http://cod.ctagames.com/forums/ Fri, 21 Nov 2008 14:34:20 -0500 MyBB http://cod.ctagames.com/forums/showthread.php?tid=13547 Thu, 20 Nov 2008 01:28:43 -0500 http://cod.ctagames.com/forums/showthread.php?tid=13547
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dLgN9_TUH...re=related]]>
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dLgN9_TUH...re=related]]> http://cod.ctagames.com/forums/showthread.php?tid=13545 Wed, 19 Nov 2008 23:44:48 -0500 http://cod.ctagames.com/forums/showthread.php?tid=13545
Allies Attacking Austria on dod_adenau_b1 (SS) with 1.5% handicap Bid won by 2.15 points



Round NoAxis ScoreAllies ScoreRelative Diff.(%)Axis Bid Points WonAllied Bid Points Won1136873-73.04%0.250.52187460-42.19%0.250.53196426-36.98%0.250.54161534-53.67%0.250.55174503-48.60%0.250.56134682-67.16%0.250.5Totals9883478-55.75%1.503.0

Allies Win Austria with 54.25%

_________________________________________________________

Axis Attacking Egypt on dod_tunisiaCTF_rc1 with 1.5% handicap Bid won by 0.85 points



Round NoAxis ScoreAllies ScoreRelative Diff.(%)Axis Bid Points WonAllied Bid Points Won1267373-16.56%0.250.52 200439-37.40%0.250.53203141-35.20%0.250.54339328 1.65%0.50.255195582-49.81%0.250.56166639-58.76%0.250.5Totals13702775-33.90%1.752.75

Allies Win Defense on Egypt with 35.40%


Allies Win 5 Victory Points]]>
Allies Attacking Austria on dod_adenau_b1 (SS) with 1.5% handicap Bid won by 2.15 points



Round NoAxis ScoreAllies ScoreRelative Diff.(%)Axis Bid Points WonAllied Bid Points Won1136873-73.04%0.250.52187460-42.19%0.250.53196426-36.98%0.250.54161534-53.67%0.250.55174503-48.60%0.250.56134682-67.16%0.250.5Totals9883478-55.75%1.503.0

Allies Win Austria with 54.25%

_________________________________________________________

Axis Attacking Egypt on dod_tunisiaCTF_rc1 with 1.5% handicap Bid won by 0.85 points



Round NoAxis ScoreAllies ScoreRelative Diff.(%)Axis Bid Points WonAllied Bid Points Won1267373-16.56%0.250.52 200439-37.40%0.250.53203141-35.20%0.250.54339328 1.65%0.50.255195582-49.81%0.250.56166639-58.76%0.250.5Totals13702775-33.90%1.752.75

Allies Win Defense on Egypt with 35.40%


Allies Win 5 Victory Points]]> http://cod.ctagames.com/forums/showthread.php?tid=13508 Sun, 16 Nov 2008 06:02:20 -0500 http://cod.ctagames.com/forums/showthread.php?tid=13508 http://cod.ctagames.com/forums/showthread.php?tid=13504 Sat, 15 Nov 2008 23:38:17 -0500 http://cod.ctagames.com/forums/showthread.php?tid=13504
Allies Attacking Finland on dod_kolsch with 1.5% handicap Bid won by 3.60 points



Round NoAxis ScoreAllies ScoreRelative Diff.(%)Axis Bid Points WonAllied Bid Points Won1127397-51.53%0.250.52160340-36.00%0.250.53161417-44.29%0.250.54397138 48.41%0.50.255248279- 5.88%0.250.56166309-30.11%0.250.5Totals12591880-19.78%1.752.75

Allies Win Finalnd with 18.28%

_________________________________________________________

Axis Attacking N. Russia on dod_strum with 1.5% handicap Bid won by 4.40 points



Round NoAxis ScoreAllies ScoreRelative Diff.(%)Axis Bid Points WonAllied Bid Points Won1144378-44.83%0.250.52 164334-34.14%0.250.53188310-24.50%0.250.54172349-33.97%0.250.55181293-23.63%0.250.56176323-29.46%0.250.5Totals10251987-31.94%1.503.00

Allies Win Defense on N.Russia with 33.44%


Allies Win 5 Victory Points]]>
Allies Attacking Finland on dod_kolsch with 1.5% handicap Bid won by 3.60 points



Round NoAxis ScoreAllies ScoreRelative Diff.(%)Axis Bid Points WonAllied Bid Points Won1127397-51.53%0.250.52160340-36.00%0.250.53161417-44.29%0.250.54397138 48.41%0.50.255248279- 5.88%0.250.56166309-30.11%0.250.5Totals12591880-19.78%1.752.75

Allies Win Finalnd with 18.28%

_________________________________________________________

Axis Attacking N. Russia on dod_strum with 1.5% handicap Bid won by 4.40 points



Round NoAxis ScoreAllies ScoreRelative Diff.(%)Axis Bid Points WonAllied Bid Points Won1144378-44.83%0.250.52 164334-34.14%0.250.53188310-24.50%0.250.54172349-33.97%0.250.55181293-23.63%0.250.56176323-29.46%0.250.5Totals10251987-31.94%1.503.00

Allies Win Defense on N.Russia with 33.44%


Allies Win 5 Victory Points]]> http://cod.ctagames.com/forums/showthread.php?tid=13497 Sat, 15 Nov 2008 01:43:37 -0500 http://cod.ctagames.com/forums/showthread.php?tid=13497
Today, while talking to Scuba, I had an idea. I know it is scarey that I had an idea, it did hurt but here it is:

We will be offering a campaign credit to the person who kills Scuba and myself the most. On top of that we will keep a running total after each battle and award you the title of " King of Moose/Scuba". ( yes the title sucks but I will be taking ideas on the name.)

So get your skills up and get fragging.

*** Tk's will not count and Scuba and I will do our best to play for both sides to give each side a solid chance of getting us.***]]>
Today, while talking to Scuba, I had an idea. I know it is scarey that I had an idea, it did hurt but here it is:

We will be offering a campaign credit to the person who kills Scuba and myself the most. On top of that we will keep a running total after each battle and award you the title of " King of Moose/Scuba". ( yes the title sucks but I will be taking ideas on the name.)

So get your skills up and get fragging.

*** Tk's will not count and Scuba and I will do our best to play for both sides to give each side a solid chance of getting us.***]]> http://cod.ctagames.com/forums/showthread.php?tid=13481 Thu, 13 Nov 2008 16:24:48 -0500 http://cod.ctagames.com/forums/showthread.php?tid=13481
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football...708814.stm

Chelsea 1-1 Burnley (aet)
Burnley win 5-4 on penalties

Amazing win for my homeside!]]>
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football...708814.stm

Chelsea 1-1 Burnley (aet)
Burnley win 5-4 on penalties

Amazing win for my homeside!]]> http://cod.ctagames.com/forums/showthread.php?tid=13472 Tue, 11 Nov 2008 23:41:58 -0500 http://cod.ctagames.com/forums/showthread.php?tid=13472 http://cod.ctagames.com/forums/showthread.php?tid=13466 Mon, 10 Nov 2008 18:28:45 -0500 http://cod.ctagames.com/forums/showthread.php?tid=13466
I hope wherever you are you get chance to observe the silence.


Quote:They shall grow not old,
As we that are left grow old:
Age shall not weary them,
Nor the years condemn,
At the going down of the sun
And in the morning
We will remember them.

]]>
I hope wherever you are you get chance to observe the silence.


Quote:They shall grow not old,
As we that are left grow old:
Age shall not weary them,
Nor the years condemn,
At the going down of the sun
And in the morning
We will remember them.

]]> http://cod.ctagames.com/forums/showthread.php?tid=13465 Mon, 10 Nov 2008 17:58:38 -0500 http://cod.ctagames.com/forums/showthread.php?tid=13465

Posted By Togikagi, 2008-11-10 11:10:35 for General News According to Dr. John Parmentola, Director of Research and Laboratory Management with the U.S. Army’s science and technology office, the Army is working on some paranormal stuff straight out of the X-Files or Terminator, including realistic holographic images, memory deletion and quantum ghost imaging.

What does that have to do with all you World of Warcraft and EVE Online players? Well, Parmentola has said MMORPGs such as these may be used to test out virtual human beings.

“We want to use the massively multi-player online game as an experimental laboratory to see if they’re good enough to convince humans that they’re actually human,” he said.

Visit http://www.dodbuzz.com, an online defense and acquisition journal presented by military.com, for the full article. It can also be found below.

It’s like something out of “The Terminator.” Self-aware virtual humans, regenerating body parts on “nano-scaffolding,” mind controlled weapons - all the stuff of movie robots, comic heroes and otherworldly tomes.

But for some, this kind of higher-than-high tech is as real as life and death.

Dr. John Parmentola, Director of Research and Laboratory Management with the Army’s science and technology office, told military bloggers Nov. 3 that the Army is “making science fiction into reality” by creating realistic holographic images, generating virtual humans and diving into quantum computing.

It may sound like a trailer for the next “Star Trek” installment, but Parmentola is deadly serious.

For the last several years, the Army has kept a close eye on research into areas of science that might have once been called “paranormal;” its practitioners drummed out of the academy as kooks and nut-jobs. But now the idea of implanting specific memories or erasing damaging ones, for example, isn’t mere fantasy.

Dr. Joe Tsien, a neurobiologist at the Medical College of Georgia and co-director of the Brain Discovery Institute, has been able to erase certain memories from mice subjected to traumatic experiences in a laboratory environment, Parmentola said. From a practical standpoint, the Army could use this kind of technology to help Soldiers who’ve been psychologically scarred by staring death straight in the eye.

“You can imagine people who have horrifying memories, it would be great if we could eliminate them so this way they’re not plagued by these memories uncontrollably,” Parmentola said. “We have Soldiers that have this problem, like PTSD and traumatic brain injury, but there are many other examples that occur in the civilian world.”

The Army plans to highlight Tsien’s and other research into the ragged edges of science fiction at the 26th Army Science Conference in Orlando next month, where experts in neurorobotics, high-tech computer displays and quantum physics will explain how Soldiers could benefit from the types of radical science most have only seen on episodes of the “X-Files.”

Take mind communication, for example. Experiments have shown that certain thoughts generate electrical impulses on the surface of the scalp, Parmentola said. Think commandos who can stealthily communicate without using their voice or Soldiers who control weapons with their thoughts from a distance over a wireless connection.

“You could wear a cap that is sensitive to these electrical impulses, pick up the pattern and amplify those small signals send it over a wire [or wirelessly] connect it to a device,” Parmentola said. “So if you think of a thought ‘turn on,’ it will automatically turn on a computer or that device.”

Or how about regenerative medicine? Parmentola said researchers aren’t far away from being able to grow back body parts - both internal organs and limbs - that have been lost in combat or other accidents. The technique focuses on the use if molecular-sized particles that act as a kind of scaffolding to support the growth of body tissue - say, a finger - and dissolves as the biological material solidifies.

It’s not that unlike what a salamander can do when it loses a limb.

“We’re beginning to understand how this occurs and if we can, it holds the hope of, being able to regrow limbs on people,” Parmentola said.

Then some of this space-aged research takes a turn into the Einsteinian world of quantum mechanics and particle physics - places most mere mortals who simply hump hills with ammo-laden rucks fear to tread.

“Quantum ghost imaging,” for example, is as complicated as it sounds. Basically it’s a phenomenon of physics that allows images to be rendered through the pairing of photons that do not reflect or bounce off an object, but off of other photons that did, thereby creating a sort of “ghost” image of it. This technology would enable the Army to generate images of personnel and equipment through clouds and smoke.

“It’s like having a tracing tool … that goes over the image and that’s connected to another one on a piece of paper that exactly imitates what it is that you are tracing with the other pen,” Parmentola said. “It takes advantage of a remarkable property of quantum mechanics to try and do this.”

And if you do end up at the Army Science Conference next month, don’t be startled by the three-dimensional holographic image of a soldier talking to you (not that the regenerated arm, mind-controlled computer or implanted memories won’t freak you out enough) as you walk down the hall. It might just be the virtual human Army researchers are creating to make simulators and war games more realistic for training, Parmentola said.

They’re working on creating “photorealistic looking and acting human beings” that can think on their own, have emotions and talk in local slang.

“I actually interact with virtual humans in terms of asking them questions and they’re responding,” Parmentola said.

To test out the computer generated humans’ “humanity,” Parmentola and his researchers want to unleash some of their cyber Soldiers into so-called “massively multi-player online games” such as “World of Warcraft” or “Eve Online” - games frequented by thousands of super-competitive human players in teams of virtual characters fighting battles that can last for days.

“We want to use the massively multi-player online game as an experimental laboratory to see if they’re good enough to convince humans that they’re actually human,” he said.]]>

Posted By Togikagi, 2008-11-10 11:10:35 for General News According to Dr. John Parmentola, Director of Research and Laboratory Management with the U.S. Army’s science and technology office, the Army is working on some paranormal stuff straight out of the X-Files or Terminator, including realistic holographic images, memory deletion and quantum ghost imaging.

What does that have to do with all you World of Warcraft and EVE Online players? Well, Parmentola has said MMORPGs such as these may be used to test out virtual human beings.

“We want to use the massively multi-player online game as an experimental laboratory to see if they’re good enough to convince humans that they’re actually human,” he said.

Visit http://www.dodbuzz.com, an online defense and acquisition journal presented by military.com, for the full article. It can also be found below.

It’s like something out of “The Terminator.” Self-aware virtual humans, regenerating body parts on “nano-scaffolding,” mind controlled weapons - all the stuff of movie robots, comic heroes and otherworldly tomes.

But for some, this kind of higher-than-high tech is as real as life and death.

Dr. John Parmentola, Director of Research and Laboratory Management with the Army’s science and technology office, told military bloggers Nov. 3 that the Army is “making science fiction into reality” by creating realistic holographic images, generating virtual humans and diving into quantum computing.

It may sound like a trailer for the next “Star Trek” installment, but Parmentola is deadly serious.

For the last several years, the Army has kept a close eye on research into areas of science that might have once been called “paranormal;” its practitioners drummed out of the academy as kooks and nut-jobs. But now the idea of implanting specific memories or erasing damaging ones, for example, isn’t mere fantasy.

Dr. Joe Tsien, a neurobiologist at the Medical College of Georgia and co-director of the Brain Discovery Institute, has been able to erase certain memories from mice subjected to traumatic experiences in a laboratory environment, Parmentola said. From a practical standpoint, the Army could use this kind of technology to help Soldiers who’ve been psychologically scarred by staring death straight in the eye.

“You can imagine people who have horrifying memories, it would be great if we could eliminate them so this way they’re not plagued by these memories uncontrollably,” Parmentola said. “We have Soldiers that have this problem, like PTSD and traumatic brain injury, but there are many other examples that occur in the civilian world.”

The Army plans to highlight Tsien’s and other research into the ragged edges of science fiction at the 26th Army Science Conference in Orlando next month, where experts in neurorobotics, high-tech computer displays and quantum physics will explain how Soldiers could benefit from the types of radical science most have only seen on episodes of the “X-Files.”

Take mind communication, for example. Experiments have shown that certain thoughts generate electrical impulses on the surface of the scalp, Parmentola said. Think commandos who can stealthily communicate without using their voice or Soldiers who control weapons with their thoughts from a distance over a wireless connection.

“You could wear a cap that is sensitive to these electrical impulses, pick up the pattern and amplify those small signals send it over a wire [or wirelessly] connect it to a device,” Parmentola said. “So if you think of a thought ‘turn on,’ it will automatically turn on a computer or that device.”

Or how about regenerative medicine? Parmentola said researchers aren’t far away from being able to grow back body parts - both internal organs and limbs - that have been lost in combat or other accidents. The technique focuses on the use if molecular-sized particles that act as a kind of scaffolding to support the growth of body tissue - say, a finger - and dissolves as the biological material solidifies.

It’s not that unlike what a salamander can do when it loses a limb.

“We’re beginning to understand how this occurs and if we can, it holds the hope of, being able to regrow limbs on people,” Parmentola said.

Then some of this space-aged research takes a turn into the Einsteinian world of quantum mechanics and particle physics - places most mere mortals who simply hump hills with ammo-laden rucks fear to tread.

“Quantum ghost imaging,” for example, is as complicated as it sounds. Basically it’s a phenomenon of physics that allows images to be rendered through the pairing of photons that do not reflect or bounce off an object, but off of other photons that did, thereby creating a sort of “ghost” image of it. This technology would enable the Army to generate images of personnel and equipment through clouds and smoke.

“It’s like having a tracing tool … that goes over the image and that’s connected to another one on a piece of paper that exactly imitates what it is that you are tracing with the other pen,” Parmentola said. “It takes advantage of a remarkable property of quantum mechanics to try and do this.”

And if you do end up at the Army Science Conference next month, don’t be startled by the three-dimensional holographic image of a soldier talking to you (not that the regenerated arm, mind-controlled computer or implanted memories won’t freak you out enough) as you walk down the hall. It might just be the virtual human Army researchers are creating to make simulators and war games more realistic for training, Parmentola said.

They’re working on creating “photorealistic looking and acting human beings” that can think on their own, have emotions and talk in local slang.

“I actually interact with virtual humans in terms of asking them questions and they’re responding,” Parmentola said.

To test out the computer generated humans’ “humanity,” Parmentola and his researchers want to unleash some of their cyber Soldiers into so-called “massively multi-player online games” such as “World of Warcraft” or “Eve Online” - games frequented by thousands of super-competitive human players in teams of virtual characters fighting battles that can last for days.

“We want to use the massively multi-player online game as an experimental laboratory to see if they’re good enough to convince humans that they’re actually human,” he said.]]> http://cod.ctagames.com/forums/showthread.php?tid=13458 Sun, 09 Nov 2008 15:22:39 -0500 http://cod.ctagames.com/forums/showthread.php?tid=13458 Recently, on my Pubbing sunday, I noticed something very interesting about Kustom Kettles public server. It was now at 32 man. I was pleasantly surprised as this is my favorite and many other peoples favorite dod pubbing server in North America. To my shock though, the orange map server was shut down.

I did some digging and found this post by Spetz on the KK forums

The Kustom Kettle is pleased to announce the upgrading of KK1 to a 32 slot server. While we often do not actually fill the server entirely, we felt it best to at least have the opportunity to do so.

However, this upgrade comes at a cost. To pay for this upgrade, KK2 (the Orange server) has been closed. This was done mostly because the Orange server was rarely in use lately, and had dropped over 100 positions in the server rankings in just a few months time. We were paying for a server that say empty more often than even KK1.

As it is sad to see KK2 go, it is better for them and the community. As I do know what it is like to have servers sitting empty most of the time, it is a wise choice for a pubbing community to try and keep servers full.

On that note, they have also increased the number of custom maps they have to 100. Many of these maps are used here in our Victory in Europe tournament.

Check them out and their public server

Kustom Kettle 1: 8.12.18.103:27015
Webpage: Kustom Kettle]]> Recently, on my Pubbing sunday, I noticed something very interesting about Kustom Kettles public server. It was now at 32 man. I was pleasantly surprised as this is my favorite and many other peoples favorite dod pubbing server in North America. To my shock though, the orange map server was shut down.

I did some digging and found this post by Spetz on the KK forums

The Kustom Kettle is pleased to announce the upgrading of KK1 to a 32 slot server. While we often do not actually fill the server entirely, we felt it best to at least have the opportunity to do so.

However, this upgrade comes at a cost. To pay for this upgrade, KK2 (the Orange server) has been closed. This was done mostly because the Orange server was rarely in use lately, and had dropped over 100 positions in the server rankings in just a few months time. We were paying for a server that say empty more often than even KK1.

As it is sad to see KK2 go, it is better for them and the community. As I do know what it is like to have servers sitting empty most of the time, it is a wise choice for a pubbing community to try and keep servers full.

On that note, they have also increased the number of custom maps they have to 100. Many of these maps are used here in our Victory in Europe tournament.

Check them out and their public server

Kustom Kettle 1: 8.12.18.103:27015
Webpage: Kustom Kettle]]> http://cod.ctagames.com/forums/showthread.php?tid=13455 Sun, 09 Nov 2008 14:43:28 -0500 http://cod.ctagames.com/forums/showthread.php?tid=13455
Due to our inability to truly attract many people to this tournament and their being bigger tournaments based off of this game, we are shutting down the cod4: Eastern Crisis tournament.

I would like to thank everyone that worked hard on this tournament and to the relationships that have grown between us and other programmers, namely the Heat of Battle group.]]>
Due to our inability to truly attract many people to this tournament and their being bigger tournaments based off of this game, we are shutting down the cod4: Eastern Crisis tournament.

I would like to thank everyone that worked hard on this tournament and to the relationships that have grown between us and other programmers, namely the Heat of Battle group.]]> http://cod.ctagames.com/forums/showthread.php?tid=13453 Sun, 09 Nov 2008 11:09:31 -0500 http://cod.ctagames.com/forums/showthread.php?tid=13453
In the reviews keep coming here at ctagames. We have recently received a review of the new game Left 4 Dead by Crisp. Well, I asked for it and he delivered.

Check-out Left 4 Dead.

Cheers]]>
In the reviews keep coming here at ctagames. We have recently received a review of the new game Left 4 Dead by Crisp. Well, I asked for it and he delivered.

Check-out Left 4 Dead.

Cheers]]> http://cod.ctagames.com/forums/showthread.php?tid=13452 Sun, 09 Nov 2008 11:05:40 -0500 http://cod.ctagames.com/forums/showthread.php?tid=13452 Moose has asked me to look at a demo which has been on my GAMEDAR for a while now, Left 4 Dead. This game caught my eye when I first saw it in PCGAMER back in the Christmas of 2006. Even then the idea of a zombie survival game, which used 4 player co-op to fight through a campaign of zombies sounded like a very interesting concept to me.

The idea of Left 4 Dead is as follows, you are a in a team of 4 “survivors” who have to fight through a campaign, which consists of zombies, fast zombies, fat zombies, and creepy zombies. These zombies are controlled by an AI director. This sits there and monitors how the players are doing. If you’re getting hammered and killed and are all on low health, it will slow down on the number of zombies, or send slower ones at you. Don’t let this lull you into a false sense of security though, this game gets tough, the first few times I played through it the zombie wiped out my team.

Now onto the zombies, the zombies take the form of the zombies from films such as 28 Days Later, 28 Weeks Later or Day of Dead. These aren’t the slow zombies that just kind of groan around after you, these are the zombies which will chase after you arms flying at you. The zombies also show a surprising amount of variation you won’t just find the zombies stood round, some will be leaning against things, and some will be ready to pounce on you. This makes the game all so much more interesting.


A zombie getting blown back

As well as your bog standard zombies, there are also some “special” zombies. These will scare the poop out of you and usually come out of nowhere; they’ll tear down walls and whatever they can to feast on your brain. There are 5 types of these zombies:


The Boomer – This guy is a massive fat zombie, whose main attack is projectile vomit and this guy will explode leaving you with green vomit running down your screen. Oh and his vomit attracts more of the infected, just what you need when you can’t see.
The Smoker – This one has a massive tongue, think of them ceiling tongue things from the Half Life series. He’ll grab hold of you with his tongue, and will emit smoke so your friends have trouble shooting him to free you.
The Hunter – This guy is fast, and I mean fast. He’ll climb walls and whatever he needs to get to you. When he finds you he jumps on you, and one of your friends will have to push him off you or you’ll be dead.
The Witch – This one will make you crap your pants. You’ll know when she’s around you hear the sound of children. If you shine your light on her, or shoot at her when she’s close to you she’ll take you out. One hit from her and your down.
The Tank – Finally this is the biggest zombie, this guy will pick up bits of walls to throw at you. Think the un-dead version of the incredible hulk.


So that the zombies covered.

The co-op mechanic of this game is amazing. You really feel like you’re a team, this is re-enforced by the times when you need help from your team members to survive. If the zombies do finally kill you you’ll be on your back on the floor with on the pistol shooting at zombies while your team tries to get to you to save your life. It’s thrilling.


Where you start in the demo
The full game is going to be set in a variety of different settings but for the demo we are restricted to the apartment and subway area of the No Mercy hospital level.
Apart from the co-op game mode there will also be a versus mode. This will pit the zombies against the humans, but this isn’t included in the demo, so I can’t say much about it.

Now onto my criticisms, for the game VALVe has begun using a new matchmaking system, and has left the old server browser behind. This has left a lot of people angered, particularly when the matchmaking system kind of broke when it came out. They’ve been swift on the patches though, and are obviously working hard to get it fixed.


A load of zombies hungry for brains

So to sum up this game is amazing, the AI really does just work, each time you play the game it’s different and challenging each time. The co-op is brilliant and when it works it works well. Apart from the few issues with matchmaking which they seem to be working on this game is near perfect. Well worth the $45 it is currently. But if you are unsure about spending that money, there’s going to be an open demo on the 11th so you should definitely try it out then.


A few more zombies

Thank you for Reading.
Happy hunting.
Crisp.]]> Moose has asked me to look at a demo which has been on my GAMEDAR for a while now, Left 4 Dead. This game caught my eye when I first saw it in PCGAMER back in the Christmas of 2006. Even then the idea of a zombie survival game, which used 4 player co-op to fight through a campaign of zombies sounded like a very interesting concept to me.

The idea of Left 4 Dead is as follows, you are a in a team of 4 “survivors” who have to fight through a campaign, which consists of zombies, fast zombies, fat zombies, and creepy zombies. These zombies are controlled by an AI director. This sits there and monitors how the players are doing. If you’re getting hammered and killed and are all on low health, it will slow down on the number of zombies, or send slower ones at you. Don’t let this lull you into a false sense of security though, this game gets tough, the first few times I played through it the zombie wiped out my team.

Now onto the zombies, the zombies take the form of the zombies from films such as 28 Days Later, 28 Weeks Later or Day of Dead. These aren’t the slow zombies that just kind of groan around after you, these are the zombies which will chase after you arms flying at you. The zombies also show a surprising amount of variation you won’t just find the zombies stood round, some will be leaning against things, and some will be ready to pounce on you. This makes the game all so much more interesting.


A zombie getting blown back

As well as your bog standard zombies, there are also some “special” zombies. These will scare the poop out of you and usually come out of nowhere; they’ll tear down walls and whatever they can to feast on your brain. There are 5 types of these zombies:


The Boomer – This guy is a massive fat zombie, whose main attack is projectile vomit and this guy will explode leaving you with green vomit running down your screen. Oh and his vomit attracts more of the infected, just what you need when you can’t see.
The Smoker – This one has a massive tongue, think of them ceiling tongue things from the Half Life series. He’ll grab hold of you with his tongue, and will emit smoke so your friends have trouble shooting him to free you.
The Hunter – This guy is fast, and I mean fast. He’ll climb walls and whatever he needs to get to you. When he finds you he jumps on you, and one of your friends will have to push him off you or you’ll be dead.
The Witch – This one will make you crap your pants. You’ll know when she’s around you hear the sound of children. If you shine your light on her, or shoot at her when she’s close to you she’ll take you out. One hit from her and your down.
The Tank – Finally this is the biggest zombie, this guy will pick up bits of walls to throw at you. Think the un-dead version of the incredible hulk.


So that the zombies covered.

The co-op mechanic of this game is amazing. You really feel like you’re a team, this is re-enforced by the times when you need help from your team members to survive. If the zombies do finally kill you you’ll be on your back on the floor with on the pistol shooting at zombies while your team tries to get to you to save your life. It’s thrilling.


Where you start in the demo
The full game is going to be set in a variety of different settings but for the demo we are restricted to the apartment and subway area of the No Mercy hospital level.
Apart from the co-op game mode there will also be a versus mode. This will pit the zombies against the humans, but this isn’t included in the demo, so I can’t say much about it.

Now onto my criticisms, for the game VALVe has begun using a new matchmaking system, and has left the old server browser behind. This has left a lot of people angered, particularly when the matchmaking system kind of broke when it came out. They’ve been swift on the patches though, and are obviously working hard to get it fixed.


A load of zombies hungry for brains

So to sum up this game is amazing, the AI really does just work, each time you play the game it’s different and challenging each time. The co-op is brilliant and when it works it works well. Apart from the few issues with matchmaking which they seem to be working on this game is near perfect. Well worth the $45 it is currently. But if you are unsure about spending that money, there’s going to be an open demo on the 11th so you should definitely try it out then.


A few more zombies

Thank you for Reading.
Happy hunting.
Crisp.]]> http://cod.ctagames.com/forums/showthread.php?tid=13446 Sat, 08 Nov 2008 16:15:10 -0500 http://cod.ctagames.com/forums/showthread.php?tid=13446 So everyone jump in here and give me a shout and I'll try and get back to you.
Good luck to all

Wolf Eel
BFE since camp 6
ViE founding member]]> So everyone jump in here and give me a shout and I'll try and get back to you.
Good luck to all

Wolf Eel
BFE since camp 6
ViE founding member]]> http://cod.ctagames.com/forums/showthread.php?tid=13440 Fri, 07 Nov 2008 17:45:23 -0500 http://cod.ctagames.com/forums/showthread.php?tid=13440 So I'm off for some time.
Its been a blast since BFE2 all those years ago. So many names, friends, virtual enemies, laughs, jokes and good times (dread to think of the total amount of beer I've drunk at 1am in morning). Good maps, bad maps.
Thanks to all the tourny organisers over many years and those who put in all the hard work.
Woot woot, for the pies!!!!!

Long Live The RMC :ok:]]> So I'm off for some time.
Its been a blast since BFE2 all those years ago. So many names, friends, virtual enemies, laughs, jokes and good times (dread to think of the total amount of beer I've drunk at 1am in morning). Good maps, bad maps.
Thanks to all the tourny organisers over many years and those who put in all the hard work.
Woot woot, for the pies!!!!!

Long Live The RMC :ok:]]> http://cod.ctagames.com/forums/showthread.php?tid=13439 Fri, 07 Nov 2008 16:21:18 -0500 http://cod.ctagames.com/forums/showthread.php?tid=13439 Passed on Nov. 4th.]]> Passed on Nov. 4th.]]> http://cod.ctagames.com/forums/showthread.php?tid=13434 Fri, 07 Nov 2008 12:02:41 -0500 http://cod.ctagames.com/forums/showthread.php?tid=13434
Come one come all to the registration for campaign #16 has now opened.

The minimum playtime requirement is still in place for those who have played prior campaigns. If you get the playtime error all you have to do is request and override.

To obtain an override you must PM one of us detailing what has changed such that you will become more active. Doing this was not a light decision but as always we are trying to improve registration and the tournament. I am sure we will tweak this component of the system over time.

So REGISTER NOW]]>
Come one come all to the registration for campaign #16 has now opened.

The minimum playtime requirement is still in place for those who have played prior campaigns. If you get the playtime error all you have to do is request and override.

To obtain an override you must PM one of us detailing what has changed such that you will become more active. Doing this was not a light decision but as always we are trying to improve registration and the tournament. I am sure we will tweak this component of the system over time.

So REGISTER NOW]]> http://cod.ctagames.com/forums/showthread.php?tid=13429 Thu, 06 Nov 2008 21:44:58 -0500 http://cod.ctagames.com/forums/showthread.php?tid=13429



























]]>



























]]> http://cod.ctagames.com/forums/showthread.php?tid=13421 Thu, 06 Nov 2008 13:40:22 -0500 http://cod.ctagames.com/forums/showthread.php?tid=13421
In an effort to bring a little more activity to the site and more stuff to read when their is downtime between campaigns, I have started to get previews and reviews done for some upcoming games for this Christmas season.

Our first piece is done by WindyWoo for the game COD5: World at War

Check it out and keep on looking as their will be more pieces as the month goes on.]]>
In an effort to bring a little more activity to the site and more stuff to read when their is downtime between campaigns, I have started to get previews and reviews done for some upcoming games for this Christmas season.

Our first piece is done by WindyWoo for the game COD5: World at War

Check it out and keep on looking as their will be more pieces as the month goes on.]]> http://cod.ctagames.com/forums/showthread.php?tid=13420 Thu, 06 Nov 2008 13:36:02 -0500 http://cod.ctagames.com/forums/showthread.php?tid=13420
Moose has asked me to expand on my forum posts to write a preview of the COD5 beta so that you can all get a better idea of what its like. My forum posts have been pretty negative but for this preview I will try to stick to the facts as much as possible in the interests of education.

Call of Duty World at War has been described by some beta testers as a World War 2 mod for Call of Duty 4 and they are not far wrong. The graphic engine is the same, the gameplay is largely the same and the whole unlocking perks and weapons thing has been retained for this game. It worked for them in CoD4 I suppose so why change a winning formula? World at War will appeal to people who liked CoD4 gameplay but perhaps are more interested in World War 2, or who feel they have seen all CoD4 had to offer but want more with a new twist.

For anyone who has already played CoD4 World at War does offer some new features. There is a new multiplayer game mode alongside the ones brought over from CoD4 (i.e. Domination, Team Deatmatch, Free For All, Sabotage, Search and Destroy and HQ). The new mode is called War and is quite similar to Domination but with the twist that the flags
must be captured in a set order. Both teams start holding two flags while a central one is unclaimed. Claiming this
unlocks the next flag and both sides must fight over this flag just as they did the first. In this mode, it is possible to gain momentum, which basically means you cap the flags 2 or 3 times faster. I am not entirely sure how this momentum is gained, it seemed to be unlocked by killing a certain number of the enemy but it could have been because my team held a certain number of flags for a length of time.

As far as I can see all the old COD4 perks have been retained, even the hated ones like Martyrdom, Juggernaut and Last Stand. Some have been renamed, e.g. Last Stand has become Second Chance and UAV Jammer is now camouflage. I have not unlocked all the perks but I have noticed some new ones for example a gas mask which prevents disorientation from gas grenades and Last Stand which despite being an old name is now the ability to revive dead players. Presumably this is on players who have Second Chance.

Entirely new to CoD WaW are vehicles. These are not computer controlled like the CoD4 helicopters, instead players can get inside them and drive or control the machine gun. I've actually only seen a tank in the beta but I presume there will be more in the full game. To go along with the vehicles, players can unlock vehicle perks such as a faster moving turret or cooling for the machinegun.

From what I have described you might be thinking that this sounds like a fun game and really I suppose at their core the COD games have some great ideas and potential for exciting scenarios. However, I am now going to stray from my impartial conveyance of information, as I feel I have covered the features of the game and want to explain how these good ideas turn into a huge clusterfuck of noobness.

The biggest failing in my opinion has to be the maps. In beta there are only 3 maps so perhaps full version will change my mind, but the 3 that I have played are small and either full of chokes or so open that you will be shot by a camper as you cross open ground to an objective. The War gameplay that sounds like it should be a basis for teamwork turns into nadespam and camping. Anyone who goes for an objective will be grenaded or mowed down by a camper. Vehicles are ridiculous, unkillable by small arms, only destroyable by explosives or bazookas. Helicopters from CoD4 have been replaced by attack dogs which manage to be even more annoying since there are more of them, they move faster, they are hard to see and you will often be shot by another player as you try to fend off a dog. Airstrikes were stupid in CoD4 because they enabled a player to wipeout an entire spawn wave in Search and Destroy or make a planted bomb undefusable. In WaW they have been replaced by artillery which lasts longer and seems to cover a wider area too. Where are the rewards for capturing objectives? Why don't I get attack dogs for 3 flag caps that took me so bloody long to get, dodging campers and running from one end of the map to the other? The game fails too in weapon balance. Autos pwn rifles because rifles damage is not high enough. If you are using a bolt action, you will fire a shot into someone only to see that he doesn't die and turns and sprays you before you can fire a second shot. Autos are accurate even at range, so there is little point in using a bolt action. Machine Guns are also largely pointless because a sub machinegun will pwn you just as fast and the player can attach a mini scope to a sub. Perhaps I will unlock a mini-scope for my machinegun but I have been killing a lot with it now and only have a bipod to show for it. Noob tubing is back and now its called rifle grenades. Want to one shot 3 people at once? Attach a rifle grenade and laugh as you skillessly fire it at their feet hardly bothering to aim. Spawning is only one step away from random. You are supposed to spawn in an area which your team controls, but its possible for you to spawn in one section and be killed from behind by an enemy who spawned in the same place 10 seconds later.

There are technical issues as well such as bad network code. Very often I will be killed by someone and Killcam will show that person shooting at me from where I was actually facing. They weren't visible on my screen so I can only conclude that its lag or the camouflage perk doing its job better than it was supposed to. Could be dodgey beta servers but I had this problem in CoD4 too. My FPS is lower in WaW than CoD4 but I will probably be able to fix this when they enable shader model 2.

In conclusion it seems they have turned what could have been a fun and interesting game into a spamfest for console
tards. Its STUPID that whatever faction you choose you can use the same weapons. Its STUPID that a player can unleash attack dogs and get kills without any skill, and it is only rewarding someone who did not need further reward. If they are a good enough player to get lots of kills in a row, let them get their own kills, don't let them have dogs to do it for them. With bigger maps, or smaller teams the game could be fun, noob perks aside. However when you want to up the player count to feel more like a war than a skirmish the game falls on its behind. It does not scale well from the small console games to the bigger dedicated PC servers.

I really hope that the beta feedback will lead to changes to the game, but if they can take all the feedback from CoD4 and still leave perks like Martyrdom and Juggernaut in the game, I hold little hope that they will see sense and tune down the Attention Deficit Disorder twitchiness and up the tactical factor.]]>
Moose has asked me to expand on my forum posts to write a preview of the COD5 beta so that you can all get a better idea of what its like. My forum posts have been pretty negative but for this preview I will try to stick to the facts as much as possible in the interests of education.

Call of Duty World at War has been described by some beta testers as a World War 2 mod for Call of Duty 4 and they are not far wrong. The graphic engine is the same, the gameplay is largely the same and the whole unlocking perks and weapons thing has been retained for this game. It worked for them in CoD4 I suppose so why change a winning formula? World at War will appeal to people who liked CoD4 gameplay but perhaps are more interested in World War 2, or who feel they have seen all CoD4 had to offer but want more with a new twist.

For anyone who has already played CoD4 World at War does offer some new features. There is a new multiplayer game mode alongside the ones brought over from CoD4 (i.e. Domination, Team Deatmatch, Free For All, Sabotage, Search and Destroy and HQ). The new mode is called War and is quite similar to Domination but with the twist that the flags
must be captured in a set order. Both teams start holding two flags while a central one is unclaimed. Claiming this
unlocks the next flag and both sides must fight over this flag just as they did the first. In this mode, it is possible to gain momentum, which basically means you cap the flags 2 or 3 times faster. I am not entirely sure how this momentum is gained, it seemed to be unlocked by killing a certain number of the enemy but it could have been because my team held a certain number of flags for a length of time.

As far as I can see all the old COD4 perks have been retained, even the hated ones like Martyrdom, Juggernaut and Last Stand. Some have been renamed, e.g. Last Stand has become Second Chance and UAV Jammer is now camouflage. I have not unlocked all the perks but I have noticed some new ones for example a gas mask which prevents disorientation from gas grenades and Last Stand which despite being an old name is now the ability to revive dead players. Presumably this is on players who have Second Chance.

Entirely new to CoD WaW are vehicles. These are not computer controlled like the CoD4 helicopters, instead players can get inside them and drive or control the machine gun. I've actually only seen a tank in the beta but I presume there will be more in the full game. To go along with the vehicles, players can unlock vehicle perks such as a faster moving turret or cooling for the machinegun.

From what I have described you might be thinking that this sounds like a fun game and really I suppose at their core the COD games have some great ideas and potential for exciting scenarios. However, I am now going to stray from my impartial conveyance of information, as I feel I have covered the features of the game and want to explain how these good ideas turn into a huge clusterfuck of noobness.

The biggest failing in my opinion has to be the maps. In beta there are only 3 maps so perhaps full version will change my mind, but the 3 that I have played are small and either full of chokes or so open that you will be shot by a camper as you cross open ground to an objective. The War gameplay that sounds like it should be a basis for teamwork turns into nadespam and camping. Anyone who goes for an objective will be grenaded or mowed down by a camper. Vehicles are ridiculous, unkillable by small arms, only destroyable by explosives or bazookas. Helicopters from CoD4 have been replaced by attack dogs which manage to be even more annoying since there are more of them, they move faster, they are hard to see and you will often be shot by another player as you try to fend off a dog. Airstrikes were stupid in CoD4 because they enabled a player to wipeout an entire spawn wave in Search and Destroy or make a planted bomb undefusable. In WaW they have been replaced by artillery which lasts longer and seems to cover a wider area too. Where are the rewards for capturing objectives? Why don't I get attack dogs for 3 flag caps that took me so bloody long to get, dodging campers and running from one end of the map to the other? The game fails too in weapon balance. Autos pwn rifles because rifles damage is not high enough. If you are using a bolt action, you will fire a shot into someone only to see that he doesn't die and turns and sprays you before you can fire a second shot. Autos are accurate even at range, so there is little point in using a bolt action. Machine Guns are also largely pointless because a sub machinegun will pwn you just as fast and the player can attach a mini scope to a sub. Perhaps I will unlock a mini-scope for my machinegun but I have been killing a lot with it now and only have a bipod to show for it. Noob tubing is back and now its called rifle grenades. Want to one shot 3 people at once? Attach a rifle grenade and laugh as you skillessly fire it at their feet hardly bothering to aim. Spawning is only one step away from random. You are supposed to spawn in an area which your team controls, but its possible for you to spawn in one section and be killed from behind by an enemy who spawned in the same place 10 seconds later.

There are technical issues as well such as bad network code. Very often I will be killed by someone and Killcam will show that person shooting at me from where I was actually facing. They weren't visible on my screen so I can only conclude that its lag or the camouflage perk doing its job better than it was supposed to. Could be dodgey beta servers but I had this problem in CoD4 too. My FPS is lower in WaW than CoD4 but I will probably be able to fix this when they enable shader model 2.

In conclusion it seems they have turned what could have been a fun and interesting game into a spamfest for console
tards. Its STUPID that whatever faction you choose you can use the same weapons. Its STUPID that a player can unleash attack dogs and get kills without any skill, and it is only rewarding someone who did not need further reward. If they are a good enough player to get lots of kills in a row, let them get their own kills, don't let them have dogs to do it for them. With bigger maps, or smaller teams the game could be fun, noob perks aside. However when you want to up the player count to feel more like a war than a skirmish the game falls on its behind. It does not scale well from the small console games to the bigger dedicated PC servers.

I really hope that the beta feedback will lead to changes to the game, but if they can take all the feedback from CoD4 and still leave perks like Martyrdom and Juggernaut in the game, I hold little hope that they will see sense and tune down the Attention Deficit Disorder twitchiness and up the tactical factor.]]>