Anyone interested in playing Battleground Europe?

that's a no

haha

I can't check this link from work, but I played WW2OL from beta and for a while after. Pretty shittily executed, but great concept, and if you are a history nerd it was great for accuracy. I had some great times playing that game (so long ago!). Don't know what this new incarnation will look like, but I don't have my hopes up.

From what I can tell, the game is the same, just renamed for re-release. The game has had constant updates. The graphics are more clear but less than stellar due to a design philosophy that includes huge clipping plane. That is, you can see in the distance for many kilometers, so the trade off is fewer polygons. There are some comparative screenshots some where if you are interested.

Here's a couple random links:

http://www.scholarscorner.com/fun/wwiionline.shtml

A review from 2003, which is an older version:

http://www.atpm.com/9.05/ww2ol.shtml

A couple comparison photos down the page:

http://comstr.blogspot.com/


I'm not trying to talk anyone into anything. I just think the concept sounds good and, several years later, the developers have plugged away and made a better game. I do know they have forward bases (FB's or fire bases also) that allow infantry and, sometimes, armor and guns to spawn closer to action. The game has come a long way, from what I've seen. I think it will continue to get better. There is also a 14 day free trial for anyone interested.

I barely have enough time to play the WoW I want. I'm pretty much a one-game man ;) But I would endorse the game if you like WW2. If you aren't into WW2, then its probably not going to hold your interest.

You got me there. I'm pretty much a one game man too. I'm keeping a close eye on this though. I loved BF1942, but it was too arcade style with ludicrous tactics and some really annoying player habits. Thanks for the input.

I really like the game because the physics were fairly realistic. I loved backing a panzer III into a tree line up on a ridge overlooking a road between an enemy base and their target town, and just plugging away with my 75mm gun at over 2000m. They had no idea where the shots were coming from.

Also some real fune memories of trying to end around the front line by running my lone rifleman 40k to an enemy airfield. I would put a little piece of wood on the 'w' key and point my little soldier west while I went and worked an 8 hour shift. I would come back from work and have to adjust my course and usually within an hour I'd come up on an undefended base, capture it, and have all my guildies start spawning there. I think they fixed it so you couldn't do that anymore.

Along the same lines were the infamous 'bedford runs' where 8-10 allied soldiers would pile into the back of their little cargo truck and haul ass through the front lines. Maybe 4-5 would get shot off the truck, or the whole thing would blow up, but they'd keep sending these things until a couple got through. Then you'd have to send up aircraft to hunt them down behind your lines.

That being said, you would also have the instances of running your poor little soldier for 45 minutes to the front only to be shot in the head immediately as you come within small arms range of the enemy town, only to have to respawn and make the run again if you wanted to get in the fight. I think this is what the addition of FBs was supposed to help.

Or trying to outflank a town or a base- it could be a good 20-30 minute drive- I'd be in the middle of nowhere, no enemy in sight, and there would be a clipping issue and my tank would suddenly just fall through the earth.

Ah, good times :)

Wow, that sounds like a lot of effort! I could see it being extremely rewarding, or frustrating.

I do know now you can't capture without an allied order of attack. Also, hit the "G" key to auto run. There are undoubtedly tons of other changes since release. I am like you in that I will probably stick with WOW. However, I have a soft spot in my heart for military history, tactics and games and I would love to get in to that some day with a group of people, if possible.

On a side note, America's Army was fun to a point. I loved that once you died, you were out. This really penalized you for dumb play. However, I hated the precise use of grenades and air-bursting. I felt it was a not-so realistic tactic. Also, most shooters allow you too much lee-way in accuracy. It's usually due to clipping plane. Sniper rifles are too prevalent in some instances and too accurate.

Probably the one thing in shooters that isn't realistic is suppressive fire. Suppressive fire works in real life because people are afraid of dieing. In a game, people don't care so much when they will just respawn. I've played some BF2142 and it is fun but it is, again, too arcade oriented. I don't care for zerging in any game.

Thanks for the discussion Brendar. Maybe we can hook up in some co-op game somewhere if you want a short distraction. What games do you have that you like?

Tried the beta on this a couple of months ago, and I was completely unimpressed after playing slightly more realistic war games. I mean, the concept is nice, but the graphics are really really behind the times. If they incorporated the graphics of something like BF2 into it, I would definitely be playing it.

Tried the beta on this a couple of months ago, and I was completely unimpressed after playing slightly more realistic war games. I mean, the concept is nice, but the graphics are really really behind the times. If they incorporated the graphics of something like BF2 into it, I would definitely be playing it.

Apparently there isn't a widely available machine that can render several kilometers worth of high-res graphics. It's a design choice. Higher graphics would result in a clipping plane of only a few hundred meters instead of thousands.

Was it really a beta? This game has been out since 2001.

Like mal said earlier, its all about increasing the distance. In WW2OL I was able to set up an observation post up on a key hill or ridge, and literally see the enemy coming from miles away. This gave the defenders time to adjust their defense and react. Realistic in a cool way, and not really doable if you have graphics like BF1942. I admit it seems silly, but when you are watching a column of tanks roll down the valley toward the town you are defending, it gets nerve-wracking waiting the minutes it takes for them to get in range, and then the joy when the artillery starts firing and their column goes scrambling. Good stuff.

sorry, not the beta, but the demo. the standard try and buy.