Another noob making an ultra long post... :)
Posted: 2007-07-27 21:37
I hate to join a forum and immediately make an ***-kissing thread, but I've been really excited about this mod since I got it, so I'm going to anyway.
I like to try the mods of BF2, and some are obviously better than others. I thought I'd finally found a substitute for vanilla with PoE2, but I found myself going back to regular BF2 after a fairly short time. This was mainly because - while very good - PoE2 is basically a reskinned and slightly tweaked vanilla. I realise there's more to it than that, but you get the idea.
I downloaded PR when 0.5 (I think) came out. Didn't read the manual, didn't read anything. Installed it, tried a game on single player, couldn't get in a tank, and got repeatedly owned by bots (ultimate humiliation). I uninstalled it in frustration without even going online.
I've always found simulator-style FPS games (Rogue Spear, Hidden & Dangerous etc) to be considerably more satisfying than more arcadey ones, but I also always find them very difficult to get in to, and going from vanilla to PR was a bit too much for me.
With this new release I decided that I was determined to do it properly. Downloaded, read through the Wiki and watched as many tutorial videos as I could find. I joined my very first game, and tried my best to follow what my squad was doing, talking using the VOIP (which is something I've never done in an online game before) and I actually managed to get a kill ('the guns hit where you aim them?! wtf') and had a lot of fun.
This was only 3 days ago or something. Last night I played it from 12am straight through until 8:30am this morning (making several new friends in the process) and couldn't get enough.
I've honestly never enjoyed a mod for any game (including DC and FH for BF1942) nearly as much as I enjoy this one. I don't think I'll ever be able to go back to vanilla now, having experienced what proper teamwork can achieve. The way complete strangers can instantly start talking and working together to achieve a goal is something I really never thought I'd experience online.
Assault on Mestia (I think that's the name...) is my favourite map so far, though I've only played it once, and we kinda got owned both times. The experience is always made better by people communicating with each other, and it's the only map in BF2 I've played on which I like to stop and take in the view (reminded me of Oblivion).
Just today, 3 days after I installed the mod, I spent about 10 minutes lecturing a guy who was obviously a lot older than me (he had a kid, so I'm assuming he was at least, I'm 20) on how to play the game. How to get into tanks, how to request kits and things. I understand some of the veterans probably find it frustrating when you see the words "what does the shovel do?" flashing across your screen in every round, but some people genuinely don't have the time to read through the (pretty large) Wiki for the mod, so I didn't mind explaining.
After I'd taught the guy the basics, I realised our team was in disarray and nobody was going anywhere. I took charge of our squad (why do people hate being the squad leader in this game? Every time I join a squad I end up being the leader within 10 minutes. People keep leaving and rejoining again - I far prefer being the leader) and started talking to people. A couple didn't have mics, but everyone could hear me, so it was pretty good.
In our squad, we had a guy in a plane, a tank, and the rest foot soldiers, which ended up being a useful balance. Anyway, to cut a long story short, I basically took command of the whole team simply giving orders through text (we didn't have a commander, and I've never commanded in this mod and thought I'd probably screw it up) and we secured the bunkers in the middle of the map, and went on to win pretty quickly, only losing one flag once (by the way, does the scoped G3 rock or what?).
The guy in the plane bombed where I told him to and proved excellent at spotting incoming enemies; the guy in the tank provided cover where I told him to; everyone came to me so I could make a rally point when I told them to. It was such a satisfying experience for me, especially after finding the game very daunting at first. The person I'd been tutoring left eventually, but he thanked me a number of times for helping him, which I appreciated.
In another game earlier today, I somehow ended up as the leader of a squad full of some clan or other (seriously no idea how this keeps happening). We did a really good job on Ghost Train of taking and defending flags, despite having an utterly useless commander. For the first time in BF2 I feel content to stay back and try and spot enemies, acting as a spawn point, while the rest of my squad goes to secure a flag. I never did anything like that in BF2, and always preferred to be in front (though that may be because I feel considerably more confident in vanilla, who knows).
Aaaanyway, nobody in their right mind is going to read all of this so I may as well shut up now.
There're two things I'd like to say first though.
1) Please, on the big open desert maps, either provide more ground transport, or shorten the drop time for vehicle drops. You find yourself trekking 10km simply because there's no alternative sometimes. There's always noobs who jump into the jeeps and just drive off on their own.
2) I was wondering if it would be possible to have the option to blow C4 charges separately, as well as both at once in 0.7? I just think it would be nice to have the option when ambushing, you know. It would be good to trick the enemy into thinking the first charge was the only one in some situations. I heard there were remote claymores too, though I haven't actually seen any, but it would be nice for those too.
Other than that, there's really nothing bad much I can say about this mod, so thanks a lot for the fantastic work, I know a lot of people really appreciate it.
Oh, and I have a friend who hated the arcade feel of vanilla, but absolutely loves PR too, she's been playing it loads recently. Two new converts.
(Very sorry about the ultra long post)
I like to try the mods of BF2, and some are obviously better than others. I thought I'd finally found a substitute for vanilla with PoE2, but I found myself going back to regular BF2 after a fairly short time. This was mainly because - while very good - PoE2 is basically a reskinned and slightly tweaked vanilla. I realise there's more to it than that, but you get the idea.
I downloaded PR when 0.5 (I think) came out. Didn't read the manual, didn't read anything. Installed it, tried a game on single player, couldn't get in a tank, and got repeatedly owned by bots (ultimate humiliation). I uninstalled it in frustration without even going online.
I've always found simulator-style FPS games (Rogue Spear, Hidden & Dangerous etc) to be considerably more satisfying than more arcadey ones, but I also always find them very difficult to get in to, and going from vanilla to PR was a bit too much for me.
With this new release I decided that I was determined to do it properly. Downloaded, read through the Wiki and watched as many tutorial videos as I could find. I joined my very first game, and tried my best to follow what my squad was doing, talking using the VOIP (which is something I've never done in an online game before) and I actually managed to get a kill ('the guns hit where you aim them?! wtf') and had a lot of fun.
This was only 3 days ago or something. Last night I played it from 12am straight through until 8:30am this morning (making several new friends in the process) and couldn't get enough.
I've honestly never enjoyed a mod for any game (including DC and FH for BF1942) nearly as much as I enjoy this one. I don't think I'll ever be able to go back to vanilla now, having experienced what proper teamwork can achieve. The way complete strangers can instantly start talking and working together to achieve a goal is something I really never thought I'd experience online.
Assault on Mestia (I think that's the name...) is my favourite map so far, though I've only played it once, and we kinda got owned both times. The experience is always made better by people communicating with each other, and it's the only map in BF2 I've played on which I like to stop and take in the view (reminded me of Oblivion).
Just today, 3 days after I installed the mod, I spent about 10 minutes lecturing a guy who was obviously a lot older than me (he had a kid, so I'm assuming he was at least, I'm 20) on how to play the game. How to get into tanks, how to request kits and things. I understand some of the veterans probably find it frustrating when you see the words "what does the shovel do?" flashing across your screen in every round, but some people genuinely don't have the time to read through the (pretty large) Wiki for the mod, so I didn't mind explaining.
After I'd taught the guy the basics, I realised our team was in disarray and nobody was going anywhere. I took charge of our squad (why do people hate being the squad leader in this game? Every time I join a squad I end up being the leader within 10 minutes. People keep leaving and rejoining again - I far prefer being the leader) and started talking to people. A couple didn't have mics, but everyone could hear me, so it was pretty good.
In our squad, we had a guy in a plane, a tank, and the rest foot soldiers, which ended up being a useful balance. Anyway, to cut a long story short, I basically took command of the whole team simply giving orders through text (we didn't have a commander, and I've never commanded in this mod and thought I'd probably screw it up) and we secured the bunkers in the middle of the map, and went on to win pretty quickly, only losing one flag once (by the way, does the scoped G3 rock or what?).
The guy in the plane bombed where I told him to and proved excellent at spotting incoming enemies; the guy in the tank provided cover where I told him to; everyone came to me so I could make a rally point when I told them to. It was such a satisfying experience for me, especially after finding the game very daunting at first. The person I'd been tutoring left eventually, but he thanked me a number of times for helping him, which I appreciated.
In another game earlier today, I somehow ended up as the leader of a squad full of some clan or other (seriously no idea how this keeps happening). We did a really good job on Ghost Train of taking and defending flags, despite having an utterly useless commander. For the first time in BF2 I feel content to stay back and try and spot enemies, acting as a spawn point, while the rest of my squad goes to secure a flag. I never did anything like that in BF2, and always preferred to be in front (though that may be because I feel considerably more confident in vanilla, who knows).
Aaaanyway, nobody in their right mind is going to read all of this so I may as well shut up now.
There're two things I'd like to say first though.
1) Please, on the big open desert maps, either provide more ground transport, or shorten the drop time for vehicle drops. You find yourself trekking 10km simply because there's no alternative sometimes. There's always noobs who jump into the jeeps and just drive off on their own.
2) I was wondering if it would be possible to have the option to blow C4 charges separately, as well as both at once in 0.7? I just think it would be nice to have the option when ambushing, you know. It would be good to trick the enemy into thinking the first charge was the only one in some situations. I heard there were remote claymores too, though I haven't actually seen any, but it would be nice for those too.
Other than that, there's really nothing bad much I can say about this mod, so thanks a lot for the fantastic work, I know a lot of people really appreciate it.
Oh, and I have a friend who hated the arcade feel of vanilla, but absolutely loves PR too, she's been playing it loads recently. Two new converts.
(Very sorry about the ultra long post)