Slashdot Mirror

RealityMod on stock BF2 is the only FPS We will ever need. It still to this day gets updates (v1.2 just got released May-2014), the community based effort has fostered a higher production value than any of the commercial crap getting pumped out (they produce all their own high quality textures, record all their own sounds for every weapon, and had access to military equipment for recording the "big booms"), the gameplay is incredibly immersive, and team based tactics/strategy is the only way to win.

http://www.realitymod.com ...and never look back. See you on the battlefield!

look how many of the popular video games today are actual simulations of war, complete with virtual clones of the exact weaponry and vehicles our military uses in real life!

I can only think of one or two which relatively speaking aren't really that popular (and have player bases just as large in Europe as the US). The other "modern warfare" video games that you are no doubt thinking of are about as close to "actual simulations of war" as Duke Nukem or Halo are.

That depends on the game. If you're playing Quake-style deathmatch, sure, that kind of camping is lame.

I play things like Project Reality where the maps are enormous and the gameplay is much slower. You squad up and hike across the map for a good several minutes without any enemy contact (though you have to be constantly on your toes). You reach a river. The whole squad crossing at once is suicidal, so you go in pairs, with everyone else staying in the trees and ready to provide cover fire. With 30 seconds for each pair to cross the river, you're going to be sitting there watching your sector for a while. Constantly looking around to keep your mouse awake just makes you easier to see. When you see a muzzle flash on the far bank, you have to react fast: the shooter's already cycling in the next round, and he's sure to have friends. The 1 second it takes your mouse to wake up is an eternity when the guy crouching next to you just took one in the head.

If you live through that exercise and make it to the enemy base, the first part is easy: run in, blow away anyone who objects to your presence. But then you have to hold the territory until you achieve the capture, which means a couple minutes of hiding on the porch or behind some sandbags, holding your breath. It's not going to be a surprise attack: you know the reinforcements are coming; it's just a matter of when and where. Moving means you become the canary. Lag - including from your mouse - means you will let your squad down when half a dozen bad guys with assault rifles jump out of the alley.

We actively do this in a Battlefield 2 mod - you die a martyr for the cause and the coalition soldiers get a huge point penalty. It happens to be my favourite FPS. People get into character, especially on the IDF vs. Hamas maps, naming squads like 'Jihad', 'MelGibson', 'Ninjews'. It's probably the only FPS that people seem to actually work as a team in a pick-up game, and actively use mics.

An example of playing as a collaborator.

You want decent realism you should check out the Forgotten Hope hope mod for battlefied 1 and 2.

If you are HARDCORE for realism check out project reality.

http://www.realitymod.com/

I really BURN for mods like this because (alltough yes, the pacing might not be 100%) the extra challenge and responsibilities that goes into teamplay makes the game much more interesting.

For me the MW games is more akin to quake3

>The Battlefield & Call of Duty games hold exactly 0 interest to me

Err, these games are practically high fantasy. Being shot by a whole clip of ammo and running away is on par with casting fireball with an elf mage. Perhaps you are refering to the Project Reality mod for BF2?

http://www.realitymod.com/features.html

I have to mention this game, hasn't been mentioned so far in the thread. Project Reality is a team-based, teamwork-oriented, fairly realistic game. It absolutely craps on AA. I used to play AA for my "realism" fix, haven't even thought about AA since trying PR. Yes, PR has re-spawns, but it's more realistic. Also, it's a game where teamwork is actually present. People typically use VOIP and coordination within a single squad is usually good. On the better servers, the entire team will often work together in a coordinated fashion.

PR is actually a mod for Battlefield 2, so it's free if you own BF2. If not, I guess you can easily grab a copy of BF2 for under 10 USD these days.

A word of warning: PR is rather hardcore and fairly demanding, in terms of patience, willingness to work together and willingness to learn - there are numerous aspects of the game you won't immediately grok. But if you're looking for teamwork, tactics and realism, look PR up, it may well be what you want.

You just gotta look past the titles. Ive been content playing the Forgotten Hope mod for the battlefield 1942 engine for a while now, and it will soon have a version out for Battlefield 2, which will be nice to swap between with something like Project Reality. There are people out there who actually care about gameplay more than what the annoying lowest common denominator wants. Sure the graphics arent quite as good as say Crysis, but it looks good enough, and with 64 players, these games can be intense.

Some BF2 mods for those who havent looked:
WWII as it's meant to be played (coming soon)...
http://forgottenhope.filefront.com/main.php?module=&lang=english&flash=yes&mod=

Intense, team-based, and tactical (available)...
http://www.realitymod.com/

Great fun (available)...
http://www.bfpirates.com/

I have to say I agree with your comment nzMM, a lot of mods look promising and have great ideas but they do die off because a community isn't built up quickly enough. I am playing a mod at the moment for Battlefield 2 that bucks this trend called Project Reality. It really is the game BF2 should have been and has regular releases with a very active community providing a lot of feedback and sneak previews of work in progress. Anybody who hated BF2 because of the flag hopping, whack-a-mole gameplay should really check it out. I hope other modders follow the example.