C4-Gaming Community

Patch is Out!

Posted by Diluted — 2010-03-17T18:31:15-05:00

Bad Company 2 Patch

According to a recent post on the official EA Battlefield: Bad Company 2 forums, the big ole' PC patch for the follow-up is now live. Among the host of fixes are a host of tiny single-player bug squashes, including a fix for character voice issues and low volume problems during the cut-scenes. The MP component has received the brunt of the work. Serious server browser woes have been addressed, and even flickering assets got an extra pass.

The full list of the fixes is available below the fold. If you have the Steam version of the game, it looks like your patch will be delayed just a bit more due to the service's lengthier QA process. EA apparently expects it to hit tomorrow.

New Patch v522175 *UPDATE* [EA Battlefield Message Board]

Single-player

Fixed: Graphical issues on some systems on SP_03 (at start and when displaying background mountains at “Up river”)

Fixed: Character voice issue during cut scenes in SP_03b (only affected Spanish)

Fixed: Hang when killed using TOW Launchers in SP_05

Fixed: Graphical issue on some systems on SP_05 (displaying background mountains)

Fixed: Voice volume in cut scenes on SP_06

Fixed: Unexpected dialog at start of SP_08 (only affected Italian)

Fixed: Random crash in SP_09 cut scenes

Multi-player

Fixed: Server Browser - Joining a password protected server results in a connection timeout

Fixed: Server Browser auto updating server list when reopened causing a timeout issue

Fixed: Password issue during Friend invites

Fixed: Password text field issue on joining a password protected server

Fixed: “Flickering” ship on Arica Harbor

Fixed: Clan tags that use numbers in them displaying a “0” on the Select Spawn Point screen

Fixed: Display issue on long server names

Fixed: Mortar Strike icon not updating (Beta issue)

Fixed: No “Exit Game” menu option appearing at the end of some rounds.

Fixed: Flickering user rank icon (appeared as an animated gif) when user reaches rank 10.

Fixed: Flickering trees and “Red Box” on Laguna Presa

Fixed: User is logged out when failing to create a new soldier

Fixed: Zeus stationary weapon not appearing in stats

Fixed: Zu23 not appearing in stats

Fixed: BMD3 AA not appearing in stats

Fixed: Friend request displaying incorrect Veteran stats

Fixed: End of Round screen displayed incorrect “UAV_Station” – now displays correct localized text.

Fixed: K/D ratio displays in the Front End

Fixed: K/D ratio displays correctly when “comparing”

Change: Server browser now defaults to list via Ping first

Change: News Ticker font support for Spanish, Polish, Russian and Japanese

Change: New message for server full (reported as “I get no message when I try and join a server, it does nothing”)

Change: New message displayed for attempting to join a password protected server without providing a password (reported as “I get no message when I try and join a server, it does nothing”)

Change: Displays version number on Front End Legal Screen

Change: Display of weapon icon during loading screen

Thanks from C4

Posted by Diluted — 2010-03-14T11:49:46-05:00

Bad Company 2 Release Info!

Posted by swami — 2010-02-23T12:30:55-05:00

Bad Company 2 Release Schedule

Gamestop: Many stores feature midnight pickup, Monday night March 1st! Most Gamestop stores open the next day, Tuesday March 2nd, at 10 AM.
EA Store and Direct2Drive: Pre-load beginning February 28th. Game will be activated March 2nd 1PM Eastern time.
Delivery: Most deliveries will ship March 2nd so most 2 and 3 day shipping will result in delivery on or around March 5th.

Remember: The beta ends this Thursday, February 25th !!

New Beta Client Released for Bad Company 2 Beta!

Posted by swami — 2010-02-18T09:28:01-05:00

This update is about performance and stability again. We are not doing any changes to the game's datafiles.

* Reduced input "lag"
On machines where the CPU would out-run the GPU, sometimes the GPU would queue up several frames' worth of rendering commands.
This could lead to the game having a high framerate, but input still feeling very sluggish.

Now there's a limiter on how many frames the CPU is allowed to be "ahead" of the GPU.
Control this setting via Settings.ini. Default setting: RenderAheadLimit=2

* Performance optimizations with biggest improvements on dual-core machines
* Fixed black "masks"
o The soot on buildings with holes in them had a bugged renderpath. We switched that over to a more well-tested renderpath.
* Improved hit-detection
o We've gone through the hit detection logic, and client+server will now give more consistent results.
* Fix for some "rubberbanding" issues
o C4 should stay attached to vehicles and not rubberband around
* Reduced spikes/dips in framerate
* Various fixes for alt+tab related CTD on Dx9
* More fixes for random CTD on Dx9
* Fix for crash when you're in a vehicle that gets destroyed

There was a race condition in the code;
System 1 thought "oh hey, you're leaving vehicle X"
System 2 thought "the vehicle got destroyed, let's remove it"

If system 2 ran before system 1, chaos would ensue.
This was actually fixed in the retail version since a month, but it was only when we got detailed crash reports from the community that we understood *why* the Beta was crashing.

Likely bugs in this build
I wouldn't be surprised if it (still) has trouble remembering your settings between rounds. It would be nice to have that fixed too, but it's better to get a patch out now, and look at the settings issues afterward.

-Mikael Kalms

c4 Gaming Bad Company 2 Launch giveaway!!

Posted by swami — 2010-01-20T12:07:34-05:00

The highly anticipated Beta release of Bad Company 2 is right around the corner. C4 gaming has access to five PC beta keys to give away to contributing members just in time for the January 28th beta launch!
If you want to guarantee yourself a key then please pre-order the game via:

Gamestop: www.gamestop.com/Catalog/ProductDetails.aspx
EA Store: eastore.ea.com/DRHM/servlet/ControllerServlet
Direct2Drive: www.direct2drive.com/2/8784/product/Buy-Battlefield:-Bad-Company-2-Limited-Edition-Download
If you want in on the C4 beta key giveaway please keep an eye out in our forums!!

Beta Release Date: Jan 28th

Retail Release Date: Mar 2nd

Good Guys Bring Down the Mega-D Botnet

Posted by Diluted — 2009-12-28T17:30:34-05:00

For two years as a researcher with security company FireEye, Atif Mushtaq worked to keep Mega-D bot malware from infecting clients' networks. In the process, he learned how its controllers operated it. Last June, he began publishing his findings online. In November, he suddenly switched from defense to offense. And Mega-D--a powerful, resilient botnet that had forced 250,000 PCs to do its bidding--went down.
Targeting Controllers
Mushtaq and two FireEye colleagues went after Mega-D's command infrastructure. A botnet's first wave of attack uses e-mail attachments, Web-based offensives, and other distribution methods to infect huge numbers of PCs with malicious bot programs.
The bots receive marching orders from online command and control (C&C) servers, but those servers are the botnet's Achilles' heel: Isolate them, and the undirected bots will sit idle. Mega-D's controllers used a far-flung array of C&C servers, however, and every bot in its army had been assigned a list of additional destinations to try if it couldn't reach its primary command server. So taking down Mega-D would require a carefully coordinated attack.
Synchronized Assault
Mushtaq's team first contacted Internet service providers that unwittingly hosted Mega-D control servers; his research showed that most of the servers were based in the United States, with one in Turkey and another in Israel.
The FireEye group received positive responses except from the overseas ISPs. The domestic C&C servers went down.
Next, Mushtaq and company contacted domain-name registrars holding records for the domain names that Mega-D used for its control servers. The registrars collaborated with FireEye to point Mega-D's existing domain names to nowhere. By cutting off the botnet's pool of domain names, the antibotnet operatives ensured that bots could not reach Mega-D-affiliated servers that the overseas ISPs had declined to take down.
Finally, FireEye and the registrars worked to claim spare domain names that Mega-D's controllers listed in the bots' programming. The controllers intended to register and use one or more of the spare domains if the existing domains went down--so FireEye picked them up and pointed them to "sinkholes" (servers it had set up to sit quietly and log efforts by Mega-D bots to check in for orders). Using those logs, FireEye estimated that the botnet consisted of about 250,000 Mega-D-infected computers.
Down Goes Mega-D
MessageLabs, a Symantec e-mail security subsidiary, reports that Mega-D had "consistently been in the top 10 spam bots" for the previous year (find.pcworld.com/64165). The botnet's output fluctuated from day to day, but on November 1 Mega-D accounted for 11.8 percent of all spam that MessageLabs saw. Three days later, FireEye's action had reduced Mega-D's market share of Internet spam to less than 0.1 percent, MessageLabs says.
FireEye plans to hand off the anti-Mega-D effort to ShadowServer.org, a volunteer group that will track the IP addresses of infected machines and contact affected ISPs and businesses. Business network or ISP administrators can register for the free notification service.
Continuing the Battle
Mushtaq recognizes that FireEye's successful offensive against Mega-D was just one battle in the war on malware. The criminals behind Mega-D may try to revive their botnet, he says, or they may abandon it and create a new one. But other botnets continue to thrive.
"FireEye did have a major victory," says Joe Stewart, director of malware research with SecureWorks. "The question is, will it have a long-term impact?"
Like FireEye, Stewart's security company protects client networks from botnets and other threats; and like Mushtaq, Stewart has spent years combating criminal enterprises. In 2009, Stewart outlined a proposal to create volunteer groups dedicated to making botnets unprofitable to run. But few security professionals could commit to such a time-consuming volunteer activity.
"It takes time and resources and money to do this day after day," Stewart says. Other, under-the-radar strikes at various botnets and criminal organizations have occurred, he says, but these laudable efforts are "not going to stop the business model of the spammer."
Mushtaq, Stewart, and other security pros agree that federal law enforcement needs to step in with full-time coordination efforts. According to Stewart, regulators haven't begun drawing up serious plans to make that happen, but Mushtaq says that FireEye is sharing its method with domestic and international law enforcement, and he's hopeful.
Until that happens, "we're definitely looking to do this again," Mushtaq says. "We want to show the bad guys that we're not sleeping."

'BioShock 2' Hands-On Preview - This, Suprisingly, Does Not Suck

Posted by Diluted — 2009-12-24T12:27:20-05:00

I had seen a small portion of "BioShock 2" at various press events and at E3. I was not impressed. Granted it was only a small sliver, but the impression I got was that the developers at 2K Marin had taken the franchise from 2K Boston and turned it into a ham-fisted, action-packed first person shooter. It was a far cry from the quiet, subtle, thought-provoking experience of the first game and I had basically written off the release as an unnecessary (from an artistic standpoint, at least) cash in.
I was wrong.

The Basics
In "BioShock 2" you'll take on the role of Subject Delta, the first successful Big Daddy prototype. Seems you've been out of commission and 10 years have passed since Andrew Ryan and Atlas battled for control of Rapture. You awake to find Rapture in pretty rough shape, but a new ruler is trying to put the pieces back together. You main objective is to reunite with your paired Little Sister and make it out of there alive.
What's Working
Same Old Rapture
Although 10 years have passed, the creepy 50s vibe of Rapture remains, with its sparking neon signs, leaking portholes and crazed residents. My fears that the game had turned into a run-and-gun shooter were dashed within the first few minutes of play, as the slow, thoughtful pacing remains. You'll still find audio recordings which help you to understand some of the missing backstory, and there's even a series of recordings which almost act as a Rapture 101 if you missed the first game. That said, if you missed the first game and you're considering playing the second, don't. Do yourself a favor and pick it up on the cheap.
New Options For Big Daddies and Little Sisters
The gameplay of "BioShock 2" doesn't stray very far from the first game at all. The one major difference is your need to shepherd lost Little Sisters as they go about their business collecting Adam. There are a few options on this front, so I'll try to lay out how it all breaks down.
1) Find a Big Daddy, who is guarding a Little Sister. Kill the Big Daddy. There are a handful of new types to worry about.
2) At this point you can do one of two things:
-a) Harvest the Little Sister for her Adam, thus killing her.
-b) Adopt the Little Sister and take her to a nearby corpse so she can harvest more Adam for herself.
3) Assuming you adopted her, she'll then ride around on your shoulders until you arrive at a glowing corpse. Once you set her down you'll need to defend her as splicers come in from all sides. Think of this like a King of the Hill minigame. These sequences are probably the most action packed in the game and will keep the challenge nice and high for those that thought the first game was too easy.
4) If you successfully protect her, you can then pick her up and take her to a new corpse. Little Sisters max out after 3 corpses, at which point you can choose one of the following:
-a) Harvest instantly, killing the Little Sister but getting a boost in Adam.
-b) Rescue the Little Sister by placing her in one of the pipes scattered throughout Rapture. You'll net some Adam and, if you save enough, the Little Sisters will reward you with plasmids, tonics and more Adam.
5) Rescue or harvest all the Little Sisters in the level and you'll get the attention of the Big Sister. These boss fights play out like fights against Big Daddies, but the Big Sister is much faster and has plasmids. Common misnomer: There's more than one Big Sister. You'll encounter one on just about ever level.
New Nemesis
You can hear all about the new ruler of Rapture, Sophia Lamb, in my interview with one of the developers. Suffice it to say that she's the philosophical opposite of Andrew Ryan, but that doesn't make her any less insane. She's an interesting foe and one you'll be hearing from throughout your adventure.
What Needs Work
Weapon Variety
Even though you're a Big Daddy, your weapons basically act just like the ones in the first game. Apart from the drill, every weapon I've seen so far has a direct correlation. The minigun acts just like the sub-machine gun, the rivet gun acts just like the pistol, and the shotgun acts just like the, well, shotgun. They all have different art, and some new upgrades, but for the most part you're going to be in familiar territory here.
The Intro
2K intentionally cut the intro cutscene from this preview build, so I don't know exactly how the game will start. The opening to the first "BioShock" was one of the best openings in video game history (the plane, the bathysphere, the underwater cityscape), and starting "BioShock 2" off on the right foot is hugely important. Here's hoping they're able to come close.
Closing Thoughts
I can't speak to how well the story stacks up with the incredible twists and turns of the first game, but, strictly from a gameplay and presentation point of view, "BioShock 2" is definitely going to be as good, if not better, than the first game. I came into this preview build as a cynical bastard and I've emerged a convert. Trust me, your return to Rapture is definitely something to look forward to.

Story From: MTV Multiplayer

Bad Company 2 Beta Releases Jan 28th

Posted by Diluted — 2009-12-09T20:43:44-05:00

DICE, the developer of Battlefield series, announced recently about the delay in the beta Battlefield: Bad Company 2 PC version. It says in its official website that it may come to market by next year.
The positive side of this is that Gordon Van Dyke of DICE claimed that this new beta version build will be having improved quality, improved stablity and also more good features.

He wrote on the website, “With the huge success of the PS3 Beta we decided to drastically increase the PC Beta’s capacity to insure as many people as possible could participate.”
He also mentions, “Unfortunately this meant we had to delay the Beta to very early next year giving us more planning time to make it happen and implement more optimizations.”
Developer DICE also has spent too much time talking about how this PC game will be better than the console versions with having the play count boosted from 24 to 32 along with advanced DirectX 10 and DirectX 11 support. Not to forget, it will also be having Nvidia 3D Vision support.
As announced earlier that this game will have dedicated servers and extra optimisations for squad play. Moreover, it will also have “professional grade” servers for clans to hire out.

Straight From the Horses Ass!

Posted by Diluted — 2009-10-21T11:23:24-05:00

Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick has been on fire this week. At the Deutsche Bank Securities Technology Conference in San Francisco he made a number of comments that seem to have been calculated to explode the heads of gamers, developers, and anyone who cares a jot about the industry. In a wide-ranging speech, Kotick – who earned $14m last year – dropped a number of bombs about Activision’s future plans, none of which were designed to make anyone happy apart from Activision shareholders.

Essentially, Kotick is in thrall to the almighty dollar to the expense of all else. Thus: “In the last cycle of videogames you spent $50 on a game, played it and took it back to the shop for credit. Today, we’ll (charge) $100 for a guitar. You might add a microphone or drums; you might buy two or three expansions packs, different types of music. Over the life of your ownership you’ll probably buy around 25 additional song packs in digital downloads. So, what used to be a $50 sale is a $500 sale today.”

This echoes a statement Kotick made last year when he explained the company’s lack of support for some new games, specifically ones that don’t lend themselves to sequels. Activision, Kotick said, has no interest in games that “don’t have the potential to be exploited every year on every platform with clear sequel potential and have the potential to become $100 million franchises.”

Talking of $100m franchises, Kotick likes the way that World of Warcraft is heading. “The best of all margins – the 25 per cent operating margin business – has the potential as we can see with World of Warcraft to be a 50 per cent operating margin business. What used to be a low 20s return on invested capital business is now growing to a plus 40 per cent return on invested capital business.”

And he’s not just setting his sights on Guitar Hero and WoW fans. Talking about upcoming and expensive Activision titles such as Modern Warfare 2, Kotick said: “if it was left to me, I would raise the prices even further.”

Having fired these encouraging salvos at the gaming community, Kotick then switched his targets to console manufacturers, who he seems intent on putting out of business by “untethering” Activision games from other-party hardware. “I think what the untethered Guitar Hero does is equal the playing field a little more and give you some leverage with first parties when it comes to downloadable content and the business model.”

Maybe the choice quotes of the event, though, came when Kotick talked about Activision’s developers; you know, the guys who actually make the stuff he gets so rich from. You’d think he’d have a bit of respect for them, right? Oh no, Kotick’s goal over the past 10 years has been – you couldn’t make this up – “to take all the fun out of making video games.” How? By instilling a culture of “scepticism, pessimism, and fear” amongst the company’s staff based around the economic depression and an incentive program that rewards “profit and nothing else”.

We’re having a hard time coming to terms with all this. While we tend to expect mega rich corporate bosses to be at least a bit evil, this flagrant display of gamer hate has left us dumbfounded. Activision is a mammoth company, with some of the biggest-selling franchises in the world under its umbrella, but at the end of the day its profits come from the pockets of gamers who don’t want to miss out on some great titles. If any other CEO exhibited as much contempt for his or her customers as Kotick has, their company would surely expect to face negative feedback or even a consumer boycott. But you just know that nothing like that will happen here. Apart from running the negligible risk of a few blogs printing pictures of him with devil horns or a Hitler moustache, Kotick knows that he’s invulnerable. The gaming “community” just doesn’t have the will or the organisation to, say, boycott Modern Warfare 2, and that – even more than Kotick’s comments – makes us truly sad.

Modern Warfare 2 Petition

Posted by Diluted — 2009-10-19T15:48:21-05:00

More than 100,000 supporters thus far have shown up to petition for dedicated "Modern Warfare 2" servers following Infinity Ward's confirmation over the weekend that it would use a player-to-player matchmaking system, much like what's used for Xbox Live and PSN play. The program, called IWnet, provoked responses from PC server supporters, eventually resulting in the petition directed toward Infinity Ward.
"Get Infinity Ward to review their decision not to allow fully dedicated servers for their forthcoming game release 'CoD:MW2," the petition, titled "Dedicated Servers for CoD:MW2," reads. "Remember that this 'Call of Duty' was made popular by PC Gamers who have supported the series throughout."
Infinity Ward's community manager Robert Bowling confirmed for the BASH podcast that "Modern Warfare 2" would opt for a more console-like experience during online PC play with their IWnet direction.
"We've been building up this system on the backend called IWNet to allow matchmaking for our PC users as well, just like you have on the console that's built in on Xbox Live and PSN, but PC never had it, so we're building in our own, you know, matchmaking so you can get in there and play with players your same rank," Bowling explained. "You're completely reliant on IWNet, and there's no dedicated server or server list, so you rely on IWNet for your matchmaking on your games, but then you also have the private match, much like the other platforms, where you can go in and customise and, you know, turn off air support, turn off this, turn off that, customise the game rules all via private match, and invite people to the server that way."
What do you think of Infinity Ward's decision to forgo dedicated servers for "Modern Warfare 2" online play? Do agree with the pro-server petition? Share your thoughts in the Forums section.