Back to Bowa

[spaceboy]

I was thinking I was going to do some MP FC2 with a friend, but the lobby was full and since I already had FC2 booted up I went back to my last save (I haven't played FC2 in months - but of course never feel too far away when reading posts here). 

Anyways, I swear it felt like going home.  The controls, the map, the sounds...everything just felt right.  It even kind of felt like the mercs were happy to see me - a little extra bounce to their steps it seemed - until they decided they still needed to shoot me.  I wound up only playing for awhile - this was just after a 3 hour online FUEL run, but I definitely will need to go back again soon.

Has anyone else been away from FC2 for awhile, and then gone back to it?  I almost got emotional thinking of all the fun I'd had there - almost wished there weren't so many other good games calling for my attention.

Anyways, it felt good to visit Bowa once again.

[Art Blade]

a little extra bounce to their steps it seemed - until they decided they still needed to shoot me

LOL  ;D

yeah, I was away from FC2 for ArmA2 and FUEL, but I decided to not do that again. Actually I am on a break from NFS:Shift because I missed FC2 so much  ;D

[fragger]

I'm the same, I've been trying to get into Wolfenstein the last few days, but I end up longing for the spontaneous action and wide-open spaces of FC2 before long... Wolf can be fun, but I really don't think it's in FC2's league.

[TopHat01]

I occasionally get the urge, and it does feel great after not playing for a long time.  Bowa feels so familiar too, I barely need to take out my map to get places.

[spaceboy]

that's when you know you've played a lot - you know your way around...

[PZ]

I occasionally get the urge, and it does feel great after not playing for a long time.  Bowa feels so familiar too, I barely need to take out my map to get places.

Same here - when I make the run from Mosate Selao to the cell tower at the east, I regularly had to consult my map not to get onto the wrong road because of the multiple interchanges.  I hardly need to consult the map except to refresh my mind as to which approach to take.  Looking at the map, I can already picture the landscape - kind of cool to know your way around.

I too regularly revisit FC2 - no other game I've ever played comes even a close second for me personally.  Although specific to my tastes, here is a short list of what I really appreciate about the game:

• Go wherever you want rather than being led by invisible walls - almost seems like a simulation because of the many ways to approach a task.
  
• Scenery so beautiful it makes you want to stand and watch for a while
• Laughable antics of the mercs (I think they are glad to see me too, space)
• The rusty old dilapidated buildings, vehicles, etc. - I love visiting old mines, ghost towns, and such in "real life"
  
• Cool music (yeah, I turned it off for a while for immersion purposes, but it is now back on)
  

[Art Blade]

There is nothing more rewarding than the sound a merc's head produces while receiving a proper head shot  :) Sounds like blowing out an egg (if you know that)

[mmosu]

I love the way the game world feels "lived in". It's all dirty and rusted, and the way things are scattered around actually makes sense (I am specifically thinking of the ways you find areas where it appears junk cars have been discarded as they broke down, or an old bicycle leaning up against the side of a building that I saw once).  It's as if someone put these things where they are so that they could find them later.  It's also in the way you can walk around and see stuff littering campsites, like trash, bottles, broken pottery - the programers really spent a lot of time placing all of these objects where they are, and I appreciate that kind of attention to detail. 

[PZ]

Exactly my sentiments  :-X

[Art Blade]

agree  :-X

[spaceboy]

great thing to point out mmosu.  It takes a great deal of effort to make things look scattered haphazardly and "lived in".

[mmosu]

It's just another example of why FC2 stands head and shoulders above the pack and continues to enjoy such a devoted following even so long after it's release.

[JRD]

True... so true...
I'm back to Bowa for the third time and it's just great.
Did missions in a way I havan't done yet, like getting to the marina by boat and shoot the mercs from afar (I always take the bus and shoot them from the rocky promontory up the road).
After Mechsican's vids I turned my music on again and this playthrough feels just like the first one... I'm still stoping to watch the landscape, the scenarios, the small details in each corner and always improvising on my missions...
Good to have Africa close to us at any time. Even though new games are coming, we know we'll still be here quite often  ;D ;D ;D ;D

[Art Blade]

I think FC2 would have ended up in the bin if I hadn't found OWG. Only because of the dedication of the people here I learned how much more there is to the game than meets the eye, and I overcame my personal "problems" with it very quickly. Now, playing FC2, it feels like home. I know the environment and the rules, and how to bend them  :)

[Art Blade]

Just take a look at that. Just looking at that makes me feel good. That's what I like about FC2. Open World. The real thing :)

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[PZ]

Eloquently expressed opinions, all - one thing I've noticed is that the more disenchanted I've become with other games, the more often I revisit FC2, often with renewed enthusiasm after reading the posts of other OWG members.  :-X

[Art Blade]

hahaha, you know what you made me think of?

"No matter what dish I'll have for lunch, I'll have a coffee thereafter"  ;D (you can quote me if you like, heheheh)

[mmosu]

So I got in some FC2 yesterday after a few weeks away.  Just bounced around Bowa doing dirty w@&k for my buddies and padding my rep (dirty deeds! DONE DIRT CHEAP!!!) Anyway, it just so happens that the timing on this playthrough has worked out such that a lot of the areas I visted during the day on my first through I am now hitting at night and vice versa(I tend to try not to intentionally advance the clock too much unless I have a specific reason for it). It's amazing to me how much even this changes the gameplay and the choices I as the player make as to my approach. Loadout, the direction I enter the area from, the direction I make my exit to, all different and not because I said to myself "lets be different this time", but rather it was the best choice given the conditions present at the time.  With other games, changes in condition of this nature seem forced and shallow, like they don't have enough of an impact to be believable.  But in FC2 it changes everything and what I think is more important is that it makes these changes flow so smoothly that it seems natural.  I think this point, whether they realize it or not, is at the heart of why so many people love this game for it's replay value.   

[PZ]

Absolutely -  visit an area during different time of the day or during different weather conditions, and your experience can be much different.  The mercs are tired at night and are more likely to fail to notice your presence.  Night time can be interesting because you are sometimes under full moon conditions while not so at other times.

[Art Blade]

mmosu's post and PZ's reply to it reminded me of a series of screenshots I took a while ago :)

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[PZ]

I remember those - the graveyard shots possess an eerily haunting quality.  :-X

[Art Blade]

hehe, yes... I just thought how little they look like screenshots or like FC2, and how much they look like actual photographs. That gfx engine is so great!

[mmosu]

Nice pics Art! :-X

See, that's exactly what I'm talking about. Rain, sun, clouds, fog, clear night, cloudy night, it isn't all just for looks, it's a functional part of the game!

[spaceboy]

I always had let the time go as "normal" as possible.  Just played the game as it came along.  Although for my "naps" save games, I would set the time ahead however I felt my character needed to rest.  A short rest of 30 min. if I just got off the bus, or maybe after a late afternoon, evening mission I'd sleep through to the morning, get up early about 5am. Take a nice walk outside, drink some coffee, enjoy the beautiful morning sun....then go off on my way. 

You hit the point mmosu, the time and weather are a major part of the game.

[fragger]

I saw this the other day, had to get a capture of it!
This game can look just beautiful at times.

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