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DICE has posted another Battleblog entry, this time it concerns unlocks, awards and persistence in Battlefield 3. As many know, Battlefield 2 was the first game to really offer a deep persistence mode, with awards, unlocks and stats that would keep players busy for hundreds of hours. For Battlefield 3, DICE reveals that the game will feature “more than 10 times the hardware unlocks spread over weapons, weapons attachments, gadgets, and a huge unlock tree for vehicles alone”. Unlocks will be given based on the class you play as and the weapon you use, so if you use a weapon a lot, you’ll get more unlocks for it, same goes for classes. Regarding awards, the pins have been substituted for ribbons, which will be given out each round (e.g. 7 kills with assault rifles to get the Assault Rifle Ribbon), while it will also feature BF2 style medals, for example, the US service medal is awarded after playing 100 hours as the US Marines. Ranks will be as plentiful as in Bad Company 2, which had 50 ranks in total. It has also been confirmed that Engineers will get an anti-air rocket launcher, and that Jets will get the choice between air to air missiles, or air to ground missiles/bombs. |
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On July 30th, 2011 in News One of the big requests from gamers for Battlefield 3 is the return of BattleRecorder, which was featured in Battlefield 2. BattleRecorder makes it easy to record and play back gameplay, making it ideal for those looking to make videos and Machinima content. It’s been uncertain whether we’d see BattleRecorder in Battlefield 3, but there has been some development on that front. In a recent interview with PixelEnemy, EA’s Battlefield Brand Manager Kevin O’Leary let it slip that BattleRecorder would not be returning to Battlefield 3. This stirred a lot of tension in the community, but then DICE community manager Daniel Matros tweeted that this was not the case — the lack of BattleRecorder was dismissed by Matros. Where does that leave us? Where we pretty much began: BattleRecorder isn’t confirmed, but isn’t denied either. Seeing as how quickly DICE was to correct O’Leary’s statement, and considering how much gamers want BattleRecorder, it’s easy to assume that we’ll see some form of recording capability in Battlefield 3. DICE had previously mentioned that they had been using BattleRecorder internally to create the videos and trailers we’ve seen of Bad Company 2 and Battlefield 3. BattleRecorder was a popular feature in BF2 and contributed to a lot of videos, Machinima and other content. With the popularity of YouTube and gaming channels today, BattleRecorder in BF3 would be more than welcome. |
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Battlefield 3 Alpha impressions
On July 24th, 2011 in Editorial, News
One of our members was lucky got access to the Battlefield 3 alpha after BF3blog was pretty much banned from the alpha (*cough* possibly related to leaking a bunch of stuff *cough*), and he spend the last few days playing the alpha, clocking in a dozen hours or so. He’s still bound by the NDA, so we won’t be showing any screenshots or videos, but here are the full impressions of the Battlefield 3 alpha so far:
Gameplay:
Feels more like Battlefield 2 than Bad Company 2. The pace is a bit quicker than in BF2, but it appears it’s because of the map and the Rush mode. You can now strafe run, which adds a lot more than it sounds. You can see your legs/feet when looking down or jumping over things. It’s not as weird as it sounds. No bunny hopping or dolphin diving. 3D spotting has been revised. It feels like you need to be more accurate when spotting enemies than in Bad Company 2. Classes are a lot better and make more sense (Assault with med kit, Support gives out ammo). Everything ran very smooth at high frame rates, it gave it a bit of a “Call of Duty” feeling at times. The game appears to be ready for in-game advertising support (banners etc.). Although it could be just random BF3 banners posted.
Guns:
Hit detection feels much better than in Bad Company 2. Guns look, sound and feel differently from Bad Company 2. It’s more like BF2 than BC2. Muzzle flash on guns has been reduced compared to BC2, now is on par with BF2.
Audio:
Just as crisp and lifelike as in other Battlefield games. It sounds more realistic in BF3, kinda like “war tapes” in Bad Company 2. There’s still automated chatter from soldiers around you, including enemies (which reveals their position, like in BC2).
No commo rose
Vehicles:
There was only one vehicle, the LAV-25 APC. Controls felt like Bad Company 2, but the cannon firing and sounds were much more realistic, as if you’re in a real APC. It felt like it took a few more rockets to completely destroy the LAV compared to Bad Company 2.
Graphics/Destruction:
The game looks great, no way around that. Animations are way ahead of Bad Company 2 or any other FPS. Destruction feels more limited than in BC2. There are buildings you can destroy, buildings you can’t. There are walls you can destroy, and walls you can’t. There’s no real way of telling which is which. There is also a lot of cover that would have been destroyable in Bad Company 2, but isn’t in BF3. (UPDATE) According to some, destruction has been limited in the alpha for testing purposes, which would explain what we experienced). The lighting is amazing, both in doors and outdoors. Also, you can only shoot out some of the interior lights, not all.
Misc:
Award pins have been replaced by BF2-style ribbons. There are a bunch of new guns, like the G36C, MP7, M27. There are now faction specific weapons and rocket launchers. When M-Com stations are armed, a C4 device appears on it. When disarmed, the C4 disappears. 100 points are given for a kill, +10 points for headshots, +30 for kill assist etc. You get 200 points for arming M-Com, another 200 for destroying it.
Overall:
The game feels a lot more like Battlefield 2 than Bad Company 2, contrary to what many people think. It was hard to comment on pace, since it’s Rush, limited to 32 players, with tight combat areas — so pacing will naturally be fast. On open, conquest maps with 64 players, I can imagine it feels a lot more like BF2. Also, note that these impressions are for an alpha version — it’s far from a finished product.
The Above Views are Not From Me Geordie Or Any Member Of The [Blackhand]Clan. |
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If You Click On Pics You Can See Full Size. |
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Battlefield 3 Specact Kits Available To Us Market Pre Order Games. |
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Below Is The Physical Warfare Pack. Click On Pic For More Details. |
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One of the most annoying parts which has been with several Battlefield games, including BF2, BF2142 and Bad Company 2, has been the anti-cheat software Punkbuster. The Internet is filled with anecdotes of just how awful the software is, and support forums constantly light up with new issues, with players been kicked randomly for Punkbuster issues. On top of that, Punkbuster has never been known for preventing many hacks and exploits in the first place. The issues with Punkbuster and its developer, Even Balance, goes deeper than just minor annoyances. A lot of gamers have experienced being banned for no apparent reason, and because Punkbuster can now ban hardware IDs, it means that the user has to buy new hardware (like hard drive and CPU), in order to play again. If a player uses Steam for instance, which features Valve’s VAC system, it can interfere with Punkbuster. What’s worse is that Valve tried to reach out to Even Balance to work on the issue, but Even Balance refused. We find it surprising that a developer of DICE’s caliber and talent does not make their own anti-cheat software. After all, who knows the game better than the developer? Punkbuster is aging technology that doesn’t work, has frequent false positives, inhibits gameplay and is simply annoying. It’s about time DICE made their own anti-cheat software for Battlefield 3. |
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BF3 Wish No Punkbuster Click Pic For details. |
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Battlefield 3 is expected to have similar system requirements as the previous Battlefield game, Bad Company 2. Battlefiled 3 is powered by the Frostbite 2.0 engine, which is based on the previous Frostbite 1.5, which powered Bad Company 2. While the Frostbite 2.0 engine has a lot of new features compared to 1.5, it is also more optimized as well, which will most likely result in similar performance and Battlefield 3 system requirements for the PC. Since Battlefield 3 won’t be supporting DirecX 9, it won’t run on Windows XP. Minimum requirements for Battlefield 3· OS: Windows Vista or Windows 7 · Processor: Core 2 Duo @ 2.0GHz · RAM: 2GB · Graphic card: DirectX 10 or 11 compatible Nvidia or AMD ATI card. · Graphics card memory: 512 MB · Hard drive: 15 GB for disc version or 10 GB for digital version
Recommended system requirements for Battlefield 3· OS: Windows 7 64-bit · Processor: Quad-core Intel or AMD CPU · RAM: 4GB · Graphics card: DirectX 11 Nvidia or AMD ATI card, GeForce GTX 460, Radeon Radeon HD 6850 · Graphics card memory: 1 GB · Hard drive: 15 GB for disc version or 10 GB for digital version
Please note: these are our expected system requirements for Battlefield 3. When EA/DICE releases the official system requirements, we’ll update this page accordingly |
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Battlefield 3 System Requirements |
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On May 23, EA announced a new pre-order deal with UK game retailers GAME and Gamestation UK, where those who pre-order Battlefield 3 Limited Edition will not only get Back to Karkand DLC, but a few extra goodies:
· Type 88 LMG · DAO-12 shotgun · Flashette ammo for DAO-12 shotgun · Flash suppressor for SKS sniper rifle
The pre-order deal is expected to be offered in the US through GameStop and/or other retailers. The Physical Warfare pack will be released for free to everyone later in 2012 |
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