rubberbudgie
Member
+3|6787
My apologies for the size of this post butI hope it will help people undestand why the changes were made to our beloved BF2

1. The ranks

This had to happen for a number of reasons but the main reason being that at the rate people were climbing the ranks prior to the patch being released there would soon have been nowhere for them to go (which would've sucked). So what has happened now is that EA/DICE have added in officer ranks which I would assume will be on the same level of difficulty as the standard ranks were to achieve pre-patch. What this then allows them to do is to give the casual BF2 player (i.e. those who don't play 6.5+ hours per day like I do for example) a sense of achievement by being able to go up ranks relatively quickly without having to devote massive amounts of time like they would've had to pre-patch. So the current flood of promotions being experienced by everyone is just the system re-aligning itself and once everyone has logged in and made a kill on a ranked server and their new rank added to the database it will all be quiet again. (Prior to the patch I was a staff sergeant with gunnery my next promotion. After the patch I am now a Sergeant major with second-leiutenant my next promotion)

2. The ribbons/badges/medals

All that's happened here is the requirements for the higher-level awards (i.e. expert badges and medals) have been significantly reduced to make them actually achievable, because some of those requirements pre-patch were just way too far out of most peoples reach which kind of made them pointless being there.

3. The unlocks

Again all that's happened is that they have been made achievable by the casual player. My guess is that with the officer ranks will again come more weapons to be unlocked. Anyone who has used the BF2 editor and played with the weapons section will know that the game already has the M81a1 anti-material rifle (a VERY powerful sniper rifle) included but so far un-accesible so who knows what else has been added since the patch has been installed. Personally I wish that EA/DICE would've removed the grenade launcher (or noob tube) totally from the game.

4. Everything else

Overall I think the patch is a massive improvement and I think that like anything new people will complain about it because they are not used to it but given time all you complainers will be wondering how you ever survived without it


I'll add a bit more later on but for now I wanna go play WAKE 2007. I've only played about 5 rounds so far but already this map owns.

Word!
[TSC]Sneak
Member
+0|6790
**Voodoo..... The old system didn't say how well they could fly as they may have never used a chopper before.
Yes, there is a high possibility that they would know what they were doing but it's no guarantee.

As for the patch itself, I have no issues with it. It installed fine, joined a server fine and got 4 ranks and 4 unlocks.

Faster ranks are good for the casual gamer that just enjoy the game instead of wanting to have the highest score.

Even with gaining 4 ranks from the patch and having the unlocks, I am still playing the 2 kits I used before, Spec-Ops (with my 1 and only unlock I had) and Anti-Tank (no unlock).

As for capping a flag with the attack helicopter, the pilot gets the points, the gunner doesn't. You are gunner:-
Do you jump out leaving the AH more prone to ground attacks from men close-by thus blowing up for the sake of a couple of points, or do you stay in the chopper, firing the gat-gun at the men but keeping the AH in one piece, ready to fly straight off with no pickup stop to go backup your 'team' at the next flag ?

Blackhawks not capping with a full load is better. Blackhawks should be there to transport men about and support the team.

**Paladus902, the point you made about not being able to run from flag to flag as the unlocks will be more accurate so you wouldn't be able to just cap them all would also, hopefully, stop people bouncing around and spamming grenades everywhere. The game should be more strategic using the potential they have with squad usage, working as a team instead of splitting up and just using the squad leader a mobile spawn point.

**ODM - Welcome to bf2s
Airburner_01
Da Funky Munky
+6|6787
The bullcrap thing for me is that i cant even go on bf2 i keep getting damn erros this is really bad ea plz fix this.
KineticKid
Member
+0|6837
I haven't played yet so I am speaking theoretically.

At first all the "free" rank ups and "free" unlocks pissed me off but now after reading that there are extra ranks beyond the originals and potentially new unlocks as well, I'm pretty stoked.

The medal requirements and badge requirements were so far out of 85% of players leagues that it's a damn good thing they got lowered.

I am wondering about the Prefix tag add though.  If Dice were going to allow names to be altered in anyway, it shouldn't just be a Prefix add.  What about all the players that play with clans that use a Suffix for a clan tag??  I know I do so I'm not sure how that will work for me.

I'm excited to go play Wake Island.  That map pwned on BF1942 as did I.

Flag capping in vehicles seems fine, not sure why they changed that personally.  The Blackhawk flag capping was very rare but when we could get a squad together and get it done right, it rocked.

After thinking about everyone having more accurate weapons and requiring more strategic play due to that, that is very cool.  I like squad combat and any feature in place to promote team play is a good thing.

The commander's artillery strikes sounds a bit shady.  No one seems to know how it works exactly but I hope to god that it is not some cheesey ass solution.

Well that's, all I got.



Xfire name: kinetickid
Raxor
Enemy Boat Spotted
+17|6851|United Kingdom
pretty much everything is fine, but i just dont like that the gunner in an attack helo would have to get out to cap a point. if an AT is around that chopper will go down quickly

i just wish they just slowed the cap rate, not ignore the cap at all.

I was in the hummer capping a point on my own (in the gunner seat) shot a couple guys, neutralised it, then a teammate jumped in the humvee, and he got the full points for just walking in the area. thats a new problem...
McCullough
Member
+7|6845
I've been thinking hard to come up with something to whine about and the only bad thing i can think of is: WTF is up with theese redicilous rank requirements?? Like 3.500 for Sergeant, C mon. It took me forever to reach that rank and now any n00bish greenhorn can reach that rank in a couple of days. And before you fought for you rank and the precious unlocks now i've got 4 ranks and 3 unlocks free of charge and i feel bad about it. To quote Scrooge McDuck "You should ern you money in a honest way or they become worthless" it's the same thing here but with ranks
[CoN]Eraser
Member
+0|6802
I have been promoted from Lance Corporal to Gunnery Sergeant with 3 shots. Havent been able to unlock anything because the stats are not updating yet.

People whining about how much they had to do to get theire rank arent thinking. They got theire new ranks too so everybody stays were they where only with higher ranks and new weapons.
Freelance
Member
+0|6815
To ALL the people that have said that it dont update when you kill/do what ever and get points you have to complete the 2/3/ect maps in the round and wait for the next map to load and then disconnect or just go in the BFHQ thing and you will see that it worked

At least they fixed the thing when you get a rank you have to log out and in to see it and get a unlock as for the ranks uping so fast I DONT like that i got 3 ranks in 3 kills but o well i wont bitch about it for long i do think they made it abit to easy? but hey it fixed tonz of crap so i would say half ass job EA

Last edited by Freelance (2005-10-04 15:24:05)

[CoN]Eraser
Member
+0|6802
Update: I'm now Gunnery Sergeant with 4 new weapons. I'm close to 10.000 points.

Last edited by [CoN]Eraser (2005-10-04 15:25:43)

Locarno
Boom!Headshot?
+2|6847|Scotland!
Well i know this is off topic, but i'm Sergeant, and i got 2,800 points.

I don't agree that the gunner shouldn't get a cap assist.

Staff Sarge is 5,000 i think btw, and gunnery is 7,500 ish.. nothing official yet.

OK, even though I started this thread.. even though the client info times RIP THE PISH, I think it's an overall thumbs up. Well done EA.

EDIT : oh an mods, I'm honoured that you used my thread in the announcement.  Means alot to me

Last edited by Locarno (2005-10-04 16:08:51)

aardfrith
Δ > x > ¥
+145|6799
One thing nobody's mentioned so far, but everyone feared... Artillery still does TK's.  Just the commander doesn't get punished for it, which seems wrong to me.

I ranked up to Corporal, score is just a tad below 2000.

What bugs me about this patch (apart from the fact they missed the obvious red-name bug) is that it wasn't available to download on more servers.  I heard of people taking 4+ hours to dl it.  Fortunately a friendly clan had someone get it and then host it so only took 30 minutes for me
Sck.FaLkOn
Member
+0|6787
what I like about the new patch:
- tv guided missle (flys slower, has better sound and is better controllable) = it rocks!!
- new sounds for Tanks and Jeep, man the Jeep sounds are great... brrRRRRRrrrrmmmm, love it
- performance, they didnt wrote anything about performance improvements, but its running damn smooth now! exactly how its supposed to be!

things I dont like:
- the new ranking system, basicly everyone will be general tomorrow... retarded!
- new bugs!
- in commander mode on gulf map (could be any map, but only happend on gulf map here), the damaged artillerie/uav/sat are not shown on the map/commander screen
- in commander mode you cant see the difference if a supply is dropped or if someone requests a supply
- still an old bug not fixed: stand on the hotel as anti tank and be commander, go into commander mode, zoom in, exit commander mode, do that 2/3 times.. games crashes
- still not fixed the damn shadows! hell, 3 patches and the eye candy is not fixed!!!!
- still no EAX 4 HD!!!!!! its ****ing promised on their page and game cover!!!
- the new community message thing! its supposed to be INGAME! and not a simple link to a website... man retarded


I waited 3 Month, I´m pretty disappointed..
pish180
Member
+0|6801
OMFG... AS if EA could "F" up a patch anyworse then this one!!! I have put in almost 400 hrs of time to get 4 weapons, and my rank... Now every n00b and their brothers and sisters have everything i spend 400 hrs getting, in about 4 mintues!!!!  This is complete CR4P!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!   Not only that... that put this DUMB message in the beginning, that asks if I want BF2 news.... OMFG >< .... DO they really think i give a SH1T about that!?>/!>!! So now i cant use xfire to join a friends game... nor can i use any other server browers to connect... DID i mention the server brower in Game SUX soo much complete A55!!!!  I get about 10 servers under 100 ping, and when i use differ progs to find servers, I get about 50 for 1 type of Map. 

To top that all of it took 4 Minutes to log into the account server.   It took 20 minutes to download, this worthless patch!!!

Well now that everyone has ALL the Unlockable guns, and High ranks...  I really dont see any redeaming features in the game.... I have nothing to work for anymore.  I have all the weapons...  And there is nothing more i can Unlock.  Rank does nothing for you in this game!!  wow-we... commander... that almost fun... NOT. 

As far as fixes go... AA missles still SUX A55!!!  The game is still extremely unbalanced!!!  Teamkilling is STill messed up (if i shoot a frinedly vehcile and then he crashes, and blows up... TEAMKILL),  Vehciles hitting you... LOL... OK.. still just as easy to get crushed and die!!! The did do somethings better... but for the most part... it just got worse!!

It was fun for about 5 minutes to use the unlocked weapons, and then super GHEY bc EVERYONE has them now... And u dont even have to work to get them. Free.

I really didnt think EA could F this up this bad... They really did a number on this!!! 

Well it looks like BF2 is going back to the box, and going to be a desk ornimant.  2 weeks until some good companies release some games.  Quake 4, FEAR, and COD2... The only thing that could possilbe make me want to play it again, is if they added more unlockable stuff + benefits to being higher ranked + fix this crappy ranking garbage!!  Evyerone is a dam SGT.. 1st SGT... STG Major... WTF.  UGHH...

Last edited by pish180 (2005-10-04 16:28:51)

DemosthenesCU
Member
+0|6787
man, whatever happened to when being a corporal meant something?

played for one round and boom, gunnery sargent...its nice, but then every n00b has a M95 and a DAO-12 now, which sucks a left nut

anyways, cmon F.E.A.R.
and i seriously hope that the expansion pack will address this unbalance...(ie: use ranks for commended officers, and nerf all the original unlocks)
Col-Khadafi
Member
+0|6804|Your Mom's House
They didnt fix the jackhammer...
MattCicioni
Member
+1|6836|Arizona
Okay this is off topic, perhaps an admin should stick this someone better.  But in case everyone wanted to know, I found a list of everything that was changed in the patch, I didn't see this anywhere else, so I' posting it here.  Feel free to move it to it's own thread.

This is the first Battlefield 2 patch, updating the incredible first-person shooter and fixing bugs as well as adding a new map - Wake Island! Read below for all the lovely details.

NEW FEATURES
Wake Island Map

•    Included a remade version of this popular BF1942 map.
•    Battlefield 2 version includes a 64 player layout and is
•    configured for multiplayer only.

Server Favorites / History

•    There is a new tab in the MULTIPLAYER menu that holds a list of the last 20 internet servers you have connected to, plus a list of servers you have selected as favorites.

o    Added a button to the other multiplayer tabs that adds the currently highlighted server to your favorites list.
o    Added buttons in the in-game server info menu (press TAB to access) that will add or remove the server you are currently playing on to / from your favorites list.

Account Login Welcome Screen

•    After you login to an online account, a message appears that contains BF2 news and information which updates periodically.

Stat Compare

•    By clicking the COMPARE button in BFHQ, you can search for another players name and load their current stats into BFHQ. Using the arrow buttons next to the name in the top-left corner of the menu, you can toggle between your stats and their stats.
You can also load a player's stats by double-clicking on their name in any leaderboard.

Nickname Prefix

•    You can add a 6-character prefix (such as a clan tag) to your account nickname which will be displayed in-game next to your nametag in the score menu, in game messages, and above your player in the game world.

o    This prefix does not change your account name or statistic information (e.g. the prefix does not appear next to your name on the leaderboards).
o    You can change this prefix at any time at the account login menu.

Server Reserved Slots

•    You can define a list of player nicknames that will act as a "reservation list" for your server.

o    The list is located in mods\bf2\settings\ReservedSlots.con
o    You can add player names to the list by editing the file and adding the following text for each player: reservedSlots.addNick where is the player's registered account name, not including a nickname prefix (see above).
o    You can define the number of slots to set aside for reserve players in the dedicated server launcher, or with the setting sv.numReservedSlots in your serverSettings.con file.
o    The number of players on the list and the number of reserved slots does not necessarily have to be the same.

Mod Support

•    There are several new changes that improve support for mods.

o    When connecting to a server that is running a mod that you have installed but not activated, it will be automatically activated and you will load into the server.
o    Added a filter on the server browser for servers running the currently activated mod.
o    Fixed dedicated server launcher to properly handle launching mods.
o    Improved support for mods sharing archives with bf2

Improvements to in-game HUD / Map

•    The viewable area of the spawn menu / commander map is now scaled based on the out-of-bounds area so that only the playable area takes up the majority of viewable map space.
•    The names of CPs are now displayed on the spawn menu / commander map and minimap
•    The minimap zoom level now changes dynamically depending on the type of vehicle you are in. If you zoom in or out manually, that zoom level is remembered for that vehicle type next time you use it.
•    The names of players in your vehicle are displayed in the HUD when someone enters the vehicle or switches positions.
•    There is a new element in vehicle HUDs that displays the reload time for countermeasures (smoke and flares).
•    Flags for each team are now displayed below their ticket count on the minimap to make it easier to tell what team you are assigned to.

GAMEPLAY CHANGES

•    Many criteria for ranks and awards have changed. If you are immediately eligible for a new promotion, unlock, badge, award, or ribbon, it will be awarded the next time you receive points on a ranked server.
•    Only 1 player in a vehicle will get credit for or speed up capturing a flag at a CP. The other passengers must exit the vehicle to increase the speed of capture or receive capture score.
•    Commanders no longer accrue a TK when artillery hits teammates.
•    The commander's supply drop now has an icon on the minimap and a 3D-map icon in the world.
•    Auto team balance no longer moves players to the other team if they are a team commander or a squad leader.
•    The wrench repair rate on helicopters has been decreased.
•    You now receive 1 support point for destroying an enemy commander's artillery, UAV or Radar station.
•    If you have received a point for healing, repairing, or resupplying a teammate, you will not receive another point from them for the same action for a set period of time.
•    Singleplayer enemies use the knife more effectively.
•    New engine sounds for the T98 tank.
•    New engine sounds for the China/MEC light jeep.
•    New cannon sounds on APCs.

BUG FIXES

•    Fixed physics of vehicles against soldiers so that soldiers are not killed so easily by moving vehicles.
•    Fixed a physics issue that can cause you to be stuck when falling into shallow water
•    Fixed an issue with soldier armor when spawning on a squad leader in a vehicle
•    Fixed some objects that caused vehicles to take massive collision damage
•    Fixed erroneous message stating that you punished a TK when auto- punish is OFF on the server.
•    When a vehicle explodes due to external forces, the driver is no longer mis-credited for the kills.
•    Added turret movement sounds to several vehicles.
•    Fixed an issue that caused crosshairs to stay on the screen when switching camera views.
•    Fixed an issue that caused the time limit status of the server not to be sent to clients when it is changed by the server.
•    Fixed server setting sv.allowExternalViews. Setting this to 0 will disallow external views.
•    Added setting for interfaceIP to the server launcher
•    Changed automatic TK banning to ban by cd-key instead of IP address
•    Improved the stability of secondary position turrets to reduce jerkiness during movement.
•    Fixed spawning on squad leaders to prevent players from spawning where they should not.
•    Fixed issue with auto team balance not sending new players to the team with less players.
•    Set T90 top hatch armor to "Front Armor".
•    Set some wheels on jets and helpcopters to stronger armor to prevent them from being destroyed instantly by AT missiles.
•    Adjusted wheeled vehicle engines on hills to improve climbing.
•    Changed the Commo-rose behavior so that player does not leave crouch when using it.
•    Passwords entered to join password protected servers are now cleared after use.
•    Improved PLAY NOW functionality.
•    Fixed some memory usage issues in the front end.
•    Fixed an issue allowing color changes in player name text.
•    When you click on a server in the server browser, the information from that server is updated to be more accurate.
•    Fixed a crash in the Ranked Linux server when communication with stats back-end ceased.
•    Improved the behavior of AA missiles when locked on an enemy.
•    Fixed an issue where parachuting soldiers could not be healed.
•    Added the server port to the SERVER INFO tab.
•    Removed the SERVER INFO tab when playing singleplayer
•    Fixed an issue causing some soldier & vehicle control keys to be used for in-game menus.
•    Added new soldier artwork in BFHQ
•    Added name of video director to credits
Col-Khadafi
Member
+0|6804|Your Mom's House
WOW, you followed the direct link from the official Bf2 site, right below the 1.03 download link.
Man you got expert learnding


















:p
MattCicioni
Member
+1|6836|Arizona
Actually I got that from File Planet, but they probably took it from the offical site.  ;-) 

Just thought some people might not have seen it since I saw some posts with players asking what changed...

-Matt

https://bf2s.com/player/44224863/sig.png
https://bf2s.com/player/44224863/sig5.png
https://bf2s.com/player/44224863/awards.jpg
Locarno
Boom!Headshot?
+2|6847|Scotland!
And and "What happened to when corporal means something"

Well : Before it was 10,000 points for Corporal, now it's 10,000 points for something else.  What ever that new rank is (staff sarge maybe?) will command the same respect on 1.03, as Corporal did on 1.02.


Man i really like the new patch.. Or more correction.  I really like the new map, when you think about it, thats the only major thing here... Everything else doesn't really affect you that much.  High, hardcore players still get high, hardcore ranks.  Low, for fun players, still get some satisfaction..  It's a win/win, the way i see it, i think this patch is a success... Well done EA/dice
Stoned_Smurfz
The Mushroom Man
+1|6854|Australia
Well Im Still D/Ling the patch, i just got out of bed. But not liking what i hear

tF-voodoochild - you could always get Partition Magic or something similar and make your C Drive Bigger.
Croak
Member
+11|6812|San Marcos, CA
Well, I was about done with BF2 before the patch.  The slog to Sgt. was taking a long time, and I refused to spend all my time on Whorekand or resort to Blackwhoring, etc, to speed up my points.

By any reasonable measure, I spent a LOT of time playing BF2 (260+ hours), and was looking at another 100 hours just for Sergeant based on my average SPM.  The patch brought the game back to life for me, I'm enjoying playing again with my new unlocked toys, and could give a damn about my next rank for awhile because I have a lot to keep me interested for now, and until Special Forces ships.

And like a lot of others, I had NO respect for the high ranks anyway, because MANY of those that were on top spent all most of their time playing Karkand as Medic or Support, and/or in a tank. That didn't prove anything to me other than they had a lot of free time, had mastered one map, and knew how to work the system. 

Now, those same people can chase after Officer ranks and whatever that may bring, so they can still "enjoy" BF2 the way they always did (with the exception of Blackwhoring and blatant stat padding).  Or they may leave the game because they're not so "special" anymore.  Well, that's not a bad thing for the overall health of the product either, because the environment that was fostered by points whoring was not good. 

EA already has our money for BF2, and can count on evem the most disgruntled to buy Spec. Forces next month even though they're bitching now.  It's a new game to 'sploit, a new e-penis to whip out, and they can't resist it. 

But EA did risk losing new customers if the word gets out that there's no point in buying BF2 NOW because it'll take you forever to "catch up" and you'll be gang raped just trying.   The patch doesn't solve ALL the problems in that regard, but it addresses many of them, from stat padding to chopper caping to extremely slow rank progression.  It's a big step in the right direction.

There's an adage/truisim in the MMORPG industry that whatever time you estimate for players to reach a certain level or accomplish a certain task, the players will cut in half if not more.  I'm certain DICE was aware of this, and set the rank requirements as high as they did based on that logic.  I used to design MMO's, and saw many a designer fall into the same trap as DICE did...make it MUCH harder to progress than you think it ought to be, to slow the players down...and invariably, reduce the difficulty later because you went too far.

They now have access to ALL the ranked server data that they didn't have before the game shipped.  With that they can data mine to find things out like average play time for all players, average score per minute, and based on that informatin, they can "tune" the rank and medal requirements closer to their original intent and adapt to the current reality.
Andert883
Member
+0|6787|Minnesota
ok i just played for like a few hours and still no go on getting my promotions...wtf is going on?
McPwned
Canadian Ops
+0|6850|Canada
I personally liked when ranks were few and far between.

a) It gives you a greater feeling of accomplishment when ranking up.
b) It's easier to tell who the better players are.
c) Getting unlocks faster is nice, but now anyone can grab a DAO-12... I felt special using that gun.
Stoned_Smurfz
The Mushroom Man
+1|6854|Australia
Well i just played for a lil while 2 rounds.
more than Half the servers are only playing wake.
and i droped mines but no friendlys ran over them.
and i was tked by a car (cars sound different)

but from what i can see from that time ranking is a little easy i got 2 more with 2 kills but i wouldent say its overly f'ed up. if you spent alot of time playing to get the rank id see why ur pissed but playing too much computer game is bad for you anyways.

So the new ranking will leave you more time to go out and get a life

and chuy need not worry about the stats compare thing it sucks!! It doesnt really compare just lets you flick between 2 profiles
Tweaky
Member
+0|6793|Bay Area, CA

tF-voodoochild wrote:

My favorite thing so far is the people with the Staff Sergent rank (or any 'high' rank) who cannot keep a chopper in the air for more than two seconds without finding the ground. The rank shift has just made it near impossible to judge how well someone is going to be as a pilot based on their current ranking.
Well, I've been a good pilot right from the start (skill learned from old Desert Combat)... so a private flying the chopper doesn't necessarily mean you will be s.o.l

Last edited by Tweaky (2005-10-04 18:46:23)

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