Battlefield Bad Company

[Zantheus]

Zan, as you can see on your screenshot, this is for the Demo, not the Beta.

I am a founding member on Fileplanet as well and have not seen a sign up for the Beta.....

Did I miss something

LOL I never noticed that before TBH I have that tab in the Beta Center section so I thought it was Beta Reserve

[KurlonT]

Trailer for the last game mode is up: Squad Rush
(I'm sure the BC2 site will have a version w/ better PQ)

So it's 4v4, 2 objectives and what looks to be no vehicles. Strange thing is the pre-order will give you early access to the mode so it might be a case where you need to rank up or do something else to unlock it. Should be fun and a nice break from the tanks and choppers in the bigger version...

BTW here's the BC2 game modes:
RUSH - 16v16 (12v12 on the console)
CONQUEST - 16v16 (12v12 on the console)
SQUAD DM - 4v4v4v4
SQUAD RUSH - 4v4, 2 Objectives

[KurlonT]

GTTV revealing Bad Company 2 campaign this week:

This Thursday at 12:30am ET, the new season of GameTrailers TV is set to debut with a look at Battlefield: Bad Company 2. Specifically, the trailer for this week's episode promises that the show will display the first footage of the game's single-player campaign

Should be some good info as the first BC actually had some good laughs.

[KurlonT]

GTTV Full Episode w/ BC2

Nice info and the jungle map looks top notch. Mentioned the single player campaign should take about 10hrs to complete but no idea on what setting. I know the MW2 campaign took me about 6hrs to complete but that was on medium difficulty and watching all the cut-scenes.

Of course for trophy hunters I'm sure there will be hidden stuff in the campaign but 10hrs seems about fine to me since multiplayer is where most will go ASAP.

[Caddys83]

I dont know if anyone seen this yet but here is an update of the changes that were made since the PS3 beta. Hopefully,the fixes also affect the pc.

http://blogs.battlefield.ea.com/cfs-...aChangeLog.txt

Completely reskinned the weapons and scopes for much improved visual quality.
The reddot sight no longer has a FOV penalty compared to iron sights.
Pistols now have the same FOV level as other weapons in iron sights.
Tons of weapon tweaks to improve the balance of play.
Increased accuracy when stationary and aiming for better first shot accuracy.
Decreased accuracy when moving and aiming, especially for sniper rifles.
Several gun specific balance tweaks to bring them in line with the other weapons of that class.
Lowered the damage of the XM8 and F2000 at close range.
Lowered the damage of the AN94 at long range.
Raised the accuracy of the M16's burst.
Lowered the damage of the Type88 LMG.
Raised the damage of the MG3.
Raised the damage of the M249.
Fixed the recoil of the M249 when equipped with a reddot sight.
Lowered the damage of the SMGs and Carbines at extreme range.
Lowered the accuracy on the move for the SCAR-L, AKS-74u, and the XM8c.
Raised the damage of shotguns, especially for the pump shotguns and slugs.
Semiauto and Auto snipers and slug shotguns cannot 1 shot headshot at extreme range.
Fixed the Knife's stab animation and improved the reliability of Knife attacks.
Lowered the long delay between Knife attacks.
Fixed the animation speed for switching to the grenade launcher on assault rifles.
Fixed the too huge blood splatter effect for sniper shots at long distance.
Fixed the minimap disappearing if you switched weapons while aiming a sniper rifle.
Removed the fade to and from black when aiming a sniper rifle.
Adjusted graphics for sniper rifles and RPGs when zoomed.
Bolt action sniper rifles will chamber the next round if the trigger is pressed twice while zooming.
Fixed the close range damage of bolt action sniper rifles. Now a 1 hit kill on unarmored infantry in 5m.
Raised the damage of the VSS but lowered accuracy when moving.
Grenade carry limit with the Grenade Vest lowered to 2 hand grenades and 4 40mm grenades.

Tweaked the airstrike missile called in by the UAV so it gives a longer warning to victim vehicles.
Exiting the UAV now also exits the UAV ground station.
The UAV station no longer self destructs when the attacker's base changes.
The UAV station can no longer be destroyed by friendly fire if friendly fire is off.
Lowered the direct and splash damage of UAV's airstrike.
Lowered the damage of the UAV's alternate fire LMG.
UAV station screen shows offline when the UAV is waiting to respawn.
Many additional UAV bug fixes.

Lowered the splash damage of tank rounds. 1 shot kill radius is smaller now.
Raised the damage of the gunner's 50caliber machine gun and added a visual effect when it overheats.
Tweaked the damage tanks take to be more consistent. Tank front armor especially is more consistent.
It takes 2 to 5 RPGs to kill a tank with no specializations. (was 3 to 8 )
Tanks should no longer get stuck on destroyed terrain or inclines.
Increased the precision of tank turrets.
All armored vehicles have new engine sounds.
Added environment specific camouflage to all vehicles.

New vehicle control layout: R2 and L2 for accel and brake, fire on L1 and altfire on R1.
Or lefty vehicle control layout: fire on R1 and altfire on L1.
BFBC1 style vehicle controls are still available as an alternate.

Jeeps now burn when hit by tank shells instead of instantly detonating. This effect is the same as with RPGs.
Raised the damage of the jeep HMGs and added a visual effect when it overheats.

Shielded heavy machine guns now have a bullet proof glass front. Flank these guns or blow them up.
Raised the damage of the stationary HMGs and added a visual effect when it overheats.

Fixed the name of the UH-60 and corrected the caliber description of the miniguns.

Raised the launch speed of the RPG7's missile for better long distance shots and less drop.
Raised the splash damage of all infantry launched Rockets and 40mm grenades.
Improved the visual feedback for locking onto tracer darted vehicles, this is be much clearer now.
Note that TOW/Kornet and M136 missiles are wire guided and cannot lock on to tracer darts.
Fixed wire guided missiles sometimes going erratic (even though this was realistic yet unintentional).

Improved the trail and blinking effect of Tracer Darts so they are more visible.
Vehicle Smoke Launchers and 40mm smoke remove tracer darts and spots on friendlies in the effect.
Targets which have been unspotted by smoke are immune to spotting for a few seconds.

Added a short cooldown to the Repair Tool after repairing 50% of a tank's health.
Lowered the repair speed of the Repair Tool but raised its range.
The Repair Tool can only repair or damage vehicles and stationary weapons.

The Mortar Strike is now called in via a pair of binoculars.
Lowered the number of shells in the Mortar Strike barrage, but raised the damage of each shell.
Raised the effectiveness of the Mortar Strike against armored vehicles.
Fixed a bug where the Mortar Strike would fail to begin to reload.
Switching kits no longer instantly reloads the Mortar Strike.

Fixed a bug where the Defibrillator would not reload unless held in the player's hands.
The Defibrillator icon on downed squad members now appears in green.
Soldiers who suicide from the menu cannot be revived.

Lowered the amount of Motion Sensors carried to 2 and limited each soldier to 1 deployed sensor at a time.
Deploying a new Motion Sensor before the previous sensor expires will replace the previous sensor.
Motion Sensors no longer detect players and vehicles sitting perfectly still.
Motion Sensors now beep when deployed and detecting a target.

The Vehicle Motion sensor now beeps for all occupants of the vehicle when it detects a target.
Vehicle Motion Sensors on the UAV and other Airborne vehicles now detect targets at all altitudes.

Fixed an exploit where players could deploy unlimited Ammo Boxes, Medkits, C4 and Mines.
Fixed a bug where players could detonate Detpacks placed the previous life upon respawning.
Detpacks can still be detonated if player's kit is picked up with in 15 seconds of his death.
Lowered the damage Detpacks do to crates.

Fixed AntiTank Mines not detonating when driven over at medium speeds.
AntiTank Mines should now properly persist after the player has died.

The Ammo Box, Medkit, Defibrillator, Repair Tool, and Motion Sensor are now unlocks for each class.
Players new to Battlefield will be introduced to these teamplay items when they are unlocked.
Battlefield Veterans will automatically have these teamplay items unlocked from the start.

Lowered the duration of spotted targets. Aiming at a close target will refresh the spot timer automatically.
Lowered the effectiveness of the Sniper's Spotting Scope, targets must be tracked longer before spotting.
Fixed so the player can properly spot from the UAV.
Added an overheat to spotting to prevent spot and order spamming.
Spotting now requires the player be aiming significantly closer to the target.

Added Destruction 2.0 to the Guard Towers around the first Defender Base on Arica Harbor (and all other maps).
Fixed buildings collapsing without any warning sound or effects.
Moved M-COM station A into a Garage at the second Defender Base on Arica Harbor.
Fixed collision issues on the Patio in the upper level of the Town.
Fixed sometimes spawning underneath the Patio in the Town.
Fixed the collision problems with the Train Car containing M-COM stations on Arica Harbor's 3rd and 4th base.
Train Cars now have more specific destruction zones to encourage mouse hole tactics.
The Attacker's first base is now a protected spawn zone that defenders cannot enter.
Added additional alternate spawn points to all bases for both Attackers and Defenders to counter spawn camping.
Added a system that disables individual spawn points if enemies are within 20m. Does not apply to Squad Spawn.
Players can still spawn at a base if all spawns points at that base are blocked.
Spawn protection will be disabled if the player aims or fires during the short timer.
Wrecked civilian cars now have secondary explosions when hit with explosive weapons.

The Attackers now recieve 75 reinforcement Tickets to start instead of 100.
Taking a base restores the attackers to 75 Tickets instead of adding 50.

Improved soldier collision vs objects, especially for crouching under obstacles.
Fixed issues with certain objects popping into view as the player approached.
Reduced the amount of screen blur when in ultralow health.
Increased the visual and audio feedback for low health, healing, and returning to full health.
Out of Combat healing now starts sooner but takes longer to fully heal.
Slightly increased the healing power of medkits to increase their usefulness.

Improved the sensitivity of soldier controls. Adjusting sensitivity should have a much greater effect now.
Sensitivity when aimed is now consistent across all weapons.
Turning while sprinting is now more responsive.
Reduced forward input needed to sprint to 50% from 90% to smooth the transition to sprint.
Tweaked aiming and turning curves to be more responsive from the hip and more precise when aiming.
Fixed several issues with switching weapons and being unable to shoot or aim.
Fixed the player's control setup reverting to default when entering and exiting vehicles.
Fixed bugs when going to swim while sprinting.
Sped up the deploy and undeploy animations for the parachute.
Improved the precision for switching weapons on the Dpad.

Fixed several stats padding exploits.
Fixed various awards that did not work as designed.
Tweaked rank and class unlock progression based on data gathered in the beta.

[K PhaNTOM]

That's it?

[Rand{CLR}]

Two quick things I noticed:

I don't like cooldowns on repair tools after 50% healing.

I want any headshot at extreme range from any sniper rifle to be an instant kill. Why have that only be the case for the bolt actions? That's just a stupid distinction. Smart decision? No one-shot headshots at extreme range for the shotgun (why would that have ever worked?).

-Rand

[KurlonT]

I might be able to add some insight on some of the fixes:

Added a short cooldown to the Repair Tool after repairing 50% of a tank's health.
Lowered the repair speed of the Repair Tool but raised its range.

The repair tool in the PS3 Beta made tanks absorb obscene amounts of damage from just one Engy on repair duty. Now throw in the Improved Vehicle Armor unlock and you have one beast of a tank. It might seem extreme to nerf the repair tool that much but believe me those things needed it. As a result of the fixes it should require more teamwork to keep tanks alive.

Tweaked the damage tanks take to be more consistent. Tank front armor especially is more consistent.
It takes 2 to 5 RPGs to kill a tank with no specializations. (was 3 to 8 )

These sorta go in hand w/ the repair tool fixes so my guess it was all done to keep lone tanks from overpowering the map unless it had the entire squad helping out.

Added an overheat to spotting to prevent spot and order spamming.
Spotting now requires the player be aiming significantly closer to the target.

These IMO are huge fixes as it was way to easy spotting enemies from long distance via spamming areas w/ the spot button. While this is not too effective for non-recon classes...in a tank w/ unlimited ammo and huge range...yikes.

Semiauto and Auto snipers and slug shotguns cannot 1 shot headshot at extreme range.

My only guess is when sniper rifles are combined w/ the 12X Scope unlock they were a bit too deadly given how far that scope can zoom. You do have a kill cam but that really only helps so much against extreme range snipers. Also in the PS3 Beta there was a tendency for sniper overload due to how good the kit was and not enough of the other classes for attacking/defending objectives.

BTW shotgun slugs would get headshots at some silly ranges but it seemed by luck when I got one...LOL

[Caddys83]

I pre-ordered the game from gamestop.com about a week ago for a hard media instead of digital media and just remembered this game will most likely use SecuROM

Last time that I had an issue with SecuROM back in june. I reinstalled Crysis Warhead and the stupid thing told me I reached the maximum installations for Crysis Warhead game after wasting an hour and 30 mins trying to figured out to bypass that crap, I finally got to play "my" game


Anyway thats another story, my question is does the Steam use SecuROM or something similar? I bought a few games from Steam but I never thought about it

[Apache Warrior]

I have never had any problems playing my Steam games. In fact you can install them on multiple computers. You install your games and play them on your account. I like Steam better than having hard copy. I do not have to keep up with my game discs nor key codes. And I can back my games up to hard copy.
Apache

[Duke{CLR}]

I have never had any problems playing my Steam games. In fact you can install them on multiple computers. You install your games and play them on your account. I like Steam better than having hard copy. I do not have to keep up with my game discs nor key codes. And I can back my games up to hard copy.
Apache

+1

I love Steam mostly because i don't have to carry disks around in my laptop bag. The only problems I have had with Steam were when the game gets updated before we get a chance to update the server.

[Apache Warrior]

And you don't usually hear people complaining because the developers updated the game to fast.
Apache

[Caddys83]

I have never had any problems playing my Steam games. In fact you can install them on multiple computers. You install your games and play them on your account. I like Steam better than having hard copy. I do not have to keep up with my game discs nor key codes. And I can back my games up to hard copy.
Apache

Oh yeah I forgot about the discs issue There had been times when I cant find my CD or booklet. BF2 was the worst for me. before they offered the BF2 on DVD, I had like 3 cd's or so to install and I lost one of the CD's and the book. I had to buy another copy of BF2 game. Later on, I found the CD and book lol.

+1

I love Steam mostly because i don't have to carry disks around in my laptop bag. The only problems I have had with Steam were when the game gets updated before we get a chance to update the server.

I do notice the plus side of steam is you dont have to worry about hunting down all the the update/patches from sites.

[KurlonT]

PC Beta News from the BF Blog:

When's the Beta

First, let's start by making the official time and date of the Beta the start of this Blog in what will be and EPIC moment in DICE's PC History! The PC Beta begins this Thursday, January 28th at approximately 6pm CET, 12pm EST, and 9am PST time!!!!!!! :-D

Where to Get It

The Client will be downloadable from server partner websites and Steam starting at the above listed time at a file size of 1.5GB. Here's a hyper-link reminder http://bit.ly/4GJk2a on which retailers will provide PC Beta access through pre-ordering.

Why we're Having a Beta

The Beta is happening for many reasons, like testing the infrastructure, hosting stability, and gameplay tuning (FOV, Weapon Balance, etc...) that no amount of internal testing could provide better than real world exposure. This means there will also be times of choppiness, lag, disconnects, CTDs or other issues a Beta version of any MP game would have. We'll have feedback methods similar to the PS3 Beta as well to ensure your input is gathered and heard.

Advanced warning: there will be things updated in the final game, like a Server browser with more functions, optimizations, performance tweaks, and learning's from the Beta.

This truly is a Beta, so remember that all feedback is appreciated and wanted! :-)

Hosting the Beta

Renting of Beta servers will not be possible, but we'll work closely with all our RSPs* to ensure there is always enough capacity for each individual regions.

Where to Download the Beta

We'll distribute with many partners as possible to ensure the fastest DLs no matter your location around the world. Current know locations and methods will be EADM, Steam, Torrents (only get this from legit sources, i.e. an RSP*), and all our RSP's.

Getting Started In the Beta
STEP 1: Make sure you have at least 5GB free on your HDD and then download and Install BFBC2! :-D
STEP 2: Once installation is completed (install size will be around 1.5GB) start the client and click the login button. You will then be prompted to sign in with your EA Account. If you don't have an EA Account you'll be able to create one in the same screen. (You may also create your EA Account in advance HERE)
STEP 3: Enter the unique PC Beta Code during the log in process to authenticate your participation in the Beta.
Step 4: Create your Soldier name (this will lock that name to your EA account for retail if you want to keep it).

Note: You will not be able to play or access any multiplayer menus without being authenticated. After the Beta Key is registered it will be tied to your EA Account and no longer valid for new registrations. Our game will use SecuROM for the Beta and Final games .exe, for more info on how SecuROM works in BFBC2 please read this Blog to learn about it in more detail.

* Ranked Server Provider (RSP)

BTW EA Twitter is going to give out beta keys on Thursday:

Who wants #BFBC2 PC beta keys? http://bit.ly/4GJk2a @EA will also be giving them away on Thursday to celebrate the start of the beta
11:06 AM Jan 25th from web

I'm going to try to get one eventhough my PC really is too old to run it. More interested in the changes since the PS3 Beta.

[Caddys83]

I just check my email and gamestop sent me the beta key. Now just waiting for tomorrow