Homefront - Catch all

Played some multiplayer last night (360) and my enjoyment was based almost totally on my level of lag. Several matches we played had people rubber-banding all over the place the lag was so bad, but when you landed in a game with a good signal for everyone, it was quite fun.

I mostly played the sniper kit. I was a bit disappointed that a head shot with the M100(?) wasn't an instant kill; however, the fire rate on the thing sort of makes up for it.

The maps felt a bit too small for efficient land vehicle use. I spent most of my driving time trying to navigate debris laden areas instead of focusing on targets and then the splash damage from the larger shells was tiny enough to make it difficult to kill anyone. I had much better luck with the track mounted turret. On the other side of that fence, I found that running with an RPG as one of my kit load-outs was a guaranteed vehicle kill for most rounds.

I agree with Ranalin that from a sniping perspective, the maps work quite well in allowing freedom of movement and punishing solid campers. The "moving" spawn points reduced spawn camping to a minimum as well.

I'm looking forward to unlocking more kit items and perks.

sithcundman wrote:

I mostly played the sniper kit. I was a bit disappointed that a head shot with the M100(?) wasn't an instant kill; however, the fire rate on the thing sort of makes up for it.

May have been due to lag. From what i can tell head shot from anything is an instant kill.

ranalin wrote:
sithcundman wrote:

I mostly played the sniper kit. I was a bit disappointed that a head shot with the M100(?) wasn't an instant kill; however, the fire rate on the thing sort of makes up for it.

May have been due to lag. From what i can tell head shot from anything is an instant kill.

Yeah, in the limited time I've played with a sniper rifle, popping the heads of the guy's in the Hummer turrets is a one shot kill.

MannishBoy wrote:
ranalin wrote:
sithcundman wrote:

I mostly played the sniper kit. I was a bit disappointed that a head shot with the M100(?) wasn't an instant kill; however, the fire rate on the thing sort of makes up for it.

May have been due to lag. From what i can tell head shot from anything is an instant kill.

Yeah, in the limited time I've played with a sniper rifle, popping the heads of the guy's in the Hummer turrets is a one shot kill.

Head shot with either sniper rifle is a one shot kill. However, the M200 has a larger head shot zone but fires much slower. That's the main difference. (And a little bit more zoom)

Just saw this twitter post:

Quick Update for 360 users, we'll be increasing Ground Control w/Battle Commander from 24 to 32 Players throughout the day!

I was wondering why that was 24. I guess server load?

Not sure what my deal is when it comes to shooters. I have this issue in all games, but it seems more pronounced with this one. I can be a decent sniper, but when i try to use other weapons i can flat out suck. Sometimes i know its because i move around a bit too reckless, but that's a 50/50 pay back for the most part. Main problem seems to be I just cant seem to hit anything. When i play with a sniper rifle i do better rushing around with that than i do with regular rifles. I've tried using burst fire or single fire weapons to somewhat better effect but its still not the same. I suspect its just me getting old and reflexes not being what they are. Just frustrating.

MannishBoy wrote:
Thin_J wrote:

I can't be 100% sure because the killcam is third person, but I'm pretty sure I just came across a batch of aimbotters. There was never any smoothness to their aiming movement. In the third person cam you could watch the aim jump instantly from one opposing player to the next with no looking in between.

As far as the server browser, I've had zero issues, and like Ranalin have had a sub-20 ping on multiple servers.

Is there penetration through garage doors? If not, I think I saw something very suspicious myself on 360. I died, and the guy was in a garage where he had no line of site. Twitchy movement then started firing into the door again (standing nearly touching the door). Didn't catch if somebody died to him on the kill feed. Then I died again from virtually the same circumstance with him still looking at the door.

Not sure, but it was definitely odd.

If aimbotters/wallhacks are out this quick, it's a bad sign. Very few things will kill multiplayer faster than rampant, unconstrained cheating. Preventative measures need to be built in from the ground up.

Quintin_Stone wrote:
MannishBoy wrote:
Thin_J wrote:

I can't be 100% sure because the killcam is third person, but I'm pretty sure I just came across a batch of aimbotters. There was never any smoothness to their aiming movement. In the third person cam you could watch the aim jump instantly from one opposing player to the next with no looking in between.

As far as the server browser, I've had zero issues, and like Ranalin have had a sub-20 ping on multiple servers.

Is there penetration through garage doors? If not, I think I saw something very suspicious myself on 360. I died, and the guy was in a garage where he had no line of site. Twitchy movement then started firing into the door again (standing nearly touching the door). Didn't catch if somebody died to him on the kill feed. Then I died again from virtually the same circumstance with him still looking at the door.

Not sure, but it was definitely odd.

If aimbotters/wallhacks are out this quick, it's a bad sign. Very few things will kill multiplayer faster than rampant, unconstrained cheating. Preventative measures need to be built in from the ground up.

I'm not sure I'll call it that with some of the laggy weird stuff that's gone on so far with this game. But it was definitely odd.

I'd expect hacks to hit PC first. This is pretty fast for something console based.

Just threw it out to see if there's an explanation I hadn't thought of. I suspect there's some other explanation to explain it. At least I hope there is.

I haven't had a ton of time to get in to this yet. But the few hours played both Multi and Sing, have been fun.
Story is pretty ham fisted but it is a decent ride. MP this title really shines. I love the map design, and I never feel crowded like I do on bc2 maps with 32 players.

Another update:

Servers are hard. Adding more around the world today/night.

The more I play, the less I like the vehicle balance. Taking down a tank seems harder than it should be with the amount of splash damage the main gun has combined with the number of rockets (or AT drone hits). And the anti-air also seems weak with the proximity launcher being a late unlock (except the default explosive class), and even then it takes multiple shots on the Apache.

Maybe I'm still doing it wrong with too much BFBC2 background. At least there only the attack copters seem overpowered.

I've found that buying a chopper is very risky. Sometimes I rack up ten kills, sometimes I get shot down before I get any. I have very limited experience with air-strikes, but after ten or so I think I've only gotten a few kills. Not simple hellfires either, half of those were white phosphorous.

Points-to-kills, I think I like the LAV best. It's not as mobile as I'd like, but the rapid-fire of the cannon is very nice.

I'm level 21 now, and can say for sure I'm glad I bought the game. I didn't like what little I played of BFBC2's multiplayer, because I couldn't pick the players out from the white rocks or buildings, and everything looked too same-y (I really, really hope they address that in BF3). I did have a yearning for that type of game (large scale, vehicular), and Homefront is more BF than CoD. I think it makes a nice complement to MW2.

Keep it short for me fellows:

At PAX East this felt like Modern Warfare, only with nasty recoil. I was hoping it would deliver something similar to Modern Warfare 2 in terms of atmosphere of a war-torn America, only better.

Is this game going to be worth my $60?

I haven't played enough of the SP to qualify for commentary. The intro was heavy and atmospheric, though, had me on-edge for sure.

Puce Moose would be the man you're looking to for this advice.

Edit: the bad recoil is just from the gun you start with. The AK variant has the worst recoil in the game afaik.

The more I play the MP the more I'm liking it. Using the PQ-10 Parrot drone to tag enemies for your teammates is extremely gratifying, especially if you hover over a pack of snipers.

TrashiDawa wrote:

The more I play the MP the more I'm liking it. Using the PQ-10 Parrot drone to tag enemies for your teammates is extremely gratifying, especially if you hover over a pack of snipers.

I like to pair that with the big air strikes. Spot them until you can buy your own little sniper BBQ kit.

Anybody know if you can use the underbarrel EMP launcher to down a helicopter momentarily?

I unlocked it last night and liked how it worked against the ground vehicles from range. Wondered if you could get one close to a helicopter if it would come down.

MannishBoy wrote:

Anybody know if you can use the underbarrel EMP launcher to down a helicopter momentarily?

I unlocked it last night and liked how it worked against the ground vehicles from range. Wondered if you could get one close to a helicopter if it would come down.

I'm not sure. Choppers are the most annoying part of most of my sessions. Very few folks seem to have the proper tools unlocked yet to deal with them. The rocket shooting drone seems to do pretty well. The prox launcher doesn't seem much better than the standard RPG to me. I'd like one or two more infantry options to deal with the things.

Let us know if you have any luck with that EMP launcher.

So I recalled that I still had a VISA gift card, so I used it on Homefront.

Not going to play it until after I beat Fable 3, though.

Hi all.

My son is trying to convince me to contribute to buying this game with him (for the 360). We both like BFBC2, he's good and I don't suck most of the time, He also enjoys Halo games, which I just don't get into. I'd play the campaign and some MP (at least until Brink), while he would mainly only play MP (again at least until Brink). Based on being an objective team oriented player in MP and liking BFBC2 a lot, COD somewhat, and Halo not really at all, would this be a good buy?

Whydmer wrote:

Hi all.

My son is trying to convince me to contribute to buying this game with him (for the 360). We both like BFBC2, he's good and I don't suck most of the time, He also enjoys Halo games, which I just don't get into. I'd play the campaign and some MP (at least until Brink), while he would mainly only play MP (again at least until Brink). Based on being an objective team oriented player in MP and liking BFBC2 a lot, COD somewhat, and Halo not really at all, would this be a good buy?

It fits somewhere between CoD and BFBC2 on the scale. It's got big maps like BFBC2, but doesn't quite bring the team gameplay that BFBC2 does, as you don't really have a lot of things you can do for your teammates other than spot with one of the purchasable drones. No healing or repairing, no supplies, etc. Typical shooter spawn at the back spawn points.

Maps are overall quite good IMO. I generally like the CQB maps and the less elevated maps better, as it cuts down a bit on the prone snipers.

Vehicles in late rounds seem a bit out of balance as it takes quite a bit to take tanks and Apaches down right now, which frustrates me as a BC2 player.

It doesn't have major kill streak rewards like CoD, which is good in that you don't lose stuff you're working up to just because you die, which probably keeps people playing the objectives a bit more instead of protecting their streaks. You bank points and can spend them on things along the way.

If you play Battle Commander, you do end up with some small killstreak bonuses, but they are things like free flak jackets, personal UAVs, etc. Plus, the other team's battle commander posts a reward in battle points for your death and gives a general area as to where you are.

IMO, this isn't a replacement for BFBC2. It's a good diversion. If you want something to play for a couple of months to keep you busy until Brink, and are needing a change, it's not a bad game. I like it, I don't love it. I see it as a diversion myself.

sithcundman wrote:
MannishBoy wrote:

Anybody know if you can use the underbarrel EMP launcher to down a helicopter momentarily?

I unlocked it last night and liked how it worked against the ground vehicles from range. Wondered if you could get one close to a helicopter if it would come down.

I'm not sure. Choppers are the most annoying part of most of my sessions. Very few folks seem to have the proper tools unlocked yet to deal with them. The rocket shooting drone seems to do pretty well. The prox launcher doesn't seem much better than the standard RPG to me. I'd like one or two more infantry options to deal with the things.

Let us know if you have any luck with that EMP launcher.

If you're having bad luck with aiming with the rockets you can always use your own weapon. Before unlocks i would grab the SAW and just shoot it down that way. Granted it gives your position away, but it is satisfying to take one of them down especially if they're on a streak.

MannishBoy wrote:

IMO, this isn't a replacement for BFBC2. It's a good diversion. If you want something to play for a couple of months to keep you busy until Brink, and are needing a change, it's not a bad game. I like it, I don't love it. I see it as a diversion myself.

The MP is fun.

ranalin wrote:
MannishBoy wrote:

IMO, this isn't a replacement for BFBC2. It's a good diversion. If you want something to play for a couple of months to keep you busy until Brink, and are needing a change, it's not a bad game. I like it, I don't love it. I see it as a diversion myself.

The MP is fun.

Agreed. But I just don't have as much fun as BC2. YMMV obviously.

John Walker at Rock, Paper, Shotgun put up his review of the single player and nailed it far more eloquently then I ever could.

John Walker wrote:

Homefront is barely a game. I’m drawing the line here. It’s an interactive cutscene with occasional shooting galleries. So far has the Call Of Duty Copying gone that it is believed the ideal game is one in which the player is barely involved. In Homefront, for the majority of the game, you feel like an unwanted irritant. It’s hard to capture quite how much this game seems to hate you for wanting to be involved, and the extent to which it goes to ensure you rarely are.

This would be forgivable if the multiplayer wasn't utter crap too.

Sinatar wrote:

John Walker at Rock, Paper, Shotgun put up his review of the single player and nailed it far more eloquently then I ever could.

John Walker wrote:

Homefront is barely a game. I’m drawing the line here. It’s an interactive cutscene with occasional shooting galleries. So far has the Call Of Duty Copying gone that it is believed the ideal game is one in which the player is barely involved. In Homefront, for the majority of the game, you feel like an unwanted irritant. It’s hard to capture quite how much this game seems to hate you for wanting to be involved, and the extent to which it goes to ensure you rarely are.

This would be forgivable if the multiplayer wasn't utter crap too.

You're the only person i've met who hasnt liked the MP.

Someone doesn't like the multi-player? I loved it enough to buy the online pass since I got it from Gamefly.

Thank you MannishBoy for your assessment and description, sounds like something I might pass on as I have some computer strategy games to keep me busy, but I will see how much my son wants this and what I can "extort" out of him to get me to contribute money to his purchase.

Sinatar wrote:

John Walker at Rock, Paper, Shotgun put up his review of the single player and nailed it far more eloquently then I ever could.

I couldn't agree more with that review, he really nailed it. He said everything I thought. I made it about an hour and a half into the game and just lost all interest.

The only thing he didn't mention that was killing the game for me was the horrible dialog. I thought the average age of the gaming public was somewhere in the mid twenties, not 12.

I am really disappointed, this game had huge potential.

While I really wanted to like the SP, I have to agree with the RPS review. Mostly I find myself wanting knife Rianna so she will shut the hell up. And for some reason i can't ascend or descend in the helicopter during the tanker mission, which has basically killed the SP for me (and google has refused to divulge the fix). And I so bad wanted to like this game.

The multi-player, on the other hand, can be quite a riot. The longevity may not be there in it's current form, but with some patches and some new maps (and some new games modes), I can see it staying around for a while.

MrChomps wrote:

And for some reason i can't ascend or descend in the helicopter during the tanker mission, which has basically killed the SP for me (and google has refused to divulge the fix).

What platform are you on? If consoles, the bumpers should allow you to ascend/descend. If you're on the PC, it's a bit more complicated. There are a couple modes for the controls on helicopters. The default is Rookie mode. In this mode, you basically cannot crash. However, you can't really control your height. In the controls options, you should be able to switch it to higher difficulty controls. They should give you greater control. But beware, the helicopters will then be harder to control.