"Ok, try again."
Hello,
I've been searching for a way to contact Infinity Ward. This is the first location I could find.
I've been playing the game pretty regularly for about two weeks now. Time enough to finish the SP on high difficulty and to get a lot of MP experience on the different maps. Essentially, I've given the game enough time for me to get used to the changes and evaluate it effectively.
Let me say - CONGRATULATIONS! This is one of the best MP games I've played. The maps are excellent, the weapons fun, the perks and kill streak options make for innumerable combos. Even more than COD4(which I still play), I can see this being a game I would play for years to come.
I've gotten over the STEAM requirement. I, personally, HATE having a 3rd party connected to my PC. At first I thought... ok fine... combined with PB and PsB maybe it will offer greater protection from cheaters. Cool with me. But now it has become clear that there is no GOOD reason for this forced invasion as VAC is openly mocked by hack users. Just as Steam is mocked by downloaders.
You'd think with all of these maps and great options, truly the game I've been waiting for for YEARS... that I'd be LOVING it and playing non-stop like I did when I was eleven, some twenty years ago. But that is not the case.
Honestly, I feel cheated. I've never before been motivated to contact a game company over any topic with their program. This is a first for me. The potential for MW2 has been severely limited for me. So much so that I really don't enjoy MP most of the time.
My concern is this: there is no individuality, nor is there any policing of the servers. There are no watchful Admins with ban lists - truly the single most effective form of blocking cheaters. There are no servers for custom games/rules. There is no way to connect with this or that group of players who you have played against for years on other programs. I can't see the map being played beforehand. There is no allowance for smaller number of players. There is no way to set a limit for max number of players.
I realize the reality of production. I am a VP in a healthcare company and understand that the game is a business venture, and that the greatest income will likely come from the console platforms. Therefore, MW2 has been designed to cater to the Run-and-Gun or Spray-and-Pray setting that is the best platform players can manage with thumbstick controllers. I can't speak for the console community, as I don't normally play FPS games on anything but a PC. Though I wonder what frustrations they may express over the limited server options as well.
Now, I believe that most people can live with the game under the current server setups if they knew that they were able to play the game without others taking undue advantage by using cheat programs. A simple shrug of the shoulder, ah well, let's keep blastin'. But the cheat frequency is currently higher than ANY other FPS MP game I have played in the last decade. Bar none. That is a situation which warrants attention.
I have gone to the cheat/hack sites. MW2Hacks.net and 187ci.com are the first I came across. Perhaps there are others. In reading the list of options, it helps me to identify odd behavior in other players. As a background note, I am sometimes accused of being a cheater myself once I master a game / map / weapon, etc. So I have some experience determining what is possible through skill or experience versus someone who is augmenting their abilities. Thus far, I am encountering blatant cheat use in 1 out of every 3 maps I play.
One in Three.
From a players' perspective, that means one of several things. You stick it out and win or lose unfairly, hoping they leave at the next map...but they never do.
Ok, so we'll try again on another server. Only now we run into the topics I mentioned above. We just got auto-bounced back to the SAME server you just tried to leave because we have no choice.
Ok, try again. This time you get auto-added directly to a game in progress... but then you are on a team that is getting slammed hard, possibly by another cheater.
Ok, try again. This time, you get bounced to a server that has 3 seconds before it starts and you get stuck before you realize it's a map you don't want to play.
Ok, try again. Alright, you get a decent map this time, start playing, and then realize that there is NO balance of skill... the other team are all Level 60 or higher and you have a bunch of noobs. Good lucK!
Ok, try again. We get lucky. WOO! We finally have a good map with mixed players. The game starts. Your team does ok. All is going well. Two minutes in, it switches host... before it drops to the lobby and loses the host.
Ok....TRY...AGAIN. I don't care WHAT crappy map this is, I'm staying here and playing this time. It's been 15 minutes since I finished a map! Oh, SOB... though I guess we were lucky... haven't seen a cheater for a few servers, but now I see this guy's Killcam zipping me through no fewer than 3 separate buildings from across the map with a G18.
Ok, try not to break the G19 keyboard. No shooting civilians on the range. No, not even if they smile funny. Stop looking at me like that.
Ok, try again.. no really.. it's ok... try me... I'm feeling lucky. Punk. Ok, new lobby, populating, looks cool, awesome. New map starts, good game, all is wonderful. What... what did he just say? N____r WHAT?! F__k my mom? I'm not putting up with that tonight. Adios.
Ok, try again. Hallelujah and holy sheet! We finally got a clean server that works. Awesome. We just lost the map, but I just managed to play an honest 5 minutes of MW2. Excellent. Where's everyone going now? Why are we merging lobbies? Ah crap, there's the pair of guys from the cheating clan I ran into the other night.
Ok, try again... it bounced me back to the same lobby.
Ok, try again... it bounced me back to the same group that is now in-mission.
Ok, try again... it bounced me back AGAIN to the danged map. I do SO enjoy being forced to wait to load the maps before I can even make the attempt to leave again.
Ok, try again... omg, it bounced me back again. Oh.... oh crap... I just took out the keypad on the G19. Crap!
Ok, try again... when they release a proper patch to clean this mess up. Why? Because screw this. I'm done. Why bother? There's no anti-cheat. There's no ability to choose the gameplay I want to experience. I keep getting rickrolled by the auto-server select and no matter how many unlocks I get or skill I develop, I have no chance of enjoying the game because ||187ci||KillaZ is watching me through walls to get his kills.
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In all honesty, that is PRESICELY the gaming experience I had last night. It is not uncommon. It is often mimicked. My friends and I often find ourselves floating for long periods in hopes of finding fair gameplay.
Having dedicated servers is fun for the unique options it brings. But dear God, until my experiences with MW2 I never realized how much impact there was in having dedicated servers managed by self-policing Admins and clan members. Cheaters were a truly rare commodity to behold. Even the ones using "Humanizing" effects to try to throw off those who watch when they used their Aimbots or Chamz. (It helps to read up on the hack sites to learn what to look for in determining the difference of high skill and hacks... it also helps to be on the phone or vent with others on the server or on their team to snake them out)
Please. From the deepest part of my heart. Please. Pretty please produce a patch which allows the addition of dedicated servers. It can be written so players can still use the existing system if they choose, but NOT so that they auto-fill the dedicated servers. That would best be left as a selectable Option for the dedicated servers, should they wish to be auto-filled.
As I have said, this is an excellent program. Truly bar none in my experience. Exactly the type of maps and weapons era I and many others have dreamed of. It is still worth playing, but please remove the severe limitation to the quality of gameplay. Help us, the players, (aka Consumer, aka Customer) work together with you to provide the best gaming experience possible for what has the potential to be the game of the decade.
I apologize for the rant. It's not something I would normally do, except for the depth of my frustration over the product as-delivered.
Thank you for your time,
"Ramius"