INX game servers blog

So you’re a professional programmer, employed by a major gaming software developer and then you’re forced to release a set of tools to let the amateurs improve on what you’ve written. Can’t say I’d be too happy about that but it’s the norm in the gaming world for many leading games.

Call of Duty 4 is no different and once the tools were released the game mods started to appear. Long-standing modders hastily converted the older CoD mods like PAM, AWE, extreme+ and ACE. Many of these allow you to vary all sorts of game options for weapons etc. and provide additional effects and options not included with the original game.

So if gamers are crying out for these options why aren’t they included in the original game ? Good question – go ask the developers ! Given that some of the mods can be unstable maybe developers just opt for safety and go for whatever will be most compatible for players world-wide or maybe they just don’t get too involved once they’ve developed a game and move on to other projects. The Call of Duty community has tended to support the game for many years well past what the developers may have regarded as the shelf life.

Apart from the above wide-ranging mods there are a few that fill a gap for niche players. Given that the aim for CoD 4 was to make a more realistic war simulation, updated with modern weapons and scenarios I always find it rather odd that one of the most popular mods converts players to zombies ! There are several of these zombie mods out now for CoD4 – just be careful not to scare yourself if playing after midnight with the lights off !

As usual, sniper only mods have been popular and these players seem to be a group on their own, liking the “purity” of a small map with not much running around and the gameplay reduced to picking people off. Not for me but, hey, each to their own.

A recent innovation which I’ve not seen for previous CoD versions is a bot mod. Perhaps originally developed to allow the amateurs to test their mods and custom maps with bot players rather than in a live environment, this has now progressed to the PeZBOT mod which allows you to fill your map with computer controlled players. Useful if you can’t find (or haven’t got) any friends to play with

Other mods seek to add to the game realism such as the ever-popular Heat of Battle mod. Out now in beta for CoD4 it seeks to provide new gametypes (capture and hold) and add additional realism. Again, this may be for a purist niche of players and it can be hungry on PC resources too but it has a growing number of players.

So what else do people like to change ? Common small mods allow for weapon changes, uniforms and sounds. It’s really down to whatever people want and can get to work with the mod tools. Personally I like the better supported mods like AWE. From an admin’s viewpoint it is easier to get support and also to get problems fixed.

What’s your view ? Do you like to stick with the original game or do you prefer a modded version ?

More on Call of Duty 4 in the coming weeks.

UKDarkstar

So, am I going to blog about the map competition debacle ?

Nope

Map distribution problems with iwd and ff files ?

Nope

So, what are we talking about this week ?

Simply put – maps, Maps and MAPS !

The longevity of the Call of Duty series has been partly due to the community map-makers who have got to grips with the tools released by the developers allowing custom maps to be developed. I have the greatest respect for these guys who talk about things like Radiant, caulking and prefabs. Doesn’t mean much to me but that’s why I respect them !

With the original Call of Duty, United Offensive (UO) and CoD2 all being WWII based, there are a plethora of maps out there which have centred around real life campaigns mapping exact detail for the real terrain encountered by those who fought. There are also maps which can be put into other categories such as “jump” maps, fantasy and game specific (such as sniper maps for those who wish to play rifle only). Now just how popular are these custom maps ?

Well, a quick trip to www.codutility.com shows how many maps are still available for the older CoD versions :

Call of Duty – over 500 maps listed

United Offensive – over 600 maps listed

CoD 2 – over 900 maps listed

So, for those who have never tried out something a bit “different”, well worth a look.

Hmmn, all well and good I hear you say but I’m playing the latest incarnation, Call of Duty 4. What about that ?

Well, nearly 250 maps listed there today and remember that other listing sites are available

So, just what do CoD 4 players have to look forward to ?

Well, the whole point of CoD 4 was to bring it up-to-date, hence the title Modern Warfare. We also need to remember that both the Distributor (Activision) and the Developer (Infinity Ward) are US-based. The back of the box says :

“Fight as a member of U.S. forces and British Special Ops in global hotspots to eliminate a well-armed, ruthless force of international separatists”

Hmmn, what that really boils down to is the Yanks and the Brits against some cold-war leftovers or middle-eastern type opponents (trying to stay out of anything non-PC here). So what does that really give us ? Well, the stock maps seem to either be a very gray affair and looking like run-down eastern-bloc type scenarios or we get a hot dry looking arena in sandy colours that seems to lend itself to the middle east. Ok, you say, what’s wrong with that ? That’s where modern conflicts have been – look at Kosova, Iraq etc.

Indeed, there’s nothing wrong with that at all but variety is, they say, the spice of life. The map tools seem to be spawning many maps that are just variations on these themes and whilst it is nice to ogle the fancy graphics and design I must say I am getting a little bored with the “look”. There’s also the fact that there have been other “modern” conflicts – look at the British with the Falklands and Belize and, as for the U.S. – maybe too many hotspots to mention ?

Some map-makers have brought back maps from previous Call of Duty versions but they don’t all work well with a “modern” twist. I mean does the map-maker keep the WWII look or do they modernise it ? Purists would say keep the original WWII feel but then would you really want to play that with modern style soldiers and weapons ? Many think not. Some maps have been updated so they have the same layout as an old original but buildings look modern and have a scattering of cars and even the odd ferris wheel thrown in. Maybe it’s just me but they just don’t seem right.

We’re also seeing gamers new to the Call of Duty series coming from a Counter Strike or Battlefield series background. This is bringing new map styles but again to the criticism of the older CoD community.

Personally I think that once the game has matured for a couple of years and developed it’s own hard-core community we will see some amazing maps being developed just as we have with earlier incarnations. At the moment it is suffering from many new gamers and map-makers jumping in and doing things too quickly. Many of these will not stick around as they will always move to the latest game out so there will be a weeding of out the lesser well-made maps. Thats sounds a bit patronising maybe but it’s just me in Grumpay Old Man mode. Maybe that’s why, even now, I still go back to plain vanilla Call of Duty and some of the great maps that were made for that.

Well that’s my view on the early days of maps for Call of Duty 4 : Modern Warfare. Next time we’ll maybe look at the mods that are available and don’t forget to post your comments here on the blog.

UKDarkstar

The Call of Duty series has been one of the most prolific titles for PC Gamers since the original was released way back in 2003. The WW II realism combined with the ability to vary elements of the game by customising multiplayer servers made it an instant hit. Even today you can find listed well over 1000 online servers still offering players many game variants.

This longevity has been partly due to the ability for gamers to create their own custom maps and mods for the game. These allow for customisation such as “rifle only” servers or those restricted to just a single map. This trend continued with Call of Duty : United Offensive (still listing around 1500 servers) though this game variant was less well received. Many felt that the addition of vehicles spoilt the gameplay and was an attempt to cash-in on features found in newer games.

A change of developer for Call of Duty 2 brought a difference in the feel of the game and split the gamers who played. Many felt that whilst the visual side had been improved the gameplay lacked something and was more arcade style. Having said that, the same choice of maps and mods means that today there are somewhere between 4500 and 6500 servers still being listed for CoD2.

So what lies in store for Call of Duty 4 ? A check today with Game Monitor shows just over 18000 servers listed highlighting the multiplayer popularity as we are at six months since the game’s release. The developer, InfinityWard, also developed the original call of Duty and many feel the gameplay has returned to that original style but with a modern update as per the title – Call Of Duty : Modern Warfare.

The mod tools have been released and there are many new maps already out there. Admittedly, many map-makers are new to the CoD series and many of the maps attract criticism for their bugs but this is bound to settle down over time. There are several popular mods available too including those such as AWE and PAM (for competitions) which have transferred through the CoD series.

Server hosts, such as INX, have been quick to offer players as much variety as possible with their hosting solutions and support for custom maps and mods.

So, does the future look rosy for CoD 4 ?

Well, maybe.

Despite all the enthusiasm surrounding the franchise, the publicity for CoD4, the maps the mods and everything else there has been a hitch.

From release the in-game server browser has been hit with problems with players complaining that servers don’t show up. For many, particularly smaller Clans, who rely on getting new players and members to make donations this has caused a major problem. Combined with the fact that files (binaries) for Linux based servers have had to be developed by a third party (and all credit to Ryan Gordon at Icculus for doing this for free) there are a worrying number of servers that sit empty.

Granted, InfintyWard have worked on this and the last patch (1.5) did go some way to improving the issue but it is still a source of contention for many server admins that their servers just don’t get listed in the in-game browser. Much myth surrounds what can be done to improve your server’s chances of getting in the list but ultimately it is going to need to be sorted by the developer.

Undoubtedly CoD 4 will run and run as previous incarnations have done so. Maps and mods will be developed by players who stick with the series through thick and thin. However, with increasing support going to console versions, new games coming out and the server browser issue it remains to be seen if the high server numbers will be sustained in the coming years

Granted there will be CoD 4 servers two, three and probably even five years down the line. As high a number as currently ? Well with talk of Call of Duty 5 already about I don’t think there will be as many servers in a year. Do you ?

Darkstar

For my second blog I thought I’d comment on patches. These are the updates released to fix bugs or add features once the game has been commercially released. Patches are often released for all games so the Call of Duty series is no different there.

Even with the original Call of Duty, patches were issued though stopped at 1.5. The same was true of Call of Duty : United Offensive (patched to 1.51 or 1.51b or 1.52 depending what/where you read !), and Call of Duty 2 (patched to 1.3).

So what about Call of Duty 4 (CoD4) ? Well, we’re currently at patch 1.5 with patch 1.6 due (apparently withdrawn at the last moment as the developer, InfinityWard, “… found a critical bug during QA which broke kill cams when playing with mods among other things which put a hold on it and put it back in development”). So what do these patches actually do for the gamer and do you need them ?

The short answer is yes, you do need them. It would be sensible to keep a folder with all the patches for all your games so that you can easily re-patch if you have to re-install (sometimes you can get away with just the last patch, sometimes you have to apply all or several). Virtually all server admins will ensure their gameservers are patched to the latest and so if you don’t patch your own game then you won’t be able to join the server (and probably won’t even see it listed in the in-game server browser).

Shouldn’t these bugs have been fixed before a game is released ? Well it’s very easy to say that. In practical terms it is always impossible to test for all possible situations, especially with multiplayer, so the patches are a good way to fine tune the game. InfinityWard have been very pro-active with CoD4 to get patches out within a relatively short period to deal with major bug fixes and with patch 1.4 even added a bonus map for the festive season (Note : this means you will need to patch 1.4 to have access to the Xmas Crash map). Even this had been repeated with the original Call of Duty which added multiplayer maps with patches.

So what of the next patch 1.6 ? Well the wish list from players is very long and perhaps some of the suggestions are impractical. However, for most gaming Clans the two pressing issues are being able to use colored player tags with longer names and having the in-game server browser detect more servers. The latter has received much criticism since the launch of the game and it is hoped they (IW) have found a way to improve this. Whether these things will be fixed in Patch 1.6 remains to be seen.

After the PC Map Competition debacle (see previous blog), it is of note that the IW spokesperson “fourzerotwo” has said of Patch 1.6 “We’re continuing to evaluate it and looking into releasing it when the map pack potentially hits PC”. With all the confusion over the competition for mappers I sincerely hope they get on with releasing the patch and don’t delay it for months to decide on the release of a map-pack.

So, are patches a bane? Yes, it is annoying to have to patch, wait for servers to be updated and keep copies. Overall though, they do improve gameplay and add features so I suppose they are a necessary “evil”. What’s your view ?

- UKDarkstar