Support NeoGAF

[divisionbyzorro]

The time to pick up and throw the grenade is about 0.8 seconds, so unless the person who threw it timed it perfectly, you should have no problem with throwing it back.

Assuming you can find it. Frag grenades have a tendency to want to roll around all over the place, and it can be tricky to actually find the spot where it's currently sitting.

 

[XeroSauce]

Assuming you can find it. Frag grenades have a tendency to want to roll around all over the place, and it can be tricky to actually find the spot where it's currently sitting.

Don't frags in BOps has the "heat-tracker" thing that the frags in older games had? That is, they are affected by gravity, but they are also affected by player proximity, and with naturally roll towards players. I always thought Black Ops had that too.

 

[luoapp]

Don't frags in BOps has the "heat-tracker" thing that the frags in older games had? That is, they are affected by gravity, but they are also affected by player proximity, and with naturally roll towards players. I always thought Black Ops had that too.

Yep. Auto-aim for grenades.

 

[snacknuts]

Yep. Auto-aim for grenades.

This is new information for me and it explains a LOT.

 

[divisionbyzorro]

Don't frags in BOps has the "heat-tracker" thing that the frags in older games had? That is, they are affected by gravity, but they are also affected by player proximity, and with naturally roll towards players. I always thought Black Ops had that too.

So instead of chasing it to throw it back, I should just sit still and it'll come to me?

 

[KoreanBarbecue]

Why not run counter uav?

Agreed.

I don't see how a Blackbird Care Package is really unbalancing the game since all it takes to counter it is a four-streak reward.

 

[aku:jiki]

I don't see how a Blackbird Care Package is really unbalancing the game since all it takes to counter it is a four-streak reward.

Eh, because I can't conjure a Counter at will when I hear "enemy Blackbird incoming!" and after one comes in, I'm certainly not scoring 4 kills in a row unless the entire enemy team taped over the UAV part of their TVs or something.

Just because a counter exists doesn't make it practical.

 

[eek5]

Eh, because I can't conjure a Counter at will when I hear "enemy Blackbird incoming!" and after one comes in, I'm certainly not scoring 4 kills in a row unless the entire enemy team taped over the UAV part of their TVs or something.

Just because a counter exists doesn't make it practical.

Whenever I run cuav I always get so many that I'm just timing them out with a huge reserve stockpile.

 

[XeroSauce]

So instead of chasing it to throw it back, I should just sit still and it'll come to me?

Punch it with your fists

 

[cuevas. PhD.]

Eh, because I can't conjure a Counter at will when I hear "enemy Blackbird incoming!" and after one comes in, I'm certainly not scoring 4 kills in a row unless the entire enemy team taped over the UAV part of their TVs or something.

Just because a counter exists doesn't make it practical.

Just because blackbird care-packages exist doesn't make it gamebreaking. You can choose to run counter-uav for those situations or not. I have been running counter-uav for the past couple prestiges and it's always awesome; I get kills all the time trying to shoot them down and since I don't run ghost it hides me.

 

[Tamanon]

Eh, because I can't conjure a Counter at will when I hear "enemy Blackbird incoming!" and after one comes in, I'm certainly not scoring 4 kills in a row unless the entire enemy team taped over the UAV part of their TVs or something.

Just because a counter exists doesn't make it practical.

Then....don't use your Counter-UAV until it's actually useful?

Or use a decoy grenade which still shows up on a Blackbird.

 

[divisionbyzorro]

I am slowly, but surely, evening out my win/loss ratio. I started at a dismal -61 (which I like to think of as an even ratio minus disconnects/joins-in-progress , but ever since the arrival of the Mercenary Mosh Pit playlist, I've brought it down to -47.

I think there's probably three factors at play in this:

• The Placebo Effect: I know that I'm not facing a full party, and I know that the enemy is as disorganized as we are, so I'm more willing to press harder on the objective.
• Lack of Focus: The people who really understand the nuances of a specific game mode aren't playing mosh pit. This is best demonstrated in Demolition, which has always been enjoyable for me in Mosh Pit, but a spawn-trapped nightmare in the dedicated playlist.
• Fairness: It is, genuinely, more fair.

All that to say: I love Merc Mosh Pit and I hope it's here to stay.

 

[BigTnaples]

Charlie Sheen Plays Blops

 

[TurboLibre]

What the hell? I got kicked for killing three of my teammates. Straight up booted from the match and all three were purely accidental. They didn't even give me that warning where I die and take longer to respawn.

I was even in first place. How annoying.

 

[DoomGyver]

Anyone play COD4 on 360 lately? Is it full of hacks and cheaters or are there still good matches to be had?

 

[kuYuri]

Anyone play COD4 on 360 lately? Is it full of hacks and cheaters or are there still good matches to be had?

I have and it's just fine. Haven't seen any hacks or cheating.

 

[PalaceBrother]

I have and it's just fine. Haven't seen any hacks or cheating.

I took a month off and got sucked back in last night. Matchmaking seems to be taking a lot longer than it used to. It could be because larger parties are playing together, but for whatever reason it took a minute or so to find a game each time.

 

[divisionbyzorro]

So...if a game doesn't immediately show up in your "recent games" list, it's pretty much gone forever, right? I pulled off a 9-kill streak with nothing but Tomahawks in a TDM, and I can't prove it because I can't find the game in my recent games list to render it.

 

[cuevas. PhD.]

So...if a game doesn't immediately show up in your "recent games" list, it's pretty much gone forever, right? I pulled off a 9-kill streak with nothing but Tomahawks in a TDM, and I can't prove it because I can't find the game in my recent games list to render it.

SURE you did.

 

[Stantron]

FUCK THIS FUCKING LAG! Every fucking kill cam shows a significant delay. I'm constantly getting robbed of kills at so many goddamn encounters. It pisses me off like no other game has. I'm starting to yell at my monitor like ElPresador.

I've recently tried the last shotgun (duel HS10s), and it has really highlighted how atrocious the lag is. I'll get three rapid successive shots to the body, boom I'm dead, kill cam barely shows me getting off one shot. Such a huge fucking handicap to play this way. This is why some people can beast with shitty guns... because the guns don't matter if your connection is superior.

So am I the only one extremely annoyed by the lag, yet continues to play like a dumb-ass? I hear other people complain about lag, but I suspect some people have it way worse than others. I've got a 20Mbps connection, wired, port forwarding, open NAT, local only search... is there anything else I can do to help improve?

/rant

 

[Ryck]

So am I the only one extremely annoyed by the lag, yet continues to play like a dumb-ass?

Nope, I still play it regularly and have been crying about lag on here for a while. I have been playing both BO and Mw2. Whenever the lag in BO gets too bad I play Mw2, once the frustration at all the cheesy exploiting players gets bad enough I go back to BO. I have found that balancing out my frustration makes for a more enjoyable gaming experience.

 

[Magik]

So am I the only one extremely annoyed by the lag, yet continues to play like a dumb-ass? I hear other people complain about lag, but I suspect some people have it way worse than others. I've got a 20Mbps connection, wired, port forwarding, open NAT, local only search... is there anything else I can do to help improve?

/rant

I had to switch up my whole play style because of the horrible lag. I used to rush all the time in CoD4, WaW, and MW2, but in BLOPs, its just to frustrating to rush with all the lag.

I find myself approaching the game with a slower and more defensive play style using ARs, which at times can be boring as fuck.

 

[LeMaximilian]

So am I the only one extremely annoyed by the lag, yet continues to play like a dumb-ass? I hear other people complain about lag, but I suspect some people have it way worse than others. I've got a 20Mbps connection, wired, port forwarding, open NAT, local only search... is there anything else I can do to help improve?

/rant

You remember how this would happen in all the other online COD's? Oh wait, it didn't. It's not your connection and there's nothing you can do about it. BLOPS is broken.

I've been playing MW2 as of late and running SandyRavage in every opportunity. Game is so satisfying when things match up with what's going on.

 

[user_nat]

129 game win streak down the drain due to some of the most hopeless team mates ever.

Sigh.

 

[Skilotonn]

FUCK THIS FUCKING LAG! Every fucking kill cam shows a significant delay. I'm constantly getting robbed of kills at so many goddamn encounters. It pisses me off like no other game has. I'm starting to yell at my monitor like ElPresador.

I've recently tried the last shotgun (duel HS10s), and it has really highlighted how atrocious the lag is. I'll get three rapid successive shots to the body, boom I'm dead, kill cam barely shows me getting off one shot. Such a huge fucking handicap to play this way. This is why some people can beast with shitty guns... because the guns don't matter if your connection is superior.

So am I the only one extremely annoyed by the lag, yet continues to play like a dumb-ass? I hear other people complain about lag, but I suspect some people have it way worse than others. I've got a 20Mbps connection, wired, port forwarding, open NAT, local only search... is there anything else I can do to help improve?

/rant

No, you're not - and wow, you must be my twin or something, because we're word-for-word in the EXACT same situation: I ALSO have a 20Mbps connection (up & down), wired, port forwarding, open NAT, and only locale only search - and it's been like this since day one.

I'm a person who doesn't curse at all, but when I'm playing BO, good Lord - friends are saying that they never knew me to be like this when we play online... ugh.

It's to the point where it happens in most of the matches, and being the person that I am that NEVER wants to quit but toughs it out anyways (and we still usually win, despite how horrible it went) - it's even more frustrating. I'm surprised that I don't break something whenever I get popped in an instant, watch the replay and see that he's been shooting me just as long as I've been shooting me, yet he won because of his half-a-second advantage, but WAIT - I have the full 4 bar connection and he has 3, but he's got the advantage!

I know it's because when the game actually works it's fun, but me and my friends still end up getting pissed most of the time anyways when the connection is jacked and it isn't our fault.

 

[divisionbyzorro]

SURE you did.

Yeah, you got me - I'm lying just to try to impress random internet dudes. I'll just go cry in this corner now that my secret is out.

But seriously: I started using the tomahawk on my stakeout class, and it's actually quite useful at times. Have a fast, deadly, long-range option at your fingertips really opens up your game. It's difficult to use, and I end up whiffing as often as I hit, but it's really fun and it's a lot more helpful than you'd think.

And then you sometimes come across a team who is (to borrow Yahtzee's phrase) completely pants-on-head retarded, and you get a dozen scalps with a 9-hawk-streak. Which brings me back to my original question: if the game didn't show up last night, it's not ever going to show up, is it.

 

[Slizz]

Yeah, you got me - I'm lying just to try to impress random internet dudes. I'll just go cry in this corner now that my secret is out.

But seriously: I started using the tomahawk on my stakeout class, and it's actually quite useful at times. Have a fast, deadly, long-range option at your fingertips really opens up your game. It's difficult to use, and I end up whiffing as often as I hit, but it's really fun and it's a lot more helpful than you'd think.

And then you sometimes come across a team who is (to borrow Yahtzee's phrase) completely pants-on-head retarded, and you get a dozen scalps with a 9-hawk-streak. Which brings me back to my original question: if the game didn't show up last night, it's not ever going to show up, is it.

Using the Tomahawk on almost all my classes has revitalized BLOPS for me. It is so fun to use, and you feel awesome every time you get a good one.

 

[Pennybags]

Using the Tomahawk on almost all my classes has revitalized BLOPS for me. It is so fun to use, and you feel awesome every time you get a good one.

Yup, but I miss the riot shield.

Shield/Throwing knives-only class was the only thing that kept me playing MW2 with friends. In fact, I got to a point where I could play better that way than with guns!

 

[divisionbyzorro]

Yup, but I miss the riot shield.

Shield/Throwing knives-only class was the only thing that kept me playing MW2 with friends. In fact, I got to a point where I could play better that way than with guns!

My favorite douchebag kit in MW2 was the Riot Shield + Scavenger + C4 kit. You'd camp corners with C4 and blow them up when they walked by. So evil.

But on the subject of throwing knives/tomahawks; for some reason I could never get the feel of the throwing knife in MW2, but I'm picking up the tomahawk fairly quickly in Black Ops. I don't know if BO has a little extra aim assist, or if the arc of the tomahawk is easier to predict, or something else, but it just "feels" better in Blops than MW2.

 

[Stallion Free]

So I had some mouse issues last night and I was playing with some buddies and I wasn't about to quit early on in a BLOPs night (which is most nights, but still) so I decided to just roll with my pad because I don't really care how well I do and I wasn't going to get like frustrated or anything. So I play a couple maps and get suitably owned by the MKB, pretty much always ending with a sub 1:1 K/D ratio. But then I began to get warmed up to the pad a bit and started doing fairly well getting a couple killstreaks here and there. And then I started leading my team a number of times and actually managed to go 16:9 for my K/D one match. I felt pretty pleased with myself because they give you absolutely no aim assist.

If you ever want to try it I recommend rolling with the AK-74/Grip/Red-Dot.

Also, rolled through level 50 in one night of playing and hit prestige 5 or 6.

 

[cuevas. PhD.]

Look at the three cod games before blops; They all take less bullets to kill people. This should be obvious to those of you who have gone back. I would argue the only reason the black ops lag stands out is because its magnified by the fact that it takes more hits to kill someone. It is the same lag that has been in the game since cod4, we have been getting killed around corners and bullets have not worked through the history of this engine.

Maybe its a poor design decision like other stuff in this game but that's another discussion.

 

[aku:jiki]

No, you're not - and wow, you must be my twin or something, because we're word-for-word in the EXACT same situation: I ALSO have a 20Mbps connection (up & down), wired, port forwarding, open NAT, and only locale only search - and it's been like this since day one.

Hey, make that triplets. Only difference between mine and your setups is that I have 25mbps but that's like a non-difference. I have all the same issues and always have.

Look at the three cod games before blops; They all take less bullets to kill people. This should be obvious to those of you who have gone back. I would argue the only reason the black ops lag stands out is because its magnified by the fact that it takes more hits to kill someone. It is the same lag that has been in the game since cod4, we have been getting killed around corners and bullets have not worked through the history of this engine.

Maybe its a poor design decision like other stuff in this game but that's another discussion.

It's the other way around, dude. The player health is still 100, like always, and the guns still do about 25-45 damage per bullet, also like always. Some weapons are marginally weaker (handguns being the prime example, they all feel very weak to me), but the real difference is the lag. It only feels like they take more bullets because more of your bullets just evaporate instead of damaging the guy.

I'm actually pretty convinced that it's not exclusively a matter of lag. If it was, why does it happen with that guy who's just sitting still in a corner? It can't be lag that he was not in the spot where you aimed, as he's been there for like 2 minutes straight, so why did my bullets miss and I died? That's some shady bullshit going on.

 

[cuevas. PhD.]

It's the other way around, dude. The player health is still 100, like always, and the guns still do about 25-45 damage per bullet, also like always. Some weapons are marginally weaker (handguns being the prime example, they all feel very weak to me), but the real difference is the lag. It only feels like they take more bullets because more of your bullets just evaporate instead of damaging the guy.

I'm actually pretty convinced that it's not exclusively a matter of lag. If it was, why does it happen with that guy who's just sitting still in a corner? It can't be lag that he was not in the spot where you aimed, as he's been there for like 2 minutes straight, so why did my bullets miss and I died? That's some shady bullshit going on.

The thing I'm going off is hit markers. In the other cod games I could get a kill off one or two hit markers. Even with the m16 or g11 sometimes it takes three or four to get kills.

 

[aku:jiki]

The thing I'm going off is hit markers. In the other cod games I could get a kill off one or two hit markers. Even with the m16 or g11 sometimes it takes three or four to get kills.

So, basically, you always used Stopping Power on all classes in the old games and never noticed what the game is like without SP on? That's the difference there.

 

[cuevas. PhD.]

So, basically, you always used Stopping Power on all classes in the old games and never noticed what the game is like without SP on? That's the difference there.

I notice it both in playing and in kill cams, like getting killed in mw2 by someone just swiping across my body.

 

[divisionbyzorro]

The thing I'm going off is hit markers. In the other cod games I could get a kill off one or two hit markers. Even with the m16 or g11 sometimes it takes three or four to get kills.

In terms of bullet damage and player health, nothing has changed. But weapons in Black Ops tend to be less accurate than previous iterations, and when you pair this with the removal of Stopping Power, weapons definitely feel less powerful at range in Black Ops than they did in MW2. So you're still getting the same number of hit markers; it just takes more bursts to get there.

And I'll just leave this here. A quick discussion posted on Machinima about lag and magic bullets...

...in Modern Warfare 2.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bn1nBR5jOx8

Rose-colored glasses, people. As always, I can only speak from my experience, but I don't remember noticing lag being significantly better in MW2. And as I've said before, lag doesn't much matter when you can launch infinite mini-nukes from your assault rifle.

 

[cuevas. PhD.]

...in Modern Warfare 2.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bn1nBR5jOx8

Rose-colored glasses, people. As always, I can only speak from my experience, but I don't remember noticing lag being significantly better in MW2. And as I've said before, lag doesn't much matter when you can launch infinite mini-nukes from your assault rifle.

Yeah it's called antilag. Lucky people who play on the PC used to be able to turn it off. I also think a problem in blops is the drop in frame rate, it sure doesn't help not to have a completely smooth experience.

One thing I would ask is how do you know the health is the same in this game as the others? Just because it's 100 in COD 4 and 100 in Blops doesn't equal the same. 100 could just be used as a indicator of full health.

25 damage to 100 health is still 25 damage to 100 health.

It may just be that treyarch did completely fuck something up, but I like it. It is so much easier now to kill campers in a corner since they usually suck and cant aim anyway.

 

[Detox]

I have to echo the sentiments about it taking longer to kill people although I did use to run with stopping power on the previous games so that might have something to do with it. I feel the lag is really weird as sometimes I see people die in 2 or 3 bullets with the famas and other times you can empty half a clip and they just run around the corner.

One thing I would ask is how do you know the health is the same in this game as the others? Just because it's 100 in COD 4 and 100 in Blops doesn't equal the same. 100 could just be used as a indicator of full health.

 

[divisionbyzorro]

Yeah it's called antilag. Lucky people who play on the PC used to be able to turn it off. I also think a problem in blops is the drop in frame rate, it sure doesn't help not to have a completely smooth experience.

I will totally agree on frame rate. Even though I prefer the more colorful visuals of Black Ops to MW2, the multiplayer framerate just isn't as smooth as MW2 was, and that does contribute to some frustrating moments.

Another thing to point out is that since killstreaks don't stack anymore, there's a much greater emphasis placed on gunplay. When you couple that with some of the other balance fixes, most notably the lack of resupplied claymores, I've found that I get into a lot more gunfights in Black Ops than I did in MW2. This has the side effect of being more likely to run into a laggy gunfight as well.

 

[USD]

I still miss Stopping Power. The 1.5 head and neck multiplier for the M14 isn't entirely wasted on the gun, but it only factors in when using a suppressor and/or at long range. In COD4, the M14 (with Stopping Power) filled the gap between the assault rifle and the sniper rifle nicely. In Black Ops, not so much.

I'd suck dicks for a 2.0 head/neck multiplier. It will never happen though.

 

[Bumblebeetuna]

Holy shit this game suuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuucks on PS3. How the fuck did they make such an amazing game on 360 but it runs like complete shit on PS3? All I had read about were connection issues regarding the PS3 version. After about 5 days of play time on the 360 version I traded it in and got the PS3 version because my brothers and coworkers are all on that one and shiiiiiiit it's like a completely different game. The graphics look terrible on some of the backgrounds and vehicles and the biggest issue is the frame rate. I have played on Summit, Havana, Grid, Crisis, and Firing Range. They all slow way the fuck down usually when there is a lot of action on the screen but then sometimes at just random moments. There also seems to be audio glitching, I sometimes hear an alert like I just completed a challenge but nothing pops up on my screen. Then I am in the lobby and my game freezes. Never once saw a freeze in over 100 hours of play time on the 360.

Since I just got it today I am wondering, has it always been this bad or have they actually been improving on it? Have they basically given up hope on improving this garbage?

 

[Ladyboy101]

Holy shit this game suuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuucks on PS3. How the fuck did they make such an amazing game on 360 but it runs like complete shit on PS3? All I had read about were connection issues regarding the PS3 version. After about 5 days of play time on the 360 version I traded it in and got the PS3 version because my brothers and coworkers are all on that one and shiiiiiiit it's like a completely different game. The graphics look terrible on some of the backgrounds and vehicles and the biggest issue is the frame rate. I have played on Summit, Havana, Grid, Crisis, and Firing Range. They all slow way the fuck down usually when there is a lot of action on the screen but then sometimes at just random moments. There also seems to be audio glitching, I sometimes hear an alert like I just completed a challenge but nothing pops up on my screen. Then I am in the lobby and my game freezes. Never once saw a freeze in over 100 hours of play time on the 360.

Since I just got it today I am wondering, has it always been this bad or have they actually been improving on it? Have they basically given up hope on improving this garbage?

I traded in mine few days ago, and got $36. $24 credits plus 50% bonus.
its one of the best deals I've gotten from gamestop in years.

 

[Miggytronz]

Apparently people are still playing Double XP playlists online. They kept their XBOXs on without turning them off and still today they are playing/earning Double XP.

How does Treyarch fix this?

 

[cuevas. PhD.]

Apparently people are still playing Double XP playlists online. They kept their XBOXs on without turning them off and still today they are playing/earning Double XP.

How does Treyarch fix this?

Who cares? Them prestiging doesn't really affect anyone. You get the best weapons within the first ~20 levels which are fast anyways.

 

[TurboLibre]

Got my first rage message. Nothing major, just "Good game pussy". What's funny is I looked up the match I played him in and I only killed him three times with a crappy SMG while he was noob toobing all over the map. I'm starting to like the crossbow though, so I have a feeling I'll be getting some fun hate mail soon.

 

[bluehat9]

So I guess a merc tdm-only playlist isn't coming back?

Maybe I'll go see about that gamestop trade in price.

 

[TurboLibre]

So I guess a merc tdm-only playlist isn't coming back?

Maybe I'll go see about that gamestop trade in price.

I felt that way, then I played mosh pit. Now I'm glad it's gone.

 

[divisionbyzorro]

So I guess a merc tdm-only playlist isn't coming back?

Maybe I'll go see about that gamestop trade in price.

Vahn tweeted earlier today that they're remixing the Merc Mosh Pit percentages to feature TDM and Dom primarily (as in, probably about 90% of the time), but it's sounding like Merc TDM might not be coming back anytime soon...

 

[aku:jiki]

I will totally agree on frame rate.

I always blame lag, but I've always been a bit convinced that it's a combination of things:

- Framerate is generally lower and randomly drops.
- Air support causes massive, temporary lag. Even a Chopper Gunner entering the map can make everything stutter uncontrollably for a second or too. If that's true - maybe even UAVs mess it up for a bit?
- Automated model animations are far too exaggerated. Perfect example: the animation that plays as your opponent gets hurt while strafing, the character takes a little 3-feet leap sideways while the player only moves his view a tiny inch. There's a huge disconnect there - maybe this is actually the biggest culprit? Maybe these exaggerated movements make models move around more than the player does, meaning it looks like lag?
- Connected to the previous one, but loosely - the flinching on your side can behave very strangely too. If I shoot first and get damage markers, why don't my bullets make him flinch so he misses and, instead, his shots make me flinch out and everything past my first few shots miss. Why would that happen? If it's lagging in such a way that it only appeared that I shot first, then why don't I make him flinch and miss with the shots that did give me damage markers? Something there is entirely messed up.

 

[NightmareTrigger]

Heard one of the best excuses for camping yesterday.

"If you move around the map, you get capped from errywhere. You stay in one spot, you know where theyz comin from. It aint campin, iz called havin a strategy."