Gears 2 update to address several issues, planned for January
by Alexander Sliwinski 
{ Jan 6th 2009 at 8:30AM }
Some of the online exploits the patch aims to fix involve players wielding an invisible shield, gaining infinite Lancer ammo and equipping a shield with a two-handed weapon. Epic also plans to include a harsher penalty for quitting matches early, spawn point protection and the ability to see the Submission flag using Tac/Com.
Most importantly (to shotgun whores), the new patch will fix "client side hit detection," so even in "laggy" matches the gun will be more reliable. That's great, because those shotgun folks really make the multiplayer an inviting experience.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
slikrik @ Jan 6th 2009 8:42AM
about time! Whats they release that update, ill be back on gears.
Tiptup300 @ Jan 6th 2009 1:12PM
Could they get real matchmaking? Like halo has since 2004.
Joey Biceps @ Jan 6th 2009 8:43AM
FINALLY!!! is all I can say really. Its been way too long of a wait. I dont even play v.s. matches anymore only horde b/c point blank with a shotgun apparently does nothing to the opponent....... I didnt buy the rapez0r/sketchy DLC but I cannot believe that it released w/o cheevos. Epically half-assed (pun intended).......
acefondu @ Jan 6th 2009 8:48AM
Issue: Not available for the PC. Fix it!
Megadanxzero @ Jan 6th 2009 10:00AM
'Some of the online exploits the patch aims to fix involve players wielding an invisible shield, gaining infinite Lancer ammo and equipping a shield with a two-handed weapon.'
Good. Pisses me off when people fuck up games by doing things like that. What's the point?
'Epic also plans to include a harsher penalty for quitting matches early, spawn point protection and the ability to see the Submission flag using Tac/Com.'
FINALLY. The last one not so much, but the first two should have been there from the start. So many people quit because there's no real visible penalty for it, and the fact that you spawn where you spawn no matter where the enemy is was just fucking ridiculous...
Megadanxzero @ Jan 6th 2009 10:08AM
What the hell... That wasn't meant to be a reply... Stupid Joystiq
Hyperactiveman @ Jan 6th 2009 8:49AM
And the matchmaking issue?!
nguns
MikeSkiX @ Jan 6th 2009 9:23AM
about time. The lan switch and glitches kill the fun in this game
Viridium @ Jan 6th 2009 9:42AM
Lan switch?
MikeSkiX @ Jan 6th 2009 12:07PM
yeah what they do is called a lan switch in which who ever is host unplug and plug the network cable in and out. Which cause the game to lan bad but for the host it doesn't.. so what he does he kill the other team and leave the game give him and this team mate a win the the other team a lose
Dr Jeckyl and Mr ESC. @ Jan 6th 2009 12:21PM
The Lag switch more like it rite?
Yeah people in xbox live are that pathetic. I have seen that in Halo a few (Scratch:Several) times and this is what all the cool people in Bungie.net forums told me.
"F*gs without skills use this sh*t when they are about to get raeped"
For example if you are in 1st place like lets say me most of the time. The host activates the switch making everyone lag so bad the game freezes or something (My Spartan got a hearth attack, damn faulty Spartan program lulz) , then the game ends showing you in last place while the host no matter how n00b he was wins.
Then the coup de grâce is the rank system giving you a negative score and the best part you can’t leave without being penalized if the match lags because then you are quitting and Bungie doesn’t forgives quitters because apparently quitting is wrong but cheating is a Okay.
You could report those people for cheating in Bungie.net or with MS but they don’t do sh*t most of the time like 90% of the time.
xFenixKnightx (In Memory of Benjamin Carmine RIP) @ Jan 6th 2009 8:51AM
Sweet, keep those updates coming! I haven't played GOW2 MP in a while...
Ellianth @ Jan 6th 2009 8:57AM
How about this, punishment for quitting early should be much more severe for the host of the match. Also let all players know who the host is! I don't want to wait through an entire laggy match and do guesswork based on the kills/deaths in order to see which of the other team's players was pressing the standby button on their modem -_-.
P.S. The update should also address that one bug wherein they refuse to give me my third rank -_- (i kid).
Ellianth @ Jan 6th 2009 8:58AM
1 more thing, have any of you ever been chainsawed with a shotgun?
Conor @ Jan 6th 2009 9:19AM
No, but there is a glitch where you can chainsaw another player with any weapon.
There's youtube video's floating around with people doing it.
AL @ Jan 6th 2009 9:00AM
Yeah surely the incredibly slow, pathetic matchmaking is the real issue here?
baby sea tuna @ Jan 6th 2009 9:16AM
Microsoft should have bought Halo's matchmaking system from Bungie and forced all of their first party games to use it. While not perfect, it's still the best one they've got.
LeadBoxx @ Jan 6th 2009 9:40AM
They should use the match making in the COD games!
why not the LS2LS7? @ Jan 6th 2009 11:22AM
Microsoft doesn't need to buy the Halo matchmaking system. They already own it. They own everything related to Halo, they got it when they bought Bungie.
Dr Jeckyl and Mr ESC. @ Jan 6th 2009 11:53AM
“Microsoft should have bought Halo's matchmaking system from Bungie and forced all of their first party games to use it. While not perfect, it's still the best one they've got”.
Then I could finally skip all games with MP in the xbox all together. To be honest even Gears of War 2 matchmaking is better than the one in Halo 3.
For some reason no matter what selection I choose either best connection or my own language I end up playing with people at the other side of the world and they happen to be the damn hosts.
The skill system is just insulting. Okay the map suck, my team left even before we did anything and the game insults me if I leave .Bullsh*t a lot of people wouldn’t leave if they could choose the map they want to play.
Its been said before get some damn servers, if they can’t afford one just add bot matches.
Dr Jeckyl and Mr ESC. @ Jan 6th 2009 12:01PM
I'm aware of Gears 2 bot matches I just which they could add that in Halo.
Oh yeah and f*ck the skill system.
Anyhow I think a problem with Gears 2 is that while at least for me matchmaking fixed some issues for example: Instead of waiting half hour in the lobby to start a match now I wait 10 minutes or less but still is pretty much like Gears 1 just a bit better. I guess everyone got sick of Gears 2 after playing Gears 1 for a year.
Or everyone rather play in Bot matches in split screen and Horde mode because you know is fun and better than playing with the nagging teens or stupid as hell frat boys.
343 Guilty Fart @ Jan 6th 2009 1:16PM
Wow, I can't stand CoD's matchmaking system. Give me Halo 3's any day of the week.
koehler83 @ Jan 6th 2009 9:04AM
WTF? Lag? People pay $50 a year for lag?
Oh wait no.. they pay $50 a month for lag. They pay $50 a year for nothing.
baby sea tuna @ Jan 6th 2009 9:12AM
Consider it an Awesome Tax for having the best online console network.
Bobby_The_Great @ Jan 6th 2009 9:05AM
How about fixing the chainsaw as well? Being able to rev it even though I'm blasting with the shotgun is a horrible balance issue.
Erluti @ Jan 6th 2009 9:37AM
Whatever, it makes it so there's one weapon that has a chance at that range vs a shotgun other than a shotgun. It prevents shotgun-fests.
In A World (XBL) @ Jan 6th 2009 5:12PM
If the shotgun does:
Less than 50% damage: slows person down, they keep chainsawing
More than 50% damage: slows person down, they STOP chainsawing
100% damage: they inherently stop chainsawing they their body just exploded
There, that's fair and balanced. Now program it in there, EPIC!
CaramelZappa @ Jan 6th 2009 7:11PM
The shotgun is a CLOSE RANGE weapon, it SHOULD be useful at close range. The chainsaw is supposed to be a risk/reward weapon, NOT an instant kill melee. In addition, while the new hammerburst is awesome, the chainsaw is so cheap that choosing the hammerburst is ridiculously stupid, especially since meleeing people with anything except for the chainsaw does absolutely nothing. Melee stuns were a key part of close combat in gears 1, now they're a waste of time because if you have anything except for the chainsaw in your hand at close range you're probably dead.
stephen @ Jan 6th 2009 9:09AM
Real issue, is the players who use the chainsaw. The mentality you usually die using it doesn't seem to be stopping players.
You simply should not be able to chainsaw people once you've reached a certain damage level.
Dominic @ Jan 6th 2009 9:10AM
Too bad they took too long for this update, i have already traded it in and now i focus left 4 dead, kind of like castle crashers, a little too late.
ToRo @ Jan 6th 2009 9:33AM
Wow. Are you really that impatient? How old are you? Your telling me you couldn't wait a few weeks for the update to come out? I'm sure you knew their was an update on the way. lol I just find it funny that you would trade the game in for such trivial matters.
dominic @ Jan 6th 2009 9:49AM
Thanks for your opinion fan boy, but really, i bought the game on release date, beat it the second day i had it, then tried and hated the multiplayer, horde mode was cool but the multiplayer matches sucked compared to just about every other game out there, old or new. Impatient? no, just have expectations for a game i spend hard earned money on, and the fact that they put out a 10 dollar dlc map pack before fixing their mistakes turned me sour to epic.
Stephen @ Jan 6th 2009 11:01AM
chill out toro, i agree with dominic. i bought it openeing day and i played it until christmas but now i have switched over to CoD. i attempted to wait it out, but all the issues just kept driving me away and im not going back.
the harsher punishment for quitters sounds good, but there are plenty of people (including myself) that sometimes lose connection during the middle of the game and are going to be unfairly punished.
and its not always their fault, my internet connection is great with other games, but with gears 2 i am constantly in games where people lose connection during the middle.
Dr Jeckyl and Mr ESC. @ Jan 6th 2009 12:10PM
Dominic if you replace Gears or war 2 with Halo 3 and Epic with Bungie you are describing my whole experience with Halo 3 also that I’m playing Left 4 Dead too.
Anyway I don’t think it is a bad game but for some reason it didn’t feel as good as the original and the original wasn’t really that complex it was just fun to play.
In this one well I guess our expectations reached a ridiculous level I mean in some way Epic did deliver a better “Gears of war” but to be honest I finished the game once in co-op and I never feel like playing it again which is weird because I played Gears of War campaign several times.
GundamWingEW @ Jan 6th 2009 9:14AM
Nice...
Conor @ Jan 6th 2009 9:21AM
I'll start playing gears online again when the patch is released if I hear it actually makes it a satisfactory experience.
Brian @ Jan 6th 2009 9:50AM
Who cares about these glitches when you can't even find a match within 15 minutes? Broken.
Vcize @ Jan 6th 2009 10:03AM
The exploits didn't really bother me since I only play with friends, but thank science they're fixing the hip-firing with the shotty. That should make the game play a lot more like Gears 1 and less like the current two-piece/saw fest it currently is.
Hopefully the fix the super saw that doesn't get dropped when you get shot also.
xFenixKnightx (In Memory of Benjamin Carmine RIP) @ Jan 6th 2009 10:30AM
I made an account just so I could reply to his post. I agree the shotgun fix should make things better for a lot of people. So many issues I hope they fix. Its a shame that the campaign is a work of art and fun as hell and the MP is broken.
Small fixes that would easily make Gears 2 more fun are being able to talk dead or alive after a round, being able to leave asap after a match instead of the stupid 20 sec countdown timer, allowing you to select specific gametypes only. Sometimes all I want to play is SUBMISION OR EXECUTION!!!!1!!
Frustrated, I am...
Dr. Stabbingworth @ Jan 6th 2009 1:01PM
Yep, the timer thing is dumb. There's too much waiting. There's a timer to choose the map (OK), a timer to choose your character (useless), a timer before the game starts (useless), and a timer after the game ends (useless, unless you want to see stats, in which case, it cuts you out when it feels like it).
I get dropped from games randomly, matchmaking is slow, and everything devolves into a shotgun-fest where one guy is significantly better than everyone (or cheats, not sure) and ruins the whole experience.
Horde is great, except for the random drops.
TWiNKiE @ Jan 7th 2009 2:10AM
Timer for choosing a character is NOT useless.
I usually choose Carmine as my COG character, but when I play on Ruins, I choose Cole. Why? He camoflauges with some of the corners on the map.
Same with Marcus/Carmine in Canals, and RAAM in Stasis.
The Fuzz 53 @ Jan 6th 2009 10:17AM
Get rid of the shotgun as a starting weapon and start with both the Lancer and Hammerburst.
robotoid @ Jan 6th 2009 10:31AM
All sounds good and looks like it'll be better. But making the shotgun even more reliable for shotgun whores? I'm not so sure about that :/
I hate how some people can one-shot kill me with their shotgun easily but I can't even though I think I'm doing the same thing. I've been able to do it from time to time, but they seem to know exactly how, every time.
BuffaloDave @ Jan 6th 2009 2:57PM
Finally, im tired of getting lagswitched, fighting invisible and levitating horde. My blindfire shotgun bullets hitting the ground because im not near the host. Hopefully chainsaw is next to be fixed, because im sick of kids running around holding the B button.
why not the LS2LS7? @ Jan 6th 2009 11:25AM
Wow, that took a long time.
If Gears 1 is any indication, new issues will be found momentarily and unbalanced gameplay will continue nearly unabated.
I dunno if it's a problem with Gears or the players, but it sure seemed like in Gears 1 (and Gears 2 so far) that there's always some kind of angle which you have to know and use to stand any chance of winning. Which is too bad, other games manage to make it so that you can use multiple weapons and/or tactics to win. That's nice, since variety tends to make things more fun.
Rich H. @ Jan 6th 2009 12:21PM
Hopefully it's called Gears of War 3 since I'm already for it!
phinn @ Jan 6th 2009 2:12PM
It doesn't say much of the series if your already ready for another game
Rich H. @ Jan 6th 2009 4:48PM
True but hopefully this fix will make the multiplayer more enjoyable.
t3kni9e @ Jan 10th 2009 11:44AM
Most importantly (to shotgun whores), the new patch will fix "client side hit detection," so even in "laggy" matches the gun will be more reliable. That's great, because those shotgun folks really make the multiplayer an inviting experience.
FUCK YEA, THAT'S ALL I NEEDED TO HEAR
Danzaiver @ Jan 6th 2009 12:54PM
I have played more than 24 hours online. The game works, just sometimes it has lag and the waiting for matchmaking is long, but only sometimes. So is bullshit saying that the online is impossible to play. People saying that are the ones that quit after 3 minutes of waiting and when you start your match you realise that you are on a 3 vs 5 match.