Red Orchestra Anyone??

[TX-CUDA]

....I was looking at my VALVE updates after a long time having not been playing any CounterStrike:Source and checked out the trailer for Red Orchestra. Looks like another WW2 shooter with the addition of tanks that can be crewed with multiple players for online players. Anyone else check this out?



TX-Cuda
Minister of Information

[TX-Zen]

I downloaded and installed it last week and have played about 4 hours so far. On the whole I like it, but it takes some getting used to compared to other FPS because the focus in RO is 'realism' (or their quirky interpretation of it )Game play is much slower than other FPS, so it doesn't feel like a bunch of amped up teenagers bunnyhopping around all the time. You get killed instantly from any bullet hits, making you much more cautious and less likely to rush out in the open. You crawl around a lot more because of this, which makes long distances feel...well, long. Snipers are deadly at short to medium ranges and its not very easy to see them when they lay prone, so it adds a significant 'raised hair on the back of the neck' tension, because you never know when (or if) someone is taking a bead on you. You have no crosshair to aim with...by default you will simply fire off into empty space. To aim, you have to press the I key and that brings the weapon to the ready position. From there, you actually have to use the ironsites to line up and shoot. Some ballistics estimation is required too which is cool and it's much better to fire from a crouch, prone or leaning against something. You can tell whats good by how much your sites wander when you don't move the mouse. The differences in ROF for the various weapons simulates real life pretty well. It sucks having to enter a building with a Kar98 bolt action rifle, because you don't move as fast with the ironsites up and if you miss, you have to clunkily work the bolt, then come back to firing stance again. If the other dude has a PPSh, even if you surprise him but miss, he'll mow you down with his burp gun before you can reload. Likewise if you get good with ironsites, you can shoot at him several times with a Kar98 and probably kill him before he runs all the way across an open field as he tries to get to effective range with the PPSh. I like the tank combat or what little of it I've seen, but it's not something you can really do in multiplayer because it requires plenty of teamwork. No comms with the driver and you'll never get a steady shot because there is no stabilization. This is definately something that would be really cool to do as a TX squad...real tactics actually seem to apply here and a well trained tank crew can do significant damage. True, the tanks do run on a hitpoint system which is unrealistic, but the relative strengths of the various tanks seem consistent. It's hard to drive and steer out of the small vision blocks and I haven't got to sit in the TC's seat to check out the view overall yet, so I can't comment on how realistic the total experience is so far. (It's normal to depend on the TC to direct the vehicle because the drivers view is so limited) The cool part about the visibility is that I have had tanks pass me numerous times by laying down next to something like a wall or hedge...even had them pass within arms reach of my poor shivering dude because (appropriately) they can't see anything next to them. In one winter battle I spent 20 some minutes on the enemy side of a bridge next to a low wall with shrubs, sniping infantry in the back as they tried to cross to our side.  All the while there were 2 enemy tanks parked right next to me making sure none of our tanks came over. When an open top/open backed self propelled gun rolled up and began laying heavy fire across the river at my team, I shot the TC in the back of the head and then, being out of ammo, slithered away unseen. Talk about cool...no one ever saw me and I was literally less than a tank length away from them, in a high traffic area on the enemy side of the lines. Experiences like that add to the sense of immersion and keep the game from feeling like an arcade FPS. It's not that easy to see enemy troops, especially when you yourself are on the move, unless they are running across the open. Though the graphics aren't that great, they really seemed to have nailed that part of real combat. You don't run around with 5 different guns, you have the one that issued to you and maybe a couple of grenades. I think you can pickup dropped weapons, but I don't know how yet. The squad aspect of it seems very poor. There are very few chat commands like affirmative, enemy sighted etc and there is no way to see anyone on the overhead map which is also very generic. Victory conditions seem vague and maps often end without warning, but the plus side (I guess) is that you instantly start over without the map loading again. Getting killed means instant respawn, you don't have to wait like BF2, but then again you start at the standard spawn point and so have to walk or hitch a ride to the front to get back into the action. The maps aren't huge huge, but you could spend 5-10 minutes going from side to the other on foot, so finding a halftrack is very beneficial. It seems there are only 2 or 3 objectives per map and there is really no way to know whats going on unless you are there, so I see lots of people wandering around sort of clueless. If you aren't right in the middle of the action it can be extremely dull at times, but as soon as you see enemy the excitement kicks in. For some reason in this game, it matters a lot more if you actually take someone out. It's not easy to hit, not so easy to see them and when everything works out and the other guy gets dropped, it seems so much more rewarding. This again is where I say its very unlike BF2 where mayhem is the game, RO is so much more time consuming and thought provoking. Another really cool part is that the game loads nearly instantly, getting onto a server is very quick and the game runs extremely smooth even with 32 players. Anyway, I think I like the game, though I won't say its definately worth 25 bucks. It is entertaining though even just running around by yourself, but I believe that with a good group of TXers it could be extremely fun. I do say that I don't especially think this will be a game that can be played for long term, I can see where certain aspects of the gameplay might become tiring once the novelty has worn off. For whatever reason the maps don't have the same ooomph that BF2 does...the dynamics are there for the better maps, but they just don't feel quite the same and I could see this as limiting how long I will play the game. This is not a must have game for me, but I'm glad I tried it out and we'll see how well it stands up. Zen

[TX-CUDA]

APPLAUSE!! Very good critique of the game Herr Zen, I had seen several sites that had mentioned it and some of the gameplay but have never read such a concise review. Very nice once again and thanks.TX-CudaMinister of Information

[TX-Copper]

Never even heard of it before.  I have that valve/steam installed, as my son playes half life and counterstrike.  Do I buy this game?  Is it something you download?Think the thought of being in a tank online with other TXers manning it etc would be awesome!

[TX-Zen]

When you launch Steam and see the list of games installed that you can play, there should be an icon for red orchestra there too. Just start the download and enter your credit card information and come back 3 hours later to play. It took me about that long to download, not sure why it was so slow, but the process is very smooth at least. Now I seriously can't say its worth buying, even now after a week of dabbling in it I'm already getting bored. That could be because I'm never on comms with anyone and don't drive the tanks around though. I'm not sure how much of a return on investment you require for games Copper, but if you like to see new things then maybe you ought to check it out. I just can't promise I will have any long term desire to play but I don't regret paying for it. I guess it all depends on if you feel alright with throwing 25 bucks away just to see a somewhat interesting approach to FPS-ers.Zen

[TX-Copper]

K..thanks.  If i see game makers put an effort into their product, im usually not too let down if it doesn't pan out...its just when the game is a blatant rip for money that gets me all bent outta shape.  I'll buy it after i make a little contribution I promised someone.

[TX-Copper]

Just checked out the trailer...looks alright, but i'd need to know what the online play is like, meaning, are there alot of servers??people playing?

[TX-Zen]

Actually yes, there are around a hundred servers or more, most of them pretty well populated. I never have a hard time finding a 20-30 of 32 player server, so finding action is pretty easy. It's a little difficult to tell what kind of map style is being hosted, some are big for tanks and some are infantry only, so the only thing you can do is memorize which map is what style. Also, not all classes are available everytime you play. Sometimes you can be a sniper in one server but not on another hosting identical maps. To me thats very annoying, sometimes I am in the mood for one kind of class and have to hunt server to server to find open slots or being able to use a certain at all. Zen

[TX-Gunslinger]

Hello folks.  Just came back up for air.This is interesting.  I'll try to get the necessary components over the next week.  Good idea Zen.  Interesting, complex.  GoodS~GBlack 2 TX Flight Leader

[TX-Gunslinger]

D/L'ing Red Orchestra now.Black 2 TX Flight Leader

[TX-Gunslinger]

Wow.  Good graphics, complex controls.....Love the tank commanders station.  Still getting the hang of it.I think I like it.S~GBlack 2 TX Flight Leader

[TX-Zen]

Welcome back Gun!I'll have time to do some RO if you like this week, but Rah and I have been hitting the full version of BF2 pretty hard. I'm going to try and make SGT this week before the beloved and I go to Mexico for the weekend.Zen

[TX-CUDA]

...Hey Herr Zen, where you and the missus headed to in Mexico?TX-CudaMinister of Information

[TX-Copper]

K.....bought the RO, dl'd it, tried it....tried it again, and some more..and yes, kept on playing it, putting off my household chores etc, and must admit, im hooked.  It certainly isn't the best fps type game made, imho, but there is definately something I really like about it, and find myself running to my comp  every chance I get to keep playing.  Think what I like is the realizm I feel with the iron sight shooting etc, having to bring the rifle up....actually, no sense rehashing it when Zen summed it all up perfectly.  Playing it under the handle TX-Copper, of course!