As requested by asch, I have compiled some notes about features in other mods I have played with and found enjoyable.
This past weekend I experimented quite a bit with the Project Reality Mini Mod (PRMM) and the U.S. Intervention Mod (USI). If you are not familiar with them, PRMM is very similar to Tac Mod in that it is a more realistic version of
BF2. (e.g. no crosshairs, increased weapons damage, kit tweaks, etc.). USI is a theme mod set in 1991 during the first Gulf War. Within USI there are some new/tweaked weapons, vehicles, and some beautiful maps.
A couple of points up front: I think tac mod is the best mod out there for teamwork and tactics in that it is a natural extension of the
TG primer and our SOP’s. But, I have also seen some nice features in other mods too. I’m not suggesting that tac mod “copy” these features, but one of the great aspects of the modding community is that there are a lot of great ideas out there. This is what will keep
BF2 alive and kicking for quite awhile. A lot of the features highlighted below have already been suggested in one form or another in this forum in various threads. So, hopefully my comments below will merit considering these features further (all of these except one are from PRMM):
Ammo
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Ammo bags have been taken away from the support class and instead each assault class gets up to 3 ammo bags. Although, I don't agree with taking ammo away from support completely - I do like the idea of the support class to be the one to concentrate on laying suppressive fire for his/her squad and not have to interrupt fire to drop ammo bags. Additionally, you have to drop a pack to re-supply and it stays there until depleted (you can't just hold it out). If you drop more than 3 packs the oldest expires. I think an enhancement to this is maybe to give everyone one bag (in addition to what they already have) and once it is used you have to go to a supply crate to recharge it.
Claymores and C4
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Engineers have been given one "big" C4 device (more damage, radius, etc.) and (two?) claymores. I think this is a great change in that it gives engineers a more diverse role on maps where armor is not as big of a factor. The number of mines was reduced to three, which I do not like - but I can understand due to the extra weight of the C4 and claymores. (BTW, no more claymores for the snipers in PRMM but spec ops still have C4 and some other goodies!)
Bleeding
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No, not tickets! You, when wounded! This is my favorite feature that they have added. If you have been wounded and lose a certain amount of health (50% maybe) you start to "bleed". That is, you steadily loose health until you bleed out (and die). Mind you, there is no health (or ammo) meter in PRMM, so you don't know how long you have to live. But, when you’re bleeding every few seconds you say "ouch" and the red halo hit indicator appears briefly on the HUD to tell you are bleeding (It's like when you are out of bounds and you are being penalized). The only way to stop the bleeding is…you guessed it, visit your friendly neighborhood medic and get healed. Again, the exact time is unknown. I did test it once when I was spec ops. I took one hit from an AK-47 (no body armor) and purposely avoided medics. I bled out in about 60-75 secs I think. Awesome, awesome feature!
Stationary/Vehicle Mounted Weapons
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Like tac mod, crosshairs have been removed from all weapons. However, a zoom mode crosshairs (right-mouse click) has been added to the stationary and vehicle mounted weapons so you can more accurately place your fire. This isn’t quite iron sights, but it is reminiscent to lining your head up with the barrel for better aim.
Vehicles
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All the heavy jeeps can carry six players. Obviously, the advantage is that all six squad members can travel in a single jeep.
Humvee with TOW
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This is the lone USI entry here. They have added a humvee with a mounted TOW in addition to the normal .50 cal Humvees (it is one or the other, not both). I think this is a completely realistic addition and a can be a great armor equalizer.
In conclusion, there are many more features (some good, some bad) than I can highlight here. If you haven’t checked out these mods – I recommend doing so. They are unique and fun. When playing with these – I wasn’t necessarily doing a feature comparison, so, I may have made some errors recounting above. Again, I think adaptations of the above would be good in tac mod. I hope you guys find this useful and I’d like to know what you think.
