Hot News

Latest News

Shacker Creates Insanely Impressive Tactical Gaming Guide, Available Online or in Print

by Chris Remo, Jan 23, 2008 3:27pm PST
Related Topics – Games: PC

Shacker dslyecxi is well known among the Shack community for heading up the Shack Tactical online gaming group, better known as ShackTac, which frequently organizes battles with Shacknews and Something Awful community members. He is equally well known for being an all-around proponent of highly realistic tactical shooter gaming, and frequently posts about titles like Bohemia Interactive's Operation Flashpoint and its later followup by the same studio, Armed Assault (aka ArmA).

Dslyecxi has also created the mammoth Shack Tactical 'Armed Assault: Combat Operations' Tactics, Techniques, and Procedures Guide. It has been available since mid-2007, but it is worth highlighting here as a particularly impressive and dedicated piece of work. It has a focus on ArmA, even suggesting particular mods for that game, but most of its material can be applied to these kinds of tactical games in general.

The guide has gotten high praise from Bohemia itself. "This guide also does great job in staying in the boundaries of tactical computer gaming and does not try just to repeat excerpts of real world field manuals which are not always so valuable in the realm of tactical gaming," said CEO Marek Spanel. "It is definitelly the most comprehensive overview of various aspects of the simulation provided in ArmA published to date."

The whole thing is available for free online at the above address but, even more impressively, it can also be purchased in a print version designed by ShackTac member mofo8.


Read all the News


Comments

8 Threads | 14 Comments
  • #4
    Refresh Thread
    By: Lightzout This person is cool! x
    Reply
    What I like most about this opus is that its inception began well ahead of the current trend toward this style of play in more mainstream games. Its growing popularity may be related to a maturing audience looking for more complex challenges in the multiplayer arena. Try managing a 60 man co-op game with multiple fire-teams using a top down chain of command over Teamspeak and you can appreciate how well these techniques work when applied judiciously even before the game starts. Other groups formed around games like Arma in recent years which espouse their hardcore mil-sim attitude and strict adherence to military doctrine. This usually results in a lot of pomp and circumstance doesn't accentuate the actual in-game experience. If you want to have fun playing tactical games like Arma without having to lose your sense of humor the Shack Tactical guide shows how it can be done. Personally, I think Shackers who may be even slightly interested should just drop by the website and check it out. Its unlike anything else out there and Dslyecxi is still so far ahead of the curve on what gaming will be like in the years to come the developers can't keep up.
    Jan 24, 2008 7:25am PST