Battlefield 1942 demo

[[AK]Palooka]

It's out! Pick it up here!

[Drewski]

Try and get it from the filefront server, I'm pulling 225 kb/s right now

[Slaughter]

Can't run it til the new comp is together then I will

[[AK]Palooka]

Has anyone else tried this? Come on, guys, this could be the next big thing for AK. I'm quite impressed with it so far; the graphics are nice, the vehicles are great, and the sound is awesome. Try shooting long range in one of the artillery vehicles. You see the explosion long before you hear the sound, and when the sound does get to you, it's a dull thud rather than a loud explosion.

This game is like a cross between Tribes and World War II Online. It has all the teamwork and strategy of Tribes with the weapons and vehicles of WWII Online. You can be a foot soldier with a variety of loadouts (sniper, assault, anti-tank, medic, engineer, etc.), and unlike WWII Online, infantry is actually helpful. You can also drive tanks, fly planes, and drive ships and submarines. It has pretty much everything you'd want in a WWII game.

Unfortunately, this demo is only single player, so we can't try it out as a group. But, I hear that the multiplayer demo will be out within a month.

Check out the official Web site here.

[[AK]Jackle]

I tried it and wasnt impressed. I just didnt have much fun playing the single player mission. Might try it again when there is a multiplayer demo, but so far I do not see myself picking up this one.

Jackle

[[AK]Squidly]

I downloaded it, but haven't installed it yet. I'll give it a shot tonite and report back

[[AK]The Beast]

I'm going to get it downloaded today and installed tonight. Is it free multiplay or pay-to-play? Looks intriguing from what I saw on the site.

[[AK]Palooka]

Free multiplay via a L337Hosted server.

[Widowmaker]

BF 1942 looks OK to me. Not a bit of realism is involved which is both good and bad. I am not real keen on a "hit point" related damge system but from what I have read BF 1942 pulls it off OK.

Much more of an "action" game than WWIIOL. The bad side of that for me is that I just do not have the fast-action reflexes or adrenalin required for them. I get burned out on just fast games pretty quick any more. That does not make them bad it is just too bad for me. If I can get in the groove fast games can be hella fun.

One question I have is can infantry go prone? That was something majorly missing from medal of honor, the ability to lie prone. The Quake engine does not by default support any positions other than standing or crouching so it would not suprise me they didn't do the prone thing.

[Zorro]

While I haven't actually tried to do it myself, I have noticed that the AI soldiers will lay prone. I'm way impressed with the single-player demo, myself... It looks very solid and stable as is. Personally, though, I can't wait for them to add the sea and air elements to the game... Imagine an amphibious assault where you and up to 32 of your teammates are responsible for shore battery, troop carrier driving, Marine infantry, paratrooper, etc. I totally think this game has got some mad potential and will be among the first in my town to pick this bad boy up... I do need to find a joystick in the interim, though... Flying a plane with a mouse and keyboard ain't all that fun...

[Drewski]

yeah, you can prone.

[Zorro]

Default key is "z" for going prone.

[Widowmaker]

Ok, I've tried the demo out. I was at home earlier taking care of my poor poor kitty who had fight a week ago and is still not totaly recovered (he had a drain installed today because of the infection down deep in a puncture hole made by a fang). While I was there I downloaded the demo. Tried it out before coming into the office and it is not bad. I hesitate to say it is great because it feelt a bit... jerky and disjointed to me. Vehicle control is simple and completely and totaly lacks any realism, is there any way to use the scope on a tank gun?

I do miss the realism of WWIIOL tank combat, I find myself trying to aim for good shots into enemy tanks that I am used to in WWIIOL but I doubt it does much good since it is more of a "hit points" type of system, I don't realy understand the damage model yet. Can tanks be tracked and damaged/disabled? I don't know, it seemed like mine was at full capability untill destroyed. I was able to steal a german panzer after killing the comander at his MG, he must have been the only crew member. That was kind of fun.

I'll have to play around with the game a little more to get a handle on what does what. Realism was mostly thrown out the window in favor of ballance which is kind of a shame. Are there any differences between allied and axis armor or are they just the same model with different "skins"? Same question applies to all equipment.

The graphics are ok, of course I can only get stable framerates on 800x600 res with settings at medium so I do not get the full eye candy. This with a 1.3GHz AMD but I bottleneck with the Geforce2 GTS card, a good card but new games have already outpaced it. Online I bet the performance will be much lower. That is the problem I have with most eye candy games, you need a super system to run them and I just can't afford that much upgrading.

Air and sea units will be a blast, I am sure, but I bet the flight model will be VERY forgiving and about as far from simulation as possible. As long as it feels real I will be satisfied (I76 felt real but was not realistic).

We shall see how this game goes, I have a feeling with all the equipment in the final release we shall need a monster machine to run it but that is just a feeling I have, not based on anything at all.

The gameplay is interesting so far, I am not a big fan of this desert map but hey, I'll take it. Now if only we could mess around multiplayer and get an idea how it will run and play.

[Widowmaker]

After playing this demo for the past few hours, at least 2 hour maybe 3. I lost track of time, this game is addictive as hell. I change most of my opinions of it. I still think it is no simulation but does not try to be.

The vehicles must not be the same considering how much I FEAR that Tiger tank. That baby is a monster. The Sherman is a fun little thing but driving too fast into a trench in it makes for some nice pyrotechnics. I still have not had a tank tracked yet so I am thinking a hit point damage model is all we get though they are weaker from the sides and back, wasted a ton of ammo from a sherman into the front armor of a tiger and that baby still killed me and a few other tanks. I have yet to win as Allied, winning as the attacking germans seems easy. I think that has more to do with the rules of this one mission though, and the fact that the Tiger is fearsome.

The graphics are smooth for me at least at 800x600, at 1024x768 I get some weird text display problem and it is slower but that is not uncommon for me any more with newer games. I am pretty sure most of my bottleneck is the video card (fill rate limited) and not so much the CPU, at least a new video card will help (mid August if all goes right). But that is beside the point this game rocks.

Yes, it rocks. I had to give it a couple hours to sink in but I like it a lot. More vehicles and planes (!) will be awsome indeed. It will never compete with any simulation at all but so what? Nothing wrong with a bit of fun. Seems to be the game I thought Medal of Honor was going to be.

I am all over this baby when it comes out. I like the way they deal with attrition, at least as Axis I do Allied is tough to win with.

[[AK]Palooka]

I knew you'd come around, Wid.

True, it is not really a simulation, but neither was I'76. To me, this game is I'76 meets Tribes meets Medal of Honor with a little WWII Online thrown in for good measure, and it's a great combination. It doesn't try to be a simulation, but it tries to be as realistic as possible without being completely bereft of fun (a la WWII Online). You're very vulnerable as a soldier (one shot often kills), and the different vehicles have different degrees of protection.

The more I play it, the more thrilling moments I have with it. For instance, last night I was running around on foot as an engineer, which is a handy class to play if you drive the tanks a lot, since you can repair them. I came around a corner, and there before me is a Panzer. Quickly, I went prone behind some sand bags and watched as the cannon came into view directly above me. I got out a satchel charge, stood up, and threw it at the tank. Then, I went prone again and detonated the satchel, taking the tank out. Moments later, a German soldier comes around the edge of the sandbags and takes a shot at me with a pistol, catching me unaware. I take aim with my rifle and squeeze a shot, but it doesn't kill him. Knowing that I will be dead before I have a chance to get another shot off (bolt action is a bitch), I quickly pull out my .45 and finish him off with two shots. Just then, yet another tank pulls up to the sandbags, and I take it out with a satchel charge, as well. After this, I finally die when a sniper kills me from who knows where (you usually don't see the sniper that gets you).

I challenge anyone to put several hours into this game and not come out at least liking it. It has all the elements that make for a game that AK can really get into. Team play, vehicles, exciting action, etc. Jack should give it another chance.