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[uraldix]

...I've had a wonderful time with the game so far, in spite of my lack of skill in first person shooters. With the ability to heal my fallen comrades, gaining XP will be much easier and I should be able to play with the GAF SVER clan in the "big boy" games soon. I'm really looking forward to it.

Go play with them now. I am not very good (and my mic wasn't working) but I learned a lot from Violater, Click and others just being in the same game as them. I was definately the weak link but I played better than usual in those matches because they were calling out where to go, what to do and how to do it. I look forward to playing with them again at some point.

 

[Inanna]

i still don't understand this whol SVER imbalance thing.

That's because you're SVER. Try playing from other PMC's point of vie

 

[Liberty4all]

The Giant Bombs MAG Quick looks have made me quite interested in the game.

As I haven't played competive first person shooter since Battlefield 2, just how easy is it to get into MAG?

Trial by fire.

The first 5 hours or so you probaly won't have a clue what's going on. And just as you think you have it all figured out you'll unlock even more complicated gameplay modes. My first time playing Domination (full 256 players) I was completely overwhelmed. Don't get me wrong, it was awesome but I had no idea what was going on.

The game is abit easier to pick up if playing with friends who will help explain things. Regardless it's worth the time investment, this game has a ton of depth which is part of what makes it so much better than all the other shallow shooters out there.

 

[Wes]

As I haven't played competive first person shooter since Battlefield 2, just how easy is it to get into MAG?

Your first instincts (well these were mine) will be to "run and gun" as is typical with most FPS' these days. You'll find yourself getting shred to pieces. This is good though as it's part of the learning process of how important squad cohesion and co-ordination is.

The game is quite akin to Battlefield 2 but squad play is more important, as is moving from place to place and general battle awareness (noticing if people are flanking you etc).

 

[KZObsessed]

Thank you Shopto! My standard edition just arrived....... Oh wait... they sent me the Collectors Edition by mistake! Bonus!

fuuuuuuuuuuuuu

Looks like someone at Shopto was half-asleep yesterday afternoon when packing as I've got a collectors edition too

yoooooooouuuuuuuuuu

I payed the full £40 for that! ;_;

Nah, congratz you jammy bastards :lol

I have an exam to study for but I'll see you on Friday Rick! Don't level up too much!

 

[Jesse Jane]

That's because you're SVER. Try playing from other PMC's point of vie

I have actually played as all three factions, while yeah not as long as SVER.

As far as the map imbalance It's been heavily debated on the official MAG forums and everyone is pretty much in agreement that all PMCs are fairly the same. It's more to do with the skill level of the PMC then the actual map.

According to the forums basically Sabotage- 'Advantage' Sver, Acquisition - 'Advantage' Raven - Domination ' Advantage' Valor

 

[Safe Bet]

i still don't understand this whol SVER imbalance thing.

It's a SOCOM tradition...

SEALs had better weapons.

Terrorists had the advantage of defending.

 

[Violater]

No matter how hard try I can't keep up with Click :lol
We had the same number of kills in a sabo match and he still had double my points.
Man is a machine.

 

[Palmer_v1]

I like how this game sets up so many individual heroic moments per match. Like seeing a squadmate downed in an open area and you rush out to try to revive him. He's calling out targets as you approach, so you end up killing 3 enemies before you even get to him. After he's up, you're tossing grenades as you both make a mad dash for cover, praying your teammates are laying down some supression. It feels like an action movie, over and over again.

 

[Cellbomber]

Played with some Raven Gaf last night. Looking forward to some battles together in the future. This weekend should be crazy.

Hopefully they make the party system where you can have multiple squads within the party.

 

[Drame]

Cheers, Bamelin and Wes.

Seems that I'll give a MAG a shot. I played BF2 back in the day almost religiously, so I'm hoping that I'll enjoy MAG as much as I did BF2.

 

[theBishop]

While not having an OIC certainly contributed to that chaos, what we experienced in that match was a very effective command structure teaming up to dominate us.

The strategy they employed goes something like this:

1) OIC uses voice chat to let all his leaders know to use up their strikes
2) OIC waites ~3 minutes for the majority of strikes to be expended
3) OIC refreshes strikes and tells leaders to have at it
4) Opposing team gets pounded with strikes for minutes on end

If we had an OIC he could have countered this move by jamming their signals and slowing their respawn waves, but alas we did not and got shredded!

I guess it's cool that you can coordinate that. But it's not much fun on the receiving end. They may as well have dropped an asteroid on our base.

 

[Cornbread78]

The Giant Bombs MAG Quick looks have made me quite interested in the game.

As I haven't played competive first person shooter since Battlefield 2, just how easy is it to get into MAG?

it was 5, but now about 10-15 of my friends have ditched MW2 for MAG and are loving; to them is completely addicting, like crack... I can't wait until I get my PS3 back...

 

[Jesse Jane]

it was 5, but now about 10-15 of my friends have ditched MW2 for MAG and are loving; to them is completely addicting, like crack... I can't wait until I get my PS3 back...

i am very much considering trading in MW2 this weekend lol

 

[scoobs]

hmmm im starting to get that feeling that i need to buy this..

 

[TheApatheticOne]

Got to play a little Valor last night, so whoever seens out the clan invites, hook me up!

First impressions: Got a little annoyed that everytime I enterered a suppression match it was literally ending or had a minute or less left. By the time I got into a full match that was just beginning, I had to go. Controls will take some time, although that partially due to it being a new game, new style then Im used to, and also primarily playing all my FPS on the 360.

Played for maybe 45 minutes and had a BLAST. Had a few "Oh .... " moments, like when I tried to heal someone before I had the equipment to and ended up stabbing him for -5 XP :lol . Luckily the guy had a sense of humor (since he was bleeding out anyways).

Cant wait to put more time into this tomorrow.

 

[TheFallen]

No matter how hard try I can't keep up with Click :lol
We had the same number of kills in a sabo match and he still had double my points.
Man is a machine.

Don't worry about trying to keep up with Click, he likes to multi-task and usually gets those points from having to jump off of B (defending Sabo) to come revive me. :lol i kid.

It's not a competition. People need to remind themselves to focus more on winning and contributing to their team with more than just kills. Cover more ground around objectives. A lot of players seem to be afraid of moving away from B (or any FRAGO), but if you all cluster in one area you're bound to see more deaths. Especially up there on B on the SVER map. Use the mic to call out enemy positions to inform your squad where to anticipate them. As you've probably noticed, this is the bulk of what I do on the mic during Sabo matches. I play more like a scout. Sometimes my k/d sucks from it, but I think it contributes to winning more than me running up in B playing with a medical kit and randomly shooting people that come up.

 

[Lagspike_exe]

I hope shopto ships my copy tomorrow.

Can't wait to play this!

 

[Liberty4all]

I have actually played as all three factions, while yeah not as long as SVER.

As far as the map imbalance It's been heavily debated on the official MAG forums and everyone is pretty much in agreement that all PMCs are fairly the same. It's more to do with the skill level of the PMC then the actual map.

According to the forums basically Sabotage- 'Advantage' Sver, Acquisition - 'Advantage' Raven - Domination ' Advantage' Valor

In my opinion there is no overall "skill level" of each PMC, everyone aside from those that were in the beta are raw scrubs.

Even in the beta the "skill" argument was used all the time which I found to be amusing. All 3 factions have pretty much the same "Skill", at least as much as a bunch of random internet players could potentially have.

(not saying you say this but I've heard it from many Sver players) It's easy to say "oh mah PMC has mad skillz" when you are winning all the time. It could be leadership ... or maybe, just maybe, it's due to completely imbalanced maps?

It's not like this hasn't been acknowledged by Zipper that Sver were meant from the get go to have map advantage. But the weaponry buffs Raven and a lesser extent Valor are supposed to have don't make up for this map advantage.

That's the problem.

Again just my opinion ... I do like it when as Raven we beat down Sver ... but the truth is a coordinated Sver team will *usually* beat an equally coordinated Raven/Valor team.

 

[theBishop]

First match as a platoon leader. No one made it out with our precious vehicles.

 

[depward]

Got to play a little Valor last night, so whoever seens out the clan invites, hook me up!

First impressions: Got a little annoyed that everytime I enterered a suppression match it was literally ending or had a minute or less left. By the time I got into a full match that was just beginning, I had to go. Controls will take some time, although that partially due to it being a new game, new style then Im used to, and also primarily playing all my FPS on the 360.

Played for maybe 45 minutes and had a BLAST. Had a few "Oh .... " moments, like when I tried to heal someone before I had the equipment to and ended up stabbing him for -5 XP :lol . Luckily the guy had a sense of humor (since he was bleeding out anyways).

Cant wait to put more time into this tomorrow.

Suppression is not worth any playtime; MAG wasn't designed for the Suppression game type. It's like they threw it in just to include it because all online FPS games have a form of basic team deathmatch.

 

[TheApatheticOne]

Suppression is not worth any playtime; MAG wasn't designed for the Suppression game type. It's like they threw it in just to include it because all online FPS games have a form of basic team deathmatch.

Yeah, I kinda figured that, but I was limited on time but wasn't about to go another day with the game in shrinkwrap. :lol Knew the dm-gametype would be good just to get in and out real quick, getting my feet wet. I know the objective based gametypes is where its at with this game, and Im very much looking forward to digging in.

ValorGAF..... tis the only way.

 

[Fixed1979]

Suppression is not worth any playtime; MAG wasn't designed for the Suppression game type. It's like they threw it in just to include it because all online FPS games have a form of basic team deathmatch.

I wouldn't really say it's not worth any playtime. I feel it's worth a couple of plays just to get used to the controls and kills without being distracted or overwhelmed by objectives. Certainly nothing wrong with jumping in there for some mindless shooting. I agree though, it's far removed from what MAG is all about.

 

[Kowak]

I played a game of Domination today and the lag was a joke, although its the first time i have really experienced it(apart from a few in the open beta where the whole game was fucked).

Its been pissing me off playing on teams with what appears to have no medics apart from myself. Raven need to get their act together and Raven GAF need to start leading the way and educating the rest of the flock. I always find it so refreshing playing withe GAF after a few games with randoms.

i am online now if anyone wants to play.

 

[Fixed1979]

I played a game of Domination today and the lag was a joke, although its the first time i have really experienced it(apart from a few in the open beta where the whole game was fucked).

Its been pissing me off playing on teams with what appears to have no medics apart from myself. Raven need to get their act together and Raven GAF need to start leading the way and educating the rest of the flock. I always find it so refreshing playing withe GAF after a few games with randoms.

i am online now if anyone wants to play.

Playing with Raven GAF last night was certainly much more enjoyable then going solo. It'll be hard/anoying to play this without a regular group of people.

 

[uraldix]

...It's not like this hasn't been acknowledged by Zipper that Sver were meant from the get go to have map advantage. But the weaponry buffs Raven and a lesser extent Valor are supposed to have don't make up for this map advantage.

That's the problem.

Again just my opinion ... I do like it when as Raven we beat down Sver ... but the truth is a coordinated Sver team will *usually* beat an equally coordinated Raven/Valor team.

I am on SVER and have only lost one match when defending on Sabotage. The other team was very well organized and we were not at all, they basically overran us.

Even if the imbalance is just a perception, Zipper will have to react and do something, otherwise everyone will start choosing SVER and the game will become fundamentally broken. My guess is that they will start looking at the data for the various maps, PMC's and modes and see if the trends point to any of them having a distinct advantage over the others.

 

[Lonestar]

I am on SVER and have only lost one match when defending on Sabotage. The other team was very well organized and we were not at all, they basically overran us.

Even if the imbalance is just a perception, Zipper will have to react and do something, otherwise everyone will start choosing SVER and the game will become fundamentally broken. My guess is that they will start looking at the data for the various maps, PMC's and modes and see if the trends point to any of them having a distinct advantage over the others.

That's the hope, anyway. Though how do you fix an imbalance, if it's in the map structure?

 

[jorma]

I guess it's cool that you can coordinate that. But it's not much fun on the receiving end. They may as well have dropped an asteroid on our base.

i just experienced this and it was no fun at all, just reaching your controlpoint took a fair bit of luck. Easily the most frustrating experience so far in MAG - and that includes the laggy game kowak described above. And being left behind in the group menu when everyone else joined a game.

edit: but i'm glad you are only allowed one pmc/psn id to prevent desertion, Raven is taking a pummeling at the moment :X

 

[Cornbread78]

That's the hope, anyway. Though how do you fix an imbalance, if it's in the map structure?

Could they add environmental damage to the Sver maps or would that be out of the range of possibility?

 

[uraldix]

That's the hope, anyway. Though how do you fix an imbalance, if it's in the map structure?

That's a good question... Changing the paths to the objectives would be the easiest way (make it shorter for attackers or longer for defenders). This could be done with minor changes, comparatively speaking.

 

[Jesse Jane]

http://kotaku.com/5458482/the-guns-skills-and-buffs-of-mag/gallery/

what probably should have been included in the manual... good for noobs to the game.

 

[Lan_97]

http://kotaku.com/5458482/the-guns-skills-and-buffs-of-mag/gallery/

what probably should have been included in the manual... good for noobs to the game.

Thanks for this. The lack of reference for anything in the game is a bit disappointing.

 

[Inanna]

In my opinion there is no overall "skill level" of each PMC, everyone aside from those that were in the beta are raw scrubs.

Even in the beta the "skill" argument was used all the time which I found to be amusing. All 3 factions have pretty much the same "Skill", at least as much as a bunch of random internet players could potentially have.

(not saying you say this but I've heard it from many Sver players) It's easy to say "oh mah PMC has mad skillz" when you are winning all the time. It could be leadership ... or maybe, just maybe, it's due to completely imbalanced maps?

It's not like this hasn't been acknowledged by Zipper that Sver were meant from the get go to have map advantage. But the weaponry buffs Raven and a lesser extent Valor are supposed to have don't make up for this map advantage.

That's the problem.

Again just my opinion ... I do like it when as Raven we beat down Sver ... but the truth is a coordinated Sver team will *usually* beat an equally coordinated Raven/Valor team.

I've heard the "All kids went to Raven" And "SVER's got mad skilled players, Raven got lowly CoD players" argument so many times that it doesn't surprise me any more. :lol

And you know what's funny? All the "kids" that I played with (during open and closed beta) were much more organised/listened to their team mates/mature than most random "grown-ups" that I played with from EACH faction, people who always yell into their mics going "CHEATER!! FUCK YOU!!! HACKER!!" etc.

 

[FlyinJ]

So, I joined Raven yesterday, and played up to level 6.

Is it just me, or are Raven completely incompetent? I've played about 10-12 games, and Raven has won only once.

All these games were of the "capture A and B then C" variety, and I'd say in the 12 games I played, Raven managed to flip either A or B for about 10-20 seconds before losing it. Some games they were never even touched.

In about 3 of the matches I was in an excellent squad that was mic-ed and communicating well. These were the only ones in which we were able to actually flip one of the objectives, but promptly lost it as there was zero support for us.

On one map (the one with the train tracks on the left side), we had about 7 snipers lined up along the south wall of the train gulley, just sitting there the entire game. On top of that, I think we had one single medic other than me on the entire western half of the map.

Has anyone had any good experiences playing as Raven?

 

[Inanna]

So, I joined Raven yesterday, and played up to level 6.

Is it just me, or are Raven completely incompetent? I've played about 10-12 games, and Raven has won only once.

All these games were of the "capture A and B then C" variety, and I'd say in the 12 games I played, Raven managed to flip either A or B for about 10-20 seconds before losing it. Some games they were never even touched.

In about 3 of the matches I was in an excellent squad that was mic-ed and communicating well. These were the only ones in which we were able to actually flip one of the objectives, but promptly lost it as there was zero support for us.

On one map (the one with the train tracks on the left side), we had about 7 snipers lined up along the south wall of the train gulley, just sitting there the entire game. On top of that, I think we had one single medic other than me on the entire western half of the map.

Has anyone had any good experiences playing as Raven?

Join Raven GAF clan.

 

[Arnie]

Just received my CE from Shopto. Game is awesome.

 

[BradleyUK]

This is why some people got the LE than the normal edition from shopto

Hi Guys,

We had a shortfall of the normal version yesterday , around 600 units, and to keep our promise to deliver the game on time for release date to our customers we have given a free Upgrade to the SE edition, I hope you will be happy with this but Note will not happen every time!!

 

[peetfeet]

fuuuuuuuuuuuuu



yoooooooouuuuuuuuuu

I payed the full £40 for that! ;_;

Nah, congratz you jammy bastards :lol

I have an exam to study for but I'll see you on Friday Rick! Don't level up too much!

Seems they had a shortfall of 600 standard copies in their order so to keep their shipping promise they sent out the Collectors Editions at no extra charge

Edit: Beaten! :lol

 

[NullPointer]

http://kotaku.com/5458482/the-guns-skills-and-buffs-of-mag/gallery/

what probably should have been included in the manual... good for noobs to the game.

Why this information isn't directly in-game is a mystery to me. This is kindof required knowledge.

 

[NHale]

This is why some people got the LE than the normal edition from shopto

Shortfall in the day of release? What the hell is happening? Wasn't this game supposed to bomb hard at retail?

First was the Japan retailers going out of stock, now Shopto and even dvd.co.uk only had stock for about 30 minutes (they had for all preorders). Now the question is, did Sony sent a small amount of copies or is the game selling a lot?

 

[Jesse Jane]

Why this information isn't directly in-game is a mystery to me. This is kindof required knowledge.

yeah I don't quite understand that either. The training mission I thought was useless.

Shortfall in the day of release? What the hell is happening? Wasn't this game supposed to bomb hard at retail?

First was the Japan retailers going out of stock, now Shopto and even dvd.co.uk only had stock for about 30 minutes (they had for all preorders). Now the question is, did Sony sent a small amount of copies or is the game selling a lot?

Probably a little of both, but you can find the game at all Gamestops here in the US, or at least the ones near me.

 

[theBishop]

i just experienced this and it was no fun at all, just reaching your controlpoint took a fair bit of luck. Easily the most frustrating experience so far in MAG - and that includes the laggy game kowak described above. And being left behind in the group menu when everyone else joined a game.

edit: but i'm glad you are only allowed one pmc/psn id to prevent desertion, Raven is taking a pummeling at the moment :X

Are we? I feel like we're kicking ass. On Acquisition especially.

 

[peetfeet]

Anyone know how to select the CE costume ingame?

 

[Lagspike_exe]

Probably a little of both, but you can find the game at all Gamestops here in the US, or at least the ones near me.

Probably shipped according to SOCOM popularity in the USA and undershipped in Japan (since FPS games RARELY brake 100k there) and in Europe (since SOCOM wasn't exactly huge here I believe).

 

[Lan_97]

Alright, just ordered a PS3 headset. The mute button sold me. Now I can wear a headset for MAG and a headset for my phone. :lol

 

[Kowak]

i should be playing but i am stuck in a helicopter.

peetfeet, i heard that the costume wont get unlocked till tomorrow. some of the people i know have had it fucked up. i am waiting till tomorrow.

 

[oktarb]

Day 2 – Thoughts After Another Meal of Bullets and Blood

So I made level 17 last night. Respectable I feel for day 2. This means that I now qualify to lead a squad. Yes probably too long to read for some, but they I love the info on NeoGaf so I share. So here are my likes, issues and thoughts:

The Good:
+ I loved getting control of a squad even if it was only for Sabo. Not a lot of command needs in Sabo on a squad level. “OK everyone take B!” - Response “Ya, no shit Sherlock…”. I fear getting command in Domination but I’ll do my best.

+ I respecced and was able to afford better equipment with more focused spending. I also watched my respec cost go from 3000 to 5000. So ya, pace yourself. (Don’t underestimate advanced repair)

+ Domination continues to be my favorite play mode, Epic battles and climatic moments. If you don’t know what you’re doing try repairing and healing. Both are needed badly and offer good exp. Good god, before rushing into save a mate try and clear the area or get covering fire. Does no good to rush into a hot zone and die right next to the guy you wanted to save. Advanced Math: One live soldier is better than two dead ones.

+ I have no problems with any of the weapons. One can certainly have WTF moments but most all the time the feel right and kill things. Fear my rockets.

The Bad:
- Lag hit pretty bad last night. I experienced rubber banding and stuttering. It seemed to be match dependant. One match would be crystal sharp and the next it would stutter and hiccup.

- I seem to recall someone mentioning on this board or the previous beta board that the commanders could set a rally point as well as a Frago. I have yet to witness this and think it is sorely needed. Almost every single time it turns into spawn…run…die…spawn and scatters like roaches when the light comes on. Seems to me that if we’re going to take a bunker we should spawn, rally at point X and then attack as a unit. Maybe it’s just the matches I’m in but I never see this happen.

- Bunkers are too easy to repair. I can spent 5-8 minutes taking one of these down (I’ve faced some great SVER defense) only to have it back up 30 seconds later. They seem pretty powerful. Guns, respawn on sight and they can be repaired as quickly. If we take one out I would love to actually be able to repair it ourselves and then we get to use it. This applies to bunkers only.

- The vehicles control like shit. Turret is fine. Driving feels like I’m an epileptic in a blender.

The Unknown (previously The Ugly):
? Is there a Rally point system?

? Anyone know of a list of all the equipment on the field (AA, Sensors ect) and what the effect they have?

? Maps!? Anyone have a source?

? Can you activate squad/platoon abilities on Sabo? It didn’t seem like I could but it was my first squad command so I might have been in retard mode.

? Defending when attacking (Domination) – All too often we work to get to the center and then swarm. Is there a need to defend previous captured oil rigs and bunkers? And if so is the Frago system an adequate enough system to relay this info. Maybe a F(rag)ago point and a D(efend)ago point?

Zipper: You’re still not off the hook for the documentation – for shame. I do say this with love though, great game and monumental effort. I’ll buy you a beer if you’re in SF. Please don’t hold a company conference here; I can’t afford all the beers.

Chaos-Mandatory - Valor

 

[Safe Bet]

Has anyone had any good experiences playing as Raven?

Pretty Boys Make Poor Soldiers

More at 11...

 

[BattleMonkey]

They seriously needed to have better tutorials and perhaps videos of all the features in the game, lot of people are still clueless.

I love how often I plant bombs on objectives and enemy players just wander by it without attempting to disarm even when nothing is in the vicinity fighting them.

 

[obonicus]

They seriously needed to have better tutorials and perhaps videos of all the features in the game, lot of people are still clueless.

I love how often I plant bombs on objectives and enemy players just wander by it without attempting to disarm even when nothing is in the vicinity fighting them.

Are there any good fan-made tutorials? I saw one that covered advanced tactics, which doesn't help people who start playing and don't understand what's the difference between the first aid kit and medic kit.