Battlefield Bad Company 2- a beta testers view

[kregoron]

i phoned EA's nordic office in stockholm today, to get some clarification on the EA trusted partner requirements. Sadly the EA partner manager wasnt in so i had to talk with one of his assistants, but ill give him another ring tomorrow.

and the most straight answer i could get from em so far was, that they were pretty much the same as the ones listed when they announced BF 2


Its not as hard as i thought becoming a EA Trusted server partner as i thought.

so if i remember correct its something like 640 slots on a minimum of 10 servers, for each 10 unranked you gotta host 1 ranked..
The servers must follow certain rules on settings, and EA will check that each server is following the presets, and must have access to the server at any time they see fit.
the contract is signed for 1 year at a time..
and you RENT the license.

I got the list somewhere at hope and will have a look for it when i get back home.

[[BIG]magnus]

Can you ask him to confirm whether the servers will only be available from trusted partners?

Basically will he allow non ranked free servers or is that a "definite" no?

I have sent an email asking for a def yes/ no.  He has already said not to start with.  I am not entirely sure what running a non ranked server is going to do to encourage new members to dmw.  From memory the bf2 server being un-ranked was never busy.  At RIP we could fill 4 64 man servers at one point.  I know that this meant alot of admin time but it was worth it in the long run.  You end up with lots of people who play by the rules.  If you trust your admins you get rid of people who are just being an arse not just for breaking rules.  

As for the EA trusted partner the spec that they put out is not just the only spec they go on.  Beleive me when I say i know.  The guy we tried to get 2142 for has over 300 boxes!!! in one of Londons largest server centres (Redbridge or burn can't remember)  full 100 MB to everybox and even with help form the EA side we still could not get him on the 2142 list.  When they went from BF2 > 2142 they cut the list form 15 to 3!!  As I posted before Multiplay will be on and looking at the servers in the beta rackage and killer creations will also be putting servers up.

[Lexander]

Not sure if all can access this but worth checking out:

http://www.ultimateprestige.com/

[TeaLeaf]

Magnus outlines a point we're well aware of, non-ranked servers.  It looks like that for this to be supported we would need to rent a ranked server from one of the few trusted partners.  This itself is not a problem if the support for the game is there.  We'll be making a decision on this game somewhere about 20th February so it would helpful for any other questions or statements of support to be in & answered by then.

[Dewey]

As we know the other advantage with running a ranked box that is well admined is that it encourages players to return to your server. I remember during my time with RIP that this provided a constant steady influx of mature players who we could cherry pick and who fitted into our way of playing the game. As a recruitment tool a well admined ranked server for a popular game (which undoubtedly it will be) really can't be beaten.

Perhaps the cost will be offset by these new players helping fund the cost of the server.

I played the game on my own over the last few weeks and it was ok nothing more than that and in truth I didn't understand a some key nuances of the game. However, I played the game last night with Magnus and Paddy (who filled in my knowledge gap) and it was a LOT of fun, in fact the most fun I've had in a long time with a real sense of achievement when winning a round - its hard work but fun.

The emphasis is on teamwork, from squad level right across your side as a whole and its fundamental to winning in the format currently running in beta - its that simple.

Obviously its a beta with many functions not working and some strange quirks (some of the guns need balancing I feel) but its already robust (never once crashed during the time I've played it), and I've only experienced lag once when I was playing on a US server.

My pc is a medium system (Q6600, 1 year old graphics card) and it runs well on 1900 x 1200 at medium settings.

In short, I'm really looking forward to playing this with dMw, its less gun and run than COD but not as hardcore as Armed Assault - basically if you liked BF2 (and I know many of us did) you'll like this too.

[Lexander]

I'll keep spamming this thread hoping that at least someone is interested

Sound world in this game is just <3
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6cFgWKEYC2g

[[BIG]magnus]

As Dewey has said last night was the first time that we had managed to get 3 of us on at once to play this.  The game was transformed.  I have really enjoyed it until now but wow what an improvement.  It took us a little while to get going due to the fact we have not really played any squad games for a couple of years.

After about half an hour we started to get that sqaud work and mentality going again we used to have in bf2 (all we need is BIG ranger to get on for the quartet).  We started to automatically tell each other where we are going who is covering who stay alive to spawn etc. J ust fantastic communication.  

Needless to say once this sort of team work started results started to show in getting or defending the objectives and the scores.

For anyone who has not tried this I would recommend giving it a bash.  Remember it is a beta so there still some issues performance is far from optimised but I am sure it will get there in final release.  Even if you borrow an account to give it a try before ordering it.

This is the first time in years I have had to drag myself from the computer when I could have happily carried on.  I dare say if it had been Friday night I would still be there now. :yahoo:

p.s. I have no idea how it will effect my performance but will try and get a fraps movie at my res of 5760 x 1080 and put on you tube something else I have never done!!

[Dewey]

You see I thought that was an interesting post Magnus until you had to go and mention your 5760 x 1080 (3 monitor) setup - ya big head!  

magnus;303807']As Dewey has said last night was the first time that we had managed to get 3 of us on at once to play this.  The game was transformed.  I have really enjoyed it until now but wow what an improvement.  It took us a little while to get going due to the fact we have not really played any squad games for a couple of years.

After about half an hour we started to get that sqaud work and mentality going again we used to have in bf2 (all we need is BIG ranger to get on for the quartet).  We started to automatically tell each other where we are going who is covering who stay alive to spawn etc. J ust fantastic communication.  

Needless to say once this sort of team work started results started to show in getting or defending the objectives and the scores.

For anyone who has not tried this I would recommend giving it a bash.  Remember it is a beta so there still some issues performance is far from optimised but I am sure it will get there in final release.  Even if you borrow an account to give it a try before ordering it.

This is the first time in years I have had to drag myself from the computer when I could have happily carried on.  I dare say if it had been Friday night I would still be there now. :yahoo:

p.s. I have no idea how it will effect my performance but will try and get a fraps movie at my res of 5760 x 1080 and put on you tube something else I have never done!!

[T-Bag]

my in game name in the beta is mortensent

Feel free to add me anyone. I quite fancy playing with other people, this game seems like theres a whole pile of tactics hidden under the surface of an immensely fun shooter.

[Lexander]

Collection of beta Nicks:

Code Select Expand

Kreg = Duck
Lexander = Lexander
Tutonic = Tutonic
lionheart = ??
GhostMjr = ??
spudgun55 = ??
[BIG]magnus = ??
Dewey = ??
T-Bag = mortensent

[GhostMjr]

cheers for all the input comments and general interest.

Thanks Lex for the idea to get a full list of everyone's name down.

I am looking at a 7pm start for our collective beta test this sunday 13th Feb.

Who is interested?

TL, can the decision be made on 21st Feb only because i would like two solid weekends where we can get people to get into the game and hopefully all play on the same  server.

[Dewey]

My name is below chaps.
 

Collection of beta Nicks:

Code Select Expand

Kreg = Duck
Lexander = Lexander
Tutonic = Tutonic
lionheart = ??
GhostMjr = ??
spudgun55 = ??
[BIG]magnus = ??
Dewey = [BIG]Dewey
T-Bag = mortensent

[Dewey]

I can make it but not till 8pm
 

cheers for all the input comments and general interest.
 
Thanks Lex for the idea to get a full list of everyone's name down.
 
I am looking at a 7pm start for our collective beta test this sunday 13th Feb.
 
Who is interested?
 
TL, can the decision be made on 21st Feb only because i would like two solid weekends where we can get people to get into the game and hopefully all play on the same server.

[Tutonic]

Count me in for some playtesting.

You can find me under 'Tutonic'.

Can I suggest TeamSpeak in place of in-game comms?

[Lexander]

I am looking at a 7pm start for our collective beta test this sunday 13th Feb.

Who is interested?

I'm in and as Tutonic said, TS would be better for comms.