Uranium - 235

The logical idea here is that even in the future, power requirements for some sort of heavy energy weapon dramatically exceeds a man-portable power source, and bullets are still effective.

It doesn't matter HOW damn big your laser is, if eight grams of zinc and lead to the temple has the same effect, only it cost only $0.40.

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Shurikane

CAUTION: The following applies only to pub servers - not TG.

I did hours of squad member, squad leader and commander, and more often than not, I was member of squads with no goal in mind, led squads who did not follow, and got mutinied as commander by squads who flat out ignored orders and charged headfirst into UAVs that beeped like ringtones. The average pub game is not won through outsmarting one another; it was won based on the hope that the opposing team had more drooling idiots than your team had. Even today, finding a squad with even an order set up (let alone anyone with VoIP enabled) is a chore in itself. Most squadmates (if people are squadded at all) have no concept of orders and objectives. You can never really expect them to follow you into an assault. Something that would've been more than doable with your two mates next to you fails, because you yelled "GO GO GO!", charged forward, as you die in the skirmish, realize your squadmates ran exactly the opposite way to foot it to some other silo. Throw in friendly fire and my own teammates became more dangerous to my eyes than the enemy was. A foe was predictable because he wanted you dead. A friend was a disaster waiting to happen, because you never knew when he'd suddenly change his mind and completely ignore your very existence.

One day, while leading a squad I had been with nice and well for two hours, I made a tactical mistake and got my men killed. No problem, I figured, I was alive, so they could spawn on me and we'd try it again some other way. This was not to be. Instantly, I was greeted with curses and insults, and lost my entire squad within seconds. At that point, I pretty much said screw it, and locked myself out, restricting my squad only to buddy list members. I didn't bother and the commander didn't bother me. I made my own judgement calls and took responsibility for my own actions. My middle name is Wolverine.

Playing lone wolf for a while in pubs made me realize one thing, and it was that being part of a squad made me dependent on teammates and squadmates. Perhaps a bit too much, even. That sort of problem doesn't surface on TG - you ask for a medic and you're drowning in medpacks and antibiotics within seconds. But everywhere else, you need to empty a clip into someone to make him stop ignoring your pleas for health and ammo. Being on my own gave me a new outlook on the approach I had to the fight: I had to guarantee my own survival. There wasn't a squad following me, and I couldn't realistically expect teammates to be even of the medic class (the average pubber plays recon!), so I was driven to inject a strong dose of caution into my moves. On top of that, I had to make every hit count. My SPM, my K/D ratio and my accuracy all shot up to levels I though I could never have achieved. I raked in gold stars like they came from a vending machine. When there was an active commander around and pointing me to the right places, I could singlehandedly turn the tide of battle around. And if buddies of mine join in - buddies whom I know have a mike and a head on their shoulders - then forget it; we left a path of nuclear destruction behind us.

At that point, I suggest to everyone to give that gameplay style a shot. Not on TG, but some other server, wherever else, try Titan and Conquest, both of them. You're online, TG server is full, no buddies available - raid a pub, lock yourself up and get to work. Being alone, all on your own, incites a different feeling and stream of thoughts. Your concern is no longer "Can a medic revive me if I screw up?" It's: "How can I avoid being wounded at all?" At that point, I guarantee that your ability at stealth, marksmanship and self-reliance will go straight up. You will be able to infuriate an entire enemy squad all on your own. Imagine that scenario. You're at the silo closest to the enemy home. You're Engineer, you've laid down some carefully hidden motion mines and placed a vehicle sonar out of plain sight. A transport lands, eats one of your mines, you finish it off with a Pilum, and then blast away the survivors with your SMG as you come in from an angle they didn't expect. You've spent some ammo, but it's no problem. There's always a support or similar engineer kit laying around, allowing you to sustain yourself for an amazing amount of time and assaults. And if the commander sends you a supply drop, then oh yeah, all you need is a tent and some firewood... Wait, no, hang on. No supply drops. Commanders who do that without you requesting them usually give your position away. Especially if you're on a defense order and completely alone at the flag. Perhaps you could ask him to drop it elsewhere as a decoy. Think about it!

And when you return to your usual squad, you are more dependable, responsible, and able to deliver a stronger punch to the enemy. Your reflexes are sharper and you are more paranoid. You always move, left and right, look in all directions, spot even the slighest movement and report it.

I know full well the suggestion is not part of the TG manner of play - this is something you do for yourself and for the experience. For a moment, you imagine yourself alone against a full 24-man team. You are stranded on a pub server. Only you and your commander - and pray that he hears your questions! You are the only living being with a pair of ears and a mouth on the whole server. Your teammates are animals, soulless beings driven by instinct and the opportunity to score points - even if it means shooting an assault rifle at a tank. They are merely cannon fodder and the poor man's defuser, running into ambushes and APMs so you don't have to. Only you can make your team win. What do you do?

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That said, you'll never see me playing lone wolf on TG (unless I make a squad and no one happens to join.) You'll find me with my squadmates, assault-medic more often than not, shooting the baddies and reviving my SL and teammates like any good assault-medic. Whenever I can, I try to join a squad led by a TG guy because I know TG guys talk and let us know what they need. Win or loss, the game here is not of frustration, but of making smooth moves on one another. We fail a maneuver because we were surprised or outsmarted, not because the squad ran off where it wasn't supposed to go. We succeed in our attempts because we engaged well and true, not because the enemy didn't even know the button to switch weapons. My vehicle fights with and against TG members are serious and epic encounters that I must not take lightly. Fights for the flags are intense and rewarding. They make you grunt in a "that's gotta hurt!" manner and over and above everything: your squadmates have a presence. They talk. They hear you. They communicate. They know what they have to do and how to do it. This is something you see on pubs only once in every 500 squads. To this date, and 491 hours of play into the game, I know of only one consistent group of players with whom I squad up on pubs and make me feel like I'm playing with the quality of the TG guys: they are Reyals, Chance42 and mu5a5hi from the =SoD= clan. (The others on my buddylist are unaffiliated or I haven't played with their clan mates yet.)

When I'm squadded up on TG, I know I'm in good hands. When I lead a squad on TG, I know I'm in control.

Battlefield 2142 would be absolutely amazing if everyone played like TG did. But the reality is that it didn't happen. TG is a community composed of members and two servers. They are the exception among the n00bs. On TG, I have an opportunity to play the way the game is meant to be played.

Elsewhere, well... As we say, it's another ball game.

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Uranium - 235

I did like the unlocks in 2142 over BF2, as the ones in BF2 were either hideously overpowered (G36C, or at least it was back when I still played), or pathetically weak. The 2142 unlocks come more frequently and you're given a larger choice.

Also, as much as I like flying, aircraft were just too damn easy and poorly balanced. Also, major parts of the game that could drive a more cinematic feel were pretty neutered by the balance as a whole. Blackhawks were just little deathblimp pointmagnets...

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Razcsak

Shurikane: Well said, I stand corrected.

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