BF2: Special Forces

[Knightshade Dragon]

EA has announced (http://www.consolegold.com/PressReleases/index.php?PRID=2561) a new expansion for Battlefield 2 (http://www.consolegold.com/GameInfo/game/2668.html). The new expansion is entitled Battlefield 2: Special Forces (http://www.consolegold.com/GameInfo/game/3958.html) and will be coming to PC later this year.In Battlefield 2: Special Forces, players will choose to fight as one of 6 different Special Forces soldiers -- Navy SEALs, British SAS, Russian Spetznas, MEC Special Forces, Rebel groups and insurgents. Armed with the latest Special Forces weaponry, players can take control of any of the game's 10 new vehicles to engage in major conflicts with up to 64 players. Additionally, persistent character growth allows players to continue to rise through the ranks.

Battlefield 2: Special Forces takes the intensity and quality of Battlefield 2 behind the scenes of news headlines, showcasing the most elite and deadly forces in the modern military world. Using accurate Special Forces weapons, gadgets, and vehicles, these covert armies battle to control key military and strategic locations.Now if only they would fix the broken stats, the mystery lag, the memory leaks...

[Phades]

Already!? That seems kinda crazy. Must've been working on it for a while already. They probably pulled team members from the main project to start work on this. That would help explain all the bugs.

Maybe they shouldn't have liquidated that studio that made DC?

[Vermillion]

Honestly, I like BF2 a lot, but I just can't bring myself to play it until they fix the bugs. I refuse to sit there for 3-5 minutes while it attempts to verify my content, only to have the server crash out towards the end of a mission and not update my player with the earned ribbons/medals/exp.

Until they get their act together and fix the core game, they'll never see my money for an expansion.

[Goronmon]

This stuff should have been in the release, IMO.

[netcraazzy]

This is corporate stupidity at it's finest right here. Nothing like announcing an expansion for a game that you can't even release a stable patch for. EA's corporate strategy must go something like this....

1)Kill your franchise until it's dead as a corpse
2)???
3)Profit!

[Ernst_Jager]

Would be nice for them to fix the game BEFORE they release an expansion.

-Helicopters are way to powerful in my opinion. Can one shot kill even tanks and take ungodly amounts of damage before you drop one. I also think they shouldn't be able to cap flags hovering above them. They aren't prone to mines, most C4 or ramming with another vehicle.
-The server browser really needs a favorites option. When ever I find a good server good luck seeing it again.
-I still can't remap my damn crouch key. Some keys will let me map to them but they won't work in game.
-If someone from your team runs over you while you are laying C4 it counts against you as a teamkill. I have had this happen multiple times. Same with blowing up a vehicle then somebody driving up next to it when it explodes so you get team vehicle damage penalty.
-Half the upgrade weapons are no better if not worse (in case of the G3) than the main ones.

I haven't really noticed much lag and don't run a server so I can't complain about memory leaks and mystery lag.

[Deadend]

So... it's going to be a infantry mainly game, in a engine famous for not being fun on foot.

Yeah, this is going to go over REAAALLL good with the player-base.

[Skookum]

I'm extremely disappointed to learn that they're planning a paid expansion before any new maps or vehicles for the version they have out now, even before they have the first VERY much needed WORKING patch. When the hell are they going to address the growing list of problems their customers are adding to daily?

http://www.forumplanet.com/planetbattlefield/forum.asp?fid=13392

[Wyrm]

You'd think that for an entirely online based game, they'd make a server browser that had at least minimal functionality, and code the game so that it didnt lag to shit with 32 people on a server.

If the damned server browser was so easy to fix in that small a patch, you have to wonder why the game came out so broken. Of course, the small patch also BROKE the rest of the game.

Fuck this stupid industry standard of release beta now, patch later! EA is lucky, because they actually got a game out that is fun to play when it works. What about those companies that do this and then go under? Fans of their games never see a patch.

[TheKeck]

Would be nice for them to fix the game BEFORE they release an expansion.


Seriously! They need to worry about getting the main game working before they try adding more to it. I think this just sends a message to all the players out there, "Hey, um, yeah, we're not really working on fixing that patch. You know, the one that raped our game."

[RainOfTerror]

there are some new screens for the expansion pack over at WorthPlaying

http://www.worthplaying.com/article.php?sid=26714

[KNOTE]

Seems to me that either EA's QA dept really sucks, or there is some sort of information managing disconnect between EA and DICE. These issues are way too serious for a supposed AAA release.

[if76]

Ok here's a question: Is the reason you don't see a player's name until you stare at him/her for a while a technical one? Does it save on server bandwidth to only send players the coordinates, velocity, etc of other players in most cases and not send their name?

If there truly is a technical justification for this extremely annoying occurence, there should be a better way to identify enemy and friendly players. I'm sure sending one bit (red or blue) over the server isn't gonna cause any problems. Maybe enemies should have little red flags over their heads

Now I realize the game doesn't want to automatically show you the location of an enemy sniper hiding on a faraway hill, but the game needs to be more liberal on what it will show you. If a helicopter is in plain view on a player's screen in front of a blue-sky background, it should automatically be labeled. This also goes for tanks and APC's when viewed from a helicopter's cockpit. I am so tired of getting team damage for firing missles at friendly tanks before their name pops into view.

[DannoHung]

Stop Buying Games From Electronic Arts Damnit!

[Royal Fool]

Hahaha, less than a month from release and already they announce the expansion pack.

Fuck you EA.

[goc_sin]

Sounds like it wasn't a mistake to let this one pass me by.

[Ernst_Jager]

Fuck this stupid industry standard of release beta now, patch later! .

As much as I enjoyed the game, this sounds like Blizzard too. See the latest patch notes? They are STILL trying to get WoW working right. I gave up after lvl 60 tired of doing the samething everyday.

[Oddmaker]

Dont worry! Read more forums.. 2 TEAMS are working from DiCE one for the patch and one for the expansion pack.

[PotatoNinja]

Nothing wrong with expansion packs, but it would be nice if EA would at least pretend they aren't whoring out the franchise.

[Demize99]

And after BFV, do you really want Dice:Canada working on the patch stuff?

[xanthome]

all the same levels, but at night with the option of getting everything green if you have nightvision? hmmmmm....

[wiredInsanity]

This just in, the new expansion will also include a patch that fixes the game in addition to releasing a small virus that will control the world.

[Kentor]

Activate Penny Arcade sarcasm mode:
"We purport to be angry, but it is largely an ethereal anger, suitable for forums on the Intertron. There is no connection between my willingness to purchase shoddy products and the continued production of said products. At any rate, there is no connection that I am able to perceive."

[Kagger]

Fuck this stupid industry standard of release beta now, patch later! EA is lucky, because they actually got a game out that is fun to play when it works. What about those companies that do this and then go under? Fans of their games never see a patch.

As soon as I read that, I thought of this old Penny-Arcade:

http://www.penny-arcade.com/view.php?date=1998-12-21&res=l

Old, yet still so very true

[netcraazzy]

Sounds like it wasn't a mistake to let this one pass me by.

It may still be a mistake if you NEVER buy this game. It's still a very fun game. I didn't pick up BF1942 until like 6 months after it came out so I guess I missed any of this kind of stuff that may have happened with the first one. I'd say it's very likely that this stuff will be behind us in a few months time. But, you better believe I'm not going to be pickup up BF3 or whatever the hell they end up calling it untill I'm confident they have a bug free product.

[Skookum]

all the same levels, but at night with the option of getting everything green if you have nightvision? hmmmmm....

I was wondering where all the night maps went. DC had night maps that extremely fun. Looks like we have to pay for them now. Betcha the next expansion has indoor/tunnel maps, and the one after that will have air maps that are actually big enough for the damn jet planes.

[balamoor]

I was hoping the expansion would let us play other branches of the Military besides the Navy. I was really looking forward to playing with Rangers/SF/Para Rescue that sort of thing.

[Bone]

I was talking about adding tear gas while playing BF2 last night, and this pops up the next morning. Monitoring my VOIP? You decide.

Zip lines and grappling hooks looks goddamn cool, but should have been in the original game. And for fuck's sake... of course the game should work properly before they try to convince people to spend more on it!



-Helicopters are way to powerful in my opinion. Can one shot kill even tanks and take ungodly amounts of damage before you drop one. I also think they shouldn't be able to cap flags hovering above them. They aren't prone to mines, most C4 or ramming with another vehicle.

There are AA vehicles, mounted Stinger missiles on the ground, SRAW missiles in the AT kit, jets, and, if all else fails, ramming with another helicopter as options. Not to mention the chance to take the pilot out of his seat with a .50 cal sniper rifle as he hovers smugly over a flag. On a server with good players, choppers have a hard time staying up more often than not. Helicopters are perfect as they are, in my opinion.



-Half the upgrade weapons are no better if not worse (in case of the G3) than the main ones.

Sorry, this isn't opinion here... you're just wrong :) The G3 is far superior to the other weapons in its class. As are most of the other unlocks, if you learn to use them. The .50 cal Barett, while I first regretted unlocking it, finally got me my first kill through a helicopter cockpit, leaving the gunner confused as the pilotless helo spun in circles and crashed instead of taking the flag. That was entirely worth it.

[snubber]

1) people, yes they need to patch this game, but as it has been mentioned, two seperate teams are doing these things. DICE Sweden made BF2 and needs to patch it AND release the mod tools (which were supposed to be released Day 1). DICE Canada is working on this xpack.

2) That being said, this xpack will suck, just like Secret Weapons did and BF:Vietnam (both DICE Canada). These are the guys that took the already arcadey combat of BF: 1942 and added JET PACKS. I dunno. Ok, some people (13-year olds) might find those WAY COOL DUDE but for someone who enjoyed the World War 2 theme, I found that ridiculous.

Infantry combat is actually fun in BF2 and looks good. HOWEVER, it's fun in the context of the larger battle, with lots of vehicles around.. Making BF2 into Counterstrike is a terrible idea. And I can tell you, nightvision and dark maps sucks. Yeah, it seems fun, but that fun lasts about 5 minutes. Operation Flashpoint had both of those, and after awhile, I get damn sick of viewing the world through as a green monochrome. We've come a long way from 1982...please don't make me feel like I'm playing on my Apple ][ with it's green screen. Let's utilize those 32-bit colors of my expensive graphics card.

And of course they have to dumb down the gameplay. No not jetpacks this time, but..... grappling hooks! Awesome! I believe both the SEALS and Delta spend about 10% of their training on learning how to use grapple hooks and spiderman around. So now we're going to have 64 players, all infantry, all using grappling hooks.

Can we get a "retarded"? Just when BF2 was actually feeling a bit more immersive, like an actual battlefield, especially with the squads and comms. Now the make it like Quake 1 CTF for the Counterstrke Kids.

Anyway, no big deal. Like usual, it'll be the mod teams that give us the great gameplay out of this engine, especially Forgotten Hope 2. Well, that's IF they stop maliciously withholding the mod tools. Wouldn't want a well-executed mod to outshine your dump of an xpack, would you?

[Bone]

I would tend to think they are "maliciously withholding the mod tools" because the tools are even less cooked than the game itself was. I can stand to wait for both to mature before I start writing code and exporting models that may not work by the next patch release.

[Thin_J]

Kentor wins!

[Achilles]

Rebel groups and insurgentsAlso known as the ‘short bus special forces’. Yet strangely I’m sure Rebel with AK will be directly equivalent to a Navy SEAL.

I don’t much mind the idea of going all infantry with the game, or just reducing the vehicle count so there’s less of a chance of getting instantly killed from a sudden appearance of a helicopter or jet. The infantry battles in BF2 are much better than those in BF1942. It seems in this one though they’re going to add some vehicles, and I do like the idea of having a persistent ranking system.

Still I can’t wait for BF2: Modern Combat, which has roughly similar multiplayer as well as a fairly deep single player (from what they say). I also like the idea of being able to switch from guy to guy and customize your weapon. It’s the last this-gen game I have preordered.

[Karmakaze]

who made road to rome? that was a great xpack.

Personally, I hope they release all the old DC maps for bf2 (kinda like how they remade BF42 for BFV).

And I totally agree about helis being too armoured. One tank shot or C4 should definitely take out a heli, and the pilot should be vulnerable to more than just .50 cal bullets (almost all small arms should have a chance of damaging him). Keep em as lethal as they are now, but don't let them just sit there like a tank and soak up missles.

[chechenepiphany]

And I totally agree about helis being too armoured. One tank shot or C4 should definitely take out a heli, and the pilot should be vulnerable to more than just .50 cal bullets (almost all small arms should have a chance of damaging him). Keep em as lethal as they are now, but don't let them just sit there like a tank and soak up missles.
You know, as much as I like the helis as they are, they could change the level of damage they take from a few things. Namely, tanks. The helis are fairly balanced, but I get right pissed when some shmuck in a chopper takes my abrams to the junkyard without having fret over a few AP explosive 10 cal tank rounds.

[Hijinx]

Really this was in poor taste.

[Heretic Machine]

If you were weak-willed enough to buy this game to begin with, then you know you're picking up the expansion anyhow.

/BF2hater

[Evil Avatar]

Odd amount of hate for such an awesome game. Other than the whole joystick not working under Windows XP SP2, I can't say I've had that many problems. I would like it if they toned down choppers a bit and toned up aircraft missles, but so far I haven't regretted one bit my $50.00 purchase. (Even if I did get stuck with the crappy CD version instead of the DVD.)

I'm enjoying it so much I never got around to finishing reading Harry Potter this week. Heh!

[Demize99]

Its a great game, no doubt. They just manage to make stupid expansion packs. All I really want is more environments, less bugs, and a low pricetag. But they're probably gonna try to charge 30$ for this one. Sell me 8 maps, with 10 new vehicles, 6 new infantry weapons, and the same good original gameplay for 20 bucks and I'm gonna go home happy.

[netcraazzy]

Its a great game, no doubt. They just manage to make stupid expansion packs. All I really want is more environments, less bugs, and a low pricetag. But they're probably gonna try to charge 30$ for this one. Sell me 8 maps, with 10 new vehicles, 6 new infantry weapons, and the same good original gameplay for 20 bucks and I'm gonna go home happy.

Honestly I'd be happy with several new maps, a few gameplay tweaks and a reworked server browser. Call it a mappack instead of an expansion and charge $10-$15. Of course they could always just call that a patch and release it for free, but I don't expect that very often these days.

[51|RandoM]

the g3 is next to last place in assault kit accuracy, and has no grenade launcher.

it sucks. you can tell yourself it doesn't, you can try to tell everybody else it doesn't, but it does.

It would break even if they gave you two more magazines, maybe.

[Rommel]

Told ya so.