Sound ballance problems & other niggles

[Knight]

Excuse me if some of what i type is noobish. I'm back to BZ2 after a few years off. (i had a crap connection and my single player days ran their course).

 First. Does Beta mean this is an 'unfinished' patch. it was released on Avault but the 'beta' title confuses a little. I mean, will it get revised then sanctioned as 'official' or remain beta forever?

 About the sound. It's much improved of course but i have a problem with noise pollution at my base. When i adjust some of the levels i then lose some stuff like gun sounds and vehicle sounds when away fromt he base.
 The other sound problem is the (i think it's 'magama') number 6 armory upgrad that you have to let build up in power. It had a cool escalating sound in 1.2 but is almost too quiet to here now. Any thoughts?

 This is probably just me but when i pilot a mauler or a walker i'm very dissoriented in cockpit view, i never know what way i'm going and spend too long experimenting then rotating my head to get centred.

 Also when i do take a walker into an enemy base i like to a couple or four healers in tow but they shove me around so much i cant move in a coordinated way.

 Would it be possible to do multi strat games on iceberg?
 Also on that subject, in the instant one on iceberg all the enemy ship run off into the sea and either hover there or explode.

 These are not complaints about 1.3 just calls for input.
 The 1.3 dudes showed some real dedication and gave a new lease of life to bz2 which i can take advantage of now i have broadband.

 Knight,

Last question, whats the deal with FE and 1.3 does it work? Will it get altered to work with it?

[Lizard]

1.3 is still in development provided the devlopers haven't had enough after all the bad mouthing they've recieved over this patch.

FE will be updated for 1.3 compatability once 1.3 is deemed complete .

If you are having issues with the sound it would be best to post your system specifcations here along with what soundcard driver version you are using .

[aougli]

Yes, "beta" software means that it is not considered complete.  I think the sequence is "alpha" which is used internally or just by the developers, beta which basically works but needs adjusting, and lastly "gold" or "release candidate" which is usable by all.

The 1.2 patch is unofficial, but is a final product.  It was produced by Pandemic Studios, the original BZ2 developers.  It is unofficial beacause the publishers, Activision, did not want it to be official, possibly to reduce support costs; I'm not sure of the reason.

1.3 at the moment is in its beta stage.  Eventually it will be final.  It will not be official (I think that requires Activision's approval and they have moved on from BZ2).

When piloting a Mauler or Walker I find it helpful to frequently press the "C" key, as this centres your view;  Shift F3 and Shift F1 change between third person and first person view.  As both units are so powerful they are not meant to be as easy to use as a scout or tank.