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@Singh400

Ya, I get your point. Maybe lower the length of invincibility?

Maybe, but I was thinking maybe reduce the range of the paddles. I always rez people through walls, that needs to be fixed. And the burnout period/cool down needs to be increased ever so slightly. For example, a recently revived medic, shouldn't be able to whip out his paddles straight away and revive someone else. Because that would bypass the cooldown. No they need to be unavailable for around 2.5-3.0 seconds.

From the POV of the person being revived it isn't fair. Yes I realise that you think this is unbalanced, but overall revive protection is needed.

Uh huh.... revive protection is awesome:

http://www.own3d.tv/.../29337/lol_fin1

And that's basically what every rush game turns into. If I had my wish the medic class would be removed entirely.

And that's basically what every rush game turns into. If I had my wish the medic class would be removed entirely.

I would probably stop short of that and just remove the chest paddles. Let them have their Medkits and their LMGs (however overpowered the latter may be right now), but I honestly wouldn't shed a single tear if the chest paddles were removed from the game entirely. If nothing else, it might make people play with a little more caution and strategy.

Uh huh.... revive protection is awesome:

http://www.own3d.tv/.../29337/lol_fin1

And that's basically what every rush game turns into. If I had my wish the medic class would be removed entirely.

Revive protection is needed, yes I agree that video was awful to watch. But if they implemented my solution of the paddles being unavailable to use (for the person being revived) for around 2.5-3.0 seconds after being revived. This would be in addition to slightly extending the cooldown period for normal paddle usage.

When I play, I come across players that run right by you when you're dead. What makes it even worse is those players are in your squad. It doesn't take much to look at the map for the dead symbol, whip out your defibrillator, and revive someone.

Anyway, I recently used the NEOSTEAD 2000 Combat shotgun and wow... it's insane at medium-to-close range (with magnum ammo).

Revive protection is needed, yes I agree that video was awful to watch. But if they implemented my solution of the paddles being unavailable to use (for the person being revived) for around 2.5-3.0 seconds after being revived. This would be in addition to slightly extending the cooldown period for normal paddle usage.

I disagree completely, revive invulnerability needs to go. And they need to increase the recharge time on the paddles. And they need to give us an option to decline revives. I would also like to see them make it so if you headshot some one they can't be revived.

And Onslaught for the pc is official I guess:

http://www.pcgamer.com/2010/07/13/bad-company-2-onslaught-coming-to-pc/

I won't be buying it though. If I want to play against mindless AI I'll just play the single player. I can save myself $10 or however much it was on the consoles.

Two things...

  1. I think I need to play this game again on PC. It has been a long, long time since I have.
  2. This is honestly one of the longest running threads I can recall in the Gamers Hangout in a long, long time. Really the last game I recall having a thread continue to stay on the page 1 and get so many pages of hits was either Gears Of War II or Halo 3. So even though this thread has more or less turned into a complaint thread now about what everyone does not like about the game, I think the longevity of this thread is indeed a testament to how good of a game BFBC2 is, all things considering. At least IMHO.

I disagree completely, revive invulnerability needs to go.
Noooo, it needs to stay.
And they need to increase the recharge time on the paddles.
Agreed, but only by slightly.
And they need to give us an option to decline revives.
Agreed, need a "tap out" feature.
I would also like to see them make it so if you headshot some one they can't be revived.
Meh, disagree. If I blow some one up, then they shouldn't be able to be revived. Which I think is how it currently works. With the hit boxes being messed up as they are now, everyone is scoring head shots. That's not right, it should take skill to get a head shot, not luck. They would need to redo hit boxes if they were to implement that.
Don't get me wrong, I like the game well enough. :laugh:
It's alright for a bit of mindless fun, I quickly get bored now though :(
It's just some the things that DICE does with the game that make you question their intelligence.
It is all down to one guy who is in charge of weapon balancing.
AHHHAAA lol! :rofl:

This is honestly one of the longest running threads I can recall in the Gamers Hangout in a long, long time. Really the last game I recall having a thread continue to stay on the page 1 and get so many pages of hits was either Gears Of War II or Halo 3. So even though this thread has more or less turned into a complaint thread now about what everyone does not like about the game, I think the longevity of this thread is indeed a testament to how good of a game BFBC2 is, all things considering. At least IMHO.

I've definitely been complaining about this game a lot lately (in this thread and others), but at the end of the day, I can't deny that I got some major enjoyment out of it. The time I spent playing BC2 (and it wasn't an enormous amount of time... perhaps thirty hours) probably kept me sane a few months back when I was unemployed and generally going through a rough patch. It's a good game despite its issues (and DICE's inability to fix said issues), and I definitely have to give you +1 (a hypothetical +1 since there's no rep system anymore ;)) for bringing things back down to Earth for me.

As for the Medic, the ability to decline revives would be really nice. Similar to what Wolfenstein: Enemy Territory did, where one button kills you permanently and takes you back to the respawn screen. It seems like the kind of addition that wouldn't be controversial at all, since it's not like you have to use it. Never understood why the game didn't have this feature on day one.

I've definitely been complaining about this game a lot lately (in this thread and others), but at the end of the day, I can't deny that I got some major enjoyment out of it. The time I spent playing BC2 (and it wasn't an enormous amount of time... perhaps thirty hours) probably kept me sane a few months back when I was unemployed and generally going through a rough patch. It's a good game despite its issues (and DICE's inability to fix said issues), and I definitely have to give you +1 (a hypothetical +1 since there's no rep system anymore ;)) for bringing things back down to Earth for me.

Not a problem. (Y) I am glad I could put things in perspective, even if it is a very small perspective.

And FTR, I did not mean to say everyone complaining was a bad thing, the fact people were still complaining was to me one of the testaments. Most other games that people had as many complaints as they did for this game, people would have just simply moved on. And if I kept playing it, I would be right here complaining with you guys. They have dropped the ball big time on this game, at least the PC version, and it really is upsetting. I am still waiting on a true spiritual successor to BF2.

Not a problem. (Y) I am glad I could put things in perspective, even if it is a very small perspective.

And FTR, I did not mean to say everyone complaining was a bad thing, the fact people were still complaining was to me one of the testaments. Most other games that people had as many complaints as they did for this game, people would have just simply moved on. And if I kept playing it, I would be right here complaining with you guys. They have dropped the ball big time on this game, at least the PC version, and it really is upsetting. I am still waiting on a true spiritual successor to BF2.

Amen Brother! (Y)

It's always my luck that when I'm doing good and have good team mates the other team decides to turn to cheese to counter how good we are doing. I hate medics and engineers. Since day one the thing that has annoyed me most about this game is getting shot by some one I was completely unaware of by a CG. And then in the death came it shows them 20 feet away from where I died. That **** pushes my buttons. :angry:

It's not the dieing that bothers me, it's that people are so inept at the game that they have to resort to using the CG to kill some one who isn't even aware they are there from 20 feet away that bothers me.

If I get within 20 feet of some one and they aren't aware of me at the very least they're going to get pistol killed or 40mm shot gunned to the back of the head if not knifed.

This topic is now closed to further replies.
  • Posts

    • Nope. That lack of surround sound capability (analog) won't fly with me. Sure, I use headphones most of the time, but still.
    • Creative Sound Blaster AE-X PCIe review: your headphones will love it by Steven Parker If you have been reading Neowin for any length of time, you may remember that I reviewed the Sound Blaster Audigy FX Pro back in April. I found it to be an excellent budget sound card, even though it lacked support for formats such as DTS over the included SPDIF port. Anyway, Creative reached out to me again asking if I was interested in reviewing the Sound Blaster AE-X. It is a card mainly targeted at headphone wearers, which I'll get into a bit later. Before we get underway, here is a disclaimer: Creative Labs provided a free sample without any review pre-approval. Here are the full specs of it: Creative Sound Blaster AE-X Dimensions: 179 x 126 x 18 mm Weight: 263g / 9.28 oz Platform: PCI-e DAC: ESS ES9039Q2M Connectivity Options Side: Rear: 1 x HD Audio Front Panel Connector, 1 x ⅛“ Headphone port, 1 x RCA Line-out (Left) port, 1 x RCA Line-out (Right) port, 1 x Coaxial SPDIF-out port, 1 x ⅛“ Mic in/Line-in port, 1 x TOSLINK SPDIF-in port Surround: No DNR / SNR: THD+N: 0.0001% Dynamic Range 130 dB Recording Resolution: PCM up to 32-bit / 192kHz (Stereo) Direct Mode: Line Out (Stereo): PCM up to 32-bit  384 kHz Coaxial SPDIF Out: PCM up to 24-bit 192.0 kHz Headphone Amp: PCM up to 32-bit / 384kHz (Stereo) Native DSD: DSD64, DSD128, DSD256 Output Impedance: 1Ω, Supported Headphone Impedance: 8–600Ω, IEM: 0.5Vrms, Low: 1.5Vrms, Mid: 3Vrms, High: 6Vrms, Maximum output power: 350mW @ 32Ω (High), Maximum output voltage: 6Vrms (High) Front Panel Headphone Amp: PCM up to 32-bit / 192kHz (Stereo) Native DSD: DSD64, DSD128 Output Impedance: 10Ω, Supported Headphone Impedance: 32–300Ω, Maximum output power: 40mW @ 32Ω, Maximum output voltage: 1.9Vrms ASIO: ASIO 2.3 Total Harmonic Distortion: THD+N: 0.0006% Dynamic Range: 114 dB Scout Mode: Yes EMI shielding: No (but it passed all the FCC emission tests) Operating temperature: 0–45°C Input Power: 12V⎓0.5A Warranty: 1 Year (MSRP) Price: $179.99 / £169.99 The Sound Blaster AE-X was announced at the end of May, and it becomes clear that it is mainly for headphone wearers. I should also note that the card does not support DDL/DTS encoding technology, but it is said to support decoding through the coaxial SPDIF port. I was able to test this working with the classic Windows Sound properties, but I could not get a DTS (decode) signal through my Logitech Z906, it defaulted to 3D sound whenever I played DTS content through Plex or Emby. In addition, this card only supports two channels (stereo) over the speakers. The surround support is limited to the Headphone Amp, so before I get underway, what we have here is a card mostly intended for headphone use, especially with its SPDIF In (Toslink) port where you could connect another device like a console. So what about the highlights of this card? The AE-X is powered by the ESS SABRE DAC (ES9039Q2M), which is capable of a 130 dB dynamic range. In addition, it supports 32-bit/384 kHz playback for deeper detail and clarity. The headphone amplifier delivers up to 350 mW @ 32Ω, which admittedly far surpasses standard onboard audio, offering support for studio-grade headphones. DSD256 and ASIO 2.3 are also supported. What doesn't it have? No support for What-U-Hear, Super X-Fi, or the SmartComms Kit No EMI shielding, but it passed all the FCC emission tests (from the FAQ) I also want to make it clear that I am no audiophile. For me, it's purely subjective and it should just "work" out of the box. First impressions As I said in the introduction, I was a bit sad to see that the AE-X only supports stereo output, meaning it would not be on par with my ALC1220 over my speakers, as I mentioned it seems like this card is marketed toward headphone users. Since I am not an avid gamer that would rule me out as a potential customer, but I can still test its capabilities! The card arrived in a nice-looking box, as shown above. It's quite a bit larger than the Audify FX Pro that I reviewed back in April, and at first I thought the covering meant that it was EMI shielded, but it isn't as mentioned above in the highlights section. What's in the box: 1 x Sound Blaster AE-X PCIe card 1 x 3.5 mm CTIA TRRS to Dual TRS Headset Splitter Cable 1 x Quick Start Guide Aside from the Quick Start Guide, which someone at my age (I guess) needs a magnifying glass to read thanks to the tiny fonts, Creative Labs also has the manual online, which first requires you to prove that you're human in order to access it (so I can't direct link it). Anyway, the box is mostly made up of cardboard, and the only plastic in it is the anti-static bag for the card itself. Design Top Bottom The card itself looks pretty cool and actually wouldn't look out of place in an all-white build. There's only one connector, and for some reason it is awkwardly placed on the side (front-facing) that is for the front panel audio connector, which will let you use the headphones through the front PC audio jack. Since the front panel Headphone Amp has fewer capabilities than the rear headphone port, I decided not to use it. Rear of card PCI-e interface The rear of the card is completely open and is normally where you would find the front panel connector. The PCIe interface side is completely covered, which initially made me think it was EMI shielded. I/O panel Side (front-facing) with Front panel connector On the outer rear bracket side we have the TOSLINK SPDIF in, Coaxial SPDIF out, RCA line out (Right), RCA line out (Left), Headphone out, and Mic/Line in ports. On the front facing portion of the card itself is the F-panel connector. Usage Test System Our test system consists of the following: AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D Gigabyte X870E AORUS MASTER (BIOS F12) Corsair RM1000x (2024) Thermal Grizzly Kyronaut (33x33x0,2mm) 2x 32GB Kingston Fury Beast RGB DDR5 6000MT/s CL36-38-38-80 T-Force Z540 2TB (PCIe Gen5) NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 Founders Edition (NVIDIA) Creative Sound Blaster AE-X Windows 11 25H2 Pro I installed the card into the Gigabyte X870E AORUS MASTER which includes the RealTek ALC1220 onboard audio. For our subjective listening tests, I used the Coaxial SPDIF port to my Logitech Z906 speakers. For headphone tests I used the OneOdio Studio Max 2 Wireless DJ Headphones that I reviewed last month. After installing the audio driver, I installed Creative Nexus, which is a relatively new app designed for the latest Sound Blaster cards. Then I discovered the AE-X needed both a driver update from 1.00.15.0001 to 1.01.09.000 and a firmware update from 1.00.06.0000 to 1.00.06.0002, then I was set to go. It should be noted that the card did not work without the driver (not Plug and Play). As you can see above, you can manage the firmware, driver, and inputs via Advanced Settings on the Device tab. By default Nexus enabled "Direct Mode". Upon clicking on Acoustic Engine, the Equalizer can be enabled and set to four different presets, which are: Gaming Music Movies Footsteps Enhancer There's also a dedicated Scout Mode for gamers. I mainly used Tidal and Spotify in the past week to listen to some of my Liked Songs (which now total over 700) in Shuffle mode; there were no pops or interference that I could hear. I also found a 5.1 Surround Music playlist on Tidal that sounded really great over Studio Max 2 headphones. When I reviewed the Audigy FX Pro, I went out and purchased a Logitech Z906 set second-hand for €100 specifically to use with the card, but in this instance all I could get on the AE-X was the 3D output of surround sound through Coaxial SPDIF and although it still sounded great, it isn't quite as good as DTS Interactive via my onboard Realtek ALC1220. Conclusion So what have I learned? The AE-X lacks multi-channel support for 5.1/7.1 setups and drops support for modern surround technologies like Dolby or DTS, functioning strictly as a stereo output device. So to really benefit, you will need Studio-grade headphones to "hear" the benefits of this card. With that being said, I can imagine it will appeal to gamers who are switching between console and PC. By utilizing the SPDIF in port, you could just plug your headphones into the AE-X (front or rear port) and then switch between PC and Console without having to move the headphones to a different port. As I said in the Sound Blaster Audigy review, the EQ in the Creative Nexus app offers safe presets, which allows a user to further tweak the lows, mids, and highs for a personal listening experience. Of course it all depends on the headphones you hook up to it. Speaking of headphones, I kind of wish I had higher-quality Studio-grade headphones to really test this card with; I'm not usually wearing headphones in my day to day duties. The only time I will wear them is if I want to listen to music very late at night and I don't want to disturb my neighbors, so my rating (verdict) is based on this fact. Someone with a PC/Console setup and wears headphone religiously to game, and consume media will benefit much more than I from the high-quality Headphone Amps that are included in the AE-X. Once again, I do feel like Creative could have gone the extra mile to support the S/PDIF port a bit more. Why include it if you're not supporting the main popular digital formats? It seems like the decision was more of a legacy-based one, offering uncompressed 2-channel PCM audio, for users with high-fidelity audio systems and external DACs. Maybe I will be lucky enough to review a card that truly includes all these features in the future. I am sure readers with far more knowledge on audio systems than me will correct me in the comments below. I'll just say I am happy to learn what I don't know! Where to buy The Sound Blaster AE-X is available to purchase now in preorder for $179.99 on the U.S. Creative website, or for £169.99 on the Creative UK website and will start shipping to customers from June 25.
    • $80 or 90%, anything else would be financial suicide one way or another.
    • Or... just use Bitwarden. Free, and has on-prem option as well. Works both on desktop and mobile, wherever you are. The age of local password files is over.
    • Thanks
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