Impressions

[deadman1]

Third mission done and it only took me 2 reloads to do it. I split my team in half with 2 members using one of the stationary heavy MG:s while I and the last teammember used the other one. One guy on the MG and the other one defending that position proved to be the answer. I have also already managed to fail the fourth mission, you really don´t have much tim in witch to find and kill that enemy armor.

[Art Blade]

Fourth mission, for me it was luck finding those tanks: I died right there in the first go, so I knew where to expect them in my second go, and my team mate had his SMAW at the ready, took out the first tank and I had mine at the ready and took out the second tank which was coming up from behind the first... it was like

[team mate] "tank 1!" bang
[tank1] BANG!
[me] "oh, there...tank 2!" bang
[tank2] BANG!
[me] "that was quick!"

;D

[Art Blade]

One impression regarding "suppressors" (aka silencers)

They are by far not silenced weapons. There are only those: M4A1 NightOps/Stealth, M16A4 NightOps/Stealth, Mk16 Mod0 Stealth, QBZ95 NightOps. They are indeed suppressed, that means I could hear team mates and enemy NightOps shoot from around a hundred meters away. Unfortunately you can't see much farther than that with assault rifle scopes in OFP2, that means you can hardly call that an advantage. Also, because the ammo is "underpowered" the hits are not as hard and range isn't too good either. If you could aim well enough to shoot from beyond hearing range, that would have been cool...

I need a Chey Tac Sniper Rifle  ;D

I was mistaken, the PLA don't have suppressed weapons. And NightOps neither ;)

[PZ]

I can't wait until mods come out for OFP2  :-X

[Art Blade]

I am seriously impressed with the game physics. I watched General Han drown, he floated a little, his butt was the heaviest bodypart at first that dragged him down. The hands and feet came up, then the head tilted back and started to go down, "heels over heads," hehe, dragging the rest with it until the body came to rest on the seabed. You can see a moment of General Han's "downfall" (he's under water)  Hats off to the devs :)  :-X

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[fragger]

Haha, nice one! :-X

[Art Blade]

I am seriously impressed with the game's AI, too  ;D

Just so happened, I was on my own (no team) and I got wounded. A nearby friendly team reacted when, out of fun, I called for a medic. They actually sent their medic over who did patch me up!  :-X

[fragger]

That's cool! :-X :-X

[Art Blade]

I was thinking of JRD and how he was fantasising about the highest mountain (Mount Voyslava) on Skira. I've been to the top, it's all green, and unfortunately no special final battle on it.

But in this pic you can see Mount Voyslava in the background, and to the right, about 660yd/600m away, that is an explosion caused by an air strike with a JDAM (some huge bomb or missile). I reckon the dust cloud is about more than 100yd in diameter. I know it kills you if you are within the blast radius which is about 100+yd  ;D (the icons in the top left corner stand for fire teams, I am squad leader during an editor session.)

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[JRD]

I was thinking of JRD and how he was fantasising about the highest mountain (Mount Voyslava) on Skira. I've been to the top, it's all green, and unfortunately no special final battle on it.

But in this pic you can see Mount Voyslava in the background, and to the right, about 660yd/600m away, that is an explosion caused by an air strike with a JDAM (some huge bomb or missile). I reckon the dust cloud is about more than 100yd in diameter. I know it kills you if you are within the blast radius which is about 100+yd  ;D (the icons in the top left corner stand for fire teams, I am squad leader during an editor session.)

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Nice one Art... thanks for the heads up about the place... I almost forgot about it  ::)... as in FUEL, I like to go out and explore the virtual world games present us. A nice draw distance earns the game a few points in my score for sure!
Too bad devs didn't make a nice final battle in the volcano. I reckon it's due to the "real-life simulator" nature of the game, which is a pitty.... virtual life can break loose of those real life rules sometimes.
In the original OFP - Cold War Crisis, when you neutralise a nuke in Russian hands, you find out they have a spare nuke and are about to launch it across the island of Everon... its a desperate rush across the land to finish the convoy in time... a great ending!
I was hoping for something like that this time, but it seems that its up to the community to come up with such missions  ;)
Will keep an eye open for OWG custom missions here!!
Cheers all

[PZ]

I've found that custom missions "rock" and are often better than some of the original missions in my opinion.  I recall gvse posting a homegrown mission for A2 that I've replayed many times because it is quite fun.  Although I've not been in A2 for a while, I'll be back one of these days because of the proliferation of the number of user-created missions.

[Art Blade]

Exploring in OFP2 is more or less only possible while using the editor or if you create a mission that doesn't limit you. Then again, exploring takes a bloody huge amount of time if you are on foot. Helicopters may be an idea, but you don't see much in vehicles due to the fact that you can't move your head around (much), in cars it's only forward view as if your head was nailed to the headrest. I prefer some kind of dune buggy to drive around, then get out and walk a bit, then back into the vehicle and so on.

User missions are a nice diversion and gvse did some cool missions indeed :) I started editing in ArmA2, but the game... you know I kind of threw it away, despite of the mods. OPF2 has good potential, but it takes some time if you never used LUA script language before. There lies the power of the editor, you can sort of do stuff that resembles directing a movie. You can of course make simple missions with a well-chosen surrounding, such as the lone sniper mission, which is just great to play. Currently I am quite busy understanding LUA and how it affects the mission, what you can do with it and all. I hope that I'll be able to finish and upload a mission sometime :)

[zx80]

A DLC pack/patch was released a few days ago, and contains four new missions. The middle two aren't really missions but are open touring opportunities, one set during daytime, the other at night. There are no enemies and no tasks to acheive, and you just have to quit them when you have had enough, but you can explore the entire island in your own time. I found it quite interresting, as I could see the locations of the various missions in relation to each other. It helped provide a better geographical perspective.

In the daylight tour you start at Raskova Airfield at the southwest of Skira, standing beside several helis which you can take for a spin, as it were. There are plenty of other vehicles available, too.

I found the helis a little clumsy to fly, and especially to land, as the 1st person view is fixed and you can't see what is below you. 3rd person view would be much better for this, but it is disabled in hardcore.

I was always able to walk away from a landing, but often not fly away again afterwards, unless I found another heli!

zx80

[zx80]

The DLC/patch was mentioned in TweakGuides.com on the 6th November, and has a link there to it.

zx80

[Art Blade]

Yesterday I spent like one hour reading all the complaints about the patch on CM's official forum and decided not to install it, because it has some negative effects on modding the game and didn't improve anything for the SP game.

[JRD]

Will post my impressions so far here as I didn`t finish the game (playing last mission).
As soon as I`m done, will also make a post about what I think of the game as a whole.

But for now, just want to write about what I miss...

This is not a true sequel, it only bears the name of Operation Flashpoint.. no news, I know, we are all aware that the true successor is called ArmA, but I have to say it  ::)

What I miss the most in OFP2 is the true freedom to play.
Lets compare OFP1 and OFP2
In OFP1 you begin following orders as a private and as the game progress you are promoted and earn command of a few men.
Which means that in the early missions you do as you are told and the rest of AI keeps following their scripted paths regardless of you.
As you grow on importance, when you screw up, a whole mission goes down the drain with you and you men die... bad, bad frog!
In OFP2 you just do as you are told and have little control on what`s going on
From the middle of the game on you get to play as other characters: a specop, a tank commander and a pilot and you have a few missions with lots of vehicles to use and it really makes a difference in gameplay (heck, when you think you can manage well a Cobra you are given an A10 plane to fly ;D). From the last third of the game on (or maybe even earlier) you are the field commander, which means that you have to assess the situation, issue orders to a large group of soldiers and WHEN YOU ARE READY, call for an air strike or armour advance.

Its up to you to neutralise AAA and THEN call your Cobras in...its your choice and if you are wrong, mission over but if you time it right, man, thats thrilling...
In OFP2 you just do as you are told and have little control on what`s going on

In OFP1, you feel like you are into a campaign and YOU MAKE THE DIFFERENCE. You are the last man standing from the first NATO troops. YOU make contact with the resistence and helps them fight Russian off the island. YOU meet USMC troops, update them of the real situation and command the strike back. You get promoted so many times it really makes you proud of your actions...
In OFP2 you just do as you are told and have little control on what`s going on

In OFP1 you have lots of opportunity to free roam and get to know the island you are in. You can explore and choose the best route to a stealth approach or a direct hit (not always, but you get the chance to do it), you have time to study enemy patrols and neutralise them or remain undetected
In OFP2 you just do as you are told and have little control on what`s going on

OFP2 could do a lot better if they let you be the one that wins the war instead of just be part of it... its a war sim, yes, I know... but first of all, its a game and should be fun!

In the end it feels almost like a corridor shooter. if you don`t follow that path, you loose!  :(

OK, rant mode off... sorry about that!  ;D

[Art Blade]

good one, corridor shooter... it really feels like that sometimes. I agree, a little too linear for my taste, too. And I'd like to get promoted or earn a medal... some earlier games did that.

[JRD]

I just whish I could call the shots for a change.

For instance when Sabre One goes
"Hydra inbound in five minutes" ... and you have to go through two dozens of angry soldiers before destroying their AAA capability
I'd like to say
"Tell the sucker to stay put or the China will pop their @ss out... I'm having a little trouble shooting dead half an army here ok?"

It would be great if they could just let you do your job AND THEN call the air strike!
I bet soldiers in real life can call their bosses and say... "gimme 10 more minutes chief!"  :P
I mean... geez, its a helicopter for heaven's sake... hoover on for a while before entering enemy controlled air space!!

It would add a lot to gameplay as you could plan a bit before go on with your rampage and also would give the player the feeling of doing something more instead of rushing through the level in time

OFP1 give you much more freedom to approach missions... and they also had some timed missions but only a few, as a general rule you were the one doing the job and calling the shots!
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Aaaarrrggghhh... the more I read my posts the more upset I get with myself... whinning, whinning, whinning...  >:(

OK, thats the last one, I promisse  ;D

[Art Blade]

Think of the cool stuff. Like 3D sound that travels at the right speed (first you see an explosion, and then you hear it) and the great ballistics (bullets don't always hit in the middle of the crosshair... crosshair marks make sense).  :)

[JRD]

When I finish the game I'll post some good impressions as well... I'm just a bit sad it's almost over and I didn't get some aspects I was dreaming about  :(

[Art Blade]

I see. Sorry to hear that, JRD  :(

Well, the last mission will most certainly keep you busy for a while. And more so if you want to complete all primary and secondary objectives (keeping that general alive is not so easy, your own men might attack him, so be careful about where they are and what they do)  :)

[PZ]

Personally, I appreciate you taking the time to post your impressions, and do not interpret what you write as a rant - quite the contrary; it is useful for me to read your negative impressions because I kind of know your gaming preferences, likes, and dislikes, so your post helps me in making game purchasing decisions.  It is only too bad that I'd already made the purchase before reading your post  ;D

[JRD]

Thanks for the kind wiords PZ
I'd strongly recommend you get OFP1 if it wasn't for the very outdated graphics... but an excellent gameplay.
If you can overlook blocky characters and the absence of tall grass (pretend the whole island is a golf course  ::) ) and if you find it somewhere - it will be cheap - then get it!!  ;)

[PZ]

... (pretend the whole island is a golf course  ::) ) and if you find it somewhere - it will be cheap - then get it!!  ;)

lol, I might just do that if I find it on the sale rack!  :-X

[Art Blade]

funny comment, indeed... a golf course LOL!  :-X