Battlefield: Bad Company 2

By Sethos
in Gamers' Hangout

 Share

Recommended Posts

Grand Master

Yusuf M. Veteran

Posted
  • Veteran
Posted

I haven't played in months, been thinking about getting back into it again though.

Me too. I don't think I've played more than 3 hours of BC2: Vietnam. Once I get the time, I'll start playing that. :p

Grand Master

rajputwarrior

Posted
Posted

I think I am going to start playing this again as well. Gonna fire it up tonight when my wife watches TV.

steam sale is killing me right now. I do miss this game though, and may be playing it for a long time to come depending on how bc3 turns out.

Grand Master

Chicane-UK Veteran

Posted
  • Veteran
Posted

Just bought it on Steam and once I get my cooked power supply sorted out, will try and get into this finally! Long time player of Battlefield 2... been waiting to bag this when it went cheap, which it just did the other day in the sale!

Mentor

Lucas

Posted
Posted

Well guys, I just wanted to let you know I have recently rented a 32 man server from NFOServers.com and I'd love to have some people help seed the server a bit, I'll also be looking to add a few mature players as admins to help out populate and also administer the server if anyone is interested. You can search the server as "BF3Talk.com Conquest Limited Recon" (there's no IP searching in BF:BC2). Also I'm open to suggestions and feedback no the server for it to be lots of fun. :)

Some details about the server:

- At the moment it's just conquest only. (I could make it mixed also, have both types)

- The tickets have been upped a bit for the rounds to be a bit longer.

- It has a hard limit of 5 recons per team to avoid everyone being a recon.

- Base rape, base camp and team killing protections.

- Hardcore mode.

- All conquest maps. (We could make a more fun playlist)

Should be fun!

Grand Master

DirtyLarry Veteran

Posted
  • Veteran
Posted

Well guys, I just wanted to let you know I have recently rented a 32 man server from NFOServers.com and I'd love to have some people help seed the server a bit, I'll also be looking to add a few mature players as admins to help out populate and also administer the server if anyone is interested. You can search the server as "BF3Talk.com Conquest Limited Recon" (there's no IP searching in BF:BC2). Also I'm open to suggestions and feedback no the server for it to be lots of fun. :)

Some details about the server:

- At the moment it's just conquest only. (I could make it mixed also, have both types)

- The tickets have been upped a bit for the rounds to be a bit longer.

- It has a hard limit of 5 recons per team to avoid everyone being a recon.

- Base rape, base camp and team killing protections.

- Hardcore mode.

- All conquest maps. (We could make a more fun playlist)

Should be fun!

I literally really like every bullet point you have there except hardcore mode. While I understand why certain people play it, I just think it is more fun not to play it. And I play games so they are fun, but I do get the fact other people take them seriously. Still, I may check the server out next time I can play. (Y)

Mentor

Lucas

Posted
Posted

I literally really like every bullet point you have there except hardcore mode. While I understand why certain people play it, I just think it is more fun not to play it. And I play games so they are fun, but I do get the fact other people take them seriously. Still, I may check the server out next time I can play. (Y)

Well to be honest the fact that it's hardcore mode doesn't mean it's meant to take them "seriously" as per say. You don't need to be talking with everyone and play to the letter, just play the game as it was meant to be but without the minimap, 3d spotting, etc. Just make it a bit more challenging but still balanced and enjoyable. Hope you get my point. :)

By the way, I am pretty much willing to turn of hardcore mode if enough people from here would enjoy playing non-hardcore mode. I'm always open to suggestions and ideas. The whole idea of the server is to find a place where you can relax and enjoy a very well made FPS game that's lots of fun.

Grand Master

DirtyLarry Veteran

Posted
  • Veteran
Posted

Well to be honest the fact that it's hardcore mode doesn't mean it's meant to take them "seriously" as per say. You don't need to be talking with everyone and play to the letter, just play the game as it was meant to be but without the minimap, 3d spotting, etc. Just make it a bit more challenging but still balanced and enjoyable. Hope you get my point. :)

By the way, I am pretty much willing to turn of hardcore mode if enough people from here would enjoy playing non-hardcore mode. I'm always open to suggestions and ideas. The whole idea of the server is to find a place where you can relax and enjoy a very well made FPS game that's lots of fun.

Sounds good. And actually I will fully admit, I only checked out Hardcore mode once for one match, so I am not necessarily all that familiar with exactly what it means with this game. I just tend to equate hardcore mode with seriousness, but I do see your point, so I would be willing to check it out, although I will definitely miss the spotting. :laugh:

Like I said next time I check it out, which I hope will be soon as it has been awhile, I will definitely hop on the server and see what is up.

Also if it winds up being a regular thing, which I cannot guarantee, I may be able to help you run it if you still need that help. It has been a LONG time for me, last server I was on admin on was a Counter Strike Source server, but point being is I do have some experience in that department.

Mentor

Lucas

Posted
Posted

Sounds good. And actually I will fully admit, I only checked out Hardcore mode once for one match, so I am not necessarily all that familiar with exactly what it means with this game. I just tend to equate hardcore mode with seriousness, but I do see your point, so I would be willing to check it out, although I will definitely miss the spotting. :laugh:

Like I said next time I check it out, which I hope will be soon as it has been awhile, I will definitely hop on the server and see what is up.

Also if it winds up being a regular thing, which I cannot guarantee, I may be able to help you run it if you still need that help. It has been a LONG time for me, last server I was on admin on was a Counter Strike Source server, but point being is I do have some experience in that department.

Sounds promising. Let me know if you do start playing again. I'm not exactly sure how the friends system works on the PC but you can add me as Xoleum I believe, or let me know your soldier name and I'll try adding you.

Grand Master

DirtyLarry Veteran

Posted
  • Veteran
Posted

Sounds promising. Let me know if you do start playing again. I'm not exactly sure how the friends system works on the PC but you can add me as Xoleum I believe, or let me know your soldier name and I'll try adding you.

Sorry, did not see your response until just now.

My soldier name is the same as my Neowin name. DirtyLarry

Mentor

Lucas

Posted
Posted

Getting back into this now I finally fixed my hard crash problems. My aim is little iffy and I can't walk into a server and kill it like I used to. But I'm getting there :D

Are you located in the US? You should share your soldier name with me and DirtyLarry, we could start getting something there in my server too.

pfffft USAS scrub :p

Anyone experiencing a bit of a surge in aimbotters? That seems like the only downside of the Steam sales...

Not at all, Punkbuster is quiet effective, I've only seen once one time.

Grand Master

Singh400

Posted
Posted
pfffft USAS scrub :p

Anyone experiencing a bit of a surge in aimbotters? That seems like the only downside of the Steam sales...

USAS has been shelved for now. Well, unless it happens to be a USAS map :D Me and my friends are now doing something called the gun challenge. It's pretty fun and frustrating. There's normally around 8 or more people on playing BC2. We all take turns in picking a random primary gun that everyone has to play with. It's make for a good laugh. The worst for my with the M14 (single shot gun) and the Red Dot M95.

I haven't seen an aimbotters, but I've seen and owned plenty of noobs. I can't believe people are only getting into this game!

Are you located in the US? You should share your soldier name with me and DirtyLarry, we could start getting something there in my server too.
Nah fella, UK based here. Feel free to add me if you want. Singh400 is the ingame name.
Not at all, Punkbuster is quiet effective, I've only seen once one time.
PunkBuster is a piece of crap. It is what causes the hard crashes on my system (it doesn't like my GFX card). I've got a workaround for now, but it's damn annoying.
Proficient

gkl

Posted
Posted

USAS has been shelved for now. Well, unless it happens to be a USAS map :D Me and my friends are now doing something called the gun challenge. It's pretty fun and frustrating. There's normally around 8 or more people on playing BC2. We all take turns in picking a random primary gun that everyone has to play with. It's make for a good laugh. The worst for my with the M14 (single shot gun) and the Red Dot M95.

Sounds like fun. M14 is quite tricky to get used to; platting it was a bit of a pain in the butt. I can't imagine how are some people able to get like >2 KPM with it (no hacks).

And M95 with red dot or ACOG (I prefer the latter) is jolly good fun as well. It might be slow as ****, but the boooom makes up for it. Kinda.

Mentor

Lucas

Posted
Posted

PunkBuster is a piece of crap. It is what causes the hard crashes on my system (it doesn't like my GFX card). I've got a workaround for now, but it's damn annoying.

Never had any problems with it since BF19XX...

Edit: I'm trying to seed the server right now so if anyone is on and wants to join, feel free to hop and help me seed. :p

  • 3 weeks later...
Proficient

gkl

Posted
Posted

While watching your montage for a bit, there's one thing I don't understand about the so called "map packs" that were released for this game - why didn't they change the lighting? DICE just went and re-released the exact same maps with practically no changes just in different modes, but a simple lighting change could have made them more enjoyable, at least mimicking a sense of variation. For example, Atacama rush imo would be better if it was in (at? what word must I use here? I genuinely don't know...) dusk like in Onslaught.

  • 2 weeks later...
This topic is now closed to further replies.
 Share
Go to topic listing

  • Posts

    • Creative Sound Blaster AE-X PCIe review: your headphones will love it

      By Jaybonaut · Posted

      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 P. · Posted

      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.
    • Poll: Grand Theft Auto VI price predictions, cast your vote

      By noobient · Posted

      $80 or 90%, anything else would be financial suicide one way or another.
    • Why you need to take back control of your synced passwords and how to go about doing that

      By noobient · Posted

      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.
    • Mp3tag 3.35

      By Jaybonaut · Posted

      Thanks

  • Recent Achievements

    • Week One Done
      Supreme Spray LV earned a badge
      Week One Done
    • One Month Later
      Genuinetonerink- Dubai earned a badge
      One Month Later
    • Week One Done
      Genuinetonerink- Dubai earned a badge
      Week One Done
    • One Year In
      hhgygy earned a badge
      One Year In
    • Week One Done
      AMV earned a badge
      Week One Done

  • Popular Contributors

    1. 1
      +primortal
      513
    2. 2
      +Edouard
      164
    3. 3
      PsYcHoKiLLa
      88
    4. 4
      Steven P.
      74
    5. 5
      Michael Scrip
      73
    Show More

  • Tell a friend

    Love Neowin? Tell a friend!