Sunday, September 30, 2012

HTC makes you The One.

This is the first review I have ever done for something other than a video game. I would appreciate any feedback in the form of comments below. Also, if you enjoyed reading this review and you know others who might enjoy it too please share it via the panel on the right --->

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I can blog from my phone! It's pretty crazy when you think about it. The piece of technology that I am holding in my hand is more than 1000 times more powerful than my first real PC! In ten short years computer's have gone from huge towers that sit under your desk to a thin piece of metal resting in your palm with the power to do everything and more.

I must admit I am biased; I love smartphones. They interest me like no other piece of technology. They provide a portable gateway to the rest of the world, hold a suite of impressive tools and they are fast becoming capable of some pretty amazing things. No longer do you need to carry a phone, mp3 player, GPS, torch, camera etc and as technology progresses they will begin replacing things like car keys, credit cards and soon will even be diagnosing diseases like cancer! HTC has long been a favourite brand of mine and their latest offering firmly cements them on the top of the smartphone pack.

Introducing the HTC One X:

For the tech heads, the HTC One X features a 1.5 GHz Nvidia Tegra 3 quad core processor, 1GB of RAM, Nvidia GeForce ULP graphics and 32 GB of internal memory which puts it on the top shelf when discussing current generation smartphones. All the standard features (Wi-Fi, portable hotspot, Bluetooth 4.0, DLNA, Micro USB 2.0) make an appearance. The One X is basically a small tablet computer. Weighing in at only 130g it is also surprisingly light for it's size. Full specifications can be found here. What all that means in layman terms is that this phone is a beast and at the time of writing boasts probably the most impressive hardware specifications on the market.

It has minimal buttons on the outside, featuring only a power/lock button on top and a volume rocker on the right side of the phone. The left side has the Micro USB connector while the top of the phone also has the 3.5mm headphone jack and the SIM card tray. HTC have gone the way of the iPhone with this handset, making it impossible to remove the battery or add memory and have changed the SIM to a MicroSIM.

Some people may find this a problem but overall I think it's a necessary change.
I have had a few days to play with the handset now and the first thing that stuck out for me is that the speed is incredible. Streaming HD video and running a graphically intensive game (Dead Trigger) at the same time caused barely any slowdown and the main cause was switching between CPU intensive processes. The quad core processor spreads the load remarkably well and I am glad I decided to go with this version rather than Telstra's dual core 4g XL version.

The second thing I noticed about the One X was the sound quality. The HTC Desire HD (my previous phone) was notoriously bad on loud speaker and when playing music and HTC have obviously paid attention in this area. Music sounds crisp and clean and is as loud as my laptop when the phone is placed face down. The addition of Beats Audio enhancements across all applications is a welcome feature, meaning that regardless of what you're doing it's going to sound great.


The free Beats Audio headphones HTC throw in don't go astray either!
Similarly, browsing the Internet is a joy with the 720x1280 312 ppi display providing a huge amount of screen real estate for a phone. A 4.7" screen might be off putting for some people but if you are looking for a device to handle Internet/e-mails comfortably, it is a fantastic size. It's also very snappy, even on a 3G connection. I haven't found any 'squaring' issues while scrolling through web pages with a decent HSDPA connection.

The One X is shipped with a Super LCD2 screen, covered in scratch resistant Gorilla Glass and it rivals S-AMOLED for quality. Put this phone next to a Samsung Galaxy SIII (one of which I have had the pleasure of playing with recently) and you will see that they are both visually excellent. The slightly convex screen on the One X also gives the handset a wide range of viewing angles and even from 45 degrees it looks great.



Even from the side the screen performs admirably.*

Samsung's flagship is another great phone but the One X's power is hard to beat.

Obviously all of this draws a lot of energy and HTC have included a non-removable 1800 mAh battery. Unfortunately this seems to be the only drawback with the phone as it sucks power very quickly when using the full features. I manage about 5 - 6 hours of solid use including Wi-Fi/3G Internet, video, light gaming, calls and texts. The One X will last all day with moderate usage however and power saving techniques (turn off Wi-Fi/Bluetooth, dim screen etc) will make sure you get home before the battery dies. It's really only those instances when you can't get to a power point where you'll have a problem.

HTC have made a number of fundamental changes with their new flagship. Most noticeable are the missing 'Menu' and 'Search' buttons featured on most Android handsets. These buttons have been integrated into Sense 4.0 and replaced with a 'Recent Apps' button, which brings up your last few applications and allows you seamless switching between them. It's as easy and flawless as Alt+Tab on a computer and probably my favourite new feature. What this does is tie your whole device together and allow you to very simply switch tasks on the fly. From playing a game to taking a call, it's just a simple matter of hitting the Recent Apps button to get back into the action.


This feature streamlines the whole feeling of the phone. I love it.

The HTC Sense platform has also undergone a strip down. Gone are a lot of the frivolous features and animations, replaced with sleek user friendly options that are more akin to stock Android than Sense's previous iterations. Widgets and apps can be placed via the same menu, resized and even grouped into easily re-nameable folders. It's a welcome change as some of the HTC Sense platform on previous handsets could be intrusive and annoying at times.  





Finally, I am not much of a photographer but I will mention that the One X boasts a pretty impressive 8MP camera, capable of recording video in full 1080p HD. It is the first smartphone camera to be able to record and take still pictures at the same time, a feature that will undoubtedly be very welcome to some. The camera interface has been stripped back to bare bones, making it simple and easy to use and quick to load at 0.7 of a second and it boasts the fastest capture time of current gen smartphones at 0.2 sec delay between shots.

To state things quite simply, HTC have hit the nail on the head with this handset. It's a beautiful piece of technology that works as it should; flawlessly. It's nice to use a device that feels so seamless that you forget you're on a phone and not your PC or Laptop. If you are looking for a new phone, the HTC One X will not disappoint.

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This post was typed using the Blogger app on my HTC One X. Formatting and pictures were added afterwards.


Credits go to www.anandtech.com www.engadget.com www.gsmarena.com and www.htc.com for pictures and information.

* Not actually a picture of my phone!

Tuesday, September 25, 2012

Cancer is scarey shit

Lately I have been pretty sick. I don't say that lightly. I'm not the type of person who swoons over and dies at the first sign of a cold. In the last year I have been 'sick' roughly 6 times and none of those times have even made me think about taking a day off work.

So you know it's serious when I get knocked on my ass for two weeks straight. I have had a chest/lung infection of the most horrible type. I had to cut my recent holiday short by a day and come home because of it and I've been unwell since. The doctors prescribed me some antibiotics and steroids to clear the inflammation. 

Normally I am one of those people who think, "Pshaw (because in my head I'm a member of 1820's Gentry) I don't need none of that snake oil. My body is a God of Healing. I'm like fucking Wolverine man." but this time I was so sick I actually took the full course of medication. I had thought I was feeling better. I've been back at work and up an about this last week which is good because if I had to spend one more day in bed I might have burned my house down out of boredom.

Well, this morning I coughed up blood. Like... a fair bit of blood. That's scarey to me because I have been a smoker for 20 years (off them for four months now) and so lung cancer is always in the back of my mind. I went to the doctor and he's pretty sure it's just from the horrible cough I still have tearing up my throat but I have to have chest X-Ray's tomorrow just to be sure.

If the lung cancer kills me during the night Suzanne, you can have my Magic The Gathering cards. 


Update: That was depressing... Here's a picture of a Robot with a Rainbow to cheer you up.



Monday, September 24, 2012

The Wrath of the Space Marines


This review was originally posted on my Facebook page. I have a few more I will be moving over here in the next few days. I added the trailer to the bottom which I will be doing with all my reviews from now on. Apologies if you've read this before.

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In the grim darkness of the far future, there is only war. For more than ten thousand years the Emperor of Mankind has sat in His deathless state upon the Golden Throne. Not alive, but never truly dead, He is master of man by the will of the gods and master of a million worlds by the might of His inexhaustible armies. He is the Carrion Lord of the Imperium to whom a thousand souls are sacrificed each day so that He may never truly die. Billions give battle in His name on uncounted worlds. Greatest amongst His soldiers are the Adeptus Astartes, His Space Marines. Bio-engineered super warriors formed from the genetic material of His sons, the Primarchs. 

Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine puts you into the Power Armoured boots of one of the Emperor's finest as you battle to save the Forge World Graia from a deadly Ork invasion. The planet is a main production hub of one of the Imperium's most important and powerful weapons, Warlord battle class Titans, monstrous humanoid machines capable of leveling entire cities. The beginning of the game centres around Captain Titus and his squad mates, the grizzled veteran Sergeant Sidonus and the recently promoted initiate Leandros as they drop to the surface of Graia and move to secure the Titan production facility. Millions of Orks have swarmed across the world, decimating the planet's defense forces and burning and looting everything in their path. Your squad must cut a hole through their ranks and move to take the production facility before the counter-invasion can begin. 
Typically, someone lost the keys to the giant murderbot.


Combat is bloody and ferociously fast passed, seamlessly slipping from dealing death with your boltgun to slicing greenskins into bloody chunks with your chainsword. Enemies range from sniveling, shrieking Grots right through to huge, hulking Nobz who take a fearsome amount of punishment before being put down. Your Power Armour will give you protection in the form of a rechargeable armour bar but your health can only be replenished by performing executions; special power moves you can perform on a stunned opponent which will cause a gory, satisfying kill animation. There is a slight problem here however, as enemies can still hurt you while the animation plays out, leaving you vulnerable for a few moments. Luckily your health bar will almost totally recharge after every execution, meaning that you're only in trouble if you have really low health.



The games controls are well done, making it easy to pick off targets and maneuver Titus across the battlefield. Your character has an appropriately heavy feel, being the power armoured super-human that he is. Surprisingly cover is a no show in this game. The Space Marines of the Warhammer universe are typically described as being able to shrug off all but the highest powered attacks, your power armour and the lack of a cover system gives you that slight feeling of invincibility as you stride through a storm of gunfire. As you slaughter your way through wave after wave of Orks you will slowly build your Fury meter. When activated Fury acts as a kind of bullet-time mechanic, slowing time and making your attacks much more powerful. Entire waves of enemies can be mowed down with your bolter or chopped into pieces with your chainsword in a few short moments, making Fury a useful when you're almost down and out. Fans of 40k will be happy to know that the game pays homage to a sizable portion of the Adeptus Astartes arsenal. Your main weapons are of course a bolter and chainsword, but plenty more make an appearance including Plasma Cannons and the Thunder Hammer.

Relic and THQ have done a good job capturing the grandiose scale of the Warhammer universe in the scenery and locations throughout the game. Towering manufactories dominate the landscape and your first target on landing is a huge orbital defense gun. Dark, gothic architecture features heavily and is rendered expertly. Warhammer aficionado’s will recognize the many and varied symbols dotted throughout the world such as the Aquila and the Cog symbol of the Cult Mechanicus as well as the haphazard Ork banners and towers. Warhammer has always been about scale. Everything is bigger in this universe, from the super human Space Marines and the mighty ape like Orks to the planet-wide cityscape you battle in and the game delivers no less on this scale. It is a pity however that the graphics occasionally give everything a cartoony look that feels out of place amidst the blood and gore. 
Ha har! Jokez on you space marine. Oi ate me muthaa!
Unfortunately there are some problems with this game that drag it from being a truly epic struggle, worthy of a place in the Imperial Archives, down to a standard battle that threatens to be lost to antiquity. Space Marine is a very linear game, forcing you along tight corridors and throwing wave after wave of cannon fodder onto your guns. Exploration is occasionally rewarded with pickups like extra ammo or a Servo-Skull (which provide some back story in the form of audio clips) but these are rarely a challenge to find. Melee fights become repetitive as you only have a small repertoire of melee moves which are all activated by the same button combo regardless of weapon and after the thousandth time you hear an Ork scream, "Waaaaaaaargh!" you'll want to tear your ears off. As mentioned the graphics are sometimes a bit on the cartoony side, detracting from the overall feel of the game. The lack of a co-op mode, either online or split-screen is also a glaring omission in a game that should be about squad based combat. It's also disappointing that such a small amount of unit classes made it into this game. There are unfortunately no controllable vehicles and only standard Space Marines make an appearance. No Terminators or Dreadnaughts or Killa Kans this time around.

However none of that should stop you playing this game. Space Marine delivers in the fun department and that's what it's really all about in the end. It has an engaging story that will hook old veterans and new recruits alike and the combat is appropriately gory and fast paced. The multi-player modes are also a great way to kill some time with friends. Classic team deathmatch makes an appearance as well as a 'horde' mode called Exterminatus where four friends can battle wave after wave of Orks for experience to unlock upgrades. This is a fun addition to the game and the ability to use the fantastic Assault Marine jetpack more (it is fairly limited in the campaign) is very welcome.


"Hey Bob, you hear a whining noise?" "Nah, it's prob'ly your imagination."

The enemies of the Emperor fear many things.
They fear discovery, defeat, despair and death.
Yet there is one thing they fear, above all others.
The wrath of the Space Marines.

This gamer gives Space Marine a 7.5/10







FTL: Faster Than Light

FTL: Faster Than Light is a game from new start up Subset Studios. It is a graphical roguelike game focusing heavily on space combat and micromanagement of your star ship's crew and systems. 

Unlike most space games FTL puts you in direct control of your crew, which you will use to man systems aboard your ship such as Helm, Weapons, Shields and Engines. Each crew member is capable of gaining experience depending on how they're used and more experience translates to more proficiency at any given task. Man the weapons system for long enough and your weapons will charge faster etc.



FTL focuses on controlling your ships systems through power allocation. Your ship has a reactor, which provides a number of 'power bars' which can be allocated to power up a system. Systems without power cease to function and at half power will only function at half capacity. The reactor and systems can be upgraded, providing and requiring more power respectively. The exception to this rule are the subsystems Helm (piloting), Sensors and Doors. These subsystems do not draw power from the reactor.



Divert all power to FUN.

The objective of the game is to reach the final sector. Your ship is carrying information vital to the success of your political faction (The Federation) in your war against your opponents (The Rebellion) and you must explore and fight through 7 randomly generated sectors to get to the 8th and final goal.

As with most Roguelike games FTL features random map and loot generation. This can make for some very frustrating play throughs if the RNG doesn't throw up a good weapon or forces you to face off against too many tough enemies early. All in all though in my many runs through this game I have found the randomness to be very consistent and well implemented. 


Each dot represents an FTL beacon. All of them have events of some type.

FTL has two difficulty modes. Easy will be accessible to most players, even those who are not familiar with the roguelike genre. Increased resource gathering and decreased enemy strength really make Easy feel quite breezy (sorry but The Robot Overlords demanded I work one rhyme into this post) while Normal ups the difficulty quite sharply. You will die and die often in FTL.



She's breakin' up Cap'n! I cannae hold 'er together!
FTL will set you back a measly $10 which is an awesome price for a game with this much 
replay value. There is a lot more that I could write on this game and I will probably do up a tips/game-play guide sometime in the near future, so keep your eyes open for that. 



















Sunday, September 23, 2012

Holy Binary Bovines! Robots!

Nothing in this mortal universe is immutable and everything is subject to change... especially my blog. The Raving Nerd has died a painful death under the lethal guns of the Robot Overlords. New management (re: essentially me but with more coffee) will be making many changes around here. Hell, I can't even guarantee the Robot Overlords are going to stick around for long.

I'm bored and I want to write stuff that other people will read and hopefully find amusing/thought provoking/dumb enough to get a reaction out of. So if you're reading this, REACT damn your eyes! With the Raving Nerd I tried to have some form of structure to the things that I was writing. I kept trying to push myself to sit at a keyboard and actually punch out something that made sense, like an article or a piece of fiction but I've realized that I can't do that. My writing just comes to me when it wants to and when I sit down and try to force it I end up writing three paragraphs of shit, deleting it and then crying into my coffee for an hour about how inadequate I am losing interest and going off to play video games.

So here let me unveil Robots Building Robots! my new (re: pretty much the same as the old) blog. Wheee!

I'll leave you with the first image that comes up when punching Robots Building Robots! into google search. The Robot Overlords tell me it's not sinister and that I am totally reading too much into it......





Thursday, September 13, 2012

Oh! A post!

It's been brought to my attention that there are actual, living, breathing humans who visit my blog. Apparently the page views I've been getting lately aren't just viagra bots. It appears that I have been linked by the kindly fellows over at the 'How To Speak With Girls blog'. Not sure if they intended to link me, but hey! free page views so thanks guys/girls/aliens!

Anyway, my body has recently informed me that it's jack of being uber-human and as such has invited a bunch of bacteria to come and party in my lungs for a week. Now, I know what you're thinking, parties are awesome right so how can that be a bad thing? Well, it's like being the landlord of a property that's used exclusively for parties that you're never invited to but definitely expected to clean up after. Everyone else is having the fun and you're left with nothing but a billion empty beer cans and the lingering smell of vomit. I wasn't aware it was possible for lungs to contain the level of mucus that has been making an appearance of late without me statistically being 'drowned'.

In further news it's 11pm and I am high on painkillers, steroids, antibiotics and a very small amount of scotch.

Sunday, March 25, 2012

Pascal's Wager bitchslap


Please note that all credit for this goes to www.rationalresponse.com as it was taken off their forums. Absolute gold.

Why Pascal's Wager Sucks
A friend forwarded a message received from a xian attempting to use Pascal's Wager. The reply is classic.

The message:
Quote:

Someday, you'll understand. I feel sorry for you. Just promise me one thing, IF you were to hypothetically end up burning in hell or something, don't curse the religious for not saving you int time. Just consider that if my beliefs are wrong, so what, I'm worm food or whatever, no big loss. But if you're wrong, you're screwed. But you still have tons of chances to get it. Believe it or not, God loves you and when you meet your maker, you'll remember this and regret not taking it seriously. Good luck on your road of life, maybe our paths will cross someday.
My friend's reply:
Quote:


Hey, Bud! Thanks for your thoughts. When you sent your notice of pity, it would have been a lot more helpful had you mentioned which God I should avoid being screwed by.

There’s Allah whom the Muslim vehemently deny is triune; who say that Jesus is just a prophet, who say your Bible has been corrupted and so on. They give evidence from ancient history, science, archeology, Greek and Hebrew, Christian scholars, the early church fathers and the Bible itself to support their claim.

www.answering-christianity.com
www.muslim-responses.com
http://www.islam-guide.com

Or, how about the Jews. They say that Jesus at best was a good (if not problematic) Jewish Rabbi, but not the Messiah and certainly not God. They give evidence from ancient history, science, archeology, Greek and Hebrew, Christian scholars, the early church fathers and the Bible itself to support their claim.

www.jewsforjudaism.org
www.messiahtruth.com

Or, how about the Mormons who say that there are a multitude of gods and we can become one through acts like believing in their holy books and that Joseph Smith was a prophet of God. They give evidence from ancient history, science, archeology, Greek and Hebrew, Christian scholars, the early church fathers and the Bible itself to support their claim.

www.farms.byu.edu
www.fairlds.org

Or, how about the Jehovah’s witnesses who deny the trinity also. They say that Jesus was just a man and that the holy spirit is Jehovah’s active force. They say he is not omnipresent, that we are annihilated and not condemned to Hell and that Jesus has already come secretly. They give evidence from ancient history, science, archeology, Greek and Hebrew, Christian scholars, the early church fathers and the Bible itself to support their claim.

www.elihubooks.com
www.jehovah.to/index.htm

Even the Roman Catholic Church, who while saying they have the same God as you, say also that you can by God’s grace (through the sacraments and other good works) earn salvation. They believe such go to Purgatory when they die and one should do nearly every act of worship toward Mary that you do to Jesus, just don’t call it worship. They give evidence from ancient history, science, archeology, Greek and Hebrew, Christian scholars, the early church fathers and the Bible itself to support their claim.

www.catholic.com
www.catholicapologetics.org
www.envoymagazine.com

It seems partner that “god” has “left you without a witness.” Anyway you slice it, you are just as screwed as I am! But don’t worry! Look at these passages:

Deuteronomy 20:10-17 "When you draw near a city to fight against it, offer terms of peace to it. And if its answer to you is peace and it opens to you, then all the people who are found in it shall do forced labour for you and shall serve you. But if it makes no peace with you, but makes war against you, then you shall besiege it; and when the Lord your God gives it into your hand you shall put all its male to the sword, but the women and the little ones, the cattle, and everything else in the city, all its spoil, you shall take as booty for yourself; and you shall enjoy the spoil of your enemy, which the Lord God has given to you. Thus you shall do to all the cities which are far from you, which are not cities of the nations here. In the cities of these people that the Lord your God gives you an inheritance, you shall save alive nothing that breathes but you shall utterly destroy them, the Hittites and the Amoriotes, the Canaanites and the Jebusites, as the Lord your God has commanded."

Deuteronomy 7:2 "and when the Lord your God gives then [the enemies] over to you, and you defeat them; then you must utterly destroy them; you shall make no covenant with them, and show no mercy to them..."

Numbers 31:7, 17 They warred against Midian, as the Lord commanded Moses, and slew every male…[Moses said to them] "... Now therefore kill every male among the little ones, and kill every woman who has known a man by lying with him..."

I Samuel 15:1-3 And Samuel said to Saul, "The LORD sent me to anoint you king over his people Israel; now therefore hearken to the words of the LORD. Thus says the LORD of hosts, `I will punish what Am'alek did to Israel in opposing them on the way, when they came up out of Egypt. Now go and smite Am'alek, and utterly destroy all that they have; do not spare them, but kill both man and woman, infant and suckling, ox and sheep, camel and ass.'"

II Kings 2:23-24 He [Elisha] went up from there to Bethel; and while he was going up on the way, some small boys came out of the city and jeered at him, saying, "Go up, you baldhead! Go up, you baldhead!" And he turned around and when he saw them, he cursed them in the name of the Lord. And two she-bears came out from the woods and tore forty-two of the boys.

Looks like we didn’t have to worry about God being all that loving after all.

I hope that the Pascal Wagerer felt that bitch slap!

Thursday, February 23, 2012

Untitled Story


This is one that I have been working on for a long time. Usually it'll get shelved and then I'll stumble across it and write some more. It's the longest 'scene' I've ever written and also the first piece of writing that I ever started. I feel like I want to continue it... but for now I'll just post what I've written. 



Prologue:

Colonel Fraed Nielson flinched as a harsh explosion detonated alongside the crater, showering him in mud and debris. Weapons fire roared from the widows of huts of the small jungle village, two hundred meters ahead. The village was infested with Chaos. The crude huts pulsed with an unholy aura as the Warp seeped into reality from the psyker induced storm which raged overhead. The fearsome storm had appeared not long after the invasion force made planet fall, cutting off all air support and playing havoc with the Guard’s vox network. The intelligence auguries had thought the source of the storm originated at Balneer the capitol city of this sector and had co-ordinated all available Imperial units in a strike on the city. The Chaos defences had fallen easily, almost too easily for Fraed to believe it had not been a tactical feint. Now for the last 12 days his unit had pursued them into the dense rain-jungles of the lower Kyber valley, searching for the source of the storm which seemed to follow their every step.

Warp-crazed flashes of violet lighting illuminated the village and Nielson could see its previous inhabitants, hanging from crude poles on the town green. Their skin was daubed with sickening Chaos runes and obscene symbols which danced insanely under his eye and made his head pound and ache, were carved into their flesh. Some were lying dismembered in rancid puddles of congealed blood. The Djiini, a name the filthy heretics had taken after some local spirit superstition, had massacred them, sacrificing even the women and children to their foul deities. It smacked of ritual. The poles were arrayed in a crude star and as he looked closer Fraed could see that a pit had been dug in the centre of the green and filled with a dirty, dark liquid. He wasn’t sure he wanted to know what it was.

With a quick hand single his men began to return fire and the air was suddenly filled with the snap-crack of lasrifles on full auto. Troopers Eekand and Bronsor opened up with the autocannons. The huge shuddering weapons raking punishing fire towards the buildings, shattering the hastily assembled flak board defences. The fusillade from the village ceased under the barrage of lead and laser and Nielson ordered his men up over the lip of the crater, fixing bayonets and drawing blades. The nearest hut, its walls, deep purple and quivering slightly was an assault on the senses and Nielson felt his stomach churn as he realised that there were faces, twisted and burned, melded with the walls. One screamed at him as he advanced and he shot it with his rifle, bursting it and spraying purple ichor. He signalled Sargent Malorn’s squad to cleanse the taint from the front row of huts with their holy flamers. The screaming of the daemon visages reached a crescendo as long spurts of liquid fire washed the woodwork of the huts. Major Kourt took his platoon and moved west in a sweeping manoeuvre attempting to flank the Chaos cultists around the edge of the village and drive them towards the Fraed’s men. Each team let off a short volley of las and solid rounds into the building that they had targeted; their cleansing ammunition, inscribed with warding sigils and prayers to the Emperor of Mankind burned into the flesh-buildings, blasting gory holes up and down exposed walls and pulping woodslat. Nielson took his squad and moved to a large two-story building to the left. The building was a dark, wooden structure and seemed strangely untainted compare to the rest. With a quick signal, Nielson sent Troopers Bronsor and Kalyn around to the rear. The towering guardsman, outlined by a dramatic lightning strike, disappeared quickly around the corner to cover the rear entrance.

Fraed discarded his lasrifle, the charge empty and drew his bolt pistol and chainsword. The large, ancient blade roared to life as he thumbed the activation stud. From the rear of the house he could hear the metallic whir of Trooper Bronsor's heavy autocannon. Its powerful high calibre shells shredding cultists and warp spawn. With a thundering kick Trooper Drell booted the door and sent it flying off its hinges. Las shots cracked past Nielson's head from the doorway. A malformed shape of Chaos, clutching an old model Las-pistol crouched in the shadows at the end of the entrance hall. Nielson dived to the left, raking bolt rounds into the hallway and doorframe. The Chaos spawned creature bucked and writhed as two of Nielsons bolt rounds smashed into its chest, spraying its blood and innards in a foetid rain of gore. Drell stepped through the doorframe, swinging his rifle left and right and snapping off shots through the open doorways on either side of the hall. Nielson followed him quickly, cutting down a mutant that emerged from a side room and blasting another as it tried to get a bead on Drell. Suddenly the wall ahead of them exploded inwards in a white hot ball of fire. Trooper Drell vaporised instantly, his component atoms cast to the four winds by the power of the blast and Nielson was blown to the ground choking as the oxygen was quickly burned away. As the air around him blazed hotter and hotter, the walls and ceiling quickly becoming a burning inferno Nielsons head swam concussed from the force of the explosion. His skin began to sear, hot blisters forming on his hands and face. His hair and clothing caught fire and burned as a scream formed on his lips. Pictures played through Neilson's mind. His wife and child back on Tondor. The grain-mills of Thracis Plex casting long shadows across his home. Certain he was about to die the words of the Emperors Benediction formed on his lips. He was almost unconscious when he felt a huge pair of arms lift him and the cool splash of flame retardant liquid being sprayed across his body.

The White Consul Space Marine emerged through the front door of the wasted building; Nielson flung over one shoulder, bolter dealing death and raining pain to any Chaos spawn that dared challenge him. Nielson felt himself being set down, his back against something solid but he couldn't quite work out what it was. He looked around him and realized that the Marine has carried him back to the crater.

"Colonel Nielson?" The vox-projector on the Space Marines power armour crackled to life.
"F... fine." Nielson gasped at the cool air around him, feeling it in his lungs. His very soul ached from the concussion of the blast.
"Sergeant N'Coll. White Consul Tenth. The village is secure Colonel. The Chaos fiends are either retreating or rotting on the ground around us. Tower command ordered us to push through in your wake. Glad we got here in t...”  A huge explosion erupted in the middle of the village. A great fireball, bright and burning intensely bloomed followed by a plume of thick, black smoke. Sergeant N'Coll slumped. White hot shrapnel had shredded the proud Marine, tearing great rends in his mighty Power Armour. N’Coll’s huge form was the only thing that kept Neilson alive.

Most of the Guardsmen had made it back to the crater before the blast and Nielson crawled up the side of it to get a better look at the village. It was gone. In its place was a blazing inferno, spewing the toxic black smoke into the atmosphere and burning everything it touched. Everything except for one thing. Nielson watched in terror as a figure emerged from the inferno. It walked through the flames, neither its clothes nor its skin harmed by the raging fires. It moved forwards slowly, its head bowed and hands raised, palms pressed together in a position of prayer. Hooded and robed, its hands were the only visible part of its form but Nielson could feel the fear emanating from it and the taint of the Warp leeched from its bones.

"EVERYBODY, OPEN FIRE!!!"

Ten White Consul Space Marines gained the crest of the crater and opened up on the approaching figure their synchronized firing patterns wreaking havoc on the landscape. Everything was torn apart by the maelstrom of heavy fire, except the man. He continued to walk forward, head down, appearing to not notice the bolter rounds tearing through his flesh. Nielson raked the man with bolts from his pistol. Each mass reactive shell landing true. The first struck his left shoulder and tore a massive gouge out of his flesh. Icy blue energy spewed from the wound, which simply closed over as if nothing had happened. The second and third shots caught the man square in the chest, punching two huge holes, which looked to be straight through him. But the figure was not deterred. He simply kept walking forward, his wounds visibly healing, until he was about 2 meters from the cowering troops. None of them could move, even if the fear hadn't seized their joints the powerful mind of the approaching daemon would have. Two Space Marines dropped to their knees, clutching at their throats as if they couldn't breathe. Another simply vanished, as if he'd never been there in the first place. The figure looked up. The hood covering its face fell away as it tilted its head to look at the remaining men. Guardsmen around Nielson screamed as blood vessels burst in their eyes and noses, filling mouths with blood and eyes with red tears as they died. The daemon, for surely it was a daemon, smiled. Its eyes glowing unearthly blue, like a Class O star in the prime of its life. Little tendrils of energy licked out of them across the creatures cheeks. Its face was handsome to look at. It was the distinguished profile of an upper hive lord, aside from the eyes. Nielson watched as the rest of the proud Marines burst into white flames, their power armour literally melting and resolving them into pools of white-hot slag and Nielson felt himself wrenched into the air. The abomination brought Nielson up to face it.

"Hear me mortal and quiver in fear. I have awakened from a sleep so long that galaxies have died and constellations disappeared since mortal’s last spoke my name and trembled." Its voice echoed inside Nielsons head. His mind slowly slipping into insanity from hearing the thing speak, its voice was incipient, each word reverberating around his head a thousand times in a trillion languages of the damned.
"Fear me mortal and wish for the quick death of your comrades. You are mine and your soul is mine forever. Learn well the name of your new master mortal, the name at which a million galaxies quake and die for I am The Warpspawn, The Bringer of The Unholy Flame and Scourge of the Veil. I am Kharnigar the Black."

That was the last thing Colonel Fraed Neilson, Brae Wasps 10th Gunners, Imperial Guard, heard as he inserted his bolt pistol into his mouth, and ended his mortal existence.



Sunday, February 19, 2012

Thick As Thieves

I'm going to publish this now, half finished, as I haven't had time to work on it lately. I will add to it when I can.


Padric the thief was stuck. It was a precarious position he'd suddenly found himself in. He'd been rummaging through the personals of a high ranking city official when he'd heard footsteps coming up the stairs in the hallway outside. Like a shadow he'd slipped back out the open window. Unfortunately, unlike a shadow he had also literally slipped and was now hanging by his fingertips from the windowsill. His legs flailed under him unable to find a decent foothold against the stonework wall. He could hear someone opening the door in the room he'd exited oh so gracefully a moment before. It was only seconds before he would be discovered. 


Two days ago in the corner of a run down old pub on the corner of Westing and First Street an envelope was being exchanged. It was done in the manner of all shady deals everywhere. A slight, nonchalant glance around the room as it was nudged ever so slightly in the direction of the receiver. The subterfuge was not needed. No one in the bar took notice anyway. It was the home to the kind of morbid alcoholism that kept the liver transplant industry in new hats and it's patrons were generally more concerned with drinking themselves to oblivion than observing the finer points of criminality. The receiver leaned forward reaching for his drink and carefully placing his napkin over the envelop as he slid it back into his lap.
"Whats so imporn't yas drag me alla way out 't this shit'ole?" asked the courier displaying an unfortunate lack of scumbag diplomacy. The receiver was a small, sallow looking man wearing a brown corduroy suit. He smiled. It was the kind of smile you might see on something with fins as it slowly circles the piece of driftwood you're clinging too. With a small noise that sounded like fwip the courier leaned back in his seat with a sigh as the receiver stood, straightened his suit and exited the pub. It wasn't until after closing that night that the barman found the sliver of metal embedded in the mans throat.



Friday, February 17, 2012

Update

So things have been a bit quiet on the blog front and I'm sorry to anyone who has been reading it and wanting updates.

I have been busy working on another project lately which is related to the letter I posted recently. I won't be involving this blog with that project other than using it to host the letter.

I have a short story in the works which I am hoping to post up soon but the side project is currently taking up a lot of my time. I know you guys are all avid fans and readers (HAHAHAHAHA) but please try to bare with me.

Cheers,
Nick.

Sunday, February 12, 2012

You're Not Dragonborn

A little something I whipped up on xtranormal. I had to sell my soul and fill out online surveys to get enough points for this so I hope you guys enjoy it!

Friday, February 10, 2012

Longer than anticipated

I have started writing part 3 to my Battlefield guide, but it's taking longer than expected. At the current rate it's going to turn out to be a couple of hundred parts long. I'll have to see if I can figure out a way to make it a bit shorter but still include all the information that I want. I might even move it over to a word document and upload the whole thing as one guide, rather than trying to do it in parts.

Meanwhile I am working on a couple of different things at the moment. Hopefully I will have something new up for you guys to read early next week.

On another note I have had 78 page views since I started this blog. That's roughly 78 more page views than I was expecting, so thanks guys! 

Monday, February 6, 2012

The Great Dictator Speech

Put together by my mate Stewy. 





This speech is from Charlie Chaplin's first 'talking picture'. I think it's a powerful message that is still very much in context today. Stewy has chopped it together with some more current footage. You can learn more about it here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Great_Dictator

Battlefield 3 Guide & Gameplay Tips Part 2


Note originally posted on Friday, January 27, 2012 at 12:09pm

Continued:
In part one we discussed some basics of Battlefield 3, made some comparisons to Modern Warfare and discussed two classes, the Assault class and the Engineer class.

In part 2 of this guide I will be discussing a few more basics as well as the other two classes, the Sniper and the Support class.

Attacking/Defending:

The objective of Conquest is to capture and hold points on the map, marked A, B, C etc. Capturing points will decrease the amount of tickets you lose per second and increase the amount of tickets the enemy team loses. Holding all points on the map will result in the enemy team losing tonnes of tickets , very quickly. Your main objective when playing Conquest should always be to capture points. Obviously there are many, many different ways to go about attacking points depending on the map, your class, how long the point has been held etc. I will try to outline some basics about attacking.

Firstly, if you are the Squad leader you should be marking any point you're currently attacking. This will (hopefully) rally your squad to you. It is much easier to capture a point with a full squad rather than by yourself. When you enter a certain radius around the point, you will see the enemy control start to decline. Once the point has been neutralised you will see your own control start to increase until the point has been captured. One tactic that you can use in this circumstance is to get into a corner or behind some cover and watch the control meter. If the meter stops moving at any point it means that an enemy soldier has moved into the capture radius and you will need to eliminate him before continuing to capture. It is sometimes advisable to wait for the enemy to find you, as often you will get the jump on him and eliminate him easily.

When defending points (which I don't really tend to do much as I feel it's not as productive as capturing and harrassing enemy points) again, there are countless ways to do this. Again, if you are squad leader mark the point for defence to rally your squad. Common sense says that a 5 man squad will do a lot better job defending a point than one or two soldiers, so rallying your squad is important. Set mines and claymores on roads and around the point itself and then move OUT of the points capture radius. The reason for this is that if an enemy moves inside the points capture radius, you will see the point start to flash and you will know someone is there. It is an early warning system which will give you time to seek and destroy the enemy attacker. Snipers and Support soldiers in particular should set up somewhere that gives them a good field of fire over the whole point, allowing them to neutralise any threats before they get too close.

Breaking Out & Holding The Line:
Sometimes the enemy team will just be too good. They will quickly storm across the map and capture all the points, leaving you with only your squad mates and Deployment point to spawn on. If the enemy team is sitting right at your front door it can be very, very hard to break out and recapture some points. Here are some tips to help break out:
  • Explosives are your friends. Often the enemy will be stuck attacking along a road or narrow alley way. This will bunch them up, making them perfect targets for RPG's, grenades and mortars. This is one place where the mortar really shines as you can sit back behind cover and pummel the enemy team with HE and Smoke until your infantry can break through and recapture your first point (the one closest to your base). 
  • Use your vehicles carefully. Whatever you do, do NOT charge in and attempt to break through. Sit back and provide heavy cover fire for your team using either your main cannons (MBT, IFV) or your .50 cal machine gun (Hummer, Jeeps). 
  • If all else fails use stealth to slip past the enemy cordon. This requires a bit of running around, making sure you're not spotted. When you do break through do not attack your first point. Attack the enemies first point at the other side of the map. You are almost 100% guaranteed that there will be no enemies guarding this point as they will all be at your base, attempting to hold the line. If you're successful, you will provide your team a new spawn point BEHIND the enemy line, which can be very devastating. 

Vice versa to the above point; sometimes your team will be the one storming the map and keeping the enemy locked down. There are again some very important tips to keep the enemy from breaking out and turning the tables on you.
  • The point closest to the enemy's base should be disregarded for defence. Forget about it. Spawn on it and attack from it, but do not hang around and defend it. It does not matter if they recapture it as you will still have all the other points to attack from. 
  • Defenders should be mobile, preferably in Jeeps making quick trips between your other points to make sure any sneaky stealthers haven't slipped through the line to capture the points behind you. I often play this role and rack up tonnes of kills just driving around picking up strays.
  • Tanks and Engineers should be up front. Tanks need constant defence and repair as they will be the bastions of your line. All too often I will see a Tank neglected and then destroyed followed moments later by the entire front line degrading and being pushed back. If you look after your Tanks, they will keep the enemy contained and unable to form an effective counter attack. 
  • Snipers should focus on enemy Snipers as they will be looking to pick off Engineers who are repairing your Tanks. If not shooting, Snipers should be using their MAV's over the frontline to keep all enemy soldiers Spotted or SOFLAM's to target enemy vehicles for Engineers with Javelins.
It is very exciting when you are holding all the points and pushing your front line ever closer to the enemies base. Kills a plenty are available in these situations but be careful. All it takes is a few seconds for the whole front line to collapse and the enemy to swarm through.

Classes:

Back to classes; the Sniper and the Support are two very effective classes for their roles. They take more mastering than the Assault or Engineer classes but the rewards are high kill counts and huge points.

Suppression:
I have mentioned Suppression and Suppressive Fire a few times now and before I explain the Support class it is very important to know what Suppression is and how it works. When someone is firing at you and bullets are whizzing past your head and spanking into the cover in front of you, you are being Suppressed. When under Suppression your screen will go blurry and control response will become slightly sluggish, making it very hard to aim and kill your attacker. Suppression provides bonuses for the attacking soldier if the target is killed by another team member. You will gain a Suppression Kill Bonus worth 50 points which makes intentionally Suppressing targets a very valuable tool.

When under Suppression the best thing to do is get your head down. Get into cover as quickly as possible until the Suppression wears off. It's almost impossible to attack an enemy while Suppressed so don't bother trying unless there is no other option.

Support:
Ever since competitive FPS games have been around I have been attracted to the role of Support soldier. From Unreal Tournaments minigun to the latest military LMGs (Light Machine Guns), the idea of laying down huge volumes of firepower has always appealed. Battlefield 3 however takes the Support soldier to a new level with Suppression. Even a few rounds from an LMG passing close to a player will generate almost maximum Suppression and the huge magazine capacity of most of these weapons means that you can keep up the pressure or even Suppress multiple targets at once. Coupled that with the gadgets this class recieves makes it, I believe, the most powerful all-round fighting/support class in the game.

Here are a few ways that I like to play:

Heavy Support:
Using a LMG with the Foregrip, Red Dot Site and Extended Magazine gives you a weapon that is powerful, easy to control and can output a huge amount of firepower. My favourite LMG to use would be the M240 as it packs a 200 round magazine (Extended) full of high power 7.62mm rounds. The objective with this class is to provide your team with covering fire so that they can advance. You should be behind your team mates laying down short bursts of fire at any enemies you see. Firing in short bursts will keep your recoil at a minimum and you will make more kills this way. The exception to this rule is if you are shooting down a corridor or bottleneck. In this case, unload your entire magazine down the hallway. You will Suppress everyone at the other end and probably make some kills too. Make sure you Spot enemies so that your team mates can flank them as you force their heads down with Suppression. Use your ammo pack to keep yourself and your team supplied and drop claymores at choke points so that you can safely retreat if you need to. Squad Suppression is the go here.

Silent Support:
In this configuration swap out the Extended Magazine for the Suppressor. It sounds silly to put a silencer on a LMG but the benefits are huge. Your bullets will still carry huge amounts of Suppression however your recoil will be much lower, allowing you to fire longer bursts without having to correct your aim. Also you will not show up on the map when you fire which is a gigantic advantage on maps like Operation Metro. Your role in this class is essentially the same as Heavy Support. Hang back, lay down covering fire to pin your enemies while your team moves up for the kill.

All-Rounder:
With this config you will be able to do a bit of everything. Use the weapon config from Heavy Support but swap out your Claymores for the C4. You'll be able to hunt Tanks and vehicles and set traps for enemies. I use my C4 like mines, planting it on the road and waiting for enemy vehicles to drive past. This is a VERY effective tactic on maps like Seine Crossing and Kharg Island where vehicles are pretty much forced to use the roads to get everywhere.

Mortar:
I wanted to write a short section on the Mortar as it is potentially a game winning weapon if used correctly. I find that the mortar is almost useless on most maps, especially any large, open map. However on maps like Tehran Highway, Grand Bazaar and Seine Crossing it can be deadly. Swap out your LMG for a Shotgun or PDW as you won't need the long range Suppression of an LMG and sit right back. Use your Mortar to drop bombs on the choke points on these maps, especially on Objective B on Grand Bazaar and Objective C on Seine crossing. The Mortar is also an excellent breakout weapon (see breakout section), allowing you to lay down smoke for your team to advance through.

Sniper:
Last but definetly not least is the Sniper. Without doubt the Sniper is the most difficult class to play. Kill shots must be made on the head or upper chest otherwise you will not get one shot kills. Without one shot kills the Sniper is useless, so accuracy is a must with this class. The Sniper gets a couple of handy tools for it's trade mainly the Radio Beacon the T-UGS and the SOFLAM. The Radio Beacon will allow your squad mades to spawn on the beacon instead of you, allowing you to place it in a safe spot near an objective to get a constant stream of reinforcements. The T-UGS (Tactical Unattended Ground Sensor) will show up any enemies that are moving quickly near your position. Obviously very handy for camping.

SOFLAM (Special Operations Forces Laser Marker):
I think that the SOFLAM deserves it's own section as it is an awesome piece of equipment that NEVER gets used. The SOFLAM essentially is a laser designator that locks on to any vehicle it is pointed at and allows Rockets from your team to home in on that vehicle, even if it is not in their line-of-sight even if left unattended. This gadget is NOT USED ENOUGH. On large, vehicle oriantated maps you should be deploying it high, pointing it at a road or choke point and then leaving it unattended. This will ensure that any vehicle that passes will be marked for at least a few moments. If you are an Engineer and you have the Javelin, USE IT. It is very frustrating to spend time designating targets when no one is paying attention.

There are two ways that I play the Sniper class:

Spectre:
The obvious, classical hollywood Sniper. Set up position somewhere on the map, usually in a very high place. Use a high power, single shot rifle such as the M40A5, SV98 or M98B with a bi-pod. From this position your main goal is Spotting enemy targets for your team and eliminating enemy Snipers. This can be a huge amount of fun as you try and improve your longest headshot score. Mine currently sits at 318m but I have seen headshots as long as 1300m on YouTube. Spotting is very important here as you usually have an unrestricted view of the map and you're not going to be able to shoot every enemy you see. Spotting will mean your team has the advantage of getting a coherent overview of enemy positions. Also you should place your SOFLAM before you set up, somewhere well away from your position as the distinctive red laser WILL give you away if you stay too close. Use the 8x Rifle Scope in most instances. Very rarely should you use the 12x as it is simply too powerful, especially if some of your targets are within 200m. The Marksman bonus is what allows you to rack up points with this class. Any clean headshot over 50m will net you a bonus equal to the distance of the shot, so it's quite easy to rack up a huge score if you can hit a few 100m+ headshots. Squad Ammo should be used here so that you can shoot for a long time without having to go look for a re-supply.

Shoot & Move:
This class is all about moving and shooting. Semi-Automatic rifles like the SKS and the M39 should be used here coupled with either the 8x Rifle Scope or the 4x ACOG to give you a nice, medium range view. If you want to use a higher power, bolt action rifle make sure you select the Straight Pull Bolt for quick shooting. You can use a Suppressor with this class, but I prefer not to the trade off of power for accuarcy is not worth it IMO. Headshots are still the key with this class but don't be afraid to crack off multiple rounds to kill an enemy. This class is also great for Suppression as emptying a clip at someone behind cover will ensure they are fully Suppressed and thinking twice about sticking their head around that corner. Use the Radio Beacon to give you a spawn point close to the center of the map, where you can quickly get to any objective and when you take up a firing position drop your T-UGS to give you early warning of anyone approaching. That being said, do not stay in one position too long. Shoot and move, shoot and move, shoot and move. One of your main targets with this class should be enemy Engineers who are repairing Tanks. It is very satisfying to headshot an Engineer and then watch your squad destroy the Tank he was repairing. Squad Sprint, Ammo or Suppression are generally the go with this class.

Ballistics: Due to Battlefield's realistic ballistics, playing a Sniper is much harder than in any other First Person Shooter. When shooting at long to extreme range you will need to learn to deal with Bullet Drop. This is the effect that gravity has on any projectile fired. It effects every weapon in Battlefield but is much more pronounced when Sniping and sometimes when shooting with an LMG. The rule of thumb that I use is that after about 100m, every addtional 100m requires aiming roughly half a cm higher. Generally I will expend my first magazine on 'practice shots' at various buildings to give me an idea of how much bullet drop I will be dealing with on certain parts of the map. Normally you'll be quite safe doing this as at the start of a round most players will be concentrating on attacking their initial points.

That brings me to the end of the class discussion. In the next episode of this guide I will get into my favourite part of Battlefield; Armoured Warfare.

Battlefield 3 Guide & Gameplay Tips Part 1

Note originally posted on Thursday, January 26, 2012 at 3:13pm

Introduction:
Hey everyone. Recently I have been trolling the halls of Google for tips and strategies for Battlefield 3. There is a real shortage of information online for advanced players unless you want to go ahead and buy a proper guide. Well, I thought; fuck that. I have racked up 90+ hours on BF3 now so I feel like I am qualified to throw out a few tricks that I have picked up along the way.

This guide will be written in a few different parts as if I were to put it all in one note it would likely be very long. So sit back, relax, have a drink and hopefully you'll pick up a few hints to help boost your Score Per Minute (SPM).

Guide Overview:
This guide will not cover anything to do with the Single Player or Co-op modes of Battlefield 3. I am focusing solely on competitive multiplayer in the Conquest and Conquest Assault modes as they are the ones I play most. Some of the tips may be applicable to Rush and the other modes and I may write a seperate guide for those modes later. This also will be an Xbox 360 guide as that is what I own the game on.

Battlefield 3 Vs. Call Of Duty:
I think that it's necessary to compare these two games before we start, as a lot of people are moving from the COD series to Battlefield. While both games are First Person Shooters they are very different games. I find that COD is much more of an Arcade style game. It is a fast paced, run and gun, pure adrenalin shooter. Playing COD doesn't require much more skill than to keep moving and be decent at aiming. Sure there are some naunces that take some time to work out, like where to place your Claymores for max damage or the finer points of being a Sniper, however it is essentially still an Arcade experience.

Battlefield 3 is much more of a war simulation than an Arcade game. It features much more realistic ballistics (bullet drop), gun sway, reload times etc than the COD series. As such a player moving from COD to BF might initially be frustrated on most levels, especially the larger ones as quite often firefights happen over a long distance and require a different style of shooting than COD. One thing that people don't realise about BF compare to COD is that kills don't matter much anymore. I can get the MVP (most valuable player) Ribbon on any given map without making a single kill. It is much more important to be focused on your objectives and using your abilities to the full, rather than worrying about kills.

Tickets:
Battlefield 3 uses as a ticket system where each team starts with a set amount and they are drained as each team respawns, like reinforcements. Once you hit zero you lose. Holding all the Command Points causes the enemies tickets to drop very fast, so this is the main objective of any battle.



Squads:
A prime feature and one I feel is much underused in BF3 are Squads. Within each 12 player team are a number of Squads. Each Squad can contain up to 5 players. Squad mates can spawn on each other and receive bonuses for teamwork related activities, such as Spotting (see Spotting section), Suppressive Fire, Healing, Repairs and more. It is highly important that you try to work with your squad as much as possible. Spawn on them and stay with them for support, especially if you are a medic or an engineer. You will survive a lot longer on the battlefield if you are with your squad. Depending on your class you should be using the following tactics:

Storming: 
Medics with M230's, Engineers with Rockets and Mines and Support with shotgunsor smaller LMGs (not the M60) and C4 should be up front laying down a heap of fire, attacking vehicles and storming towards the objective.

Supporting: 
Medics with Medpacks, Snipers with Radio Becons and SOFLAM and Support Soldiers with Ammo kits or Mortars should be to the rear either healing, re-arming or laying down suppressive fire for the boys at the front.

Within each squad will be a squad leader. The squad leader can mark objectives for attack and defense. Again this is a feature that is not used as much as it should be. If you are the squad leader, make sure to mark your objectives so that your team mates know what they should be doing and then (this is important) actually attack/defend that objective. Do not go off on a tangent. You can tell the squad leader from the star that appears next to their name.

Spotting:
Another feature of BF which I feel is extremely underused is Spotting. Unlike COD where the UAV provides the locations of enemy soliders; in Battlefield you are required to 'Spot' them. When you see an enemy, place your sights over him and press the 'back' button on your Xbox control. This will 'Spot' the enemy for your team, marking him with an orange arrow and making him show up on the map. This is a very cool mechanic as it makes it a lot harder to know what your enemy is doing unless your team is good at Spotting. The only other times you will see enemies on your map is if they fire an unsuppressed weapon or if there is a MAV (Micro-Air Vechile, similar to a UAV) around.

Make it a priority to spot BEFORE you shoot. If you spot someone, shoot at them, miss and they escape they are at least marked for one of your team mates to take out. Snipers & Pilots (Tanks, Helicopters, Jets) should all prioritise Spotting. It takes less than a second to Spot someone and then start shooting at them, so SPOT BEFORE YOU SHOOT (can't emphisize this enough).

Classes:
Battlefield 3 features four distinct classes. Each have their own advantages and disadvantages which I will discuss here. I will write up the Engineer and Assault classes in this guide. The Support and Sniper classes will be in the next one.

Assault (Medic):
Since BF2 the 'medic' class has been merged with the assault class. The assault class has lost the ability to drop ammo packs and has gained medipaks and the defibrillator instead. Assault can be played in two ways:

Assault:
For this version of the class you should be using a rifle and the M320 grenade launcher, rather than the medipak. The idea with this class is to be the frontline of any battle. You need to be constantly attacking objectives, using your rifle to pick off targets at mid-range and your grenades to destroy cover and take out groups. The advantage of this class is that you still have your defib so you can revive fellow frontliners (and get a ticket back), even if you can't heal them. Storm and take Command Points and then move onto the next one, don't hang around, don't defend unless there is no other option. Rifles like the AEK-971 and the AN-94 are EXTREMELY accurate and powerful at mid-range. Your M320 is your best friend with this class. It will cause huge Suppression on enemies and force them to keep their heads down. It is also a one-shot-kill weapon on enemy Jeeps, provided that you can land the grenade square on the front or side. The Squad Grenade or Squad Sprint specializations should be used here.

Medic:
For this spec you should be using either a rifle or a shotgun with the Medipak instead of the M320. This class should hang slightly back, picking off targets when able but mostly concentrating on getting your medpaks to the people that need them. As you get refunded a ticket every time you defib someone, this should be your top priority as potentially you can almost stop losing tickets altogether if you have a few good medics. Keep your eye open on the map and your surroundings for the distinctive symbol (skull) that shows someone on your team has died, get to them and defib them ASAP. This spec is absolutely awesome for racking up points. If you can get your medpak into a group of friends taking fire, you will watch your points skyrocket. Squad Sprint is a must here as it will let you get to your downed team mates and defib them faster.



Engineer:
The Engineer is an extremely versatile class. Armed with a carbine, rocket launcher, grenades and gadgets; an engineer can be a very formidable opponent. There are many ways to play the engineer class but there are a couple of things that Engineers must do to be sucessful:

  • Do not neglect your rocket launcher. You can use this to take out enemy cover and allow your squad into buildings. It is not necessary to actually kill enemies, just taking out their cover is usually enough to either make them retreat or allow your team mates a clean shot. If you are not using your rockets, you're not using your class properly. 
  • You are on the map to disable vehicles. DO NOT NEGLECT THIS ROLE. The Engineer is the only class capable of consistently taking out enemy vehicles. An enemy tank with a competant driver is a HUGE problem for your team and your job is always to take them out as soon as possible.
  • If you have the Repair Tool equipped then use it. Too often I will be duking it out with another Tank with engineers all around me, not one of which can be bothered to repair my Tank. If you are near a Tank you don't need rockets, you need to repair the Tank. 

Again here are a couple of ways to play this class that I enjoy:

Tanker: 
Without doubt the most time I have spent on the battlefield has been in either the MBT (Main Battle Tank) or the IFV (Infantry Fighting Vehicle). I currently have 2 service stars with the MBT and 605 kills. Your objective when Tanking (lol) is just like in WoW. You are there to draw fire from the enemy, deal damage and capture points. There is no need for funny, tricky manuevours in Tanks. Drive in, shoot anything that moves and capture the point and then move on quickly. When taking on other vehicles the key is speed, flanking and being a good shot. It's no good charging in at full throttle or sitting in one spot if every shot goes wide. You have to be able to consistantly land hits, even from long distances and while moving at top speed. It takes a lot of practice, but there is not much better in BF than roaring down a highway on Caspian Border or Kharg Island pumping shell after shell in to some poor T-90 driver who has no idea what to do. Squad Suppression is the go here.

My recommendations for the MBT are; HMG/Canister Shell, Thermal Optics & Reactive Armor.

The HMG is great for anti-infantry at moderate to long distances but it is unweildy and inaccurate close range. The Canister shell is much more suited for close range work as it is basically a massive, tank sized shotgun. Canister shells are perfect for taking out people in Jeeps as it will just shred them.

Thermal Optics is a must. It highlights everything in black and white and makes spotting enemy armour very easy. It also allows you to see and kill enemy Engineers much quicker and easier. Enemy Engineers are your worst enemies and I find I die a lot more to them than to other vehicles. Finally it will allow you to spot mines on the road. They will show up bright white and should be shot with your main cannon before proceeding. Zoom Optics is okay for extremely large maps like Operation Firestorm and Caspian Border, but I perfer thermal.

Reactive Armour gives you extra armour on your flanks and rear. I cannot tell you how many times I have been saved by this perk. Basically it will allow you to absorb almost 100% more damage than usual. Make sure you turn side on to any enemies if you can.

Tank Hunter: 
With this spec I spend my entire time on the map laying traps and ambushes for other enemy vehicles. Find choke points that vehicles pass regularly and either mine them or wait in ambush. This is a great spec to use on very large maps. You should always hang around Command Points as that is where the vehicles will go. When laying mines, always lay two very close together. One mine will definetly disable a vehicle but won't always destroy it. Two will light that puppy up like a christmas tree. When attacking with the RPG or SMAW try to hit the rear of the vehicle where the armor is lightest. One good rocket fired up a Tanks arse can sometimes destroy it outright, so don't be afraid to take a few seconds to get behind it first. When using the Javelin however, you want to be far away. It's much harder to lock-on and get a kill from close range as most tank drivers will go fairly spastic when they hear the Lock tone. Don't waste time with this class trying to kill infantry. Your Carbine/Shotgun/PDW is for personal defense only. If you see an enemy who is a decent distance away, spot them and move on. Don't bother trying to light them up as 9 out of 10 times they will kill you. If you have to attack them, use a rocket and aim at their feet. Squad Explosives is easily the best specialization for this class as it will give you TEN rockets and a few addtional mines.

Well that will do for Part 1 of my Battlefield 3 Multiplayer guide. Hopefully I will have more written soon.