[MW3 beta first impressions]

On 10/16/2023 at 1:52 PM, techno said:

I am led to believe after watching Nero all mw2 weapons will carry over into mw3 and all the attachments you've unlocked plus skins etc. Wether you use them is upto you. @Plumbers Crack

 

 

It you look at the Battlepass progression it tells you that all items carry over. The skins, charms, stickers, tracks (except for the hummer). So I expect that the guns and attachments (directly or indirectly) which carry over as a result. You don't even need to buy the skins if you paid for the basic battlepass 

[Inferior Sequels Erasing Iconic Originals]

 

Funny, when I first saw the title I was thinking this was going to be about all those movies and TV show reboots that are showing up

 

I guess lack of creativity/Quality/originality is systematic in the entertainments industry in general.  It's much easier to just repurpose old stuff that was successful and hope it sticks

[MW3 beta first impressions]

 

I played and got myself to level 20. 

 

I am not sure to be honest

 

The movement is too much like a jack rabbit that is high on crack. Running like crazy everywhere and just too quick

The TTK was pretty bad for me. I would unload an entire clip into 2 opponent and then die reloading because I needed so much ammo to kill anything

The kill streaks were rather Meh. I ended up playing with SAM, Counter, VTOL or whatever it was. 

The guns were nothing spectacular. The LMG was just garbage 

 

I did like the maps and if they were just to offer this as a map pack for MWII + Zombies I would be quite happy

I didn't get a chance to use the sniper riffle much. With the super fast movement is rather difficult to get a good shot unless they are coming right at you

The perk system was interesting. Not sure about it yet but I have not complaints. However I didn't get to play it much since one of the vest unlocks at level 19 I believe and the last one does not

I did play on PSN and unlike other games the connection was pretty good. I will give the XBOX a chance this next Beta and see if it plays better, same or worse before choosing a platform

 

Skidrow, Favela and rust were fun.  Estate just seem to big for guns we had. I could hit the target just fine but I couldn't down anything. Won't be a problem once we have all the guns I assume

[MW3 Multiplayer Gameplay]

 

The create a class from Charlie Intel looks pretty nice. Seems to eliminate a lot of things people were complaining about.  You can equip ghost and dead silence for example. 

 

It's based on vests, shoes, headset, gloves which is a bit new but still the same

 

I won't get to it under Monday at best but what I have seen I like so far

[What do you do in your daily work life?]

 

 

I lead a team that designs 5G and datacenter chips. It spans over 6 countries and 13 time zones 

 

So I get to have meetings at all kind of ridiculous hours but I get a lot of spaces in between which allows me to game if I want to. 

 

Customers are companies like Cisco, Ericsson, Nokia, Microsoft, Ciena, ZTE, Rakuten, Facebook, Google. 

 

Most of the chips can be customized to the customers specific needs. The typically handle 1.6  Terabyte per second of data using serial links that individually handle 106.26 Gigabyte per second of bandwidth. Most of the interfaces are Ethernet, PCIE or wireless 5G

 

I typically design review the designs or help the less experience people with the designs problems they might encounter. 

 

It's all done in Verilog/VHDL or Deep sub-micron Custom transceiver design

 

 

[MW3 Multiplayer Gameplay]

2 hours ago, phil bottle said:

 

Mate, if I get Scavenger Pro, with claymores, I'll never get bored 😅

 

If not you'll always have ammo boxes

 

[MW3 - 16 Returning Maps!]

3 minutes ago, J4MES OX4D said:

Oh so the rumours were right all along then - it's just a £60 glorified DLC dressed up as a new game, made in less than 8 months🤣

 

I do love the OG MW2 maps but I honestly expected them to appear with some original ones at least.  Certainly be interesting to see how they play with more modern mechanics. 

 

You also get zombies which is worth it for me. The last black-ops all I played was zombies because the MP was trash

[MW3 - 16 Returning Maps!]

 

Kind of looking forward to it. There were a lot of maps that I liked in that rotations. 

 

It would be nice if the maps that are in MW2 are also part of the rotation. Don't see why not nice it basically a DLC of MW2

 

A lot of those maps are already in DMZ if you look carefully. So people that have been playing Warzone/DMZ might have slightly better map knowledge than those who don't

 

 

[Event and M13C]

1 hour ago, GazzaGarratt said:

I didn't even get round to looking at this yet. Is the event still up and doable?

 

Nope.  It's likely to be a gun in MW3 so I would not sweat it too much. That or if someone drops it for you in DMZ

[I wrote this post about money during Covid and never posted it]

 

I can't comment much about the UK (or Europe) but I can about Canada/USA since I have lived there

 

1) Interest is your worst enemy. So do what ever you can to keep it a low as possible. People have the realize that credit cards charge about 20% interest around here. So do not keep a balance on them.

- Around here we have secured line of credits which is give you about 60% of the equity of you home on credit. The rate is prime +  2% (mine anyways). Which means 7.2% instead. So if you carry you credit on on a credit card and have do not max out your credit card, transfer that to the line of credit which will save you about 13% a year

2) Payoff the mortgage as fast a possible. Due to the amortization period (25/35 years) you will pay a fortune in interest. The sooner you pay it the better. Get a mortgage that allows you to pay it down faster and put the extra money you have at the end of the month into it. Also get a mortgage that has payment forgiveness if you over paid. Meaning that if I "prepaid" 2-3 months of mortgage when something like covid happens my bank will give me mortgage forgiveness and not impact my credit score. 

- When I was 30 with 2 kids and a wife who was stay at home we paid off the mortgage in a little over 3 years. We accomplished that with a lot of discipline and by buying a rather modest home. Then we saved that money that we were putting into the mortgage (as we had not missed) and 4 years later bought a home that was 3x the size. 

3) Invest in the equivalent of 401K, resp, RRSP.  Those give you a tax incentive on your return. So I always max it out because the government returns my money and it's tax free

4) Invest in tax free accounts if you have them. In Canada you are allowed to invest about $6500 tax free every year. So put your savings that you plan to leave alone in there so you are not taxed on their returns

5) We have a tax free education account for the kids. Look into it

6) We have a tax free first home buyer account to buy your first home. look into it

- those are all ways that the government does not take the money you work hard to earn

 

 

I have used all of those. If you want further advise PM me. Won't be able to help much with Europe but by doing those with a single income most of our lives we were able to be financially secure by the age of 50.  I just work because I like it

 

[Who's getting MW3? (pre beta)]

 

 

Probably will but I don't see a need for pre-beta. It's not like they are going to run out of games 

[MW3 Gameplay]

On 8/23/2023 at 12:26 PM, J4MES OX4D said:

I hope this campaign isn't rushed but it'll be interesting to see what Sledgehammer do with it. I didn't really enjoy MW2's in the end - there were varied missions but not much variety within especially where you were in an AC130 for 20 minutes or roof hopping vehicles for the same amount of time. It took several missions before we finally got a proper boots on the ground gun mission! The sniper mission also missed the mark which was quite disappointing. Wasn't much innovation and most missions became exhausting with the same old premise from start to finish in each. Graphics were excellent though and there were a few neat ideas that came off despite a few wobbles. 

 

 

The campaign seem to be something were every game feature was inserted and forced you to try it. The car jumping was to prepare for DMZ/Warzone. However it's just a pain in the ass

The escape one (which was the worse in my opinion) was for the crafting the came along later in the co-op and DMZ.

The Tank at the end was just a Video game boss battle which was mostly irritating

 

The good thing about it is that if you did it, there was a reward for completing every mission which included blueprints and operators. So I ended up completing it 

[Call of Duty - Modern Warfare 3 (2023)]

4 hours ago, J4MES OX4D said:

Bit desperate that we're getting OG MW2 maps for MW3 especially as we already had half of these in 2019 for Modern Warfare🤣 Why not remake some of the classic OG MW3 maps even though we've already had some of those?

 

Sledgehammer delivered the biggest quantity of original maps in Vanguard so either they have a huge package lined up or they are desperately concocting the classics to fill the void. Really hope it's the former but it really sounds like they are scraping the barrel to fill the content and justify a whopping full price purchase. Can't blame the developers though - sounds like it's a bit of a shit show all round and personnel and being banded around from pillar to post on projects. 

 

 

All those maps are already in the DMZ. You can find afgan, rust, bone yard, quarry.  I guess the are just providing them as stand alone maps for the MP folks. 

 

People complain but when I try to get a match on one of the new 24/7 maps it takes forever. Go to Shipment or shoothouse it's almost instantaneous. So clearly people just prefer to play certain maps despite all the complaining 

 

I happen to like the majority of the MW2 original maps. So it really doesn't bother me. Plus I only use MP to unlock stuff or level guns. The rest of the time I am in WZ or DMZ anyways.  So are the majority of the people on my friends list. So fine with me

 

 

[Event and M13C]

1 hour ago, techno said:

Easiest way as I found out is just stay outside the bunker and shoot down one of the attack helicopters. No need to find commanders.

 

 

You need to assist on 5 commanders. The helo is one of the commanders.  So you would have had to shoot 5 of them.  it works but you still need multiple commander kills

 

 

[Event and M13C]

 

I did the event and obtained the M13C (it's a new gun. The one people have already is the M13B)

 

The gun is well worth it in my opinion. I played two games on Shipment after getting it and Maxed it out already. I was getting 70+ kill with it on Hardpoint and Dom. 

 

It is very easy to get. You need to assist killing 5 commanders (Jugs, Weelson, Helo).  So just shoot a few times and move on the next. Don't need to extract or complete the mission. So it really couldn't be easier. I got it done in two. The hardest part is to find the commanders

 

 

[Modern Warfare III]

 

Just camp in a corner with ghost, cold blooded, an lmg with fire rounds and a deployable cover and who needs dead silence 🙂 

[Why Just Why!?]

4 hours ago, Greboth said:

I've got no problem with them adding Nicki Minaj.  All the people who turtle up with riot shields on their back are going to be easy targets when their ass is twice as wide as the shield.

 

Exactly, it's not like the Noir skin where you aren't going to be able to see her hiding in a dark corner. Just look for the huge pink ass

[Why Just Why!?]

3 hours ago, J4MES OX4D said:

God this franchise really embarrasses itself sometimes. Always starts of as a serious but casual military themed shooter and by the end its almost a cartoon as they fish for any business they can get. If they are gonna go down the nauseating influencer/celeb route then why not get ones that actually play the bloody game! 

 

 

Actually the did get 2 and the skins were pulled after one said something that made the LGBT community lose their shit

 

Personally, I kind of like the idea of running around in a rat skin and shooting Mike or Snoop in the face.  Judging from the number of people that are running those skins this morning, it would seem there are a lot of people that do not share your opinion 

[What is your favourite multiplayer mode?]

 

I really like Grind which is kind of kill confirmed + capture the flag

I like  Domination

I like free for all

 

I'll play hardpoint and TDM if I have to but it isn't a go to mode for me. 

 

 

[Microsoft to buy Activision Blizzard?]

4 hours ago, GazzaGarratt said:

 

Not really as Pat and James just disagree on a regular basis.

 

 

You know, you could be right about that! I do see so many kids getting xbox but when they get older all they want is a PlayStation lol. Not sure how the demographic has ended up like that but I certainly hear that sentiment when I speak to mums and dads about all of this stuff.

 

I've got to the stage with this that they should just get on and do whatever they wanna do. I don't think it will really do anything in the next 10 years to gaming if I'm brutally honest. Sony might get hurt in the long term but I probably see it as they have a 10 year plan to make sure they do whatever they need to in order to protect what they have right now.

 

 

I have both and I mainly play on the Xbox because I find that the MS network is by far superior to the PSN one in Ottawa. It was is was superior in California when I was there as well.  I never had to complain about lag and network outages. Both boxes are side by side and use a hard wired internet connection with 500 Mbs so it's not my provider. 

 

I use to favor the PSN because it started with a free network and migrated to free for free to play games. So DMZ/Warzone is free to me on PSN but not on XBOX.  Seems like I get what I pay for

 

You friends list is also considerably better with  Xbox. I believe it caps at 1000. The PSN one is now too small for the Warzone/DMZ crowd I play with

 

 

[Microsoft to buy Activision Blizzard?]

33 minutes ago, J4MES OX4D said:

FTC and the CMA were simply acting in the interests of other global companies and the impact such a merger would have. I fail to see why you are so against this? MS were forced into damning admissions to in regards to their overall motive for the move and their knee-jerk purchases of other developers they have locked to their books but fail to support. Oversight bodies are perfectly within their right to raise any litigation or make rejections with credible reason.

 

I find it really bizarre that you are so far up Activision’s rectum with this whole saga - it’s a merger of two multi-billion dollar companies that will have no benefit to gamers or developers and will likely suppress other companies from making independent strides. It’s not going to make Call of Duty any better - it’s just gonna make Bobby and Bill even more money and that’s it. 

 

it’s also not in the interests of legal bodies to pursue further litigation because it would simply be too costly and an impossible battle to win against a homegrown corporation with endlessly deep pockets who can easily sway judges who can’t fathom how to even work a toaster. Any gamer and developer would be rather concerned about what has transpired from MS in court. 

 

 

I have no skin in the game at all. I just tire of you talking our of your ass all of the time

[Microsoft to buy Activision Blizzard?]

On 6/15/2023 at 9:13 AM, J4MES OX4D said:

It's the only way forward for them to save face because they said they would consider leaving markets that blocked the deal and now they've been bummed in their very own backyard which is absolutely hilarious. I did warn that their childish stance would come back to bite them when the FTC followed through their initial lawsuit with a blanket rejection of the amended terms and if they are true to their word after their response to the CMA then they have to abandon their home market of America or it will just look like their threats were nothing more than amateur blackmail of corporate coercion.    

 

This is what happens when corporations have no respect for jurisdictional laws or other companies. They've now been duly humiliated on their own doorstep and the only way to get the deal over the line is to make some serious concessions and amendments that respect law and other companies. 

 

 

Humiliated huh? They win the FTC case  and now "UK watchdog halts legal battle with Microsoft over £55bn Activision takeover"

 

Seems to me like they are making the FTC and CMA look foolish once a court case comes up

 

 

 

 

[Modern Warfare 2(022)]

10 hours ago, Luseth said:

Has anyone else noticed a new skin recently that changes colour? I.e. it turns silvery grey against certain backgrounds? It has caught me out a few times as it can be a bit difficult to spot against say a building for example. I just want to make sure I am not going mad and it is actually a skin of some sort?

 

The reason I ask is because if it is a skin it seems a little pay 2 win to me as it gives a little too good camo in certain maps which always causes concerns for me in a game franchise.

 

 

I've seen something like that. didn't pay much attention since it was in the DMZ and his backpack was plenty visible. I also use thermal all the time and enemies are quite visible in that case

[DMZ Season 4 is being reset]

2 hours ago, Tove said:

Can you still keep extracting the same skulls and bars with a secure backpack? That’s what I did for this mission last Season, 

 

I haven’t touched DMZ in several weeks. I’ve been enjoying my return to dead by daylight instead. 

 

 

Don't know. Never tried it but it sound like a darn good idea.  Will try to team up with some of my friends and try it. Even finding the first Bars is touch and go. Then we can kill a Boss and get the needed skulls.

 

Thanks for the tip

 

 

[DMZ Season 4 is being reset]

On 6/6/2023 at 10:51 AM, Tove said:

It’s an assumption on my part but let’s be honest no-one would be surprised

 

 

I played a number of matches yesterday and I have slot 2 unlock. They made it easier but more of a grind which is fine with me.  You need to get the black mouse rep to level 4 (which is achieved by doing tier 1 missions) and then loot a bunch of things and extract with them.  The #2 slot is super easy.

 

The #3 is easy but takes patience. You need gold bars and skulls. 

 

I like the changes so far.  I'll see how the rest goes. You have to unlock a lot more which is why the reset was needed. For example you need to kill certain specific bosses in order to be able to barter certain specific items (like the vests). I am sure people will complain that will lead to people killing operators in order to loot as that is easier than the bosses (since there is only one per match and some are hard to get to).