America's Army Beta Signups

Facebook page for America's Army announces that this America's Army: Proving Ground page is now accepting signups to beta test the next installment in the first-person shooter created as a recruiting tool by the U.S. Army (thanks Joystiq via GameSpot). Word is:
Wanted: Beta Testers

We bet that got your attention, huh? That’s right, we’re looking for volunteers for our Beta Tester team to help test the next version of America’s Army which is due out this year!

Let’s say that again, THIS YEAR!

Go to http://portal.americasarmy.com/ to register your Soldier name for a chance to be selected as one of our new Beta Testers!

Good Luck Soldiers!
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22 Replies. 2 pages. Viewing page 1.
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22.
 
Re: America's Army Beta Signups
Apr 9, 2013, 13:25
22.
Re: America's Army Beta Signups Apr 9, 2013, 13:25
Apr 9, 2013, 13:25
 
Scottish Martial Arts wrote on Apr 9, 2013, 09:05:
Thats because most troops are very lousy shots in combat conditions, it takes a certain type to be able to stay cool enough to actually do anything other than spray & pray under fire.

The other piece is that American soldiers are generally trained to, when under fire, keep up a steady volume of return fire, even if they can't yet see individual enemy soldiers. The idea is that if you are in contact and under fire, you generally are going to have a difficult time maneuvering, so at that point if you aren't at least firing your weapon in the general direction of the enemy -- and thus providing some minimal degree of suppressive fire so that friendly elements out of immediate contact can maneuver to kill the enemy -- then you aren't contributing to the fight.

This is illustrated very well in Rommel's diary during the battle of france.
21.
 
Re: America's Army Beta Signups
Apr 9, 2013, 09:05
21.
Re: America's Army Beta Signups Apr 9, 2013, 09:05
Apr 9, 2013, 09:05
 
Thats because most troops are very lousy shots in combat conditions, it takes a certain type to be able to stay cool enough to actually do anything other than spray & pray under fire.

The other piece is that American soldiers are generally trained to, when under fire, keep up a steady volume of return fire, even if they can't yet see individual enemy soldiers. The idea is that if you are in contact and under fire, you generally are going to have a difficult time maneuvering, so at that point if you aren't at least firing your weapon in the general direction of the enemy -- and thus providing some minimal degree of suppressive fire so that friendly elements out of immediate contact can maneuver to kill the enemy -- then you aren't contributing to the fight.
20.
 
Re: America's Army Beta Signups
Apr 9, 2013, 08:34
20.
Re: America's Army Beta Signups Apr 9, 2013, 08:34
Apr 9, 2013, 08:34
 
Yah when signing up for the beta make sure you read all the line even the smallest one at the bottom :p :p Make sure you're not signing up for the real life version :0
19.
 
Re: America's Army Beta Signups
Apr 9, 2013, 05:56
19.
Re: America's Army Beta Signups Apr 9, 2013, 05:56
Apr 9, 2013, 05:56
 
Flatline wrote on Apr 8, 2013, 22:51:
pacbowl wrote on Apr 8, 2013, 21:13:
I was heavily into this game several years ago and had probably logged over a thousand hours on Pimpline and Hospital. They kept tweaking and tweaking the engine until it was nearly impossible to hit anything even when prone. That's when I dropped it.

In a war environment, that's probably pretty realistic. In Afghanistan you're looking at like 250,000 bullets fired per casualty inflicted.

Thats because most troops are very lousy shots in combat conditions, it takes a certain type to be able to stay cool enough to actually do anything other than spray & pray under fire. Whats funny though is how very accurate most real life assault rifles are. Ive been able to consistently hit a MG target nest dummy at 200 meters using a properly set up AK-47 (the real CCCP deal) using short 2-3 bullet bursts the first time I ever set foot on a fire range. (During my conscript service).
I have a nifty blue line!
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18.
 
Re: America's Army Beta Signups
Apr 9, 2013, 05:02
18.
Re: America's Army Beta Signups Apr 9, 2013, 05:02
Apr 9, 2013, 05:02
 
THIS YEAR!!!!! OMG!!

Avatar 47206
17.
 
Re: America's Army Beta Signups
Apr 9, 2013, 03:00
17.
Re: America's Army Beta Signups Apr 9, 2013, 03:00
Apr 9, 2013, 03:00
 
You can always tell when someone makes a living on the taxpayer's dime. They always start off with, 'Well it only really costs XYZ per taxpayer which is a great deal!'.
"The horse I bet on was so slow, the jockey kept a diary of the trip." - Henny Youngman
16.
 
Re: America's Army Beta Signups
Apr 9, 2013, 02:52
Slick
 
16.
Re: America's Army Beta Signups Apr 9, 2013, 02:52
Apr 9, 2013, 02:52
 Slick
 
well i guess you could throw this into the category of "public funding for the arts" even if's using the military recruitment angle as it's vehicle.

i'm all for public funding for the arts, just as long as things like this are in the minority.

but anyday that part of the bloated runaway US military budget is used on level designers, texture artists, sound designers, animation teams, and 3D mesh artists, i'd say that's a win.

even if the gameplay wasn't my cup of tea.
Avatar 57545
15.
 
Re: America's Army Beta Signups
Apr 9, 2013, 01:34
15.
Re: America's Army Beta Signups Apr 9, 2013, 01:34
Apr 9, 2013, 01:34
 
pacbowl wrote on Apr 9, 2013, 01:05:
DarkCntry wrote on Apr 8, 2013, 23:23:
Killswitch wrote on Apr 8, 2013, 23:03:
Can't find anything recent, but it was reported in 2009 the game had cost taxpayers $32.8 million.

Now in a somewhat informed defense here...that money would've been taken whether the game existed or not, as the game itself takes roughy ~7-8% of the entirety of the Army recruitment and advertising budget. It's also highly unlikely that the game used the full amount that report states.

I don't have any sources but I heard this argument back on the old AA forums and someone worked out it cost each taxpayer like a quarter per year to keep this going. I don't really mind that.

Closer to probably a quarter of a cent from all tax payers.
Avatar 24330
14.
 
Re: America's Army Beta Signups
Apr 9, 2013, 01:05
14.
Re: America's Army Beta Signups Apr 9, 2013, 01:05
Apr 9, 2013, 01:05
 
DarkCntry wrote on Apr 8, 2013, 23:23:
Killswitch wrote on Apr 8, 2013, 23:03:
Can't find anything recent, but it was reported in 2009 the game had cost taxpayers $32.8 million.

Now in a somewhat informed defense here...that money would've been taken whether the game existed or not, as the game itself takes roughy ~7-8% of the entirety of the Army recruitment and advertising budget. It's also highly unlikely that the game used the full amount that report states.

I don't have any sources but I heard this argument back on the old AA forums and someone worked out it cost each taxpayer like a quarter per year to keep this going. I don't really mind that.
Avatar 23232
13.
 
Re: America's Army Beta Signups
Apr 9, 2013, 00:59
13.
Re: America's Army Beta Signups Apr 9, 2013, 00:59
Apr 9, 2013, 00:59
 
Flatline wrote on Apr 8, 2013, 22:51:
pacbowl wrote on Apr 8, 2013, 21:13:
I was heavily into this game several years ago and had probably logged over a thousand hours on Pimpline and Hospital. They kept tweaking and tweaking the engine until it was nearly impossible to hit anything even when prone. That's when I dropped it.

In a war environment, that's probably pretty realistic. In Afghanistan you're looking at like 250,000 bullets fired per casualty inflicted.

That's why I kept to the close quarters type maps. An indoor map with objectives that have to be completed in 15 minutes encourages a run-n-gun style of gameplay, with the occasional strategic pause. When you're crouch-walking down a hallway and see opfor come around the corner only for both of you to empty your clips trying to hit one another (even on single shot), something is wrong. The whole thing became a 203 nadefest.
Avatar 23232
12.
 
Re: America's Army Beta Signups
Apr 8, 2013, 23:34
12.
Re: America's Army Beta Signups Apr 8, 2013, 23:34
Apr 8, 2013, 23:34
 
Prez wrote on Apr 8, 2013, 23:26:
I've always had a sneaking suspicion that America's Army is actually a real-life "Last Starfighter"-esque test disguised as a videogame, and that the board leaders are whisked away under the cover of darkness by government agents in nondescript black sedans.

If only...when I worked on the project it was a pretty messy situation. There was a higher than normal developer turn-over rate, they relied almost solely on volunteers for everything *not* physical code work (and even then they had volunteers doing some code work), and their beta testers were either so jaded or so uninformed that nothing got fixed.
Avatar 24330
11.
 
Re: America's Army Beta Signups
Apr 8, 2013, 23:26
Prez
 
11.
Re: America's Army Beta Signups Apr 8, 2013, 23:26
Apr 8, 2013, 23:26
 Prez
 
I've always had a sneaking suspicion that America's Army is actually a real-life "Last Starfighter"-esque test disguised as a videogame, and that the board leaders are whisked away under the cover of darkness by government agents in nondescript black sedans.
“The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated.”
- Mahatma Gandhi
Avatar 17185
10.
 
Re: America's Army Beta Signups
Apr 8, 2013, 23:23
10.
Re: America's Army Beta Signups Apr 8, 2013, 23:23
Apr 8, 2013, 23:23
 
Killswitch wrote on Apr 8, 2013, 23:03:
Can't find anything recent, but it was reported in 2009 the game had cost taxpayers $32.8 million.

Now in a somewhat informed defense here...that money would've been taken whether the game existed or not, as the game itself takes roughy ~7-8% of the entirety of the Army recruitment and advertising budget. It's also highly unlikely that the game used the full amount that report states.
Avatar 24330
9.
 
Re: America's Army Beta Signups
Apr 8, 2013, 23:03
9.
Re: America's Army Beta Signups Apr 8, 2013, 23:03
Apr 8, 2013, 23:03
 
Can't find anything recent, but it was reported in 2009 the game had cost taxpayers $32.8 million.
Avatar 55372
8.
 
Re: America's Army Beta Signups
Apr 8, 2013, 23:00
8.
Re: America's Army Beta Signups Apr 8, 2013, 23:00
Apr 8, 2013, 23:00
 
Here is one game I wouldn't mind see cancelled...I'm paying for it!!
Avatar 25373
7.
 
Re: America's Army Beta Signups
Apr 8, 2013, 22:51
7.
Re: America's Army Beta Signups Apr 8, 2013, 22:51
Apr 8, 2013, 22:51
 
pacbowl wrote on Apr 8, 2013, 21:13:
I was heavily into this game several years ago and had probably logged over a thousand hours on Pimpline and Hospital. They kept tweaking and tweaking the engine until it was nearly impossible to hit anything even when prone. That's when I dropped it.

In a war environment, that's probably pretty realistic. In Afghanistan you're looking at like 250,000 bullets fired per casualty inflicted.
6.
 
Re: America's Army Beta Signups
Apr 8, 2013, 22:41
6.
Re: America's Army Beta Signups Apr 8, 2013, 22:41
Apr 8, 2013, 22:41
 
This was always a little too creepy for me.
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5.
 
feh
Apr 8, 2013, 22:06
5.
feh Apr 8, 2013, 22:06
Apr 8, 2013, 22:06
 
How did the sequestration miss this?
4.
 
Re: America's Army Beta Signups
Apr 8, 2013, 21:33
4.
Re: America's Army Beta Signups Apr 8, 2013, 21:33
Apr 8, 2013, 21:33
 
I'm not sure why anyone would bother when Arma II and III are out there. They already cater for the milsim types and are much deeper than the wannabe Counterstrike setup used in AA...

3.
 
Re: America's Army Beta Signups
Apr 8, 2013, 21:13
3.
Re: America's Army Beta Signups Apr 8, 2013, 21:13
Apr 8, 2013, 21:13
 
I was heavily into this game several years ago and had probably logged over a thousand hours on Pimpline and Hospital. They kept tweaking and tweaking the engine until it was nearly impossible to hit anything even when prone. That's when I dropped it.
Avatar 23232
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