Battlefield Bad Company 2

[Stoney Mason]

I couldn't get the Veteran thing to work either but then I always have an awful experience with anything related to those ea.com accounts.

[duckman2000]

How is the A.I.? That was one of the weaker points of Bad Company.

[Stoney Mason]

How is the A.I.? That was one of the weaker points of Bad Company.

It's not bad. It's not great. It depends on what you're looking for. The major problem to me with the AI in the first bad company was that there wasn't any. Once you entered a zone of nearness every enemy immediately knew where you were and fired at you all the time. The game was actually artificially hard in that manner.

The enemies now have line of sight awareness only. So it's possible to flank them and catch them unaware which is a nice improvement. Other than that it's mostly fairly vanilla. An enemy will occasionally try to flank you himself but that's pretty rare from what I've seen. They mostly alternating moving from cover to cover and then fire from stationary points. It gets the job done but their not doing anything especially clever that I've seen. It's actually a much easier game in my experience compared to the first because of the line of sight thing.

One weird thing is that even though the enemies use line of sight its hard in my experience to play in a stealthy manner. The enemey seems to know when you've entered an area and then starts firing in general. (perhaps it's the rest of your team alerting them or something as they move around)

[brawndolicious]

So does anybody want to play online tonight?  I don't know if you can create a private room but I think we'd at least be on the same squad.

[demi]

I'm finishing the SP before I jump online. If I dont fall asleep that is

[ManaByte]

You can create a squad with friends. You can also use party chat on Xbl in any mode.

[brawndolicious]

yeah, that's what I thought.  It'll still be way better than playing with randoms tho.

[ManaByte]

Finally got the achievement for winning each mode. Squad DM is hard sice most players are distinguished mentally-challenged fellows. 

[fistfulofmetal]

Worked for me.

in game it shows the M1 in the All Ranks weapons list, but I can't actually choose it in game.

[The Fake Shemp]

Kestastrophe, my brother and I played for hours.

[brawndolicious]

and you're done?

[Stoney Mason]

I'm done for tonight but if anyone wants to play on the weekend just shoot me an invite.

[cool breeze]

I'm so glad that the Thompson is unlocked from the start in this game.  I am not a fan of LMGs and I play as medic, so the thompson lets me be a capable killer while I heal my team.  Though, this third LMG is pretty good and I hear the M60 is a beast (1.5 the amount of points before I unlock it)

[Stoney Mason]

Yeah I'm that way with the recon class. I'm not a sniper so I just put that gun in there and use the class in a slightly different manner as an smg class with the motion detector and the anti-tank stuff.

In fact it seems like nearly half the time I die, that's the gun that kills me. A lot of people are using that gun most likely in the recon and medic classes.

[demi]

Got all the SP achievements, I am available for online shootan if anyone is playing.

[demi]

If SP is "infinitely" times better I would hate to imagine how "infinitely" times awful the first one was. The SP in this game is trash and snoozeville.

[cool breeze]

Yeah I'm that way with the recon class. I'm not a sniper so I just put that gun in there and use the class in a slightly different manner as an smg class with the motion detector and the anti-tank stuff.

In fact it seems like nearly half the time I die, that's the gun that kills me. A lot of people are using that gun most likely in the recon and medic classes.

It's a bit of a shame that they don't offer a larger range of weapons for all classes.  It seems like the next ones unlock in 20+ levels for me.

I think they should have given the engineer a different weapon class and made the SMGs for all classes since they're the most balanced.  Like, if they use the shotguns from single player that had a bit more range, I think they would be good for engineer.  

That way it's broken up by:
assault = mid to long
engineer = close to mid
medic = mid range
sniper = long range

And SMGs provide good close, great mid, and good long range.

Would have made all the classes more appealing.

I also don't like the idea that you have to unlock things like the repair kit or med pack.  I normally don't play as engineer, but if there is a situation that calls for the role, it is a bit annoying that I don't have access to their namesake ability until I play as them for a while as a normal shoot and kill soldier.

[FatalT]

I maxed out the medic class and I'm working on the assault class now. I love the multiplayer in this.

[OptimoPeach]

Can someone give me a quick rundown of the multiplayer experience and how it compares to something like MW2? Never played a Battlefield game, and what little I know about the series (which is not much) has mostly been gleaned from gameplay clips on YouTube that generally aren't very revealing.

[Stoney Mason]

It's a bit of a shame that they don't offer a larger range of weapons for all classes.  It seems like the next ones unlock in 20+ levels for me.

I think they should have given the engineer a different weapon class and made the SMGs for all classes since they're the most balanced.  Like, if they use the shotguns from single player that had a bit more range, I think they would be good for engineer.  

That way it's broken up by:
assault = mid to long
engineer = close to mid
medic = mid range
sniper = long range

And SMGs provide good close, great mid, and good long range.

Would have made all the classes more appealing.

I also don't like the idea that you have to unlock things like the repair kit or med pack.  I normally don't play as engineer, but if there is a situation that calls for the role, it is a bit annoying that I don't have access to their namesake ability until I play as them for a while as a normal shoot and kill soldier.

Yeah. One of the things I love about MW 2 is that I can essentially customize any class and any gun to any playstyle although I'm fine with the way Battlefield handles it where they try to go for more discrete classes.

And yeah having to unlock the base gadgets was dumb. As a medic you literally can't do anything at first which defeats the whole purpose of the class. Fortunately it doesn't take much to unlock that stuff but it was a weird call imo also.

[Stoney Mason]

Can someone give me a quick rundown of the multiplayer experience and how it compares to something like MW2? Never played a Battlefield game, and what little I know about the series (which is not much) has mostly been gleaned from gameplay clips on YouTube that generally aren't very revealing.

It's very different.Despite what some will tell you neither is "superior" in any definitive sense. They are just different. They simply have a different focus. Modern Warfare is faster. Quicker response controls and high framerate, and individual skill is highly emphasized even in a team focus. Battlefield is more "simmy" in comparison. Individual skill while still important is less important than in COD due to things like squad spawning and the squad system in general. And the vehicles create larger maps and a different play style.

People who like arcade action and tight controls in their MP tend to like Modern Warfare more. People who like a more simulation team feel tend to like Battlefield more. That's honestly what it comes down. They both are pretty great especially in the MP department for all most completely different reasons even though to the average person it all looks like Modern day soldiers in either game running around and killing each other. They each scratch different areas of my gamer taste buds.

[Stoney Mason]

I mentioned this earlier. Hopefully they address the team imbalance matchmaking issues that arise relatively soon. Good example of what I'm talking about. This happens quite a bit.

[youtube=560,345][/youtube]

[huckleberry]

I am itching to play so bad...but I just had to order from Amazon.  Even though it left its facility in my hometown it is still going to be Monday before it arrives. 

[Hitler Stole My Potato]

Because of certain people bitching about me playing this game on my home theater with the War Tapes settings on, I went out and bought an Astro A40 Audio System - aka wireless Dolby Digtial headphones with a seperate audio processing unit.  Crazy expensive for gaming headphones ($250) but holy crap are they fucking awesome to listen to while playing this game.  I can hear shit coming in every direction, not that it helps me any at all because I suck balls at the game, but at least it's nice to hear the sound of footsteps creeping up from behind me before they knife me in the back without having to wake everyone up in the house.

[brawndolicious]

I maxed out the medic class and I'm working on the assault class now. I love the multiplayer in this.

I got the last perk for it but I still need 3 more guns.  It's too easy to get xp for really because of the defib paddles and med kits.

[Kestastrophe]

Let's get some games going this evening 

[cool breeze]

Because of certain people bitching about me playing this game on my home theater with the War Tapes settings on, I went out and bought an Astro A40 Audio System - aka wireless Dolby Digtial headphones with a seperate audio processing unit.  Crazy expensive for gaming headphones ($250) but holy crap are they fucking awesome to listen to while playing this game.  I can hear shit coming in every direction, not that it helps me any at all because I suck balls at the game, but at least it's nice to hear the sound of footsteps creeping up from behind me before they knife me in the back without having to wake everyone up in the house.

yeah, nice headphones and a surround sound solution are great.  I've done most of my gaming using them for about two years of living here.

[demi]

Let's get some games going this evening 

I'll play. Sorry I didnt play yesterday.

[Hitler Stole My Potato]

Because of certain people bitching about me playing this game on my home theater with the War Tapes settings on, I went out and bought an Astro A40 Audio System - aka wireless Dolby Digtial headphones with a seperate audio processing unit.  Crazy expensive for gaming headphones ($250) but holy crap are they fucking awesome to listen to while playing this game.  I can hear shit coming in every direction, not that it helps me any at all because I suck balls at the game, but at least it's nice to hear the sound of footsteps creeping up from behind me before they knife me in the back without having to wake everyone up in the house.

yeah, nice headphones and a surround sound solution are great.  I've done most of my gaming using them for about two years of living here.

Looks like that's the way I'm going to go from now on.   It doesn't do as good of a job with audio isolation as my home theater but it's pretty damn close.  Very impressive piece of equipment.

[ManaByte]

http://forums.electronicarts.co.uk/battlefield-bad-company-2-pc/933150-updates-servers-now-soon.html#post13086470

btw: PC currently has more people playing and are in game servers than both the consoles.

[cool breeze]

shit, BC2 must have bombed hard 

[Stoney Mason]

shit, BC2 must have bombed hard 

He meant on an indidvidual sku basis. Not on a combined console basis. It definitely didn't bomb.

Anecdotally you can look around and see certain indidcators of how it sold.

Like the most played games list on Giant bomb or steam stats.

http://store.steampowered.com/stats/

Its definitely sold well. It had pretty high preorder numbers. Not anything near MW 2 which it never was going to do but then way above what the original Bad Company sold initially.

[ManaByte]

FYI looks like Squad Rush is available on PC. Suck it Gamestop.

[cool breeze]

shit, BC2 must have bombed hard 

He meant on an indidvidual sku basis. Not on a combined console basis. It definitely didn't bomb.

Anecdotally you can look around and see certain indidcators of how it sold.

Like the most played games list on Giant bomb or steam stats.

http://store.steampowered.com/stats/

Its definitely sold well. It had pretty high preorder numbers. Not anything near MW 2 which it never was going to do but then way above what the original Bad Company sold initially.

It was more a joke about how unpopular the PC is 

[fistfulofmetal]

the big desert map is awesome.

favorite map is Panama Canal.

[cool breeze]

so far my favorite map (I think I played on four, only on Conquest mode) is that one forest-y area that is a lot more dense and infantry focused.

[Stoney Mason]

It was more a joke about how unpopular the PC is 

I haven't had my cup of coffee to wake me up yet. 

[Kestastrophe]

Let's get some games going this evening 

I'll play. Sorry I didnt play yesterday.

You missed out on Willco bickering with his brother 

[ManaByte]

PC version just disconnected everyone and is prompting people for CD keys again.

[The Fake Shemp]

Let's get some games going this evening 

I'll play. Sorry I didnt play yesterday.

You missed out on Willco bickering with his brother 

Pretty much. I hate playing with him when he's cranky, he's so fucking argumentative.

Example:

<Me> Hey, there's a guy on the roof of A.
<Brother> Dude, there's guys everywhere. Whatever.

[brawndolicious]

My replacement mic was supposed to get here by yesterday but does anybody still want to play if I can't talk?

[The Fake Shemp]

Fuck you, EA.

[brawndolicious]

yeah I tried to connect for 20 minutes now and gave up.  I'll try again in a couple hours.

[AdmiralViscen]

Got in a match quickly and the three of us found that all of our perks are gone.

[Stoney Mason]

Got in a match quickly and the three of us found that all of our perks are gone.

Same here. 

I guess I'll play tomorrow then.

[AdmiralViscen]

Rebooting fixed it. We also checked My Stats in the main menu to force a resync and it all popped up. Then we had to wait like 5 seconds before picking a class when in the next match.

What the fuck is with this?

[Stoney Mason]

I'll just finish up the singleplayer tonight and hope the MP is working better tomorrow. I feared the weekend would be an issue with so many people playing and the typical bad performace of EA servers.

[The Fake Shemp]

Rebooting also fixed the whacky missing perks glitch.

Is there a community director for EA or DICE that I can e-mail? This is ridiculous.

[cool breeze]

the knife in this is pretty lame

your animation can complete, make the noise and all that, then say you didn't stab the guy

[The Fake Shemp]

It's too janky, that's for sure.

Servers are back up. Had some fun times. If it wasn't for the fact that DICE puts out such a compelling product, I'd find it very difficult to financially support this series. Absolutely ridiculous after so many iterations into this console generation. People like your game, buy more servers you dickheads.

[cool breeze]

that's pretty much how I feel

I want to be more angry, but when I can finally play I have a lot of fun.

[duckman2000]

Is it shitty on all platforms, or just the 360? For some reason, DICE games seem to have issues with XBL.

[The Fake Shemp]

It has nothing to do with XBL at all; Bad Company 2 is run on EA's servers. As have all the console versions.

Even the PC version is having some multiplayer issues for those not at the mercy of EA's dedicated servers.

[cool breeze]

I'm playing it on PC and there are problems.

I still think people don't know how to play properly.  If a medic dies, it is in the team's best interest to take his kit and revive him.  As someone who plays medic and revives like crazy, it is really annoying when I never get revived when I die.  And not to give MAG credit, but they should have had a camera that let you see if a medic was close by or coming to heal you so you don't spawn right away. 

[duckman2000]

The medic in general seem to be a class for weathered teams only, no matter which game. MAG was especially damned due to the sheer scale of the skirmish zones, in that even if there were medics doing their job, the chances of them being anywhere near you were slim enough as to make it far less frustrating to just respawn. But I don't think deaths actually cost you tickets in MAG.

Anyway, shame to hear about the issues. I thought it was promising how well the beta worked, but I guess a small sample is just that.

[Stoney Mason]

I never get revived by medics unless I'm in a squad of people I know. It just doesn't happen. I don't think people are really into that and there is no real area of the game where it teaches you that skill. It's not like you're reviving people in the campaign or anything.

They will occasionally toss out the med kit packs but you almost never get revived.

Generally if you do get revived though the good thing is that its a sign you're playing with a smarter player which bodes well for your squad or team.

[duckman2000]

I guess it leaves you vulnerable for a split second, and when you're dealing with people who run straight for the far away and hidden wuss class, that's hardly an option. Just guessing here, based on how people behaved in the beta.

[Stoney Mason]

I think being a medic is initially the hardest class. Especially since you don't start with anything and you use an LMG which I think a lot of people don't like. I think that turns people off. Not to mention as a medic you have to be slightly more aware situationally of what it is going on. Most people like to run and gun or snipe and I think to be a good medic you have to be far more aware than the other classes. And less face it. It requires a different kind of mindset. You have to be willing to rush in to a potentially dangerous situation and disarm yourself for a moment essentially to help out another player. People on average generally aren't that nice.


That being said when you have a good medic on your squad its awesome and really helpful. I'm going to start leveling up that class. I have the basic gadgets for the class and its fun to do imo.

Hell all the classes are really fun in their own unique ways.

[cool breeze]

I've just always played medic.  I enjoy running out and saving someone, then having them kill a couple guys after that.  Makes you feel like you have a greater impact on the battle.  I dunno, I even do support stuff that doesn't get you points.  Like, in the last round I was hanging back as someone in my squad was on the UAV, making sure no one was about to sneak up and attack him or attack the flag below.  It's not like I'm bad at killing people in the game and I've been avoiding the thompson to get a feel for the LMGs; unlocking red dot helped a lot since some of the iron sights are terrible.

I occasionally have been switching to engineer to unlock the repair tool, because sometimes I spawn into a squad member's tank and want to be able to heal him, or there is a tank heading towards our base and I need the RPG.

[Stoney Mason]

I finished up the campaign tonight.


It's okay. Its average as far as rollercoaster shooters go. The story is meh.  Go stop the super-weapon stuff. The squad interactions are the only real interesting bit about that and that part is actually toned down from the last game to keep a more serious tone which is probably the correct call.

I enjoyed it for what it was but it just doesn't have enough memorable moments or memorable set pieces to really stand out. The actual combat is solid enough but it never really uses it do anything interesting or create really unique or intense moments. You just sort of move from stage to stage fighting the bad guys and nothing ever really stands out above anything else. And oddly enough the scripting and set pieces actually get weaker and worse as you go further in the game. The first 40% of the game is the better part. The last half things get sort of messy.

I played on hard and it was mostly easy although I noticed that was because I used the sniper rifle and the acog. When you used the other weapons, the game became tougher because you had to get closer to the enemies so I found myself avoiding those weapon types and just using the long range stuff.

Honestly it sort of feels like a Modern Warfare 2 clone on the campaign side but without the good set piece situations which is sort of the defining thing you need for this model of a campaign.

On the positive side while the AI is standard it's much improved from the first game. The sound is pretty great. The graphics in general are very good and it stays at a mostly solid 30 fps throughout.

I feel they sort of missed out on the destruction thing oddly enough in the campaign to really create a unique spot for themselves. There are certainly some occasions where you use the destruction to flank people in creative and interesting ways but honestly I don't think they actually create enough of those situations.  I compare it to something like Red Faction Guerilla. I know they are different sorts of games but RFG takes its destruction and sort of wraps the whole game around it. Bad Company 2 has the destruction and its part of the combat which is nice but somehow it never seems as amazing and useful as you would think such a cool tech would be. They don't create enough unique situations for it to shine.

So I liked it. It was enjoyable enough. But nothing that stood out to me. If they tighten things up and improve from the 2nd to the 3rd game like they did from the first to the second then they may have something.