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BATTLEFIELD: 1942 FAQ
Produced by Matthias99
Version: 0.87
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TABLE OF CONTENTS:
1. Introduction
2. System Requirements and Game Information
3. General Gameplay Questions
I. Technical Questions
II. Control Questions
III. Gameplay Questions
4. Controls Reference
5. Tactics
I. Infantry
A. Infantry Controls
B. Infantry Classes
i. Scout
ii. Assault
iii. Medic
iv. Anti-Tank
v. Engineer
C. General Infantry Tactics
i. vs. infantry
ii. vs. AFVs
iii. vs. ships
iv. vs. planes
v. Capping Flags
II. Ground Vehicles
A. Controls
B. Transports
C. AFVs
D. General Ground Vehicle Tactics
III. Ships
A. Controls
B. Transports
C. Gunships
C. Carriers
D. Subs
E. General Ship Tactics
IV. Air Vehicles
A. Controls
B. Fighters
C. Fighter/Bombers
D. Heavy Bombers
E. General Air Tactics
i. Air-to-Air
ii. Ground Attack
V. Artillery
A. Naval Artillery
B. Fixed Artillery
C. AA Guns
D. Spotting
VI. AI
6. Maps
I. Western Europe
A. Battle Of The Bulge
B. Bocage
C. Operation Market Garden
D. Omaha Beach
II. Eastern Europe
A. Berlin
B. Kharkov
C. Kursk
D. Stalingrad
III. Africa
A. El Alamein
B. Gazala
C. Operation Battle Axe
D. Tobruk
IV. Pacific
A. Guadalcanal
B. Iwo Jima
C. Midway
D. Wake Island
7. FAQ Version Stuff / Legal Stuff / Contact Info
You can reach a particular section quickly by searching for its section number.
For instance, search for "6.II.C" for the writeup on the Kursk map.
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1. Introduction
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Welcome to my first official GameFAQs FAQ. This covers the EA Games/DICE
release Battlefield: 1942, a WWII-themed multiplayer first person shooter
released in the summer of 2002. This guide covers version 1.31 of the game
(if you have the base retail version 1.0 or version 1.2/1.3, you can visit
www.battlefield1942.com to get the update). The most recent version of
this guide can be found on GameFAQs (www.gamefaqs.com).
This guide does *not* yet cover the "Road To Rome" expansion pack, but it
will at some as-yet-to-be determinted point in the future (when I actually
get RTR and have time to write everything up. Anyone who wants to contribute
such a writeup would be greatly appreciated and will get full credit.)
Just to get a few things out of the way: I'm Matthias99, sometimes better
known as just Matthias, or [BOGS]Matthias. I tend to write in a first person
style, where I'll talk directly to "you", especially when I'm talking about
tactics. There's contact information for me at the bottom of this, next
to some brief legal disclaimers. I try to be a nice guy, generally; I'm
almost always willing to talk to you if I have time and you try a nice
approach. I'll even take criticism, assuming you can point out some way to
actually improve things rather than just griping about what I'm giving away
for free. But don't expect a reply if you're rude or demand that I do
things; I'm hacking this guide together in my limited spare time, and I don't
have enough of it to deal with morons. :P
This guide is broken up into a number of sections. The most important two are
"Tactics" and "Maps". If you're looking for instructions or tips on how to
play, try "Tactics" (or "General Gameplay Questions" for how to do things that
aren't part of actually playing the game). The "Maps" section contains
detailed breakdowns of each of the game's 16 maps, tactics for fighting on
either side of each one, and some historical background information.
One more thing: there are a few pieces of ASCII art in here illustrating some
tactics, so you probably want to view this in a fixed-width font such as Arial,
or a program like Notepad. If all the characters in the next four lines are
the same width, you should be fine.
////////////////////////////////////
1234567890abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz
!@#$%^&*()ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ
\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\
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2. System Requirements and Game Information
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This game was produced by Digital Illusions CE (DICE, www.dice.se), a game
company in Sweden which has generally produced smaller titles in the past.
The game is being distributed by Electonic Arts (EA, www.ea.com), and the
official site can be found at www.battlefield1942.com.
System Requirements:
OS: Win 98/ME/2000/XP
Minimum Recommended
CPU: 500 Mhz P2/Athlon 800+Mhz P3/Athlon
RAM: 128MB 256+MB
CD/DVD: 4x 16x+
Disk Space: 1.2GB+
Video: Requires DirectX 8.1+
32MB, Hardware T&L 64+MB video card
Sound: DirectX 8.1 compatible sound card
Video Cards Supported: Nvidia GeForce FX/2/3/4/256
ATI Radeon 7500/8500/9XXX
Matrox Parhelia
Other video cards MIGHT be supported, if they support DirectX8.1
and have Hardware T&L. Most older cards, like the RIVA TNT2, do NOT work.
Online play: 56k modem Broadband internet connection
NOTE: On a modem connection, you can't play on servers with > 16 players due
to the way their network code is structured. You may also have poor
performance on servers with lots of players if you only have the minimum
system requirements.
The game runs acceptably (albeit with somewhat low graphical detail) on my
866Mhz P3 with 256 MB of RAM and a GeForce2MX. I'll keep you posted when I
upgrade my system.
Update: Runs pretty good at medium detail settings with an 866Mhz P3 and
a GF4Ti2600.
Update: Mmm, runs great on an Athlon 2400+ with 512MB and a GF4Ti2600,
even cranked up all the way.
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3. General Gameplay Questions
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3.I Technical Problems
Q: Ack! My game crashes/doesn't work/can't join servers/other random problem!
First, make sure you meet the technical requirements. The game will NOT work
with older video cards that don't have hardware T&L, and performance will be
pretty crappy on a system near the low end of the spectrum up above
(especially in multiplayer games).
Second, get DirectX9 and the latest drivers for your sound and video cards.
This fixed the problems I had when I first installed the game.
Third, upgrade yourself to version 1.31. You can't join upgraded servers
without it. A few people have reported problems with it, but it really
seemed to help my lag, and things seem more stable in general.
If your game was working and suddenly stopped working, you should undo
whatever it is you did to your computer. Yes, you did something. No, I
don't believe you when you say you didn't change anything. I've worked in
tech support. You can try reinstalling the game if you *really* believe you
didn't touch anything.
Q: How well will this game run on my computer?
Well, if it meets the minimum requirements, but just barely, it will probably
run pretty slowly. If you meet the recommended requirements, it should run
alright. If you have a very fast computer, it'll probably run very well.
If that's not detailed enough for you, well, you can try asking around, or
download the demo from www.battlefield1942.com and see for yourself!
Q: Do you have to pay to play online with this game?
No. There is no monthly fee to play BF1942. You *do* need an internet
connection, and, as one board member pointed out, you also have to pay
for electricity to run your computer. :P
Q: What's 'ping'? (I didn't think this was a common question, but I've seen
it a lot on the GameFAQs boards)
'Ping' is a measure of how good your connection to a particular game server
is. Your 'ping time' or just 'ping' is the number of milliseconds it takes
for a message to go from your computer to another computer and back (1000 ms
= 1 sec.) The higher this number is, the more 'lag' you'll have while
playing. Values over 200-300 make playing the game very difficult (since
you're seeing what happened 1/4 of a second ago, and your movement commands
take 1/4 second to get to the server and take effect). Modem connections
will be, at best, around 200 ms, while broadband internet (cable modem,
DSL, etc.) can get much lower (down to around 50ms or less if the server is
close to you). There isn't a whole lot you can do to lower ping, other
than playing on a server that's closer to you, or getting a better internet
connection. Note that a low ping does not guarantee good performance from
a server, especially with >32 players! If the *server* doesn't have enough
bandwidth to send data to all the players fast enough, it will lag even if
you have a low ping.
Q: What's that colored icon to the left of some of the servers? Can I play
on them?
That icon is an Italian flag (Red/White/Green), and it means the server is
running the Road To Rome expansion pack. AFAIK, you can play on it without
owning the expansion, but only if they're using the maps from the regular
game (that is, the ones covered in this guide).
Q: I keep getting a "corrupted data" error when joining servers!
Most likely, you're trying to join a server that's running a mod or a different
version of the game. In newer versions of the game, servers running older
versions will be greyed out. If you get this error *all* the time, you may
need to reinstall the game.
Q: What's a mod?
A "mod", short for "modification", is a user-created addon that changes some
aspect of the game. Some are very simple, such as changing the amount of
damage that weapons do. Others are much more complex, and completely change
the game's weapons, vehicles, maps, and gameplay. You have to download a mod
before you can use it, and it will only work on a server which is running that
mod. If you try to play on a server running a mod when you don't have it,
you'll probably get the "corrupted data" error message described above.
3.II Control Questions
Q: How do I <Open my parachute/Open the landing boat doors/Take a screenshot/
Other random control-related question>?
You read the manual, or look under "controls" in the Options menu and see what
button to press, or you look at Section 4, which lists all the controls.
Q: How do I switch sides? How do I switch classes? How do I choose where
I'll respawn?
All of these things can be done from the map/menu accessed by hitting Enter
while you're playing. You can click up where it says "AXIS/ALLIED" to
switch to that team, you can click on the name of a class to become that
class the next time you respawn, and you can click on an available spawn
point (the white dots next to the flags on the map) to make yourself appear
there the next time you die. If you're in a hurry, you can click the
"Suicide" button to kill yourself and reappear a few seconds later (or
longer, if the server is set that way) at your selected location and with
your selected kit (note that this counts as a suicide and reduces your score
appropriately). You can switch classes *without* dying or suiciding by
grabbing a dead player's gear (press 'G' while you're standing near the pile
of equipment that appears next to someone when they die).
Q: Can I use a joystick to fly planes? How do I set it up? What kind of
joystick do I need/should I use?
Yes, yes you can. It's very easy to set up, once the joystick has been
installed. As long as it shows up in "Game Controllers" in Control Panel, it
should be ready to use. Just go into the "Controls" menu in the game, click
on the control you want to set to the joystick, and move the joystick in the
direction you want to have control that thing (or press the joystick button
for things like firing guns). Most any regular joystick will work fine; you do
*not* need a big, fancy, $50 stick with a throttle and 8-way hat switch and
10 buttons. The game unfortunately has very little support for advanced
features like force feedback and extra buttons and throttles, so it won't do
you much good anyway.
Q: Why does my plane crash every time I take off?
Either you're not piloting it very well, you jerked the mouse or joystick to
the side while you were still near the ground, or you took your hand off the
throttle. You may also have a lot of lag, which makes piloting very
difficult. Try the "Air Vehicle Tactics" section (5.IV) for some pointers.
Q: Is there a 3rd person view?
Not on foot. When you're in any vehicle (land, sea, or air), you can press
F9 for the first-person view, F10 for an external view from behind the
vehicle, and F11 for an external view looking backwards (unless the server
disables external views, but I have yet to see one that has, since it doesn't
offer much of a tactical advantage).
Q: How do I send voice messages? Is there voice chat built in to this game?
There's no voice chat in the game, but there are a large number of canned
voice messages you can send to your teammates (you can't send voice messages
to the other team). There's a menu option (under "Audio") to choose whether
the messages are sent in your team's native language or always in English
(though the text message that is sent along with it is always in English).
These are shown at the top of the screen (unless you press F8 to toggle it
off), and each requires that you press two function keys in sequence (ie, for
"Negative", press F1 and then F2, not F1 and F2 at the same time). When
someone sends one of these, it plays the message, displays the message text,
and causes the person who sent it to flash yellow on the map.
Note: Repeatedly sending the same message is really annoying to your
teammates, as is sending "Enemy Submarine Spotted!" over and over in
desert maps.
Please see Section 4 for the complete list of voice messages.
3.III Gameplay-Related Questions
Q: Why does my team instantly lose on the new Coral Sea map? Our carrier
didn't sink!
You need to upgrade to version 1.3 or higher. It includes a fixed version of
the Coral Sea map that no longer suffers from this exploit.
Q: Argh! Someone's standing *inside* our carrier and shooting me!
You need to upgrade as well. Version 1.31 fixes this bug, as well as
a wall-hack (a cheat that lets you see through walls).
Q: Where are the submarines? Where is the B-17 bomber?
These vehicles are only available in multiplayer mode (NOT single-player or
co-op mode). Submarines are available on Midway and Guadalcanal. The B-17 can
be found on Bocage, Gazala (at the airfield in the NW corner), El Alamein, and
Operation Market Garden.
Q: What Game Modes Are There?
Well, the manual describes it pretty well:
1. Conquest: The goal of conquest mode is to reduce your opponent's tickets
to zero. The current number of tickets are shown above the mini-map. These
tickets are a pool of lives shared by everyone on the same team. There are
two ways to reduce an opponent's pool of tickets: kill enemy soldiers or
capture and hold control points. (This is by *far* the most popular game
mode online.)
2. CO-OP: Co-Op mode pits players against or teamed with AI-controlled bots.
Players can join any side and are tied to the same rules as a normal
Conquest game.
3. Team Death Match (TDM): A team melee game with the objective to minimize
your team's deaths while maximizing your opponent's.
4. Capture the Flag (CTF): Locate and capture the opponent team's flag as
many times as possible within the time limit. Once your opponent's flag has
been captured return it to your home base and touch the flagpole to score.
Your side's flag must be on the flagpole. If the flag is dropped in route to
your home base a friendly player can pick it up by running over it. If an
enemy touches the dropped flag it is returned to the enemy base.
Q: What's this "Tickets" thing?
"Tickets" are essentially a pool of lives that is shared by your entire
team. The number of tickets each team starts with is set by the map, and
can be adjusted up or down by the person running the server (to make each
game shorter or longer). Most maps start with 100-300 per team. You can
see the current totals in the upper right corner; Allies are blue, Axis
is red. If your team runs out of tickets, you immediately lose (you'll
get messages to that effect as you start running low on tickets). Your
team loses one ticket each time someone dies, and depending on the map,
you can lose or gain tickets in other ways as well (such as by holding or
letting the opponent capture certain control points).
Q: How are people "ranked"? What do the medals on the TAB score screen
mean?
Next to someone's name in the score ranking are several numbers. First
is your "score", then your kills and deaths, and then your current ping
(lag). You get 1 point for a kill, and you lose 2 points for TKing
(Team Killing, i.e. killing a teammate) or killing yourself, and you also
get 2 points for converting a flag (1 for taking it from the enemy and 1
for getting it over to your side). You do NOT lose points for dying.
You currently do not get any points for things like repairing or healing
teammates or destroying enemy vehicles (though of course you'll get the
points for anyone *in* the vehicle when it blows up). The game's pretty
smart about awarding vehicle kill points -- if you cripple someone's plane
or tank, and it explodes/crashes before they can bail out, you still get the
kill. If you are one of the top three players at the end of a round,
everyone gets to see your name, and you'll have a medal (gold, silver, or
bronze depending on which place you were in) put next to your name during
the next round. If you place multiple times in a row, you'll have multiple
medals.
Q: What's the deal with Spawn Points? Why can't I use some of them?
In a Conquest game, you can only use Spawn Points (sometimes called Control
Points if they can be captured) that your team currently owns. Some points
(like the ones attached to ships) always belong to your side, but most of
the ones on land are associated with a "flag" that represents the ownership
of the point. To "capture" a spawn point, you just need to stand next to
the flag (close enough that the flag icon flashes in the HUD) for about
twenty seconds while there aren't any enemies in the area. The flag will
change from the opponent's side to a grey "neutral" flag, and then to your
team's banner (there are also voice and text messages broadcast to everyone
in the game each time a flag changes sides). Once your team's flag is
flying, you'll be able to choose that spawn point for use. However, if
there are members of both teams near the flag, it will stay at "neutral",
and nobody will be able to use that spawn point until you get rid of the
enemies or they get rid of you! Note that this means if your team has no
spawn points, you can't respawn when you die unless someone on your team
captures one (and if your team has no spawn points and everyone on it dies,
you immediately lose). Also, some spawn points can't be captured (usually
this is the base where your team starts out). These are indicated on the
map by a flag with a "NO" (circle and slash) icon over it. A few spawn
points (the landing beaches on Omaha Beach and Iwo Jima) start neutral but
cannot be captured at all by the Axis team. These are not marked in
any particular way in the game; you'll just be unable to capture them.
Q: Why can't I hit anything?
Read the "Infantry Tactics" section (5.I). Try to shoot from a crouched or
prone position, and don't shoot more than once or twice in a row. Either
that or use grenades or a tank.
Q: I snuck up on someone and sniped them, and then they respawned and killed
me right away! How'd they figure out where I was hiding?
When you get killed, by default the game camera zooms out for a few seconds,
and then points directly at the person who just shot you. This, of course,
totally gives away the position of anyone trying to be a sniper (although, to
be fair, in real life they'd figure it out pretty quickly as well). You can
turn this off in the server options, so if you don't like it, try politely
asking a server mod if they can do so.
Q: I was hiding in a dark corner, and someone shot me! What's up?
You may have noticed that when you look towards a player, their name and
team color is displayed (Allies are blue, Axis is red). If somebody's near
you, and they look towards you, they'll know you're there even if you're
hidden in a dark corner or behind bushes, etc. You can adjust how far away
names appear (which can be different for your teammates and opponents) in the
server options, so you might want to ask a mod if they'll change it if you
think it's set too far (the default lets you see names from *really* far
away).
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4. Controls Reference
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This section is a complete list of gameplay controls for Battlefield: 1942.
A few common ones that people seem utterly incapable of figuring out:
************************************************
PARACHUTE: 9 (ie, the key between '8' and '0'. You have to get out of
the plane first.)
************************************************
************************************************
Dive/OPEN LANDING BOAT HATCH: UP ARROW (hold for several seconds)
Surface/CLOSE LANDING BOAT HATCH: DOWN ARROW (hold for several seconds)
************************************************
All of these can be viewed and modified until "Controls" in the menu.
NOTE: Most sets of menus in this game have multiple pages. Click the arrows
at the bottom of the page to go forwards and back.
COMMON CONTROLS:
Enter/Exit Vehicle: E
*******************
OPEN PARACHUTE: 9 (yes, the number 9. Press it *after* you bail out.)
*******************
Chat (all): K
Chat (team): L
Scoreboard: TAB (hold)
Spawn Interface: ENTER
Full-Screen Map: M (toggles)
Zoom Minimap: N (cycles through settings)
View Controls (for all vehicles):
Inside: F9 (press again in planes to toggle cockpit)
Outside Rear: F10
Outside Front: F11
Flyby: F12
Toggle Views: C (this cycles through all of the above views)
Pause: P (single player only, duh)
Screenshot: PRINT SCREEN (saves as .tga file in game directory)
Toggle Tooltips: DELETE
Radio Commands 1-8: F1-F8
INFANTRY CONTROLS:
Move Forwards: W
Move Backwards: S
Strafe Left: A
Strafe Right: D
Jump: SPACE
Walk: LSHIFT (you run by default)
Pick Up Kit: G
Primary Fire: MOUSE1
Zoom/Secondary Fire: MOUSE2
Reload: R
Next Weapon: MOUSEWHEELUP
Previous Weapon: MOUSEWHEELDOWN
Weapons 1-6: 1-6
Crouch: LCTRL
Prone: Z
AIR VEHICLE CONTROLS:
Throttle Up: W
Throttle Down/Reverse: S
Yaw/Rudder Left: A
Yaw/Rudder Right: D
Pitch Up/Down: Mouse Up/Down (inverted by default)
Roll Left/Right: Mouse Left/Right
Primary Fire: MOUSE1
Secondary Fire: MOUSE2
Toggle Mouselook: LSHIFT
Positions 1-3: 1-3
LAND AND SEA VEHICLE CONTROLS:
Drive Forwards: W
Drive Backwards: S
Turn Left: A (must be moving forwards or backwards)
Turn Right: D (must be moving forwards or backwards)
***************************
Dive/OPEN LANDING BOAT HATCH: UP ARROW (hold for several seconds)
Surface/CLOSE LANDING BOAT HATCH: DOWN ARROW (hold for several seconds)
***************************
Primary Fire: MOUSE1
Secondary Fire: MOUSE2
Positions 1-6: 1-6
VOICE MESSAGES:
F1 F1 - Roger!
F1 F2 - Negative!
F2 F1 - Request Pickup!
F2 F2 - Send reinforcements!
F2 F3 - Request Anti-Tank Support!
F2 F4 - Request Naval Support!
F2 F5 - Request Air Support!
F2 F6 - Artillery Ready To Fire! (this indicates that you want someone to
place a scout camera for you)
F2 F5 - Request APC!
F3 F1 - Armor spotted!
F3 F2 - Infantry spotted!
F3 F3 - Unit spotted!
F3 F4 - Ship spotted!
F3 F5 - Submarine spotted!
F3 F6 - Airplane spotted!
F3 F7 - Scout spotted!
F4 xx - Defend/Attack specific control point (game dependent)
F4 F4 - Defend/Attack closest control point!
(these are game dependent, ie, F4 F1 is a different control point on each
map. It sends "attack" if you don't own the point, and "defend" if you do.)
F5 F3 - Confirm defending!
F5 F4 - Confirm attacking!
F5 F5 - Roger!
F5 F6 - Negative!
F6 F1 - Wait!
F6 F2 - Fire!
F6 F3 - Hold your fire!
F6 F4 - Fire in the hole! (about to throw grenade)
F6 F5 - Medic! / Need Repairs! (if in vehicle)
F6 F6 - Take cover!
F7 F7 - Go! Go! Go!
F7 F1 - Cover me!
F7 F2 - Hold position!
F7 F3 - Go for enemy flag!
F7 F4 - Fall back!
F7 F5 - Stick together!
F7 F6 - Follow me!
F7 F7 - Bail out!
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5. Tactics
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5.I Infantry
You'll probably spend a lot of time in BF1942 walking around, so it's good
to know how to handle yourself. You've got a lot of moves and a decent
amount of firepower on foot, but you're not too fast. The biggest mistake
people make when they start playing is treating this game like UT2K3 or
Quake III, trying to run around like an idiot with guns blazing.
You won't last long like that, Rambo, so read up.
5.I.A Infantry Controls
Like most FPS games, you can move around, jump, crouch, and strafe. In
BF1942, you can also go prone -- that is, lie flat on the ground and crawl.
To do so, press your Prone key (default key: Z). Press
it again to stand up (takes a second or two, during which you can't move).
Going prone makes you harder to see and hit, plus it reduces the chance of
catching shrapnel from grenades or tank shells exploding nearby. The
downside is you move pretty slowly. Note that if you are running forwards
when you hit the Prone key, you'll do a forward dive into the prone
position, which is a quicker than pressing it while standing still (but it
throws off your aim).
When it comes to actually duking it out, your equipment varies with the kit
you choose and the nation you're fighting for. However, all your guns
basically work the same way: point and shoot. The Primary Fire button
activates your chosen weapon, Secondary Fire toggles zoom modes in most
guns and lets you "charge up" grenade throws, and the Reload button reloads
your weapon (note: you must manually reload with most weapons when your
clip is empty, and if you reload when the clip isn't empty, you lose the
bullets that are still in your gun).
You'll probably notice that your crosshair increases and decreases in size
as you move around or fire weapons. The bigger the crosshair, the less
accurate your shots will be. Your accuracy decreases as you run around,
drops significantly when you shoot, and plummets when you hold down the
trigger on an automatic or rapidly pump out rounds from a rifle or pistol.
Your accuracy increases when you stand still, recovers faster if you
crouch, and comes back even faster if you're prone. So, if you want to
shoot accurately, you should shoot from a prone position, firing one or two
shots at a time and then waiting for your crosshairs to stabilize before
shooting again. Firing on the move or emptying the clip of your BAR or
MP42 will result in you hitting air and getting gunned down rapidly by
everyone in the area. Weapons in BF1942 are very accurate when used
properly, and it only takes one or two hits to drop someone, so it's vital
that you only shoot when you're forced to or you're sure of a kill,
especially when sniping.
Version 1.2 added an improvement to your crosshair that flashes when one of
your shots hits somebody (since there's no blood, and thus little visual
feedback unless your target dies). This also includes manned vehicles,
in case you're shooting at a plane/tank/etc, and also works for vehicle
weapons. It will *not* flash if you're not actually doing damage, such
as by shooting a tank with an assault rifle. It also doesn't indicate
if you're hurting somebody with splash damage (such as firing a tank shell
into the ground next to them).
Version 1.3 greatly decreases the accuracy of the Assault class weapons
while you are moving, making it even more important to shoot from a
stable position.
Version 1.3 also decreased the amount of damage done to planes by infantry
weapons and AA guns (but not machine guns or other vehicle weapons) by 50%.
Important note: If you kill someone (or someone near you dies), they
drop a pile of equipment on the ground that hangs out for a little while
(maybe 10-15 seconds). If you move near one of these and press the Pick
Up Kit key (default key: G), you'll change into the kind of infantry that
died there. This can be very useful sometimes, but beware of picking up
an empty rifle in the middle of a firefight! You'll drop your current kit
when you switch, in case you want to go back to it (though it will also
disappear eventually).
5.I.B Infantry Classes
BF1942 features five "kits" for infantry, each equipped with slightly
different weapons depending on which side you're on (I'll have more
information on those differences in a future version, I hope).
5.I.B.i Scout
The Scout kit isn't any faster than the other soldiers, but you have
specialized weapons and equipment that's helpful for tracking enemy
movements and picking off distant targets. You can also spot for artillery
(for more information, see section 5.V.D). The downside is that your rifle
has a very low rate of fire, and you're practically useless in close combat
against anyone.
I'm going to say this right up front: it is extremely difficult to be a
sniper in BF1942. You are *not* Vin Diesel, so stop trying. Distant shots
are very difficult (especially compared with something like Counter-Strike,
Quake3, or UT where the sniper weapons are 100% accurate even at extreme
range). Hitting a moving target is near-impossible (as it is in real life).
Once the enemy figures out where you are, you will not live very long unless
you are an amazing shot and they don't have any tanks around. Also, if
you're hiding and shooting enemies from far away, then you're *not* capping
flags, and capping flags is how you win. Killing 20 or 30 enemies over the
course of a game while your team is losing a ticket every 3 seconds is a
good way to have the best score on the losing team. Despite all that,
you'll often see teams that are half-filled with snipers, and losing badly
because of it. For some reason, this is especially prevalent on Allied
teams on Omaha Beach.
Weapons:
Sniper Rifle
Pistol
Binoculars
Grenades
Combat Knife
Rifle: The Sniper Rifle features telescopic sights to help you "reach out
and touch someone". Just press the Secondary Fire key to use them, and press
again to go back to the normal view. You zoom out and back in automatically
after you shoot, although if you hold down Primary Fire, you'll shoot and not
zoom out and reload until you let go of the fire button (so you can see if
you hit or not). Note that the rifle is hideously inaccurate if you are
moving or standing; crouch or go prone to make distant shots. A headshot is
an instant kill, a body shot hurts a whole lot but won't kill an uninjured
player. Remember the sniper's rule of survival: "one shot, one kill".
Note: (this applies to all weapons, but is most noticeable with the sniper
rifle) This game actually models ballistics, which means that your bullets
will fall downwards when you shoot at distant targets, so aim up a bit if
you're shooting at someone far away. This also means you have to lead targets
if they're moving.
Version 1.3 *significantly* improves the *clip* reload time (how long it
takes to change clips when you hit the Reload key), but the time it takes
between shots has remained the same.
Pistol: Not a great weapon, the Pistol is, however, your only chance of
survival if someone gets close to you. It has iron sights (press Secondary
Fire for a weak zoom). Don't fire it too fast, or your accuracy plummets and
you can't hit anything more than two inches from you.
Binoculars: Lets you see things that are far away, with a wider field of
view than the rifle scope. Use the Secondary Fire key to zoom in and out.
Press Primary Fire to set an artillery spotting camera (see sec. 5.V.D for
more information).
Grenades: Grenades are extremely powerful. They kill soldiers easily, and a
couple of them can blow up a jeep, or damage a tank or APC. Hold Secondary
Fire to "charge" your throw (tap Secondary Fire to drop one at your feet,
hold until the meter fills to throw far), or press Primary Fire to throw them
at full strength without charging. Grenades explode about three seconds
after you throw them. Use them whenever you can; just don't blow yourself
(or your teammates) up!
Combat Knife: A knife. Sneak up on someone and press Primary Fire to knife
them in the back and kill 'em dead. Not very useful otherwise.
5.I.B.ii Assault
The Assault class is the best when it comes to fighting other infantry. The
Automatic Rifle has lots of range, deals plenty of damage, and can fire
dozens of shots in rapid succesion before reloading. You also have grenades,
which are useful against both groups of infantry and armored vehicles.
Weapons:
Automatic Rifle
Pistol
Grenades
Combat Knife
Automatic Rifle: The Automatic Rifle features iron sights (press Secondary
Fire for a weak zoom feature), and can fire up to twenty shots (30 for Axis)
fairly rapidly before reloading. It's much more accurate than you'd think at
first, and deals a ton of damage, as you'll realize the first (and second,
and third) time you get pegged in the head with one from fifty yards away
(though the Axis gun is somewhat less accurate). Go prone and fire one shot
at a time for maximum accuracy.
Version 1.3 significantly reduces the accuracy of the Automatic Rifle while
you are moving.
Pistol: Still mostly useless, the Pistol is a weapon of last resort. One
time it can actually be handy is if you empty your rifle clip while someone's
charging you; pulling out the pistol is quicker than reloading the rifle.
Grenades: See above.
Combat Knife: Even more useless than the pistol in most situations.
I don't recommend using it.
5.I.B.iii Medic
The Medic has two big advantages: an automatic weapon, and the ability to heal
himself and others. Neither of these should be overlooked; the Medic can be
deadly in the right hands.
Weapons:
Submachine Gun
Pistol
Grenades
MedKit
Combat Knife
SMG: The Submachine Gun fires pistol-caliber bullets at a rapid clip. It's a
good cross between the Automatic Rifle and the Pistol, but it has much less
range than the former, and not much more power than the latter (ie, it takes
multiple hits to kill someone). Fire in short bursts for maximum
effectiveness.
Pistol: See Assault entry above.
Grenades: See Assault entry above.
MedKit: When the Medical Kit is out, you can press Primary Fire to heal
yourself or anyone in front of you and reasonably close by. When you're out
of "ammo", you can't heal anyone, but it recovers gradually over time. Use
this ability liberally. Note: if someone uses the voice command that calls
for a medic, and you *are* a medic, they will be marked on your minimap with
a red cross. Keep an eye out for them and help them if you can; they'll
appreciate it.
Combat Knife: see above.
5.I.B.iv Anti-Tank
The Anti-Tank infantry is, as the name implies, very good at blowing up
Armored Fighting Vehicles (AFVs, i.e. tanks and APCs). You're not, however,
very good at directly fighting other infantry, so either avoid them or find
some Assault troops to back you up.
Weapons:
Rocket Launcher
Pistol
Grenades
Combat Knife
Rocket Launcher: A single-shot, reloadable, shoulder-mounted launcher firing
shaped-charge armor-piercing anti-tank rockets (boy, that's a mouthful).
Very good damage against armored vehicles (and unarmored vehicles as well,
if you can hit a jeep or plane with it). For maximum damage, aim for the
side or rear of a tank or APC, and try to hit at a 90 degree angle. A light
tank takes one direct hit to the rear, two or three to the side, and four
or five to the front to destroy. APCs are about the same, and heavy tanks
take one or two more shots than a light tank. Don't even try to use it
against other infantry; they'll just laugh and shoot you (okay, okay, you
*can* kill a soldier if you actually hit them with the rocket itself; it's
just very, very hard, and even the pistol is more efficent).
Pistol: See above.
Grenades: See above. Keep in mind that these are also pretty good at
knocking out vehicles, and are probably your best anti-infantry weapon.
Combat Knife: See above.
5.I.B.v Engineer
The Engineer kit is a very interesting setup. You have a decent (though
not great) anti-infantry weapon, and a variety of tools to make life
miserable for people driving vehicles. You can also repair friendly
vehicles, which is a very useful trick! No grenades, though...
Weapons:
Bolt-Action Rifle
Anti-Vehicle Mines
DetPacks
Pistol
Repair Kit
Combat Knife
Bolt-Action Rifle: This is the same rifle the Scout class uses, except
without the sniper scope. It's just as accurate, so you can actually
snipe pretty effectively with it. This weapon also does not lose
accuracy as you move (or at least not nearly as much as everything else).
Version 1.3 also decreased the clip reload time of this weapon (see the
entry for the sniper rifle).
Anti-Vehicle Mines: These deal a huge amount of damage to any vehicle that
drives over them. One will vaporize a jeep or APC, and will even blow up
a tank if it drives directly over it at high speed. Use them to cut off
bridges and other vital approaches. If you place them carefully, you can
still get around them -- but they'll blow up anyone who just plows through
without paying attention. It's possible to drive over them
veeeeeeeeeerrrrrry slowly without blowing them up. Very mean Engineers
place them directly underneath parked vehicles so that they explode when
someone gets in and starts driving :). These do *not* explode when people
walk over them, but the explosion from a vehicle setting them off will
hurt infantry.
Note: you can also defuse mines as an Engineer. Just take out your Repair
Kit, crouch next to a mine, and "shoot" it to turn it off and pick it up.
Also note that they blow up by themselves after a few minutes. You can
only place up to 8 mines at a time (you can get more from ammo crates, but
the earlier ones will explode if you try to place more than 8).
DetPacks: These are remote explosives that deal a huge amount of damage.
Press Primary Fire to drop one at your feet. Once you've placed them,
press Secondary Fire to pull out the detonator, then press Primary Fire to
blow them all up (hit Secondary Fire again to switch back, in case you
don't want to blow them up yet). They do about as much damage as a land
mine to anyone within a fairly large blast radius. You can also use them
against vehicles -- they're much harder to see than landmines. Especially
sneaky tactics include tossing them on top of APCs,Jeeps or planes, then
detonating when someone gets in. Marginally useful as an anti-tank weapon
if you throw them on top of the tank or you can get it to drive directly
over them. You can defuse detpacks by "shooting" them with your Repair
Kit, just like mines. You can also only place up to 8 at a time.
Repair Kit: When you have your repair kit out, you can patch up any
vehicle in front of you by pressing the Primary Fire key. This includes
ships that you're standing on, but you won't be able to fully repair a
ship in one shot. When you run out of "ammo", you can't repair anything,
but you gradually recover it over a couple of minutes (just like the
Medic's Medical Kit). An engineer driving a tank, ship, or plane can make
that vehicle last a lot longer than normal. Note: if someone uses the
voice command that calls for vehicle repairs ("I need a grease monkey!"),
they'll be marked on your minimap with a wrench icon so you can find them
easily. You can also use your Repair Kit to defuse land mines and
detpacks, as described above.
5.I.C General Infantry Tactics
The most important thing to remember is that you have to fire carefully and
from cover if you want to live very long. Also, try not to stand around in
the open unless you want some overacheiving Scout to hit you with his Sniper
Rifle, or some hotshot to run you over with his jeep or strafe/bomb you with
a plane. This also means you shouldn't walk down open roads. You don't go
any slower through grass and trees, so stay off to the side unless you want
to be mowed down.
Andrei Pendle wrote in with the excellent point that you should always try
to fight as a group when you're on foot. A group of several soldiers
working together (especially if one of them is a medic) can take out many
more enemies with many fewer deaths than the same people fighting alone.
Use your minimap! You can change the zoom on it by hitting the Mini Map Zoom
key (default key: N). There are three settings: wide, medium, and narrow.
You'll probably want it zoomed out a bit when you're running around so you
can see which flags your team holds, and closer when you're fighting in a
group so you can see where everyone else is relative to you. You can also
see the full-screen map (it's semi-transparent, so you can still see what's
going on around you) by hitting the Show Map key (default key: M) (hit it
again to put it away).
Also, keep an eye out for ammo crates and lockers full of medical supplies.
There's almost always one of each in one of the buildings of a base (almost
every set of bunkers and outposts has an ammo crate, but generally only
larger bases have medical supplies). Just stand next to an ammo crate to
refill your ammo, or next to a medical locker to heal yourself (an
ammo/health icon, respectively, will flash on your HUD when you're at one).
You can also call for a medic (F6 F5) and hope that one answers if you get
injured.
5.I.C.i vs. infantry
Basically, the best way to fight infantry is to take them by surprise. If
you're a Scout or Assault, try to crawl into a good sniping position and take
out a few enemies before they even know you're there. Medics will want to
get a bit closer, so they can use their SMG to full effectiveness.
Anti-Tanks and Engineers should just stay away from other soldiers if
possible, or ideally keep some Assault types around to handle them. The
mounted machine guns you'll find around bases can also be very effective;
just walk up to them and hit the Enter/Exit Vehicle key to get in or out.
The ammo's unlimited, but don't let the gun overheat or it'll jam.
If you're interested, it takes two rifle or five pistol bullets to the body
to kill a soldier, or one rifle or two pistol bullets to the head. One
grenade will kill anyone standing up within about 5 yards (you take a lot
less damage if you're crouching or prone), and will injure anyone within 10
yards or so of the blast. Machine guns do the same damage as rifles, but
AA guns do not affect troops unless you can hit them with the shell itself.
A direct hit from artillery or a tank gun is an instant kill.
5.I.C.ii vs. AFVs
AFVs (Armored Fighting Vehicles, e.g. tanks and APCs) are tough opponents.
If someone's manning the top machine gun of a tank or APC, try to pick them
off. Otherwise, your options are essentially grenades, an Anti-Tank's rocket
launcher, or an Engineer's detpacks. The best tactic may be to use mines or
your own tanks to keep them away in the first place! If you have to fight,
try to get behind a tank to deal the most damage; it's also hard for them to
hit you if you get really close, since the guns don't depress far enough
(just don't get run over!). You can also use a mounted AA turret in some
locations to take out tanks or APCs. Just remember that rifle and machine
gun fire does *nothing* to a tank or to the front armor of an APC (though it
*can* sometimes hurt or kill the driver; there's a very small window in the
front that you can see through).
5.I.C.iii vs. ships
You can't really do much about ships from on land. Just about the only
thing you can do is try to find a shore battery and start firing artillery
at them (altough if the crew is any good the first thing they'll do is to
blow up any artillery guns that can hit them). Getting pounded by ships?
Try to get some planes, subs, or gunships to go take them out. Daring
players can also steal an enemy landing craft and climb onto a ship (look
for ladders or webbing on the sides that you can climb).
5.I.C.iv vs. planes
You have a few more options against airborne opponents than ships. AA guns
are the best solution, but a good pilot will hit them with bombs almost as
soon as you get in them. Any machine guns, including the ones on APCs and
tanks, can also be effective against low-flying planes. In desperate
situations, you can even use an Assault infantry's Automatic Rifle to shoot
at fighters (it's less effective against fighter-bombers and all but useless
against B-17s, though). If none of those options seem to be working, find a
fighter plane and chase them off.
Version 1.3 reduces by half the damage that is done to planes by AA guns and
infantry rifles. This basically means that AA guns and fighter planes are
the only viable options against enemy aircraft. Note that machine guns did
*not* have their damage reduced (as I erroneously reported before), so they
are very effective.
Version 1.31 slightly increases AA damage vs. planes (but not as much as
it was decreased before).
5.I.C.v Capping Flags
To capture a flag, you need to stay within the flag's "capture zone" for a
certain amount of time, while there are also no players from the other team
within the "capture zone". You'll know you're close enough when a flag
icon appears on your HUD. Distance from the flag doesn't seem to make a
difference, just as long as you're close enough to make the flag icon
appear (though some flags have a larger capture radius than others). It
takes around 10 seconds to take a flag from "opponent" to "neutral", and
then another ten to take it from "neutral" to "friendly". If players from
both teams are within the capture zone, or you leave the area before the
flag gets captured, the flag will just stay at neutral. If you're a real
bastard, you can hide near an enemy flagpole (say, inside a building, or as
I saw the other day, *on* a building after parachuting onto the roof) to
keep it neutral, and as long as you stay alive, the enemy can't use that
spawn point.
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5.II Ground Vehicles
Ground vehicles are the most common things to drive on most maps, and also
quite a bit of fun.
If a vehicle is destroyed, it respawns a short time later at the same place
it originally came from (the exact amount of time depending on the vehicle;
you get jeeps faster than battleships). Note that the vehicles that spawn at
bases are always from the "side" that controls the base currently (that is,
the same base may spawn, say, both Panzer tanks and M4 Shermans depending on
who owns it). A vehicle will *not* respawn until it has been destroyed, so
you can take an enemy's vehicles away by stealing them and not letting them
get blown up!
Also, ground and air vehicles will self-destruct if left without a driver
for a couple of minutes. This keeps you from parking your team's (or the
other team's) vehicles in inaccessible locations and thus permanently
losing them. It also discourages using them as personal transports.
5.II.A Controls
All the ground vehicles essentially work the same way. To get into a
vehicle, just get close to it, looks towards it, and press the Enter/Exit
Vehicle key (default key: E). When you get in, usually you'll be placed in
the driver's seat if you're the first person to enter (however, in some
vehicles, which side you're standing on when you enter determines where
you'll sit). If not all the seats in the vehicle are filled, you can switch
seats by pressing keys 1-6 (1 is the driver's seat, 2-6 are the rest of them,
depending on how many additional seats it has). Note that if all the seats
are filled, you can't switch spots unless someone gets out. A seat which
is "exposed" means you can be shot at while you're in that seat, although
you usually have a better view.
Driving uses a simple set of controls which are separate from those used
while you're walking. Drive Forwards/Speed Up and Reverse/Slow Down move
you forwards and back, and Turn Left and Turn Right do what the names would
suggest (you have to be moving forwards or backwards to turn, however).
If you're in a gun turret, use the mouse to rotate it, and use Primary Fire
(and sometimes Secondary Fire) to shoot. In some vehicles (like the jeep),
you can look around with mouselook without affecting the direction you're
going. Vehicle machine guns have both limited ammo and a "heat meter"
that increases when you fire. If it hits the top, the gun jams for a
few seconds, so lay off the trigger occasionally.
To get out, just press the Enter/Exit Vehicle key again. Again, exactly
where you get out depends on which seat you're in at the time.
5.II.B Transports
Transport vehicles are used mostly for getting around the maps, or for
hauling players into or out of combat zones.
5.II.B.i Jeep
The Jeep is a very simple vehicle which seats two. It's very fast, quite
maneuverable, and hurts people a lot if you run them over. However, it has
no weapons -- neither the driver nor the passenger can shoot -- and both
passengers are exposed to fire. It's also quite fragile and tends to explode
if it hits anything at high speed or takes damage from almost any heavy
weapon. You can transport additional people in the rear cargo area, but they
tend to fall out if you go too fast or hit things while driving, so be
careful. Most bases come with a Jeep.
Allies: Willys Overland Jeep MB. Looks like a standard army jeep. Comes in
varying colors to match the terrain.
Axis: VW Type 82 Kubelwagon ("Bucket Car"). Looks like an old-fashioned
convertible car. A little faster than the jeep, but not as good off-road
(it slides a lot more when going up hills or around corners).
Seats for Jeep:
1. Driver (exposed)
2. Passenger (exposed)
If you enter a Jeep from the left side, you'll be in the driver's seat, and
if you're on the right side, you'll be in the passenger seat.
5.II.B.ii APC
The Armored Personnel Carrier is a fairly slow, heavily armored vehicle that
seats six and sports a top-mounted machine gun for defense. The APC also
has two unique abilities: anyone sitting in the passenger compartment
(seats 3-6) gets gradually healed, and anyone standing around it (as well
as any nearby friendly vehicles) has their ammo slowly refilled (this also
means that the APC itself will never run out of ammo). It can take quite a
bit of punishment, and protects well against small-arms fire, but it won't
stand up to anti-tank mines or rockets, and even machine gun fire will bring
it down eventually (and can kill the driver from the front). Many bases
include an APC.
A neat trick if you're injured while driving is to hit '3' to duck into the
passenger compartment and get healed, then hit '1' to get back in the
driver's seat and keep going.
Allies: M3 Half-Track. A big truck with tank treads instead of rear wheels.
Green or Tan depending on which map you're on.
Axis: Hanomag Sdkfz.251. Looks more like a cross between a tank and an
armored car, with a larger set of treads than the allied APC. Faster,
and better at climbing hills, but doesn't maneuver as well as the M3.
Machine gun shoots very fast (but overheats rapidly).
Seats for APC:
1. Driver (armored but very slightly exposed)
2. Machine Gun (exposed)
3. Passenger (health/ammo refill)
4. Passenger (health/ammo refill)
5. Passenger (health/ammo refill)
6. Passenger (health/ammo refill)
If you approach an APC from the driver's side (front left), you'll end up in
the driver's seat. From the passenger side (front right), you'll end up in
the machine gun. If you get in from the rear, you'll be in one of the
passenger seats.
5.II.C AFVs
Tanks are probably the most fun vehicle to drive, just because you get a big
'ol gun to shoot things with, and you can do a lot of damage in a short
amount of time. However, you are *not* invincible in one; you are still
vulnerable to mines, grenades, anti-tank rockets, artillery, AA guns, air
attacks, and other tanks (plus you can flip them over in some areas pretty
easily, or drive off cliffs, etc.) Light tanks all have two seats: a
driver/gunner, and an exposed machine gunner on the top. The driver drives
the vehicle as normal, but also controls the turret with his mouse. Primary
Fire shoots the cannon (good for vehicles, AA guns, etc.), and Secondary Fire
shoots the coaxial machine gun (good for mowing down troops). The upper
machine gun gives you a much better view, and is well-suited for shooting
down attacking planes, but using it while enemy troops are nearby is
ill-advised (you're exposed, and you can't shoot people standing right next
to the tank). Heavy tanks only have a driver/gunner, with no top-mounted
machine gun. Most large bases include a tank or two.
Note: the machine gun turret on a light tank is *not* stabilized; that is,
when you turn the main gun, the machine gun rotates along with it. So,
if you have a gunner up there, don't whip the turret around rapidly, or else
a) they won't be able to hit anything, especially planes, and b) they'll
probably get motion sickness and hate you. Don't try to shoot at planes
with the coaxial machine gun; it just doesn't turn fast enough to track them.
5.II.C.i Light Tank
The Light Tank is quicker and more maneuverable, but it's a lot easier to
destroy, and its gun doesn't do nearly as much damage.
Allies:
US/UK: M4 Sherman. It's, uh, a light tank, painted either green or tan.
It's pretty quick, but it can't take much punishment. Usually the Allied
side has several of them (often more tanks than the Axis, since they're
individually weaker).
Russia: T/34-85. A boxy grey tank with a short gun. Tough, gun does a lot
of damage. Kinda slow.
Axis:
Germany: PzKfW Mk.IV Panzer. A boxy, light-grey tank with a short gun.
Germany's tanks are very tough, but not as fast as their allied counterparts.
Japan: Chi-Ha 97. Camo-painted tank with a boxy turret and a small gun.
Lightly armored and equipped with a weak gun, the Chi-Ha is not a very
effective vehicle.
Seats For Light Tank:
1. Driver/Gunner
2. Machine Gun (exposed)
5.II.C.ii Heavy Tank
The Heavy Tank, unsurprisingly, is very hard to blow up, and its gun tears
apart other vehicles, but it has poor handling and acceleration. There is
also no upper machine gun turret.
Allies:
US/UK: M10 Wolverine. An odd-looking, boxy tank with sloped sides and a
large gun. Not really a heavy tank, this is a heavy gun mounted on an older,
obselete vehicle. Good range and power, but relatively weak armor. Attack
with it from far away for best results.
Russia: T34/76. A tan tank with a long-barreled gun. Much tougher than the
M4 or M10, this can actually go toe-to-toe with multiple Panzers.
Axis:
Germany: PzKfW Mk.VI Tiger. Squat, boxy dark grey tank with a very long gun.
Extremely tough, gun is very powerful. Watch out for these.
Japan: None!
Seats for Heavy Tank:
1. Driver/Gunner
Most of the time, you'll enter as the driver unless there's someone already
inside. If you approach a light tank from the front right, however, you'll
end up manning the machine gun.
5.II.D General Ground Vehicle Tactics
If you are driving a transport vehicle, keep an eye out for people that need
a ride. If someone near you is shouting "Wait!" or "Need Transport!", take
two seconds and pick them up; it makes things a lot easier for them. You'd
want them to do it for you, right? And if you're driving an APC full of
people, try not to hit land mines, drive off cliffs, or go to the wrong
place, okay? But conversely, don't go spamming the voice channels just
because someone didn't pick you up or the boat you were in sank.
In all vehicles, remember that you're still vulnerable to attack. Watch out
for land mines; they're surprisingly hard to see from the driver's seat when
you're moving. Try to take out infantry at a distance, where cannons and
machine guns are most effective; up close, they can surround you or hit you
with grenades and rockets. If you find yourself trapped in a group of
infantry, just slam on the gas and get out of there, then try to turn around
and attack them. If you stand still, they'll hit you with grenades and blow
you to pieces. Also remember that the front armor on tanks is much, much
stronger than the sides or rear; it's better to take a rocket or tank shell
in the front side than to try to run away and get hit in the back. You also
need to keep an eye out for planes, especially if there are some good pilots
on the other side. Try not driving down roads (since they see and bomb you
easily), and shooting at them with a top-mounted machine gun -- they'll go
for easier targets if you keep injuring them.
It's also possible -- and often very effective -- to steal enemy vehicles
and use them against the defenders. Tanks usually get grabbed as soon as
they spawn, but people often leave APCs lying around, which you can use to
mow down troops (and/or to heal yourself if you get hurt). People will often
not notice that a "friendly" vehicle has been taken over until it's too late.
If you like driving vehicles, try playing as an Engineer. Tanks last a lot
longer when you can repair them after a fight. If you're not an engineer,
you can call for one if you need repairs (press F6 F5). There are also
repair depots on a few of the maps (mostly the tank-heavy ones in North
Africa). These are buildings with a flat, grey platform out front (often
with a tank that respawns on it). Any vehicle sitting on the platform
(including planes!) will quickly be repaired back to full strength and will
have its ammo refilled. Some airplane hangars also do this. Sitting in one
of these and slaughtering enemies as they respawn is not a very nice thing
to do. Hopefully a future update will make it so these only heal you if
you own the control point nearest it.
5.III Ships
Naval action plays a major part in a number of the game's maps, so you'd
better know what you're doing out there. When used correctly, ships can
turn the tide of battle -- but be careful not to lose them, since that can
deal your team a crushing blow.
5.III.A Controls
Ships work almost identically to ground vehicles in terms of controls.
You can steer and drive them from the front position (position '1'). Just
keep in mind that ships accelerate, decelerate, and turn veeeeery slowly
(especially carriers). Try to plan your moves in advance, and don't crash!
The light blue sections on the map are shallow water, which smaller ships
can fit into (until you get really close to land), but carriers and
battleships generally can't. Ships which are beached generally *cannot* be
moved; it's stuck there until somebody blows it up. Beaching your team's
carrier is a good way to make everybody really mad at you and lose at the
same time.
5.III.B Transports
The only "transport" ships the game has right now are landing craft. All
the larger ships (except subs) have two landing craft at the rear (just start
driving them to detach it from the ship). They can hold quite a few people,
and there are six actual "seats" (driver, gunner, and four passengers).
They're fairly maneuverable for ships, but still pretty slow. The engines
also make quite a bit of noise, something to keep in mind if you're looking
for a stealthy approach. If you line up with the landing area and get up to
full speed, you can turn the throttle off and just drift in from a good
distance out.
NOTE: to control the doors, use the Raise/Lower Vehicle keys (default keys:
Up Arrow/Down Arrow). Just hold the appropriate direction for a few seconds
and it should start to open or close. Opening the hatch doesn't sink the
boat (bizarrely), so you can open it before you actually land (although that
does expose people inside to fire from onshore).
Keep in mind that landing craft are incredibly fragile. Artillery are
dangerous, planes can cut you to pieces with their guns, and troops onshore
can nail you with machine gun or rifle fire, so get yourself from boat to
beach as quickly as possible.
Allied: Higgins Boat. The Allied landing craft that you've seen in every
WWII movie ever made. Driver is exposed.
Axis: Dai-Hatsu 42. Works almost exactly the same, except the driver is in
an armored compartment.
Seats:
(although many people don't realize it, there are actually passenger seats
in the landing boats, although there's little reason to use them)
1. Driver (exposed for Higgins Boat)
2. Machine Gun (exposed)
3. Passenger
4. Passenger
5. Passenger
6. Passenger
5.III.C Gunships
There are several classes of gunships (destroyers and battleships), but
they're all used in essentially the same way. Ships pack the largest, most
powerful batteries of artillery in a mobile package that's hard to sink.
They're excellent at pounding onshore targets, and at sinking other ships.
Destroyers also have depth charges for knocking out enemy submarines.
All the ships have two batteries of 2-5 main guns. Some ships also have
anti-aircraft guns.
All these ships also have landing craft at the rear (see above), and have
two spawn points permanently attached to the vessel (front and rear).
Allies:
Destroyer: USN Fletcher Class. Two front light guns, two rear light guns.
Depth charges (unlimited ammo, but you can only fire 10 at a time before
reloading. Press Secondary Fire to use them). No built-in AA guns, but
there are two machine guns mounted on raised platforms in the middle of the
ship. Effective, but you have to actually climb up to the gun to use it.
Features sonar (lets you see any subs or other ships within the range shown
on the map while you're driving the ship).
Note: only the rear gun of the destroyer can be used with artillery spotting.
Pressing Secondary Fire in the front gun drops depth charges instead.
Battleship: HMS Prince Of Wales. Five front guns (two light, three heavy),
four rear heavy guns. Two built-in dual-barrel AA guns (seats 3/4).
Extremely heavy-duty ship.
Axis:
Destroyer: IJN Akizuki Class. Two front light guns, Three rear guns (two
light, one heavy). Same mounted machine guns as on the USN Fletcher.
Depth charges. Sonar.
Battleship: IJN Yamato. Five front heavy guns, four rear heavy guns.
Two mounted dual AA batteries. Toughest ship in the game.
Seats for Gunships:
1. Driver/Front Guns
2. Rear Guns
3. AA (if available)
4. AA (if available)
5.III.D Carriers
Aircraft Carriers are potentially the most powerful of the ships available
in the game, assuming they're used correctly. If you're not careful, they
tend to become very large targets and get sunk very quickly. Keeping an
engineer or two on board to effect repairs and man the AA guns will make your
carrier last a whole lot longer.
Carriers have two landing craft at the rear, and also respawn two planes on
the flight deck (a fighter and a fighter-bomber). There are five seats: four
AA guns (front left, front right, rear left, rear right), and the driver sits
in the control tower, which affords a better view of the action.
Each Carrier has three spawn points tied to it. For the Allied carrier, the
first puts you in the driver's seat, the second is on the lower deck where
the landing boats are, and the third is on the flight deck next to the planes.
The Axis carrier has the second and third spots flipped (that is, the second
spot is the planes and the third is the landing boats).
Allied: USS Enterprise. Spawns two Higgins Boats, an SBD-6 Dauntless
fighter/bomber, and an F4U Corsair fighter.
Axis: IJN Shokaku. Spawns two Dai-Hatsu 42s, an Aichi D3A1 Val
fighter/bomber, and an A6M Zeke "Zero" fighter.
The new "Coral Sea" map features special carriers that cannot move and spawn
6 fighters and 6 fighter/bombers each, but are otherwise identical.
Seats for Carrier:
1. Driver
2. AA Gun
3. AA Gun
4. AA Gun
5. AA Gun
5.III.E Subs
NOTE: Submarines are ONLY available in Midway and Guadalcanal, and only in
multiplayer mode.
Submarines exist basically to sink enemy ships. When submerged, they're
very hard to see and hit, and they can shoot torpedoes from very, very far
away. Try not to be spotted by other ships; artillery and depth charges will
blow up submarines quickly. Note that destroyers can see you on sonar if you
get close to them (and if you're in the sub and submerged, you'll hear the
sonar pings getting faster as you get closer to them). Also, if someone is
standing on top of the sub, try not to submerge; they'll drown.
To raise or lower the sub, use the Raise/Lower Vehicle keys (default keys:
Up Arrow/Down Arrow). There are two depth meters; the one on the right shows
the depth you've set, and the one on the left shows the depth you're
currently at (it takes a few seconds for the sub to actually change depth).
There is also an oxygen meter that will diminish if you go below 1.75. If it
empties, you're in trouble (though it refills automatically when you surface).
Also, don't go below the red line on the depth meter - that's crush depth,
and you'll start taking damage below there. If you're surfaced, you can see
what's going on around you, but you're vulnerable to attacks from other
ships. When submerged partially, you can still see, and launch torpedoes at
other ships. When fully submerged, you can only use the map screen, and your
torpedoes will go underneath other ships. To hit smaller ships, you need to
be at a depth no greater than 1.0. You can hit carriers and battleships down
to about 1.5.
Note: torpedoes always launch from the front of the sub, which is labeled
with a yellow marker on the directional compass. They do NOT shoot where
you're pointing the periscope (unless you're pointing the periscope forwards).
Allies: USN Gato Class.
Axis: U-Boat Type VII C.
Seats:
1. Driver
5.III.F General Ship Tactics
First off, don't forget to use your ships on levels where they are made
available to you. It's amazing how many players will take the planes and
boats from a carrier and just leave it sitting there, undefended, to be sunk
a few minutes later (this is usually a very bad way to start off, especially
if you fail to capture an onland control point immediately).
Also, you have to keep an eye out for threats. You can't move ships very
fast, so planes and artillery can deal a lot of damage if they get close to
you (or vice versa). Use AA guns and the mounted machine guns you'll find on
ships to keep planes away, and use the cannons on battleships and destroyers
to take out coastal gun batteries and other ships.
Don't crash ships into land. They'll get stuck. And then you're in big
trouble.
You *can* crash ships into other ships; depending on the relative size of them,
this can be an effective way to sink an enemy vessel.
5.IV Air Vehicles
The planes in BF1942 are fun to fly and pack a punch. However, there is
usually a fairly limited number of them, and you'll often see players just
standing around the airfield or carrier waiting for the people in the air to
get shot down so they can grab one (worse are the people that stand around
the airfield and shoot down their team's planes until they get one). Don't
do that.
Also, if you want to practice flying, do it in single player or create a
private LAN game where you can crash to your heart's content. People expect
you to *at least* be able to take off and keep a plane in the air if you're
on a public server. Many will expect you to be able to dogfight and bomb
things, too, but generally they'll only be really pissed if you keep
crashing them.
5.IV.A Controls
The controls for planes are fairly simple. Press and hold the Throttle Up
key to go fast, let go of it for a bit to slow down (don't let go for too
long, though, or you'll crash). Pitch up and down makes you climb or dive,
and you can pitch left and right to turn. The yaw controls make you rotate
left or right, slowly, without tipping (this is primarily useful while lining
up to bomb or strafe ground targets, and in real life for compensating for
wind shear). To turn fast, you want to slow down, pitch in the direction of
the turn about 45-60 degrees, and then pull up and yaw in the direction of
the turn. To turn 180 degrees, you can also do an Immelman (do half of a
loop and then turn yourself right-side up) or Split-S (turn upside down and
then do an Immelman), but it's tough/impossible in the heavier planes
(and very, very hard without a joystick). I suggest using a mouse to fly
and the keyboard to control the throttle and yaw, unless you have a joystick,
in which case you should use that, since it's a lot easier. I haven't yet
found a way to adjust the joystick sensitivity; it moves the plane
as quickly as it is capable of turning. Under "Controls/Air" in the menus,
you can change these settings and set whether or not the vertical controls
are inverted (by default they are). To use a joystick, click on the thing
you want to control and then move the joystick/mouse in the direction you
want to have control that function. If you're setting a control that goes
back and forth (like pitch or throttle), the opposite one will automatically
be set to the opposite of the direction you moved the joystick or throttle.
They unfortunately don't have any support for force feedback or some
advanced joystick functions, but anything that Windows/DirectX recognizes
should work alright.
If you're in the pilot's seat, use Primary Fire to shoot the machine guns,
and Secondary Fire to drop bombs. The rear gunner uses Primary Fire to shoot
the machine guns (and no, you can't shoot yourself like in the third Indiana
Jones movie, so don't worry about it).
To take off, hold down the throttle until your plane goes from pointing up
to being level with the ground. Then press Pitch Up (or pull down on the
joystick or mouse) to take off. You may need to drive the plane around a bit
to get it lined up with a long enough airstrip for takeoff, or to maneuver
around obstacles on the ground (use the yaw controls to turn left or right,
and you can drive slowly in reverse by holding Throttle Down if you get
stuck). Try not to hit anything during takeoff; you'll probably die.
Hitting a *player* on the ground will instantly kill them, and hurt the plane
a bit. Also, try not to make any sudden moves to the side while taking off;
you can clip your wing on the ground and crash.
Landing is actually pretty easy; just slow down and stay level (or pointing
slightly upwards) until you touch down, then hold Throttle Down/Reverse
until you stop. Sometimes it's easier from the external view (F10). If
you land at an airstrip (where you took off from, or a carrier) your ammo
will be refilled. On levels where there is a vehicle repair hangar, you can
pull inside (or onto the repair pad) to be repaired. You'll also refill
your ammo slightly if you fly low and very slowly over a friendly airfield
or carrier.
If your plane gets shot up and starts sputtering and crashing, it's probably
time to bail out. Press the Enter/Exit Vehicle key to jump, and then hit the
Deploy Parachute key (default key: 9) to open your chute (you may have to hit
it a few times; keep trying until you see the parachute icon!). You have a
small degree of control over where you fall (you'll drift slightly in the
direction you're looking), and you can fire guns and grenades while you're
coming down. The physics of parachutes in this game are *very* forgiving;
as long as you open it when you're more than about 5 feet off the ground,
you'll land safely and with no damage. This can be handy if, say, there are
people on the ground that don't want to let you drift down from above. I
also hear that if you are holding down the Enter/Exit Vehicle key while you
fall, and you land directly on an empty vehicle, you'll be safely snapped
into the driver's seat instead of splatting on the ground.
5.IV.B Fighters
Fighters are light planes best suited for attacking other aircraft. They're
usually the fastest and most maneuverable planes, but they also have the
least armor and are easily shot down. Fighters can be identified visually
by having a single bomb hanging underneath, and a single cockpit. They are
armed with light machine guns and 15 single bombs.
Allies:
US: P-51 Mustang (Eastern/Western Europe), F4U Corsair (South Pacific). The
P-51 is a sleek, grey fighter with a red nose, while the F4U has a
distinctive gull-wing design (the wings bend down and then back up at about
the halfway point). Both can take a good amount of damage, and are fairly
maneuverable.
UK: Spitfire Mk VB. A camo-painted fighter with oval wings and a sleek
design. Very maneuverable, but can't take as much damage as some of the
others.
Russia: Yak-9. A stocky-looking camo-painted fighter. Not a great plane,
but usually you have more of them than the Germans do of their fighters, so
gang up on them.
Axis:
Germany: Messerschmitt Bf-109e. A grey plane with a yellow nose. Very fast,
very maneuverable. Poor range hurt it historically, but of course that's not
a problem here.
Japan: A6M Zeke "Zero". A white plane with red spots on the wings and tail.
Fast, maneuverable, and it has excellent guns. Great at dogfighting.
Seats:
1. Pilot
5.IV.C Fighter/Bombers
5.IV.C.i Dive Bombers
Dive Bombers are essentially heavier fighters with more firepower and less
speed. They also have a second seat for a rear machine gunner. They handle
similarly to fighters, but are much more sluggish. Visually, they have two
bombs hanging underneath, and a larger cockpit with a second rear-facing seat
and a machine gun. They are armed with heavy forward guns (they fire more
slowly but can damage vehicles and ships) and 30 bombs (dropped two at a
time, so you still get 15 shots). Much more effective at knocking out
ships, tanks, and other heavy targets, but not so good at shooting down
planes. Also, if you got this guide from cheatcc.com, they stole it from
GameFAQs. Just so you know.
Allies:
US: SBD-6 Dauntless. A blue-and-white plane, looks a lot like the F4U but
without the bent wings. Not as fast as the Aichi Val, but that actually
makes precise bombing easier. Can take a relatively high amount of damage.
Axis:
Germany: Junkers Ju 87B Stuka. A green and tan camoflauge-painted plane.
Slow, engines make a very distinctive noise. A tough plane that's easy to
bomb with, but lousy at dogfighting.
Japan: Aichi D3A1 Val. Looks almost identical to a Zero, except bigger.
Very fast for a dive bomber. Capable of dogfighting respectably, especially
with a rear gunner.
Seats:
1. Pilot
2. Rear Machine Gun
5.IV.C.ii Torpedo Bombers
Torpedo Bombers are specialized machines used against enemy ships. As such,
they are only available on maps with ships. They can be identified visually
by having a single torpedo hanging underneath, rather than a bomb. They're
otherwise identical to dive bombers, but are a bit slower at turning. While
you can drop the torpedo directly on an enemy ship like a bomb, it's even
more effective when you launch it underwater. To do so, fly as low, slow,
and level as you can (like practically hitting the water), and point yourself
towards an enemy ship. Then, press Secondary Fire to drop the torpedo. If
you did it right, it should travel through the water and then explode when it
hits the ship, doing a large amount of damage. If it isn't working, then you
might be going too fast or flying too high, which can cause the torpedo to go
underneath the target or explode on impact with the water. Practice on an
empty server to get the hang of it.
Models: See above. Identical to Aichi Val and SBD-6.
Seats:
1. Pilot
2. Rear Machine Gun
5.IV.D Heavy Bombers
The B-17 Heavy Bomber is used for causing massive amounts of destruction to
enemy encampments or columns of troops and armor. It is only available to
the Allies. The B-17 can drop eight heavy bombs in rapid succession. It
then needs about five seconds to reload. (Some people have reported problems
in laggy games where it won't properly reload. If this happens, wait for the
meter to fill up again and then you'll be able to shoot). When the larger
ammo meter empties (8 loads of bombs, I think), you need to go back to the
airfield and land to get more bombs. Try to stay high up and out of the way
of AA guns when using the B-17; it's no good at dogfighting, and it's easy to
hit. It is highly recommended that you bring along 1 or 2 tail gunners if
you want to live long -- it has two machine guns mounted on it to discourage
attackers. The lower gunner can also strafe ground targets.
Seats for B-17 Heavy Bomber:
1. Pilot/Bombardier
2. Upper Tail Gunner
3. Lower Tail Gunner
5.IV.E General Air Tactics
Generally, you want to have what pilots call "situational awareness" - that
is, you should know where the enemies, targets, and threats are at all times.
Try not to let enemy pilots double-team you, and conversely you should try to
team up with another pilot to hunt enemies.
First off, you can toggle the cockpit in first person view by pressing F9.
Turning it off makes flying a lot easier. You can also switch to an outside
view of the plane with F10, or an outside rear view (so you can see if your
bombs/torpedoes hit) with F11. I always crash when I use that view for some
reason, though. Press F9 to get back to the cockpit view. It can be helpful
to map these views to the "hat switch" on your joystick if you have one, so
you can quickly look behind you if you're getting shot at.
Remember to stay away from manned AA guns, or try to hit them with bombs to
knock them out for a few minutes. If you're attacking a ship, you'll take
less fire if you come at them head-on, but it's a more difficult target and
you can't use torpedoes that way.
5.IV.E.i Air-to-Air
The best place to attack from is above and behind the enemy. This gives you
a clean shot at the plane, and you can dive to accelerate and catch up with
them if they try to get away. Try to strafe your guns across them while you
fire; you're more likely to get a hit that way. It's easiest to hit bombers
while they're lining up for an attack, since they'll probably be going in a
straight line for a while at low speed.
As of version 1.31, there is no longer a damage bonus for hitting the engine
versus the wings of a plane (it used to do more damage when you hit the engine).
I find it's easiest to shoot people down in first-person, but it can be
useful to use the external views if you're getting shot at in order to
figure out where they are. Other people also swear by the external view
(F10) for bombing, but I personally think it's harder that way. The rear
view (F11) *is* useful for seeing if your bombs hit or not, but I tend
to crash if I stay in that view too long. :P
If you have someone on your tail, slow down and make a hard turn to shake
them. You can also pull a loop (pull back on the joystick until you've come
all the way around) to try to get behind them. Flying low and fast near
trees, under bridges, etc. may also lose pursuers, but it's dangerous! If
you're in a fighter-bomber or a B-17, try to have a rear gunner so they can
shoot down people who get behind you. On that note: it's *really* hard to
hit attacking planes from a gunner's seat if the pilot is taking wild evasive
maneuvers and rolling upside down constantly, so take it easy if you have
someone manning those guns. Most enemy pilots won't attack you if you have
a skilled gunner shooting at them.
5.IV.E.ii Ground Attack
Bombing can be tricky at first. Because of your plane's momentum, the bombs
you drop will continue traveling forwards at the same speed as your plane.
So, you want to drop the bombs so that they hit the ground as you are
directly over the target. This is the sort of thing that physics teachers
love to torture high school students with, so don't worry if you don't quite
get it at first.
Observe terrible ASCII art showing bomb trajectories:
(numbers indicate seconds since bomb release, '*'s indicate path of plane,
'-'s indicate path of bomb)
0*******>1*******>2********>3*******>4*******>5
| -
| 1
| -
| 2
| -
| -
| 3
| -
| -
| -
| 4
| -
| -
| -
| -
| *BOOM*
---------------------------------------------------------
As you can see, the bomb stays directly under your plane as it continues
moving fowards. You can make bombing easier by flying lower or slower, but
this also makes you easier to shoot down. You don't have much choice in a
B-17 (part of the reason why the Allies spent a huge amount of time and money
IRL making improved bomb sights), but fighter-bombers can use a more advanced
technique called "dive-bombing" (fighters can use it, too, but it's harder
to hit accurately with only one bomb rather than two).
The basic idea is that you drop your bombs while you're diving towards the
target at a low altitude, just before you start to pull up. This way, the
bombs have more downwards velocity and so spend less time in the air. Since
the bombs fall just below where you point the nose of the plane, and they
take a lot less time to reach the ground, it's easier to hit small, mobile
targets like tanks and ships. And since you're moving faster (and changing
altitude) while bombing, you're much less likely to be shot down.
More ASCII art illustrating dive-bombing:
(numbers indicate seconds since bomb release, '*'s indicate path of plane,
'-'s indicate path of bomb)
* 3
| * *
| * *
| * *
| * *
| 0 2
| - * *
| - * *
| - * *
| - * *
| - 1
| -
| -
| *BOOM*
--------------------------------------------------
Just be careful that you're not too close to the ground, or the explosion
will blow you up, too!
5.V Artillery
Artillery can be a decisive element in a battle. Those racks of guns on the
destroyers and battleships aren't just for show, you know.
5.V.A Naval Artillery
Naval guns are probably the most powerful overall. Their ammo is unlimited,
they can move around the map, and most ships fire them in groups of 2-5 at a
time, which can deal a ton of damage. Combine with artillery spotting for
maximum effectiveness (they can shoot a *lot* farther than you can see).
5.V.B Fixed Artillery
Most maps with ships also have fixed shore-based artillery platforms. These
are pretty much identical to the large guns on battleships, but each turret
only fires a single shell at a time. Use them to keep enemy ships away, or
to blow up approaching landing craft.
5.V.C Mobile Artillery
There are a few mobile artillery units in Battlefield 1942. Two of them are
howitzers, and the third is a mobile rocket launcher. They all work pretty
much the same way. There are two seats, a driver and a gunner. Since you
probably won't be shooting on the move, though, they can be operated fairly
effectively by 1 person. Just watch out for enemy tanks or troops that get
too close; these things don't have much armor. Use them from far away and
with a spotter for best results (press Secondary Fire while in the gunner's
seat once someone has set a camera) - you can shoot much further than you can
see, almost halfway across the map on most levels, if you aim high enough.
On some maps, there is a limit on how far you can shoot (probably to prevent
you from hiding a battleship in the corner and using to bomb the enemy's base).
Allies:
US/UK: M3 Priest Howitzer. A boxy green or tan thing with a short gun in the
front. Shoots big 'ol shells that do a lot of damage to troops. Less
effective against tanks unless you get direct hits.
Russia: Katyusha Rocket Launcher ("Stalin Organ"). A mobile rocket launcher
platform that can fire salvos of six rockets rapidly before reloading. Each
is about as powerful as a tank shell, and there is a slight spread, making
the launcher very effective against troops. It can be effective against
tanks if you can catch them standing still and hit them multiple times. This
thing has practically no armor, though, so keep it far, far away from
enemies; even an assault rifle will tear this thing apart!
Axis:
Germany: SdKfz.124 Wespe. A grey tank with a large cannon mounted at the
rear instead of in the middle like most tank turrets are. Another howitzer
cannon, it works almost identically to the M3, but seems to have even less
armor.
Seats for Mobile Artillery:
1. Driver
2. Gunner
5.V.D AA Guns
There are mounted AA guns near all airfields and scattered around most bases.
Just walk up to one and press the Enter/Exit Vehicle key to get in. These
fire explosive flak shells, which explode in midair and deal a lot of damage
to nearby planes. The little black clouds you see when you fire are the
shells exploding, so you want those to hit the plane you're shooting at.
This means you have to lead them, but fortunately the timers are
automatically set for the height you're firing at. If you don't understand
what that means, just aim in front of the plane a bit and try to line up the
explosions with it. Dark bursts indicate hits, lighter ones indicate misses.
In some areas, the AA gun is located such that it can also be used against
ground targets. It's pretty effective against tanks.
Version 1.3 decreased the "near miss" damage of AA guns by 50%, although
apparently direct hits still do the same amount they always did.
Version 1.31 somewhat increased the damage of AA guns (though not as much
as 1.3 decreased them by)
5.V.E Spotting
To make the most of artillery, you really need to use it from far away. So
far away, in fact, that the person sitting on the boat or in the mobile gun
can't actually see what they're shooting at (you can shoot targets half a
dozen "squares" away if you aim high enough or you're on a hill). However,
the Scout can use their binoculars to set a targeting camera by pressing
Primary Fire while looking at a target (zoom in first if you're far away,
but not so close that they can't see where their missed shots are going).
This sets a camera that lasts for two minutes (or until the Scout that set
it dies), and also automatically sends the "I have a target for artillery!"
voice message to your team. Try not to die after you set a targeting camera.
If someone is broadcasting the "Artillery Ready For Barrage!" message, they
want you to set a camera for them.
Note: you can only have one camera active per team. If anyone sets another
one (including yourself), this first will be destroyed and anyone using it
will get kicked back to the regular view. Don't do that.
To use the camera, first get in something that has artillery guns, and get
to a seat where you can fire the guns from. If a camera has been set, there
should be a small flashing artillery icon next to your ammo meter. Figure
out where the camera is (it's highlighted in yellow on the map), aim sort of
towards there (you may need to move the vehicle closer or turn it so it's
facing the right way), and press Secondary Fire to switch to the camera view.
Now you're seeing what the Scout that set the camera was seeing. The bars at
the left and top show the range of motion for your artillery, and after
you've fired at least once, they'll also show the settings where your last
shot was fired. The icon on the edge of the crosshair display indicates
roughly where your weapon is located and which direction it's pointing in.
When you fire (by pressing Primary Fire), the camera will pan briefly towards
your current location, follow the shell you fired to its destination, and
then return to looking at the target. You can then correct your aim and
fire again until you hit the target, the camera expires, or you get bored and
hit Secondary Fire again to return to the normal display. Sometimes you'll
be moved backwards a bit when you fire, so you may have to move the vehicle
occasionally to stay lined up.
Artillery spotting is very underused! If nobody will do it for you, you can
set your own camera and then get in a gun to shoot at things.
5.VI AI
The game's AI is vastly improved in version 1.2, but still has some serious
flaws. The bots do respond to certain voice commands, though; you can order
them to attack a particular control point with (F4 FX), and if you call for
reinforcements (F2 F2), they'll start respawning at the closest point to your
position. They're actually decent at driving vehicles (except when they get
stuck on bridges in heavy tanks...), but aren't so great on foot. The game's
much better in multiplayer mode anyway...
Version 1.3 makes the AI somewhat less shaky on foot; their ability to kill
you has increased somewhat, but they're not very good at tactics.
-----------------------------------------------
6. Maps
-----------------------------------------------
All map data pertains to the multiplayer version of the map. Some maps have
differing numbers of vehicles in single player and multiplayer modes.
All of these battles are based on historical events, but there is, of course,
no claim of actual authenticity. I'll try to provide a little bit of
historical detail in each map description.
Most of the maps are too big to fully describe in detail ("okay, there's
some more sand over there..."), so I'll try to go over the control points,
victory conditions, what vehicles are available, and general strategies for
both Axis and Allied forces. "Map Size" is the number of squares the
available area of the map fills. If it's "split", ie 10/30, this means
that either a) there's only 10 squares of land and the other 20 are water,
or b) there's 30 land squares total, but most of the action will be
concentrated in about 10 (like on Bocage, where you can wander all over the
place but they basically only have that much space so people in planes can
actually turn around without going out of bounds).
Speaking of out of bounds, don't go there. You'll get warned, and a timer
starts counting down from 10. When it gets to zero, you start losing health
every second until you die.
Many thanks go out to www.bf1942.com for providing detailed maps showing
which vehicles are available at each base in every map. You made this thing
a lot more accurate.
6.I Western Europe
6.I.A Battle Of The Bulge
December 16th, 1944 - January 16th, 1945. The German army, growing
increasingly desperate, launched a surprise attack on Allied forces in the
heavily forested Ardennes region on December 16th, 1944, hoping to break
through a weak point in the Allied defenses and regain the upper hand by
stalling their advance across France and Germany. Despite having almost
total surprise -- nobody expected them to launch a counter-offensive at this
point, Allied commanders failed to realize the Axis tanks could move rapidly
through heavy forest, and the Germans had specially trained units that
impersonated US soldiers -- the gambit failed, and the Allies pushed through
only a few months later to capture Berlin and crush the Axis forces in
Western Europe. "The Battle Of The Bulge" is a classic WWII movie treatment
of this offensive.
Map Details:
The Germans start with a single spawn point in the nortwestern part of the
map, which cannot be taken by the Allies. The Allies have the other five
spawn points. A river cuts the map basically in half; there are two bridges,
which are the only way for the Axis forces to get to all but two of the
Allied control points. There is a lot of armor in this battle; much of the
fighting will consist of tank combat and attempts to hold the bridges. The
Germans lose tickets slowly while the Allies hold their five control points;
the Allies lose tickets rapidly if the Germans capture them all.
Total Control Points: 6
Total Vehicles: 14 (7 light tanks, 2 heavy tanks, 2 mobile artillery, 2 APCs,
1 jeep)
Map Size (in squares): 15/25
Recommended # of players: 16-32
Axis Tickets (default) : 200
Allied Tickets (default): 160
Control Points:
German:
1. German Base (cannot be captured). Located in northern part of map, west
of the river.
Features: Medical Locker, Ammo Boxes (2), mounted machine gun at front gates.
Vehicles: 4 Light Tanks, 1 Heavy Tank, 1 Mobile Artillery.
Allied:
2. Outpost (West). Located on the Western side of the map, overlooking the
German base. This is the only control point the Axis forces can reach without
crossing the river.
Features: Ammo Box, Mounted MGs (3) on side of hill overlooking the base.
There is a medical locker, ammo box, mounted machine gun, and a jeep located
directly west of this base, in a small cluster of buildings along the road at
the bottom of the hill.
Vehicles: 1 Light Tank.
3. Outpost (East). On the Eastern side of the river, just past the northern
bridge.
Features: Ammo Box, Mounted MGs (2) facing the bridge. There is a medical
locker located directly east of the control point, at the end of the road.
Vehicles: 1 Heavy Tank.
4. Bunker. Just over the bridge from the St. Vith control point, south of
the western outpost.
Features: Mounted MG, Ammo Box.
Vehicles: none
5. St. Vith. Located in the middle of the map, just over the southern bridge.
Features: Mounted MGs (3) around the control point itself. Ammo Boxes (3) in
buildings and a bunker just to the southwest of the control point.
Vehicles: none.
6. American Fuel Supply Depot. Located at the southern end of the map.
Features: Medical Lockers (3), Ammo Boxes (3), Mounted MGs (3).
Vehicles: Two Light Tanks, 2 APCs, 1 Mobile Artillery.
Allied Tactics:
The Germans have more (and tougher) tanks, so you'll probably spend a lot of
time trying to blow them up. Engineers and Anti-Tanks are very useful in
this map, obviously. If possible, try to keep the Axis from taking and
holding the western outpost, since you can shell their base from there easily
if you bring up the M3 Priest from the supply depot. However, it's more
important that you keep them on their side of the river. Use your tanks to
hold the northern bridge, and try to get both of them mined ASAP. If the
Germans make it to St. Vith, drive them off quickly before they can dig in
and capture all the points. You're in big trouble if you let them get the
upper hand, so hold the river at all costs.
Axis Tactics:
You want to move rapidly and take the Allies by surprise in this map. You're
bleeding tickets when you start out, so do everything you can to rapidly take
one of the northern outposts, probably the western one, before you lose too
many. Blitz them with your tanks -- you start with five and will get a few
more when you capture the northern outposts. If you take the western
outpost, you can use your Wespe to shell all the other bases from there if
you get someone to scout for you, which can make your life a lot easier. If
the bridges get mined, have Engineers clear them so you can bring tanks
across. If you can't get through the northern bridge, try outflanking them
to the south and taking the central control points if they're not defending
them. You need to move quickly, before the Allies can get their act together
and set up a defense that will hold you.
6.I.B Bocage
(this map is not based on a particular historical battle, but rather a series
of similar skirmishes)
June/July, 1944 -- the Allies began their march across France from the
beachheads established during Operation Overlord, but face stiff German
resistance in the French countryside as the Axis scrambles to contain the
invaders. Hilly terrain and "bocage" -- thick hedgerows that provided cover
and inhibited troop and vehicle movements -- made life difficult for the
Allied forces. However, they persevered, and had recaptured Paris by August.
Map Details:
This is a somewhat smaller map with an interesting mix of terrain and a
number of vehicles. The Germans start with the spawn point in the northwest,
and the Allies in the southeast. Neither of these can be taken. There are
three other control points, and holding two of them will slowly drain tickets
from the opposing team. There is a large river that separates the German
base and the northernmost of the three control points from the rest of the
map; there are three bridges you can use to get across. One is at the
aforementioned control point, and the other two are to the north of the
German base, which you can reach by crossing the bridge *behind* the Allied
base and going all the way around the map that way. A smaller branch of
the river cuts across further south, creating a number of natural chokepoints
between the two bases. This somewhat offsets the German armor advantage here.
Total Control Points: 5
Total Vehicles: 14 (3 Heavy Tanks, 1 Light tank, 2 APCs, 1 Mobile Artillery,
2 Jeeps, 4 Fighters, 1 Heavy Bomber)
Map Size (in squares): 12/35
Recommended # of players: 16-24
Axis Tickets (default) : 200
Allied Tickets (default): 200
Control Points:
Axis:
1. 2nd Panzer Division HQ (cannot be captured). Located northwest of the
windmill bridge, past the bridge control point.
Features: Medical Lockers (2), Ammo Box, Mounted MG, AA Guns (3)
Vehicles: 2 Heavy Tanks, 1 APC, 1 Jeep, 2 Fighters
Allies:
1. Allied HQ (cannot be captured). In the SE corner of the map.
Features: Medical Lockers (2), Ammo Boxes (2), AA Guns (2)
Vehicles: 1 Heavy Tank, 1 Light Tank, 1 APC, 1 Jeep, 2 Fighters, 1 Heavy Bomber
Neutral:
1. Bridge. Just outside the German base, on their side of the windmill bridge.
Features: AA Gun, Mounted MG
Vehicles: none
2. Windmill. Actually located on the Allied side of the windmill, just past
the second bridge.
Features: AA Gun. Medical locker and ammo box in windmill on hill directly
west of control point.
Vehicles: none
3. Sawmill. Located SW of the windmill bridge.
Features: AA Gun, Ammo Box
Vehicles: 1 Mobile Artillery
There are also a few ammo boxes in houses along the long road that goes all
the way around the eastern side of the map and leads to the north entrance to
the German base and the rear entrance to the Allied base.
Allied Tactics:
The key here is to keep the Germans cooped up on their side of the river.
The bridge between the "Bridge" and "Windmill" control points is a natural
choke point, so you shouldn't have too much trouble holding it. Use the M3
Priest artillery and your tanks to blow up anything that tries to cross and
to shoot at anyone holding the other side. Mines can also be very
effective. Keep an eye out for enemies that try to sneak around the long
way -- they're probably best dealt with from the air. Just keep the Germans
on their side of the river and you'll win eventually. And remember: every
enemy trying to be a sniper is one less enemy trying to capture flags.
Axis Tactics:
You *must* get over the river if you want to have a fighting chance. If the
Allied defense is too strong to punch through to the Windmill, a daring
tactic is to paradrop soldiers from your fighters behind the Sawmill control
point and try to capture that. You also have a better position on the upper
bank to snipe at enemies or to shell them, but remember that if you don't
capture another flag past the bridge, you'll slowly lose tickets until your
team loses, no matter how many soldiers you kill.
6.I.C Operation Market Garden
September 17th, 1944 -- Allied forces launch a daring aerial attack on
several key bridges in Holland, hoping to secure critical supply and
transport routes to continue their push towards Germany (as well as
surrounding and cutting off the German forces still in Holland). They were
unsuccessful, but the 1st Airborne held the Arnheim bridge for almost four
days, taking heavy casualties in the process, before breaking out and
retreating. The movie "A Bridge Too Far" covers this in far more detail.
Map Details:
A large map for a large operation. This is one of the few maps where the
Allies have clear air superiority, so they'd better use it to counteract the
Germans' heavy tanks. Holding 3 or more of the central control points will
slowly drain tickets from the other side. The start of this map is generally
a mad rush to capture as many as possible, and then often bogs down in the
middle as teams fight house-to-house for the upper hand. It'll take a
coordinated offensive effort to push the enemy back on either side.
Total Control Points: 6
Total Vehicles: 19 (5 light tanks, 2 heavy tanks, 2 APCs, 1 Mobile Artillery,
6 Jeeps, 2 Fighters, 1 Heavy Bomber)
Map Size (in squares): 8/32
Recommended # of players: 32
Axis Tickets (default) : 200
Allied Tickets (default): 240
Control Points:
Axis:
1. 2nd Panzer Division Field HQ (cannot be captured)
Features: Medical Locker, Ammo Boxes (4), AA Guns (5), Mounted MG. There is
another medical locker just on the German side of the smaller bridge.
Vehicles: 3 Light Tanks, 2 Heavy Tanks, 1 APC, 1 Mobile Artillery, 2 Jeeps
Allies:
1. Allied Airfield (cannot be captured)
Features: Medical Locker, Ammo Boxes (2)
Vehicles: 4 Jeeps, 2 Fighters, 1 Heavy Bomber
The Allies have an additional spawn point located near the church. If you
spawn here, you parachute into the battle (which is pretty damn cool). This
point cannot be captured or taken away (since there's not a flag there).
Neutral:
1. Church
Features: Medical Locker, Ammo Box
Vehicles: 2 Light Tanks
2. Arnheim
Features: Medical Locker, Ammo Boxes (2) (both to west/nw of control point)
Vehicles: none
3. Stone Bridge (the small one)
Features: Medical Locker, Ammo Box.
Vehicles: none
4. Arnheim Bridge (the big one)
Features: Ammo Boxes (4), Mounted MG in bunker overlooking bridge
Vehicles: 1 APC
Allied Tactics:
The Germans have more and much stronger tanks than you do, so you'll have a
lot of trouble fighting them head-on with your Shermans. The obvious place
to hold them is the two bridges, so try to get there ASAP and get them mined.
You should also use your planes to knock out as many of their tanks as you
can; bombing their base is a good idea if you can do it without getting shot
down by the 5(!) AA guns around it. Try hitting their tanks on the bridges
if you're a good dive-bomber. If you can neutralize their tank advantage and
hold them at the bridges, it's an easy win. Otherwise it's tough fighting.
However, the terrain offers limited visibility, so try to get behind enemy
tanks and bazooka them from the rear.
Axis Tactics:
You've got all the tanks here, pretty much (5 against 2), so your objective
is to get them into play for you. The Allies (if they're even remotely
organized) will inevitably mine the two bridges, so bring along engineers to
disarm them, or try to storm across quickly before they can get them set up.
Always keep an eye out for planes; you're a sitting duck on the bridges, but
it's harder to hit a small target once it's hidden between buildings in the
city proper. If they start using the B-10 against your base, use the AA guns
to shoot it down. If you can shoot down their fighters, things will go a lot
more smoothly for you.
6.I.D Omaha Beach
June 6th, 1944 -- D-Day. The Allies' top-secret plan for an amphibious
assault on France, "Operation Overlord", comes to fruition. Through
misinformation, the Germans are led to believe the attack will take place
further north at Calais, while overcast weather masks the approach of the
troops. However, the air and naval support the Allied forces were expecting
largely failed to make an impact on German defenses. Thousands of soldiers
died taking the beaches of Normandy, but it was already the beginning of the
end for the German forces. The classic movie "The Longest Day" treats
Operation Overlord in considerable detail, and Omaha Beach itself is featured
in many other WWII movies, most recently "Saving Private Ryan".
Map Details:
A small, claustrophobic map that devolves into incredibly intense combat
pretty quickly. You should all know the drill on this one: the Allies will
try to hit the beach hard and then claw their way up the hill, while the
Germans will do everything they can to stop them. While the Axis holds the
two upper control points, the Allied team slowly loses tickets. There's
not a whole lot else to say about it.
Total Control Points: 3
Total Vehicles: 5 (1 Heavy Tank, 2 Light Tanks, 1 APC, 1 Jeep)
Map Size (in squares): 8
Recommended # of players: 8-16
Axis Tickets (default): 200
Allied Tickets (default): 300
Control Points:
Axis:
1. German Garrison
Features: Medical Locker, Ammo Boxes (3), Mounted MGs (6), Fixed Artillery (2)
Vehicles: 1 Heavy Tank, 1 APC
2. German Fortified Positions
Features: Medical Locker (east bunker), Ammo Boxes (2), Mounted MGs (4)
Vehicles: 1 Light Tank
Allies:
Destroyer (cannot be captured. Tied to ship.)
Features: Guns. Lots of guns.
Vehicles: 2 Landing Boats.
Neutral:
3. Omaha Beach (cannot be captured by Axis)
Features: none
Vehicles: 1 Light Tank, 1 Jeep
Allied Tactics:
You've gotta advance as quickly as possible, since you start out with no
land-based control points and you're losing tickets to boot. Once you're on
the beach, try to snipe the machine gunners who are shooting at you, or call
in artillery from your destroyer to soften them up. You do have a light
tank, so try to use it to punch through to the second line. Once you're up
there, there isn't much to say; it's a tough fight to take the German base no
matter how you do it.
Axis Tactics:
You won't be able to keep them off the beach, but you *can* sink their
destroyer with your artillery guns, which will help a lot (and can even cause
them to lose if you can do it before they take the beach). A decent Allied
team will almost always make it up to the second point despite your efforts,
but you should be able to cause unacceptably high casualties between your
tanks and APC, the mounted machine guns, and a whole lot of grenades. If
they do take the second point, try to push them back with your armor; you're
in a pretty lousy position once they get off the beach, even if there is a
good choke point leading into your base.
6.II Eastern Europe
6.II.A Berlin
April 23rd, 1945 -- Russian forces have fought their way to the German
capital of Berlin. Axis forces in the city are still holding out, in what
turns out to be the mistaken hope that they can surrender to the US rather
than the Russians. Meanwhile, the US and UK have agreed to let the Soviets
take Berlin while their forces remain outside the city. The Red Army
advanced through Berlin block by block, fighting for every inch, and
eventually trapped Hitler in his command bunker, where he committed suicide
on April 30th, 1945.
Map Details:
This is the smallest BF1942 map, encompassing just a few city blocks in the
heart of Berlin. The Russians start off to the north, at the end of a long
street that cuts the map in half. This base cannot be captured. The Germans
have three bases to the south, which they try to defend. This is like
Stalingrad to the nth degree, since there's so little room. You'll be
fighting your way through pretty much every foot of this map. Note: many of
the ammo boxes, etc. on these levels are in buildings and/or upstairs. Look
around if you can't find them.
Total Control Points: 4
Total Vehicles: 4 (2 Light Tanks, 1 Heavy Tank, 1 APC)
Map Size (in squares): 9
Recommended # of players: 8-24
Axis Tickets (default) :
Allied Tickets (default):
Control Points:
Axis:
1. Southeast Axis Base/HQ
Features: Medical Lockers(2), Ammo Boxes(5), Mounted MGs(3; 1 directly in
front of flag, 2 on NW corner of block covering the approaching streets).
There is an additional Medical Locker on the SE corner of the next block to
the west.
Vehicles: 1 APC
2. Northeast Axis Base
Features: 1 Ammo Box
Vehicles: None!
3. Southwest Axis Base
Features: 2 Ammo Boxes
Vehicles: 1 Light Tank
Allies:
4. Allied HQ
Features: 1 Ammo Box, 2 Mounted MGs (one covering front door, one around the
back facing the side street leading to the rear entrance).
Vehicles: 1 Light Tank, 1 Heavy Tank
Allied Tactics:
Tactics? What tactics? This map is straight urban combat. Try to keep your
team together, and advance slowly, with your tanks backing you up. This is
pretty much the only map where the Allies have an armor advantage on the Axis,
so press it. Take 1 point at a time, probably saving the SE one for last.
The Germans have good defensive positions, so if you try to assault all their
points at the same time, you'll just die over and over and over... and then
not have enough tickets left to push through for the win.
Axis Tactics:
You're going to die. A lot. Unless you're *amazing*, you'll be running smack
into a Russian soldier every 30 seconds, since their tactics will be rushing
you and trying to drive you back. Use that APC and tank for all they're worth,
and don't forget about those machine guns! Sure, you'll probably get sniped
in a minute or two, but you can completely wipe out an assault wave in just a
few seconds. This map's a battle of attrition; make the Allies pay enough for
each flag, and they'll be wiped out by the time they back you into a corner.
6.II.B Kharkov
(several battles were fought around Kharkov, so I'm not sure exactly which
one is represented in BF1942)
October 24th, 1941 -- German forces are in the midst of "Operation
Barbarossa", a full-scale invasion of Russia launched in June of 1941. The
seemingly unstoppable German blitzkreig has swept across the outskirts of
the Soviet Union with little resistsance; Minsk, Smolensk, Novogrod, and Kiev
have already fallen, and Leningrad is under seige. Three Soviet armies ran
directly into the advancing German forces outside of Kharkov -- and Russia
lost over two hundred thousand troops in two weeks before the city fell.
May 12th, 1942 -- As the winter of 1941 began to thaw out, the Russian
forces, who had used the badly-needed break in the fighting to regroup and
reinforce their troops, launched a counter-offensive designed to push the
Germans back from the towns and bases taken in the fall. Almost a thousand
Russian tanks were sent in, and although they broke through the German line
in several places, they had spread themselves too thin. The German
counterattack destroyed or captured most of the Soviet forces in the area,
leaving the Axis with a clear line to the vital port of Stalingrad.
Map Details:
This is a fun, mid-sized map with a lot of varied terrain, a good mix of
vehicles, and plenty of action. You've got artillery. You've got tanks.
You've got planes. You've got bridges. You've got infantry fighting
through the ruins of a Russian town. You've got a hill to assault.
You've got rivers to cross. Who could want anything more? Pluses
include good balance, a largely symmetrical design that doesn't favor one
team over the other, and plenty of opportunity for teamwork. Look forward
to some great games on this map.
Total Control Points: 5 (hold 3 to drain tickets)
Total Vehicles: 18 (6(!) Light Tanks, 4 APCs, 2 Jeeps, 2 Mobile Artillery,
3 Fighters, 1 Dive Bomber)
Map Size (in squares): 18
Recommended # of players: 32-64
Axis Tickets (default) :
Allied Tickets (default):
Control Points:
Axis:
1. Axis Base
Features: 1 Medical Locker, 1 Ammo Box
Vehicles: 2 Light Tanks, 2 APCs, 1 Jeep, 1 Fighter, 1 Fighter-Bomber
Allies:
2. Allied Base
Features: 1 Medical Locker, 1 Ammo Box
Vehicles: 2 Light Tanks, 2 APCs, 1 Jeep, 2 Fighters
Neutral:
3. NW Outpost
Features: 1 Ammo Box, 1 Mounted MG (facing bridge)
Vehicles: 1 Light Tank
4. NE Outpost
Features: 1 Ammo Box, 1 Mounted MG (facing bridge)
Vehicles: 1 Light Tank
5. Hilltop Outpost
Features: 1 Medical Locker, 1 Ammo Box, 3 AA Guns (on hillside)
Vehicles: 2 Mobile Artillery
Tactics:
This map is very even, so there aren't any great tactics for one side in
particular. *Immediately* take the bridge outpost on your side, and try
to get someone up the hill to capture that one as well (it may be worth
sacrificing a plane to get someone up there before the other team does).
Move your tanks up into the middle of town, and try to pin the enemy
back in their base. Mining the bridge leading to their side can be very
effective, as you'll likely take the hill easily if they can't get their
tanks into play. Sneaky players may want to go around the long way to
the north and take the second bridge over to try getting a jump on the
enemy from behind. Controlling the air helps a lot -- a few good pilots
(or control of the hill and a few good AA gunners) can easily turn the
tide of battle here, as the teams' home bases have no AA protection!
Allied Tactics:
The Germans have slightly better tanks than you, but it's not so much of
a disadvantage that you can't make it up. Play smart, use the buildings
as cover, and bring along engineers to repair you. Try luring enemy
tanks into the fire zone of another tank or an Anti-Tank infantry. You
also have two fighters to their one, so try to gang up and shoot down
their planes, or take control of the hill and its complement of AA guns.
Axis Tactics:
Your advantages here are somewhat better vehicles, so a few smart tank
commanders can really help you out. If you can hold the center with
two tanks, the third can sneak around the long way and either flank the
enemy armor, or head to their base and do annoying things like keeping
any planes from taking off and killing any enemies trying to leave.
Your bomber is a great plane, but the Allied fighters will tear it apart
if they gang up on it. Try to shoot them down, since the dive bomber
can blow away the Allied tanks if you give it a good pilot.
6.II.C Kursk
(two major battles were fought around Kursk)
November 3rd, 1941 -- Continuing their sweep across western Russia, the Axis
forces pressed onwards from Kharkov, and next set their sights on Kursk.
The Soviet forces did not hold out long here before the German tanks rolled
over them.
July 5th, 1943 -- After their failure at Stalingrad, the German forces had
regrouped and were being pushed hard by Hitler to launch a new offensive
against the Soviets. After a German defeat at Volga and their successful
recapturing of Kharkov, the Soviet and German forces came together in a
massive battle outside Kursk. In almost a week of heavy fighting, the Axis
forces lost nearly a thousand Tiger tanks, shattering their hopes of moving
further on the eastern front. It was to be the last major offensive Hitler
launched against the Soviets.
Map Details:
This is a fairly popular map, as it isn't too big and there are a fairly
large number of vehicles for the size (plus planes. Everyone loves planes.)
Makes for quick games where almost everyone gets to drive something at some
point, plus if you die it doesn't take too long to get back in the action.
Total Control Points: 4
Total Vehicles: 17 (4 Light Tanks, 3 Heavy Tanks, 2 APCs, 2 Jeeps, 2 Mobile
Artillery, 3 Fighters, 1 Fighter-Bomber)
Map Size (in squares): 10
Recommended # of players: 16-32
Axis Tickets (default) :
Allied Tickets (default):
Control Points:
Axis:
1. Axis Base (cannot be captured)
Features: 1 Medical Locker, 1 Ammo Box
Vehicles: 2 Light Tanks, 1 Heavy Tank, 1 APC, 1 Jeep, 1 Fighter,
1 Fighter-Bomber
Allies:
2. Allied Base (cannot be captured)
Features: 1 Medical Locker, 1 Ammo Box
Vehicles: 2 Light Tanks, 1 Heavy Tank, 1 APC, 1 Jeep, 2 Fighters
Neutral:
3. Work Camp (western)
Features: 1 Ammo Box
Vehicles: 1 Heavy Tank
4. Sawmill (eastern)
Features: 1 Medical Locker, 2 Ammo Boxes (2nd by AA gun), 1 AA Gun
Vehicles: 2 Mobile Artillery
Allied Tactics:
You have essentially only a few objectives here: keep the Axis from taking
the Work Camp (western point), as two Tiger tanks makes for tough fighting,
and use the 1(!) AA gun on the map to shoot down their bomber before it
kills all your vehicles. This map's pretty cramped, so you'll find that
you're running into Axis tanks all the time. Mobile Artillery can help
sometimes, but it's hard to find a good spot to shoot from where they can't
hit you back!
Axis Tactics:
Press your tank advantage here. Your side of the map is a bit more open,
so try not to let the Allies slip past you and start attacking your base.
Both points have good reasons to take: The Work Camp gives you a second
Tiger tank (always a good thing), and the Sawmill comes with an AA gun that
will make short work of any Russian planes trying to bomb you. Get a good
pilot in your bomber, take out the Allied air force, and then pound their
tanks into scrap metal. The rest is cake.
6.II.D Stalingrad
August 19th, 1942 - February 3rd, 1943 -- Stalled outside Moscow by the
brutal winter weather in late 1941, German forces in 1942 turned their
attention further south, in an attempt to cut Russian supply lines by
capturing the vital port of Stalingrad. The city lay under constant siege
for more than six months, as the Russians poured more and more troops into
the battle in a desperate attempt to hold the line. The winter weather in
1942 again worked to their advantage by crippling Hitler's armored units,
but much of the city still lay in ruins by early 1943. Eventually, the
Russians forced back the invading German army, though at a terrible cost.
Still, Stalin had won: between defeats here and at Moscow, Operation
Barbarossa had failed. The recent movie "Enemy At The Gates" details
the (mostly) true story of a heroic Soviet sniper fighting in this battle.
Map Details:
I keep trying to like this map, because I've seen it work well, but,
frankly, it's *way* too easy for the Germans to lock the Russians down in
their base if they take all the other control points. Despite the very
large size of the map, there are essentially only two ways out of the
Allied base: through the buildings to the west (which will be swamped with
Axis soldiers and probably a tank if they take the northern point), and to
the southwest along the railroad tracks (leading directly into 3 machine
guns, a spawn point, and probably another tank). If the map was a little
longer vertically, and the Russian base wasn't stuck in the very corner,
it would probably work better. Despite all that, it's *still* fun (as
long as you don't get trapped), with plenty of house-to-house infantry
action. Snipers will have a field day, as long as the server turns off
showing you who killed you, as there are literally dozens of second and
third story windows to shoot from, and dozens of unsuspecting targets down
below.
Total Control Points: 5
Total Vehicles: 6 (4 Light Tanks, 2 Jeeps)
Map Size (in squares): 22
Recommended # of players: 32-64
Axis Tickets (default) :
Allied Tickets (default):
Control Points:
Axis:
1. Axis Base
Features: 1 Medical Locker, 2 Ammo Boxes, 3 Mounted MGs (covering entrance)
Vehicles: 2 Light Tanks, 1 Jeep
Allies:
2. Allied Base
Features: 1 Medical Locker, 1 Ammo Box, 1 Mounted MG (facing RR tracks)
Vehicles: 2 Light Tanks, 1 Jeep
Neutral:
Note: there are Ammo Boxes scattered all over the place on this map.
There is also a Medical Locker in the NW corner.
3. Northern HQ
Features: 1 Medical Locker
Vehicles: None!
4. Railroad Tracks (Middle)
Features: 1 Ammo Box, 5 Mounted MGs (facing NW,N,NE,E,S)
Vehicles: None!
5. Southern HQ
Features: 1 Medical Locker
Vehicles: None!
Allied Tactics:
Get out of your base ASAP and capture the upper control point. Hopefully
you can get someone in a jeep down to the middle one as well (though watch
trying to drive over the tracks; you can tear up your vehicle pretty bad).
Once you get out, it's pretty much infantry fighting between buildings.
Stick together in groups for the best chance of success.
Axis Tactics:
If you can somehow (through Allied ineptitude) take the northernmost
control point before they do, you've practically won, since you can easily
contain the Russians in their base for a long, long time. Otherwise, try
to use your tanks to maximum effectiveness, and keep your soldiers in
groups so they have a better chance of survival.
6.III Africa
6.III.A El Alamein
October 23rd, 1942 -- Field Marshall Rommel, "The Desert Fox", had just
stormed through Gazala and Tobruk with the Afrika Corps, and was aiming to
capture the Suez Canal. However, numerous setbacks began to affect him at
this point -- increased British air support in the area, a shortage of fuel
for his tanks, steady attrition of his forces, and a refusal by Hitler to
supply fresh soldiers and equipment (due to his desire to press the Soviet
front). British commanders were intent on holding a strong defensive line
established at El Alamein, knowing that failure here would leave Egypt and
the vital Suez Canal in the hands of the Germans. They succeeded, and this
battle was the turning point in the North African campaign.
Map Details:
Total Control Points:
Total Vehicles:
Map Size (in squares):
Recommended # of players:
Axis Tickets (default) :
Allied Tickets (default):
Control Points:
Axis:
Allies:
Allied Tactics:
Axis Tactics:
6.III.B Gazala
May 26th, 1942 -- while the British Eighth Army had pushed the German forces
back in late 1941, the Afrika Corps was back on the offensive throughout the
spring of 1942. British forces had dug in around Gazala, placing
fortifications and minefields to slow the German advance, but poor leadership
in the Eighth Army and a series of tactical blunders led to another crushing
defeat at the hands of "The Desert Fox".
Map Details:
Total Control Points:
Total Vehicles:
Map Size (in squares):
Recommended # of players:
Axis Tickets (default) :
Allied Tickets (default):
Control Points:
Axis:
Allies:
Allied Tactics:
Axis Tactics:
6.III.C Operation Battle Axe
June 14th, 1941 -- Armed with a new shipment of tanks, the British Eighth
Army planned an offensive that would push the Axis forces back from Libyan
border posts and relieve their siege of Tobruk. However, while the Germans
were outnumbered, their superior artillery and tanks enabled Rommel to not
only hold his positions, but to knock out more than 75% of the British armor
in only three days of combat. The Eighth Army would need a change of command
and nearly six months to regroup before finally launching a successful
offensive in the winter of 1941. Operation Battle Axe had failed.
Map Details:
Total Control Points:
Total Vehicles:
Map Size (in squares):
Recommended # of players:
Axis Tickets (default) :
Allied Tickets (default):
Control Points:
Axis:
Allies:
Allied Tactics:
Axis Tactics:
6.III.D Tobruk
June 21st, 1942 -- Continuing a string of victories throughout 1942, Rommel's
Afrika Corps moved on from Gazala to Tobruk, one of the few remaining
obstacles lying between him and his goal of securing all of North Africa.
While Rommel's earlier attempt to besiege the city in the winter of 1941 had
been halted by a successful British counterattack, the Allies would not be so
lucky this time. The British forces entrenched here suffered more blunders
and miscommunications, while Rommell outflanked the Allied positions and
captured the port city.
Map Details:
Total Control Points:
Total Vehicles:
Map Size (in squares):
Recommended # of players:
Axis Tickets (default) :
Allied Tickets (default):
Control Points:
Axis:
Allies:
Allied Tactics:
Axis Tactics:
6.IV Pacific
6.IV.A Guadalcanal
November 13th, 1942 -- Guadalcanal was one of the first land offensives to be
pursued by the US in WW2, although it recieved less attention immediately
than the situation in Europe. US and Japanese forces in the area were
relatively evenly matched, and the US fleet was operating far from its
established bases. The battle consisted of months of tough fighting in
combined land, sea, and air operations -- the Japanese did not withdraw
fully from Guadcanal until February, 1943. The film "The Thin Red Line"
portrays some of the later operations on the island.
Map Details:
Guadalcanal is a fun map with a lot of vehicles. It's bigger than it looks
at first, especially if there aren't a lot of players in the game. Most of
the action takes place on the main island, which runs NW to SE in the middle
of the map. Axis and Allies each have a base, and there are four control
points in the middle to fight over. Much like the real battle, it's going to
be a long, tough fight to win this one, no matter how you fight it.
Controlling four points will cause the other team to slowly lose tickets.
Total Control Points: 6
Total Vehicles: 35 (10 Light Tanks, 2 APCs, 6 Jeeps, 5 Mobile Artillery,
4 Fighters, 2 Fighter-Bombers, 4 Destroyers, 2 Subs)
Map Size (in squares): 12/lots
Recommended # of players: 32-64
Axis Tickets (default) :
Allied Tickets (default):
Control Points:
Axis:
1. Axis Base (cannot be captured)
Features: Medical Lockers (3), Ammo Boxes (3), AA Guns (3)
Vehicles: 3 Light Tanks, 1 APC, 2 Mobile Artillery, 2 Jeeps, 2 Fighters,
1 Fighter-Bomber
2 Destroyers, 1 Sub (cannot be captured, tied to ships)
Allies:
2. Allied Base (cannot be captured)
Features: Medical Lockers (3), Ammo Boxes (3), AA Guns (3)
Vehicles: 3 Light Tanks, 1 APC, 2 Mobile Artillery, 2 Jeeps, 2 Fighters,
1 Fighter-Bomber
2 Destroyers, 1 Sub (cannot be captured, tied to ships)
Neutral:
3. Northern Hill
Features: Medical Locker, Ammo Box
Vehicles: 1 Light Tank
4. Western Outpost
Features: 1 Ammo Box
Vehicles: 1 Light Tank, 1 Jeep
5. Eastern Base
Features: Medical Lockers (2), Ammo Box
Vehicles: 1 Light Tank, 1 Jeep, 1 Mobile Artillery
6. Southern Hill
Features: Medical Locker, Ammo Box
Vehicles: 1 Light Tank
Allied Tactics:
The Allies seem to have a somewhat easier time of it on this map, mostly
because their base is slightly closer to the control points, and the northern
hill is easier to hold than the southern one. There isn't a whole lot to say
about this map; it's pretty much a slugfest in the middle, although the naval
action can be very interesting as well. However, since aren't any water
control points like on Midway, and both teams start with permanent land
bases, they're not as vital as in some of the other maps. Use the hills if
you can to pound the eastern base and Axis HQ with artillery fire, and go
around the western coast to capture the outpost over there at the beginning
of the game if you can. If you can sink their ships and get into position to
shell their base, the Axis team is basically screwed.
Axis Tactics:
The Axis team seems to be at a slight disadvantage on this map, since their
base and the southern hill are just not placed as well on the island.
Perhaps it's just that my teammates tend to screw around in the ships and
planes while the Allies kill us on the island itself. I don't have any great
strategies for this map, except try to use artillery, as there are a lot of
mobile artillery units available.
6.IV.B Iwo Jima
February 19th, 1945 -- Everyone's seen the photo, the Pulitzer-winning one of
the American flag being raised over Iwo Jima by a troop of Marines. What
they didn't show was the month of hellish fighting, soldiers clawing their
way inch by inch against a reinforced, heavily armed defensive garrison that
was absolutely ready for them. The Americans needed the island to launch
attacks against Japan; the Japanese defenders knew that losing Iwo Jima would
be a crushing blow to their country. Eventually, the Allies won. But the
attack would take far longer than the US originally planned, and over 35,000
total casualties would be incurred.
Map Details:
Iwo Jima is similar to Omaha Beach, but somewhat larger (or at least less
linear). There are also planes and a few ships for you to use. Other than
that, it's pretty straightforward. The Allies lose tickets until they've
captured at least two control points on the island, and the Axis loses
tickets if the Allies capture four or more of them.
Total Control Points: 5
Total Vehicles: 13 (4 Light Tanks, 3 Jeeps, 2 Fighters, 2 Fighter-Bombers,
1 Battleship, 1 Carrier)
Map Size (in squares): 9/lots
Recommended # of players: 16-32
Axis Tickets (default) : 200
Allied Tickets (default): 300
Control Points:
Axis:
1. Northern Hill
Features: Medical Locker, Ammo Boxes (2), Mounted MGs (5), AA Guns (2),
Fixed Artillery (1)
Vehicles: 1 Light Tank
2. Upper Bunker
Features: Medical Locker, Ammo Box, Mounted MGs (2 overlooking beach,
2 facing down the road)
Vehicles: None
3. Lower Bunker
Features: Ammo Boxes (2), Mounted MGs (5, overlooking beach)
Vehicles: 1 Light Tank, 1 Jeep
4. Axis Base
Features: Medical Lockers (2), Ammo Boxes (4), AA Guns (4), Fixed Artillery
(2, on north shore)
Vehicles: 2 Light Tanks, 1 Jeep, 1 Fighter, 1 Fighter-Bomber
There is a small cluster of buildings to the south of the main base with
another Medical Locker, 2 AA Guns, a Jeep, and another Fixed Artillery
facing SE.
Allies:
The Allies start with no control points in their possession.
Battleship, Carrier (tied to ship, cannot be captured)
Neutral:
5. Landing Beach (cannot be captured by Axis)
Features: None! (except lots of machine guns pointed at you...)
Vehicles: None!
Allied Tactics:
Obviously, you need to get ashore and establish a beachhead as quickly as
possible. Your best bet is probably to have a few people pound the machine
gunners with planes and the battleship's guns, while everyone else
frantically scrambles ashore. It's a tough fight, since you'll most likely
get caught between the hill and the large (and often well-defended) Axis base
for most of the battle. Try to take the middle two control points, then
launch an attack on the southern base, and then fight your way up the hill.
Use your planes and artillery to soften them up.
Axis Tactics:
You're probably not going to keep them off the beach, but you should do your
best to contain them there. Use your fixed artillery and AA guns to keep the
ships and planes away, and man as many of the machine guns as you can to mow
down scores of Allied troops as they disembark their landing craft. Tanks
are also very effective; just sit at the beach entrance and shell the
advancing troops. Once they've gotten on the island, things shift gears;
you'll want to make sure you hold the southern base and its small army of
vehicles and planes. Losing that will screw you majorly. Try to stay on the
offensive -- you have a big advantage in being able to hit them from both
sides at once.
6.IV.C Midway
June 4th, 1942 -- the Japanese navy had engaged and beaten the US forces in
the South Pacific numerous times in 1941-42. They were larger,
better-equipped, and fighting closer to home. Japanese Admiral Yamamoto
planned to attack the tiny but strategic island of Midway to draw the US
navy into a devastating defeat that would cripple Allied efforts to turn the
war around. However, US intelligence intercepted his plans, and instead of
being a defenseless atoll, Midway was surrounded by the US carrier fleet,
ready to ambush the would-be attackers. In the largest aerial naval battle
in history, the US soundly defeated the IJN in two days of heavy fighting,
sinking four essentially irreplacable Japanese carriers while only losing one
of their own. Weakened, Japan was never to truly take the offensive again
in the South Pacific.
Map Details:
Midway is almost entirely a naval battle; the only land is the tiny island of
Midway itself, which is barely big enough for a small base and an airfield.
There are also two control points located in the middle of the water, so you
basically have to use the ships if you want to succeed. Hold 3 Control
Points to slowly drain tickets from the other team.
Total Control Points: 4
Total Vehicles: 21 (1 Light Tank, 2 APCs, 1 Jeep, 2 Fighters,
4 Fighter-Bombers, 1 Torpedo Bomber, 4 Destroyers, 2 Battleships, 2 Carriers,
2 Submarines)
Map Size (in squares): 4/lots
Recommended # of players: 16-32
Axis Tickets (default) : 200
Allied Tickets (default): 200
Control Points:
Axis:
The Axis team starts with no Control Points.
The Axis team has 2 Destroyers, 1 Battleship, 1 Carrier, and 1 Submarine.
Allies:
The Allied team starts with no Control Points.
The Allied team has 2 Destroyers, 1 Battleship, 1 Carrier, and 1 Submarine.
Neutral:
1. Base
Features: Medical Locker, Ammo Box, Fixed Artillery (faces SW)
Vehicles: 1 Light Tank, 1 APC
2. Airfield
Features: Medical Lockers (2), Ammo Boxes (3), AA Guns (4), Fixed Artillery
(2, facing NE)
Vehicles: 1 APC, 1 Jeep, 2 Fighter-Bombers, 1 Torpedo Bomber
3. Northern Water Flag
Located in the middle of the ocean, north of Midway Island.
4. Southern Water Flag
Located in the middle of the ocean, south of Midway Island.
Allied Tactics:
You'll have a better chance of survival if you can take the central island
and its airfield; the Axis has better planes and a tougher Battleship.
However, your Destroyers are pretty good, and your Carrier can take more
damage than theirs. Sink the enemy carrier for a big advantage.
Axis Tactics:
Your planes are better at dogfighting than the Allied ones, so try to
maintain air superiority by taking the Airfield and shooting down as many
Allied bombers as you can. Other than that, it's a naval battle
extraordinare; your Battleship is the toughest vehicle in the game, so use
it to tear up their fleet.
6.IV.D Wake Island
December 11th, 1941 -- Japanese forces were closing in on the American
position at Wake Island. The entrenched forces, trapped by the IJN, managed
to bravely fight off several Japanese landing attempts. However, with a
limited supply of troops, planes, and munitions, the US soldiers eventually
capitulated after almost two weeks of bombing. Despite all that, they
caused over 700 Japanese casualties while taking only 100 of their own.
However, the loss of Wake Island was sorely felt, as the US suffered a
string of defeats at the hands of Admiral Yamamoto and the IJN.
Map Details:
Another beachhead map, but this time it's the Axis that gets to do the
amphibious landing bit. The island itself is shaped like a horseshoe with
the opening facing west; the Axis forces start on their ships to the west
of the island. The Allies actually have a pretty fair shot at repelling
them, as long as they can keep air superiority and especially if they can
sink either (or both) of the Axis ships.
Total Control Points: 5
Total Vehicles: 21 (5 Light Tanks, 2 APCs, 7 Jeeps, 2 Fighters,
3 Fighter-Bombers, 1 Destroyer, 1 Carrier)
Map Size (in squares): 10/lots
Recommended # of players: 16-32
Axis Tickets (default) :
Allied Tickets (default):
Control Points:
Axis:
The Axis team starts with no control points.
The Axis team has 1 Destroyer and 1 Carrier.
Allies:
1. Northern Village
Features: Medical Locker, Ammo Box
Vehicles: 1 Light Tank, 1 Jeep
There is a Fixed Artillery (facing NW) at the tip of the peninsula; there is a
Jeep and Ammo Box there as well.
2. Northern Base
Features: Medical Locker, Ammo Box, AA Gun, Fixed Artillery (facing NE)
Vehicles: 1 APC, 1 Jeep
3. Airfield
Features: Medical Locker (in main building by Fixed Artillery), Ammo Boxes (3),
Mounted MGs (3, in guard towers), AA guns (3, on southern shore),
Fixed Artillery (1 facing NW into harbor, 1 facing SE)
Vehicles: 1 Light Tank, 2 Jeeps, 1 Fighter, 1 Fighter-Bomber,
1 Torpedo Bomber (becomes another Fighter-Bomber if the Axis takes this point)
4. Landing Beach
Features: Ammo Box, Fixed Artillery (facing S)
Vehicles: None for Allies, 2 Light Tanks for Axis
5. Southern Base
Features: Medical Locker, Ammo Box, AA Gun
Vehicles: 1 Light Tank, 1 APC, 1 Jeep
There is a Fixed Artillery (facing N) at the end of the peninsula, with a
Jeep and an Ammo Box next to it.
Allied Tactics:
Basically, keep them off the island! The easiest places to attack are at
the aptly-named Landing Beach, and at the two western peninsulas (since you
don't have any spawn points near them), so do your best to rush some
defenders out there ASAP. You have the upper hand in terms of air power
(at least as long as you hold the Airfield), so go after their ships right
away. Sinking their Carrier can cripple them, and sinking both ships will
more or less kill them off (although they do come back after two or three
minutes). The fixed guns at the western tips of the island can also sink
their carrier and destroyer if they don't move them (or shoot the guns).
Axis Tactics:
Get on the island, quick! If they keep forcing you back, you can try an
aerial insertion behind their lines, or circling around to the eastern shore
in your landing boats, where they probably won't expect you to hit them. And
for Christ's sake, move your ships before they get sunk by those artillery
guns! Remember, you get a couple of light tanks if you take the Landing
Beach (the Japanese tanks aren't very good, but you need all the help you can
get here). Use your destroyer and planes to pound their beach defenses until
you break through, and try to attack from multiple directions at once to
catch them off guard.
--------------------------------------------------
7. FAQ Version Stuff / Legal Stuff / Contact Info
--------------------------------------------------
VERSION INFO:
FAQ Version 0.81 (1/26/03): First released version. Includes general
strategies and writeups for 8 of the 16 maps (the Pacific and Western
European theaters).
FAQ version 0.82 (2/10/03): Still only 8 maps written up, but includes
updates pertaining to version 1.3 of the game.
FAQ version 0.85 (3/13/03): 12 maps written up, includes updates for
newly released version 1.31. Those North Africa maps are so big...
FAQ version 0.86 (3/17/03): Added some FAQs to the "questions" section. Moved
the controls reference to its own section.
FAQ version 0.87 (3/19/03): Added a few more FAQs, fixed formatting problems
that were introduced in my last update.
LEGAL CRAP:
BATTLEFIELD 1942 is a registered trademark of DICE and EA Games.
BATTLEFIELD 1942 and all related materials are copyright 2002 DICE and
EA Games.
All other material in this FAQ is mine, and is also copyright 2003, except
where noted. This FAQ may currently only be hosted on www.gamefaqs.com.
You may not sell, reprint, distribute, or reproduce this FAQ or the
information in it, in any way, without my express permission.
CONTACT INFO:
Email Contact: Matthias99 brown edu
Insert '@', then '.' for my email address. Please put "BF1942" somewhere in
the subject line of your email so that I know what you're writing about and
don't delete it as spam (I auto-sort my email, so this is important). I'm
happy to take corrections and suggestions on how to improve this FAQ, or
questions that you'd like answered in future updates. If you can't write
clearly, maintain decent spelling and grammar, and demonstrate that you
actually read the FAQ (ie, you ask questions that the FAQ already answers),
don't expect a reply. ;)
NEEDED: Writeups and strategies for the other maps (I'll get to it
eventually, but if you're reading this and have free time...). Any other
strategies (map-specific or otherwise) you can offer. Questions you want
answered in the "Questions" category. Anyone who owns Road To Rome and
wants to write up the new stuff. Anyone who wants to write up the
differences between the different armies' weapons and vehicles.
BF1942 FAQ by Matthias, v0.86, 3/17/03
