So right now on steam you can buy your way into the Alpha build of Arma 3 for 32 bucks (US).

I think this is kind of neat. allowing people a kind of ground floor access to the game. you get to in a way watch the game evolve over time as they fix bugs add new fetchers ect ect. I like this approach sure the game will break alot and be riddled with bugs, but you get to see a game in a state not a lot of publishers/developers would ever allow there game to be shown. (in theory) you would get to see it become a full retail game. This is not for everyone of course and i know more then a few people liked the idea of Arma in theory but the playing of it was another story all together. still a cool idea i think.

Yep. Very pumped about this. The lighting engine alone makes this look amazing, and it'll be nice to be a part of adding new content and such. Cant wait till later this month when I can invite a few friends.

Just purchased it and am installing the alpha now. I'm sure it'll be all sorts of buggy.

Now taking bets on how long it takes the War Z devs to use this idea too.

I bought the Supporter Edition because... *shrugs shoulders*

Definitely going to be grabbing this soon.

Just bought it, been utterly absorbed by these games since Op Flash and I'm so excited about getting to try this out!

I almost bought it for the free DLC but at the end of the day it's like £45 more for it and I don't care much for the other stuff.

EDIT: Just played it, it's already better than Arma 2 despite being a long way from the final release.

Same! I loved creating scenarios in the editor and seeing how it all played out in OFP, ARMA, and ARMA II. I do hope that ARMA 3 is better optimized and a little less clunky in terms of the UI, interactions and movement. Oh, and better vehicle path finding! According the forums, AI can actually navigate a road without ending up in the woods. Looking forward to it.

I actually retract my previous statement about it probably being buggy. So far for me it seems a hell of a lot more stable than the current version of Arma 2 I have installed.

Does it have multiplayer?

@krullban: I've seen the option for multiplayer on the menu. However, I haven't gotten around to trying it out to see what modes it has.

The final version of this is going to great. I really enjoyed Arma 2 despite its bugs; this seems to be an iteration of that experience; I just hope that they can leave some of those pesky bugs out this time around. It seems like the same issues appear across all of their games, so yeah, maybe this Alpha/Beta test approach can actually improve the product.

Arma 3 Alpha Known Issues:

http://alpha.arma3.com/known-issues

So, is multiplayer the only way I can just straight up wander around the island? I know I can create a mission but I'm really bad at that kind of thing. The main reason I'm asking is because I've never played multiplayer in an Arma game; dabbled a bit in DayZ but that's about it. I'm not sure if people in multiplayer are those super serious "treat this like I'm in the military" types and want everyone following orders since I'm just going to be wandering around.

I've recently become interested in Arma 3 thanks to this:

I'm tempted. I played through Arma 2 and Arma 2: OA's campaigns, but I really don't see myself playing Arma 3 unless I can find a good group to play multiplayer scenarios with against AI. Was/is there a GB Arma 2 group?

I think I'll be picking it up soon, and I've never played an Arma game before, so I'd be up for just wandering and messing around with you and not being super serious.

@subjugation: Oh my god that is fucking amazing. Nearly crying with laughter here. Oh god.

Same uploader, different conclusion!

I have only played about 2 hours so far, but I like what I'm seeing however I'm still kind of new to Arma. I messed around with 2 (played a bunch of DayZ) but I'm real keen to learn how to play the game. I really also love to mess around with some co op but I have no idea how that stuff works. I played waste land the other day and didn't care for it too much. But before I dive head first into this I need to finish tomb raider

Tons of people in the PC Gaming Hub have it. Come join us. http://steamcommunity.com/groups/GBPCGH

Here's our own MrWoks being tactical.

Man, the new stance system is a godsend. It allows so many more options for cover/concealment.

There's also a step-lean which isn't featured in the video above.

so i have been playing Co Op (a lot of Co Op) and i must say GOD DAMN this is a great game. nothing better then assaulting a enemy base with 20 other guys. been having an absolute blast!

@jackel2072: What servers are you playing on? The only ones i can find are either that weird wasteland mod or small TDM type modes. I want all out war dammit.. I have seen nothing so far with vehicles in at all.

This is awesome! Man, once I get a beefy rig, I'll have to try these games out.

Never pay before full game is out

@humanoidtyphoon said:

Not really new. It's mostly SMK animations with a little extra fidelity. BIS hired Smookie for his awesome yet poorly implemented animations.

Oh, I was aware of the addon. It's just nice to see it implemented into the actual game. BIS tend to reach out to modders or take ideas from the community (rightfully so). The ARMA modding community is one of the best around.

I suppose, but I know exactly what I'm getting with ARMA 3. An improved ARMA. I've played OFP, ARMA, ARMA 2 and I don't regret pre-purchasing ARMA 3. It obviously has some issues, but it's a much smoother experience compared to its predecessors. Even if it turned out to be an absolutely terrible experience (which it hasn't), 30 bucks down the drain isn't that big of a deal. If it was an entirely new franchise that I had no experience with, sure.

My framerate is terrible. :( It's the same on every setting. Low i get terrible FPS, and Ultra I get the exact same FPS as low.

Yeah dude there's a bunch of us. We play most Fridays 9pm GMT, and then atm most evenings with it being new and all. We'll start a thread for it when decent missions start rolling in, and when ACRE gets implemented. But for now if you wanna join us check this thread.

@alexw00d: ah cool. will you be playing tonight? I might jump on, I have always liked the idea of the MP in the ARMA games but I have no idea what I'm doing when I get in.

@mister_v: Also go into your filters you will see something called mission type (i think thats what its called) and just switch that to cooperative. plenty of servers just running co op.

@jackel2072: Thanks for the tip.

Thanks for the games tonight guys, It was a blast! can't wait to play some more with you guys.