SOCOM U.S. Navy SEALs: Combined Assault/Online play

Verification
Previously, a credit card was needed for additional features on SOCOM Combined Assault such as ranks, clans, friends lists and the ability to join ranked games. However, Zipper Interactive removed account verification and newly created accounts are automatically verified.

Online maps
Combined Assault includes the 12 maps originally available in SOCOM 3, along with 10 new maps. So at release, it came with 22 multiplayer maps. As of March 31, 2008, three map packs have been released, adding 11 more maps, making a total of 33 possible maps (map packs must be purchased; see "Downloadable Maps" on this page for more info).

Downloadable maps
All three map packs are free to download onto a USB memory device (previously they cost $5.99 each to download). You need at least 64mb of storage the actual storage amount is around 61mb of memory.

The first map pack was released on June 27, 2006 and contained the 3 HDD Maps from SOCOM II. The maps are After Hours, Last Bastion, and Liberation. Players were given two weeks (until July 10, 2006), to play these maps online for free. The map pack is still available to download for free through the SOCOM 3/Combined Assault Community.

The second map pack has been released with a new patch on November 19, 2007. There are 4 maps, and they are Blizzard, Desert Glory, Abandon, and Blood Lake. Each other these maps were in both SOCOM I & II. With the release of the second map pack, players were not given a two week trial period like with the first one. It is available for free via the SOCOM Store.

The third map pack has been released on March 31, 2008. The four new maps include Frostfire, Fish Hook, Guidance, and Crossroads. With the release of the third map pack, Zipper Interactive have decided to stop charging for the map packs which were originally priced at $5.99 (USD).

European users will not be able to download any map packs; the reason for this is unknown and unannounced by the developers.

Online ranking system
The ranking system in SOCOM: Combined Assault is based on raw points. To help demonstrate how this system works, one team will be designated as Team One, and the other team, Team Two.

On a general note, if Team One has a combined overall score (that is the number of points a user has, NOT his/her overall position) greater than that of Team Two, and Team One wins the game, Team One's players will not have gotten as many points than if Team One had a total number of points fewer than that of Team Two.

There are many variables and factors that affect this. If Team One has a total number of 10,000 points, and Team Two also has 10,000 points. If a cat Team One wins the game 6-4, each player would not have gotten as many points had Team One won the game 6-0. In short, winning games in as few rounds as possible will help acquire the most points. In addition, playing games with more rounds cause the most dramatic changes in points, be it winning, or losing. Furthermore, acquiring more kills than deaths after the game has finished will help gain points. However, if Team One has a "big negative", an account with an extremely low negative score, such as -100,000, Team One will now have a total score of -90,000, which results in major point loss towards Team Two. In fact, even if Team Two beats Team One, Team Two will still lose points because Team One's score is so low. "Big negatives" are created through the use of glitching, and on a lower level, teamkilling.

Quitting, disconnecting, and getting voted out of ranked games will all contribute to losing points. While in-game, committing suicide or killing friendlies, hostages, V.I.P.'s, etc. will also make one lose points.

While the general higher rankings of Socom 3 and Combined Assault seem to glitch with "big negatives", about 20% of the top 10,000 positions are "legit" and do not cheat.

Online community
The online community in SOCOM: Combined Assault has slightly changed from previous SOCOM games. The number of people online during the day simultaneously has dropped from around 30,000-35,000 in SOCOM II, to 20,000-25,000 in SOCOM 3, to about 16,000-18,000 now in Combined Assault. Recently, with a change to the game's rating, younger fans have influenced the playing hours from around 5pm (EST) to around 8pm (EST).

Since SOCOM 2, the number of user created videos has sky rocketed. Most commonly found on socomvideos.com or youtube.com. Normally touted as "Ownage" or "Pwnage" videos, they show player(s) playing a regular game set to any kind of background music. However the glitching community has produced videos of their own showing exploits in the game. Most common videos from the glitching community can be viewed on exohax.com. Over the past year or so, SOCOM reality videos are also increasing in popularity. Reality videos have a story line with characters that are either original or remakes of other movies.

Glitching/cheating issues
The glitching in the newer SOCOMs (SOCOM 3 and Combined Assault) has not been as large of an issue than in the previous SOCOMs. Because of the similarity in style amongst SOCOM 3 and SOCOM: Combined Assault, Combined Assault has been exploited faster than any of the previous SOCOMs. Those who usually go unpunished, in most rooms, are "booted" through the voting system in each game.

Many games carry the label "Glitch No Kill" or "GNK", for short, and are large level rooms where there is no combat, only glitching. This encourages the spread of glitching, as the knowledge is shared between users. In these rooms, no combat is permitted, and anyone who fires upon another character is booted out of the room by vote.

People have created "mod disks" that allow players to jump to extreme heights, shoot single-shot sniper rifles fully automatic, and run faster than the normal speed. The number of people using a cheating program called 'Code Majic' has increased substantially due to Zipper not scanning for new codes, letting many people use codes unpunished. Problems arise when "glitchers" ruin legitimate games, especially games that are ranked.

Although it is sometimes considered legitimate play, combatants known commonly as "quicksnipers" wreak havoc among new players and tactical realism enthusiasts. "Quicksnipers" are players who utilize one hit kill sniper rifles and the multiple level focus of a rifle scope with extreme speed and accuracy, to fire almost while running, creating a seemingly invulnerable player who can eliminate any other player with one shot. No external mods are used and no weak points in the game's programming are exploited, so many "quicksnipers" do not believe they are cheating. This does not sway the distaste felt by other fair players.

With the update in November 2007, "quicksniping" has been removed. Although people can not "quicksnipe" anymore, they can still "quickscope" which is a variation of "quicksniping", except the player does not jump in the air.

Clans
Clans of up to 32 people per roster (with an infinite number of rosters) can be created in SOCOM: Combined Assault. The choices a leader has is to change a clan tag, remove or add a player, register the clan for Clan Matches or delete the clan altogether.

Clan government can range from one end of the spectrum to the other, with dictatorial rule, military style rule or democratic rule. In most cases, especially with larger clans, the clan leader delegates rule to other trusted clan members. Although most clanmates meet in-game, strong friendships can result from this intimate interaction and teamwork and it is not uncommon for clanmates to interact outside of game play.

Clan wars
A Clan war is a battle between two clans. These wars can be unofficial or ranked scrimmages, clan matches, or official tournament rounds. Each clan should ideally have the same number of participants, though it is not uncommon for clans to play a player or two down. Each clan chooses a map and a side (Seals or Mercenaries). Each clan has a right to exercise weapons restrictions (usually outlawing Long Range Explosives), time constraints (usually 5 minutes or less), and friendly fire options. Once each clan has picked a map, a tie breaker map is agreed upon. The most common tie breaker map chosen is Killing Fields (Demolition), which overflowed from SOCOM 3. However, Anchorage (Demolition) is now becoming a more widely accepted tie breaker map. Most clan wars are set for 11 rounds per map, though clan wars with fewer participants can be set for fewer rounds played.

Unless one clan wins both chosen maps, the tie breaker map is played, with the clan with most rounds won choosing sides. If each clan won the same amount of rounds, the clan with the higher MVP score wins. If MVP scores were the same, most clans use the number of kills each MVP had to determine which clan gets pick.

Unofficial and ranked clan wars are a common occurrence and very easy to organize and play. Game Battles (GB) wars are highly organized, requiring each clan to be listed on the website and report the outcome of each war. Clan matches are organized in game play between clan leaders and game statistics are handled through the DNAS servers. Tournament rounds are organized through a tournament host. Tournament rounds are organized previously with a tournament representative and referees may be called in to assist with issues such as glitching or any other form of cheating.