Back in the game--broken crouching?

[[AK]The Beast]

Well, I finally decided it was time to fire up BF2 and give it a try now that my WOW account has officially expired--and it's just as much of a blast as I remember. Thanks to the updated scoring system, I received two promotions on my first two kills--Lance Corporal to Corporal, followed by Corporal to Sergeant--and unlocked the first weapons for infantry and spec ops. Haven't yet tried them out, but I look forward to it. I also received the Chinese and MEC participation ribbons, also due to my past performance. A couple of questions/nagging issues, though:

1) Is the crouch feature broken? I wasn't able to crouch, and before you ask, no, it's not mapped to my numpad. It's mapped to the C key, and at first I thought it could be an issue with my Strategic Commander (or as Faxman calls it, the Crippler, due to my essentially being unable to game without one after 5+ years using it), but it also didn't work when I tried the straight-up keyboard. I didn't see anyone else crouching during the game, either, and I was actually looking for others so that I'd know it was just me...did the 1.3 patch break something?

2) I haven't yet purchased Special Forces or either booster pack--I want to make sure this is something I'm going to continue to play before I sink any more $$ into it. I did notice that some classes now have two unlockable weapons--I presume these are included in SF or one of the booster packs? What issues will I need to look out for when I install them over top of my patched-up 1.3 edition of the main game?

I'm looking forward to playing with some of you that I haven't talked to in a while! I'll try to get on Vent as much as possible, but I'm often watching the Yankees while I play, so that may not always be convenient. Let me know the servers you guys like to hang out in, and I'll make sure that those are the first places I look when I log on.

[[AK]Devil_Dog]

Hi Beast,
Glad your getting back into BF2, not many of us around...

I do not know if the crouch is broken or not, I find myself running and then fly to the prone position when shooting at someone.... I will try it out today...

I mostly play SF, Particularly Warlord, it's not a big map and best of all no flying garbage...
However, if you like to just play the regular maps I will be glad to join you..
I do not have a set schedule of nights that I hop on, but I am very flexible...
Let me know... We will have to stay on till later in the night if we want to catch Nuts and FC since they are on the West Coast...

If you do choose to purchase SF you will have to uninstall and start from the beginning otherwise the Special Forces will not install correctly with the patches...
I do not keep track so much of the weapons, but I can tell you that SF is a lot more fun!!!

[[AK]Nuts]

I too play SF more than Vanilla or AF. Euro Forces is pretty much dead as only one of the maps was playable. Warlord is good but it gets too laggy if they MEC are pinned down in the palace (64 players in one building... ouch!) So I play alot of Ghost Town (Moders Ghost Town 24/7) or any of the other day maps.

I don't use the crouch that often either. I'm a prone guy too. I'm on in the later evenings (Pacific) usually after 8pm or so. I always check the BF2 Leader Board as it will show if anyone else is playing and where they are.

[[AK]The Beast]

I think I solved the crouching thing. I believe I accidentally installed the 1.03 patch, not the 1.3 patch. Reading is FUN-damental...especially when it comes to file names. Thanks for the info on the expansions--sounds like EuroForce is one to skip, but how's Armored Fury? I enjoy tank driving, so it sounds appealing. Although the uninstall/reinstall doesn't sound very appealing, to be quite honest.

[[AK]Nuts]

If you love armor, AF is great. Read my review for more info... but be prepared to pay $9.00 for three maps.

[[AK]Bribo]

My son Joe is playing BF2 quite a bit. Look for him. AKGIJoe.

What servers do you guys play on?