_FFC_
As the year winds down once again we find ourselves musing about new game releases while still burning a candle in the gaming window for past FFC'ers... Orc, Eagle, Semp, Kato, and RoadDog.
Don didn't play with us for long due to excessive lag (and excessive Don ;), Greg is still stuck in Europe, Scott had health probs, Bruce is job/house/life hunt'n..again, while John remains a retail biz casualty. Such is life...and death....the candle burns on, but the games won't wait.
Games we have -
"Killing Floor" has proven to be a load o'zombie (errmm, I mean "specimen"...sounds like a doctor visit) fun for cheap, if a bit dated and repetitious. Best thing about it is that it supports 6 COOP players, 'tho it lacks the "push away" feature and AI of the L4D series.
Speaking of, now that Schultz purchased L4D2 (for too much $ ;) that should help fill the gaps in having a full-house for same once in awhile.
The older COD series continues to entertain with various mods and new maps still releasing for both 4 and 5. There's a hot looking new mod for 5 releasing "RSN"; currently being pre-release tested overseas. I won't spoil the surprise but expect to have some new "World at War" fun in December!
I know Crow still plays BF:BC2 on the pubs, I don't play it or MOH for that matter on pubs...can't stand them myself. Too many hacks, too many spawn killers and kiddies...guess I'm get'n old. I keep an eye on BC2 news...like there's another map pack due soon, but none of their map releases thus far has been anything but a rework of the originals. Even the new Vietnam expansion pack includes reworked BF maps...sheez...how cheapo. I don't regret buying either game; the SP was fun in both and we got some MP value from BC2 for awhile.
New game releases -
Of course COD:BO made (continues to make) buku $, but it has just too many negatives to be a good game for us as a group....that $60 price-tag being a big no-no. I played the SP, which was pretty good yet not worth that much coin.
A game that looks interesting both from a price ($20) and feature perspective is "Breach". No idea yet what the MP server model will be like. Definitely one to keep an eye on, with a Jan 2011 release date being right around the corner.
That's it for now, hope ya'll have a safe and prosperous holiday season!
Mamba, out
_FFC_
COD5 (W@W) Vietnam Mod - Patch 1.2
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Zeroy is supposedly finally releasing the long-awaited update for this great COD5 mod sometime this weekend.
He was aiming for yesterday, but missed his deadline again. Hopefully he is working on the packaging and uploads today.
COD4 - Mods & Maps
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-- Mods --
G13 FreezeTag Mod - One I'm experimenting with.
You can find info on the gameplay and a few screenshots of the older version here.
StarWars:Galactic Warfare
Not much new with this one since the recent .08B update we did. Nice thing about this mod is that it does work well with most of our regular custom maps. Which is great since the supplied ones, while attractive and detailed, are just too damn big or confined.
As for other mods, I was looking forward to the upcoming "Aliens Vs Predators" (AVP) mod moving out of beta but the author lost a lot of the source material in a hard drive crash (kids...sheesh...no backups I guess). I'll keep an eye on that one in case he ever recovers it. This is the same author of the kinda funky "Aliens" mod we run now, and it was looking pretty good.
-- Maps --
mp_castle_v1
This is a great remake of the "Castle" stock map from COD5. It can be found in the usual spot for early download.
Hopefully it works well with our mods..we'll see!
Quake Live
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This browser-based version of the classic Quake 3 FPS mega-hit has been toned down (censored to remove blood, gore, and satanic references) but hey it's still Quake so a lot of frantic fun, for free (ad-supported). Still has a few rough edges regarding the Friends finder and figuring out the best server invite/join method but should be a nice addition to our gaming choices when there's 4 or less of us online.
More info here.
L4D series
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New DLC from Valve, "The Sacrifice", that works on both L4D and L4D2 released this week. Read more about it on their blog.
They also had a quick 24hr reduced-price sale on the 6th...but hey, you missed it. ;-)
And if you're wondering when L4D3 will be out...think Xmas 2011...or so runs the rumor.
And finally.....
COD:BO vs MOH
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I won't go into the whole "Black Ops vs Medal Of Honor" debate/comparison...plenty of that already out there.
Just curious as to which, if either, that you plan on buying. I can't say that we'll move to either one for regular play as it's too early to tell which is "better" for us in terms of play-ability and hosting. Neither may be. All I can say is that for me, well...I'm buying both. They both look outstanding in their own set of features and style so I can't resist. But hey, that's me...
USA Release dates:
COD:BO Nov 9 2010
MOH Oct 12 2010
Mamba, out
_FFC_
K3 Update
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Got a notice from KiLL3R that he finally updated K3 for COD4, adding/changing a buncha stuff shown below. Here is the download link, tho' the mod will auto-update when you connect but it's about 60MB between the two files so if you wanna be pro-active...
[F] = Fixed
[+] = Added
[C] = Changed / improved
[+] Added a sort of shield armour (acts like more health, but no knockback from damage and various other things)
[+] Proxy sticky grenades now has their own model
[+] New perk - Hacker, use this to steal other players devices like auto turrets, laser mines, claymores, C4 and proxy nades
[+] New perk - Teleporter, placing 2 nodes allows team mates to teleport between them
[+] New kill streak - Lightning storm
[+] Overkill perk is now available in ModWarfare mode
[+] Gold camo is now available in ModWarfare mode
[+] Classes created in ModWarfare mode are now saved, you don't need to recreate your class each time you load a new map
[+] Added an option for invisible spawn protection
[+] Added an option for giving more points when you kill an enemy in mid-air
[+] Added an option to set whether the lock on rocket follows players through walls or not
[+] Added an option for knife only mode
[+] Added the Apache helicopter, allies get the K3 helicopter and axis get the Apache
[+] Added CTF gametype
[+] Added an option for instant ion cannon firing
[+] Added some new kill taunts
[+] Added options for player based map rotations
[+] Auto turrets can now fire rockets at players as well as helicopters
[C] Modified the dark matter cannon and FX a little
[C] Modified rocket smoke trail FX
[C] Improved blackhawk, bugs should be fixed, now has a controllable minigun with locking on rockets
[C] Improved sniper trails, if the sniper bullet hits a damagable entity (like a car or player) the trail will go to exactly where it hit
[C] Improved HUD graphics like the health bar
[C] Changed EMP, freeze and anthrax icons
[C] Rocket types (lock on, laser guided, dark matter) have been moved to individual perks (ModWarfare mode only, non-ModWarfare uses the old pick screen)
[C] Ion cannon now has its own kill icon (it used the air strike one before)
[C] Improved killcam when watching auto turrents, rockets and stuff
[C] Made various FX prettier, like the ion cannon and meteor shower
[C] Various other improvments, bug fixes, additonal features and options
[F] Fixed laser guided rockets sometimes playing the default explsion effect on the wrong surface
[F] Fixed the health bar being the wrong colour if max health wasn't set to 100
[F] Hopefully less chance of getting the CL_CGameNeedsServerCommand error when connecting
[F] HUD is no longer stretched on wide screens
[F] Fixed the M4 eotech having no red dot
And a number of other small things...
So maybe we can check it out early today? Last day o'my vacation this week and I can think of few better ways to waste time. lol
HL2DM
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^This has proven to be a fun, if frantic, free Steam game. The maps aren't too varied but I'll see if I can scrounge up a couple new small ones. Will send an email with the names if so, and they'll be in the usual spot here.
Speaking of free Steam games, I tried out "Alien Swarm" recently. Kinda cool but it's only a top-down shooter MP/SP game so feels really awkward to play vs our usual FPS style. Don't know that's worth messing with as a group but if you like TDS then it may be your cup o'tea for a few single-player rounds.
In other news, BF:BC2 is up to patch R19 tho' the "new" map packs as usual are just more game modes for the same tired old maps. Lots of gripe'n about this from the player community but who knows if/when any new maps will ever release. COD4 or 5 this game is NOT. The strong rumor is that COD7 ("Black Ops") WILL return to a dedicated-server model so we'll hold out hope that it proves worthy of our $ and support come November, and maybe switch from BC2 to that.
Mamba, out
_PC_
BF:BC2 News
Been a couple updates to our server the past week or so (R15, R16, Map Packs 3&4), including that long-delayed patch I talked about last time (R15). Of course the "Map Packs" are the usual bullshit releases where it's the same tired old maps but with "new" game-types. I and many others are pretty disappointed in EA in this regard....at least ATVI did release real "new" maps for COD once in awhile. Anyway, if you've not run the client update for awhile, do so.
Also, the new "Onslaught" mode has/is releasing out to the consoles but still no news about adding that to the PC version. This would be a 4-player COOP mode something like "Survival" in L4D.
Overall I like BC2 tho' we don't play it much due to the over-large map sizes. Guess we'll see how the next COD "Black Ops" release fares in the reviews. Or maybe just go to MW2...Hock says the MP is pretty good I guess, prices should be dropping, and some of us already own it.
L4D2 News
As most of you know, the recent Steam game update for L4D2 broke the mod stuff back around July 9th. There should be updates to Sourcemod and Metamod to correct this, hopefully sometime this week. Tho' personally I kinda like the challenge of regular play...and even God needs a break from His subjects needs & demands once in awhile. ;-)
Other News
Here's some news S.W.A.T. Bucky might be interested in...a new Sniper game, "Sniper: Ghost Warrior". The demo is get'n fairly good reviews tho' the SP has it's AI flaws. Apparently there is a MP mode tho' not sure yet about dedicated server support. I plan to try out the demo this week. Might be something we could play off my home server eventually if enough interest. The game is available for purchase via Steam at a very reasonable price so if I like the demo I'll buy it...I do enjoy a decent sniper game once in awhile.
That's about it for now...until next time,
Mamba out
_PC_
Here's what's going on in news concerning a few of our favorite games:
Left 4 Dead 2
We've all played the new DLC ("The Passing") by now.
The Good: pretty decent if short campaign.
The Bad: it broke various mods and plug-ins world-wide.
Supposedly this is just the first of several free DLC releases planned...well, free for the PC at least.
There is also a new "mutations mod" just released that we might try out.
Battlefield: Bad Company 2
ATI had finally released driver updates for ALL Radeon video cards to help with slow load times. I'll be trying these out ASAP this week.
A BC2-centric Stats Viewer has now been released. I'll try to check this out soonest.
Call of Duty: Black Ops
Well, the next version as usual will be released in November. I'm not too excited about his news given the screw-over of the PC Community by ATVI last time around. Something to keep an eye on I guess.
That's pretty much it game-wise. We've not been doing much BC2 lately as not enough players showing up. Maybe we can correct that next weekend, tho' Crow starts his summer work schedule then so who knows if/when he'll be available.
On a personal note, we're trying to sell Tess' Burgman 400 scooter so if you hear of anyone interested point them to our ad here.
That's it for now....
Mamba, out
_FFC_
The wait is almost over...PC release date for Bad Company 2 is Tuesday!
While I realize that some of you aren't yet at the hardware level for this game, I hope to receive my copy by next weekend (pre-ordered first week of this year). The PC beta ended on the 25th but I played it enough to see the potential of this game as "the" replacement for our beloved, but maligned, COD series. Not that anyone should rush out and buy it right away. It'll take time and experience for the game to mature. Right now it's still unclear how clans can play BC2 privately...so far the only mentioned method is by using "select" GSPs (game service providers) as your host. But I fully expect for there to either be a dedicated server release down the road, or for the gaming community to figure out an alternative...maybe via VPN as has been done lots for other games using Hamachi or similar free software.
Speaking of GSPs, our current one (NFO), is one of those select few and we can pre-order an 8 player server for $15/mo. right now...normally $20/mo. Probably too early for most of you to decide but figured I'd toss that out there.
I still have not and won't be buying MW2 or any other COD release. We've been bent over one time too many by Activision. Seems that others agree for various reasons.
Regarding COD...the Vietnam Mod 1.1 patch is out but there are still a few loose ends being tied up there. I don't see any point in tackling the server upgrade until those are ironed out, probably in a 1.2 release. Be different if we were heavily playing World at War but that's still infrequent; L4D gets a lot more of our attention these days. I know Semp will be out for probably another week as he finishes up his chemo treatments...best of luck Semp, get well soon buddy...K3 is awaiting!
As for Left 4 Dead, that's still working out well for our reduced player attendance. If once in awhile we have more than 4 show-up we can switch to COD or maybe try the "Versus" mode. So don't be shy if you see the L4D server full....jump on in on Ventrilo and we'll accommodate!
Hopefully we can try out that "Dead Before Dawn" campaign today...it's massive (2.7GB uncompressed) but I've played thru the first map and it seems very professionally done. However, it'll be a race to get to the second map before the "bombing run" takes us all out. Oddly, when it was just me and the bots there was no such pressure...maybe the game AI adjusts.
That's it for now....
Mamba, out
_FFC_
Been rather uneventful gaming-wise so far this year, mainly due to a lack of regular players. BW has been traveling a lot on his job, Hock is now out on his annual beach-bake-bingo vacation, Semp is still fight'n medical problems, Gonz spent a fun-filled week+ in scenic OKC, and so on. Luckily the faithful few of us left holding the fort have had L4D zombies and the COD Pezbots to keep us company. Definitely not as fun without the full gang around but better than reverting back to online solitaire.
Speaking of L4D, the "2" version released in November and Valve has announced that "Left 4 Dead 2" has gone Double Platinum in just two weeks. Yes, that's 2 million copies sold! Have to watch for discount sales on the new version but doubt we see any deals until maybe Xmas time again. From vids I've seen, it doesn't look all that different than what we are playing now...just more weapons and some altered models...maybe a bit better graphics. Schultz just this week scored the regular L4D on eBay, so we look forward to having him join us soon. He doesn't get in as much gaming time as the rest of us but hopefully can at least be a second stringer since we seem to often be short a full 4-player squad these days.
BF:BC2 is still looking great, as evidenced by this new SP teaser trailer. As mentioned, I already have my pre-order in and looking forward to the PC Beta if/when...
Nothing new on the COD front lately. The patch for the COD5 Vietnam mod is still pending but should be out RSN. Zeroy is, as usual, the main dev force on that and now that the Galactic Warfare mod is out should have a bit more time to return to other projects. Speaking of the GW mod, there are some great looking maps and models forth-coming...can't wait!
Mamba, out
_FFC_
Ah...another new year and it looks to be a great one gaming-wise! Got a killer deal on "Left 4 Dead" for our clan and looking forward to lots of team practice curtail'n the ZA (Zombie Apocalypse). ;-)
What with the recent releases of the RGN Vietnam mod for COD5 and the hot hot hot Star Wars:Galactic Warfare mod for COD4, I think we can easily thumb our collective noses at ATVI and the whole "MW2" shafting. So...Up Yours Activision! ;-p
I have now pre-ordered "Battlefield: Bad Company 2" from Amazon...at least they had it for the PC and (unlike the price gouge on MW2) it was still at the usual $49 price. As of now there isn't an announced date for the upcoming PC online Beta but I'm pretty sure you can't signup without a pre-order proof. And most all I've read about the results from the previous PS3 Beta has been positive. Not sure if this will be where we, as in the F.F.C., will head game-wise in the future but I definitely want to own this game anyway....very badass!
In closing, we're still short-handed on regular players and both Gonz and Mufasa will be doing some work-related traveling in January, so times are rough regarding our gaming schedule. If you don't see us in COD4 or COD5, check over on Steam as those of us with L4D may be zot'n zombies instead. We still use Ventrilo when we play so feel free to join in there...no problem switching to COD if we have enough players show.
Happy New Year!
M
