Infantry in the game

[[JnJ] RobSon_Sun]

Hi all,
as ARMA player I'm really excited of this game. The simulation level in the vehicles is just awesome but there are still some things that bother me.

My questions are:
Do the developers have plans for the infantry?
Better AI Control for infantry in the Commander mode for example or make infantry playable?

It would be awesome to play in a big combined arms way as infantry soldier with your buddies in the air or in the tanks around you, fighting against the enemy. :)

Thx for reading and your answers. :)

[DanielMP5]

Imagine a infantry/Ground forces (Combined arms but just soldiers basically, And better of course) module for DCS, Woah.

[Troll Norris]

Maybe in the far future. Mind the DCS is mainly the Flight simulator.

[Freakshow]

The ultimate dream game. It's practically Arma 3.... with DCS jets. Arma 3 already has jets you can fly and helicopters that you can load other real players up in and transport them, but of course, as great as Arma 3 is, the aircraft doesn't hold a candle to DCS modules.

Wow, then imagine making the tanks with fully clickable cockpits and multicrew.. oh, man! I can dream.

[Steinsch Commander]

I've been dreaming of that too. But the player base would have to be extended far beyond what it is today to justify development of such integrated features. And imagine, merging so many people with different interests into a single platform, that would be a challenge, if not a nightmare.

But yeah, I can imagine crazily fun scenarios. Flying an F-15E, you execute a deep strike mission behind enemy lines to wreak havoc to enemy's logisitcs. You get shot down. Eject. Evade bad guys on the ground (controlled by real players). Rescue mission is launched by quick reaction force, coordinating with local resistance (aka freedom fighters) to get you out. After seeing a platoon of Marines wiped out trying to get you out of a hole where you're pinned down, you are dragged into a Chinook. Enemy is closing in, the Chinook takes a RPG hit, the pilot dies (respawns somewhere else), and you are automatically in the copilot's seat. The rest is up to you.

Digital. Combat. Simulator.

[Wales Grey]

Originally posted by DieHardly:

Do the developers have plans for the infantry?
Better AI Control for infantry in the Commander mode for example or make infantry playable?

no to the first, as far as i know, and you can control infantry already with the combined arms addon (see: this)

[dan]

Would be cool if it's possible but if given the choice I'd take up a whole connection to a server as a pilot with a plane than a measly dude with an AR.

[Sterling Archer]

in all fairness, i cant see it, and to be honest wouldnt want it to be. this is and always has been a flight sim. pure and simple. not like a milsim sandbox like arma.

i hope it never gets taken down that path.

as exciting as the thought is for you, i dont care for it and im not sure the people that would are in a majority.

[Hannibal]

Originally posted by Steinsch Commander:

I've been dreaming of that too. But the player base would have to be extended far beyond what it is today to justify development of such integrated features. And imagine, merging so many people with different interests into a single platform, that would be a challenge, if not a nightmare.

But yeah, I can imagine crazily fun scenarios. Flying an F-15E, you execute a deep strike mission behind enemy lines to wreak havoc to enemy's logisitcs. You get shot down. Eject. Evade bad guys on the ground (controlled by real players). Rescue mission is launched by quick reaction force, coordinating with local resistance (aka freedom fighters) to get you out. After seeing a platoon of Marines wiped out trying to get you out of a hole where you're pinned down, you are dragged into a Chinook. Enemy is closing in, the Chinook takes a RPG hit, the pilot dies (respawns somewhere else), and you are automatically in the copilot's seat. The rest is up to you.

Digital. Combat. Simulator.

Pricing makes this a niche product. It will never be for mass appeal at these prices. Flight sims have always been this way after the Jane's / Falcon 4 series. They just simply price most people out. In order to get a lot of those people back you would need to make it affordable again.

[Disgruntled Cuttlefish]

Originally posted by falster194:

in all fairness, i cant see it, and to be honest wouldnt want it to be. this is and always has been a flight sim. pure and simple. not like a milsim sandbox like arma.

i hope it never gets taken down that path.

as exciting as the thought is for you, i dont care for it and im not sure the people that would are in a majority.

I agree, and I bet people would find eventually it wouldn't be as fun as other games designed around it and not a flight sim.

Originally posted by Jimathus:

Originally posted by Steinsch Commander:

I've been dreaming of that too. But the player base would have to be extended far beyond what it is today to justify development of such integrated features. And imagine, merging so many people with different interests into a single platform, that would be a challenge, if not a nightmare.

But yeah, I can imagine crazily fun scenarios. Flying an F-15E, you execute a deep strike mission behind enemy lines to wreak havoc to enemy's logisitcs. You get shot down. Eject. Evade bad guys on the ground (controlled by real players). Rescue mission is launched by quick reaction force, coordinating with local resistance (aka freedom fighters) to get you out. After seeing a platoon of Marines wiped out trying to get you out of a hole where you're pinned down, you are dragged into a Chinook. Enemy is closing in, the Chinook takes a RPG hit, the pilot dies (respawns somewhere else), and you are automatically in the copilot's seat. The rest is up to you.

Digital. Combat. Simulator.

Pricing makes this a niche product. It will never be for mass appeal at these prices. Flight sims have always been this way after the Jane's / Falcon 4 series. They just simply price most people out. In order to get a lot of those people back you would need to make it affordable again.

DCS aircraft are priced very reasonably compared to the higher tier simulations of aircraft in other flight sim games like FSX or X-Plane 11.

There is a higher-tier simulation of a Beechcraft Texan II for X-Plane 11? Costs $99. Rotate MD-80, and some other higher tier airliners like some Airbus... $60. FF Boeing 757, $72. Airfoillabs King Air, $50. Maybe P3D aircraft would be a good comparison also... Later, edited just now after posting.

[Pelikan]

Originally posted by Jimathus:

Pricing makes this a niche product. It will never be for mass appeal at these prices. Flight sims have always been this way after the Jane's / Falcon 4 series. They just simply price most people out. In order to get a lot of those people back you would need to make it affordable again.

They could make the price much lower for an "infantry module", like half the price.

What Steinsch is describing is basically how simulations will look like in 10-15 years from now : complete combined arms simulations. Future computers will have 64GB+ of RAM and more powerful cpus, so it won't be a problem to have massive combined arms operations online.

A simulation called IL2 Sturmovik Great Battles is also touching that but in a WWII environment. They dont have infantry yet nor said that it is planned but they are putting tanks in it on top of aircrafts so it is just a matter of time before they will include infantry at some point.

DCS could definitely do that if they want in the future, but modern warfare is a lot more complex than WWII , it would be a massive challenge but doable on the long term.

[Disgruntled Cuttlefish]

The prices are reasonable, it's nothing like some other games like Train Simulator.