Pros and Cons of BF: Vietnam

[Leitung Panzer]

In conclusion, you haven't even played the game.

I was skeptical about the game, even though I preordered it. I figured that since it was the Vannila EA/Dice release it wouldent be all that amazing, but I was very suprised.

It's much more fun than vannila BF or DC (Like it's hard?)

It does have netcode problems, and some balancing issues, but most of the pubbies have yet to realize how good the M60/AT class is, and so they don't use it..that's good.

Overall the game is a definate 9/10 and I think FH should make the switch, because BF1942 will slowly die out because of BF:V, and rightfully so, it's a great game.

Most of the sounds are good as well, and the music adds alot to it.

[BlitzPig_Machine]

First of all the classes aren't THAT unbalanced. I thought they would be at first, but in reality, they aren't. The sniper-bazooka's are gone, and you have LAW's and RPG's that are fairly short-ranged. And guided missiles which are cool.

But all of that is besides the point really, because this isn't about how BFV is now, but what the engine gives to FH.

If NOTHING else, FH needs BF:V for the jungle environments it can provide. They're stunning. The undergrowth is very nicely done...Okinawa would look fantastic in the BF:V engine. Or maybe a Merrel's Marauders map...

Also, the general effects are very good. I don't know if they can do the muzzle flash in BF1942 like they can in BFV. Also, you can use twice as many textures, at least that's what I think I read. Bump mapping!

It's not perfect, and it certainly lacks the refinement of BF:1942, especially after the 1.6 patch. But it IS an improvement on the engine.

As for the "system requirements are too high" argument, I don't think that's the best argument I have ever heard for keeping a game/mod from using the resources available to them to make the best product possible.

[McGibs]

BFV as a game Im not too fond of, but they did improve the engine a bit. The folliage is very nice, and there's propbly some neat things you could do with the classes, and maybe some kind of infantry damage system (players slow down)

I'm not sure if it's worth the time to do a total conversion.

[SilenT AssassiN]

i was really skeptic about it too , but it really is fun not the most realistic but fun as hell , and the music is cool, there are some bugs like it lags like a bitch when in a group of tanks jeeps and people , napalm is fun as hell put it kills as many teammates as it does gooks (heehee nam laguage) i reccomend you do buy it

i read in the penny arcade interview that the americans speak vietnamise(sp?)

no its the arvn(my cousin is mike k. from pennyarcade)

Well, I like BF:V, even though the netcode is buggy. I think with a couple of patches it will improve, and it has the potential to be a lot of fun. I think it is a definite step up from EOD, which was also fun. Of course, this means that I am using it for enjoyment sake. FH is still my primary game, and our clan plays it seriously. I don't care if FH switches over to BF:V or not, because I will keep playing FH regardless, simply because it is still the best gameplay around.

[Sputty]

Originally Posted by striderx2048

Con - default bfv has higher sysrequirement then bf42, fh has higher sysrequirement then bf42, fh+bfv = slide show

That's assuming that BFV is as unoptimized as BF1942 in general. Most mods have that problenm because they're pushing the engine too far, but mods wouldn't be pushing the engine in BF:V as much

[Ohioan]

Here's my thoughts after 1 day of playing it:

Out of the box, the game was broken. It wouldn't detect the CDs (perfectly legitimate copy, bought at CompUSA) and I immediately had to get a no-CD hack in order to even start the game. The graphics glitches were tremendous and the game ran very poorly. After 3 hours of tweaking and fixing, it's running decently and things don't bug out.

Things I like
Netcode is very much improved. You don't have to aim half a screen ahead to account for lag anymore. Also, pistols fire when you hit the trigger, no more waiting for server synch. This makes semi-auto weapons very cool now.

Bump-Mapping, while it leaves a cartoonish effect on most BF:V stuff, could bring a lot more detail.

Sounds. BF:V supports Miles 2d Positional, EAX, EAX2, EAX3, Surround sound 5.1-7.1, and is very customizable to allow a good mix of preformance and quality.

Tracer effects are a lot more realistic, explosions look better.

Great booby trap/mine systems. Sticky bombs are definately possible here.

Music. Great soundtrack, excellent implementation (aside from an obvious bug where music will slow down do to sound occulsion and doppler effect when playing on a vehicle that speeds past you).

3d map option allows you to see waypoints and friendly units through the terrain and foliage at long distance, with distance markers. Useful for pilots who are limited in visibility by fog.

The Fog is done a lot better in Vietnam as well, it isn't nearly as bad as it is in bf1942.

Things i dont like
Slow preformance. I have a high-end box and I can get framerate drops into the 10FPS range. It's NOT a smooth-running game.

Foliage Graphics. The ground cover stuff is neat and done well, but the trees look awful (jagged pixelated edges against a white sky).

Bugs. Trying to force Anisotropic Filtering or FSAA will cause the first person gun models to dissapear in some cases and severely impact your preformance in others. Apperantly it only happens on ATI cards. The CDs aren't detected because of a known bug in Windows XP where a programmer uses a shortcut to access the list of devices on a computer. This has been known about for some time.

There aren't truly full-customizable kits. There's the same setup as before. You pick a kit and go with it. There's just 8 to choose from instead of 5, and the way it's set up makes it look like you have the ability to customize it, but it's just like bf1942.

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I don't think this is going to be worth switching over to. It's got nice graphics and a few more options, but as far as FH is concerned, most of them can't be used (homing missiles, hellicopter controls..). I say stick with bf1942. And if you're going to buy Vietnam, I'd wait for a bit, until you can get a Demo to gauge the preformance on your system or until they release a patch. The balance is terrible, M60+rocket launcher class is ridiculous. The M60 kills in 2 hits and fires 4 rounds a second, is accurate at long range.

I am curious. I see many of you saying you are having performance issues, but the only issue I have seen is that the netcode is still a little buggy. As far as how it runs, I have a middle of the road machine, and it runs like a top on my machine with everything cranked. I do wish the foliage was a little better than it is (hint: play Vietcong). Just for comparison sake, here's my vital system stats:

Athlon XP 2400 overclocked to 2.27 Ghz
768 MB DDR 2100
Radeon 9700 Pro 128MB

No framerate drops, no video chop, just crap netcode (again).

[Snorelax]

If you dink with it enough, you can probably modify the helicopter's towing capability to make fully towable field guns by any APC/tractor/truck, which would be cool.

[the_move]

Originally Posted by striderx2048

Con - default bfv has higher sysrequirement then bf42, fh has higher sysrequirement then bf42, fh+bfv = slide show

I suggest you get a better PC then.

Besides it is not true, that BFV has no gameplay changes tot BF1942. It plays a lot different.

Especially the infantry firefights!