't take off the FIX JAM . Please keep the way of gun distribution the same NO insurgency or COD type of wepon built let the game pick the guns like always << r , ar , c18 , if , vss , s u name it >> u can take off the JAIL when you ROE I think it will only confuse new players .. and save u some time ... privately owned servers is a must also please :):) cant wait to see what your project will look like in some time  HOOAH SOLDIER if the shooting and gameplay is pretty much the same count me in

Offline Vanoke

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Re: America's Army 2 Remake - Army Ops in development
« Reply #2 on: Sunday, October 01, 2017, 14:33:02 PM »
Intrested yes !  .
How fast is this gowing One map to turn over to your system gameplay
 and to make all maps  and what maps.
285 and 2.5 and ....
« Last Edit: Sunday, October 01, 2017, 14:39:38 PM by Vanoke »

Offline KAEPS133

Re: America's Army 2 Remake - Army Ops in development
« Reply #3 on: Sunday, October 01, 2017, 14:39:23 PM »
...

Thanks for your Feedback. Systemrequirements is some of the last steps of development. So it's way to early to tell now. But they will be higher then CSGO requirements, I'm always working with 2k-4k Textures and advanced shaders - it will be a modern PC game.

The game will probably be a buy to play game as I don't add any micro transactions to any of my games.

Maps will be like in AA2 but not the same (copyright). For Example I would think of Hospital instead of Desert/Middle East setting an old soviet hospital with nearly the same layout. I don't want to make a rippoff, I want and will add some of my own additions.

One of those changes will be that you won't play the US Army everytime. Team Alpha will be US Army, Team Bravo russian Army, Insurgents or something like this. There will also be some new/different weapons available to some classes.

Fix Jam is on the list to be added to the game, however the gun mechanics will be different. Bullets come out of the "real" barrel of the weapon, means each animation, sway or anything like this will change where you are aiming. Just like in real life.

Offline Vanoke

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Re: America's Army 2 Remake - Army Ops in development
« Reply #4 on: Sunday, October 01, 2017, 14:49:17 PM »
285 maps I don't see copyrights for those. I change maps from bots to P.v.P with my poor knowlitch but I works fine look www.aaobattlecommunity.enjin.com for the newes changes maps. meaby interesting . for idears! and maps

Offline KAEPS133

Re: America's Army 2 Remake - Army Ops in development
« Reply #5 on: Sunday, October 01, 2017, 15:24:10 PM »
285 maps I don't see copyrights for those. I change maps from bots to P.v.P with my poor knowlitch but I works fine look www.aaobattlecommunity.enjin.com for the newes changes maps. meaby interesting . for idears! and maps

I can't just copy maps for commercial products. But I can get some heavy inspiration from the original ones. As I said if hospital would now be in eastern europe and some rooms would be in other order - it would not break anything.

Offline teddy_grizzly_bear

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Re: America's Army 2 Remake - Army Ops in development
« Reply #6 on: Sunday, October 01, 2017, 15:30:58 PM »
Sounds like it could be loads of fun.

Why AA2? Is it just your personal preference or that of someone else's? I know AA2 was incredibly popular (for it's type of game) around 10 years ago, but it was free. A paid game will likely be at least somewhat different.

One of the things that made AA2 good (IMHO) was the fact that it was relatively slow paced (compared to CS or CoD for example) and that required some tactics and teamwork to be used in order to win. I would hope the same would be true for this game.

With the way it looks right now, the UI looks like a blatant rip off of the US army's product. Are you confident they won't feel the same way?

A lot of the things in AA2 that make it great for those who enjoy it are to do with the game mechanics. However, not everything in AA2 is pure gold. For example, IMHO the ability to hear people from across a map is really unrealistic IMHO. The same goes for hearing every little "click" a gun makes (i.e when stopping or starting running). The clicks can be there (and if you put safety on while running, it would be), but it should be way quieter. I really like that walking/running on different materials in AA makes different sounds, but the idea of "slow crawling" without making a sound is just silly. You try laying down on the ground and moving without making a sound - it's impossible. Your clothes will rub themselves and the rest of your gear.


And of course it needs to be a modern game with modern graphics and therefore modern system requirements. As much as we would like to think that people like what's in a game (i.e game mechanics, maps and so on) more than the looks of the game, I'm afraid that's simply not the case in reality.

However, I would like to point out that the people here are a vast minority of the people your new game would have to reach. These are the people who've stuck with a game after it's been officially shut down for 6 years. They don't like change. They like AA2 the way it has always been. All this is great, but selling only to those few people won't be enough for a new game.

With all that said, I wish you good luck with the game.

EDIT:
I can't just copy maps for commercial products. But I can get some heavy inspiration from the original ones. As I said if hospital would now be in eastern europe and some rooms would be in other order - it would not break anything.
Wow, Eastern Europe? I live there!
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"Mathematics may be defined as the subject in which we never know what we are talking about, nor whether what we are saying is true." Bertrand Russell

Offline KAEPS133

Re: America's Army 2 Remake - Army Ops in development
« Reply #7 on: Sunday, October 01, 2017, 15:46:59 PM »
...

Why AA2?
- Personal preference and a gameplay which is unused for several years now. Red Orchestra, Squad, ArmA are all more or less large scale battles, hard to follow for spectators. AA2 has compared to those games medium sized maps, a lower player cound, easy to spectate and follow. It's 'hardcore' but not to extreme. With some modern polish this game could have some greate competetive potential.

One of the things that made AA2 good...
This game will definitly also slow paced!

UI looks like a blatant rip off of the US army's product
Yes, this is only a prototype with placeholder HUD/UI. This will change in the final product.

the ability to hear people from across a map
Army Ops will bring it's own new features with it, so will the later product probably use Steam Audio as sound engine for realtime 3D Sound.

And of course it needs to be a modern game with modern graphics
Army Ops is based on Unreal Engine 4, don't worry about the graphics :)

I would like to point out that the people here are a vast minority of the people your new game would have to reach.
I know, and these are exactly the people I need the most right now. I need highly critical veterans knowing what they want and what now. Players who know every step in AA2 out of their mind. This thread is not for promoting, more to get some early on feedback from "day one" to shape the game ;-)

Offline teddy_grizzly_bear

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Re: America's Army 2 Remake - Army Ops in development
« Reply #8 on: Monday, October 02, 2017, 01:01:49 AM »
And of course it needs to be a modern game with modern graphics
Army Ops is based on Unreal Engine 4, don't worry about the graphics :)
This was more of an answer to Legion's post.
I would like to point out that the people here are a vast minority of the people your new game would have to reach.
I know, and these are exactly the people I need the most right now. I need highly critical veterans knowing what they want and what now. Players who know every step in AA2 out of their mind. This thread is not for promoting, more to get some early on feedback from "day one" to shape the game ;-)
My point was, if you make it exactly like the people here want it, it might happen that only the people here will like it.
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Offline Virus.exe

Re: America's Army 2 Remake - Army Ops in development
« Reply #9 on: Monday, October 02, 2017, 01:05:12 AM »
I would highly suggest you look at some early versions of the game, I mean 1.x versions before.

If people like the slow tactical style in the beginning the game had no SAI to ping enemy locations. No map in the corner of the HUD, there was only a simple compass at the top.

The early days of the game were extremely simple yet complicated. After Special Forces was added in 2.6 IIRC the game just started to have too many features and gimmicks and eventually began to mirror the other FPS games.

I suggest you keep it simple as possible, forcing gameplay to be down to how well you can work the controls, learn the maps and work as a team. Like it was in the early days of AA.

Offline LegionQC

Re: America's Army 2 Remake - Army Ops in development
« Reply #10 on: Monday, October 02, 2017, 02:47:55 AM »
I stick around AA2 mostly because of slower tactical speed , the mechanics for the shooting , the game controlled guns per map << IF , c18 , r  , ar , s ,vssIF  u name it >> and also because it is a low requirement game .. IMHO if you put it with modern graphics you will face a lot of competition and u will be just like all the other games ... by using less powerfull mechanics u can reach a lot more serious players . don't forget only 23% of earth has internet and tv and a computer and I would say about 22% of those peoples systeme will not be able to run your game at 60FPS + IMHO ... purchased game that is awesome !!! I would consider using something else then Unreal engine 4 too powerfull ... I don't know much about this but could u use like unreal engine 2 or something just saying business point of view you will get more players ... u definetly want some Koreans and Brazilians playing your game I would drop down the SPECS IMHO :) if you buy me a computer that will run your game I will gladly be doing some advertisement for you :):):):)  from Canada of course !

Offline LegionQC

Re: America's Army 2 Remake - Army Ops in development
« Reply #11 on: Monday, October 02, 2017, 02:49:50 AM »
I would love to see AA2 with like atleast 300 players online at all times that would be awesome but yet I might just be dreaming here snif snif ...

Offline KAEPS133

Re: America's Army 2 Remake - Army Ops in development
« Reply #12 on: Monday, October 02, 2017, 03:02:49 AM »
There is no way around using modern technology. This game might get funded by a big publisher. He won't fund a Unreal Engine 2 game. I also have a lot of data and experience with my UE4 Game Beyond Enemy Lines. And other then that I'm looking a lot at the Steam Hardware Survey to know what the maximum is I can pull (http://store.steampowered.com/hwsurvey/).

Army Ops will be a high End game with it's own ideas based on AA2.
I hope to start a closed Alpha test later this year.

Offline teddy_grizzly_bear

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Re: America's Army 2 Remake - Army Ops in development
« Reply #13 on: Monday, October 02, 2017, 08:12:37 AM »
The early days of the game were extremely simple yet complicated. After Special Forces was added in 2.6 IIRC the game just started to have too many features and gimmicks and eventually began to mirror the other FPS games.
Special forces were added in AA 2.0 with the name of that version being America's Army 2.0 - Special forces. In later versions - I believe it was 2.7 with the Coop maps - the SAI/minimap was added. But it's also around here that the playerbase started getting smaller as I remember. But your idea itself is probably correct - what made AA great at first was the simplicity of it all.

I stick around AA2 mostly because of slower tactical speed , the mechanics for the shooting , the game controlled guns per map << IF , c18 , r  , ar , s ,vssIF  u name it >> and also because it is a low requirement game .. IMHO if you put it with modern graphics you will face a lot of competition and u will be just like all the other games ... by using less powerfull mechanics u can reach a lot more serious players . don't forget only 23% of earth has internet and tv and a computer and I would say about 22% of those peoples systeme will not be able to run your game at 60FPS + IMHO ... purchased game that is awesome !!! I would consider using something else then Unreal engine 4 too powerfull ... I don't know much about this but could u use like unreal engine 2 or something just saying business point of view you will get more players ... u definetly want some Koreans and Brazilians playing your game I would drop down the SPECS IMHO :) if you buy me a computer that will run your game I will gladly be doing some advertisement for you :):):):)  from Canada of course !
What do you mean "serious players"? Let's be honest, any serious gamer will have a machine capable of running any game out there.
Your're right, most computers out there will not be able to run this new game. They're not supposed to. You're not supposed to play games on your work machine. However, games are aimed towards gamers. Unless you can bring me statistics saying otherwise, I'll postulate that most of those gamers will have a machine capable of playing this new game on UE4 (given proper optimization, of course). Just because you don't have a machine like that and perhaps even a few of your friends don't, doesn't really mean you're in the majority, I'm afraid. There's far more players playing the new CoD's or ARMA's - they can all run these games.
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Offline WraShadow

Re: America's Army 2 Remake - Army Ops in development
« Reply #14 on: Monday, October 02, 2017, 10:52:18 AM »
Hi.

First, I don't agree with my old buddy virus, if I read correctly. I often play tactical insurgent IRL with BBguns and the way we spot enemies is totally like using SAI. We use laser with 500m+ range to spot and sometimes we use our comms. Using SAI+Z to spot is perfect. At the same time, when we get flashed, we often lose our north. True, that usually doesnt happen but having a constant grid rotating telling you which direction or facing is even worse than SAI. When we're playing, we know where we all are if in the vicinity at least. We keep track so that's not bad to keep SAI for.

Secondly, will - lets say - 99% the objects still be unbreakable even when using RPG or other bombing? Or when shooting a lot at a door, etc? If so, can we at least have some resistance on the freaking doors? As it stands, every bullets pierces it, even if a slightly skewed angle. That's not realistic and, from a gaming perspective, its annoying and promotes camping and laming practices.

Still on the same topic, can we have more classes with breach explosives - like in 2.8.5 - to use on more/different entities?

I also remember stale explosives, like landmines, being added to maps (mostly on MOUT McKenna) in the latest versions. I think that would be great. They're a huge part of insurgency.

As a toolkit player, I doubt anybody else uses as many flashes as I do. TBH, I think they're overpowered. There should be a way to reduce the effect or even nullify. Maybe the "closing your eyes", on the other hand could have a sort of cooldown so it wouldnt be exploited as well.

Training available? Honor system? Self-medic? Using vehicles in missions like we used to?

Will the spawn points change in some maps like they do on Steamroller, SF Extraction, etc?

As a side note, Im not sure saying Russians will be the enemy is a good practice.

PS: Keep in mind I only touched subjects once taken cared of and now removed or mutated so to keep the AA2.* feel.
« Last Edit: Monday, October 02, 2017, 11:01:01 AM by WraShadow »


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