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MAG |OT| 256-Player Battles, Lots of Teamwork, Not So Much Auto-Aim

Noshino

Member
BattleMonkey said:
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.

I can do ok in Sabo, but get my ass handed to me on Acq and Dom. Unfortunately I have only played Dom twice (one last night, and on during beta), and Acq twice (last night), yet I still don't know what was going on, and since my headset had ran out of batteries, I couldn't talk til the last match :C
 

peetfeet

Member
Kowak said:
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.

ah cheers, thought i was going simple ;)
 
oktarb said:
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.

Chaos-Mandatory - Valor

I'd also love to know these. And Chaos, I'll help pay for beers if it gets the community some quality docs and videos. Those videos Das-J posted before are a good start, but they're still missing information on secondary objectives and what influence they have on the battlefield.
 

Cornbread78

Member
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.


It can be done, but all the bluetooth signals at once my get crossed and the sound jarbled.
 

Noshino

Member
Joystiq Review

MAG is one of the most ambitious, innovative games I've played over the course of the past year -- and considering the past year has seen the introduction of a disc-jockey simulator and a game you play exclusively with your feet, I think that's a braggable claim.

If you're coming over to MAG straight from an extended tour of service in Modern Warfare 2, the transition is going to be a rough one. While the former rewards mad skillz and high K/D ratioz, Zipper Interactive's 256-player battles ultimately aren't affected by your personal performance. No one player can pull his team to victory -- and, alternatively, no one player can be blamed for his team's loss, which really takes the pressure off of mediocre soldiers like me.

Instead, battles are won with communication, teamwork and leadership. When all three are present in your squad, MAG is one of the most enjoyable multiplayer shooters you'll ever play. When just one of them is absent, it's a total nightmare.

The main "hook" of MAG is, of course, the large number of players it can cater to at a single time. More central to the game's philosophy than that, however, is the way these players are partitioned off into smaller gaggles, each with its own commanding officer and list of priorities. Though MAG's largest gametype will drop you on a team of 128 players, you'll really only be dealing with your eight-man squad. This smaller group is part of a four-squad platoon, and four platoons make up an army.

Each of these designated groups -- squad, platoon and army -- have their own leader with varying levels of power and responsibility. Players can only apply for a leadership position once they hit level 15, ensuring that they have a bit of in-game experience before taking charge. While fighting on the ground, officers have the ability to paint targets as their group's current objective. If players work to complete these objectives, they'll earn double experience for kills, assists, repairs and healing, adding additional incentive for a team to follow the orders of its superiors.

Surely you've tried to verbally orchestrate grand, four-front assaults in other multiplayer shooters, such as Battlefield 1943. What MAG does is take that idea of leadership, and place it in a cogent, straightforward in-game interface. Provided the hand on your squad's rudder isn't attached to an inaudible dimwit, it's a system that works surprisingly well.

Don't worry -- your soldier isn't just an innominate cog in a military machine. You've got a few basic aesthetic choices when designing your character, including camouflage and other accessories you unlock as your rank increases. There's also a simple tree which allows you to specialize in a certain field, or become more proficient with a certain type of weapon. Depending on which branches of the skill tree you go down, you'll automatically be given a designation (field support, commando, etc.) which helps commanding officers know better where to place you on the battlefield.

I spent my first few skill points bolstering my Medical Kit, giving me the ability to heal allies and, after a few more points, bring them back to life. I was pleased to find that the experience points rewarded for doing so are significant -- especially when healing or reviving teammates within the vicinity of your squad's targeted objective. I would later pick up anti-personnel mines, allowing me to set up "safety zones" where injured players could enter, get a quick spray of the good stuff, then run back out into the fray. From within my "Free Health Care Quik-Stop," I frequently became my platoon's MVP.

MAG is broken down into four main gametypes: Suppression, a simple 64-player deathmatch skirmish; Sabotage, a 64-player match in which the attacking team attempts to destroy three objectives, Acquisition, a 128-player mode where the attacking team attempts to steal vehicles and return them to an extraction point, and Domination, the main 256-player mode where attackers try to take down a handful of objectives in 30 minutes in an attempt to destroy the defender's oil refinery.

That may not sound like a lot of variety, but the larger gameplay modes place teams on offense and defense, each of which present different challenges and strategies to players and officers alike. There are three maps for each of the different gametypes, so you'll be seeing a lot of the same real estate the longer you play -- however, the action's dynamic enough to keep things feeling fresh.

Regardless of which gametype you're playing, or which role you're fulfilling, the wheels really fall off the wagon when your squad, platoon and army doesn't function as a single unit. If your squad leader doesn't perform his duties effectively, you're going to lose. If your team doesn't follow the orders delivered by its commanding officers, you're going to lose. If your squad lacks soldiers of varying specializations -- particularly medics -- you're probably going to lose.

Worse still, if your ragtag group of uncoordinated nincompoops is facing off against an army that does have their stuff together, you're in for a lengthy exercise in disappointment and frustration.

Of course, negative experiences like those could hypothetically be curtailed by MAG's strong community support and clan functionality. So far, I've only enlisted into matches by my lonesome -- I imagine that, with a few friends or the support of an active clan, the teamwork would come a lot more naturally.

Then again, perhaps I've only ended up in the occasional disorganized outfit because the game is so new, and so unlike other entries in the genre. There's a pretty steep learning curve -- not just for how to be a good soldier, but for how to effectively direct a 128-player army as a single, cohesive unit. Players are still figuring out how to be good at the game -- and after being repeatedly eviscerated in Modern Warfare 2 by experienced veterans of the franchise, I found MAG's collective learning process to be downright refreshing.

MAG is an incredibly polished and -- when teamwork prevails -- incredibly satisfying multiplayer shooter which deserves the consideration of every PS3 owner. Though it has the propensity for frustration when communication between squadmates breaks down, it still offers a brand new experience for the first-person shooter genre; an experience I'm excited to watch develop from the ground floor.

http://www.joystiq.com/2010/01/28/review-mag/
 
oktarb said:
The Unknown (previously The Ugly):

? 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.
http://kotaku.com/5458482/the-guns-s...f-mag/gallery/


don't know if that's what you're looking for in regards to some of those questions
 

Das-J

Law of the West
oktarb said:
- 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.

You can set a rally point or "waypoint" by going into the CNI (press SELECT) and then pressing X over the area you wish to highlight. Note that you cannot select an objective in this manner because it will become FRAGO'd.
 

oktarb

Member
Das-J said:
You can set a rally point or "waypoint" by going into the CNI (press SELECT) and then pressing X over the area you wish to highlight. Note that you cannot select an objective in this manner because it will become FRAGO'd.

Sweet, thanks! A shall use the hell out of this feature.
 
In a perfect world:

* ALL game info in either video form, streamable through the game, download links via PSN, OR provide the web address to something like "training.mag.com" at the bottom of the screen, and populate that site with diagrams, PDFs, the works.

* Provide map overheads and various angled shots of the objectives on each map. Provide names of the different areas to enable teams to better communicate locations.

* A Home space to work map strategy and launch the game. For all I know this already exists as Home just bugs me to no end, but in this case I'll make an exception. Being able to group up and plan out some strategies before launching the game could be damn nice.

I know... I know... Its nice to want things.

But hey - if any of these things came to pass that'd be some more press for the game and a nicer intro for new players. Map callouts would help vet players the most, and allow squad leaders to use a shared vocabulary on the battlefield.

See? This is what happens when I don't get to play the game, and instead spend my time at work thinking about it. I'm up for shenanigans tonight though. Lets give em hell Valor!
 

Filldough

Member
Palmer_v1 said:
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.

uhmmm... I think I just had a spontaneous orgasm after reading this...
 

Wes

venison crêpe
Has anyone found a loadout calculator yet?

I found the values of the guns but I've forgotten how much the gun attachments, equipment and armour costs.
 

Beardz

Member
Das-J said:
You can set a rally point or "waypoint" by going into the CNI (press SELECT) and then pressing X over the area you wish to highlight. Note that you cannot select an objective in this manner because it will become FRAGO'd.

Multiple waypoints would be sweet...
 

Kowak

Banned
new low for raven, lost sabotage in 3 minutes. hurry up and get online my fellow europeans, raven is dead during the afternoon here.
 

Harry_Manback

Neo Member
Attention random pubbie squad leaders! Just a FYI: you will never get other pubbies to go where you want by bitching and moaning. Man up and lead and we shall follow.
 

Inanna

Not pure anymore!
I won't be able to play until either Friday evening or maybe Monday/Tuesday. :'( I'm not at home right now. *sad face*
 

jorma

is now taking requests
theBishop said:
Are we? I feel like we're kicking ass. On Acquisition especially.

I should play more acquisition then, but i don't really understand whats going on in that mode yet. So confusing. :p
 

uraldix

Member
Harry_Manback said:
Attention random pubbie squad leaders! Just a FYI: you will never get other pubbies to go where you want by bitching and moaning. Man up and lead and we shall follow.

This. So many of them give crappy directions and then call everyone noobs for not knowing what they are talking about.
 

Violater

Member
jorma said:
I should play more acquisition then, but i don't really understand whats going on in that mode yet. So confusing. :p

SVER comes in and steals your vehicle while Raven cries and sucks their thumbs in a corner.
Voila!
 

theBishop

Banned
One thing I'd like to see more of is a global sense of the shadow war story. Periodic cutscenes, more specific mission voiceovers, maybe even high-lighting recent victories in-game. There's a lot Zipper could be doing to give the feel of a story/campaign without having a specific single-player mode.
 
Harry_Manback said:
Attention random pubbie squad leaders! Just a FYI: you will never get other pubbies to go where you want by bitching and moaning. Man up and lead and we shall follow.
To add to this. Don't just take objectives, HOLD them! Don't just run from one point to the next and expect to win. An assault requires offensive and defensive measures.
 

theBishop

Banned
Lion Heart said:
Old but Giantbombs second quicklook here

Despite Gerstmann's several factual errors about the game, I think this is the best coverage I've seen online. Zipper can't feel good about that loading crash. They're super-lucky he didn't run into the "wtf, why are my controls inverted !?!" bug. He would've had fun with that for sure.
 

Blair

Banned
Picking this up tommorow (damn late europe) can't wait to play this shit out of this. Only thing is, in the few beta matches i played i was SVER which i enjoyed, but now i'm reading that SVER steamrolls alot of games and i don't like playing as the winning side. I guess RAVEN will get another member.
 

Corran Horn

May the Schwartz be with you
mrwilt said:
Corran, I see you aren't too worried about K/D ratio. I like that. In part 2 of that second vid when you were repairing the vehicle, how did you kill yourself?
When it ran over me? I have no idea...found it funny that I somehow ran myself over :lol
 
Palmer_v1 said:
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.
Massive Action Game CONFIRMED

And GAF laughed at the name.
 

Inanna

Not pure anymore!
Most badass Raven clans that I have played with during the beta (like EFR, There's another but they only use symbols, and even Raven GAF is heavily populated by British and Europeans) are made up of Europeans, the game would change drastically after Friday. Enjoy your short lived victory SVER. Once Euros get in, they won't know what hit 'em! :D

I remember once we beat SVER within 5 minutes in Sabotage! It will happen again.
 

dorkimoe

Gold Member
anyone want to answer my leader questions? I unlocked the ability to be a squad leader . What abilities do i have, and how do i use them? I don't wanna get us killed haha
 
dorkimoe said:
anyone want to answer my leader questions? I unlocked the ability to be a squad leader (platoon leader?) whatever level 15 is. What abilities do i have, and how do i use them? I don't wanna get us killed haha

Apply for leadership when joining a queue. Easiest way to use your abilities is to open up the tactical map (press "SELECT") and then select what you want to use (mortars etc.).

You also get a set of passive buffs that influence soldiers around you.
 

PuMa

Member
Corran Horn said:
When it ran over me? I have no idea...found it funny that I somehow ran myself over :lol

Yeah, about that...I've actually run into a sationary vehicle and somehow killed myself! :lol
No idea, but it was funny.
 
Yeah, ValorGAF is starting to pick up a bit, join now in the beginning days so you can say you were there when the fall of SVER and Raven started and you helped see that fall through. :D
 

dorkimoe

Gold Member
Lagspike_exe said:
Apply for leadership when joining a queue. Easiest way to use your abilities is to open up the tactical map (press "SELECT") and then select what you want to use (mortars etc.).

You also get a set of passive buffs that influence soldiers around you.

that was easy. i didnt see any useful abilities with squad leader. But that coulda been the mode

are you in sver gaf with us? i dont know if ive played with you yet
 

Lonestar

I joined for Erin Brockovich discussion
TheApatheticOne said:
Yeah, ValorGAF is starting to pick up a bit, join now in the beginning days so you can say you were there when the fall of SVER and Raven started and you helped see that fall through. :D

See, if 2 of the 3 factions all leave to join SVER, then SVER has no one to play. GAME OVER.
 
dorkimoe said:
that was easy. i didnt see any useful abilities with squad leader. But that coulda been the mode

are you in sver gaf with us? i dont know if ive played with you yet

My game shipped today, which means that I'll be joining SVER GAF in around 7 days. :)
 

jorma

is now taking requests
PuMa said:
Yeah, about that...I've actually run into a sationary vehicle and somehow killed myself! :lol
No idea, but it was funny.

I've killed myself with my own anti personell mines. Didn't even get the guy who triggered them. Not as funny.
 

Tenks

Member
Anyone been able to find this for $40? I want to play the game but unwilling to pay $60 anymore for games. I'm assuming it'll be one sale for that price in a few weeks (i hope)
 

Click

Banned
Wes said:
Has anyone found a loadout calculator yet?

I found the values of the guns but I've forgotten how much the gun attachments, equipment and armour costs.

There's no loadout calculator yet, but this dude's working on one. He's a friend of a GAF'fer but I forgot which GAF'fer it was, lol.

http://www.maggametools.com/


Lagspike_exe said:
3 minutes? :lol

I've beaten Raven in less than 2 and a half a few times.
Wasn't even fun. ; ;


dorkimoe said:
that was easy. i didnt see any useful abilities with squad leader. But that coulda been the mode

The squad leader is quite possibly the most important officer position a team can have. In Sabotage, they're not as important, but they can still do more than platoon leaders in this game mode.

Not only do they have a vicinity-based, squad-wide buff effects, but they can also set FRAGO and waypoints. If your team is defending A and B is getting overwhelmed, you can FRAGO B, tell a few members of your squad to help them out, and still get FRAGO points for both A and B. Just keep in mind that the FRAGO resets from time to time, I believe when an objective gets taken over or if it gets re-captured.

In Acquisition and Domination, they can even call in bombs on enemies and I believe UAVs as well. Without a good squad leader that knows what they're doing in these game modes, your squad is pretty much gimped.

Oh yeah, and you can also set where the squad's default spawn point is. For example, in the beginning of a Sabotage match, if your squad is assigned to A, you can spawn EVERYONE at B, lol.


As for a platoon leader, they're not as important as squad leaders are, but they also provide good support. They have a poison gas bombardment ability that covers a large area. They also have an ability that scans for targets near objective areas (although I'm still not positive how exactly it works). It sucks that platoon leaders can't FRAGO nor waypoint. Zipper should allow the platoon leader to set platoon-wide FRAGO / waypoints.

Instead of only having squad-wide buffs, they have platoon-wide buff effects. One of my favorite is the fact that they automatically repair bunkers and vehicles they're in. Which brings me to my next post....
 
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