Homefront: The Revolution

jztemple2 · Post by **jztemple2** » Wed Jun 08, 2016 11:56 pm

OK, I'm stuck on this objective: (click to enlarge)

I've got those two snipers left to get rid of. However, the one to the lower right is way up on a building and crouched down below cover. The one on the upper left, while not as high up, is also crouched and I can't get a line on him. Any suggestions on how to solve this particular objective? It's the first time I've run into snipers that just won't show themselves.

Max Peck · Post by **Max Peck** » Thu Jun 09, 2016 12:06 am

jztemple2 wrote:I've got those two snipers left to get rid of. However, the one to the lower right is way up on a building and crouched down below cover. The one on the upper left, while not as high up, is also crouched and I can't get a line on him. Any suggestions on how to solve this particular objective? It's the first time I've run into snipers that just won't show themselves.

I'm not that far along, so I haven't run into that one yet. Have you tried lobbing explosives or incendiaries, or firing a rocket at them (something with an area-of-effect)? Can you get them to pop their heads up by tossing out one of the firecracker distraction doohickeys? Is there any way to get up on a building that would give you a better line of sight?

jztemple2 · Post by **jztemple2** » Thu Jun 09, 2016 12:56 am

Max Peck wrote:
jztemple2 wrote:I've got those two snipers left to get rid of. However, the one to the lower right is way up on a building and crouched down below cover. The one on the upper left, while not as high up, is also crouched and I can't get a line on him. Any suggestions on how to solve this particular objective? It's the first time I've run into snipers that just won't show themselves.
I'm not that far along, so I haven't run into that one yet. Have you tried lobbing explosives or incendiaries, or firing a rocket at them (something with an area-of-effect)? Can you get them to pop their heads up by tossing out one of the firecracker distraction doohickeys? Is there any way to get up on a building that would give you a better line of sight?

The firecrackers worked, caused the guy to raise his head. The explosives didn't, and the sniper nests are (I assume) deliberately placed so that you can't get above them. However, a few firecrackers did the trick, so thanks!

jztemple2 · Post by **jztemple2** » Thu Jun 09, 2016 1:09 am

Well, that's infuriating

. I managed to kill the last sniper, but I couldn't unlock the strike point. When I reloaded the save, the sniper re-appeared. I went through the process again and the same thing happened, and then a third time. So there's a bug, but thankfully it's not a campaign mission so I won't get held up.

jztemple2 · Post by **jztemple2** » Thu Jun 09, 2016 6:48 pm

I got my first lockup at 27 hours in. Not a big deal, since the game autosaves on every event, so I just had to restart on the map at a safe location but without losing any progress or inventory.

The bug with the sniper not being able to be killed that I mentioned above is still there, but it's on a non-campaign mission and didn't really affect my game.

I really don't understand the bad reviews. I can understand technical issues, sure, but the gameplay in HTR is great. Oh, sometimes it does get repetitious, but the nice thing is that you aren't required to complete every mission in a zone, so if you find certain aspects of the gameplay repetitious, you can switch off and do something else. This works especially well in the "Hearts & Minds" mechanic. To cause an uprising in a zone, you have to get a 100% rating. However, you can get to 100% without doing all or anywhere near all of the available tasks. So if you prefer stealth, you do sabotage and "find the radio" missions. Want to go in loud? Blow up armored cars and assault strike points and strongholds. And of course you can mix and match.

Currently, at 28 hours in, I'm in the "Restricted Zone". This is an odd name, since all the zones are restricted in some way. But here is where the KPA put all the prisoners (wearing bright orange jumpsuits), so in a way it's like a yellow zone, no open combat. This zone is different because of the elevated catwalks and observation platforms, so the guards, besides being on the ground, can also patrol up high to keep an eye on things. What this does for the player is give a way to access the higher floors of buildings, where the developers added their usual clever puzzles on how to get around using planks between buildings and short jumps. It's a very cool way to add a third dimension to the zone.

And kudos to the developers. Their various puzzles (not really different than those in GTA or Fallout games, except more plentiful and a bit harder) are challenging, but after all these hours playing I've only had to go to the internet for the solution to a single puzzle, and I dope slapped myself because it was an easy solution I could have found if I didn't allow myself to be frustrated. Otherwise it's just a matter of being patient and observant and not being in a rush.

Honestly, I can't see how someone could have enjoyed the game if they finished it in fifteen hours. Or maybe I could see how they didn't enjoy it. The game world is amazing detailed and like the latest Fallout game, rewards the player who wanders around and peeks and pokes into all the little places.

Finally, a big hug to whoever on the development team came up with the idea of the airships in the Red Zones. There's something dreadful and ominous as they slowly cruise around and the player can never be complacent. The airship surveillance moves slowly but heaven help you if you get caught by it's beam out in the open!

For folks familiar with Philly, I'm currently at this location. Assuming it's a real location...

MonkeyFinger · Post by **MonkeyFinger** » Thu Jun 09, 2016 9:33 pm

Hey JZ, was there somewhere official you could report the bug?

jztemple2 · Post by **jztemple2** » Thu Jun 09, 2016 9:55 pm

MonkeyFinger wrote:Hey JZ, was there somewhere official you could report the bug?

Thanks for reminding me that I hadn't posted a bug report; I just posted it in the Technical Support Steam Discussion forum. I hadn't seen a mention of this before, but that might be because it requires killing the snipers in a certain order to cause the bug to appear.

jztemple2 · Post by **jztemple2** » Fri Jun 10, 2016 12:12 am

And that's it, thirty hours to complete the campaign, and the last 45 minutes was a fantastic multi-scenario final mission. And a definite thumbs-up from me.

Max Peck · Post by **Max Peck** » Fri Jun 10, 2016 10:49 am

It's possible that I don't quite grasp the concept of "Yellow Zone."

In my own defense, I was low on supplies and needed to scavenge some ammo. Because Yellow Zone, Schmellow Zone, ya know?

coopasonic · Post by **coopasonic** » Fri Jun 10, 2016 12:00 pm

jztemple2 wrote:Honestly, I can't see how someone could have enjoyed the game if they finished it in fifteen hours. Or maybe I could see how they didn't enjoy it. The game world is amazing detailed and like the latest Fallout game, rewards the player who wanders around and peeks and pokes into all the little places.

Pfthththttt...

jztemple2 · Post by **jztemple2** » Thu Sep 08, 2016 2:06 pm

If anyone is interested, the game is free to play on Steam this weekend, starting now through sometime Sunday, check out the store page.

Enigma · Post by **Enigma** » Fri Sep 09, 2016 11:16 am

jztemple2 wrote:If anyone is interested, the game is free to play on Steam this weekend, starting now through sometime Sunday, check out the store page.

I downloaded it yesterday to play during the free period...I'm really liking it!!

As an aside, what DLC is worth getting? Kind of confusing...Freedom Fighter Bundle??

killbot737 · Post by **killbot737** » Fri Sep 09, 2016 11:18 am

I was also confused, found this on GameStop:

Freedom Fighter Bundle includes The Expansion Pass, Revolutionary Spirit Pack, and Liberty Pack.

The Revolutionary ''Spirit Pack'' includes:
The Red Skull motorbike skin
The Golden skin for your pistol
Early unlocks of the Marksman Rifle, Sniper Scope and Remote Explosives for your Co-Op character

And the digital exclusive ''Liberty Pack'' features the Liberty Body Armour and KPA Shock Trooper Helmet!

Might be worth it to spend the extra $7 just for the crazy discount on the season pass.

jztemple2 · Post by **jztemple2** » Fri Sep 09, 2016 11:54 am

I didn't get the season pass so I can't comment on the value of the extra missions. The other stuff is nice in the early game, but certainly not needed.

And yeah, it's a much better game than the critics make it out to be. I really enjoyed playing it.

killbot737 · Post by **killbot737** » Fri Sep 09, 2016 6:13 pm

I'm really, Really bad at riding the motorbike. I believe I'll pass on it unless forced to use it again in a mission. If I want to drift all over the road like a skidmark squid maniac I'll stick to Watch Dogs, where I won't have armed crazies trying to kill me (most of the time).

killbot737 · Post by **killbot737** » Tue Sep 13, 2016 8:32 pm

So I'm taking my time with the "intro" red zone. I find it very Thief-y, which is good. I didn't even know there were secret stashes around until I was after a radio. Now I have to check more doors and look harder.

I haven't tried to take a stronghold yet, but I have taken advantage of "run up stairs, get murderized" anti-tactics by the Norks. So they're kind of stupid unless they're ducking behind something. then they become crazy hard to shoot because they pop up and down so fast.

I like it.

I ran into a weird issue - for no reason all my non-movement keys stopped working. So I couldn't bring up the phone or the map or anything. I had to restart from my last save and luckily it fixed itself. I do find it annoying that when you bring up the map you have to double escape out of it because it brings you back to the phone menu first.

Max Peck · Post by **Max Peck** » Wed Sep 14, 2016 1:15 pm

killbot737 wrote:I do find it annoying that when you bring up the map you have to double escape out of it because it brings you back to the phone menu first.

The hotkeys work like toggles, so you can just hit the map hotkey to fully exit the map mode.

jztemple2 · Post by **jztemple2** » Wed Sep 14, 2016 3:27 pm

Having played the entire campaign, I'll just recommend to new players that you take your time and really check out each entire map zone. The developers have put a lot of nice visual touches throughout.

Giles Habibula · Post by **Giles Habibula** » Thu Sep 15, 2016 9:54 pm

jztemple2 wrote:Having played the entire campaign, I'll just recommend to new players that you take your time and really check out each entire map zone. The developers have put a lot of nice visual touches throughout.

Thanks for that.
That's my general play-style anyway, but it's great to know this game encourages it.

I missed out on the free weekend deal. I mean, I could have, but it would have meant playing it rushed for time as it was a busy weekend. So I grabbed the Freedom Fighter deal at Steam for $29.99 because for 6 more dollars I get the base game plus 3 more single-player missions, which was too good a deal to pass up, assuming they ever release the things.

I finally got a chance now to fire it up, and it does look very promising. I've only played about an hour, but damn, it's surprisingly beautiful, and plays well. Whatever performance problems it had at one time seem to have been ironed out. I've got a 6-year-old rig with a 970, and I haven't had any problems at all. Nice framerates.

killbot737 · Post by **killbot737** » Fri Sep 16, 2016 8:31 pm

Max Peck wrote:
killbot737 wrote:I do find it annoying that when you bring up the map you have to double escape out of it because it brings you back to the phone menu first.
The hotkeys work like toggles, so you can just hit the map hotkey to fully exit the map mode.

Thank you, that works most of the time. The lag on the camera is annoying.

One more console port control quirk, I found that if you remap action "E" to something else, if you hide in a dumpster or fridge or port-a-potty the rebound action button doesn't work when you want to leave. You have to use "E" to escape. Same thing in menus, you have to use "E" instead of your rebound key.

Why must console control mapping on PC's always suck?

Other than that I'm still liking it a lot. The side missions give enough difficulty and variety that I find I'm doing them as much as I can, more than the actual campaign.

killbot737 · Post by **killbot737** » Sat Sep 17, 2016 12:50 pm

There are certain vehicles that have the "sabotage" circle on them but I can't do anything to them (yet?) They look like APV's with cherry-picker mounted chainsaws/grinders. I've got the hack devices but they don't do anything to them, neither do grenades or molotovs. What's their deal?

jztemple2 · Post by **jztemple2** » Sat Sep 17, 2016 1:13 pm

killbot737 wrote:There are certain vehicles that have the "sabotage" circle on them but I can't do anything to them (yet?) They look like APV's with cherry-picker mounted chainsaws/grinders. I've got the hack devices but they don't do anything to them, neither do grenades or molotovs. What's their deal?

That's weird, I don't remember that from my playthrough. I guess I could suggest that maybe there's a more limited placement location for the player, you might have to be standing just in a certain place for the option to show up. I'll try to see if I can find an example in my screenshots.

UPDATE: Looking through my screenies I do remember that there were some items that didn't respond to early hacks, I had to level up or get a better hacking tool. This might be the case.

killbot737 · Post by **killbot737** » Thu Sep 22, 2016 6:22 pm

Hmm, VERY disappointing. I seem to have run into a variant of a well known bug: "Ashgate hearts and minds". The usual situation is that you can't get a meter to get to 100% by performing certain actions. I didn't have that problem, I got mine to 100% (and beyond! I got all the little bonuses). Except the locations and missions that are supposed to unlock in the zone won't unlock. It still says I have to complete "hearts and minds".

The only fix they say is to restart your game. I have 20 hours in this game already, I really don't feel like restarting, and what's the guarantee that it won't happen again?

Boooooooooooooooo!

naednek · Post by **naednek** » Thu Sep 22, 2016 8:10 pm

hmmm, I'm doing the same right now. I hope that doesn't happen to me, because I won't be playing it over again not knowing if it will do the same

killbot737 · Post by **killbot737** » Thu Sep 22, 2016 8:35 pm

OK, turns out ignoring the main mission brings about my problem. You have to get to a certain mission before the unlocks happen. So if your resistance bar doesn't increase, that's the real problem. If it does, you're OK. Those locations won't unlock until you progress in the main mission even though it says you have to complete "hearts and minds" first. Even though you did. Apparently until you use the "kill-all-KPA" radio you haven't completed it.

So less BOOOO, boo unclear messages.

Max Peck · Post by **Max Peck** » Wed Sep 28, 2016 12:23 pm

The Voice of Freedom DLC dropped today, weighing in at 9 GB.

You are Benjamin Walker, hero of the Resistance and the most wanted man in America. Now you are risking everything to infiltrate Philadelphia and ignite a revolution that will sweep the KPA out of America on a tide of bloody vengeance.

If you fail all hope for freedom is surely lost...

- Play as Benjamin Walker and take part in a dangerous mission to enter Philadelphia under cover of darkness
- Meet up with Jack Parish’s Resistance Cell before the events of Homefront: The Revolution.
- Encounter a new, dangerous faction in the subways of Philadelphia – the notorious street gang, the “90”.

jztemple2 · Post by **jztemple2** » Wed Sep 28, 2016 12:36 pm

Max Peck wrote:The Voice of Freedom DLC dropped today, weighing in at 9 GB.

I don't know if it's an old age thing (I turn 63 today) or just a change in taste, but after not being able to get up much interest for the DLC for XCOM2 or Fallout 4 (both of which I paid for) I'm pretty much of the opinion that I'm going to pass on all Season Passes and post-release DLC unless I wait and pick up the game as a GOTY edition. Usually by the time the DLC releases I'm on to other games anyway.

Isgrimnur · Post by **Isgrimnur** » Wed Sep 28, 2016 12:42 pm

I ran into the same issue back when I was in my console Call of Duty days. Game drops near Veterans Day, and by Valentines, any short stint of play has me wanting to throw the controller through the wall. The first DLC or two would pull me back in for shorter stints to see the new maps, but the frustration remains.

Next November rolls around, rinse and repeat.

killbot737 · Post by **killbot737** » Sat Oct 01, 2016 3:47 pm

I just found an arcade game, in the game, that lets you play some levels from TimeSplitters 2!

killbot737 · Post by **killbot737** » Sun Oct 02, 2016 6:06 pm

Woot! I just saved Philadelphia. What's left of it anyway, and it's inhabitants. I feel like having a cheese steak with kim-chi on top.

Now to see wtf Walker was up to on the way to Philly. Waaaalker... Waaaalker...

Giles Habibula · Post by **Giles Habibula** » Sun Oct 02, 2016 8:43 pm

Max Peck wrote:The Voice of Freedom DLC dropped today, weighing in at 9 GB.

Cool. As I bought the Freedom Fighter Pack, I was a little worried that they wouldn't follow through with any of the DLC depending on sales. For only $6 I was willing to risk it, but I'm glad to see that they've now released the first one. Now I have hopes for the other two!

Daehawk · Post by **Daehawk** » Sun Mar 05, 2017 4:53 am

Trying to play now. Control seems a little floaty. I hope I get to repay that woman that wanted to torture me and her two morons.

I got to where the leader guy takes me to the gun shop and gives me a pistol and Im in the shop menu. He says buy a kit and I dont see one to buy. And I cant exit the shop. Theres no way to exit. Not even a TAB out to look for an answer. I had to alt-f4 it. Im tired. Maybe another time Ill play and look it up.

Kasey Chang · Post by **Kasey Chang** » Wed Mar 08, 2017 1:10 am

Now that it's $10 on Steam, is it worth playing even with slightly older hardware? Or do I need the DLCs?

jztemple2 · Post by **jztemple2** » Wed Mar 08, 2017 2:14 am

Kasey Chang wrote:Now that it's $10 on Steam, is it worth playing even with slightly older hardware? Or do I need the DLCs?

I'd say no to the DLCs, since the game was fine when it was released. I don't know about older hardware, but it looked great on my GTX 780, i7-4770K and 16GB RAM.

Kasey Chang · Post by **Kasey Chang** » Thu Mar 09, 2017 4:44 am

Seems Humble Store is selling Base + DLC for $15. Seems to be a decent deal, but it seems steam was selling it at $12. Hah.

Kasey Chang · Post by **Kasey Chang** » Sat Mar 11, 2017 6:17 am

Bought it, played it for almost 10 hours straight. Dang, this thing is fun, as it has the feel of Far Cry 3 but in the city ruins with the addition of yellow zone stealth runs. Didn't like the parkour part (jump building to building trying to access the hidden spots) though. At least didn't have to do too many of that to pass the zone. Had to lower the res and turn graphics to minimal, but it's definitely playable on last gen hardware. (i7 first gen, NVIDIA GF445M, 14GB of RAM)

So far favorite weapon is definitely crossbow, as I use it exclusively as an assassination weapon.

Armored car has a weakspot near the rear bumper, but no such thing on the Goliath, eh?

jztemple2 · Post by **jztemple2** » Sat Mar 11, 2017 12:03 pm

I liked the crossbow as well. The use of the modular weapon process gets even better when you unlock more options, although I did die several times when I would start swapping in the middle of firefights till I got good at it.

Kasey Chang · Post by **Kasey Chang** » Sat Mar 11, 2017 2:21 pm

I prefer sniping so my usual tactics were to explore the locations, find a nice sniping spot, and pick off bad guys left and right. I found the outpost raiding stuff a bit meh as there wasn't too many high spots for sniping, esp. with the walls up. Also, it almost seems pipe bomb is stronger than RPG?

I prefer elevated sniping platforms, and those are rare in yellow zones unless you find the environmental clues.

Daehawk · Post by **Daehawk** » Tue Mar 28, 2017 5:09 am

Anything I can do to make it feel less floaty in the controls? Ive turned down graphics that usually help with that like shadows and such. The rest is just on high .I can usually run stuff fine on ultra so not sure whats going on with this game.

Giles Habibula · Post by **Giles Habibula** » Tue Mar 28, 2017 10:24 pm

Daehawk wrote:... not sure whats going on with this game.

IIRC, you've got a fairly high-end card, right?
What resolution are you trying to run at?