Battlefield: Bad Company 2

[Hijacker]

I had totally missed the announcement and videos of multiplayer on the new BC because I was being blind sided by MW2 (which with IW's current PC community shenanigans may quickly get my pre-order canceled). I was a bit miffed that the original BC wasn't on the PC, but I thoroughly enjoyed it on the PS3, including the multiplayer.

The new BC looks to be even better. They're fixing my main gripe from BC1. The squad system. I have always liked the Battlefield franchise over other FPSes due to the way they reward you for performing team work. 2142 was a prime example of how to coordinate squads. My clan would generally join a map, form up our squad and then quickly gain top squad for the map. BC1 had squads, but the lack of being able to choose your squad was what killed the idea for me. BC2 looks to fix that by bringing back the squad customization.

Total destruction is being promised this time around too. I haven't seen any videos of a house being completely wasted, but if DICE says it'll happen, it'll happen. I understood why it wasn't originally done this way in BC1, so I'm interested to see how they're going to implement total structure destruction. On gold rush maps, the crates were usually in a house, so I wonder if the crates will be in more open places now. If so, it's gonna be a pain to plant a charge on it with snipers always out and about.

The beta should be announced soon I think. They'll probably try to run it after the new year is my guess so they can get some numbers data collected in time for final tweaking before the March 10th street date.

[marlin29311]

I'm super excited for BC2 - my buddies and I always join up as a squad, so we know we are always in the same squad (except for when the game magically splits us onto different teams...) and generally always get best squad. I love the dynamic of this gameplay, and I'm glad to see they've fixed a lot of the issues in game (artillery spamming, headshot garbage, knife garbage...etc...)

I know as soon as this comes out MW2 is going to be dropped for a bit....

[Hijacker]

I never had a chance to play after the first content patch for the original BC. Did they fix where it would auto assign you to a squad? I always felt that was a huge detractor from the original as it made it hard to squad up with your friends.

[marlin29311]

I never had a chance to play after the first content patch for the original BC. Did they fix where it would auto assign you to a squad? I always felt that was a huge detractor from the original as it made it hard to squad up with your friends.

If you start the game from custom match with a group of people, 98% of the time you'll be placed into the game as a squad...sometimes it would magically split you up for a round and then re-place you together the next one, but it didn't always work. But generally if you are joining with 2-3 other people, you're good to go.

I'm really excited about the new Squad modes they're adding into BC2...I can't wait for this to come out.

[Hijacker]

So they didn't make it the way it was on the PC iterations of BF. BC2 is going the old route (read: better) and allowing custom squad creation as well as being able to pick your squads.

[marlin29311]

BAD COMPANY 2 DEMO ON XBL NOW!!!

[Hijacker]

The PC demo is out as well. I recommend anyone who is interested in the game, pre-order it on Steam to get the Beta access. You can cancel the pre-order any time between now and the release date if you would rather have it in box, or just despise Steam that much.

So far, I have to say I am very very impressed. This is probably one of the best shooters I have ever played. Between the visuals and totally visceral sounds, you truly feel like you're in a firefight. One of the moments that sold me on the immersion factor was when I was on the defending team in Port Valdez. We were pushed off the initial defense area, and when we reached our backup, someone called in an air strike of A10s. The sounds for the vulcan cannons was about as accurate and deafening as I've ever heard in a game, and the air battle manager coordination chatter sounded extremely authentic (not quite as authentic since they didn't really go into coords and mentioning fire close due to friendlies).

I'm used to playing CoD4 hardcore, so the bullet damage feels a bit light, but the servers are so laggy right now that it's hard to gauge battle effectiveness. Once the latency settles, I'm sure it'll be about par with previous battlefields in combat effectiveness.

I've seen some complaining on the steam forums about the game feeling consolized, but it doesn't feel that way to me at all. Compared to BC1, this feels tighter and I really felt myself falling back into the rhythms I had in 2142 (which generally leads me to somehow falling into the middle of an enemy squad and managing to live through sheer luck).

All in all, I can't wait for this game. The multiplayer is shaping up very well (I expect as much from DICE), and the single player looks to be extremely awesome. So I will leave off with a youtube vid of the SP trailer.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7lkytZk9uyc

[krazydriver]

I'm going to have to try the demo, it looks pretty decent so far.

[Hijacker]

BTW, if anyone's on the PC Beta, my handle is Hijacker, and my clan is QQ Bears.

I forgot to mention in my post last night about the depth of the leveling system. In 2142, all unlocks were based off of what level you had obtained. And you could apply those unlock points towards any class. They have it set up now that you accumulate points while in your class that will just progressively unlock weapons and gadgets. Your level still goes towards unlocks, but they seem to be more general items such as extra armour, extra ammo, etc.

I like the new progression as it gives more reward for staying in class, but I will miss being able to beef up my lesser played classes as it's usually a nightmare to play a base class in a BF game.

They also added in weapon customization. You can upgrade your 40mm launcher for shotgun rounds or smoke grenades. There are also 2 sights you can unlock. The first is a reflex holo-sight, the second is a 4x ACOG. There is also a forward grip you can unlock that should affect hip fired accuracy.

All in all, I'm liking the way DICE is taking the game, and the extra layers of customization should go a long ways towards replay.

And because this thread lacks awesome trailers, here's the two multiplayer Squad Story trailers:

Americans:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dCA5DrKeWiM

Russians:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u_s6Symcceg

[DR F33LG0OD]

The demo for the 360 is sweet but im still not sure i'll buy the game

[Empty V]

The demo for the 360 is sweet but im still not sure i'll buy the game

I bought the first one and was totally disappointed. the multi-player was so laggy it was unplayable.

[Hijacker]

Don't compare this game to the first one. They are night and day in implementation.

As for server stability, I can't comment on the 360 as I only have PC and PS3 experience, but I have rarely had massive amounts of server lag. All I can say is you're on the 360, get the demo. It's free.

[marlin29311]

I never had problems with the first one in terms of lag (save a few games, but they all have it once in a while on any game...).

The second one had terrible lag the first day the demo was out, but since then, it's been smooth sailing. My guess is that EA released the demo to get an idea for the server load they're going to be facing, this way they could be able to compensate for the people playing, thus hoping to spearhead the lag issue from the get-go.

[otterman]

I love BF1942. I still load up that game whenever I get bored.

I'm going to be pre-ordering this game on Steam tonight... mainly because of this video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2WOO97Lc6pI

[otterman]

Just downloaded the beta. Game is freakin siiiiiick. I love it. The stationary weapons kick a**, it seemed like everyone was overlooking them. I jumped into a helicopter when I saw one spawn... just like in every other battlefield game... my vehicle went up up up up up up up then nose dived into the ground. Def need to hook up my joystick.

I just need to update my computer now lol No performance issues... it's just that my computer wont let it be as pretty as I want it to be lol

[Hijacker]

The devs have stated that the game's beta graphics aren't using the high res textures of the final release. So don't be surprised if you pop it up to high and don't see a huge difference up close. But even on the low settings it's still gorgeous.

I JUST upgraded to Win 7 tonight and got a taste of it with DX11. DX11 makes the game look soooo much better than it did on DX9.

BTW, Otter. My soldier name is Hijacker, clan tag QQ Bears. Friend me up and we'll go kick some commie butts.

[otterman]

Added you Hijacker

[MinisterofDOOM]

I JUST upgraded to Win 7 tonight and got a taste of it with DX11. DX11 makes the game look soooo much better than it did on DX9.

DX11? What videocard are you running?

[Hijacker]

I meant to say DX10. I've been reading up on DX11, so it's been stuck in my head. Either or, it's a nice jump and departure from DX9.

[sbird1]

After playing this demo quite extensively, I think I'm going to stick with COD MW2. I love how you can destroy the building and drive vehicles and helicopters and all of that stuff. I just find that I feel very "disconnected" with the game. The controls are slow to respond. The knife takes forever to use. I like the unlimited sprint. The explosions are intense. The vehicles and such are awesome, but IMHO, MW2 gameplay is superior.

[MinisterofDOOM]

I was going to express my jealousy if you were running a DX11 GPU. DX10 adds some nice post-processing, but for the most part the performance hit versus DX9 in most games is just not worth it. For instance, merely by switching to DX9 mode in Crysis, I can get a 10-20 fps boost. At that point I say screw the shinies. DX10 (and in turn DX11) would be a lot more exciting if they weren't so costly performance-wise.

[s13jus10]

Just pre-ordered the Limited Edition for PS3.. can NOT wait for this game. it's the only real reason I'm holding back on buying MAG.



anyone else playing the demo right now on PS3, hit me up

[marlin29311]

After playing this demo quite extensively, I think I'm going to stick with COD MW2. I love how you can destroy the building and drive vehicles and helicopters and all of that stuff. I just find that I feel very "disconnected" with the game. The controls are slow to respond. The knife takes forever to use. I like the unlimited sprint. The explosions are intense. The vehicles and such are awesome, but IMHO, MW2 gameplay is superior.

MW2 is superior for single players playing a mulitplayer game. No one in MW works together to do anything. BC2 is focused around squad mechanics and working as a team to complete your objectives. Actually, I take that back. I hate MW2. I haven't played it since probably New Years.

I've yet to come across an opposing team that can stop my 3 man squad at this point, even all by ourselves. No one understands that it takes teamwork to win a match in BC2 and they all run around like MW2 morons trying to win on their own. It actually amuses me when I see a hill full of snipers doing jack squat to help their team win a game, only for them to lose on the first base. All I do is spot them out for my teammates to kill them over and over again.

I actually like the fact that you can't see your Kills/Deaths until the end of a match. It makes you focus on doing the job at hand instead of trying to rack up as many kills as possible. The game is not about KDR...it's about completing an objective.

I agree with the knife comment though - it needs to happen quicker. Everything else seems fine to me though.

[Hijacker]

I miss the way BF used to handle the knife. It used to be assigned to weapon slot 1 and you would use it like any other weapon. So now I have it bound to a mouse button. It's a slight bit slow, but BF knives were never fast.

I did get the most awesome death the other day. I was on the defending team at the first set of objectives and one of the attackers made it to the construction building and was using the fixed machine gun. I was going to sneak up on him and knife him and as I was in mid swing I was snipped. I laughed about that one for a good 10 minutes as it was such a perfectly placed snipe.

And yes, BF has and always will be focused on team play versus solo run and gun. I won't say it's "superior" to MW2 as the two games take completely different approaches to the FPS genre. I prefer the team play aspect of the BF series, and it was always a turn off to me that MW2 was so focused on run and gun single player.

My old squad used to be able to turn tides in 2142. Whatever team we were assigned to would usually win and we would take top or second squad just because we knew how to operate as a unit and had vent to communicate instead of using in game.

And as far as taking a hit with DX10, I have yet to see any frame rate slow down. but I am using an HD4870, not exactly a slow video card. If I had my old mobo still, I'd be using 2 in crossfire.

[sbird1]

I do agree somewhat as to the multiplayers. In MW2, it really depends on what kind of game you're playing. In Search and Destroy, people working together will run the table. Ok, I'm going to go play Bioshock now.

[Chaotic_Warlord]

I liked the demo, and I'm all for playing as a team but I generally don't use my headset and when i do it's b/c I'm playing with friends. I've noticed that in general there isn't much chatter in this game.

I did see some spectacular teamwork the other day but it was to cheat. We were on the defending team and we were backed all the to our last base and 2 seperate squads snuck a sniper in to the very back corner of our map and camped there to turn it into a spawn point for their teammates. It literally took me like 5 minutes and 6 respawns just to get to a spot where I can countersnipe the snipers so they couldn't spawn there anymore.

I will work in a squad but I usually go off on my own because I can get the job done (especially when I'm on the attacking team). While everyone else is working on taking out one comm center I will flank and take out the other comm point because the defense is to busy defending the other point, then while they all scramble to go disarm point B I'll run over and arm Point A, since teams are so small and everyone is busy trying to get kills they can't defend both points at the same time.

Oh and I'm a monster with the M24, I never setup my hides around anyone else, that's a good way to get killed. I do wish they didn't show you were your kill shot came from, the kill cam is gay and needs to go.

[marlin29311]

I did see some spectacular teamwork the other day but it was to cheat. We were on the defending team and we were backed all the to our last base and 2 seperate squads snuck a sniper in to the very back corner of our map and camped there to turn it into a spawn point for their teammates. It literally took me like 5 minutes and 6 respawns just to get to a spot where I can countersnipe the snipers so they couldn't spawn there anymore.

That's not cheating - that's tactics

And don't countersnipe them...shoot an RPG

[Empty V]

I played the 360 demo and it was just okay if not somewhat weak. One of the few PC games I got into was BF1942 which blew my mind. This game should not be released on consoles, it doesn't belong there. It's too big and going to be rendered way down for consoles. I don't think you'll get the full experience and players will walk away feeling discontent. BTW when I play MW2 with our usuals we all communicate and work together as a team. We're not unstoppable but we're very effective 95% of the time.
Modified by Empty V at 2:56 PM 2/12/2010

[marlin29311]

Just posting a neat little pic I took the other day...

[otterman]

Just posting a neat little pic I took the other day...

daayyyum. nice

I need to get a better joystick. The one I got out of storage just doesn't cut it, I can't fly the helicopter.