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Spawn Camping, Connectivity and the Potential Pitfalls of Black Ops 2

Call of Duty: Black Ops suffers from tremendous issues that should cause many gamers to wonder if they should expect the same problems that plague the predecessor of Black Ops 2.

After recently popping-in the original Black Ops for a refresher on Treyarch’s digital cash-cow I was greeted quickly with the reasons I sold this game after owning it for only five-months.

Connectivity

Black Ops seems more like a low-budget, poorly supported online title that could be easily discarded and replaced by any other online title. Firing automatic weapons like the Galil seems to result in a largely disappointing task of dealing with poor frame-rates. Is it really so hard to give such a widely purchased game a decent server system?

It seems almost laughable when playing Black Ops that it has the hit-detection problems that I remembered from ‘so long ago’. I was under some sort of delusion that it would have been patched, but apparently this is something either created ‘by-design’ or strictly overlooked as they moved on with their Call of Duty ~~rehashing~~ development cycle.

Spawn Camping

Another issue that plagues the Domination game mode is spawn camping. If this is an issue in any game they should be firing game-testers. Some of the biggest problems in multi-player gaming is when the logic of spawning is broken. In Black Ops you are almost guaranteed to experience a mind-numbing round of spawn camping by some group of ‘try-hard’ clan kids.

While being the victim of such a childish tactic is annoying, it is more annoying to be a paying consumer of a product that isn’t designed well. You can always quit out of a match that is populated by these internet tough guys, but it is a bit more difficult to quit out of a product you have already spent $60+ on.
Hopefully Black Ops 2 will fix these issues. If not, it could be a long year in the Call of Duty kingdom.

Madden 13 – Patch #3 Details Announced

This is slated to be released on October 16!

Feature Additions:

Custom Rosters Offline: Added the ability to start an offline career with a custom roster.

Connected Careers Edit Player: Added the ability to edit gear and information for players in a league.

Coach Mode in Connected Careers: Added the ability to use coach mode in Connected Careers.

Changing Schemes in Connected Careers: Added the ability to change offensive and defensive schemes as a coach.

Offline Play Along in Connected Careers: Added the ability for multiple people to join a CCM game. This applies to coaches only.

Draft Clock: Added a draft clock during the draft that is displayed on screen if you leave the draft interface to view rosters, depth charts, etc.

Draft Filter: Added a filter to the draft screen to display players that have been drafted.

Connected Careers Practice XP: Added the ability for user controlled players to earn extra XP in practice mode through the stats they accumulate.
Gameplay Tuning:

Fixed an issue where WRs were dropping too many passes when playing on All Madden difficulty setting.
Fixed an issue where it was too easy to time the kick meter on FGs and PATs in user vs. user games.
Fixed an issue where punt returners were moving away from the landing spot if you called a fair catch while letting the CPU control the player.
Fixed an issue where someone who attempted to bull rush with the R stick once the ball was snapped activated run commit.

Commentary:

Added over a dozen logic fixes to make our commentary more intelligent.

Presentation:

Fixed an issue where specific offensive player celebrations were not triggering.
Fixed an issue where the referee was backwards when calling a penalty.
Fixed an issue with the Giants away uniforms (missing a sleeve stripe).

Connected Careers:

Fixed an issue where Offline Gameplay AI/Logic did not match the logic in Play Now.
Fixed an issue where playing the game on All-Madden is too easy.
Fixed an issue where changing the camera setting in CCM game works for single player.
Fixed an issue where League Sliders had limited impact on difficulty.
Fixed an issue where the Accelerated Clock did not function in an online CCM game when the option was set to On.
Fixed an issue where you could not turn on/off GameFlow in CCM.
Fixed an issue where you were unable to sign Free Agents during the season.
Fixed an issue where ‘Starting a League’ would reset Player Schemes.
Fixed an issue where after declining a trade offer, you are no longer able to accept or decline another offer.
Fixed an issue where you could exploit supersim to run the game clock indefinitely.
Fixed some spelling and polish issues in the News and Twitter.
Fixed an issue where a coach could make a contract offer to a user controlled player.
Fixed an issue where you are forced to select a throwing style for a created player that is not a QB.
Fixed an issue where turning Auto-Start to off does not save week to week.
Fixed an issue where you can see rookie overall ratings by accessing the player card of the prospect through Team Needs.
Fixed an issue where changing Auto-Sub Frequency does not change the correct data.
Fixed an issue where the profanity filter was preventing offline players from typing in their names.
Fixed an issue where you can draft a player and then trade down while the draft is paused. The issue resulted in the user keeping both the traded picks and drafted player.

Stability:

Fixed numerous crashes.
Fixed an issue with the in-game pause menu disappearing.

Madden Ultimate Team:

Changed the Packs button to Store Button.
Condensed Leaderboards and Help menus.
Implemented the ability to view videos from the hub.
Implemented Store Panel Changes.
Moved Auctions/Trades to a separate menu option.
Fixed several Solo Challenge exploits

Playbooks:

Fixed an issue where theHail Mary formation in a custom playbook had a blank play that resulted in a broken formation and invisible players if selected.

Black Ops 2 and Aritificial Inaccuracy While Aiming Down Sight

One of the primary reasons I stopped playing Black Ops within a few months of release was due to the way they decided to make some weapons ‘inaccurate’. The AK-47 is certainly an inaccurate weapon, however it shouldn’t mean that when you have your sights trained on an enemy that the rounds don’t fire straight out of the barrel. This was one of the more annoying aspects of Black Ops as it seemed like every time I had my weapon aimed down sight directly on an enemy it would often result in a few missed shots. It would be one thing if I was holding the trigger down on full auto but when firing in bursts and aiming low on the body in order to prevent recoil-misses and still miss shots on target – it takes away from the game drastically.

In Black Ops 2 we will be ‘flashing forward’ a bit as we start fighting in ‘The Near Future’. There are a lot of things about Black Ops 2 that might make artificial inaccuracy a thing of the past for Treyarch. The primary reasoning behind this assumption is that the weapons will be more aligned with those that we are currently using in Modern Warfare 3 or they will simply be more accurate weapons of the future.

We will keep you posted as details emerge but in the mean time we recommend that you start playing more Black Ops in order to get ready for Black Ops 2. Treyarch seems to have a lot up their sleeve with this game and the online approach especially.

Madden 13 – Passing Quick Tips

What’s Next? Madden NFL Zombie Mode…?

I bet you think I am joking… and I am to an extent – but…

So many people were clamouring for fantasy drafts and player editing in Madden 13 – and their wishes are slowly being granted. Many people are still playing Black Ops strictly for the zombie mode and are looking forward to Black Ops 2 only for the continuation of it as well. Now we have numerous zombie add-ons for games like ARMA 2 to go with the already growing number of actual zombie-themed games like Left 4 Dead and Dead Island.

Then it crossed my mind.

What would make a football game more accessible for non-sports gamers?

Zombies!

Consider the possibilities of instead of simply getting tackled by other players you were being chased around the field by zombies. Maybe you could actually break ankles with a crazy juke move or use the hit stick to wreck a few zombies carrying the brain…err – ball.

I bet Donny Moore would give them all 99 OVRs in toughness and 25s in Awareness…

What are your thoughts? – Should zombies make their way into sports games?

Prepping For Black Ops 2? – Dust Off The Original Black Ops

Getting your eyes and fingers ready for an anticipated game doesn’t entail taking a long break from gaming. If you are looking forward to games like Black Ops 2 you should start putting in some practice time with the predecessor. In this case, you should take the opportunity to start playing some of the original Black Ops.

There are a few reasons for this approach –

Developers Usually Make Games ‘Handle’ Like Old Ones – Treyarch is the developer in charge of Black Ops 2 (as they were with the original Black Ops). Playing Modern Warfare 3 will still help you quite a bit with Call of Duty’s speed and presentation. However, you will notice that Black Ops has many nuances that make it rather difficult to shift between Modern Warfare (Infinity Ward/Sledgehammer) and the titles developed by Treyarch. You will notice guns aim and even carry differently – pop in each game and start looking for those slight differences that could make a big difference in your ability to play Black Ops 2 more effectively on November 13.

Get Used To Game Speed – The difference in game speed between Treyarch and Infinity Ward is also something that is very slight, but it is something to take into consideration none-the-less. You will notice that sprinting speed and even the aiming of weapons can be just a few fractions of a second different from one game to another.

Snipers…Be Warned – Treyarch is rumored to be removing aim-assist (at least from Sniper Rifles). This will hopefully get rid of ‘quick-scoping’ as well as making sniping a more skillful art than some sort of carnival weapon. Sniping is a major point of contention for a lot of first person shooter gamers. However, when it comes to the difference between sniping in Treyarch and Infinity Ward games – it is one of the most vast differences in gun-play.

Zombies – They are coming back and lets be honest… half of the people that say they play Call of Duty: Black Ops at this point play it simply for the zombies. Start getting your braaaaaains ready folks – Black Ops 2 is less than two months away!

Madden 13 All-Madden Sliders for Connected Careers Now Available Updated 2/1/13

For those of you clamoring for a more challenging experience in Madden 13 – look no further. These sliders are tough and they will give you some close games.

I highly suggest you use GameFlow as it seems to help make the game play a bit more realistically and it also keeps you from running money-plays like Power-O with motion, etc.

The CPU running game is terrible in Madden 13, so in this case we have made an effort to fix this through upping the speed threshold as well as taking down the Human run defense sliders.

For the passing game, you need to make sure that your players are open. Close man coverage and forced passes will often lead to interceptions.

Happy Gaming!

NTTV ALL-MADDEN SLIDERS
SETTINGS
Quarter Length	12 Mins
Acc Clock	11 Secs
Game Speed	Slow
Auto Strafe	Off
Auto Sprint	Off
Spd Thresh	90
Injury	53
Fatigue	65

SLIDERS	HUM	CPU
QB Acc	15	50
Pass Block	2	15
WR Catch	50	55
Broken Tackles	35	50
Run Blocking	15	55
Fumbles	25	55
Pass Def React	35	50
Interceptions	20	50
Pass Rush	10	45
Rush Def React	12	50
Block Shed	7	50
Tackling	5	50

FG Power	50
FG Acc	40
Punt Power	50
Punt Acc	80
KO Power	46

Penalties
Offside	100
False Start	50
Holding	52
Face Mask	53
DPI	100
OPI	100
PCI	100
Clipping	54
Int Ground	100
Rough Passer	52
Rough Kicker	100

Madden 13 To Implement Online Fantasy Draft Tomorrow

In a complete twist of events, EA has announced on their Facebook Page that Madden 13 will now have online fantasy drafts for Connected Careers Mode. This has been one of the most contentious removals outside of player editing… and with player editing being considered for the next patch, this could prove to be the one move that makes people that were otherwise casting Madden 13 aside into believers that this is the best Madden game to date. What is your take on this news?

Photo: Online Fantasy Drafts coming to Madden NFL 13 tomorrow! More details coming soon!

Borderlands 2 Will Open Gun Season This Autumn

There are a lot of things that come with autumn – in gaming it is gun season.

Over the next couple of months we will be covering some of the most anticipated titles of ‘gun season’. The first game to grace us with its wonderful firearms is Borderlands 2. Next week you will have the chance to continue the adventures on the planet of Pandora. While you won’t be controlling the same characters during this story, you will have the ability to see even more amazing weapons and experience a new type of enemy intelligence.

The best part of Borderlands is the weapons and we will give you a quick guide on some of the companies that make the weapons of Borderlands 2.

Dahl – These weapons tend to be some of the more solid performing guns in the game. They often look like military surplus with their camouflage and firing modes. Think of these as being go-to weapons when you need consistency.
Hyperion – These weapons are elemental in their damage (fire, electricity, poison, etc.) when they are fired for a long period of time they will develop better accuracy (especially as you hold down the trigger).
Jakobs – Jakobs weapons are like the MK14 in MW3 – they fire rounds as fast as you can pull the trigger. This tends to mean that you should have steady aiming ability or just hope that recoil on your weapon isn’t too drastic.
Maliwan – These are also primarily developed around elemental damage. It should be no surprise for you to find one of these guns late in the game as you level up and be impressed with some of the massive damage bonuses that come with their elemental powers.
Tediore – You should be careful when you use these weapons. They will be rather unreliable and also have the ability to be discarded as active grenades (if you have ammunition in them) – this might be the only perk to using Tediore weapons. I don’t see these being enjoyable to use early in the game but crappy weapons are often something you will start with in any game.
Torgue – this company’s weapons use Gyrojet ammunition – essentially giving the user an opportunity to have more damage-per-shot but in exchange you will have fewer rounds per clip. This gives you a choice to make when you come across a Torgue weapon that can do massive damage but only has four rounds and perhaps using a weapon with less damage but more rounds to fire at a target. *Reload speed is vital when using weapons with small capacity.
Vladof – Consider Vladof weapons to be speed focused. These guns are often for the class of player that uses a Gunzerker or Commando character. Think of Vladof guns as being really fast guns with little control.

EA Announces First ‘Real’ Patch for Madden 13

So much for waiting around for the patch EA made no promises on. Madden 13 will have a patch tomorrow for the 360 and PS3.

From EA’s Facebook Page

“Madden NFL 13 Title Update #2 will be available tomorrow on the Xbox 360 & PS3. The update includes a new instant start option when creating your player in Connected Careers, numerous stability fixes, and GameFace improvements.

We’d also like to remind fans who have been asking about the ability to edit players and rosters in Connected Careers that based on your feedback, the development team is currently exploring the potential option to include additional functionality in Madden NFL 13 in an upcoming title update. We’ll update you with more information in the coming weeks after the team has time to investigate and assess the situation.”