Battlefield 2 is fun!

[Mochan]

Though I must admit I'm not very good at it (yet). I get lost on the map and can't figure out what's happening sometimes (much like in Onslaught in UT2K4 when I started out, LOL). I think this game is more fun than UT2K4 though that might be because I only ever played on high ping servers with you guys.

My major problem with the game are the control binding, not all the controls are shown and it's a real pain in the ass trying to bind controls to where you want them to go. There are four different panels and if a control is duped in any panel you can't assign it anywhere else! Pathetic!

That aside, the game runs pretty well although I'm only on Medium Settings at 1280x960, 2xAA and 8xAF. Doesn't look too hot but at least it's smooth. Been playing as a medic lately, and have been racking up the points for reviving dead comrades hehehe. Scored 22 in the last game though only about 10 of those points were kills. There were 5 other people with scores in the 50s and 40s though, and they were the ones who were usually kicking my ass. I was better than the other rabble though. :)

I doubt I'll get to play with any of you guys on decent ping, I'm currently playing with Swedish players, Japanese players, etc. O_o

[Mochan]

Durn, it's getting harder to find a good server. I got booted out again due to connection issues. That aside, one server I got onto had a play level that wasn't too high, so I applied for Commander and got the job.

Being Commander is kinda fun! Feels like you're doing some weird RTS tactical game in some ways. And it's cool ordering your boys around, hahahaha!

[PapaSmurf]

Mochan, I think I give you a directions to a good server. I haven't played it yet, but its a private server, and there should be a bunch of good and fun people there. If you want to the server and pass just PM me.

[Mochan]

My question is where the server is located. Is it in the US? No matter how good the server I find that a US server will always give me a ping of 400 or more. That means approximately a 1 second disadvantage. Fortunately that's not that big a deal in a game like BF2 as it was in UT2K4 but it still makes sniping very difficult, and it still means I have to be "that much better" in a fair CQB duel. Too bad I'm not "that much better" hehehe so I still usually just place in the middle of the field.

Still I'd like to give it a shot. I'll PM you.

[BaneNWN]

My question is where the server is located. Is it in the US? No matter how good the server I find that a US server will always give me a ping of 400 or more. That means approximately a 1 second disadvantage. Fortunately that's not that big a deal in a game like BF2 as it was in UT2K4 but it still makes sniping very difficult, and it still means I have to be "that much better" in a fair CQB duel. Too bad I'm not "that much better" hehehe so I still usually just place in the middle of the field.

Still I'd like to give it a shot. I'll PM you.


Ya i know what you mean with ping.I played on a few euro servers on UT 2004 and the lag was damn horrible.It would make sniping next to impossible in BF especially if the target is moving.Basically makes you have to shoot about 10 foot infront of the target because aiming at him will make you shoot behind him.

[Mochan]

Yeah, that's why I had to drop out of our UT2K4 matches, it just wasn't fun having to compensate for it all the time. On LAN games I'd usually place top spot in Counterstrike matches but in our UT2K4 fights I have to settle for middle to lower. Not that I'm still hungering for glory after all these years, but you have to admit it's not fun if you can't do what you want to do right.

LAN gaming is really where it's at in multiplayer for me, since I grew up on it I've been too spoiled with 2 digit pings.

[Mochan]

Yeah, that's why I had to drop out of our UT2K4 matches, it just wasn't fun having to compensate for it all the time. On LAN games I'd usually place top spot in Counterstrike matches but in our UT2K4 fights I have to settle for middle to lower. Not that I'm still hungering for glory after all these years, but you have to admit it's not fun if you can't do what you want to do right.

LAN gaming is really where it's at in multiplayer for me, since I grew up on it I've been too spoiled with 2 digit pings.

[Suicides-by-Steve]

I personally want to try out Joint Operations. I also got SWAT 4 and have been playing a bit of Co-Op in it. Great game.

[Benjified]

BF2 is indeed pretty fun but it makes me think about what I really liked in the POE mod for Battlefield Vietnam. I hope this game truly shines once EA patches it

[Mochan]

I heard Joint Ops was a sniper game. I should try that out, too! Sniping in BF2 is very difficult as the rifles are ridiculously weak. Scope zoom is also pathetically short so it's hard to hit those far away targets.

[BaneNWN]

I got joint ops and the expansion very good game but BF is pretty superior overall.Mochan with how picky are with graphics i doubt you would like JO much heh.

[Mochan]

I whine about graphics a lot but even a bad-looking game will grow on me eventually if the gameplay has it. I mean, I got into Deus Ex, Arcanum, and Flashpoint. Those games looked horrid for their times. San Andreas actually isn't a bad looking game but in this day and age it's very plain. Still, the graphics are totally functional.

Dang, I should stop trying new games. I dropped Boiling Point when I got San Andreas, and this weekend I thought I'd get to finish San Andreas (3 day weekend) but then I got BF2 and I spent practically the entire weekend just playing it. And lo and behold I have now acquired a copy of Vietcong. I wonder how this will affect my gaming now?

Also I'm getting sick of San Andreas. The missions are just getting to be a headache. Mostly because I'm now in the plane / RC missions which have always been the worst part of any GTA game from my experience. I should copy the PS2 controls to play them properly but I don't feel like changing my controls anymore. I put the rudder controls on the d-pad but I should have left them on the shoulder buttons. Makes flying hard. I hate flying. Too bad the game requires it. My interest in San Andreas once again has taken a nose-dive thanks to this.

That, and the nature of these plane quests are annoying (I'm being played a fool and I don't like it) -- one by a corrupt government official dangling a prize in my face, another by some nerdy geek who can't do anything better than create remote control bombind devices. Well BF2 is here to keep me busy so it's okay. ;)

Dang, I wish I could play BF2 on the highest graphical settings, though. It looks good as it is but the screenshots I saw were a LOT better than what I'm playing. Also the game has some aliasing issues; the polys and textures don't seem to anti-alias well even when I crank up the AA and res.

[Suicides-by-Steve]

I got joint ops and the expansion very good game but BF is pretty superior overall.Mochan with how picky are with graphics i doubt you would like JO much heh.

It's superior, why, Bane? Because of the graphics? Please elaborate. I'm not a huge fan of the BF series since they started releasing expansion after expansion with no drop in price... and then including some ridiculous anti-piracy software that caused the game to not install on my computer as long as CloneCD or DaemonTools was installed... Again, I'm not a huge fan of companies telling me which apps I can have on my computer and which ones I cannot.

[BaneNWN]

It's superior, why, Bane? Because of the graphics? Please elaborate. I'm not a huge fan of the BF series since they started releasing expansion after expansion with no drop in price... and then including some ridiculous anti-piracy software that caused the game to not install on my computer as long as CloneCD or DaemonTools was installed... Again, I'm not a huge fan of companies telling me which apps I can have on my computer and which ones I cannot.


Well not knowing what patches they might have come out with since ive played.One problem with the game for sure atleast when i played it were numerous graphical glitches such as your head popping through the roofs of helicopters,getting stuck in vehicles things like that.I actually liked the game alot and im not downing it in the least and i actually reccomend it especially for the price.The main reason i say BF is superior is because JO and its expansion plays more like a arcade shooter. the realism just isnt there like it is in BF and im not just talking graphics here.Ive always been a big fan of the deltaforce series games and this game was made from the same developers but the realism it lacks would be a huge turnoff to many people.In my eyes though its not a big deal.The fights are fast and frantic so realistic or not its still alot of fun,hence UT 2004.

I reccomend it over any other online war shooter with the exception of BF.Steve if and when ya get JO let me know ill reinstall it and play some matches with ya.well me,you and 100 other people that is lol.

[Mochan]

and then including some ridiculous anti-piracy software that caused the game to not install on my computer as long as CloneCD or DaemonTools was installed...

Hmm, weird. I got Daemon Tools on my PC running BF2 fine. Actually I'm using Daemon Tools to run BF2. =_=

Still debating whether to get a legit copy of BF2 to play on ranked servers. It still doesn't feel like a wise for me considering the horrible pings I get. I feel burned on UT2k4 as it is since I'm mostly just playing it for single player these days (and I bought it for $30US)

the realism just isnt there like it is in BF and im not just talking graphics here.

BF isn't really realistic but I guess if you compare it to something that feels like an "arcade shooter" then it is. Arcade Shooter would be something like UT2K4 and realistic would be more on the Ghost Recon side, right?

BF2 doesn't really feel to realistic. Feels very arcady at times, actually. It's pretty run and gun actually, all things considered. I'd say it's a good middleground between Ghost Recon-type games and UT type games. And some of the mechanics are weird! Like you hold out a medikit and everyone around you automatically heals up! Or if you're in a jeep, everyone around the jeep (even people in tanks around the jeep) heal up! Or you can use a wrench to repair in seconds a bridge that a spec ops C4 explosive blew up. It's all good fun though.

[BaneNWN]

Mochan you cant play any UT 2004 servers at all??What about euro servers??Heck maybe you should host a game for all of us to play so u can kick are arse with no lag.I dont mind the lag till it gets to the point where you dont even see your ammo coming out then its way to much.But im sure with the lag you had you were having those problems.

As far as BF realism sure its not ghost recon in terms of that but its still much more so then JO.

[Mochan]

Maybe I should try playing UT2K4 on some Japanese servers or something. Haven't tried euro servers yet. I should try it later when I get home. Been too busy playing other games, heheh.

Lag was definitely a problem, while side-stepping and shooting rockets I would see the rocket appearing a meter to my left or right after a one second delay! Made me wonder if I could actually shoot myself if I ran forward fast enough. ;)

I heard joint ops had decently realistic ballistics though. Like you had to aim a cm or so above a target a km away to hit it.

[Friend_Bear]

I got BF2 today, and I'm appalled at it, basically I guess I should have done more research I guess its my own fault, basically my computer just isn't powerful enough to play it >.< or maybe its because EA are in Nvidia pocket? Since it steadfastly refuses to play with my Rad 9800 pro, I managed to get it to run once and the game was running at 5 fps then crashed to desktop (lowest settings possibly, same problem). I just got done surfing google and BF2 definately has issues with ati video cards and apparently theres a patch being worked on, goodie doesn't help me at the moment does it and I can't find any more information on it, except a lot of pissed off people ranting on about it on various blogs, forums etc.....;)

To be honest, I think this is why there's a ton of piracy out there, and the games developers only have themselves to blame, who is going to pay $50 for a game that barely works? When the specs on the box say otherwise? Who actually 'tested' that it worked? If any testing was indeed done on it!

Question! Should I keep hold of it in the hopes of a patch to fix the problems or take it back to Gamestop and get my money back? lol

[BaneNWN]

I got BF2 today, and I'm appalled at it, basically I guess I should have done more research I guess its my own fault, basically my computer just isn't powerful enough to play it >.< or maybe its because EA are in Nvidia pocket? Since it steadfastly refuses to play with my Rad 9800 pro, I managed to get it to run once and the game was running at 5 fps then crashed to desktop (lowest settings possibly, same problem). I just got done surfing google and BF2 definately has issues with ati video cards and apparently theres a patch being worked on, goodie doesn't help me at the moment does it and I can't find any more information on it, except a lot of pissed off people ranting on about it on various blogs, forums etc.....;)

To be honest, I think this is why there's a ton of piracy out there, and the games developers only have themselves to blame, who is going to pay $50 for a game that barely works? When the specs on the box say otherwise? Who actually 'tested' that it worked? If any testing was indeed done on it!

Question! Should I keep hold of it in the hopes of a patch to fix the problems or take it back to Gamestop and get my money back? lol


First off thats the way of pc gaming.Mochan has a 9800 pro and i would guess around the same system you have and he seems to be running it fine.What might run on one system might not run on another very well.I run BF on my rig with all settings on high and im getting 50-60 FPS.Then again i have a Nvidia card.It could be that the driver you currently are using isnt good for BF i dunno.Keep the game im sure the problem will be ironed out as the game is very fun.This is the best online FPS since UT 2004 IMO.

Im actually suprized with how well it runs on my PC considering how nice the look of the game is.I understand your frustration though

[Friend_Bear]

I found a tweakguide and said to totally turn of AA, did that I that makes the problem worse, totally corrupts the graphics into black squares, just like other people have. My system 'should' be able to play it with at least medium settings.

Athlon 64 3400
1 Gig PC3200-400mhz
Ati Rad 9800 pro with 5.6 cats (Official Rad card)
Sound Blaster Audigy 2 gamer edition.

[BaneNWN]

I found a tweakguide and said to totally turn of AA, did that I that makes the problem worse, totally corrupts the graphics into black squares, just like other people have. My system 'should' be able to play it with at least medium settings.

Athlon 64 3400
1 Gig PC3200-400mhz
Ati Rad 9800 pro with 5.6 cats (Official Rad card)
Sound Blaster Audigy 2 gamer edition.

Wow your system is better then mine with the exception of the graphics card.Still you should be running about like me. there are quite a few games that ATI cards have problems running when they shouldnt have.Main reason i stay clear of ATI cards is from all the complaints i here about there drivers.

I still say its a driver issue.Maybe you should find out what drivers Mochan is running and download those.He seems to beable to play everything quite well.Well quite well in my eyes but hes a FPS freak so hes harder to please lol.

P.S. by you saying official Rad card thats the cd that came with the Graph card?? If so those would be some old drivers and if ATI works like Nvidia as far as regular driver updates then the drivers you would be using would be outdated.I never use my cd drivers i go right to the Nvidia site and download the latest ones.But then again i havent a clue how ATI is with updating drivers,so i dunno if they really have regular updates like Nvidia

[Friend_Bear]

The drivers that came with it are really old ones, like 4.1 or something lol

Anyway I think I know what the problem is, however I'm not sure how/why Mochan doesn't have the problem I do, maybe he isn't using the latest drivers? Here is what I'm guessing it is since I noticed this with EAs Medal of Honor: Pacific Assault, when I first got it I was running it in default settings and it was great until it started to really jerk out and have huge lag issues and I didn't know why, so I checked online and a ton of people was having the same issues so I looked at the options and noticed the hardware shader settings = 1.1 // 2.0 mode, the default settings was 2.0 mode which is the later one and the Rad 9800 pro can't use it with any degree of speed especially when theres a lot of action, so I changed it to 1.1 and raised the detail settings to maximum and the game ran sweetly, and because BF2 optimises the shaders (without) giving the user a choice, I'm guessing its automatically seeing 2.0 hardware shaders, thats causing the huge slowdown issues.

Now, theorectically, these are a newer addition to the ATi Catalyst drivers, so techinically speaking here, finding out when they was added and downgrading to that version, should force the game to use the older hardware shaders.

Its looking like 5.3 is when they was added, so I'll try and get 5.1 or 5.2 cats and see what happens.

[Friend_Bear]

:Takes a bow: I can with 100% say, 5.2 fixes all the problems with BF2, I even ran it in high settings and worked pretty nicely! I am almost saying without a doubt that with the older ATi cards running hardware shaders greater than 1.4 is a really bad idea, even the once mighty 9800 pro is starting to grow grey hair and can't digest 2.0 even though its supposed to fully support it....:rollseyes:

I'm spreading the word on several BF2 forums :)

[Mochan]

Friend Bear, your PC is a whole lot better than mine, you should be able to play it on high with no problems.

Radeon 9800 Pro - Catalyst 5.6
Athlon XP 2200+
1GB cheapo DDR400 RAM
Audigy 2 Value

It's probably some weird driver issue or directX issue, or heck maybe your install is corrupted, I really have no idea.

:Takes a bow: I can with 100% say, 5.2 fixes all the problems with BF2, I even ran it in high settings and worked pretty nicely! I am almost saying without a doubt that with the older ATi cards running hardware

Ah that's good. I'm not sure if I'm running SHader Model 2 for BF2 but it works just fine for me. Maybe since I'm at med. settings it's not running SM2.

It's getting nigh for me to buy a new PC, I'm actually really excited.



One of the cool things to do in BF2 is climb up the huge cranes or silos or towers and snipe like a moron from up there. Usually you'll miss actually but sometimes you get lucky. ;)

Then request for an ammo crate to be dropped next to you and you'll never run out of bullets. You'll die when the enemy commander drops an artillery shell on your head. ;)

I do this junk when I'm commander usually, where best to command from than from the top? Some of the maps have some really huge ladders to climb, making the climb up long but well worth it hehehe.

Sniping is just for fun in this game though. If you're playing for keeps I don't recommend it.

[Friend_Bear]

Radeon 9800 Pro - Catalyst 5.6
Athlon XP 2200+
1GB cheapo DDR400 RAM
Audigy 2 Value


That PC is not that much better than my old computer that my wife uses now, maybe I should try it on that as well, see how it performs.

[Clever_critic44]

Yeah- give that a try for sure.

[mdibatti]

Yes I do agree. Played the demo for a couple weeks and realized I needed the full version, even though I despise paying $50 for a computer game.

The game is a blast, but can only play for an hour or two at a time....gets a little repetative. BUT, about 15 minutes after I log off, I want more. And the cycle continues :)

[Mochan]

It's a shame but ever since I "upgraded" to my 17" TFT LCD I stopped playing Battlefield. The resolution is just whacked, I get no Anti Aliasing, and some wireframe are visible in the models! I don't know what happened. I guess it was forcing the resolution to 1280x1024. Regardless the drop in visual quality was enough to make me stop playing.

[mdibatti]

My monitor is 17" , no problems at all. It's a DELL something or other.

I'm sure you've played around with the resolution settings....that sucks man, I can kind of feel your pain. My DSL has been down for 2 days, so no BF2.

[Mochan]

I think part of the problem may be with my Radeon video card. I've always had issues getting the AF and AA features to work properly and I think it's settings are getting messed up. Maybe the mipmap settings for the game got messed up, that's why the objects started looking like wireframes.

[MikeG]

I've become convinced I need a new PC for Battlefield2 too. The multiplayer/commander/graphics are just too awesome. Thinking I'll go with NVidia this time (I have an ATI Radeon 9700)... prolly spend +-$300 for the video card and go with an AMD 64.

I'll want an onboard 1Ghz lan, PCI Express and PCI sound. Any mo-board suggestions? I'm checking Biostar, Soltek or DFI - Lanparty - ... suggestions??

TIA - MikeG

[Suicides-by-Steve]

I've always been a fan of Asus (http://usa.asus.com/products2.aspx?l1=3&l2=15).

[Aku]

Mine's an Asus. Of course, it's older. But a good board when in its prime.

[Mochan]

I'm an Asus fan, too. My current PC's mobo is Asus, and it has served me well. I would have gotten an Asus board for my new system, if they were available. Availability is always an issue so I wasn't able to get an Asus board for my new PC, but I got the next best thing, an Epox board. And this board is freaking sweet!

It's an NForce 4 Ultra (9NPA+)
http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b397/Pink_Mocha/EpoxBox.jpg
http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b397/Pink_Mocha/EpoxBoard.jpg

The box looks great, it is simple but elegant. But who cares about the box, the board color itself is nice, as well. (One thing I did not like about Asus is how they like to use the dull olive brown color for their PCBs). The nice thing about the Epox board is that its cool green PCB will match the 7800 GT's PCB perfecly. I also intend to get a green PSU to get with the program.

The only real complaint I have at this point with this Epox board is the location of the power connector. It's in a bad position as you can see from the pic, the power cable will be snaking around the heatsink at this rate, which I always hate due to me OC behavior.

I haven't set the board up yet but my only other concern is the chipset fan. It looks like it could potentially be noisy. I hope it is relatively silent.

For MikeG (not SbS :) the board I got is just fine. Basically an NForce 4 or NF4 Ultra is what you need. For a good price you will want to go with ECS and their ECS NF4 A939, but if you're a performance hound (and hardcore overclocker) you'll want to get an NF4/Ultra board from Asus A8N-E, DFI Lanparty, or ABit AN8 Ultra. (heck you could even get the ABit Fatal1ty so that your board is endorsed by the number 1 FPS gamer on the planet. ;)

The DFI Lanparty would be a good choice.

[MikeG]

Thanks for the feedback guys!! My video card's heatsink fan is now making noises. I think the bearings are toast. What a great excuse to buy a whole new system!! :D I'll probably sink the cash and buy it next week. I'll post the build photos.

YES!! A new computer!! :cool:

[Mochan]

Dude, normally when a video card fan gives you buy a new cooler (like the Coolermaster CoolViva) and not a new system! LOL

But I can understand; I am buying a new PC too! I also have an Athlon 64 3200+ Venice and I now have the Epox 9NPA+ Ultra. Now I just need to find a good case, a good PSU, and a good GPU.

I was intending to get a 7800GT because I saw it on the pricelist of one shop here, but they have reported that they do not have have stock of it! This is very annoying! I was already dead set on buying it over the X800XL or the 6800GT. Well I will wait a few more weeks but they better get some stock available!

I am also considering getting a Thermaltake Soprano for my case since it is the best case I can find right now. Well it looks cool, although it's not that high-end and I really wanted a high end case.