Battlefield 2 Sucks

Cafe Society
1

I picked up Battlefield 2 a few weeks ago. It’s actually a really cool game…when you can actually play it. Which only makes it suck that much worse since most often you can’t.

The problem with it is that it takes a good five minutes to even start playing it online and it’s not worth playing unless you are playing online. And once you are online, you had better hope that you don’t jump into a game 2 seconds before it ends or get kicked for having a ping above 12 otherwise you have to go back and start from scratch. So basically you need to invest a freakin hour just to play one game. I can tolerate that for a game like GTA or Civilization where once it’s loaded, I can invest a few hours in it. Not some stupid 15 minute shoot-em-up game.

And what the heck takes so long to load anyway? There’s only like 8 maps.

So yeah, it’s a great game that goes out of it’s way to make you never want to play it.

2

The game requires some serious computer firepower to run properly. I’ve never had a problem with the game and think it loads maps comparably to other high end shooters.

Also, I have played just about everything since the first Doom and I find Battlefield 2 to be nearly flawless.

3

Maybe the internet in my area just sucks (fucking Cablevision).

4

More than that, I’m sure, since there is a different version of each map depending on if you have 8, 16, or 32 players (IIRC).

In any case, the total number of maps wouldn’t affect the loading time, since you’re only loading one map at any given time, but each map is BIG with some fairly nice graphics. BF1942 had the same long loading periods, and buying a new video card and upgrading the RAM in my system sped that right up. In the mean time, get a good book to read while you wait. (this is how I got through Fellowship of the Ring during my freshman year of college :wink: )

5

No, Battlefield 2 is definitely a poorly coded mess of bugs and imbalances. It isn’t the loading time, but that it takes another minute to “verify client data.”

Calling it “nearly flawless” is so ridiculous I don’t even know how to respond. I’d start listing all of the things wrong with it, but my friend is waiting for me to join up for some rounds of Battlefield and he’ll get upset if I spend the hour it’ll take to round up every problem, so I’ll just get the ball rolling:

  1. Mi-28’s TV missiles won’t track unless you click on ground (the others work on sky too.)
  2. The Mi-28’s cannon shoots grenades and can melt other the helos in eight shots with it.
  3. The MEC AA has a giant light blocking 60% of your view.
  4. Red/Blue name bug.
6

Plenty more where that came from.

When you install the new patch, the upgraded weapons are no longer shown properly; it shows the Special Forces weapons, even if you don’t own Special Forces.

Rifles (or at least the sniper rifles) cannot shoot through chain link fences… And the fences block grenade explosions.

Invisible walls. Sometimes when playing as a sniper, you can see a target with no obstructions, bu the bullet will strike a wall inbetween you and a target and you must move to a new position in order to make the shot.
Don’t get me wrong, I love the game, but it’s still a mess.

7

If ‘verify client data’ is long then ic is normally down to 2 things :

a) You have a speed problem on your hard drive.

It used to take me 3-4 minutes but my problem was not memory, it was the speed of the HD the game was installed to. Even though it was a newer HD, Windows was running it in PIO Access mode so I was getting 4.3 Meg / sec transfer speed. Once I got it switched to Ultra DMA Mode 4, I got 44 Megs / sec transfer and now verify in about 35 seconds. Download a program called HDTach and let it benchmark your hard drive speeds.

HDTach download

If you get a low speed (I had about 3.5mb on my BF2 drive, then do the following)

  1. How to check…

If you are running XP, go to device manager and expand ‘IDE ATA/ATAPI controllers’ Right click on ‘Primary channel’ and choose properties. (Primary is usually the channel you HD’s are connected to)

Click on the ‘Advanced Settings’ tab, this will show the devices connected to that channel, and their current speeds. Virtually all modern hard drives should be running in Ultra DMA mode 5. Maxtor’s on the right chipsets run Mode 6, and most CDrom drives run Mode 2. Any HD’s running in PIO mode will seriously affect loading times, as this is the slowest speed possible.

  1. How to fix…
    XP will slow down the speed of devices if it receives errors while using the device, until it gets to PIO mode. This could be due to faulty cables, device or drivers.

First thing to try is simply change the the transfer mode to ‘DMA if available’ and reboot. If that does not fix it, uninstall the controller and reboot. XP should reinstall it and reset the fastest transfer speeds. You could also try both the MS drivers and the chipset manufacturers. (I had to install the NVidia drivers on my NF4 chipset, to fix IDE problems. I have also had them cause problems on my NF2 chipset system, so try both)

If it deteriorates or this doesn’t fix it, check to make sure you are using 80pin cables, and that any transfer/DMA settings are correct in the BIOS.

b) Sometimes it’s just long for everyone. I can connect to a clan server that’s only running one instance of BF2 in about 30 seconds. If I try to connect to one of the major providers with servers runing several instances of tha game, it can take up to 2 minutes.

8

St_Ides

I wouldn’t really call this a bug. The SF wepons are available in BF2 so thay have to be visable in the BFHQ. IF you want to use them without buying SF then find someone who has the game and ask him to log into your account with SF. The next time you get an unlock you’ll also have the choice of the SF weapons.

This IMHO would be a bitch to code and make work properly. As far as the game is concerned, fences are solid objects. DiCE said in an interview that they would have had to increase the minimum CPU power needed if they had made it possible to shoot through fences.
At least the new patch (1.2) will up the power of the snipers rifle and give you a new unlock :slight_smile:

9

They specifically state in the instructions that fences do not offer protection from bullets. The claim they modeled penetration characteristics for various weapons and walls.

Besides, I did manage to shoot a Hind gunner in the head through his canopy with the Barett .50 rifle.

10

which they introduced in a patch. They have patched the game since then without fixing this. They are releasing another patch Real Soon Now and it’s not on the list.

11

Another thing about shooting through fences. Why would it be a bitch to code? Just make it so that a chainlink fence doesn’t exist for projectiles but exists for players and vehicles.
Now what would be nice is if I could drive a tank through a chain link fence.

12

Player weapons (except rockets and grenades) go through chain fences. Also, vehicle machine guns will too, except those of the copter.

13

According to this community update (http://www.ea.com/official/battlefield/battlefield2/us/editorial.jsp?src=communityupdate_013106), it is being addressed in patch 1.2.
The thing I really wanted from this patch, which is being held back, is the ability to pick up deployed land mines and other explosives by using the G key. Still, it will probably be included in the patch after that.

I really do love BF2. It has addicted me in more ways than I care to count.

But there are things about it that shit me to tears. The server browser is Teh Suck. Mistakenly click on a server with a 2193874293847 ping time? Well, you’ll be waiting a loooooooooooooooong time for BF2 to release the system back to you. I hate that I can’t select more than a few filters, otherwise BF2’s browser will crap itself. Yes, I know the patch will fix this (we’ll see, we’ll see), but it’s my turn to complain, so here it is :slight_smile:

I hate hate hate hate hate the sniper rifles. My thoughts are that a sniper rifle should be one shot, one kill. And it shits me that the sniper unlock gives you a weapon that is almost impossible for noobs like me to aim and actually hit something with. I do much better with the regular sniper rifle.

I hate that throwing a grenade whilst hiding behind a fern results in the grenade BOUNCING BACK at you. Ditto shooting between the leaves/branches of a fern.

I really wish I could bind a key for common communication tasks. For instance, using my logitech G15 keyboard to bind G1 to “I need a medic” (a frequent occurrence for me), or “need ammo” or whatever.

And lately, I’ve been hating the other players. Especially the just-pubescent kids who communicate in l33t-sp33k, and for whom the term “faggot” is used as the worst possible insult. Today, some twerp on my team ran over a landmine I’d set, AFTER I TOLD HIM THE LANDMINE WAS THERE, got killed, and punished me for a TK. I asked him why he did it. His answer? “I did it cuz ur a fagit”. sigh My oh-so-witty response was “No, you did it because you’re a moron. I told you about the mines! Watch out for them!”. I wish I had it in me to come up with responses that appropriately humiliate kids like that.

And, let us not forget the spawn campers. Don’t have skill? That’s ok, you can still rack up the kills by hanging around the enemy’s spawn points and nailing them the moment they appear. I also hold commanders who arty non-cappable spawn points with the same level of contempt. On many aussie and NZ servers, this tactic is considered a bannable offence, but that doesn’t comfort me when I get repeatedly artied while hanging about on a carrier waiting for a transport chopper.

Oh! I almost forgot. The players who kill their own team-mates in order to get a plane/chopper/other uber-l33t vehicle. I just cannot understand this behaviour. And most of the time their flying is crap and they just plow the plane into the ground.

I know these last few complaints are not BF2-specific. I don’t know how these problems can be resolved. I do know that this sort of behaviour makes me not want to play.

Anyway, that’s my BF2 rant. Despite all my complaints about it, I am still in love with it. :smiley:

Max.

14

You’ve always been able to pick up mines with the wrench. That’s why they removed it from the G-key, since it’s redundant. You’ll still be able to pick up C4 and claymores with the appropriate classes.

15

Wow, this seems like the crowd to ask my Battlefield 1942 question. Whenever I get in the Priest artillery truck, I simply can’t do anything. I’m playing single player. No amount of clicking brings up any targeting info.

Does there have to be a scout sending me a targeting picture? Whenever the bots jump in the Priest, they don’t seem to have any trouble. I don’t get it.

16

Wow, I never knew that! I will have a go at it next time I play engineer.

Now, a question: I have unlocked the medic, sniper, assault and engineer guns. Which should I get next?

Max.

17

Now, if the carrier was a mobile/sinkable unit like it was in BF1942, this would at least be a more productive tactics. I remember in BF1942 on the Wake Island map when the Allies managed to secure all the island spawn points, AND sank both of the Axis ships on the map, and the Axis players were pissed off that they were losing because they didn’t have any spawn points to spawn from.

“OMG not fair! We don’t have any spawn points left!”
“Uh… yeah, that’s the idea.” :smiley:

(If you’ve ever played as Allies on the Wake Island map, you will realize why this was so incredibly satisfying :smiley: )

18

Any news as to whether or not the patching will let it run on windows 2000?

I can’t believe they released a damn game that’ll run on XP but not 2000 - and I’m not upgrading to XP garbage just to play one game, unfortunately.

19

My friend has run it on Windows 2000 since release. List your problem(s) and I’ll forward it on to him.

20

The game starts to load for about 1 second, goes to a black screen for a brief instant, and then crashes to desktop. I did some research at the time and it appeared 30-50% of the people using WIN2K had the same problem.

I don’t know if they ever patched it because I only had the demo and I’m not going to buy the real game to just to find out that they indeed didn’t fix it.