Looking for game advice

[Pej 0]

Hello all. I’m looking for recommendations on a game. This may seem like an unusual request but I’ve been lurking here for a long time keeping dibs on Ghost Recon 2 and this community seems quite knowledgeable on the matter at hand.

First, some background: I’m in the process of starting up an online campaign where we’ll play some variety of tactical game, keep track of results, and throw a healthy amount of role-play into the mix and though it will be public I’m aiming for a fairly small and close knit community. I should also add that I’m not new at this, I’ve actually been planning this particular site out for years and I have background in participating, running, and programming for, these types of communities in the Battlefield 1942 scene as well as running and managing online clans for other games.

While Battlefield 1942 is indeed the perfect arena for such a campaign system there are already plenty of similar ones being run and I’ve also in the not too distance past helped run a clan through some of TeamWarfare League’s America’s Army tournaments which has given me a much better appreciation of small unit tactics and longing for more detail at the individual infantry solider level, both areas that Battlefield 1942 was light on.

Having said all that here’s what I’m looking for:

• I’m looking for a tactical game set in modern or near future times including many of the weapons and (if applicable) vehicles the current US military uses. While police and SWAT games are not out of the question I’m more into the military thing and also need to not be confined to only CQB action.
  
• I’d like something fairly realistic in terms of FPS game mechanics. We’re talking more realistic damage, the abilities to take a knee and go prone, something fairly slow paced with not a lot of silly hopping around and running and gunning. I’m obviously not looking for Counterstrike.
  
• I’d prefer something new and up-to-date technology wise. The problem I’m having here is that most of the upcoming games that meet this criterion do not fit the one directly above. For instance it seems as if Ghost Recon 2 and the new Rainbow Six will be heavily watered down in terms of game play thanks to their attempts to appeal to console gamers. I’ve noted though that many older games are being kept fresh by the mod communities so they may not be out of the question - OFP and Ghost Recon spring to mind immediately here. Newer games also have the advantage of being popular enough to supply demand for leased servers, which would save me some expense on server setup and maintenance.
  
• I’d like the game to be fairly massive in scope of both maps (huge tracks of land where large flanking maneuvers, long distance sniping, and transportation by vehicle are possible rather than tiny “arenas” would be nice…) and the number of players available online. I’m really struggling with the last bit because, as I mentioned before, I come from Battlefield 1942 where 64 man servers are common and most of the games that come close to my current criteria are squad based and therefore cater to much smaller numbers. For instance in the game I’m currently leaning towards, America’s Army, I’m limited to 24 people and even less in some maps/missions. 64 people would be nice, 32 would be adequate, and I could probably live with less.
  
• To keep things exciting I’d really love a game that gave me the ability to mod freely and easily. New maps, weapons, vehicles, skins, etc would be great. The main thing I’d love here though would be the ability to edit maps and/or missions to create new and specific scenarios to run people through. My hands are extremely tied here with America’s Army as maps and missions are one in the same and there is no modding to speak of here. To run scenarios we’d need to have a full time administrator moderating the game to enforce and guide through artificial rules laid out prior to the game and trust in the maturity of the players to respect and follow them which, while I’d expect to be there in the first place, could certainly cause some complications along the way.
  
• Price. VBS looks amazing and while I could definitely see myself spending the cash to buy it and all the add-ons I’d want I can’t say the same for some of my friends, particularly the ones who were in my AA clan and were spoiled by a great “totally free” game. This is another area where older games could fit the bill, as I know OFP and GR are still available in nice bundled editions for 20 bucks or so.
  

I don’t think I’ve forgotten anything. I’d really appreciate if some of you would let me know if you have any advice on old, current, or upcoming games that I should take a more in depth look at. As I said before, I'm leaning towards America's Army right now mostly because of my history and familiarity with it and I’ve got my eye on quite a few upcoming games, particularly Battlefield 2.

Note that I’m not here to promote or anything like that. I’ve not mentioned the address of the site in question or even it’s name.

Thanks.

[T_1 0]

One Word

VBS1

[2nd Ranger 1]

I'd agree with that, but if you're still put off by the price, then OFP would definitely be the way to go.

[Pej 0]

To clarify I'm not put off by the price but given that and the fact that it seems rather unknown I don't know if I could round up enough players to make it happen even if I didn't care about ditching all my cheap friends in process. I admit though, I am VERY tempted. Somehow I skipped OFP when it first came out but the more and more I look at it the more it seems almost exactly like what I want. How many players does it support online anyway? I looked and looked and never found the specs.

[Hatchetforce 0]

VBS1 is a large community and it is continually growing. It has more add-ons coming made by capable users. Maybe HL2 is the only title gathering more add-ons on a weekly basis. And the realism is the best currently found in any title on any platform. Only America's Army comes close but with that you do not see the mods nor the same capabilities offered.

[2nd Ranger 1]

I skipped OFP when it first came out but the more and more I look at it the more it seems almost exactly like what I want. How many players does it support online anyway? I looked and looked and never found the specs

OFP: Resistance supports 64 players.

Edited February 5, 2005 by 2nd Ranger

[Pej 0]

OFP: Resistance supports 64 players.

←

Nice, I had no idea. I guess my first step will be picking up a copy of OFP for consideration. If I fall in love maybe I'll grab VBS1

Thanks so far but feel free to keep the suggestions and comments coming.

[2nd Ranger 1]

If you're going to get it, make sure you grab the OFP GOTY (or Gold, if you're in the US). The one that contains all three games.