Some respectful suggestions...

Going prone in multiplayer would be nice, and the overall ability to fire your weapon when prone would be great as well...Doesn't the M60 have a bipod?  Could a bipod accessory be added for the sniper rifle as well, if the fire when prone option were to be added?

Anyways, just some suggestions...Thanks for taking the time to read them.

I totally agree with those suggestions, and it does annoy me somewhat that the game is deemed ultra realistic and yet you can fire an m60 whilst standing up and strafe shoot like it was a super soaker (water gun), or am i totally wrong, can trained soldiers fire the m60 whilst standing up and running bout???!!!

smacks of bad balancing to me, or rather to much "game balance" on the mind instead of logical balancing. Prone and firing while prone has been the standard for years in combat games.
                  Gameplay would dramatically change because of it, for the better as far as I am concerned. I can`t wait till the mods do it. Cause don`t expect Raven to. You`ll get "we didn`t have time, we are hoping the mods do it for us". No offence, but what are we supposed to think with this kind of reply?

Prone and firing prone should definately be in multiplayer. Why isn't it? I'm sure there are reasons, and maybe Shataan hit it square on the head. No time. Considering it was Raven's initial intention to release SOF2 withOUT MP support - PERIOD - it stands as nothing short of amazing what they came out with.

#### smart (lucky) thing, too. We all know you set out to make Soldier of Fortune 2 an amazing single player experience, and I'm sure you've accomplished that (I'm not the single player type, myself, so I've got nothing to say) - but truth be told, regardless of whether it was intentional or otherwise, the multiplayer aspect will be the force that keeps this game alive and selling. Why? Because it's a solid base for something more. It's by no means perfect, not by a long shot, but it's there and the gamers can SMELL IT.

Should they sit back and let the modders do the work? #### no. Valve lucked out with Half-Life and Counter-Strike. What have they released since? Nadda. They've been threatening to bring us Team Fortess 2 ... seems like a #### pipe dream, now. The boys and girls over there've probably forgotten how to make a decent game - they've been suckling at the tit of CS for so long. I hope they prove me wrong.

If Raven wants to maintain and build on this current level of enthusiasm and support, they'll have to continue throwing resources behind the project (which it appears they've been doing, what with the announcement of integrated voice and a new demolition gametype). However, it'll take more than that. They've gotta elevate SOF2 beyond it's current state as a "prettier version of Counter-Strike", cause let's face it : that's nothing overtly ground breaking. The novelty will eventually wear off unless they start tossing out the bells and whistles. Firing prone at the very, very least ...

It's the small things. They add up. Right now, one of the main reasons I won't go back to other online games is THE FRIGGIN' LEANING. That's right! I love the leaning. It's something a lot of other games don't offer. Call me nucking futz. Prone would just be another check on my personal "#### Yes" list.

Mods take awhile. The original game has to maintain it's popularity long enough for the modders to gain a foothold. The LAST thing I want to see if SOF2 dwindle away to a couple dozen servers run off some kids cable modem. Build on what you've given us, Raven, and you'll have nothing short of a bestseller. But it'll love you only as much as you love it. The single player was nice, I'm sure, but the multi will keep you in the black. That's how it's always been.

####. I may be preaching to the converted, but it's just my opinion. And I know you're listening. That's why I'm keepin' the faith.

I like the idea of going prone.

But, I'm also intrigued by how you can "balance" it.  Sure, you get an advantage while prone (you're harder to see from far away), but you should also have some disadvantage associated with it.  

Let's think about it - in the real world if you're laying on the ground and you see a bad guy coming from the side, you can't fight him as easily.  Why?  Because it takes time to stand up and deal with him.  So - in the game, it should require a good second or so to go prone and and just as much time if not more to stand up again.

Also, your field of vision/motion should be limited to about 60 degrees.  Not like in Delta Force where you can literally "pivot" on your belt buckle 360 degrees.  If you hear someone approaching from the side you *may* not have to angular freedom to point your gun at him.

Another limiting factor:  Since you bring up the 60 and its tripod (an idea I like, btw), are you going to balance that at all?  That should be limited too, if you ask me.  Just look how the field of fire is limited on a real bipod weapon and put that in the game.

That's what I think.

Let it be written.

LET IT BE DONE!

Well, I think going prone more or less balances itself. You're mobility is reduced dramatically, as would be your line of sight (as I agree you shouldn't be able to pivot on your belt buckle - although you should be able to shimmy on your gut to face another direction, during which time I beleive one shouldn't be able to fire) ... sure you're harder to see and hit (technically), and your accuracy should go up (especially with the tripod idea), but the loss of mobility alone would be balancing enough, I think.

Yup, you should be an easy target for grenades when prone.

Yes I have fired an m60 in real life while standing up and moving.

Perhaps the time it would take to fold down the tripod and set it into place could be used to help with the gamplay balance...I like the limiting field of fire and reduced mobility ideas too.

i like the way prone firing was done in the SP. Try it out with the M4 (type "set g_pronefire 1"). It only works with M4 and has some bugs (the game crashed a few minutes after), but check it out and tell me what you think. I obviously would like the ability to do it with all the weapons, without console commands but that goes without saying.