On my next play through I'm going to steal a jet and fly over every unmarked settlement right from the start. When you walk/drive/fly closely to an "undiscovered settlement" the map icon will change to mark exactly what it is. This could be military installations (airports, harbors, communication towers, etc.), or various civilian settlements.
The reason that a fly-by is useful is because you can quickly mark the map. Marking the map is useful because the black market dealer will fast travel you to any point on the map as long as you have previously discovered it.
I just finished "discovering" all of the settlements on the console, and it sure is nice to be able to fast travel (extract) to anywhere I want. As an example, airports and harbors are scattered throughout the world and I was able to go to a fantastic airport in the southwest corner of the map within seconds, steal a jet and wreak havoc on the installation.
Because this open world is so large (400 square miles/km - don't remember which) travel between points can take a long time otherwise.
You can tell when a guy is hooked to a game when he's barely finish with one playthrough and is already making plans for the second... and his words announce more than a second go either ;) 8)
Good one PZ, I see JC2 is filling a slot in your heart! :-X
You're correct JRD - I hadn't thought of it that way - even though technically I'm done with the main story line, I'm not even half way done with my first play through the rest of the content - only at 28%. However, I'm playing simultaneously on two platforms so it will be lots of fun yet.
What is really exciting is that as I was flying around the map, the terrain is unique everywhere you go - I made many mental notes of "first rate" places to go; I hope I can remember where they are!
I can see that If I try to go everywhere and do everything, it will take literally months for me to get it fully completed - what a great bang for the buck. :-X
I'd like to know how you handle those upgrades you get in form of vehicle and weapon parts. As far as I see it, there are more options and items than you get parts for, so I'd guess it to be a good idea to focus on one item and upgrade it to the max, rather than spending many parts on various items and never get them maxed out. What do you think?
Yes, that's a good way to get a good weapon - max it out rather than spreading your parts to thin so to speak. I upgraded my assault rifle and sub machine gun that way and they have large magazines (240 rounds), deliver them way faster than "stock", and pack more damage punch.
I still haven't spent a single vehicle upgrade though.
The strange thing is that the vanilla black market dealer has a very limited assortment of weapons and vehicles tho choose from, maybe 8 or so of each. The good news is that if you use a black market mod on the PC, then you have access to something like 120 vehicles, and I don't recall how many weapons. I find that I switch between the sub machine gun and the assault rifle for 99% of what I do.
By the way, I'm at approximately 32% of the game finished and 68 hours into it. If my progress continues at this pace then I'll have spent just pennies per hour for the fun I'm receiving in Panau.
Quote from: PZ on April 15, 2010, 10:40:03 AM
On my next play through I'm going to steal a jet and fly over every unmarked settlement right from the start. When you walk/drive/fly closely to an "undiscovered settlement" the map icon will change to mark exactly what it is. This could be military installations (airports, harbors, communication towers, etc.), or various civilian settlements.
The reason that a fly-by is useful is because you can quickly mark the map. Marking the map is useful because the black market dealer will fast travel you to any point on the map as long as you have previously discovered it.
I just finished "discovering" all of the settlements on the console, and it sure is nice to be able to fast travel (extract) to anywhere I want. As an example, airports and harbors are scattered throughout the world and I was able to go to a fantastic airport in the southwest corner of the map within seconds, steal a jet and wreak havoc on the installation.
Because this open world is so large (400 square miles/km - don't remember which) travel between points can take a long time otherwise.
An update on this technique - just today I found a stronghold mission that I failed to notice (probably because there are something like 300+ items on the map) and because I have the map completed, I was able to fast travel easily to the area and start the mission. Now I have a new base from which to travel, and completing the mission released quite a few new faction missions in the southeast section of the map - and again because the map is completely discovered, fast travel makes it much more efficient to move between places on the map.
I'll keep that in mind: First thing to do, fly over the entire map, preferrably in a military jet. :)
As to black market items, that mod, can you upgrade all those new items, too?
Yes, everything appears to be upgrade-able, and the "price" is far lower than in the vanilla game. i.e., you need not "pay" so many weapons parts to do the upgrade. Also the initial cost of the weapon is far reduced - something like $3,000 instead of $30,000
Then that mod appears to be a "must have" -- I was already wondering what good it was if you had lots of (vanilla) items but each delivery costs a fortune (a fully upgraded "vanilla" machine gun costs 70,000 per delivery...) Thanks for the reply and for finding out about that mod, very useful :) :-X
My pleasure - although it is technically the same game, it sure is different when playing on the PC. As usual, some thing are way easier, while others are more difficult.
I'd highly recommend upgrading your explosives (frag grenades and C-4) using the weapons upgrade parts - if maxed out, you carry double the number, and their damage effect is greatly enhanced.
It now takes only a single frag to obliterate a govman vehicle :-X
The next time I go through, I'll choose a single weapon to upgrade, and then the explosives. Once those are maxed, I'll upgrade other weapons just for fun.
That's what I had in mind :) Apparently precision weapons are rather useless, so a few lines from our member Ceres Tauri spring to my mind (edited out some lines):
Quote from: Ceres Tauri on October 29, 2009, 07:04:25 AM
-When In doubt, empty the magazine!
-Happiness is a belt-fed weapon.
-Peace thru superior firepower.
-Heavy Weaponers motto: accuracy thru volume.
-True happiness is having two ammo carriers.
-Join the Marine Corps! Travel to exotic places, meet new people. Kill them.
;D
Excellent quotes, and exactly applies to JC2 ;D
How do you hijack a helicopter...or is it possible?
I always die trying.
eor - grapple up to the helicopter and swing the left stick backwards which puts Rico in a stunt position in front of the chopper. Shoot the passenger who is shooting at you. If no passenger (happens sometimes or obviously in one seater choppers) you don't need to do this. Then hit triangle on PS3 (whatever enter vehicles is) and it will start up a quick 3 button QTE where you punch the pilot and throw him out. - voila, you are the owner of a helicopter!
Not only is it possible it's almost essential at times. If there are multiple choppers you may quickly find your new ride close to being destroyed - if you need to bail just deploy your chute, aim your grapple at the other chopper and do it again! I've had to do like 3 or 4 choppers in a row like that!
That's pretty much what I've been doing but the pilot always wins the punchfest.
I'm doing something wrong. Using the wrong sequence of commands, probably.
Guess I'll have to experiment.
Just running from the choppers isn't cutting it too well.
sounds like your just not hitting the buttons fast enough. if you miss one he gets a punch in. I've been doing quite a few QTEs with the God of War series so I'm kind of used to them.
Keep at it eor123 - I was in the same boat (or helo) as you, but as spaceboy said, you need to hit the proper button sequence fast enough. I can recall significant annoyance at failure, so I feel your pain. ;D
I feel kind of stupid - I've been playing JC2 for a while now and just noticed that there is a proximity meter for weapons/vehicle upgrades in the upper left of the HUD. At first I was only aware that when it flashed white, you were close to a part, but when I inspected it closer, I noticed that the closer you are to a part, the higher the meter reads. Therefore it is relatively easy to find the parts by watching this meter in the HUD.
The only excuse I have is that I normally play on the console, and the TV is far enough away that I can't clearly see the HUD ;D
That HUD isn't terribly helpful, I think.
I don't know how it is on the computer but the save scheme on JC2 on the console is really bizarre and annoying.
If you are free roaming and scavenging for stuff and get killed, you can end up a very long way from where you got killed. It reverts back to the save point at a previously completed mission.
It looks like the drug drops are the only way to save the game unless you have completed a mission.
I'm about 15 hours into the game on Normal difficulty.
I'm wishing I had gone with Easy. The site really hits the fan when you reach the Level 3 Heat and the choppers come. Still working on the control sequence to hijack a chopper.
QuoteIf you are free roaming and scavenging for stuff and get killed, you can end up a very long way from where you got killed. It reverts back to the save point at a previously completed mission.
You always end up at the NEAREST captured stronghold after you die, or at the mansion owned by the guy you rescue in the first mission, if that's closer. So unless you've captured a lot of strongholds you can end up at the opposite end of the map to where you just died. That's during free-roam. If you're in a mission you'll end up back at the start of the mission, or occasionally at a checkpoint in some of the lengthier missions.
Sounds like your impressions are ones that I too had when starting the game, and it took a while plus advice from spaceboy to get it working correctly for me.
Batdog is correct - you end up at the nearest stronghold, so it is a good idea to do all the stronghold missions first. Then I'd recommend flying a jet over at least some of the "undiscovered settlements" on each of the islands so that you can do a black market extraction right back to where you were, or close to it. (Extraction is the game's way of fast traveling to any discovered location on the map)
By the way, when entering any area, I usually check the map and make a mental check mark of the location so I can extract back if I should die.
One last bit of advice, it is plenty difficult on casual, so for people like me, that level is excellent.
Quote from: eor123 on April 20, 2010, 01:12:49 AM
Still working on the control sequence to hijack a chopper.
I can only guess here, but it sounds like the sequence is random each time. If that is correct, then "working on the control sequence" sounds like learning one particular sequence by heart; if that is the case, then there's the problem. I'd try to see the symbol and quickly hit the corresponding key, until the sequence is over. Hope that helps
Thanks for the insights. I wasn't aware that it reverted to a save point at the nearest captured stronghold relative to where you died. I was missing the logic behind why I was ending up where I was.
On the PS3, it looks like you have to use the circle and the square buttons in some combination in order to hijack a gov-manned vehicle. I saw the square button hint come up for split second just before I died...yet again.
I haven't tried a black market extraction. Been saving my coin for triggered explosives. I'm using a lot of them. ;D
Unfortunately, there doesn't seem to be a way to change difficulty level settings once a game is in progress. I probably should start over on casual but hate to lose all the objects I've located. I spent hours collecting all the objects in three districts of Panau City while free roaming.
when restarting at a stronghold, you don't lose anything you've done (chaos, $, etc.) it's just a "safe" place to start you. Yes, you can't change difficulty mid-stream - I started on hard and had to switch to normal and forego some progress, but I'm glad I did!
Keep at those heli-jacks you'll get 'em!
I'd recommend starting over on casual eor123 - I'm very happy at this difficulty level, and believe me, there are areas where you'll think that the level has automatically changed to difficult without your knowledge, so you'll never be without a challenge. ;D Don;t worry about the lost progress collecting things - there are plenty, and you'll see patterns emerge in the military and civilian areas, so collections will come quicker.
Besides, starting over will allow you to focus on the easier stronghold missions, which are great fun and gets you the experience to become proficient in handling the controller. **Slight Spoiler** One hint - grab a minigun as soon as you can - you have unlimited ammo, and will need it while the technician hacks into the stronghold's system. ;D
The nice thing as spaceboy mentioned, is that the game does keep track of all you have accomplished so when you die, your stats are preserved.
I could be mistaken, someone correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe the black market extractions are free because I've not noticed a decrease in funds. However, I've nearly $2 million now, and may not notice a small fee.
I've noticed that I use most if not all of the buttons in combinations of 3 when I do the hijacks. later in the game, when you disarm bombs and accomplish other feats, you use all 4 buttons in combinations as high as 8 (in my experience). Because these are timed, being on casual is probably an advantage here as well.
Extraction costs a small fee, but it's immaterial.
The bomb defusing is actually easier I think than hijacking because it shows the whole sequence you have to follow instead of the quick time pop ups that are easy to miss or get frazzled by.
My brain doesn't process those quick button sequences needed for disarming bombs and such very well. I hope in the future I can memorize where they are on the controller. I still have to look at it.
And yes..the minigun's usefulness was an early discovery.
One thing I noticed when clearing an area - I usually get rid of the SAMs so if an opportunity to hijack a helo arises, I won't be shot out of the sky. However, I frequently find myself dead in the more difficult areas at least once.
On such an occasion, I returned in a helo thinking I'd be safe for a while because I'd already dispatched the SAMs on my prior visit, but was surprised to find a Carl-G govman in place of the SAM site! These guys are nasty, because as you know, the Carl-G follows your path :D
Hijacking helicopters with relative ease now. ;D
Came across an alternate method for doing so without having to make the series of button pushes.
I'm a big fan of the revolver, especially after it gets upgraded a couple of notches. It will shoot through the helicopter windshield and kill the pilot with a couple of rounds usually. Then a simple one button push to get in.
I've tried this before with other guns without success.
Nice to know. :-X I've just been under the assumption that you HAD to hijack the helo. I'll try with my trusty revolver tonight.
Has anyone noticed that you can't hijack the transport helos or some of the attack helos? If you try to hijack, Rico just dangles underneath but you can't swing onto the front of the helo. The attack helos are pretty tricky as they fire missiles, so you'll need something to shoot them out of the sky.
Although I've not been able to hijack the transport helos, I've managed to do so with the all of the attack helos so far. Have you tried just entering the copter rather than swinging? Some of them only have the pilot so you cant swing up, but you can enter the bird (in my experience).
great find eor - I've tried shooting the pilot with my SMG - no luck.
I haven't tried a transport chopper, but PZ is right, with no passenger to shoot, the attack helis only need the hijacksequence (thus shooting the pilot on those may not w@&k since there is no "stunt" position in front of the chopper)
Panau Falls Casino Completion Issue.
This will only matter to those of us who are obsessive about completing all settlements but there is a glitch or oddity regarding completion of the Panau Falls Casino area. I thought it was just me but found a couple of other gamers who have reported the same thing on a different platform.
I've played through that area twice, the first time getting 100% but only able to get 88% on the second time through.
I climbed the towers several times, searched each floor, flew overhead in a helicopter, checking -- but nothing else to be found or destroyed. I completely left the area, cleared out a few settlements and performed a couple of faction missions before returning to the casino for another thorough check.
I'm not certain about the mechanism involved but suspect it has to do with the mission being completed before all the items have been retrieved . This only seems to be an issue at the casino area so far. Some have suggested that it has something to do with when the statue is torn down. Whatever the cause, you may find yourself stuck at 88% with no possibility of reaching 100%.
So if your thing is 100% completion of all settlements, make sure you have everything before you rescue Karl Blaine and the game goes to the cut scene. If you don't and are shooting for 100%, don't proceed further thinking you can come back and get whatever you might have left.
It doesn't matter too much now but if I get to the point at which I have completed all settlements, that missing 12% is going to be a real ball buster.
thanks for the advice, mate. I don't mind it too much if I don't have 100% everywhere as long as it is a free decision , but I do mind bugs that prevent me from completing stuff.
I don't know if it is unique to this area, but I've returned to other mission areas and have completed 100%. However, I make it a habit to get to 100% before I initiate the last part of the mission whenever possible to avoid this kind of thing. I think spaceboy mentioned another area in which this might be an issue.
Saved gamesI started a new game even though I'm still at 40.1% completion (mercenary mode). The reason is to see if I can create a saved game similar to ones I have for FC2 when planning additional plays through. (In FC2, several OWG members have submitted saved games that bypass the initial parts of the game and let you start right in.)
My plan was to start a game and then get a military jet from an airport that I know quite well, then fly over each "Undiscovered settlement" to identify it before starting any missions. Use this as the saved game from which I start playing.
Here's what I've noticed so far:
- You do not have access to the black market dealer until you complete the first two Agency missions: "Welcome to Panau" and "Casino Bust" so you have no access to fast travel.
- Once you get access to the black market dealer, the extraction function is still locked.
- After you have completed the first two Agency missions, you can go anywhere, but you have to find your own ride.
- I'm doing the stronghold missions to have bases from which to start, and I'm hoping that the extraction function will unlock soon.
- I did manage to steal a jet after doing the first stronghold mission, and have started "Discovering" the settlements, which will make fast travel so much quicker in the future. Once I get a clean basic save, I'll be set to start whenever I want.
is there a way you can upload such a quick start save game for other players to use? (PC at least)
I believe it should be possible unless there is something coded into the saved game that is user specific. The game files are less than 1mb and are found in the Program files (x86)/STEAM/userdata/xxxx/remote folder :-X
I'm planning on uploading a basic file once I've completed it, unless someone beats me to it ;)
for security reasons removed a number and replaced it with xxxx in the folder / Art
PZ check your previous post please
Quote from: Art Blade on April 19, 2010, 10:05:22 AM
Apparently precision weapons are rather useless...
...until I watched someone on a PC who actually pulled off single shot kills and indeed aims accurately and saves ammo that way.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yvdKow-i32A
Nevertheless, I watched another guy who had a shotgun (not sawn off) fully upgraded and easily discarded of a lot of enemies with that beast, too. So in the end, at least on the PC, it is a matter of personal preference, while I think any console gamer is better off with brute force and superior firepower aka "accuracy thru volume" lol
Thanks Art :)
Head shots are relatively easy to accomplish, and kill with one bullet unless the target is one of the Colonels or some other resistant govman.
I see, only of all the vids I watched, that was the first one to actually show a series of single shot kills. I watched some more of that guy's vids, he's quite good and plays on hardcore... crazy :)
lol, I'm lucky to stay alive on casual! ;D
I just learned not to destroy SAM's at faction strongholds - since they are now run by your allies (the factions) - they will shoot down enemy choppers - and they don't count towards 100% of a stronghold.
Quote from: PZ on April 25, 2010, 08:04:51 PM
lol, I'm lucky to stay alive on casual! ;D
The developers' notion of "casual" and mine differ somewhat. ;D
Quote from: spaceboy on April 26, 2010, 09:28:12 AM
I just learned not to destroy SAM's at faction strongholds - since they are now run by your allies (the factions) - they will shoot down enemy choppers - and they don't count towards 100% of a stronghold.
Well...crap.
I sure thought they were part of the percentage count.
space, great tip :-X
Quote from: spaceboy on April 26, 2010, 09:28:12 AM
I just learned not to destroy SAM's at faction strongholds - since they are now run by your allies (the factions) - they will shoot down enemy choppers - and they don't count towards 100% of a stronghold.
Dang it... I just killed the SAMS at the first two faction sites :'(
However, in my attempt to do a save with all the settlements discovered I managed to gain a little more information:
- You need to complete the first two Agency missions
- You need to complete the first two stronghold missions
I don't know exactly how the extractions become unlocked, but when I achieved 100% in the stronghold missions (the first two), the message popped up that extractions had been unlocked. I then transported to the nearest airport and started flying. So far, I've resisted the temptation to cause any chaos. ;D
For those that have not flown in a plane over all of the island cluster, I'd recommend it. The view is spectacular, and I made dozens of mental notes to visit areas on the ground. It is amazing how diverse the map is as far as keeping from becoming monotonous. Even though the developers have a certain set of objects to place, the map is never the same place twice so the variety excellent.
keep in mind I only read that at the eidos forums but a few people confirmed it. I think I destroyed all the SAMs myself so I can't test it easily, but it makes sense. I just finished the 9th stronghold, I've done 4 agency missions I think, maybe 5, and I've done 36 faction missions. I'll finish the factions b4 completing the agency missions.
Here's something I'm going to try - maybe one of you knows the answer.
I did a faction mission to steal an armored vehicle and deliver it to Bolo Santosi. The vehicle was in the middle of a military installation, so I cleared the place to 100%, then drove it off. However, along the way, the armored car was destroyed so the mission failed, but instead of returning me to the military installation to try again, the game took me all the way to the start of the faction mission, and when I returned to the military installation, it was as if I'd never been there - I had returned to zero% and of course had lost all of my upgrade parts.
Here's the plan - after clearing an area to 100% in a faction mission like this, I'll save the game so if I need to restart the faction mission over (by reloading the save), I'll still be at the start, but at least I won't have lost the progress I'd made (i.e., the area will have been cleared to 100%).
it might reset as part of the mission...let us know what happens.
Unfortunately I'd already gone back and quickly absconded with the tank before I thought of this opportunity. Will try it on something that sounds similar.
I can confirm that if you bypass destroying the SAM sites at a stronghold, you can still achieve 100% completion and they will come to your defense if you are attacked by a helicopter in the vicinity of the stronghold.
However, the SAM's are about as effective against the enemy as they are against you which, at least in Casual, isn't very much.
good to know for sure - thanks eor.
funny, either you're a good pilot or the SAMs are pretty poorly aimed on Casual. On Normal I get taken out by those dang things ALL THE TIME!
Come to think of it, most of my aerial assaults on military bases are done with the Harrier type jet. Only been hit by a SAM a couple of times in many, many passes taking out fuel depots, SAM sites, etc. And both times, the jet suffered only cosmetic damage.
It has been an effective tactic for me -- using the jet to scout settlements in a region and then returning to take out the big targets from the air, making the ground assault a little less complicated....and the jet's ammo is free. ;D
Oh...there is that little crashing and dying issue. Strafing runs at night in the mountainous areas is not recommended. Killing colonels wit the jet is a bit tough, though.
Oil rigs and coastal military bases are perfect targets for jet aerial assaults. :-X
I wonder if in the harder difficulty levels other jets come after you? They've only sent helicopters against my jet so far. I just ignore them.
I'm on casual and when flying a copter, the SAMs get me every time, but when flying a jet, I've yet to be hit by a missile.
Thanks for posting the confirmation that leaving the SAMs aids in stronghold defense - I've been leaving these intact ever since space mentioned it.
What I have observed so far is that those SAMs seem to be prone to get you from the back (maybe your exhaust pipe heat signature attracts them). The guys I watched on youtube flew their helos strafing, unlike a jet those can move sideways. Once a sam approaches, going sideways made the missiles pass the helo, and those rockets eventually run out of fuel and explode somewhere.
I get hit from most angles except directly in front - evidently the govmen wait until I'm not watching. ;D
Another thing I do is fly low to the ground and they have trouble locking on.
Quote from: PZ on May 02, 2010, 09:14:05 AM
I get hit from most angles except directly in front - evidently the govmen wait until I'm not watching. ;D
Another thing I do is fly low to the ground and they have trouble locking on.
I have found the ground also has an uncanny ability to lock on. ;D
lol, Panau is a very hostile place ;D
People have been complaining about the targeting system in the new DLC rocket launcher. While their comments are true, it is possible to use the launcher on all objects except the water tower if you attack from above.
I was using the thruster parachute to stay aloft above a military compound and managed to hit everything (including a Colonel) except the water tower. For that I used a maxed out sawed-off shotgun which took it out with a single blast. Unfortunately a helicopter showed up at that moment and shot me out of the sky ;D
So much for a birdie impression ;D
FYI:
There are actually:
101 Drug Drops
100 Skulls
99 Black Boxes
Somebody didn't count well.
;D
Good to know :-X
Sneak up on the govmen - plant C4
My current method of clearing the smaller villages (the ones with bell towers and water towers) is to plant C4 on all chaos items I can find, then hide on one of the metal shacks to detonate (the govmen never find me in there and settle down after a few moments)
While doing so, I discovered that if you come up behind one of the govmen armed trucks, you can quietly plant C4 without attracting attention - make sure none of the other govmen are watching you.
Using these techniques, I had fun planting a car bomb near a propaganda trailer, planting C4 on a govman vehicle, the water tower, and a couple of gas pumps. Then I made my way into a metal shack - although I could not see the devastation, I immediately jumped to 70% completed. Waiting about 30 seconds for everyone to calm down, then emerging to collect the upgrade parts was easy.
lol ;D I can almost see you crouching there and listening to the Kaboom, counting down 30 secs while trying to figure out what might be going on outside. lol
It is kind of funny - they're yelling about trying to find me, not letting me escape, and finally that "he's escaped" ;D
I've just heard that kind of line, "where is he?!" while I was downstairs somewhere. ;D
If you purchase the DLC parachute thrusters, bear in mind that if you die you will lose the thrusters and will have to repurchase them.
From my experience it also appears that having to restart a faction mission at the checkpoint also results in the loss of the thrusters -- at least it did in one instance.
You're correct on both counts, and at $50,000 a pop, they're not chump change. In fact, on the console I rarely purchase them, but on the PC I use a mod that had the thruster chute as default so I need not purchase them at all.
I was having a particularly troublesome night in the Panau City Financial District.
The game crashed twice, resulting in the loss of several items. By the third time I had to restart at 71% after reaching 98%, I had wised up and was manually saving after each time was located or destroyed.
After hours, I finally got to 100% but it must have actually been 99% as it didn't give me the settlement completed check mark. I've seen this happen a few times, particularly in large areas where there are many items and each is worth a small percentage.
I glided, grappled,walked ran, drove, and slowly flew over the district with a helo, but couldn't find the missing item.
But I noticed something as I passed through a particular area on foot -- the music started. I wondered if that meant I was close to the item.
I was at the base of one of the larger skyscrapers. Although I had flown over all of them and not seen the indicator light up, I climbed it and saw the indicator flash about half way up the tower.
It was at the very top. I don't understand why it never triggered the indicator in the helo but I've seen that failure to indicate from the air several times in the urban areas.
So if you are stuck looking for an item, you might want to listen for the music to start. It could be a clue you can use.
Good tip :-X
I've noticed the problems in the air as well. Some of the areas are easy to "discover" while flying overhead, but a few are just about impossible - I've had to bail out and enter the area afoot to discover it.
I've also had problems getting the upgrade indicator to light up when flying over some items, while with others, it lights up even when I'm relatively high in the sky.
The bottom line: the only sure way is to walk/grapple around for those stubborn items.
I thought I'd pop in and link you guys to this site (sorry if it's been posted, I just skipped to this page)
http://www.justcause2mods.com/
Lots of interesting stuff on that site...I actually came back here because I suddenly got the urge to play FC2 again...had to check out everyone's strategies and fun things to do. :)
Good to see you again TopHat01! Although we've been visiting the mod site for some time now, we appreciate you thinking of OWG in taking the time to post the url.
The mod site has quite a few mods that I've been using for a while, including the Bolo patch, a FC2-style Rico skin, a black market dealer mod, and weapon/vehicle mods.
Hey TopHat! Nice of you to drop by :) :-X
A tip at least for PC, maybe console:
Setting waypoints. When you open the map and set a marker, the maker and the distance to it appears immediately when you close the map. But if you remove a marker and place a new one, the marker doesn't show up until you are quite close to it.
What I found out is that when you remove a marker and then close the map, and then open the map and place the maker, it will again be visible immediately, no matter how far away.
Good tip, Art - I didn't know about this one :-X
In the Agency mission in which you must battle the bad guys on the roof of the Three Kings Hotel, before going downstairs to blow open the suite doors, you might consider placing a few C-4 charges on the stage.
It will save you a lot of dodging and injury. ;D
great tip eor. I didn't have the foresight of course to do that but the C4 was my friend in those missions (and against the ninjas and Baby as well). I'd chuck them and wait for them to cross past to pull the trigger. Much better than frags because they would know to move away from those - but triggered they must forget and walk right back past them ;D
That C-4 tip is a great one, and serves as a reminder to think ahead when you're doing a mission a second time. For instance, in the chemical heist mission, I tried for a long time to get down to the town checkpoint in a helicopter without success. My solution was to purchase the tiny jet, which made the flight down child's play.
I took your advice, PZ, and used that little jet myself for that mission... :) :-X
I'm glad that it worked out :)
It did teach me to try something different if a current technique isn't working for whatever reason.
If you want to enjoy a car race in Panau, you can go to the Panau Race Track located on the small isle with the civilian village Bandar Selekeh between the "mainland" and Panau City. If you want to go there by car, follow the highway until you notice ramps that allow you to drive over the side of the highway (bridge) and drop down with your car. The race track is busy, I watched two races with a different amount of cars -- those are the sports car type of vehicle you'll see sometimes in Panau City or elsewhere (Panau International Airport, that showcase/exhibition). If you grapple onto a racing car, the driver won't complain.
:)
When I went to the race track I watched a couple of races. I was standing next to a group of govmen. One of the drivers must have been a faction member (or had slept with a govman's sister) because every time he drove past they opened fire on him. They didn't bother chasing him, probably because they knew he'd come round again.
The funny thing about it was that the AI obviously thought it should chase him down as two guys in a govman jeep kept climbing in and out of their vehicle. The driver got out, then the rear passenger. They stood there for a few seconds then the passenger got in the front and the driver in the rear. A few seconds later they both jumped out and swapped places again. And so on, until I got bored and decided to destroy their ride. I wish I'd had some way of recording it.
Until now I wasn't sure it was repeatable, I watched the same :) There was a red car that got shot at every lap it passed the "tribunes" with the govmen jeep. Just one shot, occasionally a shout, too. That was the second race with only two cars involved. The first race had maybe four or five cars racing, and I didn't realise if shots were fired, I was more into observing the drivers. One car was a little rugged, like one door kept flapping open and shut and had its window shattered. First I grappled to any given car, a convertible and apparently one of the last of the grid, and remember that I thought the driver reminded me of some of those facmen. Then I tried to grapple onto the car ahead of me, but couldn't see the driver properly because it was not a convertible. From its hood I shot the water tower which alerted the govmen yet they didn't chase me. Then I grappled onto the next car in front of me, the one with the broken door, and decided to drive myself. Only then did I realise that with each lap the tribune gave sound, not sure what it was, but it was strange and loud, as if the sound of a breaking water tower kept repeating itself each lap I passed it. It got boring eventually and I stopped to take down some fuel tanks and then I had to take out the govmen. The race had somehow stopped, no cars to be seen. I left the island after completing the village, drove to shore, and returned to see if another race had started (indeed it had). :)
Very cool! I've not seen the races yet. I wonder if you stuck some explosives on the car - would the govmen shooting set it off. There must be some kind of cool thing we could do with this racing action.
EDIT: a thought - how about grappling one of the race cars to the govmen vehicle - might make an interesting sight.
Haven't tried that, tethering one of the race cars to the jeep, kind of hard to manage as they drive by fast. And, apparently any some kind of disturbance (shoot-outs etc more like blowing up race cars on the track, not sure ) stops the race by dissolving the cars when out of sight. They just won't show up the next lap. Leave the isle, like go to the mainland or somewhere quite distant, then return to see another race has commenced. Sometimes a driver without his car is rendered a living doll standing on the track like he had been planted there. I stopped my car (there is a spare car in one of those stands or "pit stop" behind the fence) next to the lone driver but he didn't do anything. I then got out of my car and to my surprise I watched how he got in and drove away immediately! So I grappled onto "my" car and had myself carried around the track once more :)
edited. see next post
Just tried it, planted a pack of c-4 on a car which by chance was a facman's racing car. Next I tried to tether it to the govmen jeep without luck, so I jumped off the racing car and walked over to the jeep. I tried to first grapple a random racing car and tether it to the jeep, no luck. Next lap I tried to tether the jeep to a random racing car, first attempt failed, second was successful (again coincidentally it was the same facman's racing car with that c-4 on it). The racing car pulled the jeep a bit away but I think the jeep was too heavy, resulting in the racing car to slam into the refreshments of the nearby stands and houses. The govmen came running over on foot and started to shoot the racing car which was trying to drive through the wall of a hut. The engine caught fire and the racing car blew up. Meanwhile the rest of the grid passed us on another lap as if nothing had happened. I tested the trigger of the c-4 which detonated on the hulk of the facman's racing car. I then grappled onto one of the racing cars and stopped the game to report to you :)
Good stories, Art, and great experiments! :-X
cheers :) By the way, all cars of one race were driven by facmen, so I assume it's always like that.
In case you want to know what a certain vehicle looks like (for that achievement that needs you to drive every vehicle once) check out this nicely done link (includes sort options)
http://petera94.co.cc/justcause2/vehiclelist.php
And here another tip. Edited
Are you tired of govmen choppers, endless pursuits and the heat never cooling down? The trick is to keep the heat low. There are three simple rules to achieve that:
1) The less you fight, the quicker you escape, the better.
2) The less you destroy, the lower the heat.
3) Hide every once in a while (rooftop, ditch, behind building etc)
Which means: You can shoot quite a few govmen without rising heat too much if you avoid destroying their vehicles and other solid stuff. Just kill govmen, kill drivers without destroying their vehicles, and try to escape or hide. :)
Now you make me want to get right back into Panau again ;D
Good tip - the next time a govman vehicle chases me, I'm going to jerk the guys out of their truck. ;)
I just returned to Panau and went to the race track that you guys have been talking about. I'd evidently not visited that place at all before because the settlement was untouched, so naturally I hopped onto a race car and started riding around with the facman driver. He was unconcerned with my presence and even shouted something like "I love this stuff!"
After a couple of rounds, I started shooting the windmills, the two fuel containers, and other trivial objects, which of course angered the govmen, but they did not venture onto the track. They did not even fire at me as I passed.
I did eventually throw a couple of grenades at the propaganda trailer and they really got hot - they sent in a chopper. All the while, my facman race car driver was speeding around the track so fast, even the helicopter was not able to get in a good shot. This was a really fun area to play around in - kind of a special area different from most.
After the dust had settled, I stole the a green race car from the pit area and started racing the course - something came up that I did not recognize - as I drove along at break-neck speed, a message kept popping up indicating that I was building something called "stunt points". I'm up to 65 or so, and it looks like they keep going.
Hehe, nice one :)
Yes, the stunt driver points seem to be speed points. Once you exceed a certain speed (let's just say once you drive really fast on a bike or in a car) they add up and keep adding up every time you do that kind of thing. I'm at 518 points now :)
Two minor tips.
1) The hud can be turned off by going into settings, display setup, and sliding the hud opacity to 0%. Good if you want to make screenshots or enjoy the scenery. To switch the crosshair off, on a PC you can use the BOLOmod which allows you to do it for exactly that purpose.
2) In case you specifically want to run around with your weapons holstered (maybe when going on a stroll in the City of Panau without looking like you wanted to take out everybody) just do the following in that order: start to run and while running hit the key that makes you roll around to avoid getting hit. When you release those run and evasive action keys, you'll be standing barehanded. :)
One more tip
"keeping your ride" (like in FC2)
As long as you don't go too far away, you'll keep your ride. Basically you park inside the location's perimeter and don't wander off, just stay in the location.
For example, I like to drive to costal locations by speed boat (Snakehead T20) and complete them. Sometimes, to cool the heat, I run back to my boat, get away for a brief amount of time, and return. After completing a location it is nice to know a fast ride is waiting :)
just edited the tip about cooling down (heat=notoriety) - simply hide and watch govmen bugger off so you can continue wreaking havoc ;D
Excellent tips!
By the way, I noticed on my STEAM front page for JC2 that if you accumulate 100 stunt driver points or more, you get a trophy.
thanks :)
and yes.. by the way, you can check my or compare our achievements when you check our group (OWG (http://steamcommunity.com/groups/openworldgames)) at steam. :)
Cool! I didn't know that :-X
just edited the previous post and added a hyperlink. Just click on a member of the group (me) and then you can check or compare.. :)
Nice - you don't even need to be signed in to see the stats. :-X
FYI
I split this topic to continue the discussion with
Jump Track / stunt driving (http://openworldgames.org/owg/forums/index.php?topic=1644.msg27954#msg27954)
Thank you.
Here's a cheap tip ;)
Why buying from your Black Market Dealer when you can get..
FREE special vehicles
At least the colours usually are special.. Just find any vehicle-bound
race and start it. You don't intend to win a race but instead to keep the vehicle (which would have been yours anyway after winning the race). Like that you may get nice red cars, planes, bikes... enjoy ;D
Car Wash
Quote from: tehsam016 on June 20, 2010, 09:16:14 PM
Not sure if this has been mentioned before but you can drive through shallow water and wash off your car if it's dirty :).
Quote from: tehsam016 on June 21, 2010, 03:52:59 AM
I love going off road then finding some nearby water and clean my car/bike when i'm done :).
Cheers mate, just tried it.. drove to a beach and carefully drove into the water. At first nothing happened, so I went in a little further, and then a cracking sound and some sea spray shot up and part of the dirt was gone. I was a little surprised by the sound but tried again, same procedure, same result, this time the car was clean.
Hehehe, must have been quite solid, that dirt, to go off with a bang ;D
Haha yeah must have. Just gotta be careful not to drive out too far. I have a couple times, drowning my car instead of washing it lol. Guess it still gets the job done though in a way :P.
Hehehe :) I saw some govmen wash their cars that way too.. they just went over a cliff and took a bath next to their sunken car. They looked as dirty as ever, though ;D
Good tips!
As always, great experimentation in the true spirit of OWG :-X
Just recently found out you can slightly control vehicles while in stunt mode. I'm sure most of you probably knew this/mentioned it before but i just thought i'd put it out there.
cheers :)
By "stunt mode" do you refer to (perhaps accidental) jumps?
I mean when your standing on top of a car. You just use the same controls as turning left and right while driving, but that's all you can do. I'm not sure if it works with jets but I shall try it in a little while.
Ahh.. I surf cars a lot, and I like facmen cars best to do so because the boys don't complain all the time (instead they cheer you up with lines like "Let's find something to blow up!" and may even help fighting govmen). My favourite action while surfing cars is to shoot and blow up pursuers from both front and rear (let alone bikers that manage to pull up to the side) :)
Sorry guess I should have made myself a little more clear. You have to be the driver of said vehicle in order to control it whilst standing on it. And yeah I like that your allies support you/even help fight sometimes.
Oh.. GEEZ! You mean, when you get out of your driver seat to swing yourself up onto the roof, you can steer your car from up there?! :o Whoa.. got to try that! :-X
Yeah, it gradually comes to a stop but it's useful if you're being pursued.
I will experiment with that :)
And here another tip (more a tactic)
Taking out large military facilities without much effort
I tested it yesterday after having completed quite a number of compounds which usually caused quite some trouble and maximum heat and choppers etc. I wanted to do it differently this time and it worked nicely.
The trick is to avoid blowing up stuff at the beginning, save it for later. Circle around the compound trying to find collectibles. When you encounter enemies, shoot them and try to hide until the heat cools off completely (doesn't take too long as long as you don't allow it to rise much). Keep looking for upgrade parts etc, and start homing in on the centre. Take out watch tower guards so they don't rise an alarm every time you pass them.
Funny thing, when you sneak around after your first encounter, enemies may try to find you and flock to the other side of the obstacle you're hiding behind. In my case, I was on a higher platform cowering near the outside of the compound waiting, and when I moved to the inside, I saw two groups of four or five govmen lined up against the wall below me. I jumped down already firing, and picked them one by one in only a few seconds with my MG. Like a training camp lol. Happened again, they came running at me in a line, I shot the first who got replaced by the man behind whom I shot who got replaced.. almost funny how they ran into my line of fire and were "dropping like flies" ;D
Then I blew up stuff and waited for the heat to cool off, there were practically no enemies left. So I could blow up what was there and complete the settlement. They only called for reinforcement once and sent in a chopper surprisingly early (almost no heat) but the chopper was no match. All in all, quite simple to do it this way, but it takes some time. :)
Quote from: tehsam016 on June 21, 2010, 05:06:54 PM
You have to be the driver of said vehicle in order to control it whilst standing on it.
Just tested it, you can steer the vehicle with left/right but it is kind of subtle. Good if you want to change lanes on a street or avoid an obstacle, but not enough for a drastic change of direction. Still, very useful, thanks sam :) :-X
Haha no prob, and good strategy :). One of my newer strats is to stay low to the ground in a chopper when attacking bases. While staying low I circle around the base destroying AA guns first, then go for the bigger stuff (or general if theres one present.)
I did chopper raids like that, too :) At least with mouse and keyboard they're not handling too well so I do it trooper-style ;)
Generals are most vulnerable to headshots. A good amount of them died by my sniper rifle ;D
Good tips guys - I didn't know about the subtle steering one. :-X
The different techniques you guys present indicate the almost unlimited potential in open world experimentation.
On an aside, I love the govman line: "we're dropping like flies; send in a chopper!" (your comment reminded me of that line, Art)
that was exactly the line I had in mind, PZ :)
plus, the Asian accent is priceless ;D
yep :) One of them has got a really silly way of pronouncing his line (only that one line) "He's trying to hide!" and the "He's" sounds almost like "Heesh" ;D The whole line sounds like from a comedy theatre ;D
Indeed - his tone reminds me of the derisive quality of the line "well, look what we got" in FC2 ;D
Just found out another little handy trick. If you flip over your atv dont just abandon it (unless you want to of course). I've found that if there's something tall around, you can use double grapple to flip over your atv. All you do is shoot your atv with the hook, then aim up high on the nearest tree/ledge/wall and it should flip when they're both hooked.
That's a good tip :) :-X
I found out that blowing up military vehicles doesn't cause heat if the owners are already dead / abandoned their vehicle. Like, blowing up a jeep including driver and passenger will cause heat, so you wait until they're dead and then blow up their ride. ;D
Quote from: Art Blade on June 22, 2010, 02:05:35 AM
Taking out large military facilities without much effort
hide until the heat cools off completely (doesn't take too long as long as you don't allow it to rise much)
The moment you cause heat (ie generator explodes)
it takes 30 seconds to go to cool-down, totalling like 35 seconds max.
To get the heat off, just break the line of sight, sometimes it appears that even objects seem to have got a line of sight.. just hide behind something big or behind some rock ledge or high above, just get out of sight.
Nice, thanks for the little pointer there :). I'm sure you've tried the air propulsion gun but i got it the other night and wow, it's a beast. It's hilarious when you get big groups of them together and just blow them away (literally :P). I'm sure it's also funny to glide by towers and blow the snipers out lol, think i'm gonna go try it now actually :).
No, I haven't got any DLC (apart from the ice cream truck)
Ah i see, well i'll have to make a video some time :).
We LOVE vids from our members :) :-X
***
Another tip.
Vehicle Respawn and "Unspawn"
I noticed that vehicles respwan when you are away far enough. That "far enough" seems to be pretty close, a little less than 300 metres. I tested it with those cars (yes, my favourite
Hayama Oldman cab (cab as in cabriolet = convertible) that can be found at most village entrances and exits. When I had damaged mine and wanted a new one, I drove to whatever village next on my route and took the Oldman there. When it wasn't the cabriolet version, I took it anyway, drove away 300m and returned just to pick the next one. There are usually three types of cars, Hardtop (same roof colour as the chassis), Softtop (black roof) and Convertible (well, no roof :) ). So it takes only a couple of attempts without time limit, pretty fast if you don't randomly get the same "wrong" model after each attempt. :)
Then I wanted to keep the same car (as I did in FC2) or at least keep the car I arrived in when taking out settlements. I was really surprised that it stays, even if you travel several hundred metres in the area. I'll have to investigate some more because I don't know yet when it actually disappears (unspawns) which also had happened to me. Apparently there is at least this one rule in force "vehicles you bring into the perimeter of a location stay as long as you do" :)
Well i made a little video showing off the Air Propulsion Gun. The quality isn't the best (since i recorded from my camera), and it looks kinda tilted, but still definitely watchable. I just need to get a capture card but cant on my current budget. Anyway, enjoy :).
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Login (http://s6.photobucket.com/albums/y227/Pacman016/?action=view¤t=DSCF3655.mp4)
It picks up at 2:00.
FireFox doesn't show it at once. When I try to find out what to allow to watch it, FireFox' plugin NoScript nearly overloads my screen with blocked sites and scripts etc when trying to find out where exactly that vid is hosted. Not going to randomly allow all kind of stuff that has been blocked for some reason.. can't watch the vid, therefore.
Oh :/..well it's on photobucket, guess i'll try somewhere else from now on.
I know you uploaded there, but the site doesn't just display the vid. there are loads of scripts involved and many sites, too.. don't worry about me :) If you're looking for something else, I believe all of the video-uploading members of OWG use youtube.
By the way, I didn't mean to offend you in any way; just expressed my concern about sites full of scripts and which are linked to dozens of other sites, I am just careful. I don't trust that site ;)
Ah well i've used photobucket for going on about 5 years now and have yet to contract any spyware or anything of the sort. I'll just upload to youtube from now on.
*edit* Just found out that my atv trick i mentioned earlier on in the topic works with cars too. Just gotta w@&k fast since they catch on fire if they're flipped over for too long.
Good tips, guys :-X
If you want the "stunt driver" achievment a quick and easy way is to get yourself a fast motorbike like the Cougar 600, make your way to a four lane highway and drive it like you stole it (which you probably did anyway). It doesn´t matter whther there´s any traffic or not just keep it at top speed or close to it and go, if there´s traffic try and stay as close to the white lines marking the middle and it´ll be a lot easier to avoid the other cars and bikes, Stay away from roads with oncoming traffic unless you like being plastered like a postagestamp on the front of a truck, like I usually end up. ::)
I agressively left my very personal imprint of Rico's surprised looking face on quite a number of oncoming grills as well ;D
It seems to be an occupational hazard when traveling on Panau. ;D
:)
I might add that quite a number of Panau's motorcyclists agressively left a very personal imprint of their surprised looking faces on my grill as well ;D
Tip (more an info, really)
When govmen chase you by car or bike, try to find any facmen (random patrols). When the govmen spot those facmen, or vice versa, your pursuit comes to a sudden end and you can dash away unmolested :)
If you go to the lake in the desert part of Panau at X:12730 Y:22494, take over one of the patrolboats and drive it around you will see a big sharkfin poking up through the water. You can hitch a ride on it you want just like any other vehicle.
And at X:24500 Y:900 (the very top of the map) there´s an island shaped like a slice of a pie.
I found these tips in the latest issue of PC Gamer magazine (swedish edition) along with some other ips that has already been covered here.
Edit: I made a typo when I wrote this :-[ ;D
Thanks, deadman :)
I had accidently found that shark fin once (had seen it in a youtube vid before, though) and tried to drive around with it, but it kept driving me to the shore and got stuck there every time. Couldn't convince it to dive or drive with me around the lake. So, not as much fun as I had hoped for.
I haven't heard about the pie island before, going to take a look ;D
Just been there, are the coords accurate? I flew over the area a couple of times but didn't see anything like a piece of cake or a slice of pie. The coords are basically right behind the "Japanese" island and there are a few chunks of rock in the sea and flat little isles (I actually landed my Pell there to walk around, even). I too checked if I could see anything from above that was under water, but nothing.. :(
They are now, I forgot a 4 in the X coords ::).
lol, thanks ;D Going to check again ;)
Now that looks funny ;D ;D ;D It looks indeed like a piece of a pie or cake with white icing :) :-X
X:11280 Y:28500 two-stars Boat Race "Port Rodrigo Return Ticket" $20,000 prize money. You'll race in a red SnakeHead T20 (fastest speed boat).
This race is easier than you can hope for. Easy way to earn 20k and get a nice speed boat. You can repeat races if you like, and keep earning money..
One tip for that race: You'll pass through a nearby port (Kem Port Rodrigo) so why not clear that location first (at least you won't have to worry about some wild hornets up your back) ;)
Oh by the way, one more tip regarding races (with vehicles)
Bring your own vehicle, the best of its kind ;D For instance, when you got that SnakeHead T20 and go for the next boat race, bring your SnakeHead. If they offer you anything else, the SnakeHead will be better. So if you race with that boat, you'll most certainly win with ease :)
Same goes for car races or planes: Before you decide to go to a race, acquire a suitable ride ;)
Sniper scope zoom
Many of you might already know of this tip, but I lost my manual and was not able to find the zoom key mapping within the game.
To activate the scope on the PC, click the "C" key. To zoom in, press left shift and to zoom out, the left ctrl key.
You got me for a second there. I had to look up the board to see where this post was located. I actually thought for a second there was a sniper zoom in FarCry2 without me knowing about it for ages. :-[ ;D
Now, that would truly have been cool - the FC2 sniper scopes all are far more visually appealing than the cheesy JC2 scope. ;)
Anyone got any tips on ways to infiltrate military bases/establishments? I usually get so caught up in the gun fights that i forget/have trouble destroying structures/collecting parts. Guess i'm just not prioritizing or something cause i either get shot up really fast/die, or just have to retreat to drop heat. That and races are pretty much all I have left to do.
If a compound is really big or heavily guarded, I go in spirals: First I lurk around the outlying area, kill a few curious govmen, run away and hide until the heat has cooled off, then I repeat that as long as I can see and kill govmen from the outside. Always hide once and then so the heat never goes up too much. Then get inside, and walk around an imaginary outer circle, then middle circle, then inner circle, always the same principle of hide and seek. Like that I mostly succeed without combat choppers being sent in and usually I survive that raid, sometimes even without major injuries. Also, like that, you get to find all collectibles.
Nice, sounds like quite a good plan. :) Thanks.
very welcome, sir ;D Good luck :-X
My method comes from exactly the types of experiences you name, sam. I typically extract to the location and then spiral down from a height looking form SAMs and other points of interest, in particular, the small huts that contain the miniguns and any chaos items.
Once I hit the ground (usually close to a SAM) I use a grenade to destroy the SAM and then kill the rest of them - the reason is that if a helicopter arrives, I can hijack it and then devastate the installation.
Once the SAMs are destroyed, I make my way toward a minigun - once I dismount it, I make my way around the periphery like Art mentioned, and start blasting away at just about everything. A helicopter inevitably arrives, but I hijack it and destroy a few more items before bailing out to start my land assault again.
Once all of the govmen are dead, I grapply-fly around the area watching my "parts" indicator - when it flashes, I just drop to the ground and almost immediately find the item.
Using this method, clearing out a military installation is quick and easy for me.
yeah, that is quicker.. my method may take a lot more time.
Just for the record, Rico's Sig weapon needs special ammo, therefore if it runs out of ammo you need to buy another on (40K), same for the assualt Bullseye rifle.
Quite a bonkers decision on behalf of the devs, in my opinon, I guess I wont be investing what ever pittance they were charging lol :)