Major Milestones Achieved

[Art Blade]

yeah, that was a great line back then (still is)  ^+-+

[mmosu]

 ^+-+  psycho tweaker mercs hopped up on PCP, Khat, and hazzlenuts!  ^+-+

[eor123]

Those hazelnuts are the sh!$e, man.  ^-^

I sure could use some about now. I'm deep into Act II on Infamous and the game is trying to kill me, I swear.

A malaria attack 15 seconds after the garage blows up at Sefapane with the huge firefight in progress!

And on the mext mission...a malaria attack just as the firefight at the airport begins and I'm trying to back up Nasreen! 

I mean really...that CAN'T be a coincidence, can it?

A merc who  takes five rounds from a .50 cal pistol at 10-15 yards and is still able to kill me with a shotgun blast!

An AT that somehow knows my exact location and is able to run me down on the other side of a blind hill!

A .50 cal gunner who seems to know my exact location on the other side of a sheet metal wall at Sepoko...and rounds that pass through that wall, the wooden wall of the office building,  two desks, and almost kill me!

A mortar guy at Dogon Village who targets and kills me from the other side of a cliff wall I have not yet made my way around..and on foot!

I'm shooting from cover, sights on the target. My rounds strike the tree or wall unless I step all the way out from cover to fire. FC2 really doesn't do a good job with the shooting from cover physics, IMO.


Maybe some of this is an instance of the possible "no stealth" glitch. Maybe that is the way it is on Infamous, but I don't remember it being like this the other two times I played it on that level. This is the first time I've attempted it on the PS3, though. 

This entire playthrough has been very strange. I've seen and heard many things new to me, even after 10 or so playthroughs. 

I think I even started a merc war at the Polytechnic. An AT from the bridge GP chased me to the Polytech. I drove all the way around to the back and took cover behind a building. there was a lot of mounted machine gun fire fire that was not directed at me. I assume the merc were fighting at the entrance to the Polytech. Maybe they could see me through 6 or 7 walls and were firing at me? I dunno... anything is possible this time.

Worst moment yet playing FC2...malaria attack while swimming and being shot.  ???

I know I've said it before but if and when I finally finish this one, I'm done with Infamous. I'm afraid I am going to throw my controller into the monitor if I keep getting killed by guys who are taking multiple hits and keep firing away as if they are being bitten by mere mosquitoes..and it seems like it is always the last one or two guys at the GP or objective that get me.  :D :D :D

[Art Blade]

To quote one of the town's mercs who goes, "that doesn't sound right."  :-()

Man, I'd already have thrown the monitor through the window (almost, hehe) if I had been in your shoes. However, what you said here..

Worst moment yet playing FC2...malaria attack while swimming and being shot.  ???

..reminds me of the topic your most infamous deaths where I started off with this one:

[smg id=243 align=center width=500]

Screen cap taken near Pala. I was shot, about to drown in a river
and having a malaria attack, lacking pills.

:-D

[deadman1]

That thing about not beeing able to fire from cover happends on all the difficulty levels, I remember I from both Easy and Normal. I think it has something do to with how the meshes and the textures don´t exactly match, meaning that when you think you stick the end of your gun around an object the still thinks there´s something in the way.

[mmosu]

I've encountered that on the PS3 too - you think you have a clean shot on somebody, pull the trigger, and get a spray of sparks, concrete, or tree bark back in your face  :D  Not to mention you just blew your cover and have nothing to show for it  :D :D  But from what you're saying eor, it sounds like just walking into the sector blows your cover!

[mandru]

eor123 I've long been convinced that mortarmen are selected for their telepathic locating abilities.

I enjoy playing the role in FC2 of being the type of warrior who snipes the sniper and the look out with a rocket launcher. 

There's nothing quite as satisfying as clearing out a well staffed area without the enemy ever becoming aware that their comrades are dropping one by one and there's that one guy remaining who starts screaming "Heeey! Where is everyone?"

I'm the conductor and I'm here to punch your ticket.  (Heh heh heh 8) )

I can't tell you how many times I've gone to the brewery to free a buddy sneaking in on foot coming up under the blind side of the building they are being held in and not a single merc on the brewery grounds has become aware of my presence but I'll suddenly hear the sound of a mortar launch and have a smoke marker land at my feet.  ???

There's a raised bank between the mortarman's position on the island and me so there's no possible line of sight, not to mention that there's a building that sufficiently shields me from view of every other merc in the area who are on level ground with me.

That's not even taking into consideration that I'm tight against the far side of a building and putting a round at my feet requires a trajectory angle impossible in ballistics.  >:((

It's made me so grumpy I now go out of my way to solve that continuing problem.  I first make it a point to always sneak past the backside of the brewery, swim out (between patrol boats) to his island and quietly ice him before returning and attempting any other business I have at the brewery.



I've been able to get up on the roof of the building that the mortarman in Dogon Village occupies and about half of the time he drops the mortar so that you can use it if you like but it's not my favorite vantage point to clear out that rat's nest so I usually just snipe him from a distance.

This is my weapon.  This is my gun
But darting a mortarman's
satisfyingly fun!

[eor123]

Yes, my experience reminded me of that "most infamous death" shot.

I may have new worst moment in FC2:

The set up:

I found that if you approach Sedieko from a certain direction, you have quick and hidden access to the back door of the building that houses the captured buddy. You can then go out the front door, run to your right and up a little, climb the stairs, take out the sniper on the roof up close and personal, break the boards, and jump to second level of the building where the diamond case is.

From this vantage point you can shoot almost the entire village's merc population from the windows in relative safety.

I attempted to repeat this tactic on the mission to kill Tambossa but it went VERY wrong.

Even though there is no way I could have been seen, the mercs alerted to my presence as I was headed for the back door. I got inside and thought since I had just battled my way from Sefapane -- dodging the Dogon mortar guy; killing the crew at the nearby GP and stealing their AT; and taking out two AT's on the road -- I thought I'd take advantage of the Save Game blue box upstairs before continuing on.

And thus began my new worst moment in FC2.

All the mercs in the village surrounded the building. They started lobbing grenades at both doors and if I was anywhere close I'd get wounded. Occasionally, a muzzle of a PKM would poke through the door and they would fire off a few shots, some hitting me.

There are no windows from which you can shoot in that building, which doesn't matter because in that building you cannot brandish a weapon anyway. I couldn't even attempt some rounds through the doors.

After about half a dozen "Butch And Sundance" moments in which I died as soon as I stepped out of the building or after taking a few steps in any direction from either door, I managed to escape by going to my left out the front door, jumping to a lower level of the village, and jamming needles in my arm like a madman as I ran away from the village.

I was able to run to the nearest safehouse, replenish my first aid and save the game in a slightly more favorable moment.

And the fun wasn't over....

While I was in the safehouse I heard the AT that patrols that area stop at the foot of the hill. They knew I was in the safe house. WTF?

I had to battle them before I could get back on track to kill Tambossa. I M79'ed the AT, picked up a replacement grenade, and got in my GLAT. I probably drove about 50 yards before one of the guys who had unknowingly survived the explosion, killed me as I drove by -- took about two bursts from his FN FAL.  :D

Okay... loaded game and dealt with the AT guys again. Headed to Sedieko. Thought I go on foot -- sneak up on the place as usual, through the side with the heavy green vegetation.

Wrong.

I couldn't get within 100 yards of the village without a merc screaming, "Motherf@#$er!" and a being rushed by half a dozen who flanked me as I tried to dart from tree to tree for cover. After dying twice, I decided a new tactic was in order...

I drove the GLAT right up to the village entrance, close to where the AT is parked under a shed. I swept and hammered the village with grenades for five to ten minutes blowing and burning everything possible. It looked like the closing scene from "Apocalypse Now!"

I dismounted, got to an upstairs vantage point and mopped up from a window.

Afterwards, I walked among the carnage. The ground was scorched and littered with dead mercs and their flashing weapons, goats, and chickens. I think even the worms and insects were all dead.

I was so pleased with myself I almost forgot to kill Tambossa.

I swear by the Gods of Bowa Sako I will never, under any circumstances, play this game on Infamous again!

[eor123]

Re...the mortar guy in Dogon...

I remember the first time I encountered him was the most disoriented I've ever been in a game. I had no clue where it was coming from or how to stop it. All I could do was wildly run around the village, but ran into a shooting merc at seemingly every corner.

[Art Blade]

very entertaining story, Eeyore, and I almost felt your pain  :-D

As for the mortar guy near the brewery (any mortar guy, in fact) -- it's my prime priority to take him out first before considering anything else.

[mandru]

That's pretty sad eor123 when the mercs come running out to meet you before you can get there.  ???

Mercs coming from der voodvork out!  A vicious glitch indeed.

[eor123]

That seems to be typical AI behavior in Infamous. A certain number seem dedicated to leaving their posts, charging, and flanking a threat.

At Weelogol, I usually attack from the Safe House side, jumping down the rocks. There are some large rocks at the crest of a grassy hill from which I like to shoot.

Last time I was there the mercs charged out of Weelogol in force as soon as I got into position and backed me up all the way down the hill to the desert floor, trying to put some distance between me and them. When you run out of cover, you have to rely on distance.  ;D

I think I may have figured out a way to record my gameplay and then upload it.

If I can get it worked out, I'm going to attempt to upload some Infamous gameplay.

[Art Blade]

 :-X

[eor123]

I can now add obtaining a Level 5 Rep before entering the Heart Of Darkness in Infamous to the milestones. Still managed to grab the diamonds at the Landing Zone without taking a single hit nor firing a shot.

I did hear Flora ask Nasreen what she was waiting for and why she didn't just shoot me. Nasreen replied, " I'm sorry I can't shoot him."

Made my heart melt, it did.  ;D

[Art Blade]

wow, nice one  ;D :-X

[fragger]

Don't get too warm and fuzzy, eor - maybe she was out of ammo ;D

[Art Blade]

yeah! She said "can't"  and not "don't want,"  didn't she  >:D That bitch.  :-()

[fragger]

 ^+-+

[PZ]

 :-X :-()

[PZ]

I don't exactly recall how early in the game you earn the GLAT, but I'm at 69% and the baby is sitting at all of my safe houses.  I've only done a couple of buddy missions, no assassinations, and have only 8 buddies total - not sure how I earned that grenade launcher, but I'm certainly enjoying doing some of the side missions now that I have it.  If I'm not mistaken, it will not be long before I head into the last part of the game where I need to retrieve the diamond case from the dead leader.

[fragger]

I think the GLAT may be earned once you complete the mission to blow up the pipeline after first destroying the cutoff valve for your buddy. I may be wrong about that, it may be simply after you complete a certain percentage of the game, but the pipeline mission springs to my mind as sometimes I head for the nearby safehouse after blowing up the pipe and I always seem to find a GLAT and a .50-cal AT glued together there, which both promptly fly apart as soon as I touch them :-()

[PZ]

I have completed the pipeline mission, but I've never seen the two vehicles at the safe house at the same time  ????

[mandru]

If you do the missions straight through without alternating between the factions (as I sometimes do to get the variant word tracks from the faction leaders who are angry for working both sides of the road) the Pipeline mission and Yabek's Barge mission are the third and sixth faction missions.

So yes the Pipeline can be the spot in the storyline where the safe houses become GLAT equipped but usually only if you do the missions for MajorTambossa last.

If this is as early in the game as you have described the only thing I can think of is to ask if this is the game save variant that has all the mercs set to anticipate, search and destroy that you've mentioned elsewhere?

If that's the case having the GLATs show up like this may be an extension of that bug and the game's tossing you a bone PZ for the extra w@&k it's putting you through.   ;D

[PZ]

 ^+-+
Some of the bug may be maintained, but I started from a much earlier point to get rid of their aggressive behavior.  So, now I am enjoying all the wandering I like happy in the knowledge that I have GLATs at my safe houses - man, it would be a kick if I had GLATs in Leboa as well  ????

[fragger]

...I've never seen the two vehicles at the safe house at the same time  ????

No? At that point of the game I get that glitch every time at that particular safehouse. As far as I know it's only that safehouse that's affected. The AT and the GLAT will essentially be superimposed over one another, and if I try to get into one or even just bump against them they make a crashing noise and fly apart. If I'm not careful around them they can actually do me some hurt :-() Maybe it's just a quirk of my particular game.