I'm pretty sure I'm 'inside the rope' as you put it,

Actually my comment was in reference to his false assumption that this was some ad hoc public demo and that I hadn't had access to a private demo "behind the rope" so to speak.

The fact remains, there has not been a version to include player controlled tanks or AH-64s, or basically no heavy armor or air support.

My recollection of the demo was that there was at least one tank and helicopter in the scene I saw and the impression I got was that these vehicles were controllable or would be even though I did not see them controlled. But as I mentioned below this was at the tail end of a meeting, and there was no time left for any real Q & A on it. I didn't follow up on development nor did I meet with AA at this year's E3, so I don't know what happened on that front. I am just surprised that no version of the game with any player-controllable vehicles has been released by now.

This comment was edited on Jul 13, 09:04.

but at this year's E3

You need to check that linked website again or
http://www.gamespot.com/pc/action/americasarmyspecialforcesovermatch/news_6124594.html It's from E3 2005 not 2006.

I'm not going to get autobiographical, but I was inside the rope.

I'm pretty sure I'm 'inside the rope' as you put it, considering I am part of the Army Game Project team
http://www.americasarmy.com/community/bios.php?id=103

The fact remains, there has not been a version to include player controlled tanks or AH-64s, or basically no heavy armor or air support.

What was shown at E3 was the Stryker Training Course, which showed the preliminary juncture for inclusion of the course to the AAPA version from the AAGA (Government Apps) version. This also included a brief viewing of the inclusion of the TALON control and use.

Scrolling down the page I am about to link to to the bottom will have the information and link to the video of the Stryker training course that was shown at E3.
http://www.americasarmy.com/community/sitrep_073104.php
As the SITREP states, it is a prototype system they used.

Also, there was a modified version of America's Army being used to deplict a real-life scenario of soldiers such as Paul Smith, http://www.army.mil/calltoduty/resources/battle.htm . But that is the extent of anything 'currently' including what was shown at E3.

I appologise...seems you were right; (human drivable) Strykers and Humvees were shown...but at this year's E3.

At E3, one of the more closely dev controled environments to ooh and ahh the press with their carefully roped off demo's and CGI trailers, you ask a question about vehicles and one of the dev's just goes and starts up an unreleased, shown to no-one else demo, just for you? Sure, dude.

I'm not going to get autobiographical, but I was inside the rope.

But only to you? Just 'cause you asked?

I know I am not the only one who saw it nor did I claim that. I was one of two people in the meeting at that time who saw the demo, and I am sure others who met with the developers at other times did as well.

This comment was edited on Jul 12, 23:09.

I was at E3 that year, and they did indeed have a demo of a drivable vehicle. This demo however was not for the public build of the game, but rather for an internal army training application. They implied that they wanted to get the feature into the public version of the game, but of course that requires a much higher degree of polish and functionality than an internal training application. No doubt they ran into some snags that thwarted their plans. It happens.

Here is a link of some footage for that E3. If you scroll down the page you'll see the item on the drivable vehicle.

http://www.aa-overview.com/nuke/modules.php?name=News&new_topic=13

You might actually want to check your facts first before you go slamming people about things that you have no knowlege of.
This comment was edited on Jul 12, 21:39.

At E3, one of the more closely dev controled environments to ooh and ahh the press with their carefully roped off demo's and CGI trailers, you ask a question about vehicles and one of the dev's just goes and starts up an unreleased, shown to no-one else demo, just for you? Sure, dude.

Do you have any idea how stressfull and time costly it is to finish just one demo? Do you have any idea how costly it is for a dev to show something which has even the slightest posibility to break down, especially when shown to someone he knows shit about?

Do you really expect anyone to believe you? Shit, do you have any idea how much effort it takes to create a 'couple of vehicles' and get them working ingame? And you say they showed you this magical demo in E3 2005? But only to you? Just 'cause you asked?

Sigh.

I am not an Army expert by any means but do the Special Forces really go tearing through towns in tanks and jeeps?

Most go through an anti-terrorist driving course (civilians can do this too, the course is often contracted out by the DA to private trainers) at some point in their career, but stay away from the armor as driving tanks and APC's is usually a function handled by the conventional army.

Funny, I don't remember ever hearing about AH-64s or Tanks in any version of America's Army, including that of the E3 previews from 2006 all the way back to 2004.

This was a private demo of some future version of the game in development at the time that I assumed would have been out long before now given the speculated timeframe for release. This was not some detailed presentation on that version of the game though, and I personally did not get to play the game myself. I simply watched one of the developers play it, and he did it in response to a question I asked about the future of the game and if it would ever have player controlled vehicles. He fired up this demo in which he was driving a humvee, and I believe I recall seeing a tank, an apache, and possibly a troop transport vehicle of some kind in the scene which I assumed could be player-controlled. This was at the end of the meeting, and all I got to see were a couple of minutes of him driving around. This was over a year ago, and I don't remember the details of everything I saw on the screen. The only thing I recall asking him about it before I left was when that version would be released. He replied that they were targeting the fall or winter of 2005, but obviously that did not happen.

This comment was edited on Jul 13, 09:05.

That is what I was going to post. I saw a demo at E3 in 2005 of a version of the game with controllable vehicles like humvees, tanks, and apaches, but so far that version is still MIA.

Funny, I don't remember ever hearing about AH-64s or Tanks in any version of America's Army, including that of the E3 previews from 2006 all the way back to 2004.

I am not an Army expert by any means but do the Special Forces really go tearing through towns in tanks and jeeps? I thought they were more of a sneak up and kill you kind of group which is more like how the game is designed.

From what I've read from interviews and heard from beta testers the only drivable vehicle is going to be a Humvee with a mounted remote-controlled turret (this is to coincide with real-life changes to the Humvee load-out due to gunner fatalities from rollovers and enemy fire). The Army strives to make AAO very in tune with current Army and Special Forces operations (both in weapons and in vehicles). The OpFor AI will have the T-62 Tank, BMP-1 IFV and BTR-80 APC, but those vehicles are not usable by players. I have heard nothing about the addition of an Apache or any air vehicles to the game.

I am not an Army expert by any means but do the Special Forces really go tearing through towns in tanks and jeeps? I thought they were more of a sneak up and kill you kind of group which is more like how the game is designed.

I agree that zipping around in vehicles would make this more like Battlefield which would require a lot of weapon balance changes.

-Nighthawk

as long as you put up with the america fuck yeah hoohaa crap...

Amen.

-------------------------------------------------
our daily interactions with 'real' people are far more scripted than any game. Your behavior at work... every aspect of your life conforms to a social script we all agree to play by.

If you're living out of the country and aren't a citizen, you're really getting a good deal on this game!

as long as you put up with the america fuck yeah hoohaa crap...

Yeah, the rest of us are freeloaders

and

We pay for all this with our taxes (those of us with jobs, anyway).

If you're living out of the country and aren't a citizen, you're really getting a good deal on this game!

Yeah, the rest of us are freeloaders

Though I would point out, that this money either is being spent either way. It's just a choice of whether it be given to game developers or to large corporations who own tv stations in the form of ad dollars.
This comment was edited on Jul 12, 14:28.

We pay for all this with our taxes (those of us with jobs, anyway).

Re: all the complaints about lack of driveable vehicles, old engine, etc.

Hm, it would almost seem that you get what you pay for.

If they were to do vehicles in this game it'd have to be a full-on simulator type deal. Ok, if it's a jeep it's a jeep, but if it's an M1 tank or an Apache and it worked like a BF1942 vehicle it wouldn't fit in with the theme very well.

HOOAH! Bring on the Co-Op! Been waiting forever on this.