How to keep JA2 fun?

[Zomg]

How can you play JA2 (and, I assume, the various mods/expansions) without using gamebreaking tactics? I see forums like Bear's Pit where the people have been playing the game since 1999, and I don't see how they do it - I usually get bored and quit after getting one or two towns. I'm only really aware of two or three tactics:

1) Hide around corners and doorways to get interrupts as the AI characters stupidly run into the threshing machine
2) Abuse of Night Ops and/or UV goggles
3) Breaklight nighttime kill zones

All three of those tactics are quite cheesy. Daytime fighting without the corner/doorway interrupts just seems like an exercise in frustration, where the side with more firepower takes a lot of hits and then wins. Indoor fighting is entirely about having one of your characters be really high level so he can get initiative. Most of the sillier things to do, like weapon stealing and knife throwing, are basically exercises in save/reload. Is there a way of playing that I'm missing?

 

[Fresh]

Tried the mods? Urban Chaos is pretty neat.

As for spec tactics I'm interested to hear what other people have to say.

 

[Crnobog]

Play only with the guys from MERC, it's super fun.
Right now I'm trying to finish the game with a team of: customguy, Biff, Gumpy, Flo, Gasket and Ira, with an occasional support from the other MERC losers

You can also get patch 1.13, which adds guns and stuff from Unfinished Business to normal JA2 campaign, improves AI and lets you customize the game a lot more than the original. You should be able to install it over the mods and it should run fine. It worked for me on Wildfire.

 

[LCJr.]

Which version do you have the original(1.07) or the Gold(1.12)?

There's always new mods coming out. Check the V1.13 and Other User Created Campaign Forums. If you have UB also there's several good ones for it.

I don't play any game non-stop. You get burned out that way. I try new ones but I have several that I load up and play about every year or two.

I don't think there's that many left from when the game was released. I'm member #1079 and I registered in Nov 2001. Most of the posters I see now are in the 3-5000 range.

 

[bryce777]

Except for maybe the first one, those don't really seem cheesy to me.

Especially since they are real tactics used by the military.

The problem with the game is you don't have weapons with enough range at the beginning.

I don't really use those tactics much, though, I suppose.

What you need to do at first to fight openly is leapfrogging. Hopefully to cover, but if nt, not. Once you get into good range you can bust a cap in those mofos.

Whoever is the closest, you have to make sure is ducking and if possible under cover, as they will usually shoot at him.


I tried the wildfire expansion, but I didn't like it. The first maps were waaaaayyyy too hard. I simply don't like to get into things that quickly and if you pick the crap mercenaries starting out then you have little chance to even take the airport out.

 

[denizsi]

My experience with JA series has halted with JA2:Unfinished Business. Anything beyond that is unkown territory to me. I know there's Wildlife, which is, I guess, a compiled version of various mods. I want to play it again with all the new stuff, mods etc. but I don't know where to start. Any recommendations, link etc?

 

[Jason]

The Bear's Pit
1.13 Mod