The recoil on SMGs is way too overboard as is. Add deviation, and I'm out. The game needs SMG vs Rifle balance before anything else. Deviation will absolutely kill this game.
There are some great new games coming out, mostly BF3 for me.
FH2 needs to improve their infantry combat if they plan on keeping their player base, because the new games are. And keep improving it, every patch. And that doesn't mean make the game like x, y or z game.
Why only bank on the WW2 niche when you can bank on the fact that the game is just a great shooter?
For me, the Tank Combat is FH2 is a much more refined experience than the infantry combat in FH2, and it was very much that way in FH1 too. It's clean, makes sense, and it's fun.
Adding deviation will make the game feel much more clumsy than it can be at times when it comes to infantry combat, which in my opinion, as both a player and game designer, has some serious flaws and balance issues.
I still shake my head in dismay, and hear the groans of others when they fire 30 rounds of a thompson point blank to 30m and still lose to a fast 1-shotter with a k98. In fact, a lot times, people will rush you when they see a SMG because they know the recoil is so severe that up close a lot of times, a Rifle will still win. That is wrong.
The game needs SMG vs Rifle balance before anything else. Deviation will absolutely kill this game.
Reduce the recoil on the BAR, Thompson, MP40, Sten, Beretta, Bren, MP44, FG42 first and any other SMG/LMG.
Then and only then, talk deviation. There must be a trade-off. If you take something away (accuracy) you must give something in return (reduced recoil), otherwise, you're gonna break the game.
Yeah, right, dumb the game down even more, so that it becomes just another generic first-person-shooter game!
If you learn how to master the different weapons in-game it´s absolutely easy to go on unstoppable killing sprees. For example the FG42: If you learn how to counter its heavy recoil (which should be in-game, because the FG42 fired the same high-powered rifle cartridge as the MG42 and the K98k) you can use it both equally as a CQB killing machine and as a long-range accuracy rifle.
Currently only recoil makes the different guns more or less unique. Once you´ve mastered it and know how to use the sights, it´s extremely easy to go on lone-wolf hunting trips. Because now only fast reflexes and a good ping matter.
Squad tactics are less important than individual skills, which is pretty sad. Because even in WW2 not the single soldier won a battle, but a good working and well coordinated team.
Adding elements that would slow down the game, such as deviation (=longer firefights), supression effects for every firearm (yes, even pistols!) or the removal of these extremely ridiculous clown cars that cross an entire battlefield in less than a minute would greatly benefit FH2.
The gaming market is more than overfilled with generic shooters that basically look all the same (one reason I´m so hyped for RO:HOS) and I personally believe that a more realistic approach to WW2 would also be a good thing for the BF2 mod section.
People who enjoy more realistic shooters will most-likely ignore BF3 or MW4 and stick to games or mods that they can enjoy.
You know, not everyone loves charging through a small map with a rifle that feels like a BB gun, killing masses of enemies. There are gamers who enjoy slower-paced games where teamwork and communication counts much more than individual "gamer skills".
Just look at PR (I know, Natty will hate me for this, but whatever..): They manage to obtain a quite large playerbase. They force teamplay onto their players, but those who don´t like it can still leave and play another game. Yet they have more filled servers than almost all other BF2 mods together.
And I´ve often heard that a WW2 game with similiar mechanics as PR would be loved by a number of players, so why not dare to move FH2 into that direction?
Currently FH2 is a shallow compromise between historical accuracy and quite vBF-like game play. It attracts both "casual gamers" and "realism gamers" (which can be seen in the poll results), but sooner or later the Devs have to decide which way they want to go. Both isn´t satisfying because the casual gamers will complain about "too realistic" game mechanics, while the "realism" crowd will complain about "arcade" game mechanics.
Now I´m waiting for 2.4 to see what has been changed. Maybe the Devs already decided which way they want to go. And if it´s the less-fun way, there´s still RO:HOS around the corner.
(Just FYI: I played FH1 since 0.7 and used to play it almost daily. Even though it´s older and less beautiful than FH2 I still prefer it, because the game play is much more challenging and fully developed. Currently I play FH2 only around twice a week, because the "arcade" elements and the lack of teamplay is just too frustrating.)