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BFBC2 NEW Onslaught mode NOT happening for the PC

Killa J — Sat, 17 Jul 2010 14:12:16 +0000

[Source: Shacknews -Xav be Matos]

The four-player co-op “Onslaught” mode currently available on consoles in DICE’s Battlefield: Bad Company 2 is no longer confirmed for release on PC. Last week, PC Gamer reported they had confirmed with EA UK PR that the mode would come to PC; however, today the outlet says otherwise. “We announced that Battlefield: Bad Company 2′s Onslaught mode was coming to PC, just like it had to the consoles,” PC Gamer’s Jaz McDougall wrote. “This took DICE’s community manager by surprise.” Following the original story on PC Gamer, the DICE community manager tweeted “The article published by PC-Gamer is not accurate. We are currently researching if Onslaught will be available for PC. No release date.”According to PC Gamer the error was due to “a miscommunication from EA UK PR.” PC Gamer has since deleted its original story claiming confirmation of the mode. When contacted for a comment regarding the DLC appearing on PC, EA told Shacknews, “We have not made any formal announcements regarding Onslaught for PC at this time.” Ed. Note: Added comment from EA.

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Commentary:
The repeated situations occurring in game development and it’s publishers continues to see a trend towards creating exclusive content for consoles and always rolling out new features to the consoles first, if they are to happen for the PC as well. The industry is going for the apparent largest pool of money. Despite the well known stance of long time adult PC gamers preference, supported by their continued purchase of new hardware, which is KEY to helping sell games. The life-cycle of hardware stems largely from the game technology, and selling games on a fixed platform limits new technology more than they care to admit I would guess.

Having a unified hardware platform makes it easier to dev games, sure, and they can sell ALL their games for $50-65 bucks, but I can’t imagine CryEngine 3 looking the same on a console VS a high end PC. It’s as if consoles dumb down things (PS3 and XBox360 BOTH use DirectX9 even though DX11 is out and video cards support it on the PC). But I wonder if the quality of games has suffered because of the consolidation, and new tech like DX11 gets hindered in adoption, so new tech development slows down and caters to the consoles.

I’m sure publishers would rather turn out new games more frequently instead of make games that last 3 years by continuing support and expansion (BF2 for example). Just some personal opinions on my part, but it HAS effected my enthusiasm for gaming in general.

When companies like DICE who have a game like BF2, which help DEFINE the Squad Based Tactics and made adult gamers set the tone for proper team based game-play, roll out BFBC2 and don’t even have in game VOIP working and NEVER address it with Patches, make me feel like they are not there to support the game but rather promote their next game. BFBC2 already has lost its momentum based largely on the lack of dev support and its not even a year old. I think that says a lot.

Kids grew up playing FPS’s on consoles and don’t think much of it, even though aim assist occurs because the controllers are not as accurate as mouse+keyboard. I wonder if publishers will just keep pushing this until the kids outnumber the adult base. I hope not. I know of plenty of adults who, like myself, will NEVER play FPS on a console. Period.

Seems like the current state of BFBC2 is all we are going to get from DICE/EA. Looks like they are pushing for their Vietnam roll out for the Holiday season. Sad DICE/EA doesn’t get behind their apps like Valve does with Team Fortress.

- Killa J

NASA releases free game: Moonbase Alpha

Killa J — Fri, 09 Jul 2010 13:37:21 +0000

About the Game

NASA has once again landed on the lunar surface with the goal of colonization, research, and further exploration. Shortly after the return to the Moon, NASA has established a small outpost on the south pole of the moon called Moonbase Alpha. Utilizing solar energy and regolith processing, the moonbase has become self-sufficient and plans for further expansion are underway.

In Moonbase Alpha, you assume the exciting role of an astronaut working to further human expansion and research. Returning from a research expedition, you witness a meteorite impact that cripples the life support capability of the settlement. With precious minutes ticking away, you and your team must repair and replace equipment in order to restore the oxygen production to the settlement.

Team coordination along with the proper use and allocation of your available resources (player controlled robots, rovers, repair tools, etc.) are key to your overall success. There are several ways in which you can successfully restore the life support system of the lunar base, but since you are scored on the time spent to complete the task, you have to work effectively as a team, learn from decisions made in previous gaming sessions, and make intelligence decisions in order to top the leaderboards.

Key features:

Team up with your friends…
The fate of a lunar colony rests on the shoulders of you and your team. Communicate and coordinate efforts with up to six players (LAN and internet) by using voice over communication.

Utilize the latest in NASA technology…
A fully functional rover that utilizes lunar physics is available to transport both players and supplies to all reaches of the lunar colony. You can build and pilot your own repair robot in order to fix crucial systems before time runs out.

Immerse yourself in an awe-inspiring lunar environment…
Take your first steps on the moon’s surface in a truly accurate lunar moonscape that is unmatched in any other application.

Compete with your friends to reach the top of the leaderboards…
Do you have what takes it to be number one? When you win, your score will automatically be posted to the leaderboards for everyone to see.

A unique experience each time..
With multiple paths for game success, you’ll need to learn to work effectively as a team, learn from decisions made in previous gaming sessions, and make intelligent decisions in order to top the leaderboards.

Tailor your game to fit your gameplay style…
Do you want to play with two players or six? With multiple game maps you can select the game environment that best suits your team’s needs.

[Source]

[GAME PATCH RELEASED] – Steam release will auto update.

The changes are as follows:

FIXED – Astronauts can “attach” next to the rover or command center when high latency is present.
FIXED – Rover is sometimes invisible when remotely controlled when high latency is present.
FIXED – Erratic behavior of rover when attached to hose.
Multiple optimizations to program code for singleplayer and multiplayer gameplay.
Modified information in log reports.

Known issue with BFBC2 (latest) and Kasperski

Killa J — Wed, 07 Jul 2010 22:25:35 +0000

Even if you dont have the app running, it will lock up the SERVER BROWSER. Even if BFBC2 is listed as TRUSTED/ALLOWED app within the Windows Firewall.

ONLY thing you can do is either play with your favorites / histroy, or uninstall Kasperski and reboot.

I actually had to uninstall it, reboot and it was back to normal.

More info here on Kasperski’s forum and also EA’s UK Forum

Battlefield: Bad Company 2 “VIP Map Pack 4″ Now Available

Killa J — Wed, 07 Jul 2010 19:50:53 +0000

***SAME MAPS YOUR HAVE, just different game types on 4 maps***
VIP Map Pack 4 adds new modes to current Bad Company 2 maps Atacama Desert and Port Valdez. In Atacama Desert players can now partake in “Rush Mode,” jockeying for position on the sandy wasteland. Conquest fans will now be able to fight alongside allies on Port Valdez, where U.S. command must defend the harbor from a Russion onslaught.

PC players will have the content freely patched into their current game, while console players with new copies of Battlefield: Bad Company 2 who have already registered their included VIP code will be able to download the new variations. For console soldiers who have yet to register their VIP code, we ask, “What are you waiting for?”

[Source]

Latest PC BFBC2 update-my impressions

Killa J — Wed, 30 Jun 2010 14:05:20 +0000

I ran the game’s updater with Admin privileges, and it took about 10mins. Loaded up the game and when I went to the Browser and searched, with my standard settings (Ranked, Not full) the game froze. Well actually the search animation icon was updating every 30 seconds. So I went back to my desktop and close the app which Vista said was not responding.

I then launched it again, this time went to my Browser History and that showed up quickly and pings were low. Then went to favorites and they showed up, and pings were low.

Decided to jump in an empty server to see how it was. My Controls didn’t work!

THE GAME RESET ALL of my keyboard controls…………………..

@(&%#$*@^%$#*^@%#$*@. What a pain in the ass. So heads up. and please let me know if this happens for you or if I was just the lucky recipient of a DICE patch hiccup.

——————————————————————————————————–
Great read from a DICE developer sharing the complexities on game development and why this patch took so long to do and why its over 800MB.

Snippet:

Each patch gets larger than the previous, because the game drifts ever further away from what was shipped on the DVD. Changes that require shader database updates make the patch balloon in size. And we have to be careful and clever when selecting which file types to include and which to ignore when creating the patch.

And that’s where we finally ran into real problems. It was too difficult for one person to identify which changes were required and which were not, and how to update the patch generation process to accommodate the latest set of changes. Most of the delay of Client R8 was because there are very few people at DICE who have the in-depth knowledge of the far-spanning corners of the game engine *and* the cooking tools *and* the patch generation process, to work out what is going wrong, why, and how to fix it.

The new content did work a long while ago – but the patch was back then approximately 7GB large. The patch had to get down to less than 1GB, or else some customers in Australia and South Africa would not be able to download it due to bandwith caps.

[As an aside - how about distributing the patch as an installer, for those who prefer that option? We would love to do so, but creating an installer that does anything out of the absolutely most ordinary installer-y requires ridiculous amounts of development time.]

I think that we have a proper Client R8 patch ready for release, but the approach we have been using thus far has been taken as far as it can go. (A bit too far, considering the delays.) We want to continue supporting the game, but if we want to change anything else than the game executable itself, we will need to spend time on figuring out how to do so with a less error-prone patch generation procedure … and preferably without generating as large patches.

Thank you Mikael Kalms for sharing this insight.

BFBC2 PC update is finally out.

Killa J — Tue, 29 Jun 2010 14:33:54 +0000

Use the Game’s built-in Updater.

890MB for the client.

Some elements I thought were nice were: Client – New chat system allows chatting when dead (but not during end of round) and keeps a 100 lines log, and Client – Any points you get while being dead will be added to your score.

Details::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Slightly increased the damage of the UZI at long range.
The AKs74u now has more felt recoil when aiming.
The G3, VSS, and all SemiAutomatic rifles now settle slightly faster between shots when aiming.
The PKM, Type 88LMG, G3, An94, and 40mm shotgun have returned to their former glory.
Increased the damage of the MG3 to bring it in line with the rest of the LMGs.
Fixed a bug where the Saiga12 with slugs would do too much damage at long range.
Fixed a bug where the SVU would do too little damage at long range.
Fixed a bug where M95 rounds would not kill armored targets with headshots.
Client – More informative disconnection/kick reasons

Client R8 / Server R12 Changelog:

Server – Some potential sources for lag/rubberbanding have been eliminated
Server – The old reserved slots has been replaced by a kick-on-demand system like in BF2
Server – Log file for server admins: all remote admin interface commands/events are logged
Server – Log file for server admins: major server events + all chat messages are logged
Server – Idle kick is controllable
Server – Profanity filter can be disabled
Server – Teamkill-kick system is controllable
Server – Ticket counts and bleed rate are controllable per-level
Server – Infantry only mode available per-level
Server – Initial spawn delay and respawn delay are adjustable
Server – Server description can be up to 400 characters, and use “|” for line breaks
Server – Banlist can contain up to 10.000 entries
Server – reduced latency in packet handling
Admin Interface – fixed the player.onKill spam that occasionally happened
Admin Interface – ensured that player.onJoin events always report the player name
Admin Interface – events triggered when people spawn
Admin Interface – much more info on kills
Admin Interface – detailed stats are reported at end-of-round
Gameplay – Various minor level bugfixes
Gameplay – Helicopter handling has been tweaked
Gameplay – Weapon tweaks have been implemented based on PC public feedback
Gameplay – Fixed technical hang when a crate was armed outside of the combat area
Gameplay – “Victory is near” message was shown for the wrong team on Valparaiso, this has been fixed
Gameplay – Countermeasures can be fired when driving a helicopter
Gameplay – The brightness of the pilot view in the Russian helicopter has been reduced
Gameplay – Advanced Spotting scope works better
Gameplay – Knifing people in the back works again (we backed out the change that we had done for Server R11)
Server Browser – Servers are sorted into 3 categories: Normal, Modified, Hardcore depending on their settings
Server Browser – Added support for retrieving update progress
Server Browser – Now refreshes information
Server Browser – Join queue system when attempting to join a full server
Server Browser – all settings are automatically saved between sessions
Server Browser – Pings are sent via an alternate mechanism, which should work for non-Administrator users as well
Client – Fixed DX9 issue, which likely caused graphics glitches and perhaps crashes
Client – Fixed some crashes
Client – Toggle/hold crouch is user controllable
Client – Toggle/hold zoom is user controllable
Client – Vsync bugfixed for DX10/DX11
Client – Rewritten how settings are written to disk; this should reduce/eliminate the spawn lag
Client – Fixed bug where a player could join a server before the stats has been downloaded causing faulty stats in “EOR- unlock progression”-screen
Client – New chat system allows chatting when dead (but not during end of round) and keeps a 100 lines log
Client – Improved Play Now functionality
Client – Removed K/D ratio and Skill Level filters in the leaderboards
Client – Any points you get while being dead will be added to your score
Client – Reduced negative mouse acceleration
Client – More informative disconnection/kick reasons

How to choose the best video card manufacturer

Killa J — Sat, 19 Jun 2010 03:43:33 +0000

[Editorial]

Video card technology is the crack drug of PC gamers and I like to ride the technology train when I can afford it. I wanted to share my personal experience with the vender EVGA so you can keep them in mind next time you want to buy.

The last machine I built was 3 years ago next month. I’m running Vista 32 and back then I had more money to spend on things like a video card and my patience was short so I went all the way and bought the EVGA 8800 ULTRA at my local Microcenter. Yeah, I know, that card was the prime example of the weird bubble video cards had be in and the price ballooned and permanently went down after that.

Anyway, my card recently died playing Mass Effect 2, and after much testing, BIOS reading etc. and buying a cheap EVGA 7200gs to use to test my system, I contacted EVGA, I had registered the card per their requirements when I first bought it, and logged into my account and began to converse via email with their techs. Took a few days and a few different people responded but everyone was professional and knowledgeable. I was issued an RMA and sent the specific instructions.

I never messed with overclocking my video card, and had ALL the original packaging and the very important Sales receipt. Had to send it to them, insured it, and a couple of days after they received it I was issued a new one and a few days later I got it. I HAD noticed in my user account the Part number of the new card was newer. That’s right, they gave me a 275 GTX SC (super clocked) and I put it in the machine and have been testing it. So far it has been rock solid.

I decided to go by 2 more fans to add to the 3 I already had, and moved a hard drive to the bottom of my case so my video card could get the full benefit of the new 120mm Antec Triway fan, which I set on the highest setting. I also bought an Antec VGA cooler, and then taped up the unused pci slot covers, which had holes in them. I wanted to make sure there was plenty of negative pressure so the fans could do what they do.

Test results were:

Antec P182 Case
EVGA 275 GTX SC, idle 44C.
BFBC2 at 1680 x whatever, medium settings and 2x AA, and 2AF, 84-85C

So next I decided to download “EVGA’s Precision” software, which is a very simple and clean app that lets you monitor your video card settings (RAM, CLOCK, FAN speed, TEMP) and overclock it if you like. I decided to see the cards fan speed. Noticed it is default at 40%.

So I decided to run it at 60% and then replay BFBC2 for 2-3 hours and see if it made a difference.

HUGE…………………

Card maxed out at 54C! After quitting the game the card was down to 42C within a min.

I think the software and the $25 in two additional fans with the new card will go a long way.

EVGA backed up the product, that was 3 years old. They gave me the most hardware equivalent to what I had bought, and of course like all technology in video cards, it was better than what I had. The process was smooth. I did have to manually remove the old card from registration and then register the new one (note the serial number is on the card (on a sticker) and NOT on the paperwork. The software will only add life to the product which is good since I dont have the money to buy a new one.

But when I do……………

It will be an EVGA card without question.

Not all cards are created equal and not all video card companies stand behind their products this well. PS. My last AGP box ran a 6800GT from XFX and they are ALSO an excellent company to choose from. That card overheated I believe and they took off the upgraded cooler I had added and transferred it to the replacement card!

Both of these companies are quality, and I can’t think of any reason why you should not buy one of their products.

Adobe Flash 10.1 Public release out, fixes Security issue

Killa J — Thu, 10 Jun 2010 23:36:22 +0000

Recommended install process:

Test to see what version you have. http://kb2.adobe.com/cps/155/tn_15507.html
Goto: http://get.adobe.com/flashplayer/ and download the installer and save it to your Desktop.
Download the uninstaller from Adobe and run it FIRST.

[Source = http://kb2.adobe.com/cps/141/tn_14157.html?promoid=DTEGO]

The following information is from the ^ABOVE^ link.

How to uninstall the Adobe Flash Player plug-in and ActiveX control

Note: Visit the Adobe Flash Player Help and Support page for help with top issues.

You can uninstall the player only by using the Adobe Flash Player uninstaller. Follow these steps to download and run the appropriate uninstaller for your system:

Download the Adobe Flash Player uninstaller:
- Windows: uninstall_flash_player.exe (226 KB) (updated 06/10/2010)
- Mac OS X, version 10.4 and above: uninstall_flash_player_osx.dmg (238 KB) (updated 06/10/10)
- Mac OS X, version 10.3 and below: uninstall_flash_player_osx_10.2.dmg (1.3 MB) (updated 05/27/08)
- Mac OS 8.x, 9.x: uninstall_flash_player.hqx (33 KB)
Save the uninstaller file, choosing a location where you can find it – your Windows Desktop, for example. Macintosh users may need to open or unstuff the .hqx file.
Quit ALL programs. Check the Windows system tray to make sure no programs are still running. If any programs are using Flash Player, the uninstall will complete but some files may not be deleted. These programs can include web browsers such as Internet Explore, instant messaging clients such as AOL Instant Messenger, stand-alone SWFs, and projectors. If you mistakenly leave any program open, close all programs, and run the uninstaller again.
Run the uninstaller. This will remove Adobe Flash Player from your system.

NOW RUN THE INSTALLER FOR 10.1, and then restart your PC/MAC.

Finally………..

*** Dont forget to adjust the storage and data settings for FLASH***
http://www.macromedia.com/support/documentation/en/flashplayer/help/settings_manager.html

Flash 10.1 Release notes (PDF link to Adobe).

…Now you are GOLDEN. you rule…… =;¬)

How to mitigate the current Adobe security issues

Killa J — Tue, 08 Jun 2010 23:25:39 +0000

Adobe Flash Player
The Flash Player 10.1 Release Candidate available at http://labs.adobe.com/technologies/flashplayer10/ is confirmed not vulnerable.

Adobe Reader and Acrobat – Windows
Deleting, renaming, or removing access to the authplay.dll file that ships with Adobe Reader 9.x and Acrobat 9.x mitigates the threat for those products, but users will experience a non-exploitable crash or error message when opening a PDF file that contains SWF content.

The authplay.dll that ships with Adobe Reader 9.x and Acrobat 9.x for Windows is typically located at C:\Program Files\Adobe\Reader 9.0\Reader\authplay.dll for Adobe Reader or C:\Program Files\Adobe\Acrobat 9.0\Acrobat\authplay.dll for Acrobat.

Adobe Reader 9.x – Macintosh

1) Go to the Applications->Adobe Reader 9 folder.
2) Right Click on Adobe Reader
3) Select Show Package Contents
4) Go to the Contents->Frameworks folder
5) Delete or move the AuthPlayLib.bundle file

Acrobat Pro 9.x – Macintosh

1) Go to the Applications->Adobe Acrobat 9 Pro folder.
2) Right Click on Adobe Acrobat Pro
3) Select Show Package Contents
4) Go to the Contents->Frameworks folder
5) Delete or move the AuthPlayLib.bundle file
Adobe Reader 9.x- UNIX
1) Go to installation location of Reader (typically a folder named Adobe)
2) Within it browse to Reader9/Reader/intellinux/lib/ (for Linux) or Reader9/Reader/intelsolaris/lib/ (for Solaris)
3) Remove the library named “libauthplay.so.0.0.0″

[Source]

BC2 Co-op for consoles, PC gets a maybe

Killa J — Wed, 12 May 2010 17:26:10 +0000

[Source]
Battlefield: Bad Company 2 developer DICE has announced a co-op mission mode for the shooter on consoles, though it’s yet to decide whether this will ever come to PC.

‘Onslaught’ mode pits up to four players “against an onslaught of enemy AI” to complete objectives on the multiplayer maps Atacama Desert, Isla Inocentes, Valparaiso, Nelson Bay, redesigned with “new lighting, time of day, added vehicles and other effects.”

As to why DICE has not confirmed a PC version, associate producer Barrie Tingle offers the following explanation on the Bad Company 2 PC forum.

The problem we have on PC is that all our servers are dedicated with providers. Changing a server from Conquest 32 players to Onslaught 4 players cuts out 28 player slots from the total ammount available. This could have a dramatic affect on the PC online environment if enough servers changed to Onslaught.

We aren’t ruling out Onslaught on PC but at this time we are researching how to bring it to PC without affecting players who don’t have Onslaught or their own server to run it on.

Commentary:
Sad that they don’t offer this. We have had a low turnout on our server and we are not sure why, but this would allow a small group to play which would be great.