Performs on par with the SR-25, just has a sweet new look!
G36KE
This
gun is awesome on so many levels! Has the same power and accuracy as the
G36E, but with more portability! GREAT for OMA!
G36E
Valkyrie
Performs on par with the G36E, I just like the look a lot more and the
fact I can buy it for 90 days!
Combat Arms
Combat Arms is a free to play MMOFPS game
from
Nexon
and Doobic Studios. The game features a nice selection of game modes and
weapons as well as a growing library of maps. There are some pretty nice
features in this game that are quite interesting such as the ability to add
limited modifications to your weapons and much more to your character.
If your an FPS fan, then this game is well worth a try. Like any new game, it
takes getting used to, but it don't take long at all.
Yeah, just think more people should read this.
:)
Combat Arms System Requirements
Minimum
* Windows 2000
* Intel Pentium III 1 GHz
* 256 MB RAM
* GeForce 2 MX
* DirectX 9.0c
* 2.0 GB free HD space
* 128 kbit/s ADSL or equivalent
Recommended
* Windows XP
* Intel Pentium 4 2.4 GHz
* 512 MB RAM
* GeForce FX 5600
* DirectX 9.0c
* 2.0 GB free HD space
* 128 kbit/s ADSL or equivalent
A few notes on these requirements:
Your internet speed:
They list a DSL connection at 128kbit/s or equivalent. Consider this the very
rock bottom minimum to play the game. If you are on a connection this slow,
expect lag. I would personally recommend a 3Mbps or higher cable connection
as the minimum requirement to play the game with minimal lag, assuming your
computer is not severely outdated.
A few notes on DSL:
95% of all DSL connections in the US are NOT stable. You will very rarely run at
your advertised top speed for any real length of time. Your speed and ping will
fluctuate a lot based on several factors. Distance, line quality, local user
load, and ISP restrictions just to name a few. Most DSL providers also limit
your MTU to under 1500, this can also generate lag in the form of packet loss
and packet fragmentation. In short, DSL is NOT well suited to MMOFPS gaming.
What works ok for non-MMOFPS (CS, BF, CoD) will not work the same for MMOFPS or
Peer 2 Peer gaming. The "I don't lag it must be you because I can play CS
or CoD just fine!" line does not hold water. They do NOT operate the same and
the MMOFPS games require more bandwidth and a much more stable connection than
the standard old school peer to server style games. All of that being said,
Cable or FiOS is the way to go if your serious about MMOFPS gaming.
Your CPU: Even though
they only list Intel CPU's in their requirements, AMD CPU's will work just fine.
Anything over a Sempron 2500+ will play this game wonderfully. In all reality, I
do not recommended running it on a Pentium 3 as they suggest as a minimum
requirement. Your game experience will be severely limited when compared to most
everyone else in the game.
Video Card:
Even though they only list Nvidia cards in the requirements, an ATI Radeon 9200
or later will run this game beautifully. It may work on lower end cards, but the
9200 was the lowest I had to test it with.
All of these cards were
tested and found to run the game quite beautifully at the specified resolutions
and default settings. The test map was Snow Valley.
Radeon 9200 Pro 128MB: 1024x768
Radeon 9550 Pro 256MB:
1024x768
Radeon 9700 Pro 128MB:
1280x1024
Radeon x850 Pro 256MB:
1280x1024
Radeon x850 XT 256MB:
1280x1024
I personally recommend
at least a Radeon 9550 Pro or higher card. The 9550 produces a very smooth
and stable frame rate, it actually ran at a steady 40-50FPS average
throughout all the maps at a resolution of 1024x768 in heavy combat. If you
want to go above 1024x768 I suggest the 9700 Pro or higher. At 1280x1024 the
9700 Pro pumped out 50+ FPS overall, not bad for an older card. For stable
FPS over 80+ at 1280x1024 or higher, you should have an X850 Pro or better
in your rig. The X850 XT PE puts out 100 FPS easy so anything beyond that
would work great.
Your Memory:
Having tested the game at
512MB of RAM, I would highly recommend that you have at least 1.0GB of RAM
to enjoy the game as it was intended. Especially if your on a "lower end"
PC. I am not sure why the list 256MB as a minimum as the game is barely
playable with such little physical memory.
Your HD Space:
2.0GB free HD space on the
drive or partition you intend to install the game and at least 10GB of free
space on your OS drive or partition. The 10BG free space on your
OS drive makes room for your page file to resize as needed if its windows
controlled. This assumes of course that your page file is located in its
default location and settings.
I personally recommend that
you specify a static size for your page file and not let windows manage it. Its
also a good habit to have your page file located on whatever your fastest drive
is on the partition with the most free non-fragmented space. I myself also purge
my page file about once a month, sometimes more depending on my usage load.
There are many sites out there that tell you how to do this. Google is your best
friend.
Who am I in Combat Arms?
Favorite Maps:
Junk Flea, Snow Valley, Brushwood, Rattlesnake
Favorite Game Mode:
CTF - Elimination
Favorite
Assault Weapon: G36E
Accurate and
powerful even at extended ranges. Great assault weapon. I often use the G36E for
moderate range sniping.
Favorite Sniper
Weapon: SR-25
One of the weakest snipers,
but most accurate and semi-automatic. Great for players who can aim, sucks if
you are one that likes to spray.
Favorite Supply
Case
Weapon: SR-25 Sandfire
Similar to the
SR-25 in accuracy but with more power and a slightly higher fire rate. Still not
a one shot kill except to the head or an injured player.
Most Hated
Weapon: L96A1 (Nub9)
85% 1 shot kill
to any part of the body. I used the L96 for about a month, then dropped it
because it was far to easy and posed no real challenge to use. It's good for those who like to nub it up
though. :)
Its pretty much the same as any other deathmatch. The
first team to reach the designated number of kills wins the match. In the
case of Combat Arms, its Team Alpha vs. Team Bravo. I like the fast paced
action and the fact you can achieve kill bonuses like multi-kill,
ultra-kill, and fantastic quite easily. Its very similar to
games such at Unreal Tournament in that respect., it just drives you to frag
even more.
Search and
Destroy
In this
mode the objective is to either eliminate the other team, plant an
explosive device, or disarm a planted device in a designated area of the
map. Once the device is planted, the other team has a set amount of time to
disarm it or they loose the round. The entire time the planting team tries
to defend it. I don't much care for this game mode, and is my least
favorite.
One Man Army
Not much to
say about this mode other than its FFA (Free For All). No teams, every man
for himself. It's quite fun and very fast paced on a small map like Junk
Flea or Brushwood! The primary drawback to this mode is in the game
mechanics. You spawn with a 3 second invulnerability that, on smaller maps
mainly, negates some of the players skill. It becomes a "whoever's spawn
protection runs out first, looses". This is assuming you can aim of course.
The other main problem is the spawn location mechanic. You often spawn in
the middle of the action where your spawn protection gives you an unfair
advantage. Other than these 2 faults, its a fun game mode that yields a lot
of money and experience. I play this mode quite a bit and love the fast pace
and multiple fantastic and unbelievable kill sets that are so easy to
obtain.
Capture the
Flag
This mode
is my favorite and the primary reason I play this game. It's classic CTF
across the board. You must capture the enemy flag and return it to your base
to score points while at the same defending your own flag. It promotes
teamwork and is good for most all game styles. Rusher, camper, sniper, you
name it. Having a good mix of the three will often result in a good team and
greatly increase you chances of winning. If your a multi-style gamer such as
myself, you can change rolls often and mix it up and still have a great deal
of fun.
Combat Arms
Maps
In no
particular order...
Map Ranking
System:
1
= Great (This is one of my
favorite maps and I play it often)
2
= Good (A good map that I like
to play for a change of pace)
3
= Ok (Maps I really don't much
care for and only play once in a great while)
Best Modes:
Elimination, OMA, and CTF
Rank:
1
A C-131 cargo plane
delivering supplies to stranded allies has crashed in enemy territory
due to a possible saboteur on board. Initiate a search for any survivors
and eliminate and enemy soldiers in the area.
Best Modes:
Elimination & CTF
Rank:
3
Military Intel has
learned the a biochemical weapon may be in development inside an
abandoned mine in Oskrov. This may be a derivative of the lethal nerve
agent MS-19 stolen from a black ops lab. Recover the agent at all costs
and eliminate all resistance in the area.
Best Modes:
Elimination, S&D
Rank:
3
The enemy's power
plant has been discovered by the UAF. A lone spy successfully planted an
EMP bomb to destroy the target, but the bombs detonator has
malfunctioned. Enter the area, initiate manual detonation of the EMP,
and eliminate all enemy forces in the area.
Best Modes:
Elimination, CTF, and OMA
Rank:
1
A legendary
terrorist seeks asylum. His knowledge of global terrorist operations,
personnel, and log term strategy, is imperative to destroying their
origination once and for all. Infiltrate the enemy territory and take
out all opposing forces at the Voltier junkyard.
Best Modes:
Elimination
Rank:
2
A surprise attack
has captured the Nuzak in the Navare Desert. This is the only fuel
station within a 500 mile radius for the United Alliance Forces. Use any
and all means to recapture the fuel outpost from enemy fighters.
Best Modes:
Elimination & CTF
Rank:
1
A hostile missile
base has been spotted by our Lockeland U5 recon aircraft in a disputed
region between borders. The enemy has been preparing the launch of a
nuclear warhead at a neighboring nation. Eliminate any enemy forces
found in or around the complex and recover the missile.
Best Modes:
Elimination and CTF
Rank:
2
There has been a
breach in the defensive line of the United Allied Forces' 5th Corp. The
enemy has constructed a nearby communication tower and is jamming all
attempts to contact a battalion stranded in the area. Eliminate all the
enemy in the area and restore communications.
Best Modes:
Elimination and S&D
Rank:
3
The UAF obtained
information regarding a high-level imminent threat. A secretive band of
terrorists has acquired a high-yield nuclear device and hidden it in an
abandoned factory. Locate and secure the nuclear device. Eliminate all
the enemy forces no matter the cost.
Best Modes:
Elimination
Rank:
2
Ambush and turn back
the incoming enemy from the hilltop city of Rupheria. use the height
advantage from the rooftops to decimate the unsuspecting enemy forces
below!
As of April 9th
2009, South American players no longer have the ability to play the North
American version of Combat Arms. There are many mixed feelings on this decision,
some based on fact, others based on feeling. The simple fact of the matter is,
most players from that region brought with them high pings and latency that had
a negative impact on the overall performance of the game, this is exactly why
Nexon is dropping support for that region.
"This
was a difficult decision but made due to
server latency issues,
in order to maintain the
integrity and quality of our overall service."
This is on par
with many other online FPS games. Most games do not allow players from many
other regions to connect to their North American servers for this exact reason.
Many provide separate servers for different regions where as Nexon is dropping
support for SA entirely. In other games such as CS:S, the server hosts (most
often dedicated players) block all connections from regions such as South
America, so none of this comes as a surprise to me.
Included in
this service shutdown is Brazil. I know this is a touchy subject to many, but
it's a documented fact that players from Brazil bring a great deal of "lag" with
them when they attempt to play on North American servers. Its simple geography,
there is approximately 5000+ miles between Brazil and the United States,
depending on where the servers are located. With distances like that, lag is
guarantee for a multitude of reasons. The servers can only "absorb" so much.
On a side note,
we should see a few less hackers in the game with this shutdown. It's well known
that Brazil is the hacking capitol of the world and that gives the region a bad
reputation. It's hard to be a Brazilian player and not be accused of hacking, I
for one would hate to be a legit gamer living in Brazil.
All of that
being said, this player supports Nexon's decision to drop support for SA. Some
of us pay our hard earned money to support the games we like to play and expect
a certain level and quality of service. It's nice to see that Nexon is actually
taking notice of these issues that many people would not bring up on public
forums because they would instantly be labeled a hater, troll, or in some
extreme cases racist.
