(funny) Tactics and Tips

[Art Blade]

*snicker* yeah yeah, the missus. Well, I don't carefully plan how to finish a mission, all I do is try to get there safely, kill everyone I see or hear, and head back to either Mikey's or the capital (Port Selao, mostly). On assigned missions I tend to carry that big revolver grenadelauncher with me instead of the mp5, just to keep mercs on wheels off my neck. Most of the times I rely on my 6P9 and the dart for long range recon. The gren truck is good for clearing everything out on my way there. And there are always hand grenades... I love that on easy level, each merc drops a present for me to pass on  ;D

[Dweller_Benthos]

Yes, the trucks do degrade over time, but it may only be cosmetic. I've had trucks that are nice bright colors when I first steal them, then after driving off road a lot, they get dingy and dirty and turn brown. Then, after a few fire fights, I usually lose the hood as well, which is actually a bonus, since it's faster to repair a truck with no hood.

[spaceboy]

The other day my Unimog hood was stuck up half way impairing my view out of the windshield...I had to side swipe a tree to get it off so I could see better.  btw, the Unimog is so easy to flip over, it happened like 4 times just going off road in the dunes, luckily I could push it back upright.

I think the degradation will come in how fast they drive and how quickly they need another repair, it seems after a few smoking repairs it's best to steal a new one unless its a "special" like the grenade launcher or ATV

[PZ]

Is that Unimog a diesel, spaceboy?  I just love the sound of a diesel...

[Art Blade]

D_B (and everyone):

My old car needs a repair after it has attracted a series of mg rounds, but it never had its engine on fire even after like days of playing.

My gren truck lost everything that can fall off long ago, including the hood, and when I first got it, it was dirty and brown. Imagine my surprise when I left the car for a nearby mission during which it started to rain. When I got back, a white car without hood and all was in the place where I had left mine... so my car WAS WHITE! -- It seems rain works as a cosmetical repair LOL

I never had the chance to compare a brand new gren truck to my worn-out one. I'd try to put both next to each other and shoot either one until I know which one is first to start showing white smoke.

I don't care if the car degrades -- it is still alive and my happy veteran companion :)

[PZ]

I kind of like that level of immersion, Art... you become accustomed to your vehicle kind of like one can with a favorite weapon - golden AK for me - even when it starts to degrade I find it difficult to part with.

[spaceboy]

PZ, it may be a diesel come to think of it, I'll have to listen closer to the sound.  If only I could smell it.  Way back I used to lay asphalt as a summer job and to paraphrase: "I love the smell of diesel and asphalt in the morning."

[PZ]

ahhh..... kicking back and remembering one of my favorite movies of all time.. Duel - Spielberg's first I believe...

[Art Blade]

sorry to interrupt your nostalgic memories, but I just had something going on in the game :)


on topic: (funny) Tactics

10) Dental Clinic abandoned and deserted


Just happened to me, actually it was a side effect to something silly I did. You know there is that underground location right next to Dental Clinic, a small path connects them.

I had to get my bloody medicine from those underground blokes, but some moron mercs were peppering that crib when I arrived. So I touched them up with my jeep's grenade launcher and knocked them out with my 6p9. I left one merc standing and hopped back into my jeep because I wanted to imprint the wall with a merc. I tried slamming my car into him and squelch him between car and house but he just didn't want to obey... so I fed him some pineapples. Originally there were like one Datsun driver and four or five mercs. Then came another, and another, and a few more... I spent like 10 minutes shooting them all. I don't know how many, but finally it stopped. Out of curiosity I visited DC - only the sniper in his tower had a smoke there, so I smoked him for good. All the other peeps from there must have joined the party before... it was deserted! (The nearby guard post had sent his mercs too, it was abandoned when I looked it up...)

I remember there are at least one or two missions that send you to DC, and I also remember that I had quite a bit to do over there back then. Now I know how to drain that place before I go in :)

[PZ]

The same thing happened to me when I visited the DC a short time ago.  Funny thing is that it was not always so - if I did the mission at night, the mercs seemed to be a bit too sleepy to come my way.

[Art Blade]

LOL - I just came back to say the same... I tried to bait them by moving in a bit, shoot some birds (erm, those flying animals), and pull out. I hoped I'd attract them that way but no. Sad, really :)

[Dweller_Benthos]

I've had that happen at the Dental Clinic as well. Other places too, but not as much as at the clinic. I was parked outside the clinic with the grenade truck, and after only a couple shots, they all started to come down the road towards me. Made for fairly easy picking with the grenade launcher. I had already given the sniper in his tower a tasty HE treat from the launcher, so he and his tower were already toast. Once I rolled into the clinic, it was empty.

[PZ]

I kind of like the DC and always enter from the western end, via the narrow passage from the underground house.  The last time through, I just waited behind the rock and picked the mercs off one-by-one as they came towards me.  There ended up being quite a pile of them after it was done, and I took hardly a hit.

[Art Blade]

Regarding degrading vehicles: Testing armour

I managed to compare my worn-out gren truck with one (almost) untouched.

1) I parked both cars side by side, then I shot mine until white smoke showed. Then I repaired it. I did that so I had it "freshly repaired" and no old wounds interfering with the test.

2) I then shot with my 6P9 exactly 47 rounds into it, the last shot started the white smoke.

3) Then I shot the other car, expecting it to take at least as many shots in before starting to smoke, but somewhere around 20 it stated to smoke - apparently old wounds in that one.

4) So I repaired it too. It took exactly 47 rounds for the smoke to show...

Conclusion: I think after that there is no need to worry about worn-out degrading cars. They can take hits if you had them repaired. :)

edit: revised text.

[JRD]

A truly scientific method to test a vehicle's integrity!!!
Use a test subject and a control subject!!
Very clever Art... well done ;)

[Art Blade]

thank you :) I think it's "obligado" or something like that in your language, isn' it? :)

Another test with those cars showed that none of them can stand more than one grenade. (Kids, don't try that at home or with your neighbour's car, the test had been performed under controlled environment by a professional) Need to choose a different weapon for further tests... or skip that entirely. LOL

[JRD]

You should try testing how many shots from an AS50 takes to smoke a jeep. I read somewhere it is very effective to stop vehicles due to its high powered rounds.
Another good thing to try (now that you seem to be looking for things to try) is check how many rounds of a Desert Eagle.50 takes to smoke a jeep. Its the most powerfull firearm in the game (check weapon stats)
That would be nice  ;D

And its "obrigado" in portuguese  ;).
You are welcome Art ("de nada" Art)

[PZ]

I used Art's advice on keeping my vehicle on the map so that it doesn't spawn away, and it works great.  Used my grenade truck to blast one of the northeast GPs, left it on the road and hoofed it to a safe house that was quite a distance, cleaned it out, saved my game and then returned to find the truck still there (and the GP still smoking)

[Art Blade]

Thanks PZ, for confirming it. Great you can immerse more now :)

JRD, I don't really plan on testing everything to the bones, but I also heard of the great stopping power of that sniper. I remember I checked during a live game, and it took too many rounds (like 2 mags / 10 shots, roundabout). The Deagle takes too many rounds too, I remember firing at a truck like a complete moron, clip after clip, and the noise both guns make attracted mercs from all around the planet -- if you keep firing like that, you'll have a hardcore game even on "easy" :)

[JRD]

Thanks for the info Art.
When I got the Deagle.50 I also started firing against a jeep to see how long it would take to blow it up, but never conted how many shots I fired.  If I was trying to test something, it was pretty pointless  :P.
Anyway, I like that pistol and the best target to test its punch is a target that fires back  ;)

[Art Blade]

JRD, I think what you did with the Deagle was to find out it took too many rounds :) So you accomplished a valid result, hehe

But really, the shooting-the-truck test was only to find out if there was a difference between my very old car (say 20 hours in-game) and one I only just found abandoned on the street (after helping the unlucky pre-owners to decease). If you really wanted to stop any vehicle, you'd need only like 2 or 3 rounds of any small weapon to stop the drivers ;D

[JRD]

... or a single grenade / M79 round ;)

[Art Blade]

11) Interesting things to know about the game's AI

Today I wanted to find out (as probably some of you wanted to know too) what those mercs do when you're not around. More precise, if they don't recognise you - I used a cheat "IgnorePlayer"

When I activated the ignore-cheat, it was really... strange... to drive and walk around unnoticed by those mercs. A car came my direction, swerved, and passed me untouched. Strange non-violent behaviour. It feels odd, that much I can tell :)

What I wanted to know in particular is, what do they do in Port Selao (Cease-Fire Zone) and around any guard post, once you attacked them, knowing that they can't see or find you.

First of all, they don't seem to react to destruction as long as no one gets hurt. I even set off an IED, and they didn't care. That means, they completely ignore everything that has nothing to do with them. By the way, it didn't matter wether I used a Deagle next to their head or a silent 6P9.
They do react to fire though, since it's a threat to their lives. Also, they didn't realise it was my car that ran over one of their own. The result of a headshot with the dart caused them to say "what's wrong?" - "He's dead, someone fukin killed him!". A headshot with any other weapon made them suspicious of an attack, as did a regular mayhem (hehe). And yes, they search the entire place (Port Selao) but they didn't enter the bell tower of the church. Guard Post mercs search wide areas around their post.

Using the Dart Rifle without hitting them was sometimes recognised as a sniper shot / long range gun - they started to run around and swearing a little.

Interesting about any hit, once they thought an attack was going on, was that they managed to find the exact spot from where I had been firing. They seem to check the angle from the impact to the shooter and somehow manage to guess the distance correctly, too. And, they don't come from one direction only. Sometimes I noticed no one ahead, but I was being pushed from behind -- when I turned around, there were like 10 of them breathing down my neck LOL

Regarding tactics, I realise how bad an idea it is, camo or not, to stay in the same place, once you've fired a couple of rounds.

edit: without starting any fight, I watched them do the regular idle routines, they chat, drink etc, nothing special.

[spaceboy]

Very interesting stuff Art, being on PS3 I don't have a cheat like that.  I guess these guys are forensics experts too seeing as they can determine the location of the shot!  I'm surprised you didn't hear more interesting conversations though, I'm always just coming into earshot and hear pretty funny stuff, but I they always seem to shut up once I get close.

[Art Blade]

I might have heard more but my focus was on battle... the stuff I overheard was already known to me, so I didn't pay much attention. One thing though, I watched one merc walk up to an ammo crate and it looked like he grabbed a couple of whatever there was before he walked away :)

ah, edit. You should try to sneak up from behind a building or around a corner so they don't notice you - the'll keep their conversations going.