How To Disable the 2142 Intro Movies

courtesy of Ivan, via one of his shadowy online resources:

Disabling the Intro Movies



The introductory movies to BF2142 add to the startup time for the game, as well as the memory usage. To disable them permanently, you can't use the +restart command line command, as this no longer works. I also don't recommend deleting the movie files - this may cause problems with verification of client information on certain servers and/or with Punkbuster. So the simplest method to skip the startup movies is to go to your \Program Files\Electronic Arts\Battlefield 2142\mods\bf2142\Movies directory and rename all the .bik files to something else (e.g. rename EA.bik to EA._bik). This will prevent these movie files from loading at startup and take you straight to the main login screen. Alternatively, you can create a new folder in the same directory (with any name you wish) and move all the movies there to achieve the same effect.



Note that renaming or moving the Titan tutorial movie titan_tutorial.bik will cause problems if you try to view the Titan Tutorial by clicking the 'Titan Tips' option under Multiplay, so I don't recommend renaming this file - you can leave it as is, as it does not add to the startup time in the full version of the game.

It's ridiculous that the game doesn't let you esc past them like every other computer game I've ever played, but this little trick works like a charm.

2142 Squad Unlock Review

courtesy of our very own Von Demon via the Tips, Tricks & Tactics thread on the Tard Forums:

I've been using the Squad Leader upgrades for awhile so here are my thoughts on the equipment effectiveness.

1. Deployable Spawn: Need a minimum of one additional squad member to deploy. Great for back capping as it allows instant redeployment close to the objective but make sure to keep it out of any potential arty retaliation on your flag cap attempt. Also a must have for Titan assaults or flag/silo defense when you’re squad is outnumbered and prone to quick deaths. This may be common sense to some but I must admit it surprised me at least twice. Make sure to keep away from ANY over hanging structures like cat walks or protruding roofs as they will block the ability to drop.

2. Targeting Drone: Need a minimum of two additional squad members to deploy. This is my favorite toy. It does a great job of tagging nearly all hostiles with a red diamond for your squad, if not all teammates in the local area to see. I haven’t figured out why all enemies aren’t tagged but it’s not 100%. The best results I’ve had is when I activate it and them jump into a walker. Talk about racking up kills. The other team must be completely surprised as I pop around a corner firing and strafing their entire squad as if I know exactly where they’re hiding Wink This advantage is only magnified when I have a support gunner. The targeting drone is also highly effective a close urban maps. Note: Don’t bother trying to hide with this floating over your head Wink

3. SMG Drone: Need a minimum of three additional squad members to deploy. While I love the idea of the added firepower, the effective range and damage dealt is far lower than I expected; similar to the deployable sentry gun. In fact, the best success I’ve had with this item is after I’m dead as it often grants me a post mortem on my assailant. Another characteristic it shares with the sentry gun is it’s desire to shoot at enemy through walls inside the Titan. It doesn’t actually kill the bad guys, it just TKs unfortunate members of my team who inadvertently step in it’s kill zone. Where this drone really shines is with flag/silo defense, especially when combined with the sentry gun and my support machine gun. If someone makes the mistake of getting too close to my staked out position, they're dead before they see me.

-[ORD]Von Demon

shitty server alert: clan [NC]

I've played there a few times with no problem, then today I got kicked by a stat-padding prick named [NC]Skunk because I got tired of orbital strikes, went recon and blew up the radar dish.

Skunk was commanding, and camping at their base in a tank, so I was promptly blown up.

Even though commanders cowering at the base in armor that would be more use at the front is lame, fair play for getting me.

The problem was that he then KICKED me right after I respawned.

In my short 2142 career I've run across some ghey rules, but this is the first time I've been kicked for doing something that was explicitly approved in the server message, where they had some fluff text about Recon being allowed to "blow up assets" as long as they didn't shoot anyone who didn't fire on them first.

Poking around online, I found some other examples of their childish behavior.

Another server to add to my growing ignore list.

New Old Video Card

Glocks' Upgrade Altar, Artist's Conception

Kudos to Snowfarmer for not only offering up his old video card to the Upgrade Altar, but shipping it out with such alacrity it arrived today, just in time for my weekend.

Sure, a 9800 Pro 256 may not be cutting edge, but it's a substantial and welcome upgrade to my current card.

Plus, it's AGP, which perfectly suits the slightly archaic motherboard demands of my aging system.


Thanks again Snowy- I'll be looking for you tonight.
Assuming, that is I can figure out how to open up my got-dam 1st generation Dell Clamshell case.

2142 Grenades

battlefield 2142 grenade, artist's conception

Does anyone else get the feeling if a butterfly flaps its wings in China, the grenade you've just thrown will spontaneously veer off course like a boomerang, or hit the ground and bounce 20 feet, like a Superball?


I can't be the only one wrassling with these damn things...

Review of a Review

2142 review from bit-tech.

random comments:

The screenshots make me wonder what game they're playing. =(
Vehicles, vehicles, vehicles...blah. The walker and the hover tank are neat, the rest are OK I guess.
No comments on the similarities to BF2, since I didn't play enough of it to generate an opinion. I'll just say I like 2142 and have been playing it constantly, and I played BF2 maybe three hours over the several months I had it installed. My response to the reviewers query "is it better than BF2" is a hearty YES.

Titan mode is a triumph for me. It takes a well known formula and spruces it up without being too complicated or too ambitious.

I disagree.
Titan mode is both too complicated AND too ambitious for this old Tard.
But I agree 100% with his following comment:

you slog it out with the other team and in the end one or the other side will watch a titan ship blow up. It doesn't really matter if it's yours because ultimately you're playing for points. You're playing for points because you're an addict. An addict like me.

True. The only reason I play titan is that you can accrue a HEAPING ASSPILE of career points with very little effort. Between Titan Defense and Titan Assault points you can rack up a massive score even if you're playing lone wolf.

What moments were memorable? None in particular, the only impression you have is of the overwhelming battlefield experience.

I agree, and this is one of my complaints with many modern FPS games. They provide SO MUCH of everything that the experience lacks granularity. I've played a ton of this game over the last week, and I can't really remember any individual engagements. Contrast with the more limited in scope Counterstrike, where scarcely an evening went by without some kind of memorable encounter or event.

It's telling that disasters stand out in greater relief than accomplishment- my Walker screwup, or accidentally shooting a helicopter full of teammates.

I'm skipping the graphics page, it would just depress me.

I don't really understand anything on the sound page either...not surprising, since the last sound card I bought was an OEM Soundblaster Live! card back when 5.1 support was state of the art. All this chatter about X-Fi is Greek to me.

This bit I disagree with:

Also turn off the foreign voices by selecting yes on English VO, those voices are incredibly annoying.

Yes, they're annoying.
But they give you a competitive edge.
Leaving both languages enabled can give you valuable audio information about who's nearby.

Conclusion:
He likes it, but admits it was a lot like BF2 and complains about EA's ridiculous server problems.

I also like it, didn't play BF2 that much so the similarities aren't bothersome, and also decry EA's shoddy server performance.

Overall, pretty good review, if a bit shoddy on the prose style.

NWN2 diary/trailer

I haven't checked it out since I don't have sound at work, but apparently it shows gameplay with voice-over from one of the devs.

Of course, said voice over in a previous trailer nearly made Ivan & Gordo lose their respective lunches (something about how faithful the game was to 3rd generation D&D rules...I think it overloaded their geek capacitors), so you may want to approach with caution.

As a bonus, I think I've found Gordo's dream game....thank me later, dude. =D