1.03 patch notes

[roadrunner]

========================================================================
Patch v1.03
========================================================================


NEW FEATURES

- Wake Island Map

Included a remade version of this popular BF1942 map.
Battlefield 2 version includes a 64 player layout and is
configured for multiplayer only.

- Server Favorites / History

There is a new tab in the MULTIPLAYER menu that holds a list of
the last 20 internet servers you have connected to, plus a list
of servers you have selected as favorites.

* Added a button to the other multiplayer tabs that adds the
currently highlighted server to your favorites list.
* Added buttons in the in-game server info menu (press TAB to
access) that will add or remove the server you are currently
playing on to / from your favorites list.

- Account Login Welcome Screen

After you login to an online account, a message appears that
contains BF2 news and information which updates periodically.

- Stat Compare

By clicking the COMPARE button in BFHQ, you can search for another
players name and load their current stats into BFHQ. Using the
arrow buttons next to the name in the top-left corner of the menu,
you can toggle between your stats and their stats.

You can also load a player's stats by double-clicking on their
name in any leaderboard.

- Nickname Prefix

You can add a 6-character prefix (such as a clan tag) to your
account nickname which will be displayed in-game next to your
nametag in the score menu, in game messages, and above your player
in the game world.

* This prefix does not change your account name or statistic
information (e.g. the prefix does not appear next to your name
on the leaderboards).
* You can change this prefix at any time at the account login
menu.

- Server Reserved Slots

You can define a list of player nicknames that will act as a
"reservation list" for your server.

* The list is located in mods\bf2\settings\ReservedSlots.con
* You can add player names to the list by editing the file and
adding the following text for each player :

reservedSlots.addNick

where is the player's registered account name,
not including a nickname prefix (see above).
* You can define the number of slots to set aside for reserved
players in the dedicated server launcher, or with the setting
sv.numReservedSlots in your serverSettings.con file.
* The number of players on the list and the number of reserved
slots does not necessarily have to be the same.

- Mod Support

There are several new changes that improve support for mods.

* When connecting to a server that is running a mod that you have
installed but not activated, it will be automatically activated
and you will load into the server.
* Added a filter on the server browser for servers running the
currently activated mod.
* Fixed dedicated server launcher to properly handle launching mods.
* Improved support for mods sharing archives with bf2

- Improvements to in-game HUD / Map

* The viewable area of the spawn menu / commander map is now scaled
based on the out-of-bounds area so that only the playable area
takes up the majority of viewable map space.
* The names of CPs are now displayed on the spawn menu / commander
map and minimap
* The minimap zoom level now changes dynamically depending on the
type of vehicle you are in. If you zoom in or out manually, that
zoom level is remembered for that vehicle type next time you use
it.
* The names of players in your vehicle are displayed in the HUD
when someone enters the vehicle or switches positions.
* There is a new element in vehicle HUDs that displays the reload
time for countermeasures (smoke and flares).
* Flags for each team are now displayed below their ticket count
on the minimap to make it easier to tell what team you are assigned to.


GAMEPLAY CHANGES

- Many criteria for ranks and awards have changed. If you are immediately
eligible for a new promotion, unlock, badge, award, or ribbon, it will
be awarded the next time you receive points on a ranked server.
- Only 1 player in a vehicle will get credit for or speed up capturing
a flag at a CP. The other passengers must exit the vehicle to increase
the speed of capture or receive capture score.
- Commanders no longer accrue a TK when artillery hits
teammates.
- The commander's supply drop now has an icon on the minimap and a 3D-
map icon in the world.
- Auto team balance no longer moves players to the other team if they
are a team commander or a squad leader.
- The wrench repair rate on helicopters has been decreased.
- You now receive 1 support point for destroying an enemy commander's
artillery, UAV or Radar station.
- If you have received a point for healing, repairing, or resupplying
a teammate, you will not receive another point from them for the same
action for a set period of time.
- Singleplayer enemies use the knife more effectively.
- New engine sounds for the T98 tank.
- New engine sounds for the China/MEC light jeep.
- New cannon sounds on APCs.


BUG FIXES

- Fixed physics of vehicles against soldiers so that soldiers are not
killed so easily by moving vehicles.
- Fixed a physics issue that can cause you to be stuck when falling into
shallow water
- Fixed an issue with soldier armor when spawning on a squad leader in a
vehicle
- Fixed some objects that caused vehicles to take massive collision damage
- Fixed erroneous message stating that you punished a TK when auto-
punish is OFF on the server.
- When a vehicle explodes due to external forces, the driver is no longer
mis-credited for the kills.
- Added turret movement sounds to several vehicles.
- Fixed an issue that caused crosshairs to stay on the screen when
switching camera views.
- Fixed an issue that caused the time limit status of the server not to be
sent to clients when it is changed by the server.
- Fixed server setting sv.allowExternalViews. Setting this to 0 will
disallow external views.
- Added setting for interfaceIP to the server launcher
- Changed automatic TK banning to ban by cd-key instead of IP address
- Improved the stability of secondary position turrets to reduce jerkiness
during movement.
- Fixed spawning on squad leaders to prevent players from spawning where
they should not.
- Fixed issue with auto team balance not sending new players to the team
with less players.
- Set T90 top hatch armor to "Front Armor".
- Set some wheels on jets and helpcopters to stronger armor to prevent
them from being destroyed instantly by AT missiles.
- Adjusted wheeled vehicle engines on hills to improve climbing.
- Changed the Commo-rose behavior so that player does not leave crouch
when using it.
- Passwords entered to join password protected servers are now cleared
after use.
- Improved PLAY NOW functionality.
- Fixed some memory usage issues in the front end.
- Fixed an issue allowing color changes in player name text.
- When you click on a server in the server browser, the information
from that server is updated to be more accurate.
- Fixed a crash in the Ranked Linux server when communication with stats
back-end ceased.
- Improved the behavior of AA missiles when locked on an enemy.
- Fixed an issue where parachuting soldiers could not be healed.
- Added the server port to the SERVER INFO tab.
- Removed the SERVER INFO tab when playing singleplayer
- Fixed an issue causing some soldier & vehicle control keys to be used
for in-game menus.
- Added new soldier artwork in BFHQ
- Added name of video director to credits

[Gunther]

Only 1 player in a vehicle will get credit for or speed up capturing
a flag at a CP. The other passengers must exit the vehicle to increase
the speed of capture or receive capture score.

That sucks.

[roadrunner]

Actually I like that one a lot. It will help cut down on the black hawk insta-cap and give people a chance to shoot them down before the cap. This is the reason so many people hate playing maps like Mashtuur City where one full BH can sweep thru the place. For ground vehicles it kind of sucks but all in all it helps the foot soldier out.

[rhonnin]

I agree, that is a great change. After all, in rl if a squad were to go in via blackhawk to secure and area would they all just sit in the vehicle hovering stationary or would they get out and form a perimeter?

[BCoop]

I agree, that is a great change. After all, in rl if a squad were to go in via blackhawk to secure and area would they all just sit in the vehicle hovering stationary or would they get out and form a perimeter?

We played in Mastuur last night and the USMC did exactly that 3 times in a row.

[BCoop]

It is so much easier to level now. I got 2 ranks in 1 match today

[Valkyrie]

ya the old ranking system was a bit overzealous, this one makes a bit more less stress to ranking.

[roadrunner]

It was crazy last night playing. The first round I was promoted three ranks. Picked up the G3, L85A1, and the DAO-12. The DAO is a blast to use in maps like strike. I am less than 5000 points away from my next unlock. They also dramatically reduced the time requirement on the badges, ribbons, and medals. I picked up four ribbons last night to go along with the 3 ranks. For example the veteran combat badge awards used to take 250 hours with the kit before you could even try for the “in one round” kill total. Now they require 15 hours.

My feeling is that this was all done to support some new stuff coming out in the expansion. Also BF2 mods will hit the scene soon so they want keep people’s interest the base game going. Quite honestly some of the medal requirements were crazy like 7000 game hours to earn it. I like the change as it helps out casual players. Really the unlocks are not necessarily better just different.

[Gunther]

I was promoted to Corporal three times today. twice in one battle. :/ but in the BFHQ I am still a Lance Corporal.

[BCoop]

I was promoted to Corporal three times today. twice in one battle. :/ but in the BFHQ I am still a Lance Corporal.

I was promoted to LCPL 3 times but was promoted to coporal before that. Uoi should rank up when the server uploads its data to EA.