Game

[Eel O'Brian]

On the Steam forums I found a simple tweak that worked for me and solved my fps drops and stuttering, may work for you as well if you're having the stutter problem.  All you do is enable v-sync, and turn shadows completely off.  Getting a solid 60 now, whereas before I was dropping into the low 20s every few seconds.  I've found that I can also turn off v-sync and remain in the 60s-90s, as long as I keep shadows off.

[Herr Mafflard]

Anyone else noticing the amazing number of penis shapes dominating many playercards online? Who knew there could be so many ways a penis could be represented - and so lucidly. I've seen one where the guy has managed to make an outstretched arm gripping a phallus (replete with testicles) that has white pearls shooting off its end. I'm rather dismayed now that all I have to show on my playercard is an edgy (or so I thought!), but quite impotent, death skull.

This made me wonder. Is this an artistic expression of the homoerotic undercurrents that permeates the 'dudebro' subculture of the CoD scene?

In any case, I salute them and their new-found creative ability to represent cocks of all shapes and sizes, and to display it so proudly.

[iconoclast]

Finished the campaign and all the single player achievements. was pretty fun, except for the few areas that have infinite respawning enemies. they will probably never learn at this rate.

guess i'll do the online achievements later today. fucking hate zombie mode and cod online in general. ugh.

[Herr Mafflard]

awesome easter egg for multiplayer:

if you quickly shoot the heads off all the mannequins in the map Nuketown, the song Sympathy For The Devil starts playing in the background for everyone.

[youtube=560,345]2kzRcJfC8WU[/youtube]

[Stoney Mason]

Won my first gun game last night. Shit is intense.

[Eel O'Brian]

this game is pretty tight, i'm digging the single player storyline

[Stoney Mason]

Some good info for the MP

Damage starts at one amount of damage, decreases over a certain range and continues at a lower damage.
The Red line indicates the basic damage. The Green line indicates damage range with a silencer (or the Python's Snub Nose).
Certain body parts multiply damage from attacks.
Note that the L96A1 has an extra damage modifier. The shoulders and biceps also take 1.5x damage.
All shotguns' minimum damage is 10.
-
A weapon's Hip Spread is determined by a minimum and maximum cone of fire in degrees from the center of the screen.
Shotguns from the hip are much less accurate than they used to be before. Aim down the sights with them to make them a bit more effective.
-
Recoil is an area within four points and the random chance of the weapon kicking in those directions.
The view kick is made of four forces. When two numbers are in opposing directions, they fight one another.
The kick focuses on the average between the two, so if a weapon kicks left 10 and right 60, the kick will always be to the right.
If a weapon kicks 60 both left and right, the sights have equal chance of jumping either way.
If both numbers are on one side of the arrows, then it'll always kick in that direction.

Working against the recoil is Center Speed (number in the bottom right of the Recoil box) which is an arbitrary number. Higher Center Speed means faster recovery.
-
A weapon's Fire Time is the time between each shot.
Divide 60 by the Fire Time and you get the Rounds Per Minute.
The L96A1 and Stakeout use RechamberTime, basically the same as FireTime, but there to prevent you from skipping the bolt/pump animation.
The burst fire weapons have a 0.2 second delay between bursts, cutting their damage down significantly.

Each weapon has a specific Reload Time for partial and Empty magazines.
For both of these reloads is the Add Time, the point where the Ammo Counter changes.
The Add Time indicates the point where you can cancel the reload animation and still have a reloaded weapon.
Some shotguns and the Python reload one round at a time. The first round takes longer than the following rounds.
The Python's Speed Loader time is also indicated in place of the Add Time (which is irrelevant for the Python).
-
Raise Time and Drop Time are the lengths it takes to put away one weapon and take out another.
Combine one gun's Drop with another's Raise to see how long it will take.
NOTE: Switching from one weapon to a Pistol will cause your weapon in hand to use Quick Drop, only 0.25 of a second.

Aim Down Sights takes a moment before the sighted accuracy takes effect after pressing the ADS button.

Depending on the weapon you're carrying, your character will have his running speed changed.
Like Call of Duty 1 and 2, it is no longer based on your primary; what is in your hand determines your speed.
Meaning if you switch to a pistol, you will run faster than whatever assault rifle or LMG you've got.

http://denkirson.xanga.com/735016527/black-ops/

[Stoney Mason]

Kinda cool. You can upload any thirty second clip from Black Ops to youtube.


[youtube=560,345][/youtube]

[Eel O'Brian]

I'm so terrible at the competitive side of this game

I get my ass handed to me in combat training

[Stoney Mason]

I'm so terrible at the competitive side of this game

I get my ass handed to me in combat training

The bots aren't bad. They are great with their accuracy so confronting them head on is a bit tough as they will light you up but their movement isn't very good so they are pretty easy to flank.

As far as actual online, I've been feasting on all the noobs playing the game. I can tell a lot of new people are playing this one because they are terrible.

[Brehvolution]

I really wish I got this over New Vegas.

[cool breeze]

single player so far is, uh, I have no idea.  It's a bunch of sketchy imagery and then it's gunshots and someone yelling at me to go to a yellow arrow.  It's a kinda boring and a bit too scripted even for CoD standards.  I hope there are more of the slower paced missions coming up.

[iconoclast]

There's a few slower paced missions coming up, but for the most part it's a typical CoD campaign with scripted events firing off left and right. I enjoyed it though. It's one of the better CoD campaigns imo.

CoD4 > BLOPS > CoD2 > MW2 > WaW >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> CoD3

[Stoney Mason]

First title update out.

# 11/17 (full title update)
 # · Improved matchmaking to find matches significantly faster
 # · Improved matchmaking to ensure that players are more effectively matched to games with the best networking conditions
 # · Improved host selection to ensure that the best host is always selected in the pre-game lobby
 # · Improved party system to ensure that parties don’t get broken apart
 # · Disable ability to join Private Match, Combat Training and Theater lobbies when searching for Player Match games
 # · Server-side and game-side changes to decrease the amount of failed Film uploads
 # · Weekly and Monthly leaderboards will now track all kills, deaths and assists properly (All Time leaderboards were not affected by this)
 # · Prevention of Combat Training stats getting crossed with Player Match stats under rare conditions
 # · Prevention of temporary loss of functionality when a button was being held down at the point of a disconnect
 # · Additional fine-tuning of audio levels and ranges for footsteps and gunfire
 # · Additional fine-tuning of audio levels for bomb plants/defuses
 # · Additional online security enhancements

[maxy]

"Black Ops did $650m worth of business during its first five days on sale worldwide"

MW2 was at $550m

So this would be like...10 million copies in 5 days.

crazy

[cool breeze]

single player was so-so.  I'm one of those people that didn't like the CoD4 campaign but liked parts of MW2, so, yeah.

and zombie mode is actually hilarious

[cool breeze]

Multiplayer is choice.  Already the currency system is better than the unlocks because I have a red dot sight right away for any gun.  Though, the unlocks still there for weapons and whatnot is good.  I'm excited to unlock the ballistic knives because the little time I used them in the gun game made them seem great for how I like to play.

I don't know how many wage matches there are, but I played two rounds on gun game.  First time I was horrible because I couldn't shoot with a lot of the guns.  Second time I was dominating until I got to the end and someone was saying I was a bot ( ) and while I was typing a response someone took me down to the crossbow.  The crossbow I suck with and the only reason I hit the time before was pure luck.  Then the match ended with me being on the top, so, got the bank anyway.

[Cormacaroni]

Just started playing on PC in 3D, holy fucking SHIT. Probably the best implementation I've seen of it yet.

[cool breeze]

The multiplayer is really good.  Parts of it feels like a step back from MW2 (like no deathstreaks), but it also feels much more balanced and fun to play.  So far I don't see people just using annoying and cheap tactics to win.  I've played for a few hours and only saw one person spamming the grenade launcher 

Wager matches are also really fun.  Well, gungame and one in the chamber are both awesome while sharpshooter is kinda dull.  Don't know if there is another type.

[Stoney Mason]

The multiplayer is really good.  Parts of it feels like a step back from MW2 (like no deathstreaks), but it also feels much more balanced and fun to play.  So far I don't see people just using annoying and cheap tactics to win.  I've played for a few hours and only saw one person spamming the grenade launcher 

Wager matches are also really fun.  Well, gungame and one in the chamber are both awesome while sharpshooter is kinda dull.  Don't know if there is another type.

It's basically a modified version of MW 2 with some nice balance changes. The no death streaks is a good thing. I get why it was there to encourage newcomers but I think the training mode serves that purpose a lot better.

The other wager match is Sticks and Stones. They are all fun although I like one in the chamber and gun game the best.

[Eel O'Brian]

Just started playing on PC in 3D, holy fucking SHIT. Probably the best implementation I've seen of it yet.

are you using the nvidia shutter glasses, or just the red/blue

[cool breeze]

That's messed up.  Does Garbage have the ability to at least understand of what Spawning is doing?

[Herr Mafflard]

[youtube=560,345]Y5BXrtmfFWI[/youtube]

would have been awesome if i kept this gungame run going - was getting rushed one by one lol

[Stoney Mason]

would have been awesome if i kept this gungame run going - was getting rushed one by one lol

You definitely get some runs going sometimes where you feel like a badass in gun game. Conversely sometimes you get stuck on one weapon where you just want to murder somebody. And then you get humilated and demoted.

[cool breeze]

the one time I wanted to make a clip of a match and it doesn't show up in my recent games list  :'(

In generally I don't play conservatively meaning I have just as many deaths as I do kills.  I had an awesome run where I was tomahawking and stabbing people all over the place.  I run behind some cover and realize I need one more kill to get a 7 kill streak (rare for me).  I decide to throw down my crate beacon and just as I do an enemy runs around the corner and it smacks him right in the face.  Then my helicopter rolls in and saves the day.

and I tried out the sticks and stones mode.  Not as bad as sharpshooter, but it would have been something special if they didn't have explosive arrows.

[Cormacaroni]

Just started playing on PC in 3D, holy fucking SHIT. Probably the best implementation I've seen of it yet.

are you using the nvidia shutter glasses, or just the red/blue

The NVidia shutter glasses (i.e. stereoscopic 3D). My buddy at NVidia hooked me up with both the game and the glasses

Been feeding him my old comics for months now and it has finally paid off

[Stoney Mason]

Ive tried my hardest but I just can't get slight of hand pro. Reloading in the middle of kills is something I never need to do.

I didn't have too much trouble with that one. Just use an smg with a small clip and eventually you will get it.

Also found these two videos. Kind of helpful.

[youtube=560,345][/youtube]
[youtube=560,345][/youtube]

[maxy]

Pachter strikes again

He’s been on the bandwagon for some time now, and once again analyst Michael Pachter has declared his belief that Activision will introduce a premium paid-for element for Call of Duty online.

The analyst now claims that Activision decided not to unveil the service prior to the release of the record-breaking Black Ops for fear that such an announcement might damage sales of the game. But with the launch out of the way, Pachter believes confirmation is imminent.

“I think everyone will be offered the same multiplayer options for free that they have now,” he told Industry Gamers. “In addition, I see premium items offered as virtual goods for a modest fee – let's say $1.

“I think that the company will ‘tier’ its offering by offering a $5 per month subscription to Black Ops that includes ALL virtual items for free, plus access to all map packs released as long as the player remains active. There are probably going to be three $15 map packs, so that feature alone has a perceived $45 value, and I'm sure that there will be dozens of virtual items, so the $5 subscriber will perceive some value from subscribing.

“In addition, the $5 subscriber may be offered exclusive tournaments, game play modes, ladders, achievements, and any other features that Activision can think up to induce them to pony up more money.”

However, Pachter’s detailed prediction doesn’t stop there.

“Next, I think Activision will offer a $10 subscription to ALL Call of Duty games,” he added.

“Anyone paying $10 per month gets virtual items, ladders, tournaments, achievements, game play modes and map packs for CoD MW, CoD MW2, Black Ops and World at War, and as long as their subscription remains alive, they will get the next game and the one after that. There are a total of 7 map packs (I think) available now, and will be another 3 next year, so for $10 per month, a player will get all 10 map packs. Not a bad value.

“Next, I think Activision will offer a $15 monthly subscription that is an ‘all access pass’, allowing subscribers to play WoW, StarCraft II (look for monetization there), the new Bungie game (when it comes out), all COD games, and whatever they do with Guitar Hero (maybe free downloads of songs), on an unlimited basis.

“The trick is managing this without destroying sales of the game. They will tread very carefully, and will make sure that they let consumers know that they are NOT taking anything away, but are merely offering a LOT MORE VALUE for a little bit of money.”

[ManaByte]

This will kill the game.

[Stoney Mason]

If I can play exactly what I have now for free I don't have a problem with a subscription thing. I just personally wouldn't use it.

[Eel O'Brian]

I think if they do something like a subscription it won't involve any current or prior games (except for map remakes).  There'd be way too much backlash.  What they'd likely do is something along the lines of the Battlefield browser games, where you have a minimal client download, it can run on lower specs, and you'd pay out your ass for guns/gear if you want to maintain parity with other players.  Instead of free you'd pay a nominal monthly fee, they'd make up the rest with flashy guns and outfits.

[bork]

Had no idea this game offers split-screen online play.  Buying this now; a buddy of mine who doesn't have any consoles and I always play Halo games together for this reason.  Sorry Battlefield.

[Stoney Mason]

Really enjoy the game but good god Treyarch has shit net code. So many disconnects and failed host migrations. I never had this many problems with MW 2. 


Patch this shit Treyarch.

[Stoney Mason]

Kinda cool.

http://www.gamexe.net/codbo/playercard/

[cool breeze]

does anyone like last stand? this is the fourth game to have it (don't remember if WaW did) and it has been bullshit every time.  Treyarch has gotten rid of noobtubers and generally explosive spamming on all maps except nuketown, but they still left in that shitty, shitty perk.  All it does is rob the person who killed the enemy of a kill.

[Stoney Mason]

Last Stand has never really bothered me. I can control that by shooting the guy until he is dead when I kill him. Or get a headshot or knife him. I can't defend against things like noobtubers so I think that's a bit different at least for me. Last Stand has counters which is the difference.

[Stoney Mason]

I like last stand because people can revive me.
I hate last stand because people can revive me, but fucking don't.

Shitty perk that can only be fixed by giving people XP for reviving players.

Treyarch has gotten rid of noobtubers

I find this to be hella false.

You get like 50 points for reviving people but that's not a lot. I think a lot of people don't do it because its risky.

Noobtubing is way down in black ops. It's probably the least its ever been in a modern COD game. Flak jacket, combined with no danger close perk, and the slow reload time of the launchers has reduced it a great deal. There will always be people who use that class but its far less annoying in BO than it ever was before.

[Stoney Mason]

There have been a lot of instances where I'm downed, kill dude and teammates just stroll on by. I understand if it were out in the open and not thinking you can do it, but to be in a building alone with teammates just strolling past and letting the dude I killed spawn and run all the way back to finish me off is some shit.

I agree.

The xp bonus you get for reviving could stand to boosted a bit to encourage people to do it more.

[Stoney Mason]

This dude makes kick ass videos. Great voice too. He should do voice over work if he isn't doing it already.


[youtube=560,345][/youtube]
[youtube=560,345][/youtube]

Also this

[youtube=560,345][/youtube]

[CHOW CHOW]

Man, the campaign is absolutely nuts.  I fucking love it... NO other franchise does insane immersion and suspense in their campaigns like COD.  I love all the scripted events and the atmosphere.  The setting is phenomenal too and has historical relevance.  What a perfect time period..

Spoilers from I guess midway through:

spoiler (click to show/hide)

I did 2 or 3 missions today.  The first one was finding Clarke, the numbers guy, and it was pretty good.  Running from rooftop to rooftop of these shack houses.  Seeing Clarke get shot in the head while I was holding him up

The second mission was the Reznov flashback snow mission, which absolutely blew me away.  The graphics were incredible and I was totally immersed with the Russian troops, picking off Reich soldiers left and right.  Did anyone else see near the end the Russian soldier was shooting the German soldiers who surrendered in the head one by one?  That was nuts.  And then the last guy left to shoot, he ran outta ammo and got a knife from another dude and then came back and slit his through and blood shot out his neck.  This was just a peripheral scene too... goddamn.

Also seeing Dmitri Petrovich (Reznov's good friend) get gassed up by Nova 6 was nuts. 

What an amazing thrill-ride... no other shooter campaigns are like this, and it's not even close.

[close]

[cool breeze]

Last shot of a gun game match.  Me and this other guy were both at the last weapon, we both were aiming at this one dude (my reticule is on his balls at this point) but he manages to shoot first and wins it.

It's hard to see in the downsized image but that's me in the back with my tacky skull face paint and I would be yelling fuck really loud if I had my headset on.

[Stoney Mason]

lol.

I'm glad the recent patch un-nerfed sniping somewhat. It's still very hard to do on most maps but at least its possible now.

As random aside that G11 is a pretty bad ass gun.

Here are some random clips I made recently. Nothing special but I just like making the occasional clip. God I love that theater mode.


[youtube=560,345][/youtube]
[youtube=560,345][/youtube]
[youtube=560,345][/youtube]
[youtube=560,345][/youtube]
[youtube=560,345][/youtube]



 

 

[Stoney Mason]

I absolutely lock Hacker Pro. This was me getting a fun kill yesterday with it.

[youtube=560,345][/youtube]

[demi]

Game is absolute shit. Treyarch = garbage

[demi]

Game is too much like World At War. Lots of wide open spots that require yu to run across, like hills, etc. And you just get popped by some random fuck you have no idea from where.

Only positive is the grenade spam is lowered. So what.

[Stoney Mason]

MP is superior to MW 2. By a pretty good margin.


That's not to say that I don't prefer the maps of MW 2 more. I do. MW 2 also had more reliable connections. The host migration and generally ability to lose a game connection is worse in blops which is annoying.

But as an actual game on the MP side, Black ops is much better. Less frustrating. Less bullshit. Less no scoping madness. Less tubing. Less powerful airsupport, less commando lunge, etc, etc. I literally could name a dozen or two reasons why its the better game on that side.

It's not even really close honestly. It's better in nearly every way on the gameplay side. 

IW is better at SP design but not MP design. And since MP is where most of my time is spent I'm down with that.

[Smooth Groove]

Borys, Bad Company 2 is much more impressive on the PC than Black Ops.

[cool breeze]

MP is superior to MW 2. By a pretty good margin.


That's not to say that I don't prefer the maps of MW 2 more. I do. MW 2 also had more reliable connections. The host migration and generally ability to lose a game connection is worse in blops which is annoying.

But as an actual game on the MP side, Black ops is much better. Less frustrating. Less bullshit. Less no scoping madness. Less tubing. Less powerful airsupport, less commando lunge, etc, etc. I literally could name a dozen or two reasons why its the better game on that side.

It's not even really close honestly. It's better in nearly every way on the gameplay side. 

IW is better at SP design but not MP design. And since MP is where most of my time is spent I'm down with that.

Completely agreed.  Black Ops multiplayer is the most balanced and genuinely fun of the Call of Duty games this gen, if not ever.  It's amazing how many of the problems I had with the series since CoD4 that they fixed, and they went beyond that with the wager matches and theater.  Though to be fair, half the wager matches are kinda weak.  Sticks and stones would have been better if they had a regular crossbow from single player instead of an explosive tipped one.

Single player I didn't actually like; it was a collection of what I didn't like about past Call of Duty games.  The funny thing is that the Goldeneye game on the Wii was my favorite parts of Call of Duty for the duration; if only it came out on the other systems.  I still play the cliffhanger mission from MW2 because I find it really fun but I have no interest in replaying any part of Black Ops.  What annoys me most is how they wasted some of the locations they went to, like Kowloon, which should have been really cool.  Instead it was a brief scene that was influenced by Dogs of War, then the same shootouts from the rest of the game.

[Stoney Mason]

MP is superior to MW 2. By a pretty good margin.


That's not to say that I don't prefer the maps of MW 2 more. I do. MW 2 also had more reliable connections. The host migration and generally ability to lose a game connection is worse in blops which is annoying.

But as an actual game on the MP side, Black ops is much better. Less frustrating. Less bullshit. Less no scoping madness. Less tubing. Less powerful airsupport, less commando lunge, etc, etc. I literally could name a dozen or two reasons why its the better game on that side.

It's not even really close honestly. It's better in nearly every way on the gameplay side. 

IW is better at SP design but not MP design. And since MP is where most of my time is spent I'm down with that.

Completely agreed.  Black Ops multiplayer is the most balanced and genuinely fun of the Call of Duty games this gen, if not ever.  It's amazing how many of the problems I had with the series since CoD4 that they fixed, and they went beyond that with the wager matches and theater.  Though to be fair, half the wager matches are kinda weak.  Sticks and stones would have been better if they had a regular crossbow from single player instead of an explosive tipped one.

Single player I didn't actually like; it was a collection of what I didn't like about past Call of Duty games.  The funny thing is that the Goldeneye game on the Wii was my favorite parts of Call of Duty for the duration; if only it came out on the other systems.  I still play the cliffhanger mission from MW2 because I find it really fun but I have no interest in replaying any part of Black Ops.  What annoys me most is how they wasted some of the locations they went to, like Kowloon, which should have been really cool.  Instead it was a brief scene that was influenced by Dogs of War, then the same shootouts from the rest of the game.

The more I play the MP the more I realize its essentially the Treyarch repudiation edition of MW 2. I enjoyed MW 2 a lot and it was crazy chaotic fun and a good time, but Black Ops almost on a point by point basis is sort of like saying, MW 2 was too crazy and here is our answer to that. All the points you could argue where IW had good ideas and went to far with it, Treyarch rebalanced it, so it wasn't obnoxious. Perhaps IW would have patch balanced MW 2 a bit more if they hadn't imploded but on the face of it some of the ideas just weren't balanced from the get go or good ideas (Nuke for example, or Death streaks). At its worst MW 2 would turn into a series of annoying deaths. Death by noobtube. Death by chopper gun. Death by no scope, Death by thumper, Death by commando lunge, etc. Not every game was like this of course but at its worst it certainly could happen. Blacks Ops puts the focus back on the guns and makes that other stuff fun extras like it was in COD 4 but not the focus of the game. 

Like any MP of course that's not to say its some perfect magical game. Every game has its good points and its flaws. Certainly issues with spawning, connectivity, and occasional lag. But overall I'd agree it's easily the best COD on the mp side both from a balance perspective and from a feature perspective (I can never play another cod game without a theater mode for example). Treyarch won me over with their MP design and I actually think they are probably the best group to lead the charge on that front. Even if IW hadn't imploded.

[Brehvolution]

I made sure I'm getting this for xmas.

It's time to get the band back together.

[demi]

Anyone want to play sum Zombiez and try to help little ol me get the last few achievements?

[Brehvolution]

This games campaign is pretty sweet. I started and got through Vietnam in the same sitting. I just couldn't put the controller down. 

spoiler (click to show/hide)

shooting down a rocket

[close]

[Stoney Mason]

This games campaign is pretty sweet. I started and got through Vietnam in the same sitting. I just couldn't put the controller down. 

spoiler (click to show/hide)

shooting down a rocket

[close]

yeah I think I saw you playing a few days ago.

In other news here is me doing work!


[youtube=560,345][/youtube][youtube=560,345][/youtube]

[Vizzys]

first day playing this online yesterday, lvl 15 I think already

im liking the multi lots, mostly doing shotgun running or the m14

[Stoney Mason]

First Strike Map Pack comes out tomorrow on 360.


[youtube=560,345][/youtube]
[youtube=560,345][/youtube]

[maxy]

http://marketplace.xbox.com/EN-GB/Product/First-Strike-Pack-1-EN/a296a4e7-559f-414b-ab17-efc63b025202?cid=SLink

[Brehvolution]

Fuck man, I haven't even got to play online yet and there is already a map pack out.

[Diunx]

Being playing a lot of black ops recently on ps3, I hope my friend gets the new maps they look hot.

[demi]

[Vizzys]

bought, tried em out. first impressions:

kowloon sucks
berlin wall is pretty great and a big map
stadium is bigger then nuketown and fun
Discovery is just ok