Battlefield 2 Demo

[Gainy]

Aside from sprinting, what else can you do?

That's a vague question
Main new features are:
Commander mode
Squads
Ammo/healing system
Radio commands

The commander is just a regular player but he can have an overview of the complete battlefield (by pressing caps lock). From this, he can see every unit (if zoomed in), initiate radar thingies (enemy units show up for about 20 seconds within a certain area), do scans (scans the entire map for enemy units), artillery strikes, order squads around, etc etc. The commander can speak to all squad leaders through ingame voice comms, and issue them orders.

The actual squads can have up to 6 players, 1 of them is a 'squad leader'. The squad leader acts as a walking spawn point, so all of his squad's members can spawn ontop of him regardless of where he is. All squad members show up as green on the minimap, and they can talk to each other through ingame voice comms (as well as typing). The squad leader can communicate with the commander, and can issue orders to his squad (IE attack this position, a little sword will appear on the map and a line will form between yourself at that point)

The Ammo replenishment/healing thing has completely changed. There are no longer any ammo boxes or medic cabinets. You now need to rely on your teammates/commander to give you stuff. Medic class gets the healing kits (which can be thrown on the ground or just held) and the Support class gets ammo kits (which can be thrown on the ground or just held). If thrown on the ground the enemy can also use them.
If no support/medic guys are around, you can ask your commander to drop you a supply crate which will repair vehicles/heal units/replenish ammo. Although again, the enemy can use this.

Radio commands are a lot easier to use now. For the enemy spotted thing, all you have to do is point at the enemy, press Q, then click the mouse button (easy to get the hang of). It will automatically say what you are looking at (IE Enemy helicopter spotted) and this enemy unit will show up on the minimap for a certain amount of time (its image on the minimap moves accordingly)
As you've probably seen, a menu comes up when you press Q. To say anything else just move the mouse over whatever you want.

- What exactly happens when something explodes near you?

I think some shrapnel flies around and can kill you. The vehicle's remains stay burning there for a wee while, then also explode (which again can kill you).
Everything goes blurry when something explodes near you, your hearing messes up etc. When a tank fires and you're standing near it the same applies.

- What objects can/can't you shoot through?

Dunno. You can destroy some fences, blow up bridges etc though.

- Is the smoke grenade effective?

You can't actually see through it, but if you aim through and happen to be looking at an enemy you'll still see their tag. So yeah, it is kinda effective. All tanks/APCs are fitted with smoke-machine thingies btw, so they can set them off when needed.
Something else: If an AT guy (or something similar) is aiming at a tank, then a beeper thing will sound for the tanks occupants - this could alert them to set off a smoke bomb.

Is there a quick grenade feature (i.e. 1 button throws grenade then swithces back)?

Don't think so. But you can assign a button to cycle back to your previously used weapon.

- Are there functional guages in the vehicles' driver position (e.g. you you can tell how high you are, how fast you are going,what your angle of attack and direction is)?

For helicopters/planes, I think so. However they are written in the nation's native language. So chinese planes have chinese writing etc. There are basic kinda HUDs within the aircraft...

No idea about the AI

Back to playing!

 

[WildFire]

You can bunny-hop

You can also shoot amored vehicles with non-armor piercing bullets and have them ricochet and kill your or your teamates =D

 

[yoshi]

Shoot people? Capture flags? Drive stuff?

Really? Sweet!

Okay, my question was too vague. What I meant was what new things can all infantry player models do (i.e. aside from their unique kits)? Thus far, all I've heard is that they can sprint (which is great btw but IMO is so essential that it should have been in BF42). For instance, can they peek? (I'm guessing not since both the Q and E key are used for 'menu' and 'action' respectively and I assume the Z and X keys still assigned to the same functions as BF42--any other keys are too far away from the movement keys thus inappropriate to peeking...well, I guess I answered my own question there...<cough>...)

In addition to that, can the player sprint forever or is there a limit a la Flashpoint.

Smoke grenade: the fact that you can see tags through it (just like you could see tags through fog in bf42) really defeats the purpose IMO (in bf42, I would freqently get kills just by firing short bursts in the area of the tag--kinda cheap really).

Quick grenade: That's what I figured. Too bad, as I'm the type that likes to solo defend a position while the squad does other stuff--which requires speed--so it's annoying to have to take my finger of a movement key to press the grenade key and then another key to switch back.

HUD: Good. Flying stuff in bf42's indicator-less cockpits could get disorienting at times.

Explosion effects: Being near a gun has the effect too? I'm impressed they actually added that level of detail. this is good as it always bothered me that players would just take some damage after having a shell go off near them and keep attacking like nothing happened.

AI: Beauty. (You know, I can't remember the AI responding to orders a single time in bf42.) What about their aiming (esp. arty)? Are they hyper accurate and do they know where you are at all times like in bf42? (Nothing more irritating than to spawn and shortly after be fragged by a shell fired from an AI-controlled gun at the other end of the map.)

I didn't know the squad leaders served as spawn points; thought it was just APCs. That is also very good as it makes taking out 'officers' first all the more effective--assuming you can hit them with the lousy s/rifle.

The supply drop feature is better I guess, as there is no holding a position by throwing grenades in every direction forever. I just see some problems with other players not cooperating and leaving you with no way of resupplying/healing.

Oh, one more thing: is damage from falls as extreme as in bf42? (This was a cause of discontent among many players, including myself.)

 

[WildFire]

Oh, one more thing: is damage from falls as extreme as in bf42? (This was a cause of discontent among many players, including myself.)

Just fall while you're a medic =) Instant health revitalization!

 

[Shabbaman]

Do you mean you registered the account in the BF2 demo but can't get it to appear in the full version?

I can get my nick in the full version, but I can't register with EA. You know, registering, a feature usually neglected...

On the bright side, it appears to be working now. Hurray for me.

About sticking c4 to tanks: and that's why the tank has a turret on top. Screw those panzercampers who don't even wait for someone to mount the turret.

 

[yoshi]

Just fall while you're a medic =) Instant health revitalization!

Brilliant.


Concerning my question about material penetration (check the guy getting shredded through the roof):

http://forums.totalbf2.com/showthread.php?t=7694

 

[Thrawn]

In addition to that, can the player sprint forever or is there a limit a la Flashpoint.

Yes, there is a limit.

I didn't know the squad leaders served as spawn points; thought it was just APCs.

APCs don't serve as spawn points unless a squad leader is in one. If it's full then you can't spawn in it anyway.

 

[Gainy]

I just see some problems with other players not cooperating and leaving you with no way of resupplying/healing.

Players get points for healing/resupplying/repairing you, so usually there's some competition as to who gets to do it

X keys still assigned to the same functions as BF42

Don't ever remember that being assigned to anything in BF42, but anyways, that's now the flare/smoke cover button - when in planes|choppers/tanks|APCs respectively..

is damage from falls as extreme as in bf42? (This was a cause of discontent among many players, including myself.)

It's pretty much the same.
A few random things:

The slightest bump from a vehicle now kills you. This removes the possibility of wingwalking/riding ontop of jeeps/cars/apcs/whatever. I suppose that could be looked at as a plus, but it is soooo annoying to jump out of your jeep (or anything!) while it's still moving, only to get tapped on the side by it and die. Doesn't happen every time, but omg it's frustrating.

When people throw grenades, they basically just shout 'fire in the hole'. So if you hear that, you can tell enemies are near by (depending on what language they say it in). Can be useful.
Same goes for reviving people, when someone revives someone else, they'll say something along the lines of 'alright, you're good to go'. So if you've just murdered someone (and you're still nearby), you'll know if they've been revived.

Vehicles respawn a lot quicker.

For some guns there are one or two firing modes. So you can switch between single shot/burst fire/automatic depending on what weapon you are using.

As stated the commander has a few tools (s)he can use. These appear on the map (usually in or near the home base) as little buildings/cannons/whatever. These can be destroyed, and thus remove their functionality. IE destroy the artillery cannons, no more artillery strikes. Destroy the UAV vehicle, no more spinny little radar thing.
It doesn't take much to repair them tho.

Your team always shows up with blue tags/on the minimap/scoreboard. The enemy team shows up with red tags/on the scoreboard - whether you be MEC, USMC or PLA.

bleh

 

[yoshi]

You can also shoot amored vehicles with non-armor piercing bullets and have them ricochet and kill your or your teamates

(Sorry, I missed your post for some reason.) I guess that's an effect of the new physics engine. I will definitely be trying that if I ever get around to playing this thing.

Sprinting: So you can sprint all over the map huh? Add that to the fact that al lack of inertia when running allows you to turn on a dime and sniping moving targets must be a near impossibility! (I feel sick.) Well, I guess it's still better than no sprint function at all.

APC Spawn Points: I see; the (p)reviews made it seem like the APCs served as the mobile spawn point. I guess I misread.

Players get points for healing/resupplying/repairing you, so usually there's some competition as to who gets to do it

I was thinking more in terms of all the players picking non-medic kits (just remembering the BF42 Omaha map sniperfest that would frequently occur)--I guess one can depend on stat-whoring to keep each type active. Speaking of that, are there any limits on the number of a single type that can be on the map at one time (e.g. no more than x number of snipers playing that the same time)? There was no limit in BF42 and you'd have things like 80% of the players on a team with the AT kit and other freakish game results.

X key: I knew I should have edited that out! Well, now I know what it does in BF2.

Player damage: Being killed by the slightest bump may be DICE's way of dealing with the problem of enemy players being pushed along in front of vehicles that didn't them fast enough in BF42 (really irritating when you go to run an AT over and he doesn't die so you know that the moment you stop pushing him along in front of you vehicle, he's going to blow you to pieces). Both alternatives are bad really.

'fire in the hole'

'alright, you're good to go'

I didn't know about that. Way better than that squooshing noise you hear in BF42.

Vehicles respawn a lot quicker.

Is there a vehicle spawn rate setting?

 

[Gainy]

Sprinting: So you can sprint all over the map huh? Add that to the fact that al lack of inertia when running allows you to turn on a dime and sniping moving targets must be a near impossibility! (I feel sick.) Well, I guess it's still better than no sprint function at all.

I'm not sure I understand what you mean. You are not able to sprint as much as you want. You have a little 'Stamina' bar at the corner of your screen. When you sprint, this goes down at various rates - depending on what class you choose*. Also when you jump big chunks of your stamina depletes. You are also unable to fire/aim your weapon when you are sprinting.
I don't find it particularly hard to hit people who are sprinting, assuming they aren't very close range. Then again i'm hardly ever a sniper..

I was thinking more in terms of all the players picking non-medic kits (just remembering the BF42 Omaha map sniperfest that would frequently occur)--I guess one can depend on stat-whoring to keep each type active. Speaking of that, are there any limits on the number of a single type that can be on the map at one time (e.g. no more than x number of snipers playing that the same time)? There was no limit in BF42 and you'd have things like 80% of the players on a team with the AT kit and other freakish game results.

There are no limits with regards to classes, but I don't think this will be a problem, as none of the maps seem very omaha beach-esque. It benefits players to vary what classes they choose.

Is there a vehicle spawn rate setting?

There must be an option to change it, but for all servers i've played on it seems to have been the same. On All Seeing Eye (when I querey a server) it says nothing about vehicle respawn times...

On a completely random note, this is so much fun
If the person is stupid enough, you can keep going for ages.


*Medics/snipers/special ops/engineers have more stamina than Anti tank/assault/support, however the latter are compinsated with 'heavy armour' (which makes them harder to kill)

 

[Thrawn]

I haven't seen it yet, but I've seen a screenshot and heard about a game where a bunch of players, all from the same clan, all went as support class, wandered off to the hills, fired their weapons until they ran out of ammo, and then resupplied each other to get the points. They ended up with 100+ points each, and 0 kills.

 

[Hakim]

If the person is stupid enough, you can keep going for ages.

You can't possibly have missed that they're cheating.

Btw, what weapons will you ppl unlock? I'm considering the ATs DAO-12, since his usual weapon is crap and I often play as AT.

 

[yoshi]

Sprinting: Ah, it seemed odd to me that there was no limitation. What actually happens when the stamina bar goes down? You just stop sprinting until it goes back up?

Sniping sprinters: What I meant is that since a player can make a 180-degree turn without slowing down, it means that all you have to do is randomly zig-zag while you sprint and a sniper will be hard-set to get a hit (let a lone a head-shot). I remember trying to snipe in Unreal Tournament and it was damn-near impossible against good players (i.e. the ones that know to constantly change their direction--let alone stay still for a second). But then again, BF models move slower than UT models, so maybe the s/rifle isn't a complete write-off.

No Spawn rate setting: Too bad.

No class limits: I suppose this would have been difficult to implement anyway as there is the problem of who gets to be what.

On a completely random note, this is so much fun
If the person is stupid enough, you can keep going for ages.

Don't people just die any more?

They ended up with 100+ points each, and 0 kills.

You can get points just for shooting at nothing? WTH?


Well, I'm DLing the demo now so you won't have to put up with any more of my newbie--where BF2 is concerned at least--questions any longer.

(Hope it runs though.)

Something about the 'Commander' fetaure: isn't it kind of a pain to have to defend your base from saboteurs instead of fighting in the map?

In BF42, the only reason to defend your base (assuming its flag is forbidden) is to keep enemy players from getting their hands on your vehicles.

One more question though: how does the laser-guided bomb feature work? Do infantry play a role (a la RL)?

 

[Lozzy_Ozzy]

You can get points just for shooting at nothing? WTH?

No, you get points for resupplying people.

 

[Gainy]

You can't possibly have missed that they're cheating.

Explain.

Btw, what weapons will you ppl unlock? I'm considering the ATs DAO-12, since his usual weapon is crap and I often play as AT.

I've already unlocked the Medic weapon. I much prefer the PLA/MEC alternative, but for close range, the American one sucks - the only situation the unlocked version is useful.

I'm more than half way to unlocking my 2nd weapon, I think i'm gonna go for the Engi shotgun. I quite like the AT machinegun.

What actually happens when the stamina bar goes down? You just stop sprinting until it goes back up?

The bar is split into little segments. So long as you have 2 of these segments, you can sprint. However you'll only be able to do it for 1/2 a second or so.
So yar, you need to wait for it to replenish.

Sniping sprinters: What I meant is that since a player can make a 180-degree turn without slowing down, it means that all you have to do is randomly zig-zag while you sprint and a sniper will be hard-set to get a hit (let a lone a head-shot).

When you're sprinting, you can not strafe (sideways) or backpedal. So the only method of changing direction is by using your mouse - which makes it difficult to make any sharp changes. It's kinda predictable where the person is going to go.
Btw, you can 'sprint' when swimming also. A change that applies to swimming (regardless from the sprint) is that you can only go fowards and backwards. No more strafing in the water.

Something about the 'Commander' fetaure: isn't it kind of a pain to have to defend your base from saboteurs instead of fighting in the map?

Not really, you don't really have to defend it. If your artillery/whatever does get destroyed, teammates are usually willing to fix it. If not, you should really be an Engineer anyway and can do it yourself. Or... even better, just drop a supply crate ontop of the artillery. Supply crates fix anything nearby which is damaged...
Btw, the enemy can never stop you from dropping supply crates. There's nothing which you can destroy to halt that (the feature's always there)

One more question though: how does the laser-guided bomb feature work? Do infantry play a role (a la RL)?

I've not tried going in the bomber's 2nd seat yet, but for helicopters:
You basically get this telescreen. You have a cursor, you click where you want the missile to go, it fires, then you keep clicking to make the thing change direction (you need to click where you want it to move)
Not a very good explanation, but I can't be bothered! You'll see for yourself soon..

Btw, the demo sucks compared to the full version.

 

[Thrawn]

I've been in the 2nd seat of the bomber. You need a good pilot to be able to hit anything with it though, same with the tv guided missile in the chopper.

As for the bomber, you click to fire, and then it tracks your cursor, so you move your cursor around and the missile will move to follow it. Keep your cursor on an enemy, and you'll hit it. Harder than it sounds.

Also, My stats.

 

[yoshi]

Sprinting: Good to know it runs out.

Commander: I suppose.

Btw, the demo sucks compared to the full version.

Well, I DL'd the demo and it won't run (need to upgrade my card--don't have time for that right now so it will have to wait).

Laser-guided bombs: Oh, so you can't guide them via infantry? I suppose this would have compicated things too much.