Farewell

[Bonker]

I've been playing FH since the early, early days and have had hours and hours of fun with this mod but I now find that it has outgrown me.

I was travelling in Europe for a few months and missed the initial release of 2.45.  Finally had a chance to jump in play the game in the past week.

I admire what the developers have done with the game but, for me - there has been progression of constraint in the way in which players are allowed to participate in the game.   The latest release caps it for me and I've decided to step away from the mod completely.

Kit limitations, iron sights, hit box manipulations, crosshair eliminations, ABC lines, push maps and most recently - the removal of anti-tank kits and fixed guns on some older maps (I noted Cobra changes last night) plus shrinking of AT mine kits.

All of these individual changes undoubtedly have good foundations for them but they all signal a desire to force players to play and progress in the game in the same way.  A constant search for "fairness" and equality in a game that attempts to replicate an environment that is exactly the opposite.

In my 50's I'm probably one of the oldest players on the mod.  I certainly can't complete with the young bucks like Carrion in head-to-head knife fights or mg debates.  My reflexes aren't as sharp as his.

My style of play has always been more insurgent, more calculating and strategic.  The fun for me was in being inscrutable.  Unfortunately, FH2 no longer supports inscrutable.  These days it only supports and rewards a narrow range of skillsets. 

Anyway it's been a lot of laughs.  Thanks very much to the community for the years of enjoyment and indulgence of my whining - both in-game and in various forums.

[AdamPA1006]

Bonker.cdn? Those are some interesting thoughts. We all have what we consider fun in this mod though. For me I like the more funneled and concentrated firefights. Maybe when eastern front gets released you can fire it back up. Im always willing to hop in a squad with mic and have some teamwork fun.

[Dukat]

Hey bonker, I still hope you'll check back for some of the future releases. You'll be missed. 'Til then, stay safe!

[16floz470ml]

Holy shit.  Wow, you really did get pissed the other night.  If it makes you feel any better on St. Vith when I spun around and shot you with my .45 the panther would have team killed you anyways.   

[Wulfburk]

Kit limitations, iron sights, hit box manipulations, crosshair eliminations, ABC lines, push maps and most recently - the removal of anti-tank kits and fixed guns on some older maps (I noted Cobra changes last night) plus shrinking of AT mine kits.

huh, all of those things are the reason i love to play fh2

[TimeMachineAssassin]

You dont enjoy playing anymore? I cant argue if thats the case. You know, the other day there was like 8 ppl or somthing on the server with vossnack 64 on, and it was surprisingly fun with all the trickery. Maybe some maps you could put your skills to use more than others. Some maps i cant help much on and get demoralized, some i do real well. The night maps drove me to disgust a few times at first, couldnt see shit. I pretty much accept that i cant do all that much on those maps and take a smaller role. Anyway, i still hope to see you on waw server.

[Professor Anthrax]

This mod has become a shadow of its former self over the years. I was playing on that 128 slot test server Saturday and it was about 4pm to 6pm eastern time here in the US (so still not too late, especially for a Saturday , in Europe) but there was only 90-100 people on the server. And I think only about 30 something on 762. I know a few might take issue with preceding the statement of 90 to 100 players on a server with the word "only". But still, not having a 128 player server FULL on a Saturday afternoon/evening is just...sad...and indicative of how far player numbers have sagged even in Europe.

I know in the US this mods player base has really been hit hard over the time from 2.4 to 2.45's release. The loss of wolfgaming has no doubt played a big part in that. Many of us diehards have moved over to playing on WaW's server but MANY old FH2 players from Wolf are just gone(for good it seems)...Kurt Steiner, Anubis, Savagee, MP40, Googel, Brit Officer(Briefly appeared right after 2.4 released then awol again) and I'm sure many others who's names I forgot and wolf forums doesn't even exist anymore for me to go and look up their names in posts over there since there is no "over there" any more.

Now Bonkers leaving and I believe Sheik said bye-bye in some other thread. I'm actually looking at upgrading my ancient video card so I can play games newer than bf2. Not because I'm planning on saying bye-bye myself any time soon but simply because "saying bye" may become moot if the player base(especially in the US) stays on its current trajectory.

I do love a lot of what was done in the 2.45 release but the numbers have dropped off more quickly after this release than after any other in the mods history(that I've noticed. I've been here since 2.0 but if anyone thinks I'm wrong about that feel free to correct me). I don't know if its just how LONG 2.45 took coming out or what it was.

I really hope this 128 player code gets perfected and generally released for the mod because it may be the only thing that might save it at this point in time. This would be the only Online multiplayer world war 2 game with 128 players able to fight in BIG battles online. That would give this mod, in sales lingo, a "unique sales proposition" or "unique selling point" that if it's advertised heavily enough on gaming forums everywhere, might draw in enough new blood to keep this mod alive. Short of that...I just see it dieing a slow death of increasingly empty servers over the next year or two.

/rant

Sayonara Bonker! I'll miss what an easy kill you are were 
(But I Won't miss your incessant whining for us to run 64 size maps when there's 7 or 8 people on the server) 

[CHRISTIEFRONTDRIVE]

Half a mind on farewell, half a mind on good riddance.

I spent just over 2 hours on a thoughtful post but this forum's irritating habit of asking you to log in every 60 minutes whether you clicked that fucking box or not the last time, and forgetting whatever you've added to your post since 61 minutes ago, has completely stole the breath out of my lungs. Regardless, I agree with a lot of what you say, but good riddance is the main theme of my opinion towards your strange complaints so that's all I can really say in this post now. It seems to me a lot of what you miss hasn't been removed, but is simply harder to pull off now. What's wrong with that? Hope you give FH2 another shot somewhere down the road.

[Ts4EVER]

The at kits on Cobra weren't removed, just replaced by at riflenades.

[ajappat]

Good riddance.

I spent just over 2 hours on a thoughtful post but this forum's irritating habit of asking you to log in every 60 minutes whether you clicked that fucking box or not the last time, and forgetting whatever you've added to your post since 61 minutes ago, has completely stole the breath out of my lungs. Regardless, I agree with a lot of what you say, but good riddance is the main theme of my opinion towards your largely-bullshit opinions so that's all I can really say in this post now.

Huh? Just click, "always stay logged in".

[psykfallet]

I think, for there not to those constraints that you hate, Fh2 would have to be as unrealistic as vanilla in terms of damage and usefullness of weapons. Like yesterday when we tested Stonne, it became apparent that it would be annoyingly hard unless minekits were limited. Because face it, no one is going to run with minedetector and disarm a gazillion mines in a narrow frontline. The other option would be to scrap maps wich arent completly open or to nerf minedamage to a minor nuisance. Don't know where you're going with ABC lines, if it's because you want to attack mainbases, well the overwhelming majority of players dont care for having a tiger spawncamping tankspawns etc. And that is an admin decision most of all since that rule was introduced long before abc-lines.

[Lightning]

But still, not having a 128 player server FULL on a Saturday afternoon/evening is just...sad...and indicative of how far player numbers have sagged even in Europe.

It was full for at least 4 rounds when I played. Maybe more, I crashed after Gazala and didn't load back up.

[Norman Rockwell]

Sorry to see you go, but understandable if you don't enjoy it anymore.

[Butcher]

But still, not having a 128 player server FULL on a Saturday afternoon/evening is just...sad...and indicative of how far player numbers have sagged even in Europe.

It was full for at least 4 rounds when I played. Maybe more, I crashed after Gazala and didn't load back up.

When I was there it was full, or at least above 100 players yesterday. There were also about 30 players on 762. That is a bit more than two full servers and correct me if I´m wrong more players than we had pre 2.45. Hslan was down back then and player base reached its lowest point.

The big 128 server is the best thing that could happen. I see players that I´ve never seen before and the community isn´t split any longer into 762 and hslan. The ticket ratio should be adjusted a bit and certain maps are better (Hürtgen, El Alamein) than others (Brest etc.) with so many players.

Push mode and the redesign of Operation Cobra are well done. You can see the effort the devs put into that. I think you need to get accustomed with those new maps and it will be fine. The thing that annoys me in 2.45 is the tank combat, but that´s another thread.

[Mud Buddha]

First of all: hate to see you go, Bonkers. Don't recognize your name from the couple of european servers i play on, but apparently you were a dedicated player of an interesting demographic.

I do get some of your 'complaints', but only a couple. Although FH2.45 has a lot of improvements a few changes seem like the were put in for change-sake. Almost every map now has a push mode while only a few maps really needed it. Overall it feels like FH is indeed going into a more specific/rigid direction with it's gameplay.

Certain rules are of course useful, but with the current trend towards more push maps, combined with the future prospect of bigger player numbers per map, FH runs the risk of becoming too realistic in the sense that it might turn into a mindless, bogged down meatgrinder where people who actually try to achieve something just die constantly, since the maps are so overcrowded. Some will say that that is the charm, but to me it indeed runs the risk of simply not being fun anymore cuz it all comes down to reaction speed and having a steady hand, nothing more.

I haven't played all the maps since the new update, but I did notice that Falaise and Brest are simply less fun due to (in my opinion) unnecessary changes.

Please don't take my comments the wrong way. I love FH and I hope I will be still playing it when I reach Bonkers' age, but I do have some gripes.