Arma 3, the tactical military shooter famous for its dedication to realism and accuracy, will soon allow its players to battle the Father of the Gods himself.
Zeus isn’t necessarily the sort of DLC I’d expect from a game like Arma 3, but it does sound like something I’d love to play. It allows players to become Game Masters who “curate the online battles of other players” by changing the conditions on the ground through the use of an intuitive, real-time editor. Instead of a scripted scenario, players will be thrust into the unknown, forcing them to think and adapt to conditions that can change at in instant.
Developer Bohemia Interactive said the idea for Zeus was inspired by tabletop games like Dungeons & Dragons, in which one human runs the game while others actually play it. It works in all “familiar” multiplayer modes including Team Deathmatch and Sector Control, but the real action is the “Zeus Game Master” mode, which gives the GM a free hand to create objectives, spawn opposing units and guide players across the battlefield however they see fit.
“The Zeus system is pretty modular too, so community creators can easily use it in their missions,” Lead Designer Karel Moricky said. “Or take it apart and turn into something completely different. There are no rules, only those you make yourself.”
The reveal trailer may give a better idea of how the system will work, and it certainly looks exciting. It also looks, at least to me, like the sort of thing that might be open to abuse; your squad rounds the corner and runs into, say, 700 angry grizzly bears with miniguns strapped to their backs. Which would be extremely cool, yes, but not exactly kosher in terms of a realistic combat scenario.
Bohemia Interactive hasn’t said anything about what measures will be available to prevent such shenanigans, but it will presumably touch on the matter this Saturday, February 15, during a gameplay livestream that will begin at noon EST. In the meantime, you can get a look at Zeus for yourself arma3.com.
