Battlefield Sucks

Well, that's my conclusion after playing it for a good portion of the weekend. SP is ok, nothing special - but the big thing, MP sucks. There were a few moments of fun, but overall I found it extremely frustrating - so, it's not looking like it's going to pull me away from CoD. Oh, and technically, it's a total shambles. Broken lobby, broken voice chat, awful spawing. Maybe I'm not getting it, or I'm not playing it 'right'. Whatever. I didn't enjoy it. I am prepared to try it again if ALL of the technical issues are resolved, but I'm not holding my breath.

Here's what EA have to say....

"We are aware that some X360 players are having issues connecting to the Bad Company servers. We've been monitoring stats non-stop and are working with several partners to locate any possible flashpoints and eradicate any hostiles we encounter."

And here is there 'fix' - Total clownshoes.

"Until we are ready to implement a permanent fix, a possible workaround is to turn off your console for approx. 20 minutes before turning it back on and connecting again."

Errr....no, I'll turn it off and play CoD thanks.

Rainbow DLC

Released sometime next month and the best part is that its free.

Nicked from IGN

Three new MP maps are included for a brand-new Vegas 2 multiplayer experience, including two re-lit maps and the fan favorite from Rainbow Six Vegas:

• Calypso Casino: The fan favorite from Rainbow Six Vegas is back by popular demand. All Rainbow Six Vegas 2 game modes are supported, including co-op terrorist hunt.


• Murdertown – Dark: Experience this map's intense, close-quarter action underneath the cover of darkness.


• CQB Training – Dark: This map is set at nighttime, so expect more tactical assaults as players must use their night vision to spot enemies.

New Ranks. Unlock new ranks beyond the rank of Elite. XP players have already accumulated as Elite will be applied toward the new ranks.

More A.C.E.S. While Adding New Ranks. The A.C.E.S. will be extended to 100 for each of these three categories: Marksman, CQB and Assault. Each A.C.E.S. level earned contains a substantial XP reward. Points that players have already accumulated in each of the categories will be applied toward the new A.C.E.S. levels.

Grenade Indicator. While inside the damage radius of a frag or incendiary grenade, a grenade indicator icon is displayed on the screen.

High Stakes Setting. Experience game modes in a more tactical way using the High Stakes setting, including:

Limited HUD

• No radar


• Enemies not visible on tactical map


• Grenade indicator is disabled

Health System

• Health regeneration is disabled


• Altered post-process effects of being in a critical health state

Take Cover

• Camera view has changed so that players must be exposed in order to see around a corner

Weapons & Gadgets

• Aim assistance is completely disabled, requiring players to be more precise


• Bullet spread is increased when not zoomed in


• Less ammunition

Kill Camera is always disabled

Friendly Fire is always enabled

Weapons and Gadgets Balancing. There are a number of changes to the weapons and gadgets settings in this new package, including:

• Explosion delay of the incendiary grenade has been increased


• Detonation speed of the C4 has been slightly increased


• Increased the damage of Sniper Rifles at long range


• Increased the base accuracy of the Light Machine Guns


• Adjusted the rate of fire for some of the Assault

Rifles, Shotguns and an SMG

• Sped up the time it takes to zoom in and out with weapons, making it more responsive

Respawns in Team Deathmatch. Hosts can choose whether or not their match uses random respawns in Team Deathmatch.

Voice Chat. Hosts can choose to enable voice chat between living and dead players of the same team so that when players die they can keep talking with their teammates (Player Match and System Link only).

Score in Deathmatch. Player's score, along with the top opponent, is displayed on the HUD in Deathmatch.

Team Leader Changes. Players now respawn next to the leader by default, unless players specifically choose to spawn back at the base.

Show Dead Players in Lobby. Players that have no lives remaining will have a skull icon displayed next to their name in the lobby screen so that it's easy to tell who is still alive and who has been eliminated.

Terrorist Hunt Spawning. Fixed the terrorist spawning so they don't appear right in front of players, or in areas they have cleared recently.

Bad Company first impressions

Single player:
Seems good fun so far. I think I'm about half way through after only a few hours of play. Quite repetitive in a ‘go here, kill dudes/blow up thing/defend thing’ kinda way, but what console shooter isn’t?

Theres been a couple of moments that have been badly designed and so tedious – I found the best method for passing them was simply running on foot with the health syringe equiped.

Also the enemies are much like CoD in that they will single you out, even when its illogical to do so. You cannot sneak up on them. Oh and they’ll see you long before you see them, mainly due to the age old shooter problem of grass being transparent to AI. Your squad mates will see enemies before you as well, so you generally get the feeling of being at a party you’re not invited to.

Multiplayer:
The important one. Had a quick couple of matches and they seemed lag free and fully playable. Not much to say really: if you like the way the demo played you’ll like the full game. I’ve heard the demo is now lag free so perhaps another try would give a better indication for those put off. The couple of maps I played were green and foresty, so there seems a decent mix of locations.

COD4: Overgrown - people just love climbing that damn wall

Very persistent. Must be a good view. [session TDM 25th June]

Snipers Part 2

Here's another really low quality capture from the game on the 24th. No proper audio, just a quick test in uploading videos in youtube to embed here. Tried to get a better quality grab last night but all my attempts failed because all the camping snipers i found were very stationery. Hence after planting the claymore, it doesn't blow up, and someone else takes the person out, or i get taken out.

A fishy funk

Hello to you sexy baboons with your shining butts of pride.

Hello also to the ladies out there in world wide webz ;) I know what your thinking and the answer is yes. Yes i do have enough love to go around, so don't you worry no more.

Anyhow i have bigger issues than the supply and demand of Jon brand loving. I have gone all prestige and lost all my settings. I am unhappy with everything i use and so i ask you what low level setups do you use?

What are you fav combos?

Let me know.

-Jon

Update

I tweaked a couple of settings like making the timezone GMT. ;]

Bad Company?

What's everyone thinking about getting the new Battlefield? I quite liked the demo but I'm not sure if I liked it enough to buy it yet. What was going on with the communication as well, I couldn't hear anyone at all.

Snipers

From last night's session. Unfortunately really low quality stills taken from the mobile phone video footage. Will look into getting better quality shots and videos soon.

Squad Baboon rules. FACT. [BAB]

Update

Don't forget that this site is also available via the url: http://www.squadbaboon.com/
Not too sure what this site's going to be, but maybe the bunch of us will help shape it up :)
Katharii has some good suggestions to start with: like gaming times for matches, what people are playing at the moment, etc. Guess we can add on from there like videos, tactics, or anything funny and/or interesting that doesn't have to be related to squad baboon.

1st post: test post

Hello world!