[RLacey]

A question from me, here. I'm thinking of getting either Battlefield 2 or Battlefield 2142, but I need to decide which. I know that 2142 is the later game, but it also has slightly fewer players (in the grand scheme of things, though, this may not be important) and a slightly different class system. That and the setting is different, of course, but that doesn't bother me hugely (I think I lean towards BF2 here, but not enough to stop me from getting 2142 if it's the better game).

So, um, does anyone have either or both of these games? And, if so, which would you recommend I get?

Ta muchly.

[samIamsad]

Which one did you end up getting? I've been thinking about buying a BF game myself lately. One of the first two though. My rig can't run the two new ones, and the settings don't appeal as much to me anyway. I'm playing the BF1942 multiplayer demo occasionally, and surprisingly, there's always at least one full server whenever I start the game. Er, the game's DEMO.

Well, on the other hand, playing without proper teammates would be only half the fun, the peepz have moved on to BF2, so.. anybody still playing Vietnam or 1942?

[RLacey]

I got BF2142 in the end. I had some loyalty card points at a store, so I kind of got it for free.

Though since I've only just got my computer back, I haven't actually played it yet. And I'm open to picking up BF2 if anyone else has/gets it.

[samIamsad]

TBH, some of the weaponry for 2142 looks pretty interesting in terms of tactics and gameplay opportunities, like the shields and so such. Anyway, I just bought BF Vietnam. I just recently bought a WWII game (Silent Hunter), so I'm fed with that, really.

'Nam is said to be the least popular BF game by now, but there should still be enough servers running, especially in the evenings. If anybody wants to join me, that'd be more than welcome.

Eh, speaking about WWII, I just see that this budget release comes with a WWII mod. Oh well.

[RLacey]

I still need to get BF2142 to actually work. Currently it's hanging after loading the level.

Why do these games have to be quite so buggy?

[samIamsad]

Originally Posted by RLacey

Why do these games have to be quite so buggy?

Because people really don't care. Otherwise they just wouldn't buy, now would they..? Sounds more like an issue with your rig though? Driver problems etc... PCs can be a pain in the butt. Ooooh, 'Nam is still quite stylish, haven't played it online yet. Just checked for servers, and there seem to be enough crowded ones.

[RLacey]

Well, BF2 and BF2142 are both known to be riddled with bugs, even ages after release.

It probably is a computer issue, though. I shall try some different video drivers tomorrow.

[RLacey]

And it's working now. Laggy, though.

[samIamsad]

Connection problems or is it the rendering lagging? Well, BFV is basically a steal... Jesus Christ, I couldn't fly a helicopter if my life depended on it.

[RLacey]

*sigh*

I'd forgotten how much I hate learning to play online shooters. Today I got shot a lot and killed nobody. So I'm still stuck at the bottom rank, and can look forward to my character sucking for the forseeable future.

That and the lag in this game has to be the worst I've ever seen. It doesn't matter what server I join, the thing starts jerking around within a few seconds of me joining.

I'm almost wondering why people play this game.

[Jatsie]

Originally Posted by samIamsad

anybody still playing Vietnam or 1942?

I still play BF1942 on occasion. I never bothered getting any of the later games, as it was the setting that most appealed to me, plus it wasn't exactly the best made game, so I had little confidence in the sequels.

[samIamsad]

Originally Posted by Jat316sob

I still play BF1942 on occasion. I never bothered getting any of the later games, as it was the setting that most appealed to me, plus it wasn't exactly the best made game, so I had little confidence in the sequels.

It's not? I was already familiar with the games, I used to play BF1942 via LAN on a college buddy's laptop all night long. That was fun! Ah, college days... There's got to be a ton of mods for '42, I just downloaded one for BFV. Hell, even Lucas Arts released one!

Rob, did you check the ping for the servers you connected to? In 'Nam I don't get any lags at all when I connect to low ping servers. Check your six, mate!

[Jatsie]

There's nothing quite as fun as trying to fly a plane in BF1942 using a laptop touchpad.

[RLacey]

Originally Posted by samIamsad

Rob, did you check the ping for the servers you connected to? In 'Nam I don't get any lags at all when I connect to low ping servers. Check your six, mate!

Yeah, but it appears to start spiking after I join the server. And it doesn't matter what server I join; this always seems to happen.

I've tinkered with the position of the wireless router that's providing my connection. I'll give it another go later, and see if that's made a difference.

[samIamsad]

Originally Posted by Jat316sob

There's nothing quite as fun as trying to fly a plane in BF1942 using a laptop touchpad.

You crack me up little buddy.

Originally Posted by RLacey

Yeah, but it appears to start spiking after I join the server. And it doesn't matter what server I join; this always seems to happen.

I've tinkered with the position of the wireless router that's providing my connection. I'll give it another go later, and see if that's made a difference.

Hm, that's bad. I have to tweak Vietnam a little on my machine myself, performance isn't as smooth as silk exactly during some fire fights (just another reason to not further postpone finally buying a damn new PC...), but real online lags seem to be rare. Anyway, bad weather, which means: Back to the jungle, no?

[RLacey]

We really ought to get back to Neverwinter .

[samIamsad]

Originally Posted by RLacey

We really ought to get back to Neverwinter .

Is there a Battlefield mod(ule) for NWN? Errrr... Let's just pretend I never asked. Btw, does the documentation that comes with BF2142 suck as much as the one that came with Vietnam? With this being a budget release and all, the first disc contains the entire documents that shipped with the game as a pdf file, and it's underwhelming, to say the least. It's sixteen pages of nothing, several of which are already taken by explaining the installation process and the license agreements. It doesn't go into the different game modes, character classes, weapons, vehicles or anything at all.

In fact, I still haven't figured out everything of the game. Do publishers really need to work that way these days?

[RLacey]

BF2142 has a twenty-four page manual that contains very little of any worth.

[adventurergr]

Originally Posted by RLacey

That and the lag in this game has to be the worst I've ever seen. It doesn't matter what server I join, the thing starts jerking around within a few seconds of me joining.

That strikes me as a game perfomance problem.

Even with a ping up to 300ms the game runs smoothly enough to be playable. Your bullets propably won't find their target (if your target's ping is 30ms) but you should be able to move around normally.

Did you try lowering the graphics to see how it goes?

Originally Posted by RLacey

Today I got shot a lot and killed nobody. So I'm still stuck at the bottom rank, and can look forward to my character sucking for the forseeable future.

In BF2 it isn't really easy to have lots of kills in a round, especially when there are lots of players connected and you don't know the map well enough in order to take cover (an average score in a round, in a 60player map, is 10-20 kills, unless you really know how to fly an attack helicopter or a jet).

Furthermore it isn't the kind of game where you could take your gun and start moving around shooting people without getting shot. You have to move strategically, take cover and hit at the right time, using the right weapon. Being a squad member also helps, because you usually move with the other members around you, backing you up.

In your first steps, I would suggest you focus on getting more teamwork points. You can get those in many ways and slowly you will start to gather just enough to move up on the ranks. Being a medic is a good way to get lots of teamwork points by healing your teammates, so try that for a start.

I haven't played BF2142 yet, but I believe things work in a similar way there too.

[RLacey]

Originally Posted by adventurergr

That strikes me as a game perfomance problem.

Actually, thinking about it, it's more that I keep getting the "There is a problem with your connection" text and everything freezes.

And I'm sure that you're right about practice. It's just a bit frustrating, because a) I'm coming to the game long after many other people, so there are loads of really good players, b) there's no way to find people of a similar standard to myself to play against and c) actually getting onto a server that runs in a playable manner seems to be beyond me much of the time.

Combine that with some random disconnects that are allegedly still to be fixed in a patch, and you have a recipe for a reasonable game that's irritating me immensely.