As usual, great game guys. I think we were all tired - 7 hours of fragging must be a record for us. Today was denifitely the day of the SMGs.
Some random thoughts:
- the Attack and Defence game is good: the flags act as foci for the action, ensuring that there's a high level of fragging. Even in TDM, there can be dull games if everyone goes to ground and camps, whereas objective-based games force a concentration of action.
- communication and co-ordination has improved: the times we didn't communicate and co-ordinate well were because we couldn't be bothered to! =) Let's face it, sometimes it's fun to go lone-wolf, and it takes an effort to co-ordinate your actions with your team-mates. If anything, I think we're getting used to each others' styles/MOs, so we're building co-ordination that way. Bengaliner's spotting in the last game was incredibly useful, enabling me and Pshrike to be ready to repel attacks.
My review of favoured weapons:
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MG34: the Shredder. One good burst does it. It's primary weakness is the limited arc of fire after setting up, so location is everything with this. I find the iron sight slightly irritating: there's a piece of metal that sticks up which blocks your field of view, making it possible for something to enter near the centre of your arc of fire and go un-noticed, especially at long-range. Also has interesting morale/psychological effects: when first hit by an MG34, players tend to go to ground or run, rather than shoot back
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.30 cal: slower rate of fire than the MG34. This limits its first-burst kill-probability (though I get the impression the damage per bullet might be higher). The sights are slightly better than the MG34's but still take up too much of your field of vision
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Flamethrowers: the gift that keeps on giving. One good hit is enough: the burning does damage even after you take the finger off the trigger. Dangerous in a tight spot - the only weapon that can bounce back at you
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FG42: Jack of all trades. Unfortunately, master of none - you're likely to be out-sniped by a sniper, out-suppressed by an MG, and an SMG would run circles round you - but, you're better prepared than any of them.
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MP44. Steady enough for long range shooting, high enough rate of fire for close-in combat. Also, the iron-sights are the easiest to use of all MGs (possibly all weapons), allowing clean aiming
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BAR: very steady platform for long-range shooting, and the low rate of fire means its possible to do long range single shots like a rifle, but is consequently disadvantaged at close-range versus an SMG
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Bren: like the BAR ... but better. The only issue I have is the vertical magazine, which blocks a large chunk of your vision, and decreased situational awareness, and the ironsights are not as easy to aim through as with other MGs
In summary, I am definitely a fan of the larger caliber, heavy weapons. The only SMG I really like is the PPSh: if I have to use a Thompson, I'd rather be using an MP44 - but I'll leave it to Packrat to wax lyrical about the joys of the tommy gun. = )
