BOHEMIA INTERACTIVE ANNOUNCES PLANS FOR UPCOMING PC-EXCLUSIVE TACTICAL MILITARY SHOOTER GAME, ARMA 3 ALPHA OPEN TO PUBLIC.
Fans of the series will be glad to hear that Bohemia Interactive has announced that from Tuesday March 5th and onward players will be able to try out the newest installment to ARMA by participating in the semi-open Alpha testing of the game. The Arma 3 Alpha will give players access to a limited amount of playable and sandbox content while receiving and testing updates to the game all the way up to the Beta which is expected to start in the second quarter of this year.
The final release of Arma 3 is scheduled for Q3 2013.
Four missions are made available to entice players into the game: Infantry, Vehicles, SCUBA, and Helicopter. What would a shooter be without guns and vehicles? Bohemia Interactive has allowed access to a limited subset of weapons and vehicles, two multiplayer scenarios, a scenario editor and modding support.
Jay Crow, the Co-Creative Director for Arm 3 says,
The Arma 3 Alpha is a big milestone in the project’s development. Testing early and often puts us on the right track towards improving performance, stability and delivering on our goal of creating a robust final release. It’s also a big opportunity to get the game in the hands of our passionate community, which enables them to start work on their own creations, tailored to the fourth generation of the Real Virtuality engine.
In order to participate in the Arma 3 Alpha, all you have to do is purchase either the Arma 3 (24.99 EUR/19.99 GBP/32.99 USD) or Arma 3 Digital Deluxe Edition (39.99 EUR/34.99 GBP/49.99 USD). Both pre-purchases will allow access to the Beta and prices will rise once Beta goes live. Expected prices not known but this writer thinks it might just be worth buying now if you have any interest in this fan-favorite.
The Digital Deluxe Edition includes a digital soundtrack, digital maps, digital tactical guide, and a Steam Gift of Arma: Cold War Assault (a.k.a. Operation Flashpoint: cold War Crisis.)
For those of you worried about the game not fulfilling all its promises, fret not. Bohemia Interactive has done well to us all and allowed a free limited version of the Alpha named Arma 3 Alpha Lite. This ‘Lite’ version will be available a week after Alpha goes live but will not include multiplayer or modding support.
Sadly though for the social recluse, you better start making friends, Alpha Lite is only available through invites from people how have already purchased the full Alpha. If friends are a problem, you can always try your luck at getting a random invite distributed via Arma 3 social channels and other giveaways from media outlets.
The Arma 3 Alpha will be available on Steam next Tuesday March 5th, 2013. For more information on the Alpha, be sure to visit the brand new Arma 3 website.
