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 Arma Tactical Combat and Rolling Thunder event organizer Nemesi!
BIO
Nemesi of Rhamnous, 2nd Century AD copy of the cult statue from the sanctuary of Rhamnous, Attica, attributed to Agorakritos. Farnese Collection, National Archaeological Museum of Naples
Nickname: Nemesi
Age: A bit old...
Location: Italy
Occupation: Molecular Biologist (university researcher)
BASELINE
Can you provide us with one random fact about yourself?
If I may, I will provide two:
The very first time I joined a multiplayer server I thought it would be a brief and unnoticed experience…
Secondly, I have vivid memories of the first time I played on Chernarus. I was used to the sun of Sahrani, so everything looked grey and gloomy to me. I remember a building with peeling plaster near the railroad, it was in Elektrozavodsk most likely. I thought "oh my God, where have they deployed us!" as if it were for real.
I came to love that harsh land and Chernarus became my homeland (in terms of gaming) for many years and it remains the place where my best Arma memories come from.
What is the origin of the nickname Nemesi?
I began my multiplayer experience late, but at some point I wanted to just try it out. It was with Ghost Recon: Advanced Warfighter, I joined a server and needed a nickname.
As a woman I wanted a female nickname but nothing eye-catching, something sober, not like Pink Power for example. My classical studies led me to Nemesi from Greek mythology. (Nothing to do with Nemesis of Resident Evil, I learned later that Nemesis was used as a male nickname by English-speaking players). The meaning is not vengeance but "give what deserved, either good or bad.
I thought I would have been unnoticed and I could change my nickname anytime. But circumstances dictated differently. So this somewhat austere nickname has become part of my gaming identity.
What's the first Arma game you played?
The very first Arma. I ended up missing Flashpoint. I was not too in-depth with videogames at the time. I stepped into Arma by chance (it was not well known outside the niche of enthusiasts) and this encounter changed my gaming experience, otherwise I most probably would not have continued.
What is your current Arma 3 playtime?
Nearly 20,000, but many of those hours were spent in editor.
What is your favorite game of all time?
Arma 2 as for the community and player base. Arma 3 is obviously better nowadays in terms of the game itself, but the community feeling and the atmosphere that was in Arma 2 are something unforgettable. It was a niche game, poorly distributed, you needed to be an enthusiast to buy it (before DayZ). So the players were not that many but dedicated to the game. They knew that to play Arma they needed to be part of a unit; there were almost no public servers and so no casual gamers. The units were in large part well organized, making events easier as we knew each other very well and in large part we shared common ideas in terms of gameplay.
Outside of video games, what other hobbies do you enjoy?
Outdoor activities! I like mountains, sea, walking, trekking, and sea kayak excursions.
Can you show us your PC setup?
QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
How and when did you get into Arma?
I stepped into Arma by chance after a very short multiplayer experience with GRAW. If I didn't encounter Arma I would most probably not have continued playing. This was in 2007.
How do you play or engage with Arma 3 nowadays?
Due to the lack of specific knowledge in programming, my contribution to Arma and the community is organizing team vs. team (TvT) events. If I had more technical knowledge I would have likely coupled organizing events to modding. I can do only small things like some retexturing or small tweaks that I enjoy anyway.
Could you tell us about Rolling Thunder?
It was originally conceived by a real-life tank commander in the Dutch Army with the very original nickname of “Dutch.” He wanted to simulate large scale tank combat to introduce the broad Arma players to tank warfare. We cooperated in the organization of the events, and when he retired from playing I felt good to continue the project - with his permission of course. To my knowledge, after many years (it started in Arma 2 in 2011) Rolling Thunder is still unique in its focus on large scale tank battles and still enjoyed by players.
What is your involvement with Arma Tactical Combat?
It's my baby and the main reason I play Arma. When I first encountered Arma, I was fascinated by the large and varied terrains and by the possibility of complex operations using a broad variety of assets. Arma was specifically advertised for large scale operations at the time.
At the very beginning of my Arma experiences in 2007, a unit leader from a North American group (he was from Alaska if I remember correctly) came to our TS2 inviting us to play a gamemode similar in style to Advance and Secure. At the time the quickest way to have contacts between units was via TS2, as there was no Discord. I still remember his terrible (to my ears) accent and TS2 audio quality didn't help at all!
It was a TvT operation consisting of multiple units. I don't recall exactly how the scale was but it was as large as possible for the time. But it started at 3:00 am my time and ended at 6:00 am!
I thought having different units operating together for common objectives was what I wanted from the game and that it would have been great to have something like that but scheduled within the European timezone. Since then, I committed myself to turning this dream into reality.
The first Arma Tactical Combat campaign took place from February to June 2009 in Sahrani. The idea behind was and is to simulate combined forces military operations involving nearly all assets present in the game. Two opposite factions consisting of alliances of different units fight in a multi battle campaign with the aim of gaining control over strategically important objectives, leaving complete freedom about the strategy and tactics each faction wants to employ. This means not having artificial constraints or fixed behaviours set by the gamemode.
Planning the mission is a fundamental part of the game as well as learning from mistakes and studying the opponents strengths and weaknesses - which is why the event is a longer campaign. One time it happened that a faction dominated the first battle but then the opponents won the campaign, as they learned how to play together and counter the opponents actions, that's the beauty of ATC! Each unit that is part of the alliance is asked to contribute to the plan and provides combat forces according to the unit specialization.
ATC is demanding but also rewarding. We had very long campaigns in the past - up to 15 battles in Arma 2 - with an average of 10 battles per campaign. We played weekly at the time, and we had both side and unit briefings each week. It was hard, but also beautiful! I have many good memories.
These days, life does not allow anymore for such long commitments. However, we are playing the 20th edition with the number of battles reduced to 4 per campaign and I am really happy we could achieve this goal and continue playing the ATC campaigns without interruptions from Arma 1 through Arma 2 and 3, and possibly beyond!
What is your favorite piece of Arma 3 user-created content (mod, addon, scenario, game mode, tool) and why?
ACE, ACRE, CUP, RHS - the mods I use for our events.
ACE was a must for Arma 2, it was "Arma" for me, and I couldn't conceive of the game without it.
ACRE was a truly game changer. Everyone now thinks that radio and voice communication must be part of the game, but for a long time it was not like that. Communications were through TS2 "whispers". You could not hear someone just beside you if they were in a different TS channel. The voice had no directionality.
I remember the first time I used ACRE in Arma 2, for some reason I was left behind the squad and was trying to rejoin them, I could not see them in the Chernarus forests but I began to hear their voices, faint at first, then increasingly louder and clearer. It was exciting, but now it's normal.
CUP and RHS are fundamental in bringing content that is absolutely necessary for our combined ops.
Can you share your #1 pro tip for any Arma 3 player?
Do not treat Arma 3 as a simple shooter game, as it is much more than that. It's more like a sport in that it will be demanding but it will also reward you if you explore more in depth its potential!
What are you looking forward to with the franchise as we move along the road to Arma 4?
What I'm looking forward to is maintaining the uniqueness of the Arma series in the new game, so all the features we know and like. So, in essence, not being another shooter, but being “Arma.”
What I fear is the transition. Events are like financial markets in that they like stability. I remember the transition between Arma 2 and 3 when the old was dying while the new was not completely developed.
I'm looking forward to having a good platform, easily customisable (this is fundamental, not having fixed, unchangeable gamemodes) to be used for Arma 4 ATC and Rolling Thunder as well!
Freedom to create your own gamemode - as it has been until now - is the key!
BONUS: What is your favorite Italian sports team and why?
I don't follow team sports too much. I enjoyed watching the Winter Olympics and there are many athletes I liked. If I have to make a choice of a particular athlete I am a fan of at moment, I would say tennis player Jannik Sinner (it's not a winter sport I know). Why? He is very determined to achieve his goals and is very objective and critical of himself, and I like that attitude!
CLOSING
To finish the interview, do you have anything you'd like to share with the Arma community?
I'd like to thank all the Arma community and the developers for this incredible experience! That includes all those who contribute in any way and all those who have participated and continue to participate in our events over the years and support them. As I said, without Arma and its community my gaming experience would have been most probably very brief, unnoticed, and unremarkable. But, all those years ago, Arma captured me!