Metal Gear Solid PC and Steam

[Jarhead0331]

I caved and bought over the weekend. I'm definitely impressed, though some aspects don't thrill me (as an inveterate hater of all things Zombie, the appearance of 'the Skulls' after rescuing Kaz Miller made me groan).

For you veterans out there -- wondering what you think of the stealth overall. My experience is just the first mission to Afghanistan to rescue Kaz, so very limited. But I get the sense that you don't actually need to be very stealthy to avoid notice. Seems you can ride D-Horse along the heights near enemies and still avoid detection. Or run through a creek splish-splash and nobody nearby hears. I've definitely had a few moments of "Can that guy really not see me? He's looking directly in my direction and I'm only 30 m. away, and it's daytime".

I guess it raises the question -- why not just go in Rambo-style?  I want to feel like the effort of going full stealth is really worth it, but if guards have such lousy awareness, does it even matter?

The "Mist", the Skulls and the Zombies do not really play a major role in the game so far. I would say they have popped up twice in the 16 story missions I have played and not at all in the approximately 20 or 30 side ops I have played. Furthermore, in each situation so far, I have not had to even fight them, since doing so has not been a mandatory mission objective. I agree though, the military action is so intriguing, the fantasy and super natural crap is totally unnecessary, but that is Hideo Kojima for you...

As for the stealth, I have not experienced any of those "why can't that guy see me" moments. I think the enemies ability to spot me has been pretty consistent and reasonable with my approach. I find that they spot me much easier in daylight than at night. In fact, I only operate at night, and if I'm still in the field after sunrise, something has gone wrong and I typically look for a spot to hide so I can smoke the phantom cigar and advance time to the night cycle. At night, I find they spot me much easier when I am standing or crouching and/or moving, as opposed to when I am crawling, or sitting still in the stealth pose. Additionally, when I happen to get caught in a spot light, they seem to notice something, as well, more often than not.  Remember, there are a lot of factors, including the abilities of the soldiers who are looking for you. Eventually, you will obtain gear that makes you much harder to spot.

I tend to go loud only as a last resort. I almost never approach a mission with the objective of going in hard and fast. it hurts your score ultimately and I do find that the challenge of the silent approach is more rewarding, enjoyable and even authentic.  But really, that is just my approach. One of the many beautiful things about the game is that there are so many different ways to play the game and still be successful. Its nice unlocking options that lend to the stealth approach, while also unlocking equipment and gear that can really unleash hell when the SHTF, which for me, is probably 80% of the time.  Its rare I get through a complete mission without having to go loud at least once or twice.   

[JudgeDredd]

I agree with JH re the stealth. I've found them very consistent.

An example I can think of just recently was I was in a "fort" with a guy up on a ledge. He was using a spotlight and looking across the bondou. I went to go to the steps to climb up and I knocked over a barrel. I heard him going "Hmmm?" and then his "triangle" started flashing, indicating he was alerted. He came down to see what it was and I nagged him.

Same about being spotted. I accidentally walked into a light (controller/facing issue) and a guard that was in a building 30+ meters away spotted "something" (white indicator on your "hud" and his flashing triangle) and he came a looking.

I've also had them see "something" and not come...just look and decide they saw nothing and move on

But it's been fairly consistent in my experience.

[sandman2575]

OK cool -- glad to hear you guys think going stealth is worth the effort, since that really is how I want to play. I've had some nice "oh s**t, lie very, very still" moments that are tense, and that's fun. But I haven't managed to infiltrate any base without eventually getting spotted and setting all hell loose. I really wanted to rescue Kaz without setting off alarms, but I just couldn't figure out how to carry him out of there without shooting my way out.

It's funny, I was willing to put up with Kojima's supernatural hoo-hah during the (long) opening sequence. The red-haired floating chick with the gas-mask and black strait-jacket seemed genuinely creepy to me, and even the Man On Fire struck me as reasonably cool. It gave the whole hospital sequence a very X-Files vibe that I overall liked. But when the Zombies showed up, I was just like, "Oh, come on!" I'm glad to hear they're not a major game feature.

[Jarhead0331]

OK cool -- glad to hear you guys think going stealth is worth the effort, since that really is how I want to play. I've had some nice "oh s**t, lie very, very still" moments that are tense, and that's fun. But I haven't managed to infiltrate any base without eventually getting spotted and setting all hell loose. I really wanted to rescue Kaz without setting off alarms, but I just couldn't figure out how to carry him out of there without shooting my way out.

It's funny, I was willing to put up with Kojima's supernatural hoo-hah during the (long) opening sequence. The red-haired floating chick with the gas-mask and black strait-jacket seemed genuinely creepy to me, and even the Man On Fire struck me as reasonably cool. It gave the whole hospital sequence a very X-Files vibe that I overall liked. But when the Zombies showed up, I was just like, "Oh, come on!" I'm glad to hear they're not a major game feature.

The stealth approach is definitely worth it, especially as you are building up your capability because sneaking around and knocking soldiers out in order to extract them with the fulton system is critical to building up your own forces. Once you have  built up your reputation through heroics, and have a combat unit that can go into the field, you will start getting quality volunteers which makes keeping the enemy alive for extraction less critical.

...by the way, the "floating chick" with the gas mask is actually a young boy, obviously with psychokinetic abilities.

[sandman2575]

...by the way, the "floating chick" with the gas mask is actually a young boy, obviously with psychokinetic abilities.

I should have known. It all makes perfect sense, in hindsight.     

[undercovergeek]

got miller out, only had to tranquilise two patrolling guards and then threw them off the cliff to their deaths - picked him up, and set off in wrong direction, got spotted by a guy with 'huh?' moment and when he found us i was pointing the gun at him so he put his hands up - judo chopped him and then picked miller up again, was spotted just as i cleared the last building on the way to the extraction, all hell broke loose but i was already too far clear for anyone to shoot

got to the rig - practiced the fulton stuff - for those on the PC, what the hell is the equivalent of 'push L right' or whatever it is you need to do to throw an enemy, would love to do it but im just beating them unconscious at the moment

now attempting to take out a Spetznatz officer, all was good until i stole the Kim Wilde tape playing, a guard came to see what happened to his tunes and spotted me through a window - resulting carnage. Always have a moment of conscience here - replay from last checkpoint or go all guns blazing, mainly because i want to do it stealthily - im happy restarting when its a UI error, but stealing the tape seemed to be my fault - i dunno

i see that i can now go back and try other missions where i have not completed certain tasks - will think about that

5 hours and 1% - awesome

[JudgeDredd]

...for those on the PC, what the hell is the equivalent of 'push L right' or whatever it is you need to do to throw an enemy, would love to do it but im just beating them unconscious at the moment
...

When you press the left mouse button to grab them, release and click the mouse button again whilst pushing a movement button. I think any of them work (W,A,S or D)

[Apocalypse 31]

Contrary to everyone, I enjoy "going loud".

I'll still conduct my recon to identify any skilled targets, but I have a mature enough staff and customized and effective weaponry to end things quickly.

Obviously, stealth is easier. I will normally isolate an objective by neutralizing guards with high power silenced sniper rifles. When the time comes, I will go cyclic with a grenade launcher or light machine guns.

It says a lot about the game that plays well both ways.

[undercovergeek]

do i need any fancy kit to see what an enemy soldiers stats are?

[Jarhead0331]

do i need any fancy kit to see what an enemy soldiers stats are?

You need to upgrade your binoculars to the second level. You should be able to do that fairly early on.

[jomni]

Contrary to everyone, I enjoy "going loud".

I'll still conduct my recon to identify any skilled targets, but I have a mature enough staff and customized and effective weaponry to end things quickly.

Obviously, stealth is easier. I will normally isolate an objective by neutralizing guards with high power silenced sniper rifles. When the time comes, I will go cyclic with a grenade launcher or light machine guns.

It says a lot about the game that plays well both ways.

Going loud is fun but more points can be earned by stealth.

[Skoop]

The game has been a blast so far, I've never played any of the series before.  One cool thing for me has been the ability to transfer seemly between my desktop and laptop.  I can play at work, then all my progress is immediately transferred to my desk top.  One advantage of a game that connects to an online server while you play.

[sandman2575]

Hey, not sure if this is common knowledge, but I just came across this and it's pretty rad.

http://kotaku.com/tips-for-playing-metal-gear-solid-v-1728007969

Check out the video posted in the comments section. It provides an in-depth illustration of all the CQC moves Snake can do plus instructions for how to do them. There are a lot more CQC moves than I realized (like being able to slam guys into walls by grabbing them around corners).

I'm finding CQC is my stealth combat tactic of choice -- way more effective than the tranq gun, IMO, for capturing and interrogating enemies. Definitely going to start mixing more of these cool moves in...

[JudgeDredd]

Don't forget you can move whilst you have grabbed an enemy...so you might grab a guy who is in a light and doesn't move...but when you grab him, you can pull him out the light and then question/kill/stun him

[undercovergeek]

I reached over the top of a ladder and yanked a guy out of the guard tower last night - nice