Battlefield 2

[thalasi]

So this is coming out in about two weeks and the stuff Ive seen on it looks pretty sweet. Gamespot is getting the demo "soon" so Im definately looking forward to that. They have a couple demo movies up and the graphics and gameplay look to have been increased quite a bit with the most exciting aspect being built in voice chat. It has always seemed strange to me that consoles have been using it for so long(I think Socom for PS2 was the first back in 02?) but no PC games were built with that support. Youd think PC would have gotten it first since they typically have more resources to work with than consoles, though I have no idea what kind of drain that has on a system(I suspect it has more to do with internet connection than system resources).

This time around you get America, China and a make believe Middle-East Coalition. Its set in the near future so you get a bunch the current or prototype weapons and vehicles. The only thing middle eastern about the MEC team is tan skin and desert backdrops since they use entirely Russian equipment, which is somewhat accurate but I thought it was kinda funny.

Maybe its just the fps junky in me or maybe its the marketing blitz on gamespot(which ironically I prefer over ign because they normally seem less bias) but Im pretty excited about this game in general.

[KJ43]

I've been playing Battlefield 1942 and some Vietnam for years now. I'm definitely looking forward to this being done right.

[billylove]

UT 2004 and Tribes have support for voice chat.

FYI, to run this game properly is going to require a nice bit of change dumped into my computer. So, I won't be getting this one for a while.

FYI, the guys that helped a whole lot in designing this are the one's who built the awesome Desert Combat Mod for BF 1942.

[billylove]

Also, it supposedly supports up to 100 players per map. And the map is supposed to dynamically scale based on number of players.

[billylove]

Found some specs over at AnandTech:

Target Minimum Specification Machine:
1.7 Ghz CPU
512 Megabytes of RAM
128 MB video card (must support 1.4 shaders)

Recommended Specification Machine:
2.66 Ghz CPU
1024 Megabytes of RAM
256 MB video card"

[Bombjack]

Desert Combat has been a mainstay of my gaming group for ages, so we've all been looking forward to BF2.

Assuming it doesn't somehow turn out to be a complete turkey, this is going to kick off my long-considered PC upgrade. Happily the new Athlon64 X2's should be reaching wider availability when the time comes to pull the trigger, if I can just get my old car sold.

[thalasi]

The demos out now. Its a big file(~550 megs) and its sponsered by gamespot but unless your a paying member it wont dl any faster than 20kps or so taking more than six hours. Id definately recommend this link (http://public1.insomnia365.com/bf2/Battlefield_2_Demo_GC.zip) instead. It topped out more around 500-600kps and a little less than 20 minutes.

On the whole I like this game quite a bit. I find myself feeling completely retarded when it comes to piloting any helicopter. I can take off and go straight but once it comes time to aim and shoot anything or, god forbid, turn left or right I lawn dart right into the ground. The biggest complaint Ive seen from others on the servers is that it takes too many shots to kill people but I think thats just a snipers problem as with the basic assault rifle people die about when youd expect them to, slightly past the point where its realistic but not Delta Force style one shot kills.

[mongycore]

dammit, so this had to be an EA game. A good EA game, maybe even a great EA game.

Played the demo off and on this weekend. Sickly addicting combat. Settled with being an anti-tank dude running around. Ventured further and started playing with the tanks. Jesus they are awesome. The whole enviroment is crazy - jets, helicopters, assorted vehicles running around. Wish you could crank up the resolution just a little bit higher in the demo.

This is the new Torlan.

I'm curious though - are medics effective in this game? Seems a lot of people were just playing this unreal style accepting death to respawn than actually seek out help.

[Bombjack]

Medics are very effective. A medic in a vehicle heals everyone in that vehicle automatically, and anyone close by. Same with resupply guys, they give you reloads automatically in that situation. Very neat, really rewards a well-balanced squad. Also medics can bring you back to life (assuming you didn't get blown up too much).

I'm giving this a big thumbs up, looking forward to buying the real thing.

[Domingo]

If a medic runs around holding the medpac all day, he is a tough mother to take down. Providing your wounds are "bullet" based, a medic can use shock paddles to revive you, hopefully before you respawn.

[mongycore]

spent some time playing the medic today. not actually being productive because several of the servers had team balancing issues where the matches would be 12 people on the american side and 4 on the middle eastern side. turns out medics are cool...[has flashbacks to team fortress]...

later on I think I'll see if there's anything cool to do as an engineer.

[Agent 86]

I love playing this.

I really like having all the players being in squads. If there isn't a commander, I enjoy being one especially when there are responsive squad leaders.

Jets are hard to fly, of course. I really need a joystick. I have tried the helicopters a few times. They are the difficult.

I really want to get a new video card to enjoy this.

[Bombjack]

As a mouse-using helo pilot, I am currently on the following settings in BF2: set invertion on and turn up pitch scaling to 3. You can then adjust your overall mouse sensitivity to whatever you like. This setup lets you get the nose up and down quickly for when you're a) about to die and need to get moving asap or b) crashing into the crane at the construction site AGAIN BECAUSE YOU WEREN'T LOOKING FORWARDS AAARGH.

I'd use a joystick but despite being an absolutely avid flight-sim fan in the past, I now have no sticks I can use. They all either spike or have a huge deadspot in the centre, both of which annoy the hell out of me. Arse. I'll buy a Thrustmaster setup one of these days...

[keeks]

A pretty cool BF2 stunt video: Stunts of Oman (http://files.filefront.com/Stunts_of_Oman/;3895695;;/fileinfo.html)

[mongycore]

can't have some EA love on its own without balancing things out with some a-typical EA hate...

so, if you install the 1.01 patch - EA recommends you uninstall the game, then re-install, and don't touch that aids filled patch until they figure out how to code?

smart move guys.

[Domingo]

Some nasty server memory leak problems are going down that EA needs to patch. Fast.

[Carl Cunningham]

dammit, so this had to be an EA game. A good EA game, maybe even a great EA game. It's a DICE game. EA is just the publisher.

Though they do own DICE, they have yet to fully assimilate and destroy them.

[mongycore]

an ea game is still an ea game. they get the money in the end so they can eventually piss all over good companies like ubisoft and the splinter cell games for example...and I'll be god damned if those slime bags get some of my cash.

(jesus I'm a fucking fanatic)...

my wife is threatening to buy this for me....blame attack of the show...they keep featuring it as their lan game.

I'd prefer xbox pirates or san andreas, but I still haven't finished vice city to go that route.