MAG

[patsu]

Ah... you should definitely yell more if we play together again. I don't know where to go on the large maps.

I'll be able to hear you but usually I have to turn off my mic because:
(A) Office PS3: Don't want to have my guys crowd around me (playing with headphone)
(B) Home PS3: You'll hear a gremlin yelling "We won !!!!!", "You lose", "Git him ! Git him !" throughout the entire game.

 

[patsu]

People are getting restless about the update. The MAG community manager responded:

http://forums.mag.com/t5/MAG-Discussion/Every-day/m-p/493101

Info on our next patch will be coming next week (but not all of it -- it's so large that it will take multiple updates to tell you about it) and info on our bigger DLC will be after that (before E3).

 

[Cornsnake]

Ah... you should definitely yell more if we play together again. I don't know where to go on the large maps.

I'll be able to hear you but usually I have to turn off my mic because:
(A) Office PS3: Don't want to have my guys crowd around me (playing with headphone)
(B) Home PS3: You'll hear a gremlin yelling "We won !!!!!", "You lose", "Git him ! Git him !" throughout the entire game.

I'll try, but I'm not making any promises. Whenever I get too frustrated by the blue dots, it's better I put my mic down. A few F-words will keep me from breaking my controller.

 

[JPT]

Give me a buzz if your playing, as long as we are not doing Sabotage only

 

[Cornsnake]

Give me a buzz if your playing, as long as we are not doing Sabotage only

Sure. One of the main reason I'm glad to back at Raven is to play Acquisition again. I played too much Sabotage while I was on Valor and SVER. Defending their maps wasn't fun.

 

[patsu]

I tried to join obonicus' game the other day, but it was full.
Then he left PSN when my game was going.

 

[obonicus]

Hah, I didn't even realize anyone was on. I was just playing a few rounds of Sabotage to test a pair of FPS Freeks I had just bought.

 

[patsu]

Good lord, Acquisition is taking a long time to join now. They definitely need to rebalance the maps fast. Sabotage is still vibrant since it's easier to manage.

 

[patsu]

Hey Cornsnake and friends, I have vaulted over to Acquisition maps. Still on Raven, but playing Acquisition exclusively now [confused like a lost sheep]

 

[patsu]

Patch 1.06 details:
http://blog.mag.com/blog/2010/05/patch-alert-mag-v1-06-coming-in-june/

MAG Patch v1.06
Available June 2010 | Size: TBD

Gameplay

* Player knife attacks no longer deal damage to members of own PMC.
* Headshot damage bonuses no longer apply to friendly fire.
* Changed rewards for the resuscitation of an incapacitated ally to 5XP for partial health revive, and 10XP for full heath revive.
* Added functionality to Medical Kit so that players can now heal themselves with L1 in addition to using R1 to heal or revive a teammate.
* All vehicle handling has been improved and been given more realistic physics.
* Added three gun ports to APCs of all factions.
* Slowed down the rate of fire for the APC’s primary gun, but increased bullet damage.
* Primary APC gun can now damage enemy APCs.

Weapons

* Adjusted damage for the AM50, Rollins LRRS, and AGVK sniper rifles vs. vehicles and emplaced turrets.
* Increased rate of fire for all pistols (Raven’s F57, SVER’s IZ-443, and Valor’s M9).
* Improved close-range effectiveness and decreased long-range effectiveness for all Pistols, Machine Pistols, SMGs and Shotguns.
* Made all LMG foregrips less effective at stabilizing fire.
* Made improved stability skills less effective at stabilizing fire for machine guns.
* Credit cost for Pistols has been changed to 0c from 100c.
* Credit cost for Machine Pistols has been changed to 200c from 300c.
* Credit cost for SMGs has been changed to 300c from 400c.
* Credit cost for Shotguns has been changed to 400c from 600c.
* Credit cost for Improved Rocket Launchers has been changed to 800c from 1000c.
* Credit cost for Smoke Grenades has been changed to 200c from 300c.
* Credit cost for Poison Gas Grenades has been changed to 500c from 600c.
* Credit cost for Explosives Detector has been changed to 300c from 600c.

Interface

* Adjusted requirements for most Medal Awards.
* Added progress bars to all Medal Awards.
* Changed vehicle icon visibility on the map to reflect its current status of visibility instead of its previous map state of “always seen.”
* Repaired display problem in the “Community” tab’s “Player Search” screen that improperly presented names with multiple non-alphabet characters.
* Statistics for “Enemy Vehicles Destroyed Assists” and “Enemy Turrets Destroyed Assists” are now correctly listed in proper category “Objectives.”

Graphics

* Fixed display problem with player’s left hand placement when using foregrip and bipod on the Raven Apex 100 light machine gun.
* Fixed issue that prevented repaired roadblocks from “shining” to indicate that they can be interacted with.

Technical

* Previously-released downloadable content (Fast Attack Gear Pack, Trooper Gear Pack, Raven’s Spyder Body Apparel, SVER’s Hazard Body Apparel, and Valor’s Bulldog Body Apparel) is now accessible to all users without PlayStation Store access.
* Patched problem that prevented users to save loadout with DLC weapons following a “Respec” action.
* Repaired issue that caused renamed PSN IDs to be incorrectly identified as its previous name when logging in.

Server

* Updated patching system to allow for faster download speeds when retrieving in-game updates.

 

[Cornsnake]

Sweet. And there is more to come.

I wonder if the DLC is going to be revealed at E3. They gave the game quite some attention the years before.

 

[patsu]

Zipper said the larger DLC will arrive before E3 (assuming no slippage). ^_^


But this is Sony and we have seen their time warp wonder several times, so I have to wonder myself too.

 

[obonicus]

Wow, this is a pretty major patch. Initial medkit won't be as much of an xp source, which will make early levelling more difficult. I'd have preferred if the full-HP revive was 15xp, it's a pretty expensive perk to buy and a lot of easy XP from new players comes from reviving.

With the cost change to pistols, will we be allowed not to bring one into battle? Also, will this finally bring LMGs down to where they're not so good? I wish we had some idea of the game design behind it: just what should the purpose of the LMG be?

 

[patsu]

With the cost change to pistols, will we be allowed not to bring one into battle? Also, will this finally bring LMGs down to where they're not so good? I wish we had some idea of the game design behind it: just what should the purpose of the LMG be?

Yeah, I think if the fix addresses the LMG issue, it will improve newbie experiences even with the medkit point gimp. The gimp will slow experienced players from levelling up too quickly too. I am still carrying the enhanced Apex 100 and heavy armor. Works for me most of the time.

I do like the idea of ditching the pistol. I want to carry more grenades.

 

[obonicus]

Uh, the cost for everything was increased, including grenades and all removing the pistol does is put you where you were before this patch. If anything, if you had a tight build before, you won't be able to afford grenades anymore.

And the 'LMG issue' has been nerfed in every single patch before this. What do they want to do with the weapon, at this point? Do they want the ARs to be the go-to weapon for combatants? Then they need to buff the ARs quite a bit, because as is the only way for ARs to look better than LMGs is if they nerf LMGs into uselessness. They seem to want the AR to be the real jack-of-all-trades weapon but without ever giving a buff to actually make the gun useful in all situations.

 

[patsu]

Uh, the cost for everything was increased, including grenades and all removing the pistol does is put you where you were before this patch. If anything, if you had a tight build before, you won't be able to afford grenades anymore.

Huh ? The list says "changed to <lower cost> from <higher cost>" ! @_@

 

[obonicus]

Ah, my bad, I read that backwards. (I even double-checked to make sure I had read it right!)

 

[Cornsnake]

And the 'LMG issue' has been nerfed in every single patch before this. What do they want to do with the weapon, at this point? Do they want the ARs to be the go-to weapon for combatants? Then they need to buff the ARs quite a bit, because as is the only way for ARs to look better than LMGs is if they nerf LMGs into uselessness. They seem to want the AR to be the real jack-of-all-trades weapon but without ever giving a buff to actually make the gun useful in all situations.

They talked about this on one of their podcasts. They want every weapon to have a specific role on the battlefield. For the LMG that's providing suppressive fire. And the AR should be the jack-of-all- trades, but master-of-none. The only common complaint about the AR I'm missing in the new patch is the request for a few more clips of ammo for the AR.

At this point I wouldn't mind if they completely break the LMGs though. Everyone seems to be running around with those things now, making every encounter predictable. No need to charge tactics because your opponent has a weapon that would give him the advantage in the current situation.

 

[Shifty Geezer]

They talked about this on one of their podcasts. They want every weapon to have a specific role on the battlefield. For the LMG that's providing suppressive fire.

Can that ever actually work in MAG though given the maps? There aren't many places where a couple of LMGs can play a holding role, as you're an easy target for snipers or someone coming around from the back. And who wants to lay down suppressive fire with an inaccurate weapon that won't land kills? If the LMG is turned into a real MG-type weapon, something that should be positioned in a third-floor room overlooking a roadway or somesuch, everyone will switch to the more accurate AR with the possibility of head-shots as they weave between walls and boxes.

 

[obonicus]

Exactly. Suppressive fire isn't an option in most MP games, including MAG. In Day of Defeat it'd matter because a single shot would drop you, so an MG could really deny the enemy access to a passageway. At the same time, MGs were so heavy they'd only be usable deployed on a support or while prone.