MAG

[patsu]

It doesn't solve the 20 fewer health points problem though. They have to slog through first 15 levels or so to get that (according to the old skill tree). I don't know about the new skill tree, but it's at least 7-8 levels from the beginning, I think.

In MAG, in-depth map knowledge, tactics and teamwork are invaluable.

 

[JardeL]

44 assists ;

I love this game.

 

[patsu]

Good lord, 2000+ points. Must be Domination mode ?

I happened to capture 2 screens over the last 2 nights myself. Will post later.

 

[JardeL]

Yup, Domination mode and most of the time , because of my noob squad leader, I couldn't earn FRAGO bonuses. It should be 3000+.

 

[patsu]

Bah, I have never scored that high. It's good fun when we managed to take down a bunker together.

 

[JardeL]

Yeah, it needs real teamwork especially if you're playing against SVER. I couldn't get a single Bunker Buster ribbon as a RAVEN.

 

[patsu]

As promised...
http://i52.tinypic.com/2vxkkle.jpg

The whole time we were trying to claim one SVER bunker in Acquisition. Managed to take it down but we ran out of time. It's the middle one separated by a fence from the left side but open on the right side (from Raven perspective).

Took the photo because it's one of the few rounds where I charged all the way to the enemy bunker and lived. Usually I am more cautious. ^_^

Same problem: No Frago on bunker.

Those hard-earned points are from saving/reviving my comrades ! T_T

 

[JardeL]

Nice K/D ratio, my overall ratio is around 0.92. :/

As I said earlier, playing against SVER is really hard but actually it's more satisfying for me. SVER has map layout advantages, sometimes bunkers are so close to each other and it's really hard to destroy bunkers. Even if you destroy it, SVER can repair it easily. Especially in Acquisition map, I've never managed to get past those bunkers when I was a RAVEN, lol.

 

[patsu]

Nice K/D ratio, my overall ratio is around 0.92. :/

My K/D ratio is fake. It should be very low now regardless.

I was a full-time sniper earlier on, until I learn the Sabotage maps by observing how people approach enemy bases. I switched to Acquisition late. Have not tried Domination for real (Only played DOM with GAF clan, or when I see you inside. ).

My K/D ratio for that game was high because I defended a choke point for my teammates to stage attacks. Then when they made it to the bunker, I moved out to support them there. The SVER team kept sending people to scatter us (including bombing), but patsu did well. T_T

...like 1 Raven vs 3 SVER shootout sometimes. The tactic turned the situation around a little (I became a/the defender of our staging area instead of a pure attacker). That way, I could predict their movement and timed a grenade before they appear on-screen. The Radar is very useful against impatient/frustrated people.

As I said earlier, playing against SVER is really hard but actually it's more satisfying for me. SVER has map layout advantages, sometimes bunkers are so close to each other and it's really hard to destroy bunkers. Even if you destroy it, SVER can repair it easily.

Especially in Acquisition map, I've never managed to get past those bunkers when I was a RAVEN, lol.

Yes ! But I'm a problem solver. I just can't put it down, or take my eyes away from the problem.
It's rewarding to fight side by side with teammates there.

Occasionally, I see AMAZING team operation against SVER. The level is over before I warm up. They didn't stand a chance at all. I suspect a small Raven team took down the AA first. By-passing the bunkers and attack them from behind. But such outcome is very very rare.

EDIT: Anyway, I know you're a better player than me. Everytime I go to Domination with you, I score lower... much lower.

 

[JardeL]

If you're talking about score maybe. It's all about practice, unfortunately I have a lot more free time than I actually need.

You [ as RAVEN or Valor ] really need those amazing team operations against SVER, without them you don't stand a chance. I saw clans that play tactical against SVER but as a SVER I don't remember any. It's like SVER has great individual players & map layout advantages but RAVEN has great team players, tactical playing clans.

I'll vet to Valor today, by the way. Hopefully it has great, one-shot-kill sniper rifle as SVER's.

 

[patsu]

Seriously, does SVER have more young players ? I swear I hear more 12-14 year old (may be younger !) SVER dude after I shot one, compared to other factions. Usually it goes like "Aw, you got me".

They are indeed great players. Very sneaky and hard to kill.
SVER team work is swift and deadly. They usually travel in 2-3 man teams and zig zag right outside our spawn area like cockroaches.

 

[JardeL]

Hmm, I don't know about young players, not so many people talk while playing. I know there're young [ maybe 14-15 yo ] players in RAVEN though.

I hate those spawn campers too, but that's a great tactic if you're in Sabotage. If you execute it good enough there's no way you lose that match. But you can't get any Frago bonuses , that's the bad part about it.

 

[patsu]

Hmm, I don't know about young players, not so many people talk while playing. I know there're young [ maybe 14-15 yo ] players in RAVEN though.

Happened to me before. We were overrun by SVER. Had a little Pow-Wow in the field. To my dismay, I was surrounded by really young kids. "I don't know what we should do !", "They are everywhere !".

I let out a sigh and went solo since no one had a good plan.
[size=-2]I must admit some of them play better than me.[/size]

 

[Dregun]

After playing MOH for a few weeks now I am really missing MAG. I remember hearing so many people complain about how unpolished MAG was (heck I even made a couple of comments) but when I comapare it to MOH it looks like MAG is leaps and bounds ahead of it.

Things I took for granted from MAG that are NOT IN most games:

1. Good lobby system
The lobby system in MOH is a joke, you can't communicate with anyone in the lobby without using messages or a chat window!! All party invites are done through Playstation messages, so every day after I'm done playing I have to clear out more messages from my inbox because they couldn't put the extra code in the game?

2. Voice Coms
MOH has them but nobody (let me stress this ) NOBODY uses them. Of all the games I have played maybe once or twice I heard people on coms. You also have no idea who is talking, it could be the person next to you or across the map..you have no idea. And since you have no idea you can't say "Hey jackass, turn down your TV all I can hear is you getting shot at and bombs going off!!" So I can't mute just one player, I either hear everyone or just people in my friends list.

3. No end in site
How simple would it be for you to have an option to "Exit current game" once the current game ended? No, you have to wait until the game loads up another round before you have the option to leave. So you just finished playing for the night and now the match is over, 30-45 seconds later the next round starts and ONLY then are you given the option to "Press O to exit game".

4. Camping
The game rewards camping to a level I havent seen in a very long time. A sniper can sit back and get some easy kills until their scorechain gets high enough for them to call in air strikes. This allows them to get even more points and repeat the processes. So that means a lot of times the game will end in a loss but you will still have 1 or 2 people on your team (or the oppposing team depending on who lost) who have crazy amount of points.

5. Weapon Selection and customization
While MAG allowed you to take a certain path with your abilities and weapon configurations that hindered you at the begining at least when you acquired enough skill points you felt like your character could perform better. In MOH online the best upgrades come very soon and after you unlock the 2nd or 3rd weapon the rest is USELESS. Veteran weapons have NO advantage over standard weapons, and enemy weapons means little considering you play both sides anyways and the weapons are almost identical besides looks.

6. MAPs
I don't know what it is about MOH but the maps make camping and sniping your best choice for play. While cover is nice, too many other small obstacles get in the way to hindering smooth movements from place to place that now in turn make you easy targets for....snipers.

7. Spawning
So you know how I keep mentioning campers..well; if you have a camper near spawn and you choose to spawn "at the front line" it can and does very frequently spawn you on the campers waaaaay back near spawn. So while the objective is 100-200 meters away and you have to run out in the open where enemy snipers (campers) are using you for target practice it makes getting to the front lines (where the objectives are) very difficult.

8. Rewarding for sloppy play
I never understood why war games or games using current technology would remove "freindly fire" from online play. It makes people sloppy, calling in air strikes and such only for the chance of getting massive amounts of points instead of winning games. Its sad when I get a better K/D ratio and points when I play modes that have freindly fire.

Even with MAGs faults it did a lot of things very right!

I miss MAG and if it wasn't for the fact that one of my good online friends cant get MAG to run without crashing all the time I'd still be playing it.

 

[macabre]

I played my first Dom match in weeks yesterday. I was surprised how quickly I got back into it . Maybe I was just lucky and playing against newbs , for weapons I just had the Hollis and Claymores.
Anyway my bore/frustration with the game is cured for a while and I will play some more today.

 

[patsu]

I played my first Dom match in weeks yesterday. I was surprised how quickly I got back into it . Maybe I was just lucky and playing against newbs , for weapons I just had the Hollis and Claymores.
Anyway my bore/frustration with the game is cured for a while and I will play some more today.

Heh heh, that's like the lowest end startup loadout ? ...unless you have the grenade launcher attached to Hollis ?

Is Claymore useful for DOM games ? I use them regularly for ACQ and SAB games when defending. For DOM, I usually carry 2 frags and 2 poison gas.


Dregun, the only practical problem I saw with MAG is the low startup specs. I think Cornsnake mentioned this too. If they up it, they can skip a lot of problems. Learning the maps, tactics and bunker busting are already demoralizing enough.

 

[macabre]

Heh heh, that's like the lowest end startup loadout ? ...unless you have the grenade launcher attached to Hollis ?

Is Claymore useful for DOM games ? I use them regularly for ACQ and SAB games when defending. For DOM, I usually carry 2 frags and 2 poison gas.

Defending I usually use them in the beginning to protect the AA and the bunker. Later when the letters are attacked they make less sense because they easily get blown up by air strikes , even under roofs.
On attack I sometimes use them for fun near destroyed stuff to blow up the repair guys.

 

[patsu]

Just when I want to sink in more time into GT5:
http://www.thesixthaxis.com/2010/12/07/mag-update-2-10-launches-today/

Massive online shooter, MAG, will today be receiving another patch, delivering a couple of new features as well as dozens of minor tweaks to the gameplay.

...

Patch Alert: MAG v2.10

Gameplay (General)

* Implemented “Multiqueue” functionality to allow users to queue up for multiple game modes simultaneously
* Added “Multiqueue” XP bonus modifier that increases as more modes are selected
* Increased XP to CP-earned ratio to 1.5 CP for every 1 XP
* Reduced price of Medical Kits to 500 CP from 800 CP
* Teammates can no longer prevent you from repairing vehicles and objectives when in your line of sight
* Shortened cooldown times between leadership FRAGOs to 2 seconds from 10 seconds
* Added “friendly fire” modifier so that allies never receive more than 50% damage when hit by a friendly vehicle
* Improved item-swap speed

Gameplay (Skills)

* Decreased effectiveness of “Marksman Recoil Stability” and “Marksman Steady Aim” skills
* Improved effectiveness of First Aid Kit and Medical Kit skills, “Self Heal Speed” and “Heal Recharge Rate”
* Increased effectiveness of “Improved Smoke Screen Rate” skill

Weapons

* Slightly widened knife-swing arc

Interface

* Enemy vehicles now show damage bar when “attacking” them with a repair kit
* Slight presentational modifications to the “Character B” and “Character C slots”
* Correct text now displays in the Armory when viewing the SVER Hazard helmet

Audio/ Visual

* Acquisition Escort vehicles now have unique models for each faction
* Improved mine-laying animation

Miscellaneous

* Removed “Directives” button from the “Deploy” menu
* Added “Multiqueue” button to the “Deploy” menu and sidebar areas
* Added feature that allows users to take in-game screenshots via XMB Photo menu (1280×720)
* Reduced chances of being randomly dropped from a “Clan Deploy” game
* Fixed an assortment of menu-related lock-ups
* “Clan Deploy” performance updates
* Minor server performance enhancements
* Fixed typo in “Chest Candy” trophy
* Various localization updates

 

[patsu]

http://blog.us.playstation.com/2010/12/20/mag-full-game-trial-on-december-21/

What I like:

We’re extremely excited to announce that starting tomorrow, on December 21, MAG will be available in its entirety as a full game download on the PlayStation Store.

Priced identically to its boxed “Greatest Hits” counterpart, the downloadable version of MAG (4.7 GB) will run you a mere $29.99 and come complete with all the bells and whistles found in our patches up to v2.10.

To celebrate its release, PlayStation Plus users can try MAG out for free with an exclusive full game trial!

What disappoints me, and will likely disappoint/hurt Zipper:

Members can play the game and any of its original modes at no charge for as long as their PlayStation Plus membership lasts, with their only limitation being a level 8 character cap.

Should tune the level to 15 at least, so the trial players can stand up better against seasoned players.

Level 1 to 8 is a very difficult experience.

 

[Shifty Geezer]

They should start at level 8 so new players aren't put off but getting repeatedly mullered and generally lost!