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Can you somehow untie the copy of the game from your EA account? I want to give my game to a friend of mine, but don't want to give him my EA account (which got a few other games on it).

I don't think so. Your best bet is to contact EA support.

What is it with you an italic, Anaron :p

For emphasis. See here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Manual_of_Style_(text_formatting)#Italic_face

As far as I know, DLC stands for downloadable content.

What other game has disk locked content that is slowly released as "new content"? It makes me a little sick inside that they say they are working on content that we already have from day one.

True; however, the reason they do it is simple. It's common practice for major game developers to have at least some locked content on the disc. It's a shame though because this so-called "disc-locked content" is unfair to consumers. Why should we have to pay extra for something we already have?

Anyway, I'm glad they're actually releasing new maps instead of new modes on old maps.

The new multiplayer map coming called Heavy Metal will be the largest Conquest map, featuring 4 helicopters in the sky and 8 tanks on the ground...

http://forums.electronicarts.co.uk/18790497-post117.html

It's also been confirmed to only have 3 flags...

WHY?!?!?!?!

Heavy-Metal-1.png

Blog_5F00_HeavyMetal_5F00_01.png

Blog_5F00_HeavyMetal_5F00_02.png

I really want to buy this on Steam, but I know they'll cut the price when Vietnam comes along :(

Must.fight.temptation

wait it out dude, it'll drop hard when vietnam comes out. and if you do get it i'll hop on with you and show you how it's done ;)

I really want to buy this on Steam, but I know they'll cut the price when Vietnam comes along :(

Must.fight.temptation

The pc version is only $15.99 on amazon right now... but I don't know what the UK price is. If that helps any. Probably not. :laugh:

Vietnam Achievements / Trophies Confirmed...

ta1_5F00_3.png

Can I Go Home Now?

Bronze/15G

Achieve a team victory on all Vietnam levels

Every Gun has a Silver Lining

Bronze/35G

Get silver stars on all primary Vietnam weapons

(Veteran weapons not included)

Ecstasy of Gold

Bronze/50G

Get gold stars on all primary Vietnam weapons

(Veteran weapons not included)

ta6_5F00_8.png

Doing the Rounds

Bronze/15G

Get a kill with all Vietnam vehicles

Cantankerous Chauffeur

Bronze/25G

Get 100 kills with Vietnam tanks

Ride of the Valkyrie

Bronze/25G

Get 50 kills with the helicopter

trophies7_5F00_9.png

Would you Kindly STFU?

Bronze/10G

Destroy a Hannoi Hannah propaganda speaker

Great Balls of Fire

Bronze/10G

Get 20 kills with the flamethrower

Just Because I Can

Bronze/25G

Finish 1st on the scoreboard on any Vietnam level

secret3.png

Secret Achievement

This one is secret (duh)

Source: http://blogs.battlefield.ea.com/battlefield_bad_company/archive/2010/11/12/vietnam-hardware-6-the-achievements.aspx

The pc version is only $15.99 on amazon right now... but I don't know what the UK price is. If that helps any. Probably not. :laugh:

Its £12.99 on amazon uk might as well get it from there, steam won't drop that low, also I got it for full price 35 i think from steam pre ordered it and don't regret it at all great single player and awesome MP.

Thank guys but I already had some help from a friend who gifted it to me over Steam. Worked out to be the same price as retail copies :woot:

I just read that the tracer darts have been removed from Vietnam. Looks like no more easy points then ;). Makes sense from a technological perspective though.

I tried to do a search regarding trag3dy's question about the flamethrower, and I couldn't come up with anything. Personally, I'm kinda hoping that it isn't secondary. I would hate for every single close range confrontation to degenerate into a flamethrower battle (i.e. where the first person to whip out their secondary and spam it wins). Making it a primary would force you to move around with your squad and rely on them for protection in long range situations, IMO.

I just read that the tracer darts have been removed from Vietnam. Looks like no more easy points then ;). Makes sense from a technological perspective though.

You know they've also made it so that every weapon in the game will be able to hurt the choppers, even pistols.

You know they've also made it so that every weapon in the game will be able to hurt the choppers, even pistols.

that makes sense... i don't understand when i'm shooting a chopper with my assult rifle near the gas tank or at the rear propeller with like 2-3 rounds nothing happens to it.

You know they've also made it so that every weapon in the game will be able to hurt the choppers, even pistols.

That's a good idea, IMHO (at least from a theoretical standpoint - we'll have to see how it plays out in a real match). Personally I never had a problem with choppers in regular BC2, but I suppose that if they're removing tracer darts, they have to compensate somehow.

A patch is being released for the game with the following changes:

- Acog and Red dot scope now equippable on MK-14 and G3.

- Fixed a bug on PC where the G3 would do less damage than intended.

- Reduced VADS push back and damage to balance it with the ZU23.

- Fixed a bug where Vehicle Countermeasures would fail to remove tracer darts at high speed.

- Reduced the reload time for Vehicle Countermeasures.

- Slightly increased the AT4's damage vs armor to emphasize its anti vehicle role while keeping it balanced vs armor.

- Increased the AT4's top speed and acceleration so users spend less time exposed when firing.

- Increased the AT4's splash damage so it competes with other AT weapons vs infantry. The AT4 still has the least splash damage of all AT weapons.

- Reduced the splash damage of the Carl Gustav to bring it in line with other explosive weapons. The Carl Gustav still has the most splash damage of all AT weapons.

- Increased the 1 shot kill range of the M95 body shot to counter its lower rate of fire.

- Fixed a bug with the SVU that gave it better close range damage than other semi auto weapons.

- Reduced all weapon damage to the MCOM by 50%.

- Fixed a C4 vs MCOM exploit on Atacama Desert.

- Fixed a bug with FOV when aiming the M1911.

- Lowered the close range damage of the AN94 to highlight its long range role.

- Increased the accuracy of the F2000 on the move to highlight its role as a mobile AR.

- Increased the close range damage of the shotguns to give them a greater advantage vs slugs.

- Slightly lowered the damage of the M60 to balance its accuracy advantage vs other LMGs.

- Slightly lowered the damage of the MG3 at close range to balance it with other high rate of fire weapons.

- Slightly increased the damage of the UH6

Optics for the M14 and G3! Awesome. I need to start playing again, it's been a month or so. Now I'm getting a total sense of deja vu because I could have sworn we saw most of these changes/patch notes a while back. Anyways the date for this post was today (Nov 23). PS3 will get the update first with pc and xbox 360 to follow "soon". Probably next Tuesday.

http://blogs.battlef...pany-2-ps3.aspx

Now they just need to release the new maps and we'll have a really decent game on our hands. Except for the stupid changes to the mcoms health that is.

Edit: I guess most of these changes were in the R9 patch, so only the optics for the M14 and G3 is new.

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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