The Best Bot Match Games Battlefield 2
Released in 2005 exclusively for the PC platform and developed by DICE, Battlefield 2 is a FPS that takes place in a modern military setting. With average critic scores of 90.07% from GameRankings and 91 from Metacritic, it is still the highest rated Battlefield game to date. Battlefield 2 perfected the multiplayer FPS formula and it hasnt changed much since then. With each new iteration of Battlefield comes improved graphics and sound design but the only notable changes to the mechanics since Battlefield 2 have been weapon customization and destructible environments. Im not trying to say Battlefield 2 is as good of a game as its sequels but things sure havent changed much if you take away those two aspects. Battlefield 2 is the framework DICE has been using for every new Battlefield game. So the bottom line is if you have never played Battlefield 2 but played any Battlefield game since Battlefield 2, you would feel right at home here.
So why are we talking about Battlefield 2 if there are so many newer Battlefield games out there? Unfortunately DICE/EA decided to remove singleplayer matches with bots from all of their future games (the last game to have bot support was Battlefield 2142 which was released in 2006). Why they bothered wasting their time and money making shitty campaigns instead is beyond me. But this was likely due to 3 factors:
1. Changing Conditions: Since the internet has become a staple in everyones home, the need for offline substitutes has faded.
2. Replay Value: Multiplayer games with offline bot match options have infinite replay value. Long after the servers have been shut down you can still play these games just as they were in their hay day. Shutting down servers, low player counts, and/or the online environment being filled with hackers often pushes people to buy the next game in the series. The less options people have, the more likely they are to keep up with the latest installment and pay more money. In other words, corporate greed. A campaign component and a multiplayer component sounds like way more content on paper than just an online and offline multiplayer component. Even though the campaign is pile of shit that no one plays and a theoretical offline multiplayer component is actually in the long run the much better value proposition because, as stated earlier, it is infinite replay value.
3. Effort/Cost: I dont think effort and cost are the best reasons why offline bot matches have disappeared. Yes coding good A.I. is hard (and anything that is hard costs money) but once the framework has been created it should not be a huge undertaking to create A.I. for a sequel. You learn from what you have done in the past and you can create something better with less time in the future. If a sequel uses a derivative of the predecessors graphics engine, it would be as simple as porting the code and making small adjustments. Being that Battlefield: Bad Company (2008) had the most radical change in the graphics engine (shifting from Refractor 2 to Frostbite) it makes sense that this was the cut off point. It is a shame that bot support never made it to Frostbite because it is still being used today so there would be little reason to not include it in every Frostbite Battlefield game if it already existed in one Frostbite Battlefield game.
So Battlefield 2 and Battlefield 2142 were the last Battlefield games to have bot support. Im ignoring Battlefield 2142 for the remainder of this post since Battlefield 2 was often considered the better of the 2 games and there are more options and features as you will see.
So how are the bots in Battlefield 2?
- ability to use all of the player functions in the game -> GOOD
Bots use all of the stock weapons and equipment (except for land mines and claymores) and they will use every vehicle in the game competently (their jet and attack helicopter skills are very impressive, though it is worth mentioning they sometimes behave derpy with land vehicles and boats). They will place C4 at flags and even on enemy vehicles! The A.I. commander does not call in UAVs or supply drops but will give orders to attack/defend and call in artillery strikes (with v1.41 and earlier).
- how unpredictable they are -> GOOD
Bots do sometimes suffer from "hive mind" behavior and they often attack in the same way on certain maps but matches overall feel very dynamic and I have been very surprised by the turn out of some rounds.
- difficulty scaling -> GOOD
You can scale the accuracy of bots from legally blind to 360 no scope. But I havent seen any major differences in their overall behaviors changing from the easiest to the hardest difficulty. Regardless, you will slaughter noobs on the easiest setting and you will cry for mommy on the hardest setting.
Bot match in vanilla Battlefield 2 is underwhelming in terms of features. By default you can only play on 16 player sized maps and there is no stat tracking, rank progression, or unlocks. Thankfully with the power of modding, you can easily turn Battlefield 2 into the ultimate bot paradise with support for all 16, 32, and 64 player sized maps with up to 96 bots and full stat tracking, rank progression, and unlocks for offline/LAN. Even the bots will rank up with you over time!
PLEASE NOTE: Since Battlefield 2 is an old game, there are some compatibility issues that need to be addressed if you are looking to run the game on a modern system (particularly in regards to multi-core and multi-threaded CPUs). The following document contains all of the information needed to install and run Battlefield 2 on a modern computer and enjoy the game in all of its glory (64 player battles with stat tracking and rank progression):
http://www.mediafire.com/file/k1wb7n07u8cysoi/Battlefield_2_Install_Info.txt
Battlefield 2 Install Info:
DOWNLOAD Battlefield 2 (1.92 GB):
http://rarbg.to/torrent/icpovmewxar36n84dt9u2b57y1hlfzjqkgs1i3948toafrzxq5ghybud7vkmnwcjepls26
DOWNLOAD Battlefield 2 v1.41 Patch (536 MB):
http://www.fileplanet.com/160777/160000/fileinfo/Battlefield-2-Patch-v1.41
DOWNLOAD Battlefield 2 v1.41 No-DVD/Fixed EXE by DNS (6.6 MB):
http://www.gamecopyworld.com/games/pc_battlefield_2.shtml#Battlefield%202:%20Euro%20Force%20/%20Amored%20Fury%20v1.41%20SP%20[ENGLISH]%20No-DVD/Fixed%20EXE
v1.41 is recommended because v1.5 breaks the A.I. commanders ability to call in artillery strikes.
DOWNLOAD BF2Statistics Control Center v1.10.0 (20.3 MB):
https://github.com/BF2Statistics/ControlCenter/releases/tag/1.10.0
BF2Statistics Control Center allows stat tracking and rank progression in Battlefield 2 by emulating the original GameSpy servers. v1.10.0 is recommended since it has compatibility with older operating systems such as Windows XP and also works well with newer operating systems.
DOWNLOAD BF2Statistics.BF2SP64.v1.7z (116 MB):
http://www.mediafire.com/file/hy8ci4m99xi1mpm/BF2Statistics.BF2SP64.v1.7z
VIRUSTOTAL BF2Statistics.BF2SP64.v1.7z:
https://virustotal.com/en/file/667f696d06a879f83c0e05a20c3d99d835f22df23017048da0623e1c0c14d371/analysis/1479925669/
This is a modified version of the BF2SP64 mod designed to be compatible with BF2Statistics Control Center. BF2SP64 expands Battlefield 2 allowing people to play with bots on all 16, 32, and 64 player sized maps.
Here is a link to the original BF2SP64 v2.5 for which the modified version is based on (keep in mind the original BF2SP64 v2.5 is not compatible with BF2Statistics Control Center):
http://www.bf-games.net/downloads/1418/battlefield-2-sp-coop-mod-v2-5.html
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