→Code 9: added a reference to glitching section |
|||
Line 80: | Line 80: | ||
===Code 9=== |
===Code 9=== |
||
In early 2006, the glitching issue became massive, now dubbed "Code 9". Hackers have managed to find a way to bypass DNAS and use completely new cheats, such as infinite health, automatic grenade launchers/sniper rifles, there have sometimes been reports of people having double health or instant headshot when the player shoots just one bullet and it automatically kills the person. There are many other serious problems. One good thing about Code 9 is that it has been confirmed not working for newer SOCOM games. However, recently it has proven untrue, as many thousands of players have seen many players jumping into the sky around firing rockets or throwing grenades all over the map. At this time there are few people who still play socom II "legit" most just battle for their clan to have the top rank. |
In early 2006, the glitching issue became massive, now dubbed "Code 9". Hackers have managed to find a way to bypass DNAS and use completely new cheats, such as infinite health, automatic grenade launchers/sniper rifles, there have sometimes been reports of people having double health or instant headshot when the player shoots just one bullet and it automatically kills the person. There are many other serious problems. One good thing about Code 9 is that it has been confirmed not working for newer SOCOM games. However, recently it has proven untrue, as many thousands of players have seen many players jumping into the sky around firing rockets or throwing grenades all over the map dubbed "John Elway Grenades". At this time there are few people who still play socom II "legit" most just battle for their clan to have the top rank. |
||
===CodeMajic=== |
===CodeMajic=== |
Revision as of 22:52, 19 May 2008
SOCOM II: U.S. Navy SEALs | |
---|---|
Developer(s) | Zipper Interactive and the U.S. Navy |
Publisher(s) | Sony Computer Entertainment |
Platform(s) | PlayStation 2 |
Release | November 4, 2003 (Original and Deluxe Versions) March 5, 2004 (Original and Deluxe Versions) June 29, 2004 (Original and Deluxe Versions); October 6, 2005 (Big Hits Series) August 5, 2004 |
Genre(s) | Third-person shooter |
Mode(s) | Single player, multiplayer |
SOCOM II: U.S. Navy SEALs is a third person tactical shooter video game for the PlayStation 2 and a sequel to SOCOM: U.S. Navy SEALs. The game was developed by Zipper Interactive in collaboration with the Naval Special Warfare Command and published by Sony Computer Entertainment. SOCOM II was released on November 4, 2003.
Basic Gameplay
SOCOM II is a third person tactical shooter for the PlayStation 2 that combines the elements of strategy, health, reflex and hand-eye coordination. There are 12 different single-player missions: 3 in Albania, 3 in Brazil, 3 in Algeria, and 3 in Russia. There are 5 different ranks that can be played in the game: Ensign, Lieutenant, Commander, Captain, and Admiral. The player starts with the first three ranks unlocked, but must finish the entire single player game on Commander to unlock Captain and on Captain to unlock Admiral. Players can unlock new models for multiplayer, as well as movies, music, concept art, and credits by completing certain objectives. For example, beating the Albania missions on Commander unlocks Pius skin for multiplayer. Each mission has Primary Objectives, Secondary Objectives, and Hidden Bonus Objectives. Players have to complete all the Primary Objectives to win the mission, and Secondary Objectives are optional, but add to the overall score for the mission. The Hidden Bonus Objectives usually help make other missions easier. For example, finding a map in one mission means the player will not have to work to find that place in the next mission. A letter grade is received at the end of each mission based on 4 categories of score: Stealth, Accuracy, Teamwork, and Objective Completion.
In single player, commands can be administered to the rest of the team. This can be done using either command menu on which the player chooses WHO, WHAT, and WHERE (example: Fireteam, Attack to, Charlie) or a USB headset. This menu features new command options such as GET DOWN, which orders your teammates to drop to the ground and hold position when out doors, and there are additional unlisted commands such as INTIMIDATE.
The AI for both sides has generally improved during single player play. Terrorists, for example, will now side-strafe and lie prone in foliage. Zipper stated that they integrated some tactics from the online portion into the new AI, while squadmates who are in the "Fire at Will" state will take down the opposing force in an efficient manner. There are a few problems such as when teammates run into walls because the player has gotten too far ahead.
Online Multiplayer
The online multiplayer portion of SOCOM II requires a broadband connection for play. This mode sets two teams of eight each, SEALs and Terrorists, against each other. The default round time is 6 minutes, and each game is decided based on the first team to win 6 of 11 possible rounds. Each round plays out in a manner similar to the Counter-Strike: Each team "spawns" at opposite sides of the map, and proceeds to pursue its objective. When a character dies, the player must wait for the next round to resume play (this isn't true of "respawn" games - see below). While dead, the player may monitor the status of his teammates, and may change his weapon load. In a room created by a given SOCOM II user, factors such as the number of rounds, round type, round time, weapon restrictions, and friendly fire can all be adjusted to the creator's liking.
SOCOM II supports cervical chat and in-game loitering is prohibited. Voice chat is not permitted in server lobbies or while in the armory of game lobbies. There are in-game options to mute certain players and to switch to different channels of communication (offense, defense, etc.).
Problems with locating acquaintances in the original SOCOM online lead to the development of both a Friend List and a Clan Roster. If one is a member of a clan or recognized friend of another player, he/she may view the statistics, status, and server and game location of anybody on the respective lists, as well as the other user's "Description" and "Hometown" at that user's discretion.
Online Population: The SOCOM 2 online community now averages 500-1000 users online at a time, a big change from its peak years when the average was 30,000-40,000.
Online Maps
All of the original SOCOM maps were carried over for online play with a few minor changes such as:
- Turrets and breaches added
- Previous maps that were day are now night (Rat's Nest, Abandoned)
- Some paths have been blocked (Rat's nest), while others have been opened (Frost Fire)
The maps are as follows:
- Frost Fire- Suppression- Alaska
- Blizzard- Demolition- Alaska
- NightStalker- Demolition- Turkmenistan
- Desert Glory- Extraction- Turkmenistan
- Rats Nest- Suppression- Turkmenistan
- Abandoned- Suppression- Thailand
- The Ruins- Demolition- Thailand
- Blood Lake- Extraction- Congo
- Bitter Jungle- Demolition- Congo
- Death Trap- Extraction- Congo
- Sandstorm- Breach- Algeria
- Fish Hook- Extraction- Algeria
- Crossroads- Demolition- Algeria
- Fox Hunt- Escort- Albania
- The Mixer- Escort- Albania
- Vigilance- Suppression- Albania
- Requiem- Demolition- Russia
- Guidance- Escort- Russia
- Chain Reaction- Suppression- Russia
- Sujo- Breach- Brazil
- Enowapi- Breach- Brazil
- Shadow Falls- Suppression- Brazil
(These Three Maps Are Expansion Maps & Are Available For Download On The Official PS Magazine)
These maps could be played by purchasing an issue of the magazine which came with a CD. Players would then install the contents of the CD onto their PS2 hard drive.
- After Hours- Suppression- Seoul, South Korea
- Liberation- Escort- Algeria
- Last Bastion- Breach- Albania
Problems with SOCOM II Online
Hit Detection
The detection of bullets on the characters during a game is something that has been complained about since its release. Zipper has admitted "dead spots" on character models where enemy shots that are on target just don't register, and don't diminish the health of the person hit. Latency (or "Lag") is related to hit detection insomuch as that data packets are dropped with increased latency in a game, possibly causing hit detection problems that are worse than normal. Before early patches were implemented, when shot in the knees, the hitbox would register a headshot and kill the player instantly. (More information on lag and connection quality at Comparison of latency and bandwidth )
Glitching
As with all online games, glitches are found and exploited. Known glitches include multiple ways to get through walls and be protected inside them while shooting others who are outside the wall, and throwing grenades through walls, jumping abnormally far onto roofs and other places. Jumping abnormally far was also known as ninjajumping which could be done with a regular PS1 controller as your character would automatically crouch and recrouch multiple times a second (caused by problems with the outdated controllers compatibility, you could learn how to jump very far off a ledge doing so but this was fixed in later patches. Some glitches are so powerful that they overload the PlayStation 2. One well known as the "god" glitch where a person would fire rockets at an alarming rate and could disconnect certain people at their own will and usually led to the room crashing. In fact, glitches have become so popular, that some rooms are deemed "Glitch No Kill" (which is often shortened to GNK). In these types of rooms, one is not allowed to kill, but explore and exploit many game features and bugs. [citation needed] Other methods of glitching involve using homemade "lag switches" or "magic switches" to temporarily stop gameplay on ones side to complete certain glitches.
Code 9
In early 2006, the glitching issue became massive, now dubbed "Code 9". Hackers have managed to find a way to bypass DNAS and use completely new cheats, such as infinite health, automatic grenade launchers/sniper rifles, there have sometimes been reports of people having double health or instant headshot when the player shoots just one bullet and it automatically kills the person. There are many other serious problems. One good thing about Code 9 is that it has been confirmed not working for newer SOCOM games. However, recently it has proven untrue, as many thousands of players have seen many players jumping into the sky around firing rockets or throwing grenades all over the map dubbed "John Elway Grenades". At this time there are few people who still play socom II "legit" most just battle for their clan to have the top rank.
CodeMajic
In October 2006, IDOT released CodeMajic another and better way than Code 9 (Rk Swapper) to bypass DNAS. It has a Code Manager, that allows you to send cheats directly from you computer to your system by the click of a button. It has been reported to work on new SOCOM games, including SOCOM 3 and SOCOM Combined Assault. But it can be patched or prevented, by updates.
Lag
Before Code 9 hit SOCOM II there was a problem with lag. A bad connection, bad host or lag switch creates lag. When playing SOCOM II you can tell that someone is lagging when they are running in the same spot, however if you are lagging it looks like everyone except you are running in the same spot. This makes getting kills easy for the person who is lagging because they can shoot someone in the head then when the few seconds of lag is over you get the kill of who ever you shot.
Offensive User Names and Text Chats
While there are minor anti-profanity measures in place for keeping language in SOCOM II Online clean, the automatic filters for profanity are unable to detect simple alterations of profane words, such as replacing the letter "A" with "@", or using the alternate characters such as "Á". Also, until recently, the letters "FK" together would "Star out" all the following letters in the word. Certain words such as "Escort", "Briefcase", "KFC" and "Green Tea" would also cause Starout.
Gameplay Bugs
On many occasions there will be a major flaw in gameplay during a game. Issues include players being immune to bullets and explosives [citation needed], a member of one team spawning at the spawn point of the opposing team/ under the map[citation needed], only certain members of each team being able to shoot or throw grenades (which normally occurs after a player's gun shoots grenades instead of bullets and bringing up the message "fire in the hole!" for each shot.)[citation needed] Also, sometimes the player will just freeze permanently for seemingly no reason whatsoever. [citation needed] Other things include players coming alive at the end of the round,[citation needed] talking to people on the live channel when dead, [citation needed]invisibility to certain players, [citation needed]all players going through their own rounds at an alarming rate without anyone else but them spawning[citation needed], and receiving the wrong rank insignia at start up[citation needed]. The most fascinating glitch so far is where one person on the team is actually playing a different map entirely and can see their teammates name tags but cannot do anything to help the game.[citation needed] Also an addition when SOCOM II was first released there was a bug that allowed you to wallstrafe. To wallstrafe one must simply run up to a wall and use the jump button and move the joystick forward or to either side. This effected the gameplay and made it very unrealistic as it boosted the speed of someone from 100% to around 130%. This tactic was very useful against snipers as people would wall strife out in the opening making it much harder to hit the target. This bug was later fixed.(Need patch date)
Mod discs
The most recent tool is a modified version of the game, edited via a computer and re-written onto a disc and bypasses the DNAS using the code-9. It has been sited in both SOCOM: Combined Assault and SOCOM 3.
Player Rating
The rating system has been exploited in numerous ways. One well known way was
the creation of "Rank up rooms" with the room name commonly "r^" (short for rank up). These rooms were made by a player glitching and having someone "catch" the room. These rooms were normally shown as a Guidance, 1 round, 20 minute respawn. The Players on the SEAL team would kill the VIPs (instead of escorting them, also improving their hit% if they were careful) which would end the game and everyone would gain rating points including the players on the SEAL team that killed the VIPs. Recently code hackers learned how to mod their rating and stats using cheat programs such as CodeMajic or Code-9. On September 3, 2007 at 10:34:51 PM (EST) a hacker released this code to the public on a glitching forum.
Authentication and Updates
In order to play SOCOM II online, one must have their "DNAS Data" authenticated. This process prevents the use of mass cheat devices to use in online gameplay nonetheless people have created ways to mass cheat. Devices such as "Code9" and CodeMajic. This process scans the user's Playstation for added internal chips that modify the Playstation's functioning (mod chip), hacking devices (Gameshark, Codebreaker), and unoriginal versions of game discs that may otherwise affect online play. Although Sony scans the hardware of each user logging on to SOCOM online, there is no evidence that it will take action against users with unauthorized modifications or peripherals. Many SOCOM online players have expressed opinions in favor of Sony banning from online play the hardware address of anybody found cheating in-game or using a cheating device.
SOCOM II online is occasionally updated by Sony through the use of patches – downloadable updates to the game saved to a memory card. These patches were very large in relation to the capacity of a standard memory card, sometimes taking up 20% of the total storage. The patches would include fixes for bugs such as the exploits that allowed terrorist players to carry twice the maximum number of mines and "wall-jumping" (where a player would run along a wall and hit the jump button in order to move much more quickly than in a normal run). People now use it so they can activate their cheats while they are in a game. People with this tool can also prevent them from getting banned even if they were caught.
Weapons
SOCOM II features an array of modern day armaments (most of which carry their real world names). Both teams - Seals and Terrorists - carry distinct weapon sets with only a few similarities. When selecting the weapons, the player chooses a primary weapon, such as an assault rifle or sub-machine gun, a secondary weapon (pistol), and is given three slots to fill with various tactical devices (such as a thermal scope for sniper rifles) and grenades. Upon completing the single-player campaign on a selected difficulty level (Ensign, Lieutenant, Commander, Captain, Admiral) the player will unlock certain weapons for use in the single-player portion of the game, along with playable characters for the online missions.
During on-line play the following weapons are available:
Terrorists
Primary weapons |
Pistols |
Other |
SEALs
Primaries |
Pistols
|
Other |
For legal reasons, several of the weapons representing real life counterparts have had letters of their real life name replaced with initials of the real life manufacturer. Such as the F90 representing the FN P90, and the HK5 representing the H&K MP5. Other weapons have been renamed in other ways, such as the Model 18 representing a Glock model 18 and the 9 mm Sub representing an UZI submachine gun. The OICW is a primary weapon only obtainable through illicit methods (such as a Codebreaker or through glitching), but it is available for use in single player once the game has been beaten on the "Admiral" Difficulty level.
Seals
- Specter
- Jester
- Wardog
- Vandal
British SAS (Albania campaign)
- Sabre
- Reaver
Russian Spetsnaz (Russia campaign)
- Polaris
- Bludshot
Unlockable characters online
- Feral
- Sabre
- Reaver
- The Specialist
Terrorists
- Sesseri Smuggler
- RAFB (Revolutionary Armed Forces of Brazil)
- APF (Algerian Patriotic Front)
- Force Majeure
Unlockable Characters Online
- Pius Platz
- Quixada Christo
- Algerian Officer
- Valeska
See also
External links
Community & Multiplayer Competition
- Template:Fr icon Socom World - Socom French Site
- GameBattles - Largest online community for the SOCOM franchise hosting tournaments, ladders and leagues.
- Socom Arena - Multiplayer competition site and community for Socom 1, Socom 2, Socom 3 and Socom FTB.
- Urgent Fury - Online scenario-based tournament for the Socom franchise.
Official Links
- www.SOCOM.com
- "Bringing the War Home: The New Military-Industrial-Entertainment Complex at War and Play" by the journalist Nick Turse (October 18, 2003)
- SOCOM II U.S. Navy SEALs at MobyGames