I hope to voice a few of my opinions, and more importantly inform the masses that don't have SF yet what is good and what is not...particularly for those that haven't got it yet and are deciding whether to buy. I'm writing this quickly and just trying to pack information in, don't waste your time posting if you're just gonna troll because you are unhappy with your miserable life. Constructive criticism I can accept :P I'm at work, but its snowing, its friday and...err...im lazy...
I must say when i first loaded SF I was immediately dissapointed at my performance, after running every other game fine recently (including BF2) I was getting stuttering in BF2 on my 7800GTX. Removing the XG 81.94 drivers and using the older XG 81.84v2 did the trick. I've also read on here this morning that using the new 81.95 also sorts the problem.
MAPS
-===-
You can immediately see why jets have been removed from the expansion, the maps are too small. Because the expansion focuses more on CQB (not just infantry), there just isn't a place for jets. The maps are too small.
The maps on the whole are enjoyable and different enough from the normal BF2 maps to have appeal. The only map that I really didn't like was 'The Iron Gator' - a map where the US start on their own carrier with about 7 spawn points and the MEC start on an island locked spawn, so the MEC need to assault the carrier. The carrier is big, and has 2 or 3 different levels with canteens / engine room etc... but for me at least it just doesn't quite work. It is too easy to get a bottleneck in one of the tight corridors where its almost impossible to get at the enemy (for instance if they are at the top of a spiral stairway and just drop nades (tear, bang, he) down. Performance is also the worst on this map and I can see it getting left out of map cycles (a la songhua).
The night maps, are awesome. I know people didn't think it would work but I think it has been very well done, climbing onto the crane then ziplining to a nearby warehouse then over to an enemy flag is priceless - the maps in general, including the night maps are designed assuming that you aren't necessarily going to use the standard entrances to a building and that you may zipline in. Often i'd get knife kills on someone who was sitting intently watching a ladder for people to climb up, when i ziplined in behind him for the kill.... :)
EDIT:Some quick map reviews, on request.
Devil's Perch: (US vs MEC - Night Map)
Us start on a small island near the main bulk of the map. The main MEC base sits atop a hill, with its gates closed. The US have an uphill battle from the start, with enemy snipers overhead using night vision to vanquish their foes beneath, and Spec Ops teams ziplining down from the mountain-side. The US are equipped with a few jetskis and boats and can zip around the back of the MEC base and approach via a secluded cliff entrance. Once inside they can open the gates for their team and set up camp. I must say that the most enjoyable part of this map for me was defending the final flag as a losing MEC team, blasting the assault and AT guys as they were grappling over the wall and trying to keep those damn gates closed!
Warlord: (Insurgents vs SAS - Day Map)
Very cool map, huge buildings and ladders everywhere and tons of sniping positions. Theres also a fair few buggies in this including 6x6x6 and armor. Much fun can be had defending the TV station (the tallest building) and the palace and then zip-lining down to safety. The flags are well positioned and all are quite easy to defened because of the buildings around them, making for some great stand-off situations.
One of my favourite new maps.
Night Flight: (SAS vs Insurgents - Night Map)
One of the best new maps, slightly more spread out than most but with many quads and other fast vehicles to nip around in.
the landscape is almost completely flat, with the map being set in an airfield but there are plenty of hangars and warehouses to zip from roof to roof on (not to mention the crane). One of my favourite moments here is when attacking or defending the plane. As defenders you can sit in a compartment above the cargo deck (where the flag is) and shoot down on the enemy. Challenging to attack!
This night map might have the largest amount of dark space in the game, but it also has a lot of indoor environments that are pretty well lit making it difficult to see much of the time. Players that use that to their advantage will do well. Maps are placed in pretty interesting locations here, including a cargo plane on the runway that has crates strewn around it for cover but a large open space in order to get there at all. Fast vehicles are a must to get close enough to take the flag.
I'll do the rest later when i've played them a little more :P I did just write some brief information on them all but TBF2 Forum logged me out and i lost it...
UTILITY ITEMS
-==========-
The Grapple - Only assault and AT get this, but they get it on almost every map. A very useful tool - excellent for flag capping although it often doesnt allow you to move any faster than you already do, you cant 'swing' with it from what i've seen so its almost strictly for ascending a building (cant grapple from one to the next and swing over). This can make the difference in the capture of a base, especially when you can get above the flag and grenade the defenders.
Make sure you pick up your grapple once you and your friends are over so you can use it again, the amount of people i saw that would use their items and run off.....
The Zipline - Only Spec Ops and Sniper get this, and despite how many people are moaning that the sniper shouldnt get this and should get the grapple instead, I think it really fits well. The point is, its very easy to climb many buildings - theres ladders everywhere in this, and the zipline works as long as you have higher altitude than your target, it also works over a long range, so all you need to do is get up to one of the highest buildings, snipe a little and then you can zip from roof to roof. Very effective and in my eyes this is what a sniper should be doing anyways, moving position very quickly once spotted. As with the grapple, make sure you pick it up after your friends and you have used it, both grapple and zip dissapear after a while if you dont pick them up.
Flashbangs - A new assault accessory, effective in the right hands but easily avoided if you see it coming. Blinds (and deafens) players whether they are in a vehicle or on foot, often will deafen yourself even if you throw around a corner so you dont get flashed. Useful for evading armor, and assaulting a dark room...There isn't really any counter to flashbangs apart from running away - but at the same time they are completely non-lethal and often you can find the guy swinging his arm to throw before he can get you. The flashbang effect is something akin to the FB effect in Chaos Theory. White screen, burnt retina.
Tear Gas - A new support accessory, comes with a launcher for instant mid-range effect. Blows into a large cloud, working like a smoke grenade and at the same time effectively blinding anyone in it (kinda deafens them too from all the coughing). If you are wearing a gas mask you are immune to the effects, and everyone gets gas masks...but most people dont go around wearing them because it restricts your vision, eats batteries (small bar bottom left of screen, similar to stamina) and makes a lot of noise (i am your father!). If you apply the gas mask when you have already inhaled the tear gas... it doesn't help much :).
When tear gassed you can still sometimes see movement but it is hard to make things out clearly (and your view sways so its hard to aim) at close range with an automatic weapon you may have a fighting chance but at long range you're completely screwed. I can see many people loving this tool.
Night Vision - Everyone gets it on night maps, and its toggleable. Uses battery power when on but very slowly, so you'll only notice it if you're prone to leaving it on all the time. It does make enemy players stand out slightly but also tends to blur your vision because of the static. I tend to flick this on for 5 second periods to look around then go back to my dark vision. It can be good to have it off at times as it is easier to see muzzle flash in the dark.
EDIT: Also, adjusting your gamma doesnt help much, black is truly black as opposed to a very dark shade of grey. I know many people will be happy to hear that people who turn their gamma up dont get an unfair advantage.
Gasmasks - Stops you being affected by tear gas. toggleable. Cant use NV at the same time as your mask, and the mask restricts your vision and you breathe heavily.
WEAPONS
-======-
Most (all?) weapons can be used in standard BF2, as 2nd-tier unlocks. In SF sometimes more than one class will use the same weapon depending on map (i.e specops and assault may use SCAR)
MG36 - The new support weapon, I've never been a support guy - but I found this to be much more effective in my hands than both the RPK/SAW and PKM. It seems to fire faster than the PKM but not as fast as the saw and have a similar accuracy to the PKM albeit a little weaker. This makes for a great mid-range killing device. On top of that it takes ages to overheat (another thing that always annoyed me about support). Combine this with tear gas for a winning combination.
SCAR - New SpecOps weapon. Faster firing and less accurate than the G36/M4 but it does feature a laser dot scope once again, it also has less deviance than the non-unlocked weapons and tends to make for a better close/mid-range weapon. At long range the G36 is noticably more accurate.
F2000 - New Assault weapon. Features a grenade launcher once again. Also features a scope and is faster firing than the standard assault weapons, it is also weaker and will require more shots to kill. It doesn't seem any more accurate than the AK/M16, but the scope can make a difference to your aim. Killing power at close range depends on situation, if you land every shot then the AK will still be better - if its more of a 'spray' situation then this F2000 will probably win out. The grenade launcher seems to be almost identical to the ones you know and love.
MP7 - The new Engineer weapon. Small SMG that fires in fully auto at all times, superfast fire rate kills quick at short-mid range it does however eat ammo like there is no tomorrow, this is partly countered by a quick reload. Personally I prefer this to the shotguns and I can see it making me play engineer a little more.
G36E - New medic weapon, fires in single shot and 3 round burst. Seems more controllable than the M16 in 3 round mode and thus can be great for taking down targets quick. It is accurate in both modes (albeit moreso in single) and I can see this becoming the new favourite medic weapon, apart from the lack of fully auto mode it handles similarly to the G36 SpecOps unlock, has no scope but is accurate using iron-sights.
RPG-7 - I don't think this one makes it into normal BF2, which is a real shame. It is the standard AT weapon for the rebel forces in SF (and maybe a few others, i forget which). Personally, I love it. It seems more powerful than a standard AT rocket, and flies faster. The reload is also quite quick. It comes fitted with a scope and with practice you can hit targets at range. This can be more difficult than normal because of the lack of any guidance system. This does mean that no alarm sounds in the vehicles as you aim, which can work to your advantage. If you're already good with the grenade launcher, you'll find these rockets similarly affected by gravity, but with a much longer range.
I didn't notice any new pistols or knives but then i wasnt really paying attention to them :)
VEHICLES
-======-
Jetski - Tiny, single seater, speedy, squishy as anything, no guns.... Great fun :)
Quad - See above, but for land this time. Handles well but tends to skid a lot (good for donuts).
Technical - Akin to the normal 50 cal buggy, still has the 360 degree firing arc. Possibly a little faster, might just be me :P
6x6x6 - 4 Seats, 3 gunners, 1 driver. Fast and lightly armored. All the guns are 30cal so dont expect to be a 4 man chopper destroying machine.
BMP-3 - A slightly more lightly armored APC with a tank cannon instead of the automatic jobbie that they normally get, it is also faster than the normal APC but tends to bounce around a lot when it hits a bump. A decent addition.
I havent had a chance to try out the wrecked cars or the forklift (havent actually seen it yet....). Will update this when i get time.
Hind - Think or the MEC transport chopper (lovingly referred to as the fattycopter), but fitted for assault. It is similar in size and handling ( :'( ) to the fattycopter but has fully auto rockets. As someone else mentioned, it'd be better balanced if it could carry extra troops (like in real life). Seems to gain / lose altitude quickly.
Apache - Slightly more sluggish but tends to turn better than the standard choppers, not as big as the hind and one on one I'd expect the apache to win most of the time. Doesn't have auto rockets but they are particularly quiet..... I'm not sure what is supposed to be different about them, they sure feel the same.
Choppers actually fit quite well on some of the maps. The infantry has a much easier time avoiding them than in normal BF2 partly because of the amount of buildings and obstacles in the way (moreso than normal BF2), its very easy to take cover.
FOOTNOTE
-=======-
So overall, I'm having a real good time playing SF. It is quite a different game. Personally when i want infantry battles i'll be playing this, and when I want more balanced battles I'll play BF2. Far too many people are looking at SF and wanting to hate it because it changes what BF2 is already good at. It exists as a SUPPLEMENT for BF2 it is not an upgrade in the strictest sense and you dont need it to play the game and/or be effective. The new weapons are nice but once you've played with them you realise that they aren't all that impressive, they're just additional 'options' as the normal unlocks are.
Some people feel that medic and sniper may have been a little left out in the patch, to be honest medics do get a great new weapon that makes the world of difference to me at least.
As for snipers, just the sheer ease of getting to great sniping spots and the amount of them.... every building top is now a sniper nest, and they can skip long ranges with relative ease. As for sniping in the dark, well - easy kills.
I must say when i first loaded SF I was immediately dissapointed at my performance, after running every other game fine recently (including BF2) I was getting stuttering in BF2 on my 7800GTX. Removing the XG 81.94 drivers and using the older XG 81.84v2 did the trick. I've also read on here this morning that using the new 81.95 also sorts the problem.
MAPS
-===-
You can immediately see why jets have been removed from the expansion, the maps are too small. Because the expansion focuses more on CQB (not just infantry), there just isn't a place for jets. The maps are too small.
The maps on the whole are enjoyable and different enough from the normal BF2 maps to have appeal. The only map that I really didn't like was 'The Iron Gator' - a map where the US start on their own carrier with about 7 spawn points and the MEC start on an island locked spawn, so the MEC need to assault the carrier. The carrier is big, and has 2 or 3 different levels with canteens / engine room etc... but for me at least it just doesn't quite work. It is too easy to get a bottleneck in one of the tight corridors where its almost impossible to get at the enemy (for instance if they are at the top of a spiral stairway and just drop nades (tear, bang, he) down. Performance is also the worst on this map and I can see it getting left out of map cycles (a la songhua).
The night maps, are awesome. I know people didn't think it would work but I think it has been very well done, climbing onto the crane then ziplining to a nearby warehouse then over to an enemy flag is priceless - the maps in general, including the night maps are designed assuming that you aren't necessarily going to use the standard entrances to a building and that you may zipline in. Often i'd get knife kills on someone who was sitting intently watching a ladder for people to climb up, when i ziplined in behind him for the kill.... :)
EDIT:Some quick map reviews, on request.
Devil's Perch: (US vs MEC - Night Map)
Us start on a small island near the main bulk of the map. The main MEC base sits atop a hill, with its gates closed. The US have an uphill battle from the start, with enemy snipers overhead using night vision to vanquish their foes beneath, and Spec Ops teams ziplining down from the mountain-side. The US are equipped with a few jetskis and boats and can zip around the back of the MEC base and approach via a secluded cliff entrance. Once inside they can open the gates for their team and set up camp. I must say that the most enjoyable part of this map for me was defending the final flag as a losing MEC team, blasting the assault and AT guys as they were grappling over the wall and trying to keep those damn gates closed!
Warlord: (Insurgents vs SAS - Day Map)
Very cool map, huge buildings and ladders everywhere and tons of sniping positions. Theres also a fair few buggies in this including 6x6x6 and armor. Much fun can be had defending the TV station (the tallest building) and the palace and then zip-lining down to safety. The flags are well positioned and all are quite easy to defened because of the buildings around them, making for some great stand-off situations.
One of my favourite new maps.
Night Flight: (SAS vs Insurgents - Night Map)
One of the best new maps, slightly more spread out than most but with many quads and other fast vehicles to nip around in.
the landscape is almost completely flat, with the map being set in an airfield but there are plenty of hangars and warehouses to zip from roof to roof on (not to mention the crane). One of my favourite moments here is when attacking or defending the plane. As defenders you can sit in a compartment above the cargo deck (where the flag is) and shoot down on the enemy. Challenging to attack!
This night map might have the largest amount of dark space in the game, but it also has a lot of indoor environments that are pretty well lit making it difficult to see much of the time. Players that use that to their advantage will do well. Maps are placed in pretty interesting locations here, including a cargo plane on the runway that has crates strewn around it for cover but a large open space in order to get there at all. Fast vehicles are a must to get close enough to take the flag.
I'll do the rest later when i've played them a little more :P I did just write some brief information on them all but TBF2 Forum logged me out and i lost it...
UTILITY ITEMS
-==========-
The Grapple - Only assault and AT get this, but they get it on almost every map. A very useful tool - excellent for flag capping although it often doesnt allow you to move any faster than you already do, you cant 'swing' with it from what i've seen so its almost strictly for ascending a building (cant grapple from one to the next and swing over). This can make the difference in the capture of a base, especially when you can get above the flag and grenade the defenders.
Make sure you pick up your grapple once you and your friends are over so you can use it again, the amount of people i saw that would use their items and run off.....
The Zipline - Only Spec Ops and Sniper get this, and despite how many people are moaning that the sniper shouldnt get this and should get the grapple instead, I think it really fits well. The point is, its very easy to climb many buildings - theres ladders everywhere in this, and the zipline works as long as you have higher altitude than your target, it also works over a long range, so all you need to do is get up to one of the highest buildings, snipe a little and then you can zip from roof to roof. Very effective and in my eyes this is what a sniper should be doing anyways, moving position very quickly once spotted. As with the grapple, make sure you pick it up after your friends and you have used it, both grapple and zip dissapear after a while if you dont pick them up.
Flashbangs - A new assault accessory, effective in the right hands but easily avoided if you see it coming. Blinds (and deafens) players whether they are in a vehicle or on foot, often will deafen yourself even if you throw around a corner so you dont get flashed. Useful for evading armor, and assaulting a dark room...There isn't really any counter to flashbangs apart from running away - but at the same time they are completely non-lethal and often you can find the guy swinging his arm to throw before he can get you. The flashbang effect is something akin to the FB effect in Chaos Theory. White screen, burnt retina.
Tear Gas - A new support accessory, comes with a launcher for instant mid-range effect. Blows into a large cloud, working like a smoke grenade and at the same time effectively blinding anyone in it (kinda deafens them too from all the coughing). If you are wearing a gas mask you are immune to the effects, and everyone gets gas masks...but most people dont go around wearing them because it restricts your vision, eats batteries (small bar bottom left of screen, similar to stamina) and makes a lot of noise (i am your father!). If you apply the gas mask when you have already inhaled the tear gas... it doesn't help much :).
When tear gassed you can still sometimes see movement but it is hard to make things out clearly (and your view sways so its hard to aim) at close range with an automatic weapon you may have a fighting chance but at long range you're completely screwed. I can see many people loving this tool.
Night Vision - Everyone gets it on night maps, and its toggleable. Uses battery power when on but very slowly, so you'll only notice it if you're prone to leaving it on all the time. It does make enemy players stand out slightly but also tends to blur your vision because of the static. I tend to flick this on for 5 second periods to look around then go back to my dark vision. It can be good to have it off at times as it is easier to see muzzle flash in the dark.
EDIT: Also, adjusting your gamma doesnt help much, black is truly black as opposed to a very dark shade of grey. I know many people will be happy to hear that people who turn their gamma up dont get an unfair advantage.
Gasmasks - Stops you being affected by tear gas. toggleable. Cant use NV at the same time as your mask, and the mask restricts your vision and you breathe heavily.
WEAPONS
-======-
Most (all?) weapons can be used in standard BF2, as 2nd-tier unlocks. In SF sometimes more than one class will use the same weapon depending on map (i.e specops and assault may use SCAR)
MG36 - The new support weapon, I've never been a support guy - but I found this to be much more effective in my hands than both the RPK/SAW and PKM. It seems to fire faster than the PKM but not as fast as the saw and have a similar accuracy to the PKM albeit a little weaker. This makes for a great mid-range killing device. On top of that it takes ages to overheat (another thing that always annoyed me about support). Combine this with tear gas for a winning combination.
SCAR - New SpecOps weapon. Faster firing and less accurate than the G36/M4 but it does feature a laser dot scope once again, it also has less deviance than the non-unlocked weapons and tends to make for a better close/mid-range weapon. At long range the G36 is noticably more accurate.
F2000 - New Assault weapon. Features a grenade launcher once again. Also features a scope and is faster firing than the standard assault weapons, it is also weaker and will require more shots to kill. It doesn't seem any more accurate than the AK/M16, but the scope can make a difference to your aim. Killing power at close range depends on situation, if you land every shot then the AK will still be better - if its more of a 'spray' situation then this F2000 will probably win out. The grenade launcher seems to be almost identical to the ones you know and love.
MP7 - The new Engineer weapon. Small SMG that fires in fully auto at all times, superfast fire rate kills quick at short-mid range it does however eat ammo like there is no tomorrow, this is partly countered by a quick reload. Personally I prefer this to the shotguns and I can see it making me play engineer a little more.
G36E - New medic weapon, fires in single shot and 3 round burst. Seems more controllable than the M16 in 3 round mode and thus can be great for taking down targets quick. It is accurate in both modes (albeit moreso in single) and I can see this becoming the new favourite medic weapon, apart from the lack of fully auto mode it handles similarly to the G36 SpecOps unlock, has no scope but is accurate using iron-sights.
RPG-7 - I don't think this one makes it into normal BF2, which is a real shame. It is the standard AT weapon for the rebel forces in SF (and maybe a few others, i forget which). Personally, I love it. It seems more powerful than a standard AT rocket, and flies faster. The reload is also quite quick. It comes fitted with a scope and with practice you can hit targets at range. This can be more difficult than normal because of the lack of any guidance system. This does mean that no alarm sounds in the vehicles as you aim, which can work to your advantage. If you're already good with the grenade launcher, you'll find these rockets similarly affected by gravity, but with a much longer range.
I didn't notice any new pistols or knives but then i wasnt really paying attention to them :)
VEHICLES
-======-
Jetski - Tiny, single seater, speedy, squishy as anything, no guns.... Great fun :)
Quad - See above, but for land this time. Handles well but tends to skid a lot (good for donuts).
Technical - Akin to the normal 50 cal buggy, still has the 360 degree firing arc. Possibly a little faster, might just be me :P
6x6x6 - 4 Seats, 3 gunners, 1 driver. Fast and lightly armored. All the guns are 30cal so dont expect to be a 4 man chopper destroying machine.
BMP-3 - A slightly more lightly armored APC with a tank cannon instead of the automatic jobbie that they normally get, it is also faster than the normal APC but tends to bounce around a lot when it hits a bump. A decent addition.
I havent had a chance to try out the wrecked cars or the forklift (havent actually seen it yet....). Will update this when i get time.
Hind - Think or the MEC transport chopper (lovingly referred to as the fattycopter), but fitted for assault. It is similar in size and handling ( :'( ) to the fattycopter but has fully auto rockets. As someone else mentioned, it'd be better balanced if it could carry extra troops (like in real life). Seems to gain / lose altitude quickly.
Apache - Slightly more sluggish but tends to turn better than the standard choppers, not as big as the hind and one on one I'd expect the apache to win most of the time. Doesn't have auto rockets but they are particularly quiet..... I'm not sure what is supposed to be different about them, they sure feel the same.
Choppers actually fit quite well on some of the maps. The infantry has a much easier time avoiding them than in normal BF2 partly because of the amount of buildings and obstacles in the way (moreso than normal BF2), its very easy to take cover.
FOOTNOTE
-=======-
So overall, I'm having a real good time playing SF. It is quite a different game. Personally when i want infantry battles i'll be playing this, and when I want more balanced battles I'll play BF2. Far too many people are looking at SF and wanting to hate it because it changes what BF2 is already good at. It exists as a SUPPLEMENT for BF2 it is not an upgrade in the strictest sense and you dont need it to play the game and/or be effective. The new weapons are nice but once you've played with them you realise that they aren't all that impressive, they're just additional 'options' as the normal unlocks are.
Some people feel that medic and sniper may have been a little left out in the patch, to be honest medics do get a great new weapon that makes the world of difference to me at least.
As for snipers, just the sheer ease of getting to great sniping spots and the amount of them.... every building top is now a sniper nest, and they can skip long ranges with relative ease. As for sniping in the dark, well - easy kills.
It sounds like they use the same weapon...doesn't it?
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