*sigh*
*sigh*
I have created this account expressly for this purpose... I have been lurking for the better part of a few years now, and this thread, petty as it is, has given me enough reason to begin posting as something of a counter-balance to the unlock-hatred that seems to be so prevalent here.
I, for one, Wholeheartedly enjoy and support unlocks. I have very rarely seen them ruin games to the point described in this thread. Even, so called "Arcade" games, such as a certain "Bad Company 2" was not hurt in any great way by unlocks, and most of those were very clearly progressive unlocks as opposed to "side-grades" or whatever ridiculous name has been invented for the perceived intention of RO2's upgrade system.
In order to appreciate the logic of the upgrade system, you need to appreciate the bigger picture of multiplayer gaming in the modern setting. There was a time when giving someone a weapon with a faster fire rate, or a bayonet, meant that they had a clear advantage in an array of situations, But gaming has come a long way from those days, and you nearsighted nitwits need to pay at least a little attention to that; Having a semi-automatic rifle does give you an advantage, for certain, but it does not make you an invincible god, nor does it even come close to invalidating the bolt-action rifle, the SMG, or any of the other classes.
For all your screaming about realism, You seem to be missing something. War is not a fair, level exercise. The entire concept of armed conflict is to out-man, out-produce, out-maneuver, and out-gun your opponents. Very rarely do you (or should you) ever get the privilege of being in an identical stance at an identical height with identical weapons and identical levels of skill, with identical levels of backup and identical levels of uniform-color camouflage.
I enjoy an unlock system. It gives me something to strive for and lends a sense of progress to my exploits. I could care less if my bolt action rifle reloads slightly faster, or has a bayonet; Its not about the advantage, its about the symbolism. A visible homage to your own past exploits, Something that says, "You have come this far," is worth more than any marginal increase/decrease in game balance.
Let me employ some logic to sum it up for all you TL;DR folks out there.
Feel free to quote me on any part of this;
There will never come a day, When Red Orchestra, ever remotely resembles Call of Duty. You will never see a squad of Germans running around with laser-sighted STG-45's with under-slung grenade launchers. Put that fear to rest and stop bickering at each other over which weapon unlock is more or less overpowered or not. Consider that there is more to a game than who has more bullets in their magazine, or who has more recoil. Part of the purpose of these incongruities is to vary the system, and keep things fresh and interesting, and in the vast majority of cases, it has absolutely done that job perfectly well.
You forum regulars like to stroke your e-peens about "being an RO1 vet" and all this jazz, and though I may not have posted at the time, I am among your number; But for all your touting of long-standing Red-Orchestra-Playing-Excellence, Why is it that you're so afraid of someone who has too much free time having a few extra bullets, or reloading a little faster?
Stop obsessing about these things. We both know they're going in whether you like them or not, I just happen to think they're in for the better.