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[Click]

but deaths matter even less in MAG compared to other non-TDM games, they don't count to any score for the match outcome and you are insta-raised as long as someone of your team is still alive.

on the contrary, sometimes reckless playstyle leading to your death is needed to break an enemy defense line for your teammates or to fulfill any task like bomb disarming etc.

in addition, basically all snipers have a good K/D ratio even if they don't participate for mission objectives.

even something like kills per hour would be a better stat to measure effectiveness of players.

I've already said that K/D doesn't matter as much in a game like MAG, compared to other online shooters. However, K/D still gives a good indication of how good a player someone is.

There's a difference between "recklessness" and "aggressiveness." More importantly, there's an even bigger difference between someone who can play aggressively and be good at it, as opposed to someone who just plays recklessly and suck at the game. K/D will eventually show which category a player falls into.

I just want to ask you, is it better to be killing more often than you die or is it better to die more often than you kill? In ANY game...? Why would it be any different in MAG?

You're helping your team by taking out opponents that would otherwise be just another threat against your team and your objective. The more times you can do that, the better, right? That's why K/D matters. You're not spending most of your time bleeding out or running back to the objective area, but rather, helping your team eliminate enemies.

Contrary to GAF belief, high K/DR doesn't mean they're not a team player, neither. :lol

It doesn't. But sometimes it does, as seen in these 3 infamous kill-whores:

http://www.magleaderboards.com/view-player/xjumpman23
http://www.magleaderboards.com/view-player/NaberiusX
http://www.magleaderboards.com/view-player/pdiggy22

See, we have to have a good enough team to compete with crazy "killers" like these fuckers that don't care about their team winning or losing, as long as they get their 50-100+ kills per game. I'm not talking about little league here. We're up against the biggest and most talented clans in MAG. And yes, R*S has beaten all the top clans when the numbers were relatively even.

If I can make sure I'd continue to play the game more, and have the time, I'd consider applying for said guild Click. Though they may shun me off with my 3.23k/dr. At least that's what the web leaderboards currently say my k/dr is.

Well, let me know. I've already spoken to the leader of the clan several times about you, lol. I said you were one of the best snipers I've seen in MAG. You'll get in, no problem...

Since you've quit, I've only seen 1 consistently better sniper than you. He is in the top Raven clan called Dark Flock. This guy is good, real good.

 

[J-Rzez]

Eww, I am certainly rusty on the game now. It's taking me a good time to get my game back with it too. Then again, being plastered with phone calls and friends stopping by tonight didn't help any neither.

 

[Violater]

The lack of visual cues on the recoil, the random bullet spray is still pretty horrible.
That coupled with the fact that I haven't played the game in a long while, made for a terrible outing.

 

[fixuis]

1200+ people online for valor right now in domination! First time seeing these kinds of numbers since the game came out. Nice.

 

[SolidusDave]

question:

Did many buy the addon?
in other words: If I buy it now, are there enough people to play the new mode/maps?

Also, it's a "normal" (= all accounts on your PS3 can use it?) download, right? (the free DLC was just unlocked via your PSN ID, "get now").

I just want to ask you, is it better to be killing more often than you die or is it better to die more often than you kill? In ANY game...? Why would it be any different in MAG?

I certainly agree that you should have a positive K/D ratio to be a good player in general, I just think K/D ratio from this point on is not that a good indicator of your contribution to a match in MAG. (I have 1.49 btw )
But whatever, you know that anyway ^^

 

[Lagspike_exe]

It seems that there's a number of new features/updates in the new patch that haven't been included in the patch notes.

- Sprint duration is maybe increased. I don't have the Endurance skill and I feel like I'm outrunning its old distance.



- AK 103 Nerf: now has 25 rounds per magazine.



- Voice-Overs removed from ALL modes, not just those that went Neutral.



- Foregrip-related stability returned to firearms accidentally nerfed with the Machine Gun Foregrip nerf.



- Helicopter Deployment has been expedited, but the 'health' increase was left behind on accident. Expect it in the next patch.



- Return to a disconnected game with performance intact. (Score retention, etc.)



- Motion Sensor beep feedback removed.



- Shotguns carry more ammo: Valor 10, S.V.E.R. 9, Raven 8.



- Curious letter "A" on Character Selection screen. Smart money is on an upcoming "B" character slot.



- PS Store Icon in main menu to link to DLC purchases.



- Rotational and Pitch sensitivity may have been tweaked. Lot of people report experiencing this.



- Repair 'times' might be increased.



- SMGs may have had their damage reduced.



- You can R1/L1 to another game results tab after a match instead of having to wait a moment while the MVP results marinate.



- Medical Kit 'range' appears to be significantly reduced.



- Shadowy images behind menu icons added. (Deploy, Armory, Barracks, etc - but not the new PS Store icon.)

Just a heads up - some of these things haven't been confirmed and the list is still getting updates. Refer to this link for up to date data.




Also, Zipline Podcast #16 is online!
http://blog.mag.com/blog/2010/08/zipline-podcast-episode-16/

 

[Mikey Jr.]

So generally, is everyone happy with the patch?

 

[Lagspike_exe]

Official forums are full of bitching, but that's usual around there.

 

[Click]

question:

Did many buy the addon?
in other words: If I buy it now, are there enough people to play the new mode/maps?

Don't buy it. Most people who have, regret doing so. Interdiction is also dead most of the time.

It's a flawed game mode... kinda like Twisted Metal: MAG APC edition, but obviously not as fun. It's basically 16 APCs driving around all over the place, running into each other. Once your APC gets blown up (which happens quite often), you gotta run all the way back to battle, which can take a while. The APC does respawn pretty fast but it's still annoying. The damage bar also goes down too fast.

If Zipper got rid of the APCs and spawned people at 1 letter per side and made them fight over C or their spawn, Interdiction would be pretty sweet.

Also, it's a "normal" (= all accounts on your PS3 can use it?) download, right? (the free DLC was just unlocked via your PSN ID, "get now").

Yes, it's available for all of your accounts on the same PS3.
All of your accounts will also have the top-tier armor.

So generally, is everyone happy with the patch?

- Suppression being made into TDM is a good addition to the game.

- I'm glad they finally fixed Raven Dom., but a lot of people have been saying it's overpowered now, lol.

- Increase in ammo capacity for SMGs and ARs are awesome. I've been asking for this a long time ago. Now they just need to nerf the LMG ammo capacity and everything will be cool.

- Almost everyone is really pissed that Zipper nerfed weapons that didn't need to be nerfed (AK-103 & ATAC), while buffing weapons that doesn't need to be buffed (KP5).

- Domination is as laggy as ever. Certain players have also had their PS3s freeze often in Dom. I really want to play Dom. more often but it's just too laggy for me.

- Helicopter spawn is still retarded. They still get blown up way too easily.


The patch has been a mixed bag, some good and bad changes. Hopefully Zipper will do a better job with 1.08, but IMO 1.07 was an overall, good patch.

 

[fixuis]

They should not gave removed the VoiceOvers for the maps when the match starts. Was a useful feature.

 

[SolidusDave]

Don't buy it. Most people who have, regret doing so. Interdiction is also dead most of the time.

thanks.
ah that sucks, I almost bought it just for some new maps (though I'm more interested in actual new settings anyway).
Hopefully they will reduce the price in the near future or make it PSN+ free or something, then I can at least jump in with enough other people playing it.




btw I played Sabotage yesterday and we (SVER) had to attack our own map against Valor. It was over in 3 minutes or so :lol No excuses in the past I had never ever experienced that when defending with SVER, only on Valor and Raven Sabotage maps.

 

[Varth]

Can't praise enough the effort, goodwill and humility put by Zipper into balancing this game.
It's not easy to convince someone to give a game a second chance, with the number of good titles around. I thought I was done with this, and now "I will be sucked".

Quick questions, while I'm at it:

1) Any link to a guide to the tech equipment (sensor jammer, audio localizer and stealth thingamajig) and their interaction? I remember one long time ago, but search didn't give the results I hoped. Strange enough, the wikia doesn't seem to cover that.

2) Only squad leader get Leadership points, right? Is the amount of points determined by anything more than winning or losing? (I found the 3, 8 and 10 points specs, but no more).

 

[Click]

Can't praise enough the effort, goodwill and humility put by Zipper into balancing this game.
It's not easy to convince someone to give a game a second chance, with the number of good titles around. I thought I was done with this, and now "I will be sucked".

Quick questions, while I'm at it:

1) Any link to a guide to the tech equipment (sensor jammer, audio localizer and stealth thingamajig) and their interaction? I remember one long time ago, but search didn't give the results I hoped. Strange enough, the wikia doesn't seem to cover that.

2) Only squad leader get Leadership points, right? Is the amount of points determined by anything more than winning or losing? (I found the 3, 8 and 10 points specs, but no more).

http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost.php?p=21560120&postcount=6152

Last link in that post.

Keep in mind, that blog post was made over 5 months ago. I'm not sure how different the electronics work from what they described back then, but it should be very close to what they wrote, if not exactly the same, since everything is patched now.

I personally use Acoustic Locator and Sensor Jammer in my main loadout...

Combined with Improved Shot Detection, Acoustic Locator will make anyone that is shooting bullets show up as a red dot on your radar AND make their name turn red on your screen, even if they're using a silenced weapon. They stack with each other, giving people the ability to spot basically anyone on the map if they're shooting something, even snipers. I've sniped many snipers with the bunker turret and my AR as a result and also killed plenty of bush campers this way. :lol

Sensor Jammer used with Improved Stealth makes you invisible, even when running all the time. If you only have Improved Stealth, anyone who has a Motion Sensor will be able to pick you up if you run. If you don't have Improved Stealth, and someone has a Motion Sensor, you're screwed, lol. You can't do anything but crouch walk and prone. Most of the "elite players" carry a Jammer so they can run around without having to worry about being spotted, knifing everyone and sneaking into objective areas like a ninja.

Sometimes Acoustic Locator can be overkill if you already have Imp. Shot Detection. I usually switch to Jammer + grenade if I'm rushing into an objective area that's going to have a lot of close-ranged combat. The Locator is kind of pointless if I'm not fighting people at range.


As for leadership points, you only get them when you are a leader (Squad, Platoon, OIC) and you win the game that you were a leader in. I'm not sure how many points you get for being what type of leader or if Major and Minor Victories factor into how many points you get.

 

[icechai]

woah, i go on vacation, and new patch w/ a bajillion updates?! Awesome!! And they finally fixed F lol. Will definitely be playing this in 2 days... Plus I'm 9 escort vehicle kills away from platinum...

 

[Click]

Man, 1.07 is a very unstable patch.

When you're in a big party and try to use the Directives function, it often glitches and won't let you back out of the Directives game unless you back out and immediately join another game. It especially sucks for SVER because Directives almost always put us in Interdiction or Acquisition.

People are freezing a lot. Entire games are crashing as well, kicking everyone out of them and sending them back to the MAG log-in screen. Crashes are better than freezing because you don't have to turn your PS3 off and back on, but both are super annoying.

Then there's Domination lagging more than ever. I've said it already but Dom. is almost unplayable now, especially when the letters open up. It's also extremely unfair to play now because Zipper forgot to change the damage bar back to its normal rate.

They made SVER's damage bar deplete MUCH faster than Raven's about 3 months ago because it was a shit patch job put in place so they wouldn't have to completely redesign Raven's Dom. map and still give them a small fighting chance. Now that they fixed Raven's Dom. map, the damage bar advantage makes attacking them almost futile.

I played as Raven 2 days ago on my alt. account and witnessed the attacking team control at least 4 letters for roughly 18 minutes straight. Raven finally lost with about 2 minutes left on the clock. Meanwhile, we lost SVER's Dom. map yesterday when the opposing team only had control of 1-2 letters for less than 15 minutes and they won somehow. It was such bullshit. SVER has to be near-perfect in order to win on their Domination map. 1 shitty platoon vs. a good attacking platoon can lose the game for us.

I'm really starting to dislike patch 1.07. There needs to be a patch that fixes all the crap 1.07 is screwing up. It doesn't even need to be a huge patch like they've been planning for 1.08.

woah, i go on vacation, and new patch w/ a bajillion updates?! Awesome!! And they finally fixed F lol. Will definitely be playing this in 2 days... Plus I'm 9 escort vehicle kills away from platinum...

We were wondering where you went, ice.
See you online soon!

 

[Das-J]

Here's the "big news" I was alluding to last week:

All kinds of goodness!

 

[Click]

Here's the "big news" I was alluding to last week:

All kinds of goodness!

Yay for a week's worth of MAG news, starting today...

Can't wait to test to the new maps you help create (Escalation mode) and give you feedback on them. I just hope it won't cost another $10. It should be free for people that already bought Interdiction.

 

[XPE]

beta’s ability to support multiple character slots so that players can check out each PMC — but some things are best left for you to discover on your own.

Will this still be available the beta ?

 

[SolidusDave]

to sum it up:


Clan Deploy:
- allows clan leaders to choose any game type and queue up to 128 clan members for matches as a team

new Skill tree system:
- improves how our character customization system works
- new skills and new abilities

in-game economy system:
- allows users to earn “Credit Points” by completing objectives, finishing missions, and killing enemies. They can then spend those points to purchase:
- new weapons and gear.

also multiple character slots and more


upcoming DLC game-type, “Escalation”:
- The most frenetic MAG game mode yet, Escalation offers three brand-new faction-neutral maps that pit a total of 96 players from all three PMCs against each other simultaneously. For the first time ever, Raven, Valor and SVER will be on a single map going after the same objectives at the same time.
- maps have never-before-seen environments
- nine new weapons


all MAG players are invited to test the stuff above and more in the all-new MAG Beta program starting next week (August 24):
- To participate in the new MAG beta, all you have to do is download the client software from the PlayStation Store when it becomes available next week, insert your MAG disc into the PlayStation 3, sign-in to the beta client and… BOOM!


PlayStation Move as a control option


That's bascially what's set for release this autumn (and now during the beta available for everyone). Even more stuff is said to be planned for the future.


Shots from the new maps:

 

[Man]

Got to love that SETI map.

 

[XPE]

Will playstation move player only be able to play with other move players or will they be able to play with any one ?

 

[fixuis]

Nice one Das-J

 

[tokewitch]

Wow beta... :lol

 

[Click]

I'm glad Zipper is slowly but surely listening to players' concerns with the game, implementing features, additions, fixes, etc. we've been wanting for so long. They take forever to make all these additions and fixes, but at least they're trying their best to give fans what we want.

Obviously they still mess up quite often, but I really appreciate the "MAG Live" team's dedication to this game, especially because they don't have the entire Zipper team to help them due to SOCOM 4.

 

[weekend_warrior]

Any double-xp weekends coming up?

 

[Click]

Any double-xp weekends coming up?

Ironic user name and question. :lol

Everyday (24 hours), you get "Happy Hour" which will give you 200% XP during that time frame. Plus, Directives adds an additional 100% XP. People have been leveling up really fast utilizing these bonuses. It just sucks that the bonus counts towards MVPs at the end of games, allowing people who doesn't deserve MVPs to get them. But Das-J said they'll be changing that eventually...

 

[SolidusDave]

Any double-xp weekends coming up?

edit beaten

 

[darkwing]

32 vs 32 vs 32

:faints:

 

[Click]

32 vs 32 vs 32

:faints:

In volcanoes. :lol

 

[Das-J]

Will playstation move player only be able to play with other move players or will they be able to play with any one ?

They'll be able to play with everyone. I was originally on the fence regarding its use in the game, but I couldn't be happier with the implementation - It's super smooth and accurate!

 

[Man]

32 vs 32 vs 32

:faints:

I love it when game devs actually dear to put in powerful features post release.

 

[weekend_warrior]

Booted up and played for the first time in maybe a month. Fantastic. Felt better balanced, teamates seemed more competent, and earned over 3000xp in only 2 games! Looking forward to even more content and 32v32v32.

 

[J-Rzez]

Here's the "big news" I was alluding to last week:

All kinds of goodness!

Now that is fantastic. Hat's off to you guys at Zipper throwing some awesome support out to the game.

It had to be a wild learning process, that's still going on in the game. I hope you guys end up green lighting "MAG 2" (or whatever you want to call it), pending on system life left, for either the PS3, or the successor hardware. I mean, if you guys could get a game like "MAG 2" in the first year of a system launch, that's some powerful stuff.

 

[X-Frame]

Why Clan Deploy (for leaders/officers only) and not simply any Group Leader?

If I have people in my group who are not in my clan (lone wolves or in other clans), will the large group deploy work then?

 

[TelemachusD]

I hope the new features and maps will draw back some of the playerbase. It seems like a good time for an official price drop, and some sort of demo as well.

 

[Persona7]

I hope the new features and maps will draw back some of the playerbase. It seems like a good time for an official price drop, and some sort of demo as well.

I think sony should bundle this game for the holiday season. Bolster the player-base and create brand awareness.

 

[Varth]

So true. After all, this will be the first Move enabled FPS*. First thing people are gonna ask for in the shop.

*can't wait to see how it fares. Please don't fuck up!

EDIT: DAS-J, any more details on the Move controls you can share? Configurability, controllers supported (1, 2, 1+pad?), gesture controls, button layout...

 

[oneHeero]

- Pretty good feedback, so basically you have to suck for a little while until you get all the upgrades that everyone else has already.... ouch. I'll give it another shot for awhile over the weekend and see where it goes from there. I always look for opposite opinions and can usually find an answer somewhere in between. I just wish I was blown away straight away outside fo the usually camping crap so I could settle with it for awhile.




- You mentioned playing with a clan, which I do, and have for a long time now. I noticed the above in a future post of yours. Honest question here, why the "Elitest" 1.5 k/d requirement? In competative gameplay KZ2, GBs, etc we have beat a few clans with k/ds twice that of ours at times and have found that the K/d in mission/objective based games is not a good indicator at all on a players skill level because of stat boosting and camping.

The difference is the more competitive players with good k/ds are also good at the objectives. A lot of high k/d whores just do that, kill. No care for the actual game obj. Having a 1.5 at least verifies you can kill ppl when need be. If you cant hold your weight outside of putting up kills than you usually get dropped.

 

[Brazil]

SVER vs. Valor vs. Raven is what I bought this game for.

Fuck yes, Zipper.

 

[SolidusDave]

I think sony should bundle this game for the holiday season. Bolster the player-base and create brand awareness.

I think helpful would also be a PSN release (as soon as possible, <30$) and re-release the game as a Move Edition like HR, though add the first or both DLC (this Holiday, 40$).

SVER vs. Valor vs. Raven is what I bought this game for.

Fuck yes, Zipper.

seriously.
I was actually a bit disappointed the game contained only the stuff from the beta.

 

[Varth]

Booted up and played for the first time in maybe a month. Fantastic. Felt better balanced, teamates seemed more competent, and earned over 3000xp in only 2 games! Looking forward to even more content and 32v32v32.

You're not the only one, really. All this buzz must be having a good effect on the player count. I never saw servers crowded like this evening in the 10 days since I returned to the game.

I think helpful would also be a PSN release (as soon as possible, <30$) and re-release the game as a Move Edition like HR, though add the first or both DLC (this Holiday, 40$).

Yep. Also, an online only game would be particularly suited for a PlayStation Plus bundle, since it stays with you only as far as you're a subscriber. Sort of a subscription-system-without-the-subscription*


*in his passcard-protected office, Kotick is having an erection right now.

 

[Click]

There are many potential marketing opportunities for SCEA / Zipper to sell many more copies of MAG and repopulate the once-large online community. Patch 1.06 and 1.07 did a lot to bring back players and keep them playing.

Hopefully with so much DLC in the pipeline, not to mention Move support, MAG could possibly be a viable online shooter going well into 2011. The game has always had great potential. Zipper is finally taking advantage of a great game that has had poor post-launch support and giving the support once promised to us fans.

 

[Persona7]

The marketing potential is great, I just hope they take advantage of it.

Release it on PSN, holiday bundles, move bundles...It is a no brainer. I hope they keep the support going even after SOCOM 4 comes out, I am still angry over what they did with SOCOM 3, I actually liked that game a lot and the community is still strong 1-3 thousand players a night.

 

[Violater]

I propose Raven and Valor team up against SVER :lol

 

[Das-J]

I propose Raven and Valor team up against SVER :lol

We've seen some of that in the playtests - Can't wait to get this Beta out the door and see what chaos you all come up with!

 

[J-Rzez]

I was actually a bit disappointed the game contained only the stuff from the beta.

I agree, I thought it launched with a good bit of content, but I honestly expected more add-on content much faster for an online only game. But, they're supporting it far better than the majority of other developers do, with new modes and constant tweaks.

Das... How about a listing of those "All-new Weapons"?

Or, at least a confirmation that the 9 all-new weapons are not "Mark"-variations on existing weapons?

Glad you're expanding and working on the trees again!

 

[Das-J]

Or, at least a confirmation that the 9 all-new weapons are not "Mark"-variations on existing weapons?

They're all new and will hopefully be detailed on the blog later this week.

 

[Click]

I agree, I thought it launched with a good bit of content, but I honestly expected more add-on content much faster for an online only game. But, they're supporting it far better than the majority of other developers do, with new modes and constant tweaks.

Das... How about a listing of those "All-new Weapons"?

Or, at least a confirmation that the 9 all-new weapons are not "Mark"-variations on existing weapons?

Glad you're expanding and working on the trees again!

Yup, they just couldn't pump out patches and DLC fast because SCE wanted Zipper to work on SOCOM 4 and Move. If this game was properly supported post-release, it would've done sooo much better and have a much bigger playerbase right now.

 

[J-Rzez]

They're all new and will hopefully be detailed on the blog later this week.

Whew, that's a relief.

Gimme that sexy new sniper-rifle I've been begging for please.

 

[Bradach]

Hey Lads, I'll be picking up MAG over the next few weeks and i have a question for you experts. when you choose a faction you're stuck with that one right? you can't change your mind after a few weeks?
if so which is the GAFfers faction?