Arma 3 hails people of every flavor from all over the world. To get to know them a little better, we're hosting a series of mini-interviews with some of our amazing community members. These aim to give you a personal insight into their backgrounds, why they got into Arma, and how they typically experience the game. In this issue, we interview community content creator DigbyTW.
BIO
Name: Matt, but most people just call me Digby.
Nickname: DigbyTW
Age: 31
Location: UK
BASELINE
Can you provide us with one random fact about yourself?
I once broke my leg on stage. So when people tell you to do that, don’t. It hurts.
So what is the origin of the name DigbyTW?
Major Allison Digby Tatham-Warter - I am named after this magnificent bastard. I honestly never expected this name to stick, either! So I'm somewhat stuck with the theft of this chap's name.
What's the first Arma game you played?
Arma 2! I got into it around the same time that the DayZ craze kicked off, but I was mainly playing Invade & Annex servers and Liberation instead.
What is your current Arma 3 playtime?
At the time of writing, 7172 hours. So, that’s… 297 days, 42 weeks, 10 Months. A long time.
What is your favorite game of all time?
This is a difficult one! I’ve had a number of favorite games, but honestly, Arma 3 is probably it. It’s just so versatile as a sandbox, and with mods, you can make pretty much every era of conflict if you want to.
Outside of video games, what other hobbies do you enjoy?
I am an avid LARPer. I used to do "living history" a lot but I’m moving away from it slowly for more LARP. It’s just more fun!
QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
How and why did you get into Arma?
I got into Arma through FrankieonPC’s DayZ series back in 2009/2010, if only because the underlying game intrigued me and I wanted something to relax with when I’d finished at university for the day. I was studying International Relations at university, so I’ve always had an interest in military stuff, so a sandbox-type game I could jump into and have a gunfight was just up my street.
I did some mil-sim stuff with a large community, but I found a lot of the ‘Yes Sir, No Sir’ stuff that accompanies their style of ops got grating after a few months, so I started playing on public servers a bit more. Soon, I started playing with FK, met the ZF chaps and the rest is history.
How do you play or engage with Arma 3 nowadays?
I’ve become somewhat of a forever-Zeus, in the D&D sense of being a forever DM. That said, I do it as I like making really large-scale "mega operations" that push the boundaries of what Arma can do.
The catalyst was that someone once told me I couldn’t make an operation with 90 players and give them a good game or throw many AI at them. I made Operation Bluecoat, and we broke that barrier quite handily.
Someone then told me a helicopter assault with 100+ people would be impractical - then came LZ X-Ray with the S.O.G. Prairie Fire guys.
Someone then told me the gliders in IFA3 don’t fly very well - 80-person, glider-borne operation.
In the words of Han Solo, “Never tell me the odds!”
What has been your favorite “mega operation” event you have hosted?
They’ve all been great fun to run, but Goodnight Vienna was my first and I think still the best operation I’ve ever put together. It has an intro and outro, lore, 80+ players, and a fully simulated battalion radio net to get the players immersed. I personally think it’s probably the best thing I’ve made yet, but Goose Green was a close second for how brilliant night fighting with tracers and flares looks.
Are there any upcoming events you can tell us a bit about?
I’ve usually got anywhere between four to six mega ops in planning at any one time with various themes (I’m making a 1960s spy movie at the moment with a full set of opening titles that just needs a kick over the line), but the BIG ONE is a project that, if successful, might take a world record for number of concurrent players in the same instance, and on top that, a new bit of Arma lore into the equation. Watch this space.
What is your favorite piece of Arma 3 user-created content (mod, addon, scenario, game mode, tool) and why?
S.O.G. Prairie Fire. Hands down.
That CDLC is an absolute tour-de-force in game design, and is my go rebuttal to people who say “historical accuracy in games makes them unfun.” Play Prairie Fire, look at its attention to historical detail AND how well it plays, and then tell me that it isn't fun. I’ve actually started reading a lot more books on MACV-SOG just because of that CDLC.
Well done Rob Graham and Savage Game Design. It’s ace.
Can you share your #1 pro-tip for any Arma 3 player?
Any Arma group that has ranks you must put in your name, enforces times each week to play Arma, expects attendance at their ops, and expects you to call their "officers" Sir or Ma'am are not worth your time or attention.
Keep looking.
There are plenty of groups that will offer you a much nicer Arma experience without all the additional horse manure that comes with semi-professional mil-simmers.
With the release of Arma Reforger and modding tools for Enfusion Engine, what are you looking forward to with the franchise as we move along the road to Arma 4?
Arma Reforger has an absolute boatload of potential. Base-game complex radios and medical systems are a MASSIVE plus for the series, and I am super excited to see how far I can push the Enfusion Engine once we have the editor capacity for it. I will need to relearn my craft with my server team being such SUPERB Arma modders (Crow’s Zeus Additions was made by a moderator of mine and is now a staple of Arma Zeus modding) I am also super excited to see what they can accomplish with it.
BONUS: What is your favorite military history book and why?
This is a tie between To the Victor the Spoils by Sean Longden, which is about all the stuff British troops got up to in occupied Europe during the Second World War, and Across the Fence by John Stryker Meyer, just for the amazing feats of arms recorded therein by Meyer about MACV-SOG patrols in Laos and Cambodia during the Vietnam War.
CLOSING
To finish the interview, do you have anything you'd like to share with the Arma community?
They said it couldn’t be done, so I’m going to do it.
Arma Battalion. 500 playable slots, same time, same battle, all in an interlinked scenario.
It’s coming - I just need to get my arse in gear to actually make the scenarios and pitch it to Bohemia Interactive!