Topic: Battlefield 3 -> Update: BF3 Close Quarters DLC = FREE on all platforms for E3

[idolminds]

Thats currently the big question. Its believed that Valves updated terms do not affect games already on the service, so games already up there doing that are fine. But if they were to release a new piece of DLC then they would be subject to the new rules.

The tricky thing is Dirt 3 apparently sells DLC this way and its had recent releases, but is still on Steam. This is where a lot of confusion is coming from because it doesn't seem consistent.

[MysterD]

Thats currently the big question. Its believed that Valves updated terms do not affect games already on the service, so games already up there doing that are fine. But if they were to release a new piece of DLC then they would be subject to the new rules.

The tricky thing is Dirt 3 apparently sells DLC this way and its had recent releases, but is still on Steam. This is where a lot of confusion is coming from because it doesn't seem consistent.

Is Codemasters planning to bring that Dirt 3 DLC over to Steam?

[idolminds]

Apparently not. Its all sold through GFWL, even in the Steam copy.

[MysterD]

Apparently not. Its all sold through GFWL, even in the Steam copy.

Is Microsoft's G4WL an exception to the rule or something? [shrug]

[MysterD]

BF3 PC will NOT have an in-game browser.
BF3 PC uses BatteLog home page through a Web Browser instead.

It has been revealed that Battlefield 3 is getting an in-game server browser, something that is usually obligatory with PC games. Except ... the feature is exclusive to consoles. The PC version has to use the Battlelog home page, with no in-game browsing allowed.

Senior gameplay designer Alan Kertz has gone so far as to say that there won't be an in-game menu at all on PC, with everything done through a Web browser. He says that it acts as the in-game menu and that you can jump straight from the service into a game with no inconvenience.

The problem people have with this arrangement is that you won't be able to look for new servers while playing an existing game. You'll have to quit out, go to your browser, pick a new server on the Battlelog page, and re-enter. As you might expect, this is getting a fair bit of criticism from fans.

While it's not the end of the world, it does seem like an overly complicated, roundabout way of doing things. A simple in-game browser would be so much more convenient. Still, EA hasn't really been about consumer convenience lately, not when there are proprietary services to force down our throats.

[sirean_syan]

Is it just me or are all the developers just flailing about with all these funky ideas about how a person can actually get to play a game. What happened to KISS?

[Xessive]

That's kinda retarded. I have to go to a website a select a from server list there? Then relaunch the game? I don't know about how EA assumes online gaming works but I have to attempt to connect to several servers before a game actually works; so many "Lost connection to server" and "You have been kicked because your ping was over 150ms" etc. That's aside from losing connection while I'm in a game i.e. stupid shit like "you have been kicked because submachineguns are not allowed on this server" or the old case of Punkbuster false-positives

Hang on a minute, Origin will be mandatory for the game to work, and Origin has an in-game web browser, why can't they implement it in-game via Origin?!

[MysterD]

EA and DICE are so primed to take COD's FPS throne critically and sales-wise w/ BF3....
And it seems they keep finding a way to pretty much keep fucking-up that possibility [PC game requires Origin, won't be on Steam, has no in-game server, no PC mod tools]!
Seriously - WTF? 

[MysterD]

Destructoid -> Talk w/ DICE about BattleLog.

Ever since Criterion Games introduced Autolog in Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit, every EA studio seems to put their own spin on the lauded feature and it's one of the best things EA has been doing with their games recently. We had the chance to talk to Karl Magnus Troedsson, Vice President at DICE, about the long awaited Battlefield 3.

DICE's version of Autolog is called Battlelog. We talked about how they reshaped it to fit a tactical first-person shooter and how it brings you and your friends together to shoot each other in the face. We also touched on the console version in general and talked about how they're balancing their maps to make sure that they're fun on both PC and console.

AutoLog was cool for NFS: Hot Pursuit - but it worked b/c it was BUILT INTO THE ACTUAL GAME ITSELF!!!

Sure, it's probably pretty cool to check get on a mobile or some portable device, get on a Web browser, log into BattleLog, and see what your friends have done have done while you're away from access to the game - but this seems like a feature that should ALSO be built into the game itself!

[Xessive]

DICE needs a new publisher. That team could do so much more under a banner that doesn't enforce this kind of crap on them.

[MysterD]

DICE needs a new publisher. That team could do so much more under a banner that doesn't enforce this kind of crap on them.

It's like DICE is becoming like Infinity Ward when Modern Warfare 2 came around.
Publisher is restricting ALL kinds of stuff on the developer.

So, since Respawn is now with EA, when's DICE going to Activision? 

[idolminds]

Its weird that its not in-game, but word from alpha testers is Battlelog is pretty slick. From reading about it it sounds like a web-based version of All Seeing Eye (anyone else remember that?), but specifically for one game. Or maybe a better comparison is Quake Live. So you find a server in your browser, click go, the game loads in the background and when its ready it pops up and you're there in the server all ready to go.

I guess the positive side is they can change and update the server browser without having to patch the game. Negative side is everyones reaction is "WTF?"

We'll have to see how it all shakes out.

[MysterD]

All this Alt-Tabbing might be annoying.

[MysterD]

This is for console gamers -> NO Split-Screen Co-Op for BF3.

[MysterD]

Destructoid -> BF3 for X360 to ship on 2 DVD discs.
One disc = Co-Op and MP; the other disc = SP.

[MysterD]

Battlefield 3 PC requirements revealed.

The official PC requirements for Battlefield 3 were finally posted today!

Minimum System Requirements
OS: Windows Vista (Service Pack 2) 32-Bit
Processor: 2 GHz Dual Core (Core 2 Duo 2.4 GHZ or Althon X2 2.7 GHz)
Memory: 2 GB
Hard Drive: 20 GB
Graphics Card (AMD): DirectX 10.1 compatible with 512 MB RAM (ATI RADEON 3000, 4000, 5000 OR 6000 series, with ATI RADEON 3870 or higher performance)
Graphics Card (NVIDIA): DirectX 10.0 compatible with 512 MB RAM (NVIDIA GEFORCE 8, 9, 200, 300, 400 OR 500 series with NVIDIA GEFORCE 8800 GT or higher performance)
Sound card: DirectX compatible
Keyboard and Mouse
DVD ROM Drive

Recommended System Requirements
OS: Windows 7 64-Bit
Processor: Quad-Core CPU
Memory: 4 GB
Hard Drive: 20 GB
Graphics Card: DirectX 11 compatible with 1024 MB RAM (NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX 560 or ATI RADEON 6950)
Sound Card: DirectX compatible
Keyboard and Mouse
DVD ROM Drive

[Xessive]

I feel like this is second time the PC reqs are being revealed.

[gpw11]

Shit, I'm kind of towing the line for the CPU.  I think I overclocked for the first game, but it was the first game I came across where people were saying quad core was blowing dual out of the water.

[Xessive]

I've finally got my chance to play the Beta!

It's buggy and the servers crash a lot but what I did was a lot of fun. I'm really excited about the full game now.

On to the not-so-good (or downright terrible) part: Battlelog.

The good:
-Great stat tracking interface
-Best profile management system that EA has ever implemented (doesn't mean it's great just the best EA has to offer)

The bad:
-Must load in your default web browser
-Forces you to keep your web browser (as well as Origin) open while you play
-It is THE server browser
-Cluttered user interface

Over the Battlelog experience as it stands is counter-productive, there's no logical reason why it can't be built into game's interface.

launching the game is a chore:

• 1. Launch Origin.
• 2. Log into Origin.
• 3. Click on Battlefield 3 Beta.
• 4. Origin starts loading your web browser.
• 5. Log into Battlefield 3 Battlelog (redundant since it's the same log in details you just used to log into Origin).
• 6. Finally you're in Battlelog, either quickmatch or select server browser.
• 7. Quickmatch doesn't work so hope to God you can find a server with free slots.
• 8. Assuming you found a server that works the game now begins to connect.
• 9. The game has successfully connected to a server, wait for it to load.
• 10. The game has loaded, click "Go to game."
• 11. Game's not in fullscreen?! Hit Alt+Enter!

It's a real WTF approach to interface design. If the final game is anything like that EA and DICE are gonna get a shit storm from the fans.

Let's not forget since the game has no actual main menu you can't change any settings until you have successfully connected and loaded into a server and spawned, only then can you hit ESC and start changing your settings. I expect this part to change and inevitably get an out-of-game config tool just like Battlefield Play4Free.

Anyway, to summarize: game's awesome, all the technical bullshit around it stinks to high Hell. Damn shame.

[W7RE]

launching the game is a chore:

• 1. Launch Origin.
• 2. Log into Origin.
• 3. Click on Battlefield 3 Beta.
• 4. Origin starts loading your web browser.
• 5. Log into Battlefield 3 Battlelog (redundant since it's the same log in details you just used to log into Origin).
• 6. Finally you're in Battlelog, either quickmatch or select server browser.
• 7. Quickmatch doesn't work so hope to God you can find a server with free slots.
• 8. Assuming you found a server that works the game now begins to connect.
• 9. The game has successfully connected to a server, wait for it to load.
• 10. The game has loaded, click "Go to game."
• 11. Game's not in fullscreen?! Hit Alt+Enter!

Xbox version:

• 1. start up the beta
• 2. choose "multiplayer"
• 3. choose "quick match"
• 4. wait 15 second and play

I guess quick match on PC is not working at all? I spent 15 minutes waiting and it didn't load. If I use the server browser to pick a server, it takes me 10 minutes to find one that's not full by the time I click join.

I'm also not liking how it runs on my PC. If I run at 1080p my framerate dips into the 20s at times even on the lowest settings. At 720p I can manage medium settings, but the aliasing and lack of long range visibility kills it (it's not just about prety graphics, it's about seeing a sniper across the map). 1440x900 on medium seems ok, but I'm still not happy with it. If I had the money to upgrade my HD4850 I would probably see a pretty big increase, but I have $8 to my name right now so that's not gonna happen.

So combine the way it run on my PC and all the Origin/Battlelog bullshit, and I'm feeling the Xbox version. But, I have no money and a friend wants to buy it for me on PC so we can play it together. I guess a free game that runs ok and has hoops to jump through is better than one I can't afford but runs good. If I was buying it myself I'd say the PC version is only worth it if you have a computer that can really make it look good. (or if you're insistent on m/kb, which I'm not sure I'm that worried about anymore)





EDIT: Oh, and the PC party/squad setup is really confusing, or maybe just broken. My friend went to the Battlelog site and created a party. he said he sent me an invite, but I never got it. I had to manually join his party. Then when he went to join a game, it didn't bring me along. We had to have one of us join a server, then the other join on him, hoping that it didn't fill up before the second person joined. Then we get put into different squads. There's no squad interface for choosing either. You have 2 options: "find me a squad" and "leave squad".

Of course, joining a match on Xbox with an XBL party doesn't put you in the same squad either. At least BC2 on PC had a squad list that let you pick which squad you want. (which really should be in all versions of all BF games)

[shock]

I've been playing the beta for a very short period of time (probably like 5 games), but I am enjoying the Battlelog.  It's nice to just be able to click on a server and launch into a game.  The traditional game has like 45 seconds of loading and menus to just get to multiplayer.  It's nice to side step that.

I think they are going to fix the battlelog to make navigating the actual servers easier.  At least I hope this is the case.  But that is a pretty easy fix.

Beta itself is also fun.  I'm bad at this game, just like I was BC2, but I die a little less randomly than I did before.  It also runs pretty well on my computer.  I wasn't really following the hype for the game, but I think I may preorder it soon.

[MysterD]

As usual, sounds like I should wait for some patches, price-drops, and a few months before I plunge into a DICE game...

[MysterD]

Bluesnews -> PC Gamers - You might want to stay off any hacked servers over 64 players, as EA might ban you from Origin and you might lose access to your Origin games.

Hacked 128-Player Battlefield 3 Beta Servers
   
[Oct 02, 2011, 2:22 pm ET] - Share - Viewing Comments
BF3Blog has word that some servers have popped up for the Battlefield 3 beta allowing 128-player games. The servers are apparently running the Operation Metro map, but rather than offering the 32-player rush mode like the official servers, they are running a hacked version of conquest mode, allowing 128 players rather then the intended 64. The bad news is that this is, rather unsurprisingly, a "considerably" laggy experience, and worse, they pass along Electronic Arts' warning that playing on hacked servers may compromise your EA account, and may earn you a ban, which can cause you to lose access to your other EA games.

[W7RE]

I noticed yesterday that I had some Battlefield icon in my system tray, and I closed it. Not too long after a system restart, I noticed it was there again. It's a program/plugin called ESN Sonar, and it's the PC VIOP software for BF3. It's apparently set to launch when Windows starts, which I find annoying.

I personally never talk to random people when I play games online. If I'm talking to someone while playing, it's on Ventrilo or Skype. I'm going to uninstall ESN Sonar and see if running BF3 reinstalls it.

[MysterD]

I noticed yesterday that I had some Battlefield icon in my system tray, and I closed it. Not too long after a system restart, I noticed it was there again. It's a program/plugin called ESN Sonar, and it's the PC VIOP software for BF3. It's apparently set to launch when Windows starts, which I find annoying.

I personally never talk to random people when I play games online. If I'm talking to someone while playing, it's on Ventrilo or Skype. I'm going to uninstall ESN Sonar and see if running BF3 reinstalls it.

WTH?
They should make that program launch WHEN you launch the game!
[eyebrow raised]

[W7RE]

I'm actually not sure when it's loading. I thought it was on startup, but I may have been mistaken.

I uninstalled ESN Sonar, ran Origin, loaded up Battlelog and there was an update available. I installed the Battlelog update (did it update the game too? I don't know), and played for a few minutes. Then I checked the remove programs list and ESN Sonar was back. I checked to see if it was in the system tray or task manager and couldn't find it. I rebooted my system, and it's still not running, but it is installed.

Maybe it only runs when you join a party on Battlelog?



I can deal with it being installed, and even running with the game. I just don't want it sitting there when I'm not using it. It also bothers me that Origin stays open after playing, but I guess Steam does that too. The difference is that I want to use Steam.

[MysterD]

I'm actually not sure when it's loading. I thought it was on startup, but I may have been mistaken.

I uninstalled ESN Sonar, ran Origin, loaded up Battlelog and there was an update available. I installed the Battlelog update (did it update the game too? I don't know), and played for a few minutes. Then I checked the remove programs list and ESN Sonar was back. I checked to see if it was in the system tray or task manager and couldn't find it. I rebooted my system, and it's still not running, but it is installed.

Maybe it only runs when you join a party on Battlelog?

I can deal with it being installed, and even running with the game. I just don't want it sitting there when I'm not using it. It also bothers me that Origin stays open after playing, but I guess Steam does that too. The difference is that I want to use Steam.

That'd be good, if ESN Sonar ONLY runs when you're playing BF3.
Did you check and see if it is always running in the Services section?

About Steam, Origin, Impulse, XFire, Raptr, or any other service program - I got these disabled for Windows start-up.
Seriously, if I want to use these guys, I'll run the shortcut on my desktop, thanks.
It's annoying how every client program wants to Start-up at Windows - thanks for trying to clog-up my RAM!

[Xessive]

Yep, even more annoyances branching from the fact that the game's interface is not autonomous. The game needs to be self-contained or at the very least have it all done through Origin since they're forcing us to use it anyway.

Aside from the BF3 exe you now have Origin, your web browser, and ESN Sonar running in the background. Sure my PC can handle it but it's a fundamentally flawed interface concept. I hate it. Sure Battlelog has some interesting features but it should have been built right into the game. It's not like they need to go back and devise an in-game interface from scratch, they've already gone through the trouble of designing it for the consoles, so now it just feels like PC players are getting gimped again.

[W7RE]

That'd be good, if ESN Sonar ONLY runs when you're playing BF3.
Did you check and see if it is always running in the Services section?

Here's what I did:
-ESN Sonar was running, and I don't think it had an exit option on the system tray icon
-I opened the Remove Programs section of the control panel and uninstalled ESN Sonar
-Checked to verify it was no longer in the system tray or in the process list
-Ran Origin, clicked the BF3 beta icon to load the Battlelog
-Battlelog had an update, I installed it
-Found a server, launched the game, played for about 5 minutes
-Exited the game and looked for ESN Sonar, it was not in the system tray or list of running processes
-Checked the Remove Programs section of the control panel, and ESN Sonar was there again
-Rebooted my computer and then checked the system tray and running processes again, and did not see ESN Sonar

So I'm thinking it may run when you join a party on Battlelog. That's the one thing I can think of that I did last time I ran BF3 before today, which I didn't do today. When I initially discovered ESN Sonar in my system tray, I thought I had recently rebooted my computer, so I just assumed it had run on startup, but I think that was incorrect.



ESN Sonar could have been reinstalled because I updated the game. I should probably remove it again and run the game to see if it comes back again. To keep it off my PC, the answer might be to remove it every time the game has an update. Having it installed wouldn't bother me that much, but I'm assuming if it's not installed it can't run with the game, and I won't have to remember to close it every time I stop playing.

[MysterD]

GamePro -> Editorial - "EA's Origin Service Is Crippling Battlefield 3."

[Xessive]

Yep, it's completely redundant. There is potential for putting it to good use and functionality but they're not doing anything with it at all.

[MysterD]

PC Gamer -> Delaying BF3 PC review b/c of connection problems.

First, let’s talk about the problems.

During the review period, EA DICE ran multiplayer servers and filled them with QA testers. The servers were up and running 24/7, and the EU server tended to have around 25-30 people on it at any given time. For most of this time, only Conquest mode was available to play, though I got brief matches in Rush and Team Deathmatch.

Unfortunately, I couldn’t connect to the server most of the time. Most of my attempts knocked me out of the game before the map had loaded with a “disconnect” or “time out” error message. If I did ever successfully connect – around 1 attempt in 20 – I would still be kicked out after playing for 20 minutes. There was also one instance where I lost about an hour of progress – including increases in ranks and class unlocks – because Battlelog failed to record my progress.

I spoke to people at DICE about these issues, but we never found a solution. I’m going to keep trying, but PC Gamer won’t review the game until we’re confident we’ve played it enough, and we know what state it’s going to be in when the game is released this Friday.

[MysterD]

REVIEWS
Joystiq -> 4.5/5 stars for PC version.
GTTV -> 9.2/10 for PC version.
1Up -> A- grade for PC version.
5 stars for PC version.
IGN -> 9.0/10 for PC version.
GameInformer -> 9.50/10 for PC version.
AusGamers.com -> 9.8/10
GameArena -> 9.5/10.
CVG -> 9.2/10 for PC version.

[W7RE]

The game is supposed to unlock tonight at midnight PDT. It's past midnight in Korea though. So use a proxy to fool the release date unlock tool, and you're in. I've been playing MP for a couple hours now.

I wish I had a better machine. Just about everything is on low, 1440x900, and getting 20-40 FPS depending on what's going on. I'm gonna try something other than 64 player and see if that's better.



EDIT: Yea, it runs at a much more tolerable framerate in 32 player games.

[MysterD]

Destructoid -> Why Jim Sterling's BF3 review isn't up.

[Publisher's note: Jim declined to attend the planned Palm Springs Battlefield 3 event weeks ago, however a source informed us that the event may have been cancelled altogether. Some outlets simply received copies before we did, and we're also not rushing through it to be "first".  Same goes for Uncharted 3.]

Battlefield 3 reviews have started going live on a number of sites, and you might be wondering where ours is. In fact, I know some of you are because you've already pestered me about it. Don't worry! The review's on its way, folks.

Basically, the reviews you saw go live this morning were based on a three-day review event that writers were invited to. Destructoid recently adopted a policy of not attending such events for a number of reasons beneficial to editorial (it was an informal rule for almost two years before we decided to officiate it). For the record, we weren't invited to this one, but since we've refused to write reviews based on events for Call of Duty, RAGE and many others in the past, it wouldn't have mattered.

Review copies for the console versions arrived today and I am downloading the PC version as I type. The PC version unlocks at midnight tonight. I am hoping to get it all played by tomorrow afternoon, though it may go through to Wednesday if I don't feel I've played enough. Depends on how much there is to do.

So that's where we are with the review, and why we're not being lazy when you see other reviews go up in the meantime (reviews that were written anywhere up to several weeks ago!)

In a reply further down from Jim Sterling:

We don't attend review events not out of laziness as one very clever person suggested, but because we don't think they're good for reviews. One's gameplay experience is married to artificially produced good feelings thanks to the free hotel, food, and often lavish treats (Black Ops gave people helicopter rides) and you have PR breathing down your necks in locally connected environments.

I don't think they lead to good reviews. I did a review based on an event a few years back and the review sucked. I'd rather play them in a natural environment without PR there to hold my hand.

[Xessive]

Interesting discovery. When Origin is in Offline mode the game launches into an in-game main menu for the singleplayer!

[MysterD]

Interesting discovery. When Origin is in Offline mode the game launches into an in-game main menu for the singleplayer!

Good.
That's what it should do.
SP portions shouldn't depend on the player being online to play them.

[PyroMenace]

I find it really strange to have to exit out of the game from single player and restart it again for multiplayer. And there is no in game browser as all the stat tracking and server browsing is done from the web browser.

[MysterD]

CVG -> BF3 - PC vs. PS3 comparison video.
GeForce -> 5-part video from DICE's Johan Andersson talks about BF3 PC's graphics quality & its DX10/11 features.

EDIT:
On that GeForce vid in Part 5 at 6:37, they show off the game's built-in FPS, GPU, and CPU performance counters that you can enable via in-game console.
Toggle console w/ the Tilde key [the key right above Tab that looks like ~]
Render.DrawFps 1 = Shows framerate FRAPS-style
Render.PerfOverlayVisible 1 = Shows CPU, GPU performance and spikes on a in-game graph w/ its performance

[Cobra951]

We don't attend review events not out of laziness as one very clever person suggested, but because we don't think they're good for reviews. One's gameplay experience is married to artificially produced good feelings thanks to the free hotel, food, and often lavish treats (Black Ops gave people helicopter rides) and you have PR breathing down your necks in locally connected environments.

I don't think they lead to good reviews. I did a review based on an event a few years back and the review sucked. I'd rather play them in a natural environment without PR there to hold my hand.

I happen to agree with that.  I'm at odds with most Destructoid reviews, but this at least makes me think their hearts are in the right place.

And if there are connection issues with a released game, it should be brought to light in reviews and affect the scores.  It affects everyone who buys the game.