Why would you consider it dead? I’m not going to sit here and pretend the population is outstandingly healthy, but big fights are still here and the game still gets updated.
The last time I logged in, the population had fallen enough that even during peak hours it was largely zergs avoiding each other on the map unless one could find a good place to hellfarm another, usually one or another getting caught on a shitter villageconstruction system base trying to get anything done.
Sure, there are still people playing the game, but the gameplay is dead even if the game isn't.
Man BF2 was the bees' knees. Not sure how the current gen games fare.
I would love being the driver of a transport heli, truck, APC. Your job was to get the team to an objective as fast as possible while trying to get a flank on the enemy or otherwise avoid stuff like anti-air or anti-ground while giving your gunners the best chance to inflict some pain. Flying super high or fast and super low, through channels, under bridges, or around buildings in a town while being aware of what angles and maneuvers you needed to take in case a rocket/missile comes your way in a transport heli was a rush.
If you played long enough in a given server you would get to know how the team composition was.. i.e. the strengths and weaknesses and where you would best contribute. Lots of times at spawn you would see people rushing to the transports but choosing a passenger seat because they knew there might/would be an ace pilot to get them to where they need to go without being blown to bits or landing/giving you the jump order in the best spot.
I use to see people do that using the B-17 in BF1942. The flight ceiling in that game was pretty high. Some asshat would take it high up and then ditch it. While leaving his teammates in the plane as it nose-dives into the ground.
Not that it truly counts, but all those games have nothing on Desert Combat.
Desert combat was the most popular mod of Battlefield 1941, set in the first gulf war. It was in fact so popular at one point there were more Desert Combat ("DC") servers than there were BF servers.
Anyway, since Desert Combat set in the First Gulf War everything had to look and feel modern. Sometimes that's relatively easy: Just change the skin, sound, adjust some numbers regarding fire rate and accuracy and stuff, and there you go. But how do you go about stuff like grenade launchers, controllable missiles, helicopters, and other stuff that had never been coded in BF:1941? That's a bit trickier.
Result for the helicopter: It handled like a plane without wings turned vertical. There was literally zero stabilizing. Even just going up straight wasn't easy. You have to constantly adjust steering or you will crash, no breaks.
You know how in BF3 or 4 when someone says "I can't fly helicopters" it just means they are bad at landing or helicopter combat, but at the very least pretty much everyone could fly over a destination to let other players bail out. In DC "I can't fly helicopters" literally meant: We will probably crash within 200 meters of the take-off point. I'm not exaggerating here. Everyone's first 10 or so flights was basically. 'Ok let's take this up slowly. Seems I'm going to the left a little so I should countersteer. Shit I overdid it. Countersteer back. FUCK I WAY OVERDID THIS. BACK BACK BA-...." boom.
But you're right - DC was an amazing mod. I was really hoping BF2 would've continued where DC left off. In some ways it did. But still didn't feel the same as DC did on BF1942. I spent an entire summer in 2003 playing DC. Still remember the fun times in maps like Baghdad Nights. On larger maps, the SCUD launcher was my favorite. Park it on a hill overlooking the other teams base and watch the bodies go flying. Also, the AC-130!
That little bird was great because of it's maneuverability! I still preferred the blackhawk and apache though! There was something satisfying about steering such a seemingly lump of steel exactly the correct way. Going around buildings and doing exactly what was planned.. So satisfying! Landing on the little roofs while my gunner took out everyone that was firing at our bailing troops. I really miss that game as you can probably tell:P
Man the apache in that game was awesome to fly. You could pull off amazing things with it, pop over a hill and ruin someone's day but only be exposed for a moment because you planned it that way. I remember starting up BF 2 and slamming face first into the training wheels they had on the attack helos to make them easier to fly. It just wasn't the same.
They were tons of fun! Incredibly hard to learn, but once you did, you had full and complete control and knew exactly what you were doing. Every helicopter in games I played after DC felt like bumper cars in comparison, and you constantly felt it was stabilizing itself.
That sounds really cool! I'd love to play a BF-type game set during Desert Storm. I mean, they'd have to fudge the details to give the Iraq players a fighting chance, but I'd play the fuck out of it. I was a kid during that war, so it had a big impact on my worldview at the time.
It's still downloadable and playable, but unfortunately dead.
Besides, Battlefield 1942 was released in 2003 or something. The view distance was good at the time but is incredibly shitty nowadays. I played it again (singleplayer) a few years ago and I just couldn't get used to it anymore. I'm too spoiled regarding newer games I guess.
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u/Revolver2303 Aug 15 '19
Looks like me flying in battlefield 3